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Here we are 90 days later. I don’t remember how many miles I ran in 90 days to get ready...now it’s only 8 days until Steamboat Marathon and I admit I am a little bit nervous and anxious. For 90 days we have trained while we talked about training, shoes, nutrition, hydration, the mental game, and motivation. Now it’s time to put it all together.

This week I am going to take it a little easier.  All the hard work is done. I’m going to start by hydrating my body a little more every day, getting all my nutrition ready, and repeating my mantras: “I can do this”, “I am strong”, “I am running for people who can’t”.  I’ll also prepare the clothes I am going to wear. Look for me on race day - I’ll be wearing my special long-sleeve version of our Old Town Hot Springs Official Coach Sponsor shirt.

Remember about two months ago when I was talking about nutrition? During this week before the race, I’ll try not to eat anything different from what I've been eating regularly; I’ll also avoid new gels, sports drinks, or other sports nutrition products, if I haven’t used them during my training.

For sure, I plan to rest a little more on Friday and Saturday; I will not walk too much, eat too much, and I plan to avoid alcohol. I might go for a short swim because I want to keep my muscles loose while avoiding impact.  If you want to swim some laps with me, find me at the lap pool at Old Town Hot Springs!

After all this hard work, I am thinking about doing a little dance right at the finish line, and I hope you will join me! Who’s with me?

I want to say thanks to all who have been following my blog and tweets over the last three months. Writing these and sharing my story has motivated me, as well, to work harder and smarter during my training for my first marathon.

Find me at the Old Town Hot Springs booth at registration on Friday and Saturday! And I hope to see you at Steamboat Marathon! Or afterwards for a soak in the Heart Pool at Old Town Hot Springs…I’ll be sipping on my favorite Super Green smoothie from MountainBrew.

Have an awesome time at the Steamboat Marathon!

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