I am ready.  No more two and a half hour long runs, no more 15 mile tempos, no more marathon simulations.  All the hard work has been done and now I must wait, the countdown begins.  My patience is going to be tested over the next two weeks.  I already wake up every morning and think 'only __ days till London.'
      
On Tuesday I ran my first ever 26 miler. It wasn't anything crazy,
in terms of pace, but it gave me a lot more confidence that miles
20-26 aren't something to be scared of, just respected.  It was nice to have my coach accompany me on the bike giving me the fluids I needed and the comradery and London talk that made the run go by fast.  I was surprised when I finished with two miles on the track expecting to be running 5:20 pace and seeing 9:25 for my last two miles.  Later that week I put in my last tempo run going what felt like 8 short miles.  In my buildup for London I have put in 5 tempo runs of 12 miles or longer, 5 runs of 2:15 or longer, and 4 marathon simulations running 8-10 miles at a moderate pace and then putting in 8-10 miles at marathon pace.  I will step to the line knowing that I have done everything I could do to be ready for this, and then the fun part begins, 26.2 miles of worshiping God with my body and celebrating all the hard work that has gone into this one moment, and it all happens on two hours one Sunday morning.      

Apart from running it was a fun week enjoying San Diego.  Sara and I had a couple excursions going to a Good Friday concert and service put on by The Rock Church, then going to see the movie Amazing Grace on Saturday in downtown San Diego, and lastly, Easter Sunday church and a Easter barbeque party with teammates.  Our Easter barbaque was a blast as always.  It is so great having Gabe Jennings as apart of our team.  He adds so much to the group dynamic.  We never have a boring party when Gabe is in town. We played Balderdash and I won't go into too much detail but at one point Gabe was rolling on the ground laughing histerically!  It was a very memorable night.

Highlight of the week:  Easter Sunday.  It is so great to have
holidays that give fresh perspective on life.  While marathon training can seem all consuming at times, Easter reminded me that it is just a race after all and that the biggest gift of all was Christ conquering death by dying on the cross and rising three days later.  Knowing that I have received eternal life, through Christ, is way better than winning any race.  Keeps things in perspective.

Low point of the week:  Forgetting about the sweet patato chips that Sara and I were making for the BBQ while they were broiling…they would have been so good.

High point of the week:  Spending the day in Carlsbad with Sara after being apart for the past 10 days.  

Low point of the week:  Having snow pelting my bare neck as I muscled my way through the rain and snow during Tuesday's workout.