Let the Countdown Begin

I never thought I'd be here...7 days out. 1 week. And yet here I am and it's getting closer and closer with every passing minute.

I defeated the illness. I have defeated the calf strain (for now...let's just hope it holds up on race day). The steroids did not make me sick, but actually had the opposite effect and made me feel a sense of euphoria for the past 3 days. Pretty awesome if I must say so. The hip feels great. And, most scarily, I am done training. I did a short 3-miler on the treadmill at the gym yesterday to see how my calf would hold up and it did great. This means my last long run was my 8-miler about 2 weeks ago. This is probably not the best training-wise, but my sports doc is a genius and I believe him when he tells me to rest this week and not risk doing any more long runs. After all, I'm not going into this trying to win it...

I will continue to cycle this week at the gym and I'll be doing a lot of stretching to keep everything tuned up. My mind will be the biggest obstacle this week...this is when all the nerves, doubts, fears and anxiety go into overdrive and it takes everything I have to find something else to think about and focus on.

I will be alright no matter how this turns out. I have so much support and such a loving group of people behind me that are there for me no matter what. I truly appreciate that more than they will ever know.

I plan to update this week with details about next weekend. Check back soon!