The Big 1-0...pt. 2

This picture was taken of my twin sister (far left), my cousin (center) and me (far right) after a 4th of July 5k run (hence the flags) in 2005. My sister won in her age group, while I struggled to complete the race. Her dedication and success with running 5ks, 10ks, and marathons has really inspired my over the past few years to get my butt in gear. This past January, I decided to get started on my goal of completing a marathon. Tomorrow, I will compete in my first event since beginning my training. It is a 10 mile event in Louisville, and I am so excited! While it is only a third of the distance of a marathon, I feel like I will be accomplishing a small goal that is within myself to complete a race at this distance. I am also excited for the boost of confidence it will give me in training for the half-marathon next month. It makes me proud to look at this picture and see where I was two years ago - barely able to finish a 3 mile run - and then to look at my training log and see that I can knock out a 3 mile run in no time as an "easy run."

I did break the cardinal rule of running by purchasing a new pair of shorts the day before an event. To justify it - I woke up in a cold sweat last night after realizing that my shorts and/or singlets don't have a place to put a key. Since I am going by myself, I thought that this could be bad news. So, I went to a running shop down the street from my office and treated myself to a new pair of shorts, complete with Velcro enclosures. I also picked up some 'cola' flavored Clif Shot Bloks - these are gummy chews packed with electrolytes. Since I have not used them in training, I know better than to use them in the race tomorrow. I guess I will stick with my trusty Sportz Beanz.

Tonight, Chad is taking me to Fazoli's so that I can do some carbo-loading. Afterwards, we are heading over to some friends house for a bbq. I tell you - our friends in Wilmore are some barbecuing fools! And we are going to jump in the fray tomorrow by purchasing our very own grill. Needless to say, Chad is very excited!

I'll post soon to let everyone know (i.e. my faithful readers: mom, Megan, Michelle) how the race went and how life with a grill is treating us.