Gearing Up for Race Day

It's already race time! Tomorrow morning is the Heart of the Rockies Half Marathon in Loveland.  Did I get in those speed sessions I was planning on? Nope. Did I do another long run or two? I did one. Ten miles last Tuesday. I don't think my five miles on Wednesday count as a long run but they felt nice. Since my knees acted up on that last 10 miler I decided to give them a break. I might have to break down and use some KT tape tomorrow but we'll see how they're feeling.

Today I'm rocking my compression socks and continuing to try to get hydrated.  Even though I've had at least 3-4 large bottles of water just at work alone, every day this week, I'm still thirsty like I'm sitting out in the summer sun. It's crazy!

Speaking of summer sun. Can you believe this forecast for the weekend? Looks like I'll be rocking shorts and a t-shirt again for this race. I can't believe it! Hello global warming is all I can say for nearly 80 degress in Colorado in November. Can't complain though I'm not looking forward to the commute to/from work once the snow hits.

  

So tonight I'll be eating some of this...

and this...

...while I relax and drink 5 more bottles of water and Gatorade. Hopefully I won't feel as blah and exhausted as I have the past few days when I wake up tomorrow morning. Race report to come.

Did you say PR!?!

Today something totally unexpected happen...that's right I set a new 1/2 marathon PR. I honestly was shocked while I was running and realized that I was going to PR.  Especially since I hadn't trained. But let me back up.

Last night Josh and went down to our friend Russell's house.  Russell, Josh and our friend Jason and I enjoyed some of my delicious homemade spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Mmmm. Totally hit the spot. I went to bed early like a good runner while the boys stayed up. Unfortunately for me I was a light sleeper because when Josh came to bed it woke me up and I was unable to fall back to sleep for any significant amount of time. 

I rolled out of bed about 4:30 am, did my normal morning routine and jumped in the car to head to the race.  Once I got downtown I made my way to Civic Center Park.  I am glad that I had done this race before because there was zero signage telling people where to go. I was really surprised since the Rock N' Roll races are usually better organized.  I held onto my warm clothes as long as possible before heading to the corral. 

By about five after 7 am I was on my way across the finish line.  I was feeling good, not worrying about my pace when my first walk break alarm went off. I thought about ignoring it but decided hey, this is my plan and I should stick to it.  When we hit the only really steep hill around mile 4 people were dropping. The hill was hard but I powered up it. I remembered passing a lot of people in that same spot last year. 

A lap past the zoo, around the Denver Nature and Science Museum and I was already more than half way...still feeling good! At that point I looked at my watch and realized that I could probably PR if I just kept moving at about the same pace.  I didn't want to get cocky just yet.

Next up was Cheeseman Park. I remembered that last year there was a fairly long incline.  Not a problem I was still feeling great.  By the time I was half way up that it was time for a walk break and a my last gel.  This is apparently right where I missed Josh and Russell who had been waiting there to see me.  Once we were out of the park there was only a little over a mile left.  Even better it was flat with a slight downhill about a half mile from the finish and I was still on track to PR.

When I saw the shoot to the finish I sped up.  I breezed past the 13 mile marker and sprinted.  I was proud of myself for having enough energy to speed up.  I crossed the finish line and knew I had PRed and it felt good!

Splits courtesy of my Garmin:

Mile 1-9:33
Mile 2-9:38
Mile 3-9:27
Mile 4-9:23
Mile 5-9:44
Mile 6-9:45
Mile 7-9:36
Mile 8-9:06
Mile 9-9:42
Mile 10-9:33
Mile 11-9:38
Mile 12-9:23
Mile 13-9:03
Mile .25-1:54

Time: 2:05:10   Distance: 13.25 miles   Avg. Pace: 9:27 min/mile

So really I hit the 13.1 distance at 2:03:53. Which is awesome and a huge PR.  That is nearly 10 minutes faster than I finished this race last year and 2 minutes faster than Moab (which was primarily downhill).  But of course that's not what my chip time was.  Not gonna lie I'm kinda bummed I had to take the marathon medal even though I only did the half. Oh well. A medal is a medal.

Chip Time Stats:

Time: 2:05:09   Avg. Pace: 9:32 min/mile

Still a PR, but only by about 50 seconds.  Hey I'll take it! Maybe I shouldn't train more often. That or this run/walk thing is an excellent idea.  I really need to run a sea level race and I definitely be under 2 hours.  Hmmm.

I met Josh and Russell back at the car and we met my dad and brother Ted at Toast in Cherry Creek North. I was so hungry I had a really hard time deciding what to eat. I finally settled on the breakfast burrito with a pancake on the side. Definitely satisfied my sweet and salt craving.  As we were driving back to Russell's house to pick up Josh's stuff we passed by Bonnie Brae Ice Cream. Of course we had to stop for a celebatory cone. Mmmm.

My legs are a bit sore but I think that once I foam roll I'll be all good.  Woohoo for unexpected PRs!  As it turns out I may be faster than I give myself credit for. This is motivation to get my act together for my next race.

Girls Gone Wild or Just Camping

*Playing catch-up with this post.

I haven't been spending nearly enough time with the girls. This weekend we packed up the Escape and drove to Lake McCounaughy. Sarah and Lisa spent the night on Friday night because we were getting up super early to head out. Rache arrived around 5:45 am and by 6:15 we were on the road. Everyone was pretty groggy until we got to Ogallala where they go their coffee fix.

Once Thalia, Melinda and Sheila arrived we headed to the lake. We tried the spot where we spent the 4th of July. There was a huge family camped there and the water was above where we camped last time. I could not believe how high the water was.

This is where we had our first adventure...Thalia's car got a little stuck going back up the rough sandy road. Luckily with Melinda behind the wheel it made it up. I followed right behind. I was super nervous taking the new car up it but we made it on my first try!

Final we found a spot in Arthur's Bay and got all set up. It was almost 100 degrees and the water was the only place to be.

Note to self...97 degree temps, pink panty droppers, and nothing but a granola bar in the stomach are a bad combination. After a small incident and a nap in the sand I was refreshed.

We drank, we swam, we laughed and lounged. By dusk we were ready to eat and relax. Smores...mmm so good!

As is the trend there was another huge storm. We could hear the rain approaching as it crossed the lake which was pretty cool.  The next morning we took a dip in the lake to get the sand off, packed up and headed into Ogallala for some deliciousness at Valentino's.

We were the first customers there.  After we were stuffed to the gills we headed home, but not before we got Thalia this awesome mustache and mini Blizzards from DQ.

Good girls weekend for sure!

So about deodorant

Last night was busy. After another crazy busy day I headed home to get ready for my sister and brother-in-law and our niece and nephews to arrive for the night. They had a busy day at Cheyenne Frontier Days and planned to crash at our house then head back up to Cheyenne for an air show later today. Anyway, I ran into the house, opened the windows, turned on our house fan…so hot, through the sheets in the dryer, fed our little fur-baby and headed to the gym. If I was going to get in my workout I had to do it right away.

Luckily there was actually a treadmill available. It was amazing for one to be open during the after work rush. I got on and started my 1200 meter warm-up. On the schedule I had 4x1200s @ 7:51-8:13 min/mile pace. First bad sign, I forgot my water. Second bad sign, there was already condensate on the windows.

Then a nice middle-ish aged women got on the treadmill next to me. I was almost finished with the first recovery interval when it hit me…the third bad sign. It was that awful I forgot my deodorant this morning but thought I could squeak by without it even though it’s almost 100 degrees outside smell. Yikes. Now of course, we’re all working out and I’m the first one to admit after a run I am smelly. But this was overwhelming. I actually began feel nauseated. It was stifling really in the heat of the gym.

Between that and knowing I had to hurry up to meet everyone for dinner at The Pumphouse I cut my workout one interval short. So I ended up doing 3x1200 @ 8 min/mile pace. Better than nothing right!

Stats:

Time: 40:23 mins   Distance: 4.5 miles   Avg. Pace: 8:58 min/miles

I went to dinner straight from the gym. Sweat and all. I’m sure Josh was thinking man did you forget deodorant too. It all comes back around.

Tonight I’m enjoying some Indian food with Rache at our local place, Flavors of India. It’s so good. Can’t wait to catch up and eat lots of saag.

Oh yes and a big CONGRATULATIONS to Hilary and Ed Lammon! They welcomed their baby boy on Monday. He's so adorable isn't he. No name has been decided on yet, so they're still calling him bean.

I think that he definitely looks like Ed, at least for now.

The Sinking City of Venice

*Only five month late*

To Review the Rest of the Trip:

Rome

Florence

Pisa

Cinque Terre

Bologna

Verona

I've said for years that I had to get to Venice before it was completely under water. Now of course I know this will not happen in my lifetime, but each year it does sink and I wanted to make sure I got to see it before it was a huge mess. 

Can you see the excitement on my face?  Yes, I was freezing.  This is the only day on our trip that I felt the weather was almost unbearable. It was snowing and really cold.  I was really wishing I hadn't lost one of my gloves in Florence.

We road on the water bus to San Marco and ventured down this extremely narrow street to get to our hotel. 

Check out the classic Venice decor.  Eek. 

We didn't really have any plans so we just headed towards Piazza San Marco. Pizzaza San Marco is the main square in Venice. It's home to St. Mark's Basillica, the Doge's Palace, the a super cool clocktower.  It also is the most likely to flood portion of the entire city.  When we got there the raised sidewalks were setup and there was about 3 inches of standing water. By the end of the day it had subsided. Here are a few pics:

We were chilled to the bones so we went to find something warm to drink.  We had been looking for a cake shop that was in our Time Out Guide, but of course it was no where to be found. So we stopped for some delicious treats and cioccolato caldo.  This was not just any hot chocolate, it was literally like a Cadbury bar had been melted and poured into the cup.  Had we known how to say whipped cream we would have.  It may have been easier to drink or eat with a spon.  We drank what we could but we were both on serious chocolate overload.  I know you're thinking wow, too much chocolate for Jess..amazing.

The second part of our day we headed to the famous Teatro La Fenice.  It's burned twice and been completely rebuilt.  Here's a couple pics we snuck. 

We were disappointed that there were no shows going on, but I suppose we could always go back another time. After quick nap we headed to dinner at a local restaurant by another theater.  It was the first restaurant that didn't look shady and was affordable.  It wasn't so bad.

The next day we went to Verona which you saw the review of already.  On the way there we cruised through this great outdoor market.  Wouldn't it be nice to get this fresh of food all the time?

Our final day in Venice coincided with the celebration of Befana Festival.  It is a celebration of the Ephipany.  The morning started off with a very special boat race.  This race's competitors are all middle aged men that dress up as witches.  They looked pretty great.

At the conclusion of the race they brought a large stocking and hung it from the Rialto bridge.  To Josh and I this seemed like a combination of Christmas and Halloween.  Good kids get candy from the witch and bad kids get coal. 

We were cruising around town and happened apon a gondalier who was willing to cut us a deal.  So off we were on our Venetian gondola ride.  It was pretty cool cruising around the Grand Canal and seeing the amazing buildings from a different perspective.  We even had tourists taking our pictures.  Here are a few of our favorites from the ride.

After our ride we continued to cruise around town. We headed across the Grand Canal to Dorsoduro.  We got to see Piazza San Marco from across the water and another beautiful church, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. I also walked the path of part of the Venice marathon.  I don't think that it would be much fun, very narrow streets, occasional standing water, and tons of ramps over all of the bridges.

What's the best way to savor your last evening in Venice?  Starting it drinking a cafe and Prosecco on the water watching the sunset. 

Beautiful.

We enjoyed dinner at a tiny little place on one of the canals.  It took us almost an entire hour to find it again and unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the place so I couldn't tell you the name of it. It was pretty delicious and the staff was hilarious! 

And like that our trip was over. 

Women, Food and God

Several weeks ago while Claire and I walked around MacIntosh Lake she told me about a book she had seen on Oprah, Women, Food and God. It sounded interesting to me as we had just been discussing body image issues, etc.  When my mom called and said she was reading it and love it, I thought, ok I'll give it a shot and picked it up at Target. 

I've slowly been reading it, and though it is interesting, none of it has really applied to me because I'm not overweight and I typically eat what I want. That is until we got to the chapter on indulgers and restrictors. I eat healthfully and exercise regularly, but I do tend to flip flop between the two types of eaters.  I rarely will pass up something sweet or my favorite dip because really, life's too short to not eat at least a bite or two of your favorites.  It's better than binging on it later.  I do however find myself being really selective when choosing what else I'll eat that day or the next to make up for my splurge. Just to make sure I'm not worrying anyone, I never skip meals.  Food fuels my body. I do however, choose what I put into it.

Josh and I have totally changed the food we buy. We've eliminated as many processed foods as possible. We get bread from Great Harvest (only a handful of ingredients and it tastes amazing), our chicken and meat from the Farmer's Market (raised naturally eatting better than we do), we're growing our own veggies and when we buy fruit/veggies from the store they are all organic. We're trying to take in as few pesticides, chemicals and hormones as possible.  I'm even looking at the labels when selecting condiments to avoid high fructose corn syrup. Of course we still go out to eat occasionally so we can't control what's in their food.

You'd think this would be making me feel great, but I have been struggling with my own body image lately. Between not running, traveling for work (a recipe for over indulgence) and all sorts of social events going on, I feel like my body is going soft.  Full disclosure, at the height of marathon training I weighed 126-128 lbs.  I was eating a ton (1800 calories-3800 (on long run days)) and was feeling great.  Now I'm 130-134 depending on the day. This is not a huge difference, but to me it is.  My clothes still fit but feel more snug. My once almost visable abs are fading and the light of day I saw in between my thighs is all but gone. I'd love to say it's muscle but ha, who am I kidding.  I've been trying to look in the mirror and tell myself something positive every day, but I'm still feeling heavy and disappointed in my lack of willpower.  I wish I was one of those naturally thin people, but I'm not. I have to work really hard to stay in shape.

I'm nearing the end of the book and the beginning of training again. Hopefully I can get my head on straight and stop being my own worst critic.

I'm 26, are you sure?

Well it’s been 26 years since my terrified parents became my mom and dad. Contray to what my mom may say, I was not a beautiful newborn.  Yeah that's me with the conehead.  Luckily it is now normally shaped and I have hair.

I cannot believe I turned 26 today. I am officially at an age that, even at 22, I thought was old. Now I’m not saying I’m old, because I mean come, 26 isn’t even close to the midpoint of my life. I just cannot believe that I'm not officially closer to 30 than I am to 20.  How did the time fly by so fast?  I swear I was just graduating from high school like five minutes ago.  Even more strange, I feel like my parents just turned 26 not that long ago. In fact, when my stepmom Liz started dating my dad Lmost 18 years ago, she was 26.  What a brave woman to take on a man that had a 8 year and 5 year old.  It's just crazy scary to think that at my age my parents had kids in elementary school. 

My mid-twenties, yes Josh I’m still in my mid-twenties, have been awesome so far:

Age 24-Married my lobster
Age 25-Ran my first marathon and went on an amazing trip to Italy
Age 26-????-We'll see what the year brings.

What I do know is that I’m just a super lucky girl woman. I have wonderful friends and family. I even have wonderful coworkers, case in point, Lisa who brought me this delicious and super cute cake for my birthday. (Thank you one last time!) Nothing better than the smell of cake in the morning when you arrive to your cubicle.

This year is going to be great I know it! How could it not be? I’m happy, healthy (well almost), I have a job, a house, a wonderful, loving husband and dog. Bonus-I get to go on another fabulous European adventure to Paris and London in September, two races already scheduled (hopefully I’ll be able to do them), and all sorts of surprises that are going to pop up. Yeah, it’s going to be good. ;-)

Thanks for all the love and support!

Josh took me out for an amazing dinner at this tiny little restaurant called Praha.  It was one of the best meals I've had in a long time.  I had the Pepper Steak "Galleria". So delicious and beautifully presented. I should have taken a picture but felt silly. Excellent birthday!

P.S. I scheduled my MRI today. I know I wasn't going to do it, but I tried to run again last night...no dice.  It hurt bad.  I have PT on Wednesday and I'm going to order custom orthodics.  MRI is scheduled for first thing on Thursday morning...booo.

Time for Vacation Yet?

Well of course not.  Nope, not until September. Even though the month of May is flying right by, September seems so far away!  It's only 3.5 months away which means October is only 4.5...I have got to get back on the road. I may have to start a countdown. One of the days until our trip to Paris and London (yes, we're going on another fabulous vacation this year. Yeay!) and the other one for the days until the Denver Marathon. 

Still going strong with the challenge and my body is feeling it.  I don't know that I really see any huge changes except that I can get further into the poses than when I first started. The number on the scale has dipped slightly but I think that is because when I get home from a sweaty session at 7 or 8, all I really want is a green monster and some peanut butter graham crackers.  That combo definitely does not replace a real meal. Last night Josh and I forced down some steak and veggies so that we got enough calories for the day.  Last week ended like this:

Wednesday-50 minutes Elliptical+Bikram
Thursday-Bikram
Friday-Off (first day in weeks)
Saturday-75 minutes Elliptical +abs
Sunday-Bikram

This week has started off pretty well though I'm taking today off to grab a beer at Lefthand after work and PT.

Monday-55 mins Elliptical+abs+Bikram
Tuesday-Bikram
Wednesday-Off (I've forgotten how awesome rest days are)

Sarah G. came up to do the class with Brenna and I on Monday. She was suprised at how much of a workout it is. She's going to come next Monday too. I swear the studio should be paying me to do yoga there since I'm bringing in so many newbies. 

Well, lunch is over and it's time to get back to work before I head off to PT this afternoon. Update to come.

Marathon Interrupted

Race morning came way too early.  Late Friday night we heard they may start the race early so instead of meeting at 4:30 we had to meet at 4 am.  Which means I needed to get up around 2:45.  Of course I woke up at 2 and let myself get out of bed about 2:15.  I didn't want to disturb Deanna so I went into the bathroom to start my prerace routine. 

Mini coffee pot was awesome for boiling the water for my oatmeal.  I forgot to bring  a spoon so my toothbrush stirred it and I tried to pour it in my mouth.  Needless to say I was a mess.  I taped the crap out of my leg and ankle with hopes of a pain free race. 

As you can tell I was having some race day nerves. It was time to get dresses and head out the door but not before a few more pictures...

Yes I know I look silly. I got lots of stares and looks, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to hold the legs together. I was determined not to let my ankle tendonitis or calf strain slow me down!

When we got to the starting line it was already pretty warm out and cloudy but not raining.  We dilly dallied for a while but then it was time to head to the starting line. I got right behind the 4:30 pacer who looked all of 18 maybe.  But she sure could run.  About 25 minutes after the first group headed out at 6:45, I crossed the starting line.  Holy hills and humidity.  Remember when I said the course is fairly flat?  Ha, dead wrong. No the hills weren't big but they were long and steady inclines one after another.  The humidity was killer.  Apparently 95-98% humidity negates any sort of altitude advantage.  Regardless I was sticking with the pacer who was actually moving quite a bit faster than the goal pace.

By mile 6.5 I had to start pouring water on my head.  Every water stop, one down the throat, one down my shirt. I could not get my temperature down and it was starting to hurt my pace.  I held on and decided well small change of plans, I'll run/walk...no biggie.  So that's exactly what I started to do.  I passed the 11.2 half marathon turn off and it finally started to get a bit cooler.  The wind picked up and the clouds really moved in.  A few miles down I heard from some other runners that they had closed the course and were making all of the people behind us do the half regardless of it they were registered for the full. I was so happy that I had made the cut!

Three port-o-potty stops later I was almost to mile 16 which means yeah only 10 miles left!  It also was when my calf, ankle and IT started really screaming. I had been stretching my calf every few miles but it just wasn't enough.  I think I must have changed my gait which inflammed my stupid IT band.  A very nice TNT coach from Tennessee was nice enough to hang with me for a few miles and even refill my water bottles.

We were hurried off the greenbelt by the river as the lightning started.  A few minutes later it began to rain. Rain really hard. It was hurting my body when it hit.  It was coming down so hard that it was washing my sweat into my eye which caused burning. So I'm sure I looked ridiculous trying to waddle in the rain with my eyes closed.  Actually it makes me laugh to think about it now.  The police were shouting "Take cover...or you can keep running." I was thinking well which one is it? 

My shoes became cotton and rubber pools.  It got more and more difficult to hold a steady pace at all.  Many runners ran into gas stations and entry ways to take cover from the rain.  Not going to lie it was getting scary out. Between the rain, thunder and lightning it was nasty.  I was definitely looking around for the nearest ditch just in case the tornado sirens went off.

Around mile 18 I was told that we were all going to be taken off the course just before 21 miles.  At this point I just started walking.  My time wasn't going to count so why should I be pushed myself and giving myself blisters for nothing?  I don't know if I've ever felt so many emotions at the same time. I was mad that they let me get this far just to cut me short, sad that I even though it wasn't my best race ever that I was going to be given a medal that I didn't really earn, relieved that I wasn't going to have to run 5-6 more miles in the nasty weather especially since I was about 15 minutes behind my goal time...so much was running through my head.

I was really excited when I saw Deanna at mile 19.  We walked and chatted about the adventures on the way to the half marathon finish line.  She had helped people that had gone down on the course and saw the AT&T building get struck by lightning twice.  Apparently between the heat and humidity of the morning and the severe weather of the afternoon there were a lot of people who needed medical attention.  I crossed the finish line and did my best to force a smile on my face.  Medal in hand I went to check in at the TNT tent.

I didn't bring my camera or phone with me so we're going to have to wait until the official photos come out for you to see what a wet dog I looked like. This is a picture from out the window in our room.  I had to immediately hop into a hot shower when we got back because I could not warm up. Every inch of me was drenched.  Taking off my clothes was like peeling off a wet swimsuit.  Awful. This race goes down as the WORST MARATHON EVER!

I don't even know how I feel about this medal I have.  Techinically I didn't earn it. Was that my fault or something I could control?  Nope.  Do I feel like I can say that I've done two marathons? Nope.  Did I suffer through extremely shitty conditions to get it? Yes sir. So I suppose I'll say I've done 1.79 marathons? 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I’m packed and ready to go. Last night was a very busy night. I stopped by the store and picked up a new ice pack that I can strap around my leg…awesome and some Tylenol since IB Profin is a no no. As soon as I got home I was running around and talking to myself like a crazy person. After wearing my compression socks for basically 3 days straight it was time for a wash. No I do not have stinky feet. Load of laundry in, it was time to get together all of my race day stuff.

Race Day Gear:

• TNT Singlet
• Running skirt
• Sports bra
• Moisture wicking sock
• SHOES
• Garmin (fully charged)
• Fuel belt (don’t forget the water bottles)
• Gels, Nuuns and Oatmeal
• Gatorade mix
• iPod (fully charged w/ new earphones)
• TNT information packet
• Josh’s Speedo sandals for post-race
• Throw away jacket

But let’s not forget the most important things. I’m going to go ahead and call this my injury repair kit. I should market this idea…seriously. Mine includes:

• Travel foam roller
• Compression sleeves
• KT tape
• Shaklees Muscle and Joint Cream
• Herbal tendon and muscle recovery gel
• Extra Strength 8 Hour Tylenol
• Warm around ice pack (Not pictured because I was wearing it)

Oh how I love you all! Well not really the foam roller because it hurts me until I have tears coming down my face. But you know it hurts so good.

After packing the important things it took only a few minutes to pack the rest of my gear for the weekend which was great because I still had work to do at home. The camera is charged and ready to take pictures in Nashville. Maybe I will pick up a disposable to carry with me at the race. Eh, I’ll probably get sick of holding it and toss it. I may as well save myself a few bucks for some ice cream.

Calf/Ankle Status Update: Both still a bit sore but feeling 10x better than they were last week. Currently sporting my nice, clean compression socks and icing with the new ice pack for 20 minutes at a time. Fingers, arms, legs and toes still crossed for race day.

P.S. Totally hoping to bump into some stars in Nashville...like Keith Urban (hot) and Nicole Kidman.  Just casually getting coffee.  I'm sure all famous people are hiding out during the crazy weekend but a girl can hope right? I will be armed with my camera while exploring the city just in case.

Marathon Monday and Tapering Sucks

Today is Marathon Monday in Boston.  I think it's the only race that is held on a Monday and is like a holiday in Boston. The winner of this morning's race finished in an amazing, 2:05:52 setting a new course record.  That means for all 26.2 miles, he held a pace under 5 min/miles. He runs over 12 mph...he must be half cheetah.  Amazing! 

Instead of cheering for tens of thousands of runners, I'm eating lunch in my cube trying to calm my marathon jitters.  Tapering sucks there is no doubt about it. What sucks more is that I've listened to Josh (Yes, I'll say it again, you're right) and stopped going to the gym.  After I met Rache for a workout on Tuesday, I knew I needed to back off because my calf and ankle were hurting to the point where I wasn't walking normally.  Now, almost a week later, with icing and compression socks I feel like I'm so close to being 100%. 

Of course any normal person would be like heck yeah, I get to eat a ton and not workout, awesome. Yeah, not me. I'm going crazy not working out. This is the longest I've gone in I don't even know how long. I've been doing crunches and pushups at home to at least feel the slightest inclination of the burn.  Many runner gain weight during the taper and I'm no exception. I can feel my pants tightening around the waist and I feel gross and bloated.  Oh well, I'm gearing up for the big race right? All of this is not helping with my nerves though. I almost feel more nervous than I did about Seattle. I think it's because I know how hard the distance is and this taper has just been really rough.  I know I'm well trained and resting to get healthy is the right thing to do, but man I'm struggling.

This weekend the carb gods decided they wanted to help me carb load. Josh and I went over to Great Harvest  Bread Company to pick up my free loaf I got at Canyonlands and we actually won something!  They were having some sort of event and every hour at random times there was a basket winner. We just so happened to win!  Score!  Check out our delicious basket: bread, cinnamon roll, apricot jam, a little knife and a gift certificate for $5.  Mmmmmmmmm.  My carb hungry body is very excited about this. In fact I'm enjoying a delicious sandwich right now. Throw in tons of water and Gatorade and you have a runner on a mission to be carb and hydration ready.

We also had an awesome Italian meal...best since being in Italy. We went to Undici  with Russell and Shanna (his girlfriend, not Josh's sister).  So delicious!  Being hungover the next day, not delicious. In fact it totally sucked. No more drinks until after the race.  Biggest highlight though, after four years I finally got a new phone. Yes, I have now joined the 21st Century.