::Sigh::

So I just got back from my last group run with my fellow ABQ Fitters. We ran 10 miles on Tramway (can you say "hilly?") and even though I'd plan to make it only 8, I was feeling so good at the 4 mile mark, I decided to keep going and make it 10. According to the non-ABQ Fitters I know, 10 the week before a marathon isn't a good idea, but it's too late now. I still feel great. Granted, I felt something pop in my stupid, god forsaken foot around 8.5 miles (yes, the same one that hurt all last month...and even in the same, stupid place) and it hurt pretty bad, but a little bit of walking seemed to help. I'll just make sure to ice this week and I'm sure it'll be okay by the time I get to Denver.

Anyway, I'm a little sad that the season is over. I've made some totally awesome friends, and even though I know we'll stay friends through Winter Warriors and In Motion and probably ABQ Fit next year, it feels like the end of an era. Hell, it IS the end of an era! I've finished training for my first marathon - that's a huge deal! That's about as huge a deal as doing the race itself! I was talking to one of my friends a couple of weeks ago, after the 19 miler, and she pretty much told me that she was surprised I've made it this far. She didn't come right out and use those words, but that's what she meant. I don't blame her at all - when I first told her I was going to run a marathon, we were sitting at TGIFridays drinking beer and I was almost 40 lbs heavier. It didn't upset me at all to hear her say that, and she really meant it in the nicest way possible. But I have to be honest too...I'M a little surprised that I've made it this far. I know myself...I have a habit of starting things that sound great, but after a couple of weeks, forget about it. Once it gets hard, I'm out. Why do you think I was 40 lbs heavier in the first place? Yeah, the beer had something to do with it, but my love for sleeping in and sitting on the couch also contributed.

So anyway, I'm saying it publicly...regardless of what happens over the next 8 days, I am really, really, really proud of myself. I have already proven to myself - and probably to a few others - that I am capable of so much. Now I just need to show myself that I'm capable of 26.2!

Countdown to Denver: 8 days!