One More Thing...

Here is my brother (the one who lives in TX), sister-in-law and nephew (the bottom two pictures for 10/19/07 entry, my brother has on a blue shirt). My nephew Louis has some cute blue eyes doesn't he?

Goodbye Chicago, Helloooo Iowa!

I debated the last few days over if I should give a report on Chicago or not. I've decided not to. Most of you know what happened, you know the scary things we saw and experienced and I think that's good enough. I don't regret doing the race. If anything, it actually has made going into this Des Moines Marathon a lot easier mentally. And, (I know some of you are going to laugh out loud and say HA, I knew it...)I'm kind of looking forward to it. My perspective has changed totally since Chicago. I'm really not too nervous (just a little which I think is normal) and for this marathon, I'm going to enjoy it. I'm not going to look at my time and try to beat the clock. I thought about it and I thought why should I do that? I'm not trying to qualify for anything, it's the only one I'm ever going to do and I want to remember it in a good way. So, I'm ready...well maybe not for the hills but I feel better about this one than I did Chicago for some reason. Plus, hopefully, I'll be able to see Laurie on the course somewhere! But, not only did I get a medal that apparently is now being sold as a commerative item on ebay but I also have this beauty Apparently, my toenail wasn't as short as I thought it was! But, sounds like we're supposed to have great weather and I'm looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes. And thanks again guys for all the awesome comments! Oh, one more thing....please wish Amy and Dori good luck with the Nike Marathon and the New York Marathon! Anyone else I forgot, good luck!

Quick Note

Hey Guys,
Thanks first off for all the notes from everyone wishing me well and wondering how it went. My group and I are all fine and made it back to MN. As I'm sure many of you know by now, the marathon was well...was not to be last weekend! I'll post a better detailed summary later but right now, I'll trying to get ready for this coming weekend. I was pretty discouraged when I got back from Chicago. As I've told some of you, I signed up for Chicago knowing this would be my one and only full marathon. I don't really have the desire to do another one. Don't get me wrong, I love running and I am amazed and in awe of those who can do numerous marathons. I just am not one of those people. HOWEVER, after talking it over with my boyfriend, he convinced me and I agreed that in a few years, I would look back and be disappointed as I didn't really do a full marathon (we only made it about 20 miles - see Amy's great post for more details and photos). So, I bit the bullet. I signed up for the Des Moines Marathon which is this coming weekend! Yikes! My boyfriend (who is also a runner in wayyyyy better shape and wayyyyy faster than me) is going to run it with me. So, I'm very lucky. I'm getting really excited for this one and know my time probably won't be stellar as from what I've read, the course is a little hilly for the first part. And, you all know what I think of hills! Oh well. My only goal is to cross the line and mark this one off my "to do list". I think maybe I should start picking easier, less expensive events and goals to put on my "to do list"! In the meantime, I'm back in taper! Gotta love that. Chicago was basically my 20 mile run and I rolled right back into taper. But, I'll try to post again later this week. Hope all you TC10 milers and marathoners are recovered, you had some tough conditions as well. As for all you Chicago runners, way to go guys. You all did awesome considering what we faced.

Run Like the Wind!!!

Well it's almost here. I'm pretty much packed and am now just super nervous. What I'm worried about are the forecasts for an 87 degree marathon day. Oh. My. God. That's hot. So, I've switched up my shirt from this....



and am wearing this... I think.



Sorry, I couldn't get them to rotate right.

I'm super scared that I am going to have issues because of all the heat. I don't think I've been this scared for anything in a LONG time. We're flying out tomorrow morning so I am hoping to get some sleep tonight as it will be a long day tomorrow.

I did get some super awesome gifts from people. One of them was a great fall fleece blanket that two of my friends made.



Anyway, this is kind of a scatter-brained post right now but thanks for all the recent comments everyone, I really do appreciate it. I've been reading blogs lately but haven't had the chance to comment so hopefully when I get back I'll do some catching up. Good luck to all those doing TC Marathon or TC 10 this weekend (or any other race)!