5 day until the gun goes off

Five days, FIVE DAYS! One—two—three—four—five days until the half marathon. I’m not freaking out or anything…ok I AM!

Tonight I’ll do my last long run before the event, but for the next Five days I will be a nervous wreck. Am I ready? How will my body handle that distance? I’ve never gone this far. Am I going to bonk? If so, at which mile marker?

My motto for the past two years has been “Ignorance is Bliss”. This weekend I went with a friend to the Wild game—which by the way is a snore compared to college hockey—and drove part of the course. I went against my motto…I don’t want to know the course. I’m ok with “there is a big ass hill at the beginning you go down and then you have to go up that big ass hill—which feels like two blocks going down and five blocks going up.” That’s all I need. I don’t need to be scoping out mile marker 10’s bushes—cause that’s where I’ll probably be visiting for a while.

I know a lot of you do 13-point-whatever miles for fun on a weekly basis, but there was a time that I couldn’t make it ¾ of a way around a football field without moments way from passing out. As many American children I grew up battling Asthma, not the kind that if I take a few puffs of the inhaler I’ll be good. No, the kind that would cause you to start hyperventilating out of no where and would put you in the hospital in a hyper chamber for a few days. As I grew older, with the help of pushing myself through exercise especially on the bike (sorry for the scare sometimes to my fellow riders)—my lungs have expanded, but they are not like most. The muscles in my legs can handle the endurance, but will my lack of getting enough oxygen cause my heart rate to skyrocket? Yes, but how high and can I endure it for about 3 hours? We’ll see.

If you don’t have anything to do next Saturday and are in the St. Paul area, I would LOVE to see a friendly face. If I can pull the shirt over my many layers I’ll try to wear the Team Strong Heart jersey. The roads are clear if you want to bring your bike.