Whole lotta taperin’ goin’ on!

*Apologies in advance, I am all over the place with my thoughts and I blame it on taper madness*

7 days to go.  3 days of work and I am on a plane to Boston. Boy, am I nervous/excited/anxious.  I am feeling really good, besides some minor allergies. Here is what is going on right now!

Food and Carb-loading

I am very close to my race weight and I feel light but strong. I have been holding 112 pounds for the last week so I think that is what I will be on race day. I wanted to be a tad lighter, but we shall see how this goes. I have been eating really clean; no white sugar, no processed foods, and no wine . I have had my fill of rice, quinoa, yogurt, fruit, eggs, and yams though! This will be the first marathon that I am trying to carb-load clean. No pretzels, loaves of bread, energy bars for this gal. I found that junk weighs me down come race day. I will also stop eating any dairy on Wednesday. For the plane ride I am going to take some all-natural  honey stinger gummies, some gluten-free rice crackers, bananas, coconut water, and rice bread with pb & j. We plan on hitting up a TJ's or Whole Foods when we get to Boston so we can pick up snacks, chicken, rice, fruit, etc. for our hotel room.

The ever-important outfit choice:

Right now the forecast is 57 degrees and sunny for marathon Monday. I know it will change...but a gal has to plan.

I am going with my Brooks bra top, ID elite team shorts, ST 4 shoes, and of course my black ribbon for my pony-tail. I usually wear black nail-polish for races to remind myself to stay tough. But... after popular vote (thanks gals!) I am going with a coral color. It is supposed to be very Spring-like while we are there so I think it will be cute! And after all, we all know how important it is to look cute!

Plan for this week:

I ran 55 miles last week. I had a GREAT confidence booster work-out on Tuesday night at track. I did 10 x 800m (1/2 mile). They were all supposed to be done in 2:48. I did all but one just under that.  On Saturday I had a last hill work-out progression run of 12 miles. 6 easy out, 6 each mile faster on the way back. I felt so good and ended with a 5:50 mile.

This week I have 40 miles before the marathon. 6 easy on Monday, 8 with 4 x 1 mile progression Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday, 0 on Thursday, 6 with strides on Friday and Saturday, and 4 on Sunday .  Then, marathon  Monday!!! I am way planned ahead at work, so I should be able to get some good rest in the next 3 days before we jet off.  I also have a massage on Wednesday! yippee!

The Big Goal:

Normal day, my goal is 2:50 which is a 6:30 average pace. yikes! 2 years ago I could not even run a single mile at this pace!

Good day, stars aligned is a 2:48:xx which is right around a 6:25-6:27 pace. My friend Brett was funny, he knows me too well. He made the comment "If you run a 2:48, won't you be mad at yourself for not running a 2:46?" (2:46 is what I need to qualify for the Olympic Trials) Honestly, he is right, I would be.   However, I don't think I am quite ready for that 2:46 yet. Soon enough!!

My main goal- unless Coach John tells me otherwise is 2:48-2:50.  Prayers and good thoughts accepted! I know that it will be very hard for me.

I need to remember to not "collapse" and keep good form, I need to attack those Newton Hills when they show up at miles 19-21.

I need to remember FAITH NOT FEAR. I can do it. Its what I have been waking up at 3:30am to run my first out of 2 runs of the day for. It's why I have been going to bed at 8pm (always the life of the party!).  It's why I have been spending Tuesday evenings doing speed-work at the track.  It's why I have been running weeks of 90+ miles. It's why I have been   running Mummy Mountain and jumping from wild critters!  It is why I have basically been training my little a$$ off!  And honestly, I have loved every minute of it!

Track Me!

So the Boston Athletic Association lets friends/family of runners track them through text/email.  If you would like to track me, go to this site:

Athlete Alert

My bib number is 2605.  Hopefully next year that number will be smaller with an "F" in front of it!

A Little Help From My Friends

Because I am in taper, I am allowed to get a little weepy. That's just the way it is.  I am so lucky to have an amazing husband, amazing friends and family- thanks for the nutrition advice Don! , and an amazing coach to help me meet my goals. There are so many of my peeps running Boston this year, we are going to have so much fun. I feel so blessed to be able to be there with them! My BFF's Terri and Heppercraft are running the marathon  also and they are  going to kick some serious bootie! I can't wait for us all to see each other at the finish. I know it will be a good day and there will be much cause for celebration.

I will leave you with some pics from our post-run breakfast this weekend at Heppercrafts' house. His sister Kelly was kind enough to make us breakfast- popovers, frittata, fruit salad, granola, and homemade yogurt! yum!

Well, I think that's enough of my rambling for now. I can't believe its here already.  I will try to update on FB or DailyMile post race. I'll take lots of pics too! Off to Baaaaasten!!!

((hugs))

Runningly Yours,