RFE TR #39

Total Miles Trained For Elijah: 303.1

Well I have broken the 300 mile marker!!!! Hooray!

Before I *gush* about today's run, I would like to formally wish GOOD LUCK to five very special ladies (all of whom are part of Team Elijah): Melisa, Chris, Petra, Maddy and Shirley. Melisa will be running a half-marathon in Columbus, Ohio this weekend. Go Melisa! Chris is running a 5-mile race at the University of Central Florida this weekend. She'll get to strut her stuff before the big Marine Core Marathon! Petra is running the Amsterdam Marathon -- wow! Oh to be there! Miss Maddy is running her FIRST FULL MARATHON in San Francisco this weekend. I am very excited for her and envious of her Tiffany finishing gift! And our Humble Triathlete. Shirley, is running the Lewis & Clark Marathon in Nebraska. GOOD LUCK LADIES! I will be thinking of all of you as I do 17 miles on Saturday!

And, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the TWO yellow shirts I ordered as candidates for marathon day attire! I will be proud to run with "I Run For Elijah" printed on there!

So I set my alarm for 4:30 AM. I woke up way before it -- a sign that I needed to be out there pounding the pavement. I turned it off and laid in bed. I woke up on my own at 4:51 and got the ball rolling. Since my ipod is still in the shop, I decided to run without music. As I was standing in the kitchen getting ready to go I thought to myself "Gosh, running without music makes my load seem much lighter." Within one mile I realized why I felt so light... I FORGOT TO BRING WATER. Can you believe that? DUH. I rolled my eyes at myself! Ha. So I decided to run one mile, then turn back for home. Believe me, I contemplated stopping at 2 miles when I went to get the water. It was super humid out there. Ick. But I knew I better get back out there. I really enjoy the early morning; I'd hate to miss that opportunity. Mile 1, 11:30 (too fast). Mile 2, 11:28 (too fast).

I did the next mile in my neighborhood, then I decided that I'd had enough of that. Mile 3, 11:41 (too fast). So I headed back out to the service road where I originally started. Mile 4, 13:48 (obviously too slow, too much dilly-dallying). I decided that I must step it up! I took my Power Bar Chocolate Gel, which gets a review of "eh, OK" and it didn't really do much for me, energy-wise. But the remaining miles were good ones. Mile 5, 12:09 (too fast). Mile 6, 12:22 (perfect!). Mile 7, 11:22 (too fast - but I wanted to finish).

I am happy to report that my ankle did well. On Tuesday it was screaming at me. Today it merely whispered. I hope it is mute on Saturday! I have my 17-mile course all picked out. Chasen's mother will be visiting, so it looks like my pit crew is about to expand. We shall see. My route will include new territory: Racetrack Road. Apparently there are horses back there!

In other news, Elijah is hosting a Halloween party on Saturday, since he'll be in the hospital on the big day. I have told everyone that I am going dressed as a runner. HA!