ready for a breakthrough?!

yesterday was the last long run - 10 miles - before race day. i ended the week today with a very easy 3 miler and a .75 mile walk. the good news, the run today felt better than pretty much all my sunday runs the day after a long run. sure i only ran 10 miles yesterday, and i kept the pace more conservative since i'm a week out, BUT it really does help the confidence. the bad part was it felt gross out - warm, humid, and extremely windy.

this week will be nothing more than to keep the legs in tune, but mostly i need to focus on my nutrition, hydration and avoiding anything silly to get myself injured. i don't want to gain anything beyond the normal taper weight gain, meaning more than a couple of pounds. and i certainly hope i don't gain that all in 1 week!

i will be traveling to albany with 3 really good friends, all great running friends. two i have known for years, one of them being a steady running buddy for the last 6 years and the other a true source of inspiration and motivation. and the other is a new running friend who has become a steady running partner and great friend. it will be great to ward off the jitters by having 3 of my favorite people with me. yesterday, one of these friends texted the rest of us saying in one week, we'll be celebrating 4 great races. i reminded her that i would need lots of help keeping calm and shaking off the nerves. she assured me she would and told me that i was ready and this was going to be a breakthrough race for me. she knows it's been 4 years since a PR and during these last 4 years i've had LOTS of ups and downs. i needed to hear that.

i'm really looking forward to the trip, not just for the race, but to get away with 3 good friends and share lots of laughs, but more importantly to share in the celebration. it will be good for me to share the trip, pre-race meals and routines with 3 other runners who i know and trust.. i can count on them to make me laugh and enjoy the moments. the best part is, we get to celebrate together. i love celebrating with runner friends. we can laugh at each other when we moan just from getting up or when we need help stepping off a curb. we won't laugh at each other when we eat everything in sight and look for more.

my favorite part of this trip, and i am so not kidding, is when i'll eat more than one of these!!!! hey, it is the SNICKERS marathon!!!