Patience, the NEW Endurance Sport!

Oh no!!! I am so sorry your family can't make it! I hope your hubby makes it to the finish at least! Oh dear. Wish I didn't live so far away or I would come cheer you all the way. I'm sure the knee will be fine. Smart to take it easy though. The training is done. All you are doing now is running here and there to dust of the cobwebs until the big day!

As part of my sherpa duties I will carry my cell phone in addition to my camera. That way you will have the ability to call them. For those of your family that cannot make it - I will finish a little in front of you so that I can record a video of you crossing the line. It will not be the same as them being there - but it will allow them to see you make this great accomplishment.

Marion - ice and ibuprofen the knee. It might be an injury - but more likely it is taper week hypochondria. I get all sorts of aches and pains the week before a race.

Just remember your family and this entire blog will be there with you in spirit, cheering you on in every mile! I will be on the top of every tree, so whenever you're feeling lonely just look up and you'll see me with a loud, annoying cowbell and a purple wig saying "GOOOOO MARION!!!

Where does your knee hurt? Could it be your IT band? Stretch and ice, but Maurine is probably right.

Marion, sorry that your family won't be there, but like Lucia said we are all here in spirit cheering you on :)

I know that the week before Ogden every joint in my body started hurting...another running friend suggested the taper week hypochondria, like Maurine said. And that must have been my problem because I felt fine at the race.

I am sorry your family won't be there. Will you have friends there?

Marion,

No worries about the knee. Do the RICE thing just to be safe. I get "taper madness phanthom pain all the time the week of the marathon. It's all good!

I'm sad that your family won't be there. HOW NICE of Maurine to be your sherpa and personal video-taker. If I'm not dead after my hobbling in, I will be there to witness your triumphant accomplishment. I am more excited for you achieving your goal than for me running this. It will be a gorgeous day and you will treasure the memories forever. LOVE YOU to pieces!

Well put, Smooth. I am more excited about hanging with Marion and watching her finish her first marathon than finishing myself. My only goal is a nice long run without injury and motivating our fair Marion to victory (can't let her remain a virgin any longer).

Marion, you were there for me when I finished my first marathon and my family was not. I'm sorry I can't be there for you.

Ladies- you all have me crying again. I am so BLESSED to have found wonderful people like you to support me in this. Three and a 1/2 years ago when I weighted 255 lbs and made this goal, I really never thought I would do it. It was just another goal I would not reach, and now it is 5 days away. I am SO excited!!! I really could not have done this without y'all. I love you all DEARLY!! You excitement and encouragement mean EVERYTHING to me!

Yes, I do think it is just a phantom pain, trying to psych me out! I am going to stick with gentle stretching for the rest of the week and maybe try two miles on wed and thursday to make sure the legs still work ;)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Lucia,I will forever see you in the tops of the trees with a purple wig and cheering for me :) I love it!!! I am going to add Lori, April and Carolyn up there too. They will have to have green, red and hot pink wigs to complete the hilarity of the vision!!

I just love you all to DEATH!!!!

Britta- Maurine and Smooth will be running it. MichelleL & Allie are coming to cheer. Kelli is going to run back after Scott finishes and find us. Maurine is running with me :) We are going to be chasing Smooth. My SIL is going to join us at mile 21 with Reeses peanut butter cups :) I will have TONS of love and good friends! Britta, I can put you in the tree too, what color wig would you like? ;D

You have your own sherpa!? I was going to offer Jorge as a surrogate....:) I'll be there for you too, and we have yet to coordinate! Ice that knee. I have pre-saturday hypochondria as well. But whatever happens, happens! All the hay is in the barn already. We'll all be fine. It's just another Saturday long run :)

OH MY GOSH!!! LUZ, of course you are going to be there too!!! Anna Lisa too! I have been crying my eyes out.. too many hormones... and knew I was forgetting someone VERY important!!!! Luz, you are the sweet dear who showed me that I could do this one. (speaking of hormones, my period just ended today ;D, talk about perfect timing!!!)

Jorge would be a GREAT sherpa!

Britta- I will be chasing Luz too!!!

Luz- does Jorge know that you pimp him out??? ;D

Luz- Maurine and I are meeting at 4:45 to catch a bus together. We are also going out to dinner at the Brick Oven at 6:15 ish on friday night. Wait, or are we going to get the packets first? We will be over by brick oven, so maybe we should do that first and then go over to get the packets?

Maurine, what do you think? (see above)

Smooth- are you up for Brick Oven Friday night?

Sure! Hhe can show up in his grillz and fur coat if you like or come "Vato" style with a bandana and a switchblade. He's easy.... Brick Oven sounds good. I'll have to see if I can fit it in since I have a birthday party to attend to until about 5:30. Just let me know if you're going to get race packets before or after dinner. I want to come!

Luz- you are craking me up! I have not heard "vato" in FOREVER!!! David will be in tow, so bring your fur coated switch-blading hunk along too :)

Marion - we were going to get our packets first so we didn't have to worry about them and then go to Brick Oven. I think we were meeting at the mall at 6:20 p.m.

Off to do my run now.

Coolio!! I will call brick oven and make a reservation for 7:15??? What do you think? I am getting so excited!!!!

7:30???

7:15 sounds good to me. Did you get your email about the race instructions?

Marion! Are your parents coming to cheer you on or do you mean your kids can't come? Is David working that day? I feel so bad I can't come! I will be thinking of you Saturday - you will do great. You will probably bawl when you finish because it will feel so good to accomplish your goal - something you've worked so hard for. Love ya!

PS - What half marathon are you running July 11? That date works well with my training and I want to run one!

Maurine- Yes- I got the email :)

Kylee- My parents are not coming. David is working and the kids can't come without him. Anna has a bagpipe competition in SLC. David will try to come over on his lunch hour. His assistant writes the schedule and he didn't tell her he needed the day off :( If he takes off Sat, he has to work Sunday and I don't want him to work on Sunday. I don't know what he is going tdo about it.

July 11th is the RED HOT PINK CHICK 1/2 marathon. You MUST come and run it with us :)

I will pack my cell!

Here is my new idea that I just sent Marion. I will be carrying my cell phone and, for anyone not in the race who wants to follow along, I can publish Twitters at regular points along the way. So, if you create a Twitter account and set yourself to follow me at 'maurinelee', you will get up to date posts every five miles or so.

Hmmm....I have never twittered! Is it just a text message? Are you and MArion running together? I am behind on all of the plans. Dumb Scott had to enter this race and mess everything up for me.

Okay, I just read all of the posts, so do not answer that! GREAT!!! I can call Maurine and find out how far back you are and how fast I have to run after Scott finishes. I was going to try to run him in, but my first priority is YOU and I do not want to use too much energy running (or trying to) at the speed of light.

WOW Kelli- you read ALL of that :) I am impressed ;) I sure hope that Scott has this all figured out! If he needs you, you don't worry about me. I am SO excited to have such a BEAUTIFUL entourage bringing me in :) Kelli and Maurine, it means so much to me that you guys are gonna run me in! Mandy will have treats to lure me in if needed. If all else fails, the hallucinations of Lucia, Lori and Carolyn in the trees with their multi colored wigs will do the trick with you three pushing me along :) I have decided that for dinner that night I want chicken fried steak from Chili's. It has been on the brain for about 6 months. I won't be able to eat it all, does anyone want to share? I think we are going to go like at 9pm when I feel like eating again. It really ticks me off that I am not hungry after such a LONG race! The one time in my life that I really could eat whatever I want and I CANT eat :( Sunday I will be hungry, does anyone know haow to make chicken fried steak with garlic mashed potatoes and country style gravy? Oh wait, it's my dad's birthday and we are going over there to eat. Now I am just rambling on and on and on. I just went to traffic school and waited around for a 1/2 hour only to realize when no one showed that it is NEXT Tuesday. IS there such thing as pre-marathon syndrome? My brain dies for a few days after a long run, can it happen before the big run?

Marion, you will be fine and great and it will be a good day! I am sure you are a bundle of nerves (but you should get credit for showing up to traffic school anyway!)

Scott won't need me, in fact I am sure he wishes I would go away. My role is to pull the plug on the run if he is cramping. He thinks it is a "game" of sorts, but this is no laughing matter. I have been reading how it has killed people in marathons and even just running. It is no joke and he will not finish in that bad of shape again. So, I have to be there the last 5-6 miles to make sure that he is not cramping up.

This is YOUR race, Scott rained on your parade (and mine!) It is gonna be a busy day (I am driving Scott and Walter to the start line, then going back to Bluffdale to help with a 5k at 6:30, then heading back to the marathon to run backwards and find Scott, then on to the QUEEN of the day---MARION (and the highlight for me!!!)

Maurine, I need you to PM me your cell number so I can call as soon as Scott finishes as I head back out.

How many miles do you think I am going to get?

It really depends on Scott's time. Under PREFECT miraculous conditions, I'll be in at 4:55, 5:20-5:30 is what I am thinking. 10:45- 11:30 is the finish window. The 20 miler took 4:04... or somehting like that. Does that help? We are going to call Mandy at mile 16. Should we call you too?

PS- Kelli you are SO sweet :) I am drinking my gatorade :) Actually powerade Zero.

Yes, do that!!!

I am hoping to JOG up 5-6 miles to find Scott, then speed scarily through the same to the finish. Then turn around and job back to wherever I find you. It will be interesting to see where that ends up being, huh???? Scott wants to finish around 3:25, so we will see!

I better carry some water!

We are twins, I am drinking a Powerade Zero myself!!!

We will call you at mile 16. Amelia Erheart Elementary is at mile 21. Maybe you want to wait for Scott there? I have to take Mandy back there for her car, I could give you a lift too. :)

I was hoping to meet him around there somewhere! We will see how time is going (like when I get there) and I will either run there or drive. I might have a lot of time to kill!