before 7:15 am I can run 5 miles

That's what I did this morning.  I ran 5 miles before 7:15.  It felt SoOoOO good!   And the morning was beautiful.  The sky was perfect and colorful, the birds were singing -- even the wild turkeys :) -- it was fantastic and fresh.  Running felt nice, which is a huge plus because when I ran this weekend, it was all I could to do get a 5k in (I was slated for 8 miles. yikes).  Thank goodness for my cousin, Ray, who decided to run with me.  I would have stopped a few feet into the run (seriously), but he kept me moving.  I figured that since I hadn't run for a week (I was sick with an awful chest cold), that anything would be better than those first few few feet.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I was not excited about the waking up part this morning -- 5:30 am comes really, really, really early, especially when I woke up with each of my children last night and I had a few coughing fits -- but I thought leaving someone (my running buddy) on the corner in the just-before-dark-lifts kind of light at 6 am would have been shady of me.

I am starting to really stress about the race IN 18 DAYS!  I keep getting sick or life gets in the way and I am not feeling prepared for it.  I've got a 10 mile run slated for this weekend.  It is the last weekend before the race for me to run that far before having to just step back and taper and chill out (I think that I was scheduled to do it a week ago).  The friend that I ran with this morning was trying to calm me down while I was expressing my nervousness.  He reminded me to stay in a good place in my head because all of this training is a mental battle, too.  If I mess up my head space, I won't even be able to do it.   He's totally right.

I have more to write, but the little boys just woke up.  I will say that waking up early to run facilitated my ability to shower, pray, have coffee on my front porch, and now write this blog before the littles woke up.  I am a huuuugggeee fan of all of those things :)

Blessings! and Joy!
nicole mArie


Also, I am still looking for sponsors for the race!  I would really like to reach my goal of $2620, and I am hoping for your help!  Thank you :)

Nicole Marie's Fundraising Page