Planes, Trains, and Running Shoes

1. Texas - In one word, Texas has been amazing.  By far, it's been the best trip I've taken down here. Camping in my dad's RV, long runs and longer runs, short runs and manicures, staying in my pj's until 2 and having breakfast brought to me on the couch, it's been so good to finally relax in the middle of this crazy semester. In fact, I've been relaxing so much, I haven't taken a single picture since I've been down here and I leave in about 6 hours. Oops. But seriously, it's been awesome.

2. Hamstring - I *did something* to my hamstring. I'm not sure what. Saturday, I went for an 11 mile run that turned into 6 because I kind of forgot that it's hot in Texas. Sunday, I woke up early and finished off that 11 miles. I felt fine afterward and even remembered that I could ride a bike later that afternoon with my sister. Monday morning, I woke up and I was hurting. I spent the day stretching and thought it was just soreness from the long run. Tuesday, I went for an easy 3 miles with my older sister and felt fine until I got home. I had my dad's trainer look at it and he taped me up with some KT Tape (even though I have mixed feelings about KT Tape, especially in regards to the people who work for them) and sent me on my way. My brother threw a heating pad on me to get the tape to stick better and I've been icing since. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in the hot tub with my little sister but I'm still in a lot of pain. Being 3 days from race day, this is a bit of a horrifying thing. Foam rolling hurts and I'm afraid to stretch for fear of doing any more damage. I'm just praying I'm ok for Sunday.
3. NYC Half-Marathon - All of this of course means that the NYC Half-Marathon is on Sunday! For some reason though, I don't feel like I have a race in 3 days. Maybe it's because I've been on vacation or maybe it's that something else that was nagging at me a month ago that's still lingering. I missed 2 quality runs last week because of midterms and I skipped yesterday's because of my hamstring. I'm currently debating whether or not to go out for an easy 3 again today to see how I feel. I'm hoping that when I get back to New York tonight and to the race expo this weekend, I'll feel more like I'm racing this weekend. Maybe it's just that I've gotten used to racing and the nerves are gone? Who knows? I'm definitely excited for it though and can't wait to recap for all of you! Oh! And remember when I complained about the lack of a Course Map? Well maybe NYRR read my little blog over here because they put one up this week! Check it out!