Five Days to go. Carbs anyone?

Ok, so I'm not going to win the Blog contest that my wife, Kathleen, appears to be having with me. Equally clear: my sore thighs and hips don't seem to be gathering the attention that her quest to run a marathon 7 months after brain aneurym surgery seems to be gathering. Go figure :-)

You should quickly finish reading this post and then promptly go to her blog for some serious inspiration. And then you should show up at the pre-race spaghetti dinner Friday night and watch her speech. Kathleen likes to point out that every runner has their story.....ok, that is true, but hers is pretty dang good! I'm very proud of Kathleen's tenacity and her will to be there at the starting line on the 22nd. It's going to be a great day.....but she'll need your encouragement to stop crying long enough to run the race she has trained so hard for! If you see her before or during the race, remind her there is plenty of time to cry afterward---"run, Forest, run!!"

I always enjoy the last week before a run like this. It's time to eat some pizza and pasta, rest the wheels, take some short, slow runs, and imagine your way through the course. Imagine the tough parts but also picture gliding along on the wave of all that training! I am not usually very good about stretching (which is probably why my legs hurt so badly at this point), but I always make sure to stretch a lot in the days leading up to a run like this.....and I usually take two 20 second breaks to stretch gingerly during the marathon. Nothing gets the stride back like a 20 second stretch at mile 15 and mile 20. Feet a little more than shoulder width apart and gentle reach down to your shoes....standard stretch....take it easy but get the benefit of the stretch. Don't linger too long....20 or 30 seconds is all you need, then back at it!

Thanks in advance to all the volunteers and all the spectators along the route in in the Fargodome for the finish--every one of us on the course appreciates your efforts so much. You make this a world-class event for all the participants and for these great communities!

I am looking forward to the run on Saturday, sore legs be danged! See you at the races! Whatever your pick, the kids race, the 5k, 10k, the relay, the 1/2 M or M, you are about to be a part of a great event. It's the first day of the rest of our lives--start it off with a run!!!

Drew