Going marathon crazy

First, for anyone interested, our water is back on - hooray!  There was no permanent damage, that we know of anyway.  My very smart husband drove the fire engine to our house, with his partner, and found an exposed piece of pipe under our deck.  He wrapped it with a heating pad and 2 hours later voila, the water started running again.  Johanna and I were in the living room when all of the sudden we heard all the faucets sputter to running again.  We did the necessary celebratory dance all over the house and then I promptly took a shower.  It was a wonderful end to my very depressed state over the matter.  Thank you Luke!!

I lost a lot of sleep last night for two reasons.  One because Emmy, after sleeping so beautifully the last three nights, decided to wake up every two hours to nurse and complain.  The other reason was because I was obsessing over my impending marathon which is fast approaching.  What will I wear to avoid chafing?  How early should I get up before the race starts?  What will I eat?  How I will plan for the nursing dilemma?  How will I really feel at mile 20?  Should I wear my Camelbak?  Should I bring my iPod?  How will I carry my gels and bars?  Where will I nurse Emmy at the finish line?

Breathe.

I want to say it will all just work out, but I always say that and then regret it later.  It would relax me right now, but then I would be scrambling two days before and up until the gun goes off.  I want to be totally ready in all the ways I can.  I have been combing through my friend Emilie's blog for pre-race, race and post-race advice learned from her two marathon experiences.  This race is constantly on my mind at this point.  It is 10 days away and 26.2 miles is a long way, people!  I might crash and burn.  I might have an amazing run.  The future is unknown.

Big breath again.

With just 10 days until race day I have formulated a plan for caring for myself.

Eat as many greens as possible in daily smoothies, salads for lunch and dinner
Drink a lot of water
Eat a mostly clean food diet
S T R E T C H every day, twice a day
Take supplements twice a day
-hyaluronic acid
-collagen
-fish oil
Relax my brain and body
Know that I am capable, but don't know it too much

I am so lucky to have my sister Abby to cheer me on for the big race.  She is flying in from San Francisco for the weekend and will be helping Luke with the girls while I'm running.  She may be helping us more than she knows.  Thanks Abby!

 Moving on, yesterday I ran 11 miles in 19 degree weather.  The tube of my Camelbak even froze at one point.  It was a run to remember.  I met up with a running group I recently joined and they were doing a 10K, 6.2 miles.  That meant I had to bid them farewell in the parking lot, standing next to my car, and then head out to do the same course a second time.  I think that qualifies for some marathon mental training, which I understand is equally important.  The reason I only did 11 miles was because I got lost, but I did discover some cool things along my way like the Hacienda de los Milagros.  I ran right past the farm and saw about 100 donkeys.  And smelled them too.  It took me about 2 hours to complete the run and I figured hours running was more important than mileage.

Ready or not, here I come.

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