Less than a month ’til race day…

I just realized today on my run that my marathon is less than a month away!  A month from today, I will have completed my first marathon… I am so stoked and so freaking out a little!

Tomorrow I will be running 17 miles.  Over the past few weeks, I have struggled to complete the 14- and 18-milers because of IT band and knee pain.  Thanks to my bf’s massage experience and a trusty foam roller, my IT band pain has subsided noticeably; however, the knee pain I experienced all last season is back with a vengeance. So tonight, I went and picked up a new pair of shoes (since that solved my knee pain issues the first time).  I’ve got my fingers crossed that it helps.

I’ve been communicating regularly with my boss & adoptive mentor, Lori (@LJ3000; pictured left), over the past weeks about a training strategy to ensure I am in the best shape possible when the marathon rolls around.  Together we’ve decided that it is imperative that I am able to complete the 20-miler, which is next Sunday’s run.  Thus, I need to come out of this run uninjured and in relatively good shape.

On the fundraising end, I’m at nearly $3,000 ($2,986.20 to be exact)!  I remember when I first started fundraising and it seemed like it would take forever for all the $25 donations to add up to even just $1,000… I’ve still got a ways to go to my fundraising goal, but I am so excited to see all the donations add up to such a large amount; truly goes to show that every donation, no matter the size, really does help!