Race Week...AGAIN!

I'm gearing up for a relaxing trip to Dallas for the weekend to do some shopping, eating and drinking...oops, my mistake. There will be no shopping unless the receipt happens to have bagels, peanut butter and gatorade on it. It's more like a weekend filled with running, eating and drinking.

I'm super-excited about Sunday's Dallas White Rock Marathon! Not only is it a new race for me, but I'm running it with my Austin running partners Thon, Mike and Amy. We all have the same idealistic finish goals and plan on hanging together, at least for a while. The only person missing from our running clique is Richard, who has been sick and unable to train for this one. However, Richard is making the trip with his wife Stephanie and we'll also be graced with the presence of Mike's real wife Hava, superfast gazelle Erine and my fiance Shawn (who's running the Half Marathon). If you ask me, this weekend is going to be more of a party than a marathon!

As for the run itself, my goals keep changing. One thing that hasn't changed is the goal of "having fun." It's hard to top the Boston Marathon experience of 2006, even though it almost seems ages ago. As I was telling Thon and Mike today, I feel like my body and mind peaked the top of the training mountain after Ironman 70.3 Clearwater...Since then, I've had a difficult time with recovery. My breathing seems labored and I'm having a hard time settling into my runs. Just ask Thon after our 11 mile run on Saturday. I was pretty cranky through most of it...Well, at least until I got warm coffee and breakfast tacos. After that, I was fine :-) Right now, I'm trying to stay in that "peak" position even though it feels like I'm coming down the other side of the mountain--which is what techinically should be happening. This week, I'm asking my body and mind to give me one more hard effort. I honestly don't know what's going to happen.

Here's what I do know... Whether I get a 3:30 or a 4:30, I'm going to have fun and celebrate this fantastic year. Plus, I'm getting a massage on Wednesday. That alone is worth it.