"I don't have time."

Ok.  I am not going to sit here and lecture you about having the time or making the time to workout.  It's a decision and a commitment you have to make.  BUT as I look back on my marathon training, I can't help but think of all the time I had to "make."  There was never a time when I was just sitting around with absolutely NOTHING to do.  I had to create that time.  There are a million excuses out there that you can make every single day.  We are all busy.  It's worth it and once you get started, you will feel the difference and crave it!  Make it part of your daily life and don't give it up for anything!

 TRUTH!!!!

 This has nothing to do with "time" but I love it.  It makes me laugh!

This is it.

It's almost here. We are going to do this. When we signed up last fall and when we started training after Christmas, the marathon seemed so far away. So far away. Like it wasn't real. Am I really going to complete all this training and then run this race? I knew it was going to be a lot of work. A LOT! I never skipped my runs/workouts before but this was serious. We weren't messing around and we didn't. We did all the training. We are actually over in total mileage. We are ready and I am super excited!! 26.2 miles. HERE WE COME!!!!

I like this. Mental Focus 85%. Physical Skill 15%. There is a lot of truth to that.

We had our last "long" run yesterday. (We did 8. Funny how that seemed to take like 5 minutes after our hours and hours of running over the past couple of months!) It felt great!! We are so ready for this.

Mark treated us to cinnamon crunch bagels. He's gonna have to stop this after the marathon. We won't have to extra calories to spare! Jess is so special. She was the one I captured eating it. Isn't this a flattering picture?? Your welcome, Jess. ;)

Afterwards, we went shopping for our race outfit. We have to look good. We laughed and laughed. Those poor people in the store! It was a good warm-up for next weekend!! Here are some pics. The final outfit is actually concealed. You'll have to wait until Saturday to see it!

We LOVED these pants. They were second to what we bought but they just didn't make the cut.

We are definitely counting down now. Jess said it best, "I don't want it to be over. There is something special about the "first." We'll never have a first again." She's right but I am sooooo super pumped!! Come on FRIDAY!!!

I love this sport!!

"Even without that special purpose, marathon running is a sport of goodwill. It's the only sport in the world where if a competitor falls, the others around will pick him or her up. It's the only sport in the world open to absolutely everyone, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or any other division you can think of. It's the only occasion when thousands of people assemble, often in a major city, for a reason that is totally peaceful, healthy and well-meaning. It's the only sport in the world where no one ever boos anybody.

If you're losing your faith in human nature, look at marathon crowds, standing for hours with no seating, no cover, no bathrooms, to cheer thousands of strangers. Or look at our sport's volunteers, on whose shoulders the whole sport rests."

I love these things.....

60 POUNDS PEOPLE!!!

My friend shared this morning that she's lost 60 POUNDS!!!!  I am so super proud of her!!  How you might ask?  Jazzercise and watching what she eats!!!!!  It can be done!!  Make the decision to change and do it!!!! 

In her words:

"I love Jazzercise and all the instructors and my classmates. The biggest blessing is the love and support of family and friends and the "new" life I'm getting to share with (her husband.)"

10 miler

Daniel finished up the Triple Crown with the Papa John's 10-miler yesterday!!!  I am so super proud of this guy!!  He did so well with an average pace of 8:23!  The kids think he's a rockstar!!

In his words:  Wow, I felt really good during that race.  I could definitely do another mini.

 

Guess what I am feverishly trying to find?

And now we taper.....

I knew this 20 miler was going to be tougher than the last one!  I won't bore you with the reasons that I thought that but I just did and I was right.  It was a tough run.  You have to have those every once in a while though.  Keeps you coming back for more!!  You know the next one will be better!  Here we are.......20 miles HERE WE COME!

  We planned a route that we've never done before.  Lori wrote the directions on her arm with a Sharpie so we wouldn't get lost.  Yup, we still got lost!

Here I am during the run.  It was tough but I persevered!

And post run!!  WAHOO!!!  We finished.  Now we taper!!!!  12 miles next week sounds like such a short run!

Excited just isn't strong enough.  I cannot wait!!!  I know the weekend is going to go so fast!!  It's time to start planning the next one!

What a guy!

This man was following this gal today.  I am guessing it's husband/wife maybe.  It looked like he had all of her necessities in his backpack for her.  Sweet!

The Peak

We are definitely at the very peak of our training and we are definitely feeling it.  We did 20 the weekend before spring break.  This past weekend was a down week so we did 14.  Our two longest runs this week are a 10 in the morning and another 20 on Saturday.  After 20, we taper until the RACE!  It's all mental now.  We did hills again today.  My quads feel like they are shredded.  We've heard people say that the training is the hardest part and I definitely think this right NOW is what they are talking about.

I turned my calendar over to April yesterday and got so excited when I saw APRIL 27 MARATHON on it.  I feel like we've been preparing for so long and it's almost here!!!  I can't wait!!!  Excited just seem like a strong enough word to use!!!!  I'll keep you posted!  :)