4 weeks and 1 day to go!

Sundays in March are long run days: 15.4 miles on March 2nd, 17.6 miles on March 9th, 15 miles last Sunday and 20 miles today. Although my long runs have been a fair bit slower than those I did in preparation for the Chicago Marathon in 2012, I have been incorporating more hills. Today's 20-miler was quite challenging, from Mill Valley to Sausalito, up to and across the Golden Gate Bridge, down to Crissy Field and back, involving a cumulative elevation gain of 1,450 feet.

Although it's a bit discouraging for me to see an average pace of 10:28 today, when I had run 21 miles at an average 9:27 pace in September 2012 (3 weeks before Chicago), that speedy training pace did not result in a particularly speedy Marathon, and I only bettered my previous marathon finish time by a little over a minute in Chicago. So, hopefully, taking it slower but working the hills will better prepare me for Boston.

I am excited and a little nervous about the race, and also the fundraising part of it all! I've reached just about 70% of my fundraising goal, and will have to send a few more letters out this week. All in all, I feel I'm making good progress, but I have a feeling these last 4 weeks are going to fly by!! I am humbled by all the support and well wishes I have received, and sincerely appreciate every donation and kind word sent my way.