Ready or Not (mostly not) Here I Come.

Me, Marc & my dad after St. George 2005

4:44:03 (a respectable first time finish, I suppose)

Marc got an email this morning reminding us that we only have 21 days, 14 hours, 25 minutes (as of this moment--4:14 pm) until we run (walk?) the St. George Marathon. I clicked on the link in the email to read the race info and instantly got butterflies.

Back in March, there were two gung-ho(?) groups signing up to hopefully beat the lottery system and get in to the marathon. I'll be honest, after training for St. George in 2005 with only one child and Marc on his summer break, I was a bit nervous as to how training with two kids and Marc's long hours would work out. I was not as gung-ho as the rest. In early May, we found out that luckily(?) we all got in. Training began. I was a regular at the gym and one morning a week my mom would come over at the crack of dawn to watch the boys so Marc and I could go out and run a long run. While I never had my heart in the game, I did as much running as I could and at the beginning of August ran a 16 miler. As crazy as it sounds, the run wasn't hard. (WHAT!?! 16 miles wasn't hard? Well, it wasn't that hard.) Then, on August 19th, while on a hilly 5 miler with a friend, I tweaked my left knee. My confidence sank. I've been nursing my knees and my confidence ever since. I tried to run the America Discovery Trail 1/2 Marathon here in Colorado Springs on Labor Day and only ran 8 miles of it--walked the last 5. This time it was both knees. While many of my friends have tried to tell me that it was a noble effort indeed, it's not really that comforting, though I appreciate their support. Sorry girls, I just have to say that when you can only run 8 miles 4 weeks before you're supposed to run 26.2, well, do the math. It's not that comforting. Since Labor Day, I've been splitting my training time between cross training and running. It's possible that my knees can take it but questionable as to if my mind can get back into it. A HUGE part of being able to run 26 miles is mindset so I've got to get my mind back in the game. Tomorrow I'm hoping to run 6 on the treadmill, go to a 1 hour and 15 minute spin class and then run 6 more miles. If I'm feeling good, I might try to add a few more miles in just to see if I can. I know my heart is strong. I'm not sure about my knees. But, ready or not and I'm mostly not, St. George, here I come.