No Pressure Running (and What Does the Fox Say?)

Happy Monday! I hope most people have a day off today for Veterans's Day. I also hope everyone had a good weekend full of sweaty adventures.

I did a seven mile run on Friday, which felt great. I am obsessed with the weather right now. Perfect running weather attire for me: gloves, long sleeve shirt, shorts. Saturday I took Milo for a long walk and did a workout on the Nike Training Club App.

This thing is really neat. I've never been a fan of workout apps. They just never seemed to be set up well and I could never really get into them. I was struggling for motivation on Saturday, and thought it would be a great time to try it.

There are lots of options for individual levels, what you want to work on, etc. The lady on it gets a little annoying, but I was sort of glad she was there to tell me what to do!

The app is free, which is awesome. A great tool for when you are struggling for motivation!

Since becoming a distance runner again, Sundays have returned as long run day. And 18 miles was on my agenda this past weekend. Eeep! I haven't run that far in almost a year.

I knew I needed to run on the road instead of the trails this time. And I ALMOST bailed. I got sucked into watching reruns of The Office and didn't want to leave my couch or Milo! Sometimes the thought of running for 3 hours is just so daunting. I told myself that if I wasn't feeling it after half an hour that I could just turn around and head back home. Luckily, I got my butt out the door!

Burke Gilman Trail in the fall time.

And I felt great once I started! At first, my plan was to break up the run into 3 mile chunks, trying to get a little faster each one. My first three miles were not consistent, but the next three were pretty even around 9.08. The next two miles got a little slower without my noticing and then I totally hit a wall. I was feeling great until around mile 9 when I turned around, and then I guess the thought that I was only half way through flipped a mental switch.

I struggled around 9.30s before giving myself a pep talk. While I'm not trying to PR this marathon in a few weeks, I thought about how fun it would be to do well, despite only a month or so of training. While my knees were aching and my hip flexors were getting tighter with every step, I started turning my legs over a bit quicker. My last 7 miles were each 9 minutes or faster. And although I was dead by the end, I felt like I could have pushed faster. My last mile was an 8.44.

Haven't seen 18 miles in awhile.

Just goes to show how mental the sport of running is. I had to really concentrate, but I pushed my pace below what was comfortable. And it just took a little mental strength. My body already knows what to do!

Thumbs up-ski!

I'm hoping for one more long run next weekend before the race in a few weeks, but we will see how I feel. I know I'll feel more prepared if I run at least 20 before race day, but I have zero expectations for this marathon, so I guess it doesn't really matter! No pressure running is fun! =)

I'm pretty happy with how I felt while running. It hurt a bit, but nothing was too painful. After I stopped, however, was another story! My knees were almost non-functional, my feet were screaming and several hours later my legs were just totally achy. I remember last year being able to run 22 miles, go to Crossfit and feel perfectly fine. Sigh. This is much healthier, though, I just have to keep telling myself and it doesn't mean I am out of shape!

And, with all that jazz, I leave you with this video for your Monday morning:

Run All the Races!

Oh boy, oh boy.

Anyone else feel like this after this weekend?

I was getting text messages all weekend with New York friends saying they were thinking about me since the NYC Marathon was happening. And with my twitter feed blowing up about the king of all races (aka NYC Marathon), and the Florida Ironman that was happening, I have a seriously urge to run all of the races. All of them!

Of course, my bank account and probably my body would hate that idea. So I am trying to keep a level mind about these things. That hardly ever works for me, but there's always a first time!

I debated pretty hard on Sunday whether I wanted to do my long run on the road or head back to the trails. Running around Cougar Mountain just sounded so much more interesting than slogging down the Burke Gilman. So I took my booty back to the trails!

This little tyke had to stay home this time. A - I didn't
feel like having another panic attack on the freeway from a
puking pup and, B - I wanted to run longer than
he could handle.

It was another beautiful day on Cougar Mountain. I wanted to run somewhere between 2 and 2.5 hours.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of people out and about. I like trail running better when I hardly run into anyone!

Nonetheless, I was happy to be out on the trails instead of slogging down the road in Seattle! I wasn't too worried about losing my way this time, except for the section that was renamed, so I was kind of confused at one point but made it through just fine!

The trail I took wasn't my favorite. There was one section that was super technical - lots of roots and rocks and things to trip over and it was very steep down.

I was afraid I was going to twist an ankle and had to take it super slowly. I think one of my miles in this section took almost 18 minutes!

There were lots of branches and trees that had fallen from the wind storm the day before. At one point there was suddenly a huge tree blocking my path. I had to stand there and figure out how to navigate it. I ended up crawling on all fours underneath to get to the other side.

I made a deal with myself that if I took my long run to the trails this weekend that I would have to road-run next weekend. And I'm ready!

I ended up running for about 2 hours and 18 minutes, so I'm not too worried about crossing the finish line of the marathon much anymore. I'm mostly just silly excited! And, luckily, I'm not sore at all today and feel really good, so I must have done something right!

My Weekend

Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday was a completely nutty Monday. I'm pooped today. Hope your week is off to a better start than mine!

Despite working all weekend, I was still able to get in a few naps and some great runs.

On Friday, Milo and I took a run around Discovery Park again. The little furball did great!

I am really tempted to try and take him out to Cougar Mountain now. I want to see what the little guy can do and I think he would love it up there. Plus there are less people than Discovery, which is a good thing!

My little ghost all in white

It was super foggy, even in the afternoon.

Discovery Fooooogggg

Luckily the fog lifted in Seattle this week. While yesterday was super windy, today seems a lot calmer, if not colder!

I trained several clients on both Saturday and Sunday mornings before I headed home for lunch, a nap, and a walk with my boy.

Sunday, I'd told myself to try and get a longer run in. I want to have somewhat of a base before this marathon thingy in December.

The only other time I've done a long run in the evening, it was awful.

Least favorite long-run place EVER! Cedar River Trail.

I was expecting to have to pep myself up and have to take my run on the struggle bus.

But I had such a great 10 miler! My stomach wasn't too bad, and my legs felt GREAT!

Thinking about adding 16 more miles afterwards was tough, but I keep telling myself I have a good month and I'm not trying to hit a goal for the marathon. Just have FUN!

My plan is to keep increasing my long runs on the weekends, unless I start getting overwhelmed. I'm hoping to get up to 20 miles a few weeks before the race, but I don't want to push it, either. We shall see what happens!

17 Ugly Miles and the Twelve Days of Crossfit

It's Monday. And I think I am still recovering from Friday. Let me fill you in.

All last week I was in a funk. Actually, I'm still in a funk. But Friday I was hoping that if I could just get myself out the door for a long run, I would feel better and my run-love would be back in full swing.

Well, I got myself out the door by saying I only had to get in 12 miles, but I was hoping my mojo would return and I could get in 20. I knew it would make me feel better for the 50k next weekend, since I haven't done a long run since the Seattle Marathon.

I started off okay. I turned on my music (which I hardly listen to while running anyways) and just plugged away. There was a lot on my mind that kept me occupied for the first 8 miles or so. I won't say the miles were fun, but I didn't hate them, either. Finally I started feeling good around mile 8, which lasted until mile 12. At that point, I was much further from home than I wanted to be. And I was done. Just done. My legs didn't want to go anymore, my left hip was a mess (I have torn cartilage in that hip from dancing) and I was exhausted. Of course, I immediately started getting down on myself and wondering how the heck I was going to do 30 miles in a week. I finally made it back to my apartment after 17 miles and spent the rest of the afternoon either eating or napping.

Also happening on Friday was my Crossfit box's annual "12 Days of Crossfit" workout that I didn't want to miss. Obviously I rallied and made it into the gym to workout with my friends.

I had lots of fun working out with my friends, but this workout was killer! I finished in 27 minutes right next to my friend, Beth!

You start with the 100 meter sprint. Then you do a 200 meter bear crawl and 100 meter sprint. You continue like that until you are doing all 12 "days". Ouchies!

Beth and I finished together. Just as it should be!

Obviously we came as twins. Because that's what we do. Just kidding! It was totally accidental.

One of the gym owners was there with her camera, and she caught lots of shots of us working out. Some were pretty bad*ss.

Knees to elbows.

Some were not.

Beth and I dying. All in good fun. 

At least we had fun. If you want to call death my Crossfit "fun", which I DO!

Of course, the workout kicked my butt, but I didn't realize the extent of it until I woke up the next morning feeling like a I had been run over by a truck. Not kidding.

I am STILL sore and in recovery mode. I pretty much have one goal for the week: don't kill myself before my 50k on Saturday. My only goal for the actual race is to finish. And I am determined not to get down on myself if I have to walk a little.

Tiger Mountain Wednesday

Yesterday I ran up (and down and up and down) Tiger Mountain.

And it was amazing!

It was one of those runs where life melts away and you just love running!

I did the same loop that I will be doing twice for my 50k in January. Ultra-marathoner Jess took me out to show me the loop and we just had the greatest time!

I was feeling good as we headed out. My new breakfast left me satisfied and I was feeling so full of energy! I'll certainly have to test it out again, but I think we have a winner!

Grape Nuts and srawberries for the win!

Anyway, I was just excited to head out and redeem myself after Friday's less than stellar running effort. I had been taking it fairly easy most of the week thus far, so I was really hoping I would find my running mojo on Tiger.

And find it, I did!

We started off running along the outside of West Tiger 3. Tiger Mountain has 5 summits: East Tiger, Middle Tiger, and West Tiger 1, 2, and 3. Today we conquered West Tiger 1, 2, AND 3. Because one summit just isn't enough!

I've run a fair share of trails the past few months and have been lucky to experience many different ones! It's pretty exciting to finally be able to compare them and find out what I like and don't like. One of the things I absolutely love about Tiger Mountain is it's variety. Literally every one of the dozen trails we were on yesterday sported differing terrain. Sometimes I was running on rocks, sometimes on leaves. Sometimes the ground was spongy, and other times there were lots of roots.

We went through many patches of sunlight, and spooky, misty and dark sections. I wish I had brought my phone so I could show you pictures! It was truly beautiful and a great day.

Apparently Jess and I were on the same wavelength because we got through the two biggest climbs of the day in no time, just chatting away. I can't believe how fast the time flew. By the time we hit the halfway point, which was about 8 miles in, I was starting to get a little tired since we had been out for almost 2 hours. Yes, trail running is slooooow, but so fun!

We ascended and descended West Tiger 1, then West Tiger 2 and finally West Tiger 3. The final 3 miles were all downhill, which I actually found to be the most challenging part of the 15.5 mile loop. About 1.5 miles down, my quads were fatigued, to say the least.

Why is running downhill so much harder for me?! I think I get more cautious than necessary, which slows me down. My biggest fear is getting injured, and running downhill can be challenging, especially on technical trails, so I tend to watch my step probably more than necessary. Which I think is fine for now!

We finished up 15.5 miles in 3 hours and 14 minutes. Garmin said we ran 13.47 but since Jess knows the trails like the back of her hand and assured me it was 15.5 miles, I will not argue! Satellite watches tend to lose signal in the mountains, especially when there is a lot of tree-covering.

I was riding my running high the rest of the day, and can't wait to get back out there! Great runs are the absolute BEST!

What/when/where was your last amazing run?

The Bad Runs

It's no secret that I love running.

It is my social time and my stress reliever. It keeps me sane and gives me goals and a way to push myself past what I thought was possible.

Most of my runs are great. I enjoy just about every single one, whether it's a "hard" run or the miles feel like they are flying by.

Of course, I am only human, and some days, I suffer from bad runs just like the next person. And, of course, the great runs always make up for the bad.

"That's the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is." Kara Goucher

Friday evening was not one of the good runs. I was scheduled to run with my friends in the late afternoon. And not just a few miles. We were aiming for 20. I'm not sure what made me think, in my #teammorning body, that I could run 20 miles so late in the day. I've become a bit more accustomed to single digit afternoon runs, but I really did not think through the fact that this was going to be 20 miles. No small feat.

Not only were we running in the evening, but I had a full day beforehand. I had taught aerobics and gotten in a Crossfit workout (Fight Gone Bad! I'll share this another day...) as well. To say my body was probably already exhausted is an understatement. And it had completely slipped my mind that I had run a marathon only 5 days prior. Who am I and why do I think I am superwoman?

With all of my running friends, I think I get into a state that all the miles I put in is "normal" or even below-average. When I have friends training for 100 mile races and putting in 20 mile runs 2 or 3 days a week, I somehow feel like I should be doing the same thing. Never mind that I am NOT running a 100 mile race anytime soon. It's funny how your sense of normalcy completely goes out the window.

Anyways, back to Friday. So we head out to the Cedar River Trail. This is where I will be running my 50k December 15th. It is nice and flat and we had planned to do 10 miles out and 10 miles back.

The entire car ride down, I felt fine. I was singing and dancing to the radio and chatting with my friends. It hadn't really hit me that I had to run 20 miles.

We started our run and it was COLD! This becomes important later. About 2 miles in, I was hurting. Nothing particularly hurt, I was just spent. I was completely out of energy and wondering how I was going to get through 18 more miles. I trudged through the next few miles, trying to drown out the negative thoughts in my head and just listening to my friends talk.

At one point, we turned up another trail and decided to go out 3 miles and back three miles to continue on the main trail. About halfway to the turnaround, I just couldn't run anymore. My body was making it perfectly clear that it was done and I just didn't have it in me to keep going. I kept telling myself to push through but the thought of 12 more miles seemed too overwhelming.

Tired face.

I told my friends to go ahead and that I was going to walk until they caught back up to me. I turned around and started heading back down the trail. Of course, I was beating myself up about not sticking with my friends.

After about 10 minutes of walking and ending up at the starting point of the trail, I decided I felt better and started running back to where my friends were. I was able to keep up with them for a few more miles, but inevitably, I crashed again.

At this point, it had gotten very cold. I'm talking 30 degrees or so. None of us had planned for the cold weather and figured we would've been done before it really got cold. Not so much.

Pretty day! But COLLLDDD!!!

I headed back towards the car (which was still about 6 miles away at this point) and ended up doing run/walk intervals to keep myself warm. I have to admit, I was still beating myself up over not sticking with my friends. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I run 20 miles?

GET WITH THE PROGRAM, BODY!

My friends ended up catching up with me about a mile before the trail end, so I was still able to "finish" with them. It goes without saying that at this point we were all flirting with frostbite.

My friends know me well enough that they had some choice words in the car on the ride home.

They reminded me that I had run a marathon 5 days beforehand and had hardly had a chance to recover from that. I had also done several workouts already in the day and to top it off, my body wasn't used to running in the evening.

After they laid it all out there, it became obvious. I am not superwoman and CANNOT do all the things. Even if I want to. I had tried to pack too much in and definitely needed to back off. My body was literally yelling at me to take a step back. Ok, ok, I will listen!

Right now, my goal has shifted to include more rest and recovery. I don't think my body was ready to go so soon after my "marathon" last Sunday, and I obviously wasn't paying close enough attention. I am running the Seattle Marathon in 2 weeks and want to be good to go for 26.2 more. So for right now, it's neon compression sock time!

NYC Marathon, Seattle Style

As I'm sure everyone is aware by now, the New York City Marathon was cancelled on Friday evening. Let me preface this post by saying my thoughts are still with all of those still struggling from the effects of Sandy.

After not really agreeing with Mayor Bloomberg's decision to hold the marathon, I listened to his urges that the marathon would help the city's economy and mental state, and jumped on a plane to New York Friday morning.

I had a layover in Dallas before my final flight to NY, and when we landed I had several texts and emails asking me if I'd heard and alerting me to the news. I would not be running the New York City Marathon this year. After dealing with the initial shock, I decided to head back to Seattle instead of continuing on to New York. As much as I wanted to help out and to see my friends, I decided this just wasn't the time to be in the city. I was able to switch my flight back to Seattle without much hassle and ended up back in the city by  midnight. What a long day of pointless travel THAT was!

It wasn't until the next morning that it really sunk in. All these months of training and excitement, all the long runs, the painful taper I tried to give myself....it all felt like it was for nothing. On the other hand, I tried to remind myself that I genuinely enjoyed all the training and that I would have been training for another race if it weren't for New York.

That being said, there is no race like New York and I was well aware of that fact. I still haven't heard what they are planning to do for the runners. I'm hoping we can defer to next year, but I'm not holding my breath. That is a lot of runners that will take up a lot of spots next year! We shall see.

Little did I know that after all the cancellation drama, my friends were planning a "marathon" for me on Sunday.   They told me to meet at our Crossfit gym and we would carpool to the start line on Sunday morning. Truthfully, I was just grateful to have some people to run with. The icing on the cake was that I got to run a marathon anyways!

I got to the gym bright-eyed a bushy-tailed on Sunday morning (thank you daylight savings time!) to find Ultramarathoner Jess with a race goodie bag for me. Complete with a race bib!

"Level 4 Nooners" refers to our team that ran the Tough Mudder, which is the group of us that works out at our Crossfit gym at Noon. This *hit was official!

We headed out to Lake Youngs again and Jess had mapped out a perfect 26.2 mile course for us. Everyone was doing different distances, but they made sure there were always two other people running with me.

The loop around Lake Youngs is 9.6 miles. We started out with 4 ladies: Beth, Jess, myself and Von. We started at a nice, easy pace and I felt great for the entire first loop! Tons of energy and pretty much a fireball of excitement.

We dropped off Von after the first loop (she had run a 200 mile race the weekend before...whaaaatttt), and picked up Matt.

Matt, Beth, Jess, Me. Level IV Nooners! (some of us)

We took off on our second loop, and I definitely wasn't as peppy this time around! Although Lake Youngs is relatively easy trail-wise, it is still trail running and definitely more hills than I have ever run for 26 miles!

We settled into a good 9-9.20 pace, and I was just enjoying having so much company and so many people to talk to. I do most of my long runs solo, so not only was I happy to be running my "marathon", but also just to have company on a long run was amazing!

Beth is training for her first marathon, so about halfway through our second lap, she hit a new personal distance record. I love it when I get to be around for this stuff. I seem to get more excited than the people who are actually setting their record, but I think it's fun to celebrate those little milestones!

During the second loop, my neuroma started becoming a big pain in the arse. That darn thing hasn't hurt for awhile, so I guess it was due to make an appearance. It didn't help that I was on trails, either, so every rock I stepped on just hurt like murder. Well, maybe not that badly, but it certainly wasn't like running on marshmallows!

We finished up the second loop only 20 seconds slower than the first loop and dropped Beth off with a new distance record under her belt. Matt, Jess and I took off again, for a final 7 mile out and back. It was about 2 miles into this section of the run that I really started feeling the miles. I never hit the wall, which I was ecstatic about, but things were just getting creaky.

We turned around about 3.5 miles in, and from there I knew this was the final stretch. At this point, Matt started picking up the pace and my goal became to just keep up with him. He was literally flying those last few miles and I just tried to stay right behind him and put one foot in front of the other, neuroma be damned!

We finished up 26.2 miles in 4.16.58, which is technically a new personal record! It makes me wonder what I would've been capable had I run New York.

As we came around the final bend, Beth had set up a "finish line" of birthday streamers for me to run through. I started laughing but was so touched at the effort!

Running through my finish line!

Afterwards, Beth put a medal around my neck and gave me a "milar blanket" made out of a garbage bag. I have the BESTEST friends ever.

I was definitely tired and feeling the 26.2 miles, but as usual after any great marathon, I was a super happy camper and so thankful that my friends lifted the disappointment and put on a great "race" for me.

Seattle running besties Jess, me and Beth! 

Despite not getting to run NYC this year, I still had an incredible day and am so thankful for my friends who "understand" this crazy running obsession.

Now I'm itching to do another sanctioned marathon this month...stay tuned for details!

Awesome Day Off

My boss convinced me to work the next seven days straight, so I made sure I had an awesome day off yesterday.

I knew I needed to get in 15 miles for my long run this week, so I decided to tackle them yesterday. The timing was less than ideal, since it hasn't been a full week since my 22 miler, but I do what I can!

I slept in until 6, and took my time making myself a good breakfast and getting ready to run. I did an out and back along the Burke Gilman Trail and I've decided I really love doing out and backs. I'm not sure why, but it gives me a turning point, or something to look towards.

Blurry Burke Gilman

I didn't really have many expectations for the run today. Last night, I even was thinking how little a 15 miler is. Hah! Not little at all! Marathon training toootally screws with your long run perceptions!

I didn't look at my watch much the first few miles, but when I did, I was hitting a great pace! I couldn't believe I was going so fast. I even saw some 7s in there, and I felt like I was hardly working. I love it when that happens during runs. And I'm not sure that has ever happened during a long run for me.

I had planned to turn around at mile 7, but was just feeling so awesome, I decided to turn around just after 8 miles and turn it into a 16 mile run. I headed back along the trail and continued to feel great!

I didn't really start feeling tired until mile 14, but was able to stay strong the final two miles to finish up 16!

Killed it.

Such a great run! I just about galloped down the sidewalk to my apartment I was on such a runner's high. I've been feeling that high so frequently lately and it makes me feel lucky!

I did my best to recover quickly from my morning of fun because I was meeting my Tough Mudder team at Carkeek Park for a run later that afternoon. I know it probably wasn't the smartest idea to run again when I was supposed to be tapering, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hang with my crew!

My crew. Not everyone was present for Carkeek, but we sure make an awesome team!

Carkeek was gorgeous today. I'd never been to that park before, and it's my new favorite! I can't believe how close I am to so many trails. It's amazing there are so many within the city of Seattle. And even more if you are willing to drive 20-30 minutes.

We did a loop that was about 2 miles long, twice. The first time around, we hiked up several of the hills and came in around 21 minutes. The second time, we apparently decided to race the whole thing and finished in 18 minutes. These dudes are exhausting! Haha, it was really fun, though. And with views like this, how can you not love life?!

After our run, everyone was headed over to our Crossfit box for a workout. I couldn't pass that up! Good thing I brought lots of snacks!

In deciding to do another workout for the day, I promised myself I would't overdo it and try to go a little easier. I did just that and really focused on cheering on my friends and having fun.

Our WOD included a barbell complex with a deadlift, and a full power clean with a squat. If that makes no sense, don't worry about it. Haha!

My partner is running a half marathon this weekend, so she was fine with taking it easy.

So partner 1 started with 5 sets of the barbell complex, then partner 2 went. When both people were finished with the barbell, partner one heads out for a 300 meter run while partner 2 rows until they come back.

Then you complete 6 sets of the barbell complex with each partner, and then switch rowing and running. I enjoyed this workout a lot, but definitely held back. We tried to get through as many rounds as possible in 16 minutes. My partner and I got up to 10 barbell complex's each. Woo! My shoulders were burning from those cleans!

I headed home in an exhausted, but crazy happy state. I only got more excited when I checked my mail and found this waiting for me:

Can't wait for NYC!!!

Last Long Run

22 miles. Longest training run I've ever done. Boom!

This run was everything I wanted it to be. It was challenging in all the right ways and so fulfilling and OMG I LOVE RUNNING!

But let's start at the beginning.

When making my training plan this time around, I decided to incorporate two 20 milers and one 22 miler. I felt like I was in a good place to handle the distance and that this would make me more confident on race day.

I woke up Friday morning ready for my last long run of this training cycle. I knew this run was going to be difficult, but I was also brimming with excitement.

Full of excitement. And wearing my 2011 NYC Marathon Shirt. Obviously. 

I had decided to head out to Alki Beach in West Seattle for my run. I had the 22 miles all planned out, complete with 2 pretty intense hills at miles 1.5-4 and 14-16. As I was driving over, the rain was coming down pretty steady, but as I was pulling in to park, it magically stopped. Call me superstitious  but I knew then it was going to be a good run.

Grey day, but no rain!

Although my legs were pretty lead-like thanks to my run straight up and down Tiger Mountain two days prior, I was trucking along just fine and made it up and down the first hill feeling good.

I was pretty happy with my mile splits and was holding somewhat steady just above 8:30 for most of them. I have to admit, I was somewhat holding back a bit most of the time because I didn't want to burn out too badly before the end. After my last big hill around mile 16, since I was still feeling stellar, I told myself to start picking up my pace a bit. I was hoping to hover right around 8:30s for miles 17-19, and then pick up even more speed between 20-22.

Unfortunately, I think I tried to pick it up a little too early. I hit 8:20 for a few miles, but then started getting really tired. My last two miles were nothing short of challenging. I was reminded of how difficult those final miles of the marathon were last year. The last two miles I was just trying to get through. I kept thinking how much I wanted to walk, but just kept shuffling along. I hope this helps come marathon day!

I finished 22 miles in 3 hours and 14 minutes. Despite how hard those final miles were, I couldn't help but be excited and happy. If I can hold this pace for four more miles, I will have a sub 4 marathon under my belt!

Allison smiles!

I am so excited to rock NYC Marathon I can't stand it! I am well-trained and mentally ready! The next two weeks are taper-time, which is not my forte. My goal is just to keep my legs from getting overly tired. Especially next week. Here we go NYC!