Countdown

Y'all, I apologize in advance for this week's blog entries. I am so freaking EXCITED about the marathon (that's in a week, BTW) that I am sure I will be blabbering on and on about absolutely nothing.

It's 8:28 a.m. right now as I begin this blog. In exactly one week, I will be 28 minutes into my first marathon.

I'll probably be well into my third mile. (Fingers crossed.)

I still have a lot of decisions to make...am I going to stay the extra night, do I absolutely need to go buy a new pair of running tights right now, how far in advance am I going to start the carb-load, etc.

I think I am going to stay the extra night, but get up extra-super early the next morning to get home. Ideally, I'd like to get home in time to go to the grocery store and pick up the kids from school. That will require me to leave Dallas around 5 or 6 a.m., though, so we'll see about that.

The running tights...UGH...decisions! Whenever I run in cold weather, my bottom half doesn't get cold, ever. It was pretty damn cold on Thanksgiving morning for the Turkey Trot, but I ran in shorts and a long-sleeved shirt and was fine. I also have the issue of only liking certain shorts/skirts/etc. to run in. (Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think I have a sensory integration disorder.) I'm leaning toward running in my old running shorts -- the ones that are three sizes too big for me so I have to tie them really tightly. I'm going to layer up top. That's where I really get cold, but I know around mile 8 or 9, I'll be so hot I can't stand it. So, layers.

OK. I just talked myself out of buying new tights. :-)

My plan right now is to run my usual six miles on Monday and Tuesday, and then I'm done. I may still walk -- in fact, I KNOW I will walk.

The carb-load is confusing to me. What I've read recommends that you start carb-loading four days before the race. FOUR DAYS? That sounds insane to me. Right now, I'm going to start the carb-load Thursday evening. I'm not an elite athlete. I'm not planning on running a course record. I just want to finish!

The other thing about the carb-load is that the day before, you're not supposed to eat anything high in fiber. I'm a vegetarian: EVERYTHING I eat is high in fiber. So what do I do? I guess I'll stick to regular pastas, some potatoes. But it's going to be very difficult.

---

The other thing about this marathon is that I'm going to be away from my kids for three days.

I know: Most moms would KILL for that kind of thing. And also: I work. I have since Kyle was 9 weeks old. I've gone on business trips without them. They've spent multiple nights at friends' houses, their grandparents' houses, etc.

So this isn't the first time and it won't be the last time that I'm away from them.

But I always get this panicky feeling when I'm away from them for more than a day. I can't explain it -- I know they're being taken care of. I mean, hell, I'm leaving them with their FATHER, who some days is a more capable parent than I am (I am prone to freak-outs and overreactions). But the fact that I don't know what they're doing at this minute or that minute freaks me out.

I guess it's a mom thing. I'm hoping the excitement and nervousness about the race will take over the anxiety about the kids.


Hoping, hoping, hoping.