A wake up call....................................

As a post marathon treat I went and had a live blood analysis done last Saturday. It was really cool to watch my blood cells swimming around. Unfortunately I also saw a few fungus cells, and a couple of uric acid crystals from undigested protein in my blood stream. All in all, I fared pretty well on the test and with a low carbohydrate, IE:no white flour, sugar, mostly green leafy veggie diet I can easily turn that around. Oh! Ya! And chew my food better. My youngest also had the tests done, and it totally cracked me up when her answer to the question, "Do you chew your food well?" was EXACTLY the same as mine: "Probably not. I am always grabbing something and shoving it in as I don't have time for a real sit-down meal." Something to work on...

Besides the blood analysis, we also had another test done that measured the way our heart is pumping the blood, and the rate at which it flows through the arteries.

I am in great shape right? One can't be in too bad of shape and complete a marathon right? Well, not exactly. According to the test, I have the arteries of a seventy (70) year old. Twenty (20) years difference.

One can look back on my diet and lifestyle and see times in which I didn't care what I put in my mouth. Still, for the most part, I have had a fairly healthy diet, at least in regards to most Americans. The really shocking part is my youngest has the arteries of a thirty-four year old (34), and she is ONLY eighteen (18)! She has always ate a great diet, and is also thin and in great cardiovascular shape. So what's up?

The family tree card is a big part of it. My father died of a stroke at age sixty (60), my brother had a massive, fatal, heart attack at age fifty-two (52), and my sister had a heart attack at age fifty-five (55). Okay! They all smoked, and the guys drank pretty heavily, and we don't, but it still means we are going to have to work harder to avoid going down the same path.

What does this have to do with running. Well, for one thing I am REALLY glad I didn't have this information before the marathon. Especially on the heals of the news that the Chicago runner's death was heart related. Would it have stopped me? Of course not, but it might have added to my worries. The other thing it has to do with running is knowing that I would be in much worse shape if I had not started running. I almost wish I had a comparison test to see what an improvement I have made over the past three years.

Another interesting thing I thought I would pass on is that my blood cells showed that my lymphatic system was a little sluggish (my youngest's was worse than mine. I run more). This is the system that flushes toxins out of the system, and who wants their blood sitting in toxins? Yuck! Anyway, the recommendation for this problem was to bounce on one of those little mini trampoline/rebounders for fifteen minutes a day. Apparently the lymph system needs to be shaken up with the up and down motion to get kicked back into gear. Since it can't hurt me, I will give it a try and see if it helps.

Good health tends to be one of those things that we take for granted until we don't have it anymore. Most of the time a runners wake up call comes in the form of a running injury that takes them off the road/trial. I am grateful that my wake up call will not take me off the road. I received it before suffering any permanent damage, with time to reverse the trend and stay on the road for many years to come. One more of my many life blessings.

Pondering............................

It has occurred to me that not feeling the need to share the details of the marathon represents great personal growth.

I have been working on being true to my inner self and not being concerned with other people's opinions of me and my behavior. I don't need validation of sharing the marathon details with others. Having ran the race, and completed the journey is fulfillment in and of itself.

I also think some of the tears I shed were for the woman that was brave enough to step out and take the first step. I am so damn proud of her. You have no idea how many times people told her she was crazy to even want to try and do something so insane. The woman, who over the years yearned for acceptance into an inner circle where she truly felt she belonged, again set out on her own because she knew it was were she needed to be. What she discovered was that her own inner circle is a really great place to hang out.

Today someone ask me how I was going to top the completion of the marathon. My answer:

"You know me, I'll think of something. And it will be great!"

The ending of the marathon is so just the beginning of the next chapter of my life. I am purposely trying to let my mind flow open-ended for a few weeks. The possibilities of where I am heading to next are endless, and I want to be sure that I pick the best of the best choice because that is exactly what I deserve.

Promised Pictures........................................................

Our (REALLY) cool marathon socks.

Over the bridge at sunrise.
The Detroit skyline.
Almost to the tunnel.
The US/Canada border in the tunnel.

Welcome back to Michigan.

FINISH STRONG!!!

Just about to set off the final mat of my first marathon.

I still have no memory of posing for this picture. I do remember taking the gallon of water(on the ground in the picture) off the table. Like one little glass would do. And I remember making sure my food bag came complete with potato chips (that I still have not eaten, but it seemed important at the time), as not all the bags had them. And I remember getting my yucky pants off and then having to call my youngest because I couldn't bend down enough to get the clean one on. But nope...No memory of this picture at all. But it is a pretty great picture isn't it, with all of us metaled up? I also like the background with all the porta-potties. I see it as a jab, a pun, and ironic after what I had just been through. A VERY fitting ending don't ya think?

Marathon details...............................................

In case you haven't heard, I finished, with a time of 6:21:45. I am still emotionally raw (and physically raw in a couple of places), and am not sure how much detail I will go into, but since you have all traveled the past six months with me I didn't want you to have to wait for too long.

I woke to the sound of my oldest (who did the full marathon) in the shower around 4:30 AM, and when she bounded out of the bathroom, the first words out of her mouth were, "It's fate, I woke up and the clock on the microwave said 4:20, then I came over to the bed and that clock said 4:20." 4:20 happen to be the time she had set to finish the marathon in.

It was just chilly enough for us to wake up as we walked to the start line a little over hour later, and just a little bit more windy than we had hoped. Not gonna let a little wind get in the way of enjoying this day, that was for sure.

FINALLY, the gun went off and I crossed the start line a few minutes later and did an easy jog to the first corner where I waited for a couple of minutes to pick up my youngest, the first member of my "Fab Four" relay team. We started with a nice easy pace, and I felt great, except for the fact that I am one of those people that are potty trained, for 7:15 every morning, which happen to be the start time of the race. Some things can't be rushed, so before we really got started we were having to stop.

The first couple of miles to the bridge I felt strong, and my running felt effortless. This continued over the bridge and I had a great time crossing the bridge, my youngest by my side, her only disappointment that she couldn't get the truckers to honk their horn at her.

Due to not understanding the way the transportation for the relay teams worked my youngest ended up having to run the first two legs of the relay instead of the first and last, essentially a half-marathon. She had not trained to run seven miles let alone a half, but she is a trouper and young so she did great.

I am not sure why everyone says the tunnel is cool to run through, I found it quite hot and stuffy, and about half way through it, my youngest started to get a little claustrophobic, and her feet were numb. I told her to imagine that the tunnel was a really long isle in the shoe store and at the end of the isle there was going to be a really great pair of high heels...With four inch high heels! She told me when we met up at the finish line that even though she knew better, she was a tiny bit disappointed that there was a pair of heels waiting at the relay stop for her. You better believe if she ever does this for me again there will be, no matter what I have to do to make sure of it!

I picked up (my) Mister and crossed the thirteen mile mark just a ways down the road. I was pretty amazed at how good I felt. Still having some bathroom issues, but that is what Depends are for. Right. It was getting warm by the time we hit the bridge up to Belle Isle, and about a quarter of the way up the bridge, (my) Mister decided to take off and head to the relay exchange on the other side of the bridge. I guess he was worried about changing the ankle chip or something, but it was a huge mental loss being alone and watching him leave me in his dust. This slowed me down some but I was still feeling physically pretty good. All the training and the pain related medical events of the past year really served me well in being able to tune out the aches and pains as I picked off the miles.

Picking up the third member of my Fab Four (my youngest's boyfriend) gave me a little lift at mile seventeen, and then there was eighteen. Heck, I can do this, so what if I am off my time because I slowed down, and then stopped at a potty to try and clean up a bit? I have plenty of time to finish.

After that potty stop I began to realize how tired I was getting and all I could think was "I REALLY need to see mile 19. My relay partner did a fabulous job of lying to me and telling me there it was, up ahead, and before I knew it, there it was. Then all I could focus on was "I love you dearly___, but I can't wait to see ____, because then I will only have 6 miles to go. Also at mile 19 was where I started counting backwards. "Seven miles to go, anyone can run seven miles. I have ran seven miles countless times." And on and on until I could see the final relay station just ahead. By this time I was definitely at the back of the pack and the trucks were coming along to remove the road blocks. Like the pain, I pushed this out of my mind and let my new partner talk me into picking up the pace through mile 20, and on towards mile 21. By this time I was feeling pretty sick to my stomach, and somewhere between mile 21 and 22 I started getting stomach cramps to the point that they doubled me over so I had no choice but to walk. No porta-potty to be found I finally gave in and just filled my pants. Then it took me about a quarter mile to figure out how to run with the load in my pants, but I finally managed to get a slow steady pace going, and mile 22 pasted, then somehow 23, 24, and there by 25 FINALLY a porta-potty, but I had adjusted and didn't want to stop because now I was under the gun to finish in the 6.5 time limit. Mile markers, 24, and 25 brought tears and statements, "They have to let me finish now. I made it this far, they can't take it away from me now."

My oldest called her partner (my final relay team member) at mile 23 to check on us. She had made her goal time with ten or so seconds to spar. When she called back just before mile 26 it was with more concern that I would not make the time limit. ____ was wonderful at reassuring both of us I would make it in plenty of time.

From reading past accounts of my races you all know I am a talker. This left me somewhere around mile 23 and from that time I was pretty much inside my head talking to myself, muttering a thank you to the police officers that were controlling traffic for us. So now I know the limits I must go to to shut myself up.

And let me take a minute here to applaud the great job they did. The entire course of well marked, and well staffed for both fluids and safety. And every single one of them cheered for us as we passed. Think about that, six hours of sitting around, much of it in the sun (with the officers in full uniform), having cheered for thousands of people, and still showing us a good time when I am sure all they wanted to do was pack up and go home. I think that might be my favorite memory of the entire race.

My youngest and her boyfriend joined us just before mile 26 and she ran with me talking me through the last little distance. "See Mommy, there it is. The finish line. Honestly the only thought I could muster was, "They can't kick me out now." Having the time limit took the joy out of race for me (ya, I know if I ran faster it wouldn't be an issue, and I am not blaming the race. I just learned that a time limit race is not for me. I don't like the pressure).

I had joked to my oldest that I expected her to have a microphone and be singing We Are Family when I crossed the finish line, and she actually did it. She said, "Happy birthday Mom, and then sang a line of the song. Then she gave the microphone back to the "real" announcer and he repeated the sentiment as I actually crossed the finish line. I was feeling too sick at that point to feel anything except relief that I could stop.

I made my way to the porta-potty and got my clothes off, but had to call my youngest to put my pants back on because I couldn't bend over. Talk about love.

I made the walk back to the hotel before the vomiting started, and I am pretty proud of that. And now, my youngest has to give me that honor of having ran hard enough to throw up. So there.

As if I hadn't suffered enough, when I undressed to shower I found three bloody spots on my back from my bra and HR monitor rubbing, and of course my entire bottom was raw. I didn't feel any pain in my legs compared to the pain in my butt, so I do have that to cling to.

Made it home and I was still an emotional mess. Heck, I am still an emotional mess, and I have been crying the entire time I have been typing this up.

As tired as I was, even with some left-over pain medication from my surgery I was not able to stay asleep for more than an hour at a time last night. I think every time I moved in my sleep the movement cause my butt to hurt and this woke me up. When I WAS asleep, I was dreaming of running the marathon over and over and over. All in all, a pretty horrible night. I am doing better today but I still have 1/4 inch high welts on my butt from the experience. OUCH! I have figured out a way to avoid this in the future with Vaseline and layering, so it was a learning experience, abet a painful one.

When I couldn't sleep, I picked up a book to read, and it was a book about running marathons (stories of one woman's runs). At the start of a chapter she had quotes and this one from Frank Shorter hit the mark for me:

You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming.

While I am fairly certain there will be another one in my future, don't you dare ask me when it will be! I still have lots of processing to do on this one.

P.S.
Imagine my shock at reading the official time this morning and finding out that I was third from last in my age division! I was sure I was dead last in the entire race not just in my division, but as long as they didn't kick me out I didn't care one little bit at the time. I still don't.

Some advice from a veteran..................................

I think I mentioned that I met a woman when I did the South Dakota race that had ran Detroit as her first marathon, at age 50. She continues to run marathons, and has several under her running shoes. I decided to write to her and ask her if she had any last minute advice for me. I was so touched by her advice that I thought I would share it with all of you. I have learned that in general runners are good people, but the fact that she took the time to send me this note puts her in an even higher class in my book. Thanks XXXX, you are a doll!

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Patty, I am sure that you will do well in Detroit. I will be looking for your results. By now, you should be tapering, resting and probably going crazy. You will probably also be thinking you are ill, have lots of aches and pains, and so forth. Do no worry about that - it is to be expected.

I love the marathon route. The bridge will be especially beautiful, as you will be able to see the sun rise as you cross it. I think that is the prettiest part of the route. The tunnel is also so neat, when you come out and see a lot of people there screaming and yelling.

When you finish this first marathon you will have such strong feelings. The first is always the best! And then within a few days, yes, there may be a let down. So rest up for a short while, and then aim for something. There are generally a few shorter races during the holiday season. Some have cute shirts too. I always do the Run like the Dickens in Holly every Dec.

I expect a note telling me all about your experiences shortly after the race!

Oh yes, get a good sleep Thurs or Fri. You probably will not sleep on Saturday!!!!

XXXX

In hiding.....................................

The last two days I have been avoiding interaction with the general public. Those people that are in my inner circle fine, but I don't want to chance hearing anything that might upset me. No news, no weather reports, no attitudes, nothing.

The logical part of brain knows this is silly, but the biggest part of brain doesn't see any point in chancing it. It is sorta like when I was in labor with my children. I tuned out the world in order to fully focus on the task at hand. I had no idea that I would be doing this for the marathon, but here it is.

I have been doing silly little indulgent things like taking color baths and burning yummy smelling candles while I fiddle with my guitar. I deserve this time to myself, and am taking full advantage of it.

I think a part of me wants to savor the last little bit of time I have before the big day. I want to bask in all I have gone through to get to this point in my life and all the positive changes that have happen to me over the past three years.

I know I am still going to be me when the race is over, but I also know I am going to be different, and maybe I need to mourn the passing of that me.

Maybe I just have too much time on my hands!

Regardless, I just wanted to check in and now that I have it is back into hiding.

Om..........................

One week from this moment and I will be someone where on the course of the Detroit marathon, having a blast, and living out a dream. How freaking exciting is that thought?

Had a nice 8 mile run yesterday, and did a nice consistent 12 minute mile pace. Now my schedule calls for a couple of two mile distances and resting this week. I am trying to fill the extra time with lots and lots of positive, relaxing thoughts. I am pretty much doing only fun things. Like Kate, no house cleaning for this lady. How often does one have the excuse not to clean. Well, come to think of it I have been having quite a few excuses the past months. And our since we brought the outdoor plants in for the winter the kitten has been in heaven playing in the pots and throwing the dirt all over the floor in the process, but heck, it goes quite nice with the leaves that blow in when the door is open. Maybe I should market it to interior decorators, like those bars that have the peanut shells all over the floor and are considered cool. Probably not...

I took a color bath with lots of essential oils in it last night to balance my energy levels. I slept like a baby, and feel all calm and patient this morning. Think it will last until noon? Wouldn't want to bet on it, but there is always a chance now isn't there!

Thanks again to all of you that have been supporting me over the past months, through the ups and downs of my training. It would not have been the same without you, and you are are going to be sharing in my victory, because you are a big part of it. Huge love and gratitude to you all!

The good, the bad, and the scary.......................................

Granted I am not familiar with the Detroit area, but I never in a million years would have thought driving the marathon course would take us close to three hours. Even that fact that it took us a good thirty minutes to get out of the tunnel due to traffic, that still seems like a long time. When you think about the fact that the winner of the marathon will most likely take less time than that it IS a long time.

Driving the course did give me new appreciation of those course Marshalls (and having been one I actually know what they are called now), and how important it is having someone there to make sure you are going the right way.

When we came up to the bridge into Canada I had a total freak out and cursed my idea of driving the course. That sucker is BIG, and LONG, and UP HILL! And did I mention I am afraid of bridges? Has to do with a re-occurring childhood dream. But after I called my youngest (she is running that portion of the race with me) I calmed down and now I have the picture in my head to be able to meditate on and visualize me running fast and strong over the bridge, all the while having a great time.

In my mind, the race is made up of three parts. Downtown with all the concrete and buildings. This is the beginning and the tail end of the race. Then there is the exciting part, the bridge and the tunnel. Not being a normal running path it is going to be neat to be able to say I ran over and through them. The final part is the pretty part. Running along the water, around Belle Isle, and the residential area after Belle Isle is pleasing on the eye and will be great for keeping your mind off any aches and pains as you take in the scenery.

Even though it was hot and humid, we did stop and run the three miles around Belle Isle. I was glad that leg wasn't longer.

All in all I can think of a better way to have started my fiftieth year. We even managed to fit in ice cream and a movie (with a small popcorn, but heck it WAS my birthday, and my HR monitor said I had burned close to 4,000 calories the day before, so I figured the splurge was okay) before having to be home to relieve the OP caregiver substitute.

I think one more day and I will be back to walking normal after Saturday's run. Funny, this morning I work up and my forearms are achy. Since I didn't do anything that I can think of to cause it besides Saturday's run, it must be from the position I had my arms in for almost six hours, but it is just showing up three days later. Maybe my body couldn't spare any pain signals for the forearms as they were all busy letting me know how much my quads didn't like what I put them through. Get over it quads, we are doing it again in less than two weeks! And I can't wait!

It's taper time......................................

Being two weeks behind schedule, I planned to do a long run today, but didn't set a goal in stone in case my wrist acted up or the down time had taken more out of me than I thought. Had one in my head (don't we always), but told myself I would be happy with anything in the teens. I ended up completing what I wanted to do:

TWENTY FOUR (24) MILES!!!

YES I DID!

Okay, I completed twenty two (22) running, and walked the last two, but I am counting it.

I started out slow and steady. Then the sun came up (which by the way was beautiful and very entertaining for a mile or so) and made it feel more humid, more like it really was. What is up with 85 and humid in October?

By the time I met my youngest at mile seven I was feeling pretty nauseated, and moving like a turtle. I had been out for 4.5 hours and still had seven miles to go to make my hearts desire.

I know all the books say if you do one or two twenty milers then you will be able to finish the marathon. I also know in all the stories I have read the people really struggled mentally with the last six miles. I figured if I did twenty four once it would be a mental boost. Heck I know I can CRAWL two miles if I had to.

I am glad I did, because the last two miles that I ran I WAS having trouble ignoring the aches, the nausea, the heat. My face felt like it was literally on fire and of course the water I had with me was warm as bath water so that was no help even though I kept making myself drink it. This ended up being good practice for my youngest to get my mind off things and for me to stay focused on moving my feet. At one point she said, "Okay. We are going to pick up the pace when we get to that tree." For the first time (I can remember anyway) since beginning this training the words, "I can't" came out of my mouth. I alternated between I can't and I'll try until we reached the tree and I did indeed try, and even managed to do so for a short distance.

Had today's time been the marathon, I regret to tell you I would have been kicked out by about 8 minutes (this comes from the 5:40 time for the 22 miles and then calculating what the other 4.2 would have taken me) from their 6.5 hour cut-off time. I will say I did leave the clock running while I was collecting my Gatorade from the side of the road and when I went potty (only twice. Now that I hope is exactly the same on marathon day). I am not really worried about this as I am sure race excitement and running with a partner will easily absorb that. Really nothing I can do at this point so what happens happens whether or not I invest time worrying about it.

So now, with one last long run behind me I can turn my mind towards relaxing and getting well rested and well fueled for the big day. Sometime this turns out to be harder than a long run, but I plan to give it as much effort.

Almost to the starting line of my goal, this will be the last post I write as a forty-nine year old. Tomorrow I turn fifty, and move up in age category. Too bad all those other forty-nine year old women in my area, the one's that are way faster than me, move up along with me. Doesn't make me any less a winner in my heart or in my soul. I am totally content to just be able to be a part of it all.

Runner girl is back.........................................

Had my two week check with the surgeon this afternoon and the news is wonderful. Details...

First the nice young nurse(?) took off the splint. I was so busy pretending it was the first time I had it off that I forgot to rescue the dirty ace wrap that the family had put their signature drawings on. But she was none the wiser that the splint had been off so my model patient status remained intact.

Next came X-rays...the wrist was a lot straighter today than the last time it was X-rayed (before surgery).

So, the doc comes in and asks how I was doing so I turned it back on him and ask him to tell me since he was the one with the X-rays in his hands. He said I was doing well, and healing great. Then he came over and ask me to squeeze my hand shut. When I did it with ease (I have a little decreased range, but not much) he was REALLY impressed. Then he says, "I should take you next door and show you the lady in there. I did her the same day as you." I replied, "Only if I am doing better." He says, "Oh ya! W-A-Y better."

I had met this woman on my first visit to his office. Her name is also Patricia, and she is two years younger than me (48 to my 50). I fractured my left wrist and am right hand dominate. She fractured her right wrist and is left hand dominate. Yes I'm bragging, but apparently I kicked her ass when it comes to bouncing back/recovery! Woo! Hoo!

Back to my story... As the surgeon is telling me he wants me to start ranging the wrist and using the hand more, he stands and is heading to the door. I am patient, not saying anything. Then he turns around, looks at me with this little smile, and says, "Yes. You can run, but wear the splint for two more weeks." Containing myself I ask about transferring my resident, and proceeded to show him how I had been doing it (he ask if we were going to dance), and then ask if I could use Theraband to strengthen my elbow and shoulder (he said that would be fine). Then I ask if I had any restrictions. He said, 'NO PUSH UPS!" I could contain myself no more and started to laugh with glee as I crossed my heart and promised no push ups OR downward dogs.

When the assistant came in my wrist brace he told me no lifting anything heavier than a coffee cup (and having heard me before added, "and not the big jumbo one either).

So, I wear the brace for an additional two weeks, watch the lifting, exercise and range four or so times a day without the splint on, and go back in a month. I even get to start showering my arm tomorrow. How great is that?

I came home and went out for a nice relaxing five mile run (57 minutes) and I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to be out of breath and sweaty. We will see how I feel tomorrow, but today it feels like I didn't lose too much during the time off. My quads felt a little tired by the end, but that could be from the stupid bike riding. I figure I can make up a bit of training this week and then turn the focus to my taper so I am well rested and ready to run nineteen days from now.

Thank you for all of the prayers and good wishes. As I told everyone in the surgeon's office I am doing as well as I am due to the power of prayer and positive thoughts. I could not have done this without all of you. May you be blessed beyond measure for your goodness!

Volunteering.................................

It continues to be frustrating to type, which is the reason for the delayed update, but here it is...

I ended up getting assigned to a spot only about 1/2 mile into the race. It was very "interesting" to watch the front of the pack as they passed me. They were so serious looking I almost felt like I should be standing at attention.

There was a camera set up right by me, and at about the 8 minute pace group people began to look more relaxed, some of them raising their hands or smiled at the camera, so I began to voice encouragement.

By the time the 10 minute pace group went by the people were interacting with me so I felt it was okay to bring out the cow bell to up my encouragement.

By the time the last couple passed (walking, were well into their sixties), about fifteen minutes into the race, I was really having fun and we had a little mini conversation about the great pink shoelaces the Mrs. had in her shoes. She told me she picked them up at a race for breast cancer the day before. I can only hope that is me when I am her age (not that far away mind you).

When I was finished with that task, I walked back to the finish line just in time to see the first 5K finisher. (they started the 5K about 10 minutes after the half. He finished in about 17 minutes. WOW!) I ask for an additional task and was ask to remove chips. I did pretty good considering I had only 1.5 hands. Taking care of myself, when my wrist began to tire I went and found a new job guarding the bags people had left their belonging in, and did this for about an hour until my wrist told me it had had enough and it was time to go.

I was feeling pretty good about my day, and how well I had handled not participating in the actual race as I was walking back to the car. Unfortunately my path took me past the finish line, and the announcer that was congratulating people as they finished. I burst into tears thinking about how badly I wanted to be out there. Poor me!

If nothing else, this two week hiatus has reinforced how much this running thing is in my blood, and how committed I am to staying healthy and in shape. The little Miss Couch Potato in me still finds this a little hard to believe, but am I ever grateful for this life change I have made. I was talking to Random last night and she was telling me how she came back from the SD race a completely changed person. Who would have thought putting on a pair of shoes and running for a couple of hours could have such a positive effect on one's life? I am so blessed to be a part of it.

And now for the REALLY exciting news..............................................

October is my birthday month, and this Sunday is my actual birthday. I have someone to watch the OPs for the day(which is a HUGE gift in itself) so (my) Mister is going to drive me to Detroit and we are going to drive the marathon course and hopefully be able to run a bit of it. This is going to be such a mental boost and I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday. I know, you're all jealous...It's okay!

And I have picked out our race days shirts. The same brand (race ready) as we had for the trail race and I love it. It feels like you are wearing nothing at all. Our shirts are going to be white and my oldest is going to have something cool put on them for a little surprise for me. I also found some socks with 26.2 on then on the web site that I am getting for myself and my oldest, and ones with four little people on the cuff for my relay team. I also found a belt that holds your number instead of having to pin it on. This will solve the layering problem as it can clip it on over the windbreaker and unclip it quickly when I want to take it off the windbreaker into the race. I am going to give it a try and make sure I like it before using it as I have heard too many race day horror stories of trying something new on race day to chance it.

I go to the doctor today so I WILL be reporting good news to you tomorrow I am sure.