Lots to Say... be prepared to read!

Happy Friday... 16 more days til the big race!

I am getting really anxious, excited, and nervous... for this day to come!

I will be short 6 miles this week from the goal of 30 and that is if everything goes well today! What do I mean by that??? Well yesterday my right foot (dominant foot) began to have some soreness... like bruising without a visible bruise. It is only on my big toe and hurts when I walk from the toe to the ball of my foot! So last night I called Coach Paul and he said to ice it as much as possible yesterday and today and stay off of it until tomorrow.... that is if the pain goes away so I can run tomorrow!

I am praying for no pain! Yesterday before I called Coach Paul I did however go to my tap class and boy was that hard to do when your foot is in pain! I did it though!

The verdict is that with all the extra running and dancing it is sore from being over used! Other than that I am good to go! It is feeling better now but not 100% so we will see what tomorrow morning brings.... to run-or-not to run! We are doing 14miles in the HOT weather, after that I am going to have a spa day, and Disney at night! Hey, I think it is even my turn to pick the restaurant for dinner tomorrow night with my hubby, hmmmm... decisions, decisions!

On another note this morning was a bit different than every other morning. My in-laws had a full house! It was my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, me, Jeremy, and his parents! We all felt like it was the best thing to do this morning because one of their dogs (violet) is having a bunch of soreness in her belly and she is 16 yrs old. She has been getting water when she has the energy to get up but unfortunately she has given up on eating... the vet hasn't diagnosed the problem but we don't know how much longer she will be in the Pires Family and we all went to see her and comfort my in-laws as big decisions may need to be made regarding treatment!

On a VERY cool and HAPPY note I have to tell you a short little story... visit my post titled BLESSED for more background on the story! On Tuesday, I donated blood for the first time! I have tried to donate for Evan Cousineau's Mom on her 45th birthday bash and my iron was the cause for refusal... I was at 12.4 and it needed to be 12.5 or more! I was disappointed but that wasn't my first rejection in the blood donation process. The first time I went for my mom when she was in the hospital and they told me I was anemic, which means I was really low and they told me to take iron supplements... Well this Tuesday was different. I was donating for a fellow member of my community... and he is 3yrs old and named Corey whose blood type is (A+)! I called the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles where the blood bank from Tuesday took all the blood because that is his new home for about a month as he undergoes a stem cell transplant! Back to the call I made... I called to find out my blood type.... and I found out I am a perfect match for him (A+)! That so made my day!!!! When he needs blood, my blood will be at his disposal! During this process he will be dependant on blood transfusions, hence the blood drive! Also on his caringbridge page his mom told all the readers that it was a HUGE success with over 100 pints of blood being donated and mine was in there! By the way my iron was 13.1 that time... the same number equals the distance of a half marathon and I will be doing a full marathon 26.2 in 2 weeks and 2 days!

I hope I can donate again... next time I hope it is in Memory of Evan... a member of my team in Heaven!

Tonight should be fun! I have had more than enough sleep the last few days to make up for tonight! My dad and I are going to a concert, hosted at the Hyatt in Newport Beach! Today is the kickoff for the Jazz Festival Summer Concert Series and tonight's concert is my favorite Sax and horn player Mindi Abair! This is an early Father's Day present! Happy Father's Day Dad!!!! Before the event we will have a buffet dinner at a restaurant in the Hyatt! It will be a blast and we have waited a year for this experience to come again! OUR third in a row to concert to see Mindi Abair...

I hope tomorrow I have no pain in my foot so I can run! It is supposed to be 91 degrees tomorrow and the mileage is 14 miles :} wish me luck and keep me in your prayers! I have been hydrating since Wednesday!

Stay cool!

Love ya,
Mel