Oh my goodness, it's almost here!!!

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That's the reality that sunk in today as J'aime and I went on our 11 mile run - our last big run before the race! I'm surprised to say that it went good! I'm really impressed with our work. You're not going to believe this but, when I started training back in mid-December all the way until today, I've run a total of 127 miles!!! By the end of this 1/2 marathon, I'll have run 149 miles. I honestly can't believe it.

A couple of random things to share...

1.) This is the FIRST time in my entire life where during the winter I did not catch the cold/flu/plague. I am notorious for just walking past someone and catching their illness, stuck in a funk for weeks. I think it's because I'm healthier - there's some benefit to this madness. :)

2.) I have the funniest diamond-shaped tan lines where my elbows bend from running outside with my arms bent by my sides. Did you know it sweats like crazy in there when you run? Seriously... go on a 2 mile run and see! Something you never learn until you actually do it I guess.

3.) I'm not sure I'll ever aspire to run a full marathon. J'aime and I are going to keep running on the weekends and we'll see where it goes from there. She plans on doing one in December with her fam. I'm really excited for her. I actually told Jake that after this I was done! It was a great experience, but I'm done. And his response was, "But you've got all of the gear now. How could you stop?" Well, because I'm friggin' tired. :) I actually have some plans for future running - so I'm not totally done. I promised my mother-in-law that I'd run a 10K race (I think it's called Theta Breakers) in SF this Fall. And I've tried to convince my dad to do the FAT's 1/2 marathon in AZ in January with me. He's not a runner, but he always likes to try new things. Am I crazy again? Maybe I like the torture.

4.) I am so damn proud of myself! (sorry Megan for the cursing - she's a student in my youth group that always writes me encouraging comments) :)

5.) Don't ever wear grey cotton capris for a semi-long run. I went to the gym on Thursday, ran 5 miles, and sweat so bad it looked like I had an "accident" down "there". It's black runners' pants for me!

6.) This is the most depressing note of my randomness ---- Treadmills are wrong. While using my Nike Plus gear for runs that shows my distance, pace, and calories burned, it shows that treadmills are off by about .15 miles - ahead!!! So, all of this time when I thought I was running 5 miles... I was only running like 4.25 miles. Talk about a motivation killer when I looked down and noticed I wasn't even close to finishing my workout. It makes sense. Treadmills can't keep track of any individual's pace and steps taken. Such a bummer! I'm still not subtracting that from my total miles run.

7.) My low-key training schedule for this week:
Monday - Stretch & Strengthen
Tuesday - 4 mile run
Wednesday - 3 mile run
Thursday - 2 mile run
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Half Marathon!

8.) No one ever told me that a 'Runner's High' is only a temporary feeling you get right after a run. All of this time I had been expecting to "feel high" all of the time. Total bummer! I was talking with my intern Chris about my workouts and complained, "I don't get this Runner's High thing." He just laughed and said, "Uh, yeah, it's only right after your runs. It's not all of the time!" What the?! Oh well. I normally have about a 1-2 day buzz where I'm cheerier and less stressed than normal. It's great and then it wears off and I have to go run again. I'm actually the coolest, nicest person on my runner's high! :) That would probably be a top reason of why I'd like to keep running.

9.) I have gained about 8 pounds during this training - muscle, not fat. My body hasn't changed dramatically like I had hoped, but I do feel stronger than ever. No Jennifer Aniston body. Something cool though is, with my hands being so weak from arthritis and carpal tunnel, it's nice to know that my legs can do something cool like this.

10.) Yes, I'm going to get a little spiritual on you all...

1 Corinthians 9:24
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."

Hebrews 12:1
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Amen and Amen! :)