It's the Final Countdown!

Just 7 short days until the San Diego Rock and Roll marathon!  Can't believe it got here so fast.  I'm ready!

Half way to our $3000 fundraising goal!

Good news everyone! As of today, we've reached $1504.30 in donations! We are half way to our goal of $3000! Thanks again to everyone who has contributed.

The wind tried to tell me to slooooooow doooooown, but I said "F*ck you!" and I ran off with my ENERGY LEGS!!

It's funny when you're training for a marathon and you think, "Yah, only a 12 mile run today... SWEET!"  Today was pretty windy and a bit chilly, but overall a pretty decent run.  Legs felt incredibly tired though, probably because I didn't really have anything to eat before the run (except for a shot block).  Kept up a 9:21min/mile pace, hardly fast enough to finish a marathon in sub 4 though.  Ah well, under 4:30 would make me a happy girl.
12 mi run - Mira Mesa / Miramar Lake - Garmin Stats

20 mi run - Mission Bay / Fiesta Island (Last one before the RnR!!)

Yay! The last 20 mi before the SD RnR! Felt like it went a lot better than the last 20 mi that I ran, but I was 1 minute slower in my time. I'm not disappointed, though... I'm happy that I can start tapering down. =)
I ended up running about 4 miles with another runner who was doing a similar route as I was.  Turns out he was also doing a 20 mile run in preparation for the SD RnR  We were chatting and I soon realized that I was going faster than I was aiming for (8.5min/mile) and didn't even realize it.  He mentioned a couple times that I was running a pretty good pace for someone who had hoped to finish under 4.5 hrs.  Of course as soon as he said that, I decided to slow down so I could comfortably finish the 10 miles that I still had in front of me.  Overall, I feel like a champion, I'm tired, and I'm ready for the marathon. =)

20 mi run - Misson Bay / Fiesta Island Garmin Stats

A couple of interesting articles regarding Multiple Myeloma

Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) Genomics Initiative provides first in depth look at multiple myeloma genome

Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) initiates phase IB/II clinical trial of Treanda in combination with Revlimid and Dexamethasone in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma

12 mi run - Mira Mesa / Miramar Lake

I went for a 12 mi run from my house around Miramar Lake and back before I take my mom and grandma to their Mother's Day brunch.  The weather is perfect: overcast and slightly cool.  The area below my left calf is still giving me a little bit of problems though.  Hopefully it won't be much of a bother during the marathon.

12 mi run - Mira Mesa / Miramar Lake Garmin Stats

20 mi run - Mission Bay (1 of 2 before tapering down)

20 mi run around Mission Bay. The San Diego International Sprint Triathlon was happening around Fiesta Island, so after running 2.5 mi clockwise on our route, we decided it was best to go the other way so I wouldn't get in the way of these Tri-athletes. Unfortunately for me, that means I had to suffer through Fiesta Island at the end of my run. I started to get a nagging cramp on the base of left calf around mile 8 and immediately took an electrolyte/salt pill to avoid the cramping getting worse. I took a few more of those pills periodically throughout the remaining of the run and it seemed to help keep the calf cramp at bay. So yay, I have learned a lesson from the horrible cramps I suffered after the La Jolla half. This old girl can learn new tricks. ;)
Overall, a pretty decent run, if I push it just a tiny tiny bit more, it's very possible that I can crack 4 hours at the RnR marathon, but I will be completely happy with a sub 4:30 time, since this was my initial goal when I ran my first marathon in 2005. =)

20 mi run - Mission Bay Garmin Stats