26.2 Miles of Hail Marys

Countdown to race time! We race on Saturday. If you want to follow me during the race (you can actually see where I am!) online or on your phone, go to the Grandma's website and click on the Verizon tracker button up top. You can find out mine and my sisters' full names if you email me so you can keep track of all of us . I'll post my race number on my running blog (private) so you can see where I am and when on race day too. Katrina's goal is under 4 hours, I think. Anna's is 4.5, and mine is 5.5. We all trained the same but we know our limits and this is where we feel comfortable. I'm hoping to do a little better than 5.5 hours, but I know how hard it is at the end and how easy it is for me to get dehydrated, sore, uncomfortable, and how that could destroy any faster goal than that one. Last year, I lost Anna right at the beginning of the half (bathroom break before the one mile marker!) and had a great time trying to catch up to her. I kept focusing on a girl that MIGHT be her and then shooting for overtaking that girl. It really was a giggle, and I ended up being only five minutes behind her, so I hope to do something like that again. It felt so good to be PASSING so many people, rather than getting passed. I won't have to worry about stopping to pee, stopping to stretch, or re-tie my shoes and we can all go our own pace. I hope they just fly down the course and feel great doing it. I hope I don't run into them, as that might mean they aren't doing well or are hurt.

There are lots of "I"s and "Me"s in that paragraph up there. One hopes that one would not be so self-centered after this race. One would hope that one could concentrate more on the family and the house after this race. One thinks that maybe "one" is not a good substitute for "I" as it makes one look like they mean they are THE "One".

Never mind. I am so excited, and veryveryvery nervous for the race day. I can't wait until around the 8th mile when I'll be thinking "HOLY MOLY, I'M RUNNING A MARATHON! I FEEL GOOOOOOOD, AND I'M NOT DYING!"...then, when I reach around the 23rd mile, "HOLY MOLY, WHY THE HECK DID I THINK OF DOING THIS STUPID THING ANYWAY? I THINK I'M GONNA DIIIIIIIIE!". I'm pretty certain I'll be limping across the finish line. I've done the training for "intermediate" so you would think that I'd be oh-so-awesome by now and superpro. I'm so not. I'm still just a beginner. I'm pretty good at 8 miles and less but I get up there in the teens, I start to feel my weight, age, and blobbyness.

I might take a month break from running and try to lose some weight so it won't be so hard to run so many miles. I think then I will train for a "faster 10k" and try a few 10k races to see how that would go.

Oh, this is all assuming I'll still be alive after Saturday...wish me luck!

(Hail, Marys/prayers said at each mile...)
Mile #
1. For the hubs

My Children:

2. Trina
3. Matthew
4. Analise
5. Niklaus
6. Mariela
7. Thomas

8. Our parents and grandparents

9. Our sisters

10. Our brothers

11. Our nieces and nephews

12. A special friend and her new homeschooling adventures

13. Special friends

14. All my friends that are trying to get healthy

15. Michael Talley and all those suffering from cancer

16. Our priests

17. All of the other runners

18. All couples that are experiencing infertility

19. All unborn children

20. All of our soldiers and sailors

21. Our country

22. Paula and her family

23. Regina and her family

24. All those with housing problems

25. Families suffering from childhood cancers

26. Surgical recoveries

.2 Me

I figured I'd need it most for that last .2. Might be selfish but I'll be thanking God, plenty when/if I cross that finish line!