7 Lists of 7...

...Things about the 7 Days Before the Marathon

It's the last week before the race and I have tons of things on my mind. Here are some of them:

7 Things I'm Doing Differently this Week:
1. Not drinking alcohol
2. Not drinking caffeine
3. Running very little
4. Stretching in the mornings
5. Eating an egg a day
6. 'Focusing'
7. Trying to stay away from sweets

7 Gross Things about Running:
1. Bloody nipples (guys)
2. Peely, blistered feet
3. Inner thigh chafe-age (some girls)
4. Snotrockets
5. When people's deodorant gets frothy and collects in their rear armpit
6. On-site race port-o-potties
7. When people throw up at the end

7 Things I'm Thinking About:
1. My uncle Ed
2. Miles 18-22
3. The right ratio of Gatorade to water
4. Haines Point (apparently the hardest part of the course because there are no spectators)
5. Qualifying for Boston
6. Socks
7. This quote: "Sometimes you have to let go of the person you are in order to become the person you would like to be."

7 Things I Love About Running:
1. Thinking
2. Hills
3. Exploring the area
4. Sense of accomplishment
5. Invigorated feeling afterwards
6. You don't need lots of equipment
7. The post-run beer

7 Favorite Running-Related Memories:
1. Carlisle cross country pre-meet cheer (It went like this: Coach Travis: "Who are we?" Us: "Carlisle!" "Who ya gonna run for?" "Carlisle!" "Who's gonna win?!" "CARLISLE!"
2. Aww Boo, our stuffed vampire mascot, and corresponding jingle
3. Kendor Summit hill workout
4. Autumn leaves, anywhere
5. Sweeping Districts
6. Rutty peeing in Gatorade barrel on the bus
7. Penn State

7 Favorite Race-Related Things:
1. Finish line!
2. Pinning on number (takes a good 10 minutes to get it right)
3. Jumping up and down to stay loose before starting gun
4. The crowd and volunteers
5. Big pace clocks
6. Long-sleeve race T shirt
7. Congratulating the people around you in finish line stall

7 People Who Were Extra Supportive and/or Inspirational:
1. Charlotte Cole, my mom (her first running event)
2. Dean Karnazas (ultra-ultra-distance runner. Is attempting a 350-mile run soon.)
3. Nicole LaCount (endured 5:45am alarms, non-stop TNT talk, events...)
4. Coach Harold Travis (HS XC coach for 35 years.Ran every workout, despite being 60)
5. Molly Schmelzle & Christine LeMieux (put simply, amazing athletes physically and mentally)
6. Wilma Rudolph (OK, a little typical. But she had polio and won the Olympic Gold Medal)
7. Dan Vaughan (started walking for his health this year. I just think that's really cool)

**Bonus List!**
7 Ways Running is Like Life
1. It's not always easy
2. But the harder you go, the easier it gets
3. You never know what you're capable of
4. And, as it turns out, you're capable of a lot
5. You learn a lot from the times where you didn't give up
6. You learn even more from the times where you did
7. You're going to be OK

some things I've learned over the past 2 years, 5 months

-say what you mean
-mean what you say
-assumptions hurt (both ways). they also create situations.
-realize your effect on others. however, sometimes you won't know what the long-term effect is until it happens. then you feel a mixture of silliness/apologeticness. but there's really nothing you can do because the damage has been done. this is a tough one.
-when you feel sorry, say so.
-when you don't, don't.
-if you love, love unconditionally. otherwise, what's the point?

made it

I'm in SF.
I have a good job.
I hope to have a good apartment.
Peeps are cool.
I'm in SF.

Oh--and I love this city!
I just wanted to mention that, too.