randoms.

I have had about 4 million and one things running through my brain over the past few days. so here we go. bullet form. we will scratch three things Thursday tomorrow because of this...

• the marine corps marathon is 12 days away. so i am starting to figure out times and where i need to be on the course at certain times. for example, i need to be at mile 17.5 in 4 hours and mile 20 in like 4 hours and 40 minutes. when i ran Disney in January, I hit mile 20 at 4 hours and 21 minutes, so *hopefully* I should be fine. am i allowed to write things like 17.5=4 hrs and 20=4.41 hrs on my hand?! or what about 1:15 (since that is when the bridge cut off happens)? Would you judge me? But who doesn't start second guessing themselves going into a freaking marathon????
• i was looking at the weather for Northern VA (the 10 day forecast) and a lot of rain is planned for the week of the race. lets hope there is no more rain in the sky on race day. looks like i am bringing my running rain coat. oi.
• i am having a rocking month of miles so far. just look ----->
• there has been a lot of talk about the Boston marathon and the qualifying times and charity runners and how it sold out in 8 hours blah blah blah and i know i do not see eye to eye with a lot of people on this topic of discussion, so i am not even going to go there. but i do think that Boston is something that so many people work towards and when they do qualify it is an exciting moment in a runner's career (a  moment I may never be able to experience) and i personally am impressed and excited for everyone who has had their BQ moment. and that is all i am gonna say about that.
•  i need to get a massage, pronto. my little legs are getting heavy and sore. I need to have all the kink worked out before running 26.2 miles. i think i am gonna plan for one Sunday. do 1 last long run Saturday and then get a good rub down. any suggestions for somewhere in Atlanta.
• i decided to run my marathon in a running skirt. i hope i do not regret that decision. now i gotta figure out what to wear on top, but i am leaning towards a tank. yes. i may freeze but that is okay.
• i am having an internal struggle with if i should or should not get a flu shot. i have been getting one for 3 years and nothing has ever happened, but since i am getting so close to my marathon i am scared to risk it. but then i am gonna be on a plane so i feel like i should be getting one. to flu shot now or to wait is the question...
• I am really excited about the MCM tweetup that is happening on Friday night.  I am excited about meeting people at the Brooks table at the Expo on Friday. There have been so many people on Twitter encourage each other from the day we signed up till now that I want to put a face with a @name.
• I ordered a ragnar hoodie in gray and I really hope I have it in time for my trip home to DC for MCM. With my luck, it will come Thursday afternoon... the day I fly out. =)  ...I am hoping there is a MCM hoodie I can buy at the Expo.  Barbie loves Hoodies.
• so. this right here makes me nervous. don't know why. but hello nerves.
• Right now I have 7.5 hours of music for the marathon. I think I have more than enough tunes to get me through. Some songs are on there about 5 times, but that i becaue i love them and they make me move.

and i will leave you with this: Run hard, be strong, think big. -- Percy Cerutty
and that i all i think. goodnight.

3 days till ING

We are counting down the days now to the ING Georgia Half & Full Marathon. I signed up for this race coming off the Disney Marathon when I said I would never ever ever do a full again. Thankfully so, since I am once again no where near in half marathon shape (and because I am wickedly congested and at the tail end of a chest and head cold ... which evidently is floating around Atlanta and plaguing many a ING runners -- feel better if you're sick and running!!).

I have never done this race so please do not think I am giving out any tips, secrets, or pointers because well I am not. All I know is what I have heard and all I have heard is that it is well organized, well run, and hilly. So, I did what I normally do and looked for an elevation map. And well it does appear to be quite the hilly course. Mile 6 looks like it will be a doozy (wait, wasn't mile 6 the rough one in San Fran too?!) and that it will be 100% up hill and into mile 7 and finally giving us a break around mile 8. Luckily it looks like mile 11 (when I will be for sure out of steam) is downhill and that the last mile or so is fairly flat with some little hills.

The weather is supposed to be rainy. Last I heard there was a 60% chance of rain.... which means I will for sure be sporting my new pink Nike rain jacket. I do have my fingers crossed that the rain will hold off until AFTER the race but with my luck that won't happen. I tried to look at the hour-by-hour predictions on weather.com and I guess it is too far away to predict what will happen come 7 am on Sunday morning.

Oh well. Good luck to everyone running, walking, crawling, skipping, whatever their way to the finish. If you're doing it, let me know, maybe we can suffer this out together! Happy Running!

Rainy 5k - Big Pumpkin!

I have never ran in the rain until today. I have been a huge wimp, worried my Garmin is actually not waterproof and that my iPod will electrocute my brain. That has all changed today... my Garmin is dry and still functions and my brain did not get shocked at all! =) Score!

BTW - Happy Halloween!!=)

This morning I ran the 2nd annual Big Pumpkin Run 5k in Roswell, GA. The course was pretty nice (for a local 5k race) but the whole situation was super unorganized. As I was driving there this morning I was telling myself to not psych myself out - the hills cannot be that bad ... after all I just ran in San Fransisco! And I think my pep talk in the car was useful but the hills weren't as bad when on foot... they looked worse by car. (Elavation map above.) But frustration set in when there was barely enough parking. I ended up parking illegally, praying to the Gods above my car would still be there when I finished. Then I went to get my race number and they ended up having no safety pins ... they had run out. I was told to tuck my race number in my shorts. Yeah... paper against skin didn't seem like a good idea. I finally asked someone who had 4 safety pins if they could spare one, just one. Lesson learned: be self sufficient. Bring your on safety pins. *my team in training coaches would be so disappointed in me. they always say to bring your own!!*

The race was rainy and cold. When I let my dog out this morning it was hot and humid so I ditched my running jacket on the couch and headed out in shorts and a tee. As soon as I got my race number the skies opened up and the temps dropped. Needless to say, I was freezing cold. Another Lesson Learned: in the fall... dress in layers no matter what.... you can always take off, but you cannot put on if you don't have it. Well... the rain kinda halted, it was misting at the beginning, but by the time we got to mile 1 and then mile 2 and then the finish it was basically pouring. The rain and wind made you work all the much harder ... but each workout you have to challenge yourself right? All you could do was laugh at the situation... call yourself crazy... and enjoy the run. I got frustrated by 7 high schoolers who would sprint sprint sprint and then slam on the breaks and stop in their tracks. I ran into them countless times, they "ran" 7 wide, and I just could not get away from them thanks to their sprinting bursts. Other than that, the run was not that bad.

The ride home was cold in my wet clothes. I had puddles in my shoes. 3rd lesson learned: if rain is forecasted (which it was) bring a change of clothes and shoes. Getting sick is not worth a 3.2 mile run! =)

Finish time: 35 min & 54 seconds.
Lots of lessons learned. Great learning experience. Fingers crossed Disney is dry!! I cannot wait to see if they captured any pictures of me. Doubtful because my number was turned around most of the race, but I cannot wait to see myself as a sopping mess!

Happy Halloween to all and happy running!! =)