Busy-ness

I've been crazy-busy this week... our annual convention is coming up in 2 weeks, and I'll be flying to Oklahoma City (yay) to work 15-hour days for 5 days, then spend a day flying and go back to work the next day. But before that, we have to get everything ready to ship out on Monday—it's much cheaper to have a freight shipment take its sweet time and drive across country than it is to FedEx or UPS a bazillion boxes, even at ground rates.

Since I'm in charge of everything that's printed, I am usually the last link in a long chain for every piece that needs to be made. Which sucks, because the chain consists of many links, each one feeling as though there is all the time in the world—I mean, it's 2 weeks away, right? So I have to put pressure on my coworkers, and they have to try to convey the urgency to people who are miles and miles away and are busy with their own work. Ahhhh, the life.

Anyway, I'm busy getting all of these things done at what feels like the last minute. It's all under control, but every minute of my work day is full (and then some). Tuesday I did my run after work, which lasted until around 7, then went home and ate dinner at 9, and went to sleep at 11. It was a weird, sluggish run, my legs were aching and I just felt like I was running through quicksand.

I have to mention that I have a cold; Andy had it first, and now I'm a couple of days behind with it. Today is the worst day so far, I'm kind of achy and just feel crappy in general. Not to mention feminine issues (sorry gents) and today is the worst day of those cramps, too. So I'm just a big hot mess this week, and today seems to be culminating.

On my to do list outside of work:
• Write thank you notes to people who have donated recently. They are stamped and addressed, but I've been carrying them around for a week and haven't written them.
• Clean our house—we're having a party Saturday. After my 16 mile run. Yes, I'm serious.
• Plan the menu for the party.
• Pick up items to be borrowed from various friends: 2 blenders, a cooler, possibly a beach umbrella (it's a beach-themed party).
• Try to make some food ahead of time on Friday night.
• Get materials/pre-make food for a work party on Friday at lunch. Seriously considering purchasing something to bring.
• Make a fun playlist for the party (at home).
• Get plenty of rest Friday night for the run Saturday morning.
• DECIDE WHETHER TO RUN INSIDE OR OUTSIDE ON SATURDAY. This is the biggest concern I have right now, which is kind of silly considering all of the other things I have to do. Andy says I should run outside because I need the practice and it just isn't the same inside. He's right, but at the same time, I had SUCH a terrible run for the 14 miler that I am terrified of this run. I have psyched myself out of it, and I'm nervous about it. These are my concerns/worries/fears about it:

• HEAT. I am not meant to be out in the heat. If you've met me, you know that my skin is uber-white and not meant for sunshine fun beyond a certain point. Especially when extra exertion is required.
• WATER. At the 14 mile run, Team in Training ran out of water for the water stops. Yes, I carry my water belt, but it only gets you so far. So I get water and try to refill at the water stops, but it's kind of difficult when they run out. My entire second half of the 14 mile run was without water, except for one of the coaches coming by to hand out water bottles—to share. Way to plan.
• PACE. We all know that I am having major problems with pacing myself. Again, the 14 mile run started out way too fast, and I was spent by mile 9. The only way I know how to regulate this is to use my iPod because it can tell me how fast I'm going and I can judge whether I need to slow down or speed up. It is against the TNT rules to use headphone while running because you need to be aware of the trail and the other traffic. I understand this, but it's the only way. So I am considering sneaking it and doing my thing. I need it.
• TIME. This coincides with pace... I'm worried that it's going to take me forever. I was one of the last people to finish the 14 mile run, and I am NOT exaggerating. This is the opposite of a confidence booster. If it takes me 4 hours to do 14 miles, how can I finish the marathon in a reasonable time? I don't want them to reopen the bridge before I get across it. The pace time listed on the website is 14:00/mi—anything slower than that and they reopen the bridge, which is at mile 19 (So I have to do at least the first 19 miles in roughly 4.5 hours). And it would be extremely dangerous to try and run with traffic on it! Plus, they stop timing people at 3:30, so that's a maximum of 7.5 hours. In theory, if I could hold my pace I might be able to finish around 6 hours. That would be awesome by my standards!!!
  

Andy is a such good coach. He won't let me quit, even when I'm whining uncontrollably. And he keeps me from cheating myself, which sometimes I'm all too ready to do. So I guess I'm running outside on Saturday... there may be a party going on at my house while I nap. :)