I should be asleep. I have a 6 am flight to Hartford tomorrow. I am packed and ready to go. However, as with my past marathons I am feeling nervous. I have yet to find the secret to stop being nervous. Or does every runner feel the same way?

Today was my last day of work this week. I did not have the guts to let my students know that I was not going to be in tomorrow. Should I have told them? Should I have told them of their teacher’s crazy plan of traveling to another city/state to run 26.2 miles? They know I like to run but I don’t think they know the extent. I should take all of my medals to school one day and show them. Hopefully it wil get them inspired to work hard in everything they do. Hard work is rewarded one way or another.

Back to the nervousness. I need to stop it!!! I have to believe that I will do well and succeed. I can do this. This is not my first marathon. I am prepared. The weird thing is that I have not completed one marathon this year but I am already planning for not one marathon but two marathons next year. Yep. I am thinking of New Orleans in March and Philadelphia in November.

I mentioned in a previous post that I purchased a pair of CW-X capris (medium). I did not try them on at the expo because according to the chart in the back of the bag I fit in a medium. I began to pack last night and decided to try them on. I almost cried! They were too tight!! I could not get them to fit properly. I thought for sure they were going to rip. I am glad I did try them on because I would have been very upset on Saturday morning. So I packed my regular Nike Be Strong Dri Fit Shorts. Love these shorts!!! They’re the right length and prevent any chafing in my thighs.

Good night all. Let’s rock ‘n’ roll in Hartford.

For the last couple of days I have been whining and complaining because I’ve been too tired and lazy to resume my marathon training for the Hartford Marathon on October 15.  I was feeling sorry for myself that I even thought of changing my registration from the full marathon to a half marathon.  Well, luckily my friends motivated and encouraged me to snap out of it and not to make a rash decision right away.  Instead, I should just wait and see how I feel as it gets closer to the date.

Well, the first thing I had to go was lace up those shoes and go out for a run.  That is what I did this morning.  Believe it or not but it was tough to get up this morning, change into running gear, and put on those shoes.  I managed to do it and complained just a little bit.  I kept telling myself to be quiet and to stop whining.  🙂  My plan was to run 4 miles.  My last run was 5 miles on June 25th.  It was tough to run 4 miles.  I took more breaks than I normally do.  That is OK though.  What is important is that I ran 4 miles.

By the way, how I missed my running shoes.  I cannot believe I neglected them for over a month!!!  Never again!!!  I will see them again tomorrow, the next day, and the next day, and from now on every day till I cross that finish line in Hartford on October 15.

Yes, that is what I told myself this weekend.  Stop being lazy and get out there and run.   Last week was my spring break and I did NOT run at all.  So Saturday morning came and I was in bed for almost an hour debating about whether to go running or not.  I checked the weather channel and saw that temperature around Midway airport was around 40 degrees.  Hmm, pretty good running weather.  So, I got my lazy butt up, changed, and out the door I went. 

I was so glad I got up.  It felt so good to run.  🙂  It was a bit windy but I took my time.  I forgot my Garmin watch so I had no idea on pace or finish time.  Oh, I ran 4 miles. 

Today I was supposed to meet up with a friend to run again but he did not show up.  Well, that did not stop me and I made my way to the airport and ran 4 miles again.  Loved it!!  I will run again tomorrow after school and then a few more days this week.

Next Sunday (April 10) will be my first race (8K) of the year.  I will be running in the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle and I am so excited.  I love this race!  I have been running this race for about 5 years and every year I improve my finish time.  Last year it was 52:18 so I am determined to beat that time again.

Once that race is over then it is another race almost every weekend or every other weekend.  Yay!!!  I will be signing up for the Y-Me Race at Your Pace on May 8 and maybe the Cinco de Miler on May 7.  You see my nephew is making his first communion on May 7 and I will probably miss the mass.  The race is at 9:30 am and the mass is at noon.  Who schedules a race so late in the day?  I asked him if he would be upset if I did not make it and he said that it would be OK.  There is still time to register so for now I won’t worry about it.

What do you think?  Should I run at the race or miss it and go to the first communion mass?