Beginning Entry

I should have done this months ago, but better late than never...

As I am preparing to run the Chicago Marathon in about a week, I have been tapering my training. I have tried to cut back on calorie intake to parallel my reduce calorie output, but I am not sure I have done a great job at this. Sweets are just too tempting! My pre-race jitters are starting to mount, and usual thoughts of impending doom are floating around my head. I just have to keep reminding myself that I have done this before, I am going into this race knowing what to expect ahead of time, and that it is really all just for fun anyway - so whatever happens...happens!

After being relatively inactive for about a week due to a horrible head cold, I finally went out yesterday and ran hill repeats with a warm-up and cool-down for a total of seven miles. My run ended at the gym, and I added a half-hour of abs and some static stretching. Felt awesome to be back out running...however, the Chicago wind and the fact that it was the coldest day since last winter (it actually snowed earlier in the day) made for a few challenges...I had to break out the balaclava in early October...who doesn't love wind burn?!