We are on the down swing of running now before the big push. I am starting to get a wee bit nervous. It feels so strange to be running a 3-5-3-8 week compared to the four weeks of Aug that were much longer. Now we are just hoping to get through the next two weeks with a good diet and good rest. Loads of water and some extra carbs does the trick, I hear.

It's kind of like being pregnant. (in a twisted kind of way) That is all I can relate this experience to. You have months of preparation, some emotional times, some great moments. You get weird pains you have never felt before and then sometimes you stand up and can't get moving for a minute. There are even nights when you wake up with very similar leg cramps. Waves of food cravings hit you at odd times and you could take naps any day of the week. Then you work up to this one event that is mostly a test of endurance and once you push it out you have sudden relief! But the only reward you get with running is the satisfaction and I think I could live with that right now.

One of the hardest runs we did several weeks back was while we were camping. It was a 16 miler over huge hills. We decided to cut up the route into 4 mile chunks which was very helpful. Until the last 4 miles. We started out pretty strong and then I think I had od'd on power gel plus the sun was getting pretty high by then. My stomach was not happy. With two miles to go I knew I had to push through it and get back to the job of camping. We were on a pretty busy road so cars were passing at a consistent and fast pace. As we were heading up the last batch of hills I imagined each passing car was a wave crashing over my me as I was lying on some white sand beach. I let the image of the water run over me and revive my uncooperative muscles and take away all the pain. It worked! I made it the entire way back and ate lunch. Perfect.

Well, more to come after the big day.