I look ridiculous in a water belt.

I know, I know.... it's been a really long time. To all of my five followers, I am sorry :) The good news is both training and fundraising are going really really well. I have been so impressed by the generosity of my friends and family, and so extremely grateful for so much love and support. Thank you! As of right now, I only have to raise $75.00 to reach the minimun of $2,400.00. That's it! It is such a relief, and I am just so thankful!

Running has been great, and it's starting to get challenging for me, which is a good thing. Like I said in the last post, Lucy and I did run together Labor Day weekend. We did 6 miles on the Greenway trail and it wasn't bad. I tried one of the gels..... eh. It's just weird to be sucking down a packet of goo. I tried chocolate, and it tastes like brownie mix so it was yummy, I just don't really love it. I felt fine throughout the run (I took the gel before with some water), but it sort of felt like the gel was just sitting in my stomach. Anyway, I tried it, we ran 6 and we had a good time.

Later that weekend, my boyfriend Doug and I went to Crowder's Mountain, just outside of Charlotte, and we climbed a few trails there. It was absolutely beautiful and we had the best weather, and I really liked Crowder's. It's completely free to go hike, you don't have to pay for parking or anything, and the view from the top is gorgeous. I would have to say the highlight was when we were up at the top and some shirtless, country guy climbs up on the rock where we're sitting and tells his friend that, "All that yankee smog has ruined the view. It's disgraceful how they're pollutin' our state". Ha, my boyfriend is from New Jersey :) Needless to say, you see a wide variety of people out on the mountain.

This past Saturday, the 12th, the Team met in our usual place and we headed out for 8 miles. Now, I was thinking that 8 wouldn't be really that much different from 6. I mean, it's just two miles, right? Wrong. There is a distinct difference between 6 and 8, and I can assure you that I felt it. It was fine, it just took a lot more out of me, does that make sense? I was able to run with my usual group of girls, Wendy and Linda had to run 7, so they were with us for awhile, and then Lucy and I were on our own the whole way back. My knee is starting to get tight, and my soon-to-be a PA friend told me that I really need to stretch out my quads, because they're attached to my knee cap and when they get tight, my knee will too. Brilliant.

I was sporting a new addition to my running apparell this weekend too: a running belt. Yes, I am now one of those people. I bought a four bottle belt, and it has a little pouch in the front where I put my key for my car, and a bigger one in the back where I can put my fuel for the run. It looks pretty ridiculous, and I feel even more ridiculous wearing it, but it worked well (even though I suffered mild hip bruising because of it. I'm not bitter at all). And apparently Kiawah is trying to make the marathon green and eco-friendly, so they're encouraging water belts so runners don't use a million little cups at the water stops. So I had my water belt, and I tried a Bloks this weekend. Bloks (no "c" on purpose, don't worry) are made by Clif and they are little electrolyte chews. There are six in a pack and you take them every 15-20 minutes once you're into your run. They were delicious and a lot better than the gel, so maybe I've found something that will work for me.

Again, sorry it's been so long since my last post. I hope I haven't lost any of my 5 faithfuls :) I promise I'll blog on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, I'm learning about stride and number of strides/minute and it's pretty interesting. Next Saturday is ten, which is pretty intimidating, but I'll be ready.Thank you all for being patient and for reading this extremely long post!

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. -Lao Tzu