T minus 8 days...

until this marathon gets here. For those of you just tuning in, I am running the Charlotte Marathon next Saturday!! It gives me goosebumps just to write this. I have been planning this race all year. In fact, it was my New Year's Resolution for 2008, so it's been a long time coming. I am 30 miles to making my goal of running 1000 miles in 2008. With the marathon and a few runs between then, I'm well on my way. Right now I'm at 971.5..think of where I could have run if I would have run that straight...ha! ha!



Some people have asked me WHY I am doing this? Why not? I'm young (sort of), healthy and in good shape. When my sister's life was suddenly taken from us 10 years ago...it changed my thinking on lots of things...don't put off tomorrow, what you can do today. She was a runner and track athlete and I'd like to think that she would be a runner today. So when I run sometimes I think how nice it would have been for us to do something like this together. She is with me in spirit every step I take on those runs...I'm running for her and all of the other family members I've lost.



Dan lost his grandmother earlier in the week and I can't help to think of her while I run too.



In other very sad news, this family lost their wife, mother, sister, daughter yesterday and I am truly saddened by this. One minute she was taking her kids to the park and the next day she was in a hospital fighting for her life...Life is precious, fleeting, fragile.



I'm not trying to be a downer today...just brutally honest. I've said it before and I'll say it again...please, please squeeze your husband, wife, children tight and extra tight and tell them that you love them over....and over again!



I've been trying to think of something to wear on race day next Saturday...something that sums up this whole experience. I found the PERFECT running tech (dri fit) tee and I think it fits the job....here it is....

because...well...LIFE IS GOOD! So.very.good...