Training is FINALLY all downhill here from here. Mindy and I had our last “longish” run last weekend (I realize this post is a TAD late). You know it’s sick and twisted when you’re like, “ONLY 12 miles? Best day ever!” We opted to go in the morning this time to get it out of the way.

Unfortunately, Heidi and I had a long night the night before. We found out last Friday morning the poor girl had a double ear infection (remember that stupid fever I blogged about? Yeah. That’s why). Even though they were infected, they didn’t start really bothering her until Friday night. She woke up screaming at 2am, and I suspect it’s because the Tylenol I gave her at bedtime had worn off. She not only screamed for quite some time, but refused to lay down and sleep. Afraid her ears were extremely painful on her side, I sat up with her until the new dose of Tylenol kicked in. So from 2am to 4am, I sat snuggled with her on the couch watching Sesame Street on Netflix and eating goldfish. So I guess it wasn’t so bad. But I was not about to miss my morning run.

Eight a.m. came. Much too quickly. Luckily Mindy texted me at 7:15 because I had turned my 6:30 alarm off in my sleep. I made some breakfast and coffee, met Mindy, and away we went.

This is hilarious because the first few miles, we seriously could not shut up. We were talking a mile a minute, laughing, giggling, etc. I think we were so ecstatic that we didn’t have to run for four  hours that we were high as kites.  Topics we discussed ranged from how our body image is shaped by the media (and Britney Spears), how our husbands always give our kids weird things to eat (a protein shake…”but with a banana!!!” and ice cream sandwiches), how we really have been trying to lose the baby weight but “food is like my passion,” and we also discussed ways to carry snacks with us at the marathon without wearing an actual fanny pack. We realized unless we wanted to run with food stuffed in our pants, we would probably have to buckle and buy the dreaded fanny pack. We also tried shot blocks this time, which are these little gummy energy things that apparently give you energy during a very long run. Mindy was the one who brought them, and as we both awkwardly sucked/chewed on them during mile 10, I asked her what was in them. She burst out laughing, saying she had no idea.  I was afraid maybe she had actually given me drugs.

During the last half of our run, we both pulled out our own iPods and ran in silence/blaring music. It was easy to know when one of us hit a really good song because then we would speed up for 3-5 minutes, leaving the other one to frantically skip songs until she hit a good one. My song of the morning was Billie Jean. 😉

It’s been an awesome “easy week,” our longest run being only 6 miles. We have also discovered in the most recent Runners World magazine that we need to start carb-loading, not only the night before, but THREE NIGHTS BEFORE THE RACE.

Needless to say, this completely made our day. Pasta, bread, and all things carb, here we come!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are getting so close to our goal!! $2,365 has been donated, and $4,000 is my goal. Every single dollar counts. Please get us that much closer by  donating here: http://www.active.com/donate/activewaterupick/jamierunsforwater