Baby, We Were Born To Run

You guys, I am going to try running on FRIDAY! I am beyond excited and have been obsessing all week. I finally found my Garmin watch (with GPS & other awesome features) while cleaning my room, and quickly got to uploading every run I’ve done on it (since I got it on my birthday 2 years ago) to the computer.

I was surprised to find that I only wore it for one (of three) half marathons! But it was my PR race so maybe that’s a sign that I should wear it for every race? Either way it inspired me to see all my mile splits from last year’s Five Points of Life Marathon in Gainesville, and seeing that my slowest of 13.1 miles was 9 minutes and 39 seconds. AGH! I need to get back to that place. Check it out:

INJURIES SUCK! Which is a phrase I have often repeated in my head in the past couple months. And while obsessing over it today, I realized how much stuff I have accumulated to aid in the recovery process. It’s a pretty impressive load.

And this doesn’t even include the knee strap I left in Jessica‘s car. My injury kit includes:

• “The Stick” for rolling out your IT band and sore muscles — acquired at the running expo at Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
• Stretchy band for, well, stretching — found in casa previously used for a multitude of other injuries (usually my dad’s)
• Hand Held Ultrasound (not the kind for babies, none of that in my house!) — Mom had this one laying around (she’s a nurse, it happens)
• E-scentually You Tendinitis Blend — voodoo-like oil acquired from gypsies (not really) at the Cedar Key Seafood Festival
• Kinesiology Tape — My sweet mom bought this for me at Walgreen’s, but I haven’t tried it yet. It looks pretty complicated.
• Ketoprofen Transdermal Cream — Prescribed by professionals at the Orthopedic Center
• Patellar Strap — Acquired at Dick’s Sporting Goods & will definitely be wearing it on Friday (um, why didn’t anyone tell me about this thing before my half marathon?!)
• Advil — lots & lots of Advil
• Ice Packs — lots & lots of ice packs

Wish me luck, folks. I am SO ready to run a marathon (in the emotional sense.. physically I would drop dead after mile two).

Today I am thankful for my parents. They are so supportive of me — they pay for my race entry fees AND medical bills (because I am an unemployed bum, remember?) and track me down while cheering me on from the sidelines for hours. They also have been incredibly supportive as I tried to figure out what to do with my life, and even when I settled on an option that meant many more years of (very expensive) schooling.


Thank you, parents, you are amazing.