To Grandma's house...

So, it's been a while since I posted, in part because SJV and I went to my grandma's early on Sunday (we started out at 6:30 a.m.) and came back very late that night. It was a grand day -- grandma's 91st birthday! She opened presents:

And then I opened mine (thanks Aunt Pat and Uncle Dave for the most excellent footies, bag and moisturizers!):

And then we went out for lunch and, later, for ice cream at the favorite Johnson's. I swear, their ice cream is de-licious. Mmmmm.

All in all, it was a great weekent, but I started Monday a wee bit tired. :) SJV and I had a great time, though -- got to see my aunt and uncle (first meeting for SJV, which was cool) and hear how things are going in their part of the world. And seeing G-mama is always fantastic. She looks, and acts, pretty great for someone who's 91... Here's to hoping that I have enough of her genetic material to make it that far! Pretty sweet!

Now, this is the second week of Operation Bikram Yoga -- my attempt at limbering myself up enough to finish the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. As you know, it's been a difficult few weeks/months, with my IT band singing and whistling every long (and now, every short) run that I do. Yesterday's run was no exception -- I went on a 2-3 mile run, and it started smarting around mile 1. By "smarting" I mean that aching sensation -- not the jabbing pull that will make you hop for a minute, grimace, and shake your head. It's the kind of thing that you honestly can run through, but you spend the time you otherwise would have spent pondering the yonder pondering how you got yourself into this mess, and why on earth your leg won't cooperate with your otherwise willing body/mind.



And that's the kicker-- everything else feels fine. I'm convinced that, without that leg bugging me, I could have an incredible marathon. I'm also convinced that, if I don't start out and continue conservatively, that leg will keep me from finishing. Seriously. So, rather than keeping to my pre-marathon-training goal of somewhere in the 4:30s (or under -- easily achievable when you look at my past race performances) I'm looking at somewhere under the 5:30s. And, for a first marathon, I should be excited to finish. *sigh*

Adding insult to my injury, the forecast keeps changing -- two days ago it was supposed to be a high of 60. Perfect. Now, it's a high of 76. Not so perfect. Visions of last year are creeping up in my head, and I'm a little scared of what the forecast will say in two more days. Not much I can do about it, and I'm lucky that I run well in the heat (and perhaps a few days of Bikram Yoga will help me with this, now that I think about it). Still, not optimal...

But, in less than a week, I can add "marathoner" to my personal list, and that's pretty darned fantastic. :) I'm getting excited, so if the next few days are full of nervous posts, and some jittery conversations, I apologize in advance.

Start slowly, then taper...
Belly