It's still hot and I'm still nervous.

I haven't blogged in a couple of days, so here's the recap. I redeemed myself from my bad run on Wednesday by running 4 miles on Thursday. It was on the treadmill during lunch, so it's not as satisfying as running outside, but I'll take it. Friday Phil and I went to our friends wedding, which was a blast. Let me just say I had a couple too many cocktails, and today proved to be a complete waste. So, tomorrow is an ambitious day and we're going to kick it off with a 14 mile run.

I've decided to start running the race course for my long runs (when I can) so I'm prepared mentally for the race. See, I'm a planner- I make lists, I rehearse, meal plan. I like to be prepared for just about everything I do- it makes me feel comfortable with the task at hand. Especially with something as major as running a marathon- the more I know, the less anxious I'll feel. The race starts in Grafton and ends at the Lakefront. That's a lot of long span of land, and knowing the layout is going to be beneficial to my time goal. What I'm hoping to learn is where I can pick up some time and identify potential trouble spots. Knowing the terrain, and where the hills are is going to give me a mental edge. With my long runs covering half of the race, or more, I'll become pretty familiar with it.

Beyond running further than I ever have tomorrow, I'm starting to transition into training like I'll be running in a race. During a marathon, you have to drink water and eat in order to make it. I've experienced this a little with half marathons, but 2 hours of running is significantly different on your body than 4.5 hours is. The rule of thumb is to drink water if you're running for over an hour. You don't really need to eat at that point, but have to be cognoscente of it after an hour. I've never brought anything to eat on a training run. 2 hours doesn't really require it- but I'm going to start doing so tomorrow. First of all, I'm going to wear a water belt. It holds two small water bottles and just straps around your waist with velcro. I'm not excited about that at all. The second part is the food. There are a couple of ways to go about this. A lot of runners take GU with them- it's literally a gooey substance packed with carbs, proteins, etc. I'm not a fan of that because of the texture. I've never tried it, but because of the texture I'll never try it. I just don't think I could stomach it. Luckily, they also make them in gummy form. I'm going to try those tomorrow too, so let's se how it goes. I hope I like them so I have something to rely on throughout the long runs.

It's time for me to get to bed so I can get up and rock this run.

-Haylea

By the way- this running thing is killing my social life- I didn't want to go to a party tonight os I'd be rested and well hydrated for the run tomorrow. Gosh that's lame...