omigosh

It's almost here!   Less than one week!  I fly out on Thursday night!  I have so much to do! Could I use any more exclamation points! :)

Well, this is the week.  The training is essentially over.  We had a Tuesday night practice about

pacing where I learned that I didn't quite have a handle on how to hold myself back and run really slow.  So, instead of running with the group for 6 miles on Saturday morning, I ran in the Scotland 10K on Sunday morning.  I wanted to challenge myself in a race situation.  10 minute miles, that was the goal.  And it worked, I ran really easy.  The second mile I thought I was still holding back, but found out it wasn't quite slow enough so I pulled it back.  The next 4 miles were pretty consistent pace wise and I stopped at every water station.  10:04/mile was my overall pace as reported by NYRR.  I can safely say I know what that pace feels like - even though I'll admit it pained me to let people pass me by!  But Ramon has assured us that by holding back in the first two thirds of the marathon, we will have the energy to power through the last third and actually increase our overall pace.  I trust him!

I ran my last pre-marathon workout with my pal Maggie on Wednesday between shows.  She has been a tremendous motivator.  She's training with Team in Training for a triathlon and I like to think of our Wednesday runs as a third GTS.  The oddest thing about this past Wednesday - the poor little seal from the previous Saturday was still on the dock.  Hope he's okay.

And a huge thank you to everyone who has donated.  At the Team in Training send off event on Thursday, I was awarded a plaque and some swag for being the second highest fundraiser on the team.  I (amazingly) raised over $11,500!!!! I really can't believe it.  You guys are the best.  You know I'm a sucker for causes and I've become attached to this one.  I am honored to have been able to help.

I'm going to try to check in one more time before I leave, and I have a plan to try to take some pics during the race!  Hopefully I'll be able to blog from Paris and keep everyone in the know!