Dress Rehearsal

The day before I left for Chicago my Team Animal League shirt finally came. Truthfully, they should have sent them a month ago when we were all doing our long runs. Other charity groups got theirs months ago so they could make sure they were comfortable running in them by the time the marathon came. But whatevs, it's fine. Running stuff is sized SO SMALL for all those 90-lb men and women who Asics seems to be designing for. I'm pretty average sized but when I looked at the measurement chart I thought I'd err on the side of caution and order an XL. Good thing I did. I probably should have gotten an XXL so it would be longer. How's that for the 'ole self-esteem? Run your brains out for 18 weeks, get in the best shape of your life, and you're still the biggest size on the chart. Hmph.

Assuming it's cool that day, this is how I plan on wearing it. Looks okay, right?

I like that it's printed on the back too. Toobad the picture is blurry, my husband isn't the greatest photographer. It has the North Shore logo on it. Nice.

So there you have it, I'm a team member and I'll be running in a sea of other team members representing dozens of wonderful charities. I might be making this fact up (as I sometimes do) but I *think* I read that NYC is one of the most charitable marathons in the US. Probably because it's so damned hard to get into that most people run for a charity just for the entry.

I wore it today on my long run, just to make sure I didn't hate it. It does ride up a little but it should be okay. I saw some people checking out my shirt as I ran toward them, which was kind of cool. One guy was running with his dog and he gave me a thumbs up.

My long run today was hard but I had a feeling it would be. Let's just say, without going into too much detail, that there are several days out each month where I have less energy than usual. Today was one of those days. I didn't eat well yesterday, like hardly at all. I have a bad track record with my 12-milers. I returned to the trail today which is where my last disastrous 12-miler was. I thought it was important to get the hill work in. Between being tired and the hills, it was not my best run. I had pretty much talked myself out of it being a good run before I even started. I knew I would. Twelve is a hard distance for me -- it's too long to go all out like I have been for my 8- and 10-milers but it's not long enough for me to get into that long-distance mindset. But when I felt like giving up today I had a great thought: at this point in the game, my body is stronger than my mind. Trust my training and just let it happen.

And it did. It wasn't my best run but it certainly wasn't my worst. I got some great hill work in -- 5 mile of continuous, steady uphill. It killed my hamstrings but it should make those bridge approaches seem short in comparison. I hope!

Two weeks from today! Two weeks from right now I will be hanging out with my girl, Julie, and celebrating!