TwentySixPointWhat?

Woke up this morning to rain and just plain miserable conditions. I puttered around a bit and well, then took myself to the gym where I ergged for 5k and then knocked off a kick ass hill workout on the treadmill. Who says running full speed at a 14 incline is a bad thing?! uhm. .. when done for longer than 1 minute intervals it is. =)

Got in from NYC late last night and for reasons that can only resemble insanity I agreed to run the 1/2 course with Sabo this morning. In typical fashion I was groggy and disoriented; decided it was around 30 degrees so didn't need the long sleeve wicking shirt but did need the fleece. . .oh and no fuel belt. Made it to Hyperion at 7:40, a full 10 minutes late and my partner was standing outside in the cold waiting. . .so, that fuel belt that I opted out of wearing because, 'oh, we'll be running right by my house. . .' at mile. . .2! instead of 7 in the race, would have come in handy as we made it up to Central Park and my tank was completely empty. I still don't know how I made it back down the hill and to the coffee shop without fainting. Next time, fuel belt is necessary. But lay down 13.1 we did and I didn't faint or become delirious and we actually sprinted at the end. It was a good run and a good way to burn off those extra holiday calories.

In the spirit of recognizing that my writing about my training is just about as sporadic as the training itself, I've realized that writing about it may actually keep me accountable. Had plans to run with Walker, if and only if she was awake when I sent her an email informing her I was up and wanting to run. As it turned out, she sent me an email and I accidentally ran 8 miles. . . on an empty stomach. It wasn't until I checked the pedometer app that I found the source of my 'empty tank' symptoms. . .instead of only being 1/2 mile to her house, it's a full mile and. . .and it was only 20 degrees. Therefore, my body was burning calories to stay warm on top of those that I was burning running on an empty stomach. Duh, Holly, the tank was empty. But run I did and it felt great to throw down 8 miles.

I woke up this morning feeling a bit out of sync. I had this really weird dream in which a guy like Phelps was performing these incredible feats of athleticism only at the end of my dream the man was a friend of a friend and the military came and took him away. My guess is they wanted to perform tests on him to find the source of his superhuman powers. Yes, this is what my dreams are made of. So, after rousing my tired body after only ~5 hours of sleep while I was brushing my teeth I realized that I wasn't going to make the 8:00 Hyperion group. At this point all efforts to make it out the door by 7:55 ceased, I ate breakfast and set off at 8:11 for a nice, easy run in the freezing (brisk?) morning. My nose became a faucet and my legs resembled chicken skin. . . but I was happy. The birds chattered and kept me company along the canal path and the River was crystal clear. It was a good morning to be out and about, even if it was only 20 degrees.

The morning started out without a hitch. The knowledge acquired from running six marathons this year left me prepared and knowing full well what I needed to do, what I needed to have ready, the night before so as not to leave anything important behind. Before I dive into the details of the race it is best to take a look back. Saturday turned out to be just like the day before the Erie marathon I’d run in September, pouring buckets and just plain miserable. Fortunately, my family decided to stay up in DC the night before this marathon, having stayed in Fredericksburg last year and gone through the gauntlet of driving north up 95 and catching the Metro. Saturday night Team Fisher House hosted a team pasta dinner so we could mix and mingle and really get excited to run this marathon together. LCol Greg Gadson was the keynote speaker who told us about his journey of losing both legs to an IED in Baghdad to being an honorary member of the NY Jets Superbowl winning team. I was once again rem