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I decided to go for the 20 this Saturday. If you didn't already know, it isn't easy to run 20 miles straight in nyc, so I tried a brand new path starting south first towards Battery Park and working my way north towards the GWB bridge. Early on I saw the statue of liberty in the distance and it immediately lifted my mood. It was a great day - definitely the warmest conditions all month. I was having a great time. It must have showed because an Italian tourist clapped and cheered me on, "Bravo!"Then...after about 3 miles I started to feel a little nauseous. I wasn't sure what it could have been. I thought maybe it was all the cheese I'd been eating the past few days...pizza, pasta fromage, provolone and soy pepperoni sandwiches... A runner needs her calcium after all... But then I realized like the soy bacon...soy pepperoni wasn't any better. Ugh! No soy before a run!
I tried to ignore the waves of nausea. Then I started to become aware of a pain that I had benignly felt all week. The tendon connecting the top of my ankle to my big toe was getting increasingly sore. I reached 26th Street and thought about turning around. Nausea and tendon pain seemed like sufficient reasons to abandon this run. I watched two women ahead of me touch the plastic neon divider and turn around. Simon says, I guess. So I touched the neon divider like a relay racer and turned around. Of course, I immediately felt remorseful. How could I give up now? I can do the rest of the 14 miles! So...I turned back around taking the second leg of the relay. The pain grew worse like it was trying to punish me. I thought about what Ramon said just a couple of weeks ago while I cried like a toddler. I knew better than this, and I turned around...again. I should've had a potato sack or an egg on a spoon.
As I ran home I began to hear a low whistle of the Rocky theme. Did I die? Was I in Heaven? No, it was just Jay riding up behind me. Mr. Tri Coach was returning from his 60 mile bike ride from Westchester. (I was such a loser...)
I emailed Ramon to let him know of my injury. Apart from telling me to rest and do some simple stretches, he emphasized again that I would be ok, and that a finish line was still in my future.
So I guess that's it. Training is over. All that remains is to have faith in that 4 hour 18 miler. Send Off is tomorrow, the meeting where we receive our plane tickets and the rest of our race weekend itinerary.
Thank you again to everyone who has donated and given me well wishes. My fundraising minimum is fulfilled. It's not quite my dream stretch goal, but I still have a few weeks to put on my sad face and shake my cup. And of course, my training is done... So thank you for helping me get to this point...your encouragement has helped more than you know. I'll be sure to write again before I go to Arizona on the 11th!
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