Week 18: Saying Goodbye

This week was the last group training run before the big day! One week from now, I'll be killing the San Francisco hills.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

On Thursday, worried about all of my injuries, I took a trip to Fleet Feet and bought some KT Tape (in purple -- yay Team!). I'd read lots of reviews beforehand of injured runners taping themselves up to survive race day, and figured it was worth a shot! KT Tape comes in pre-cut strips, and they have a whole series of YouTube videos that walk you through how to do certain applications.

I've got the foot technique down. The technique I tried on my knee worked fairly well, but I might experiment this week. The only thing I didn't get right was my upper leg. I realized when I was running today that it wasn't my adductor muscles that were screaming but my hip flexors! I tried new tape after my shower. I don't think I quite found the center of pain -- it was hard with the amount of aching -- but know what to target next time.

My plan this week is to REST. If I'm feeling well enough I'll do a short run on Thursday to try out the new tape applications and keep myself moving, but that's it. I need to heal up as much as I can and hope I'm not in too much pain next week.

The worst part of today wasn't the pain of moving but the pain of saying goodbye. Other than Angie and me, everyone else who has attended our group runs are going to run here in Hartford. The coach flying down with us isn't the coach we've been training with for all these months, either. For them, it was the last time they'd be together before the race, but for us, it was the last time we'd see them at all!

I'm looking forward to meeting our Nike coach and the rest of our team this week, but there's definitely a part of me that wishes I could bring along all the friends I've made over the past few months. No matter how many people are cheering me on at the finish, I'm going to be missing them and wishing they were there with me, and wishing I could be in Hartford for their finish, too.

Today, as I was running, I saw myself crossing the finish line. It's the first time I've had that image cross my mind. There's still a part of me that worries I won't make it with all of my injuries and the time I've had to take to rest, but I know it's possible, and I'm going to give it my all next Sunday!

Thanks to Jon Wilson, Shannon DeZilva-White and Todd Haefele for donating this week and bringing my fundraising total to nearly $3,000! I am so blessed to have such supportive friends and family sending me positive thoughts and making a difference in the lives of those battling blood cancers. I'll be thinking of every one of you on race day.

I leave for San Francisco first thing Friday morning. I'm hoping I may be able to blog while I'm there, but I'll only have my phone to post from, so we'll see! At the latest, I'll see you on the other side of the finish line!