4 Weeks Away from the Marathon!!!

Hi everyone,

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged...don't think I am the best blogger in the world...lol...although if that is something I am not good at..I am ok with it.

Anyway it is so hard to believe that I am only 4 weeks away from running the NYC Marathon! It has been four and a half months of hard training and pushing myself through so many mental obstacles and physical ones.

Back in January it was a struggle to run a mile without gasping for air and on Sunday I completed an 18 mile race...I felt like I was going to die, my time wasn't the best but I finished. I am going to be REAL and tell you that the thought of quitting occurred more times than I would like to admit...not quitting on the marathon but on that particular race. I have also been amazed at how much of a mental challenge this marathon is more than a physical one. There have been times where my body is killing me but whether or not I continue is a matter of what my thoughts are...and if I choose to listen to them. When I forge ahead and get out of the THOUGHT of the pain and just accept the pain then I end up 9 times out of 10 getting a burst of energy to carry me through. There is also such a deeply meditative component to running for over 2 hours....over 3 hours...over 4 hours where you lose track of time and you are almost in a spiritual place by yourself. It has been such a beautiful and humbling experience for me.

My body has hurt and been beaten up more times that I would have liked and I have never ICED my knees so much in my life...I am lucky they don't have frostbite. I am WAY too familiar with brands of energy aides like GU, Power Shots, Shot Blocks and Sharkies and how my body reacts to them than I would ever like to be...I would prefer to be that familiar with names of shoe designers, screenwriters and directors....lol...I also never in my life imagined that I would be keeping track of the amount of sodium and water in my body or have to be super conscious of replenishing both so I don't end up in the hospital. I have also worn out 4 pairs of sneakers along the way. It has been a really interesting and amazing journey.

It is still not over and the next 4 weeks I need to complete on the weekends a 14, 20, 12 and 8 mile long run as well as keep up with my weekly mileage during the week. I have the entire 26.2 miles to run on marathon day which I am really looking forward to since it will mean no more early morning runs on the weekends!

So that is where I am right now....as always, thanks for the love and support!

XO XO
Jen