Where did THAT come from?

I don't know where it came from, but man oh MAN! I seemed to have an almost unlimited supply of energy today!

Going into my run today I was not optimistic at all. Thanks to a sick puppy barfing all over my bedroom floor at 12:38 am I got very little sleep. When my alarm went off at 4:30 I almost fell right back to sleep. I dragged myself out of bed & tried to eat a Balance bar but after 1 tiny bite, it hurt my jaws way too much. I grabbed a pack of peanut butter crackers & ate those along w/ about a 1/2 can of a protein shake. I filled my little pack w/ 2 more packs of crackers, 2 power gels, & some Cliff bloks, figuring I'd need plenty to keep me going. I really didn't know how I was going to make it.

I got to the park at 5:30, ate 3 more crackers & a cup of Gatorade & was off by about 5:40. I started out w/ my mentee, Carmen & Coach Ginny & I felt like crap. We went out of the park long & by the time we got to Memorial I was starting to feel better. By the time I got to the 1st waterstop at Waugh I was feeling great. I had a sudden burst of energy & didn't even stop to get water. (I had my fuel belt on anyway.) We made our way up Waugh, past I-10 to Heights & up Heights. We stopped at the next waterstop around 11th St. & took a power gel, 3 more crackers & slugged down some water. I felt absolutely FANTASTIC! I wasn't tired at all & not a single part of my body hurt. I was amazed!

After our quick little pit stop, we made our way up to 20th & turned around. When we got back to the water stop I kept on going while the others stopped. I was feeling like Super Woman! By the time we got back to Memorial, I'd gone about 12 miles & was ready for more. The girls behind me were having a hard time keeping up with me! I could hear them talking & wondering just what the hell I was on. I was unstoppable!

As we made our way down Allen Parkway towards downtown, the sun came out a little, but I still felt great. We stopped at the next waterstop at Eleanor Tinsley Park & I had another power gel, 3 more crackers & gulped more water (I'd been drinking Gatorade from belt). By this point, Ginny was done & stayed behind, as did Adrienne. Apparently everyone else who'd made it that far had petered out by that point & went back to the park. I was still feeling great & didn't want to dilly dally so Carmen, Carissa & I headed out again to the GRB. Coach Bill picked up where Ginny left off & walked with us the rest of the way. We'd made it almost all the way to the GRB before I had any problems. I started to get small cramps in the arch of my left foot, but it would go away when I stretched it. It kept cramping up for about the next mile or 2 then finally stopped.

When we got back to the waterstop at ET Park, I was still feeling pretty good. One of my teammates, Susan had been sitting there for a while & suddenly started to get sick. She instantly turned a frightening shade of pale & got super dizzy. She was dehydrated & her blood sugar was low. I gave her the rest of my crackers to eat & we got her some Gatorade. When she started to feel better we left her w/ Ginny & Anne & made our way back to Memorial Park. About a 1/2 mile into it, my left butt cheek & hamstring started cramping up on me something fierce. I stopped at a bridge & stretched it out & it felt much better, but still bothered me the rest of the way back in.

With about 2 miles to go, my energy started fading fast & I slowed down significantly. The clouds were fading, the sun was coming out in full force & I could feel blisters forming on my right heel. I was SO glad when I saw the entrance to the park & I could finally stop. In all, my time wasn't what I would have liked it to be (5 hrs 42 mins) but considering I didn't run at all & considering I hadn't worked out in 2 weeks, I'm still pretty pleased. And I actually still feel pretty damn good. I was stiff & sore after breakfast but after an ice bath, a warm shower, & some stretches, I felt TONS better.

Hopefully my health will continue to improve & by race day, I'll be able to maintain my normal 15:30 pace for a good portion of the race. If I can do that, then I'm pretty confident I'll be able to meet all the time cut-offs & make my goal... to finish the race in 7 hrs 30 mins. (That would beat my last marathon time by a little over an hour.) I know the race has an "official" time limit of 7 hours, but hopefully they won't pull me off the course.

Eeek! I can't believe there's less than 2 months to go! I hope I'll be ready.