Pre- Half Marathon Ramble

Even though I still feel pretty unprepared for this Saturday's half, I'm looking forward to it. I'm praying the rain holds off during the race, but if it doesn't & I run in the cold & wet, at least I'll have a heck of a race report, eh? Trying to look on the bright side here. Truly, I don't know why I worry about things I can't control. The weather will do what it's going to do. I just need to plan well, show up on time with a smile on my face, & run the best I can. Everything else is out of my hands.

I'm leaving Friday morning, & it should take about 4 hours to get to Indy. Then I'll check in at a super nice hotel right near the starting line, pick up my race packet, go to dinner at an Italian restaurant (the one with the "bath mat sized" pizza), chat a lot with 3 other women who are sharing the hotel room with me (my niece-in-law Kate & her 2 friends), & try to go to sleep at 10 p.m. EST (which is 9 p.m. my time--ain't no way I'll fall asleep that early, but I'll try).

Saturday we have to be in our corrals by 7 a.m. The race starts at 7:33 a.m. I should cross the starting line after maybe 5-10 minutes of walking since I'm in corral G. My guess is I'll finish in 2 hours 30 minutes. If it rains, all bets are off. I've never run in pouring rain so I have no idea how that will go. Anything faster than 2:30:00 will be gravy. No big goals for this Half, because (a) I'm about 7 pounds heavier than my Evansville half (which, believe it or not, slows me down quite a bit), (b) I haven't trained properly (have I mentioned this lately? haha), and (c) there are over 30,000 people who run this thing--it's not a race to plan on having a PR.

Mom's taking the kids tomorrow & will have them through Saturday until I get home. I'll be driving home a few hours after the race, which will be interesting. Driving 4 hours with legs that have just run 13.1 miles isn't going to be easy. Last year Mark drove home from Indy while I sat in the backseat with a very dizzy Sophie. This year, at least I won't have to worry about getting a sick little girl home.

Speaking of Sophie, we are going on 7 weeks with no dizzy spells. God is good! She was having them every 3 weeks. So this is just amazing. I keep expecting these weather systems to trigger a spell, but they haven't. Yet. Regardless, at least I feel more at peace with them since they don't seem like such a mystery any more.

Mark is still working out, still eating better (not perfect, but much much better). He had a stress test this morning as the first step toward seeing what state his heart is in. He had blood taken yesterday to test his cholesterol. He still has to have a CT scan with contrast to see how much build up is in his arteries. He has a final art project for his sculpture class that he'll work on while the kids & I are away, & his finals are next week. He'll have almost 2 months off from school this summer. We're all ready for a break from his 3 nights a week classes!

Luke is hanging in there with his allergies. I think we actually are turning a corner with him. He slept well last night without benadryl & even though he's still snotty, it's not as bad.

My weight is still at a respectable 152.6. I didn't get to 149 like I wanted to before this race, but I did lose 5 pounds in the past month or so, which is helping how my clothes fit & is making running a bit easier.

After Saturday, all my attention will be on getting ready for St John on June 12th. Then after that, the Evansville Half in October. And after that, a marathon in April 2010 (location still TBD!). I like having goals & plans related to fitness. It helps keep me focused on keeping my weight off. September will mark 2 years of reaching my 55 pound weight loss. God willing, my plans will go as I want.

I'll be around today & tomorrow morning, & then won't be back on until Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. I appreciate your well wishes & all the "No Rain" vibes you can send my way between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. EST on Saturday, May 2. Any NASCAR fans out there? I get to run on the Indy 500 track. Again. Maybe I'll stop to kiss the bricks this year. Sweet!