Road Tripping

Hey Sock Crazy Friend of Mine!

*I need to find myself some fun socks as well... maybe even a running group*

So...
In my super long traverse from the East coast to the West coast I have thought of three things that pertain not just to my travels and what made a 2,600 mile trip better/easier but also for us as we train for our marathon!

#1). HYDRATE!!!!! I tend to forget to drink as I am driving... mainly due to the fact that it would be stopping and taking care of nature (long history of not being able to stop... bad habits etc) so, me, someone who normally drinks enough to make a camel look like a lightweight, did not consume enough fluids the first day. I wound up drinking too much when I stopped and then that caused issues of its own. The next day it caught up with me. I felt achy, head-achy, stiff etc. I knew that if I had hydrated well the day before I wouldn't be in this predicament.

This reminded me that as we run, we need to hydrate! Before our runs, during our runs, and after our runs! Water... Gatorade... Repeat after me... I will become a camel! I will become a camel!

#2). ENCOURAGEMENT!!!!! It was the longest drive I have ever undertaken. 2,600 miles... sometimes without cell service... sometimes late at night when everyone sane was sleeping! The thing that kept me going though, was FB and a lot of fun cards that a certain PIC made for me! By posting where I was and what I was doing, some pithy and not so pithy comments etc, I had a mountain of people comment and encourage me along the way! I knew people were praying for me and I had fun commenting back! It made the time go by faster. The cards from my PIC were awesome! Every 250 miles or so I had another one to open with a cool question that gave me something to think about/pass the time. I have to say I was quite religious about opening them. I did not open them until the appointed time and not a mile before!

We need to encourage one another as we train! We need to find people in our circle to encourage us as we run! It is the only thing that is going to make it possible to sustain this goal! We need to know that we are capable of this... just as Chris encouraged you all when buying your shoes... We need to remind ourselves why we are running and that we can suceed!

#3). LAST MILES!!!!! As I was finishing my drive on Sunday night, I was having a hard time! It is those last few miles that make it hard. You want to finish and get to the end but it seems like the last miles never ever ever end! It was getting dark, I couldn't find my place, the directions I got from two different people were incorrect, and I started to lose it! I knew I could finish the ride but oh my goodness! I just wanted to be out of the car and be done with it! At one point I think I scared this guy in the apartment complex next door because I thought it was my complex, and my key card wouldn't work. I sat in my car and cried. It was late, I was tired and hungry.

Those last few miles of our training, of our race are going to feel like they are never going to end. They are going to seem endless! All we are going to want to do is just quit and stop on the road where ever we are and say enough! We need to know though, that we can do this! Those last few miles may be the hardest but we are going to be so excited when those last steps take us across the finish line and we are grinning from ear to ear because we completed our marathon! I cannot wait to take those steps with you!

Your Crazy California Friend,
Jaimes