Now you see me...

                                                               Marathon Mania!

I've been MIA for so long, I don't even know where to start or what I want this post to be!  I haven't stopped running, no sir!  I'm still at it.  I was in a wierd mental place 3 weeks prior to Seattle RNR.  I knew my training had turned into a big pile of poop and I was mentally no where near being able to run a full.  It took a lot for me to call my sissy and tell her I was dropping to the half.  She too agreed and then and there we decided to make Portland our full.  A weight had been lifted from my shoulders when I begged her asked her if we could drop to the half.  I figured, I needed to get my feet wet and see what this racing stuff was all about in a non-intimidating manner.  I did and let me tell you, I turned into Mr. Toad when he saw his first motor car. All my anxieties left me as soon as we crossed the start line.  All those negative thoughts left me.  And believe me, those negative thoughts were plenty!

• You haven't trained properly! You hardly ran the last two weeks.
• You're too slow, you'll be the last
• You're a fraud, you're not a real runner and all of these elite athletes will be able to tell you don't belong here
• OMG you look chubby today
• I CAN'T DO THIS!

Well, like I said, it all left me. I started smiling, I crossed that line and I felt like I was a runner.  There were people there who where running at my pace!  There were people of all shapes, sizes and ages. I know it's going to sound wierd but the first 7 miles were the easiest I've ever ran in my life (easy does not equal fast! Yup, still slow!)  I just felft giddy to be there with this large group of people running through my favorite city in the world.

So here's some pictures of my race day. 

From my girls

More pics to follow....dinner calls and the ladies are cranky