Here she goes again...

It appears two marathons aren't enough after all--I've just re-upped for my third :).

I'll be starting my 7th--my 7th!! My, how time flies!--season with Team in Training in June, and I'm getting a head start on my fundraising. If you'd like to help this amazing cause and join me in making cancer cry like a little girl, please visit my fundraising page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/nikesf10/jenibarra.

Stay tuned for updates on my training once the season starts (and even before!).

Who's afraid of a little rain?

Before running the Napa Valley Marathon yesterday, I had only three simple wishes:

(1) That I not get injured
(2) That I finish in 6 hours or less, so I could get a medal
(3) That it not rain

Well, two out of three ain't bad, right?

Alas, it did rain yesterday--and it was a veritable downpour at times, as a matter of fact--but did that ruin the marathon for us? Hell, no! Marathon # 2 was a nice surprise, as a matter of fact, because not only did I (1) not get injured and (2) finish in less than 6 hours, I BEAT MY LAST MARATHON TIME BY 33 MINUTES!!! That's 5:48:48, to be exact :).

Not bad at all, my friends.

The start of the race began benignly enough, as it was sprinkling lightly and there was a manageable chill in the air. I met my teammates at 5:00 (yes, that's AM) to board the bus that would take us to the start line (did I mention it was 26.2 miles away?), and off we were to our adventure.

And yes, an adventure it was. Despite a brief respite from the rain right at the start, it came back again soon enough, and went on to alternately torture us and tease us by retreating. It was even joined by the howling wind once or twice (or a hundred times). But throughout it all, the spectacular scenery and the fabulous company (thank you, Toni, for running with me!!) kept me positive and motivated. Each mile felt better than its counterpart at the Nike Marathon a few months ago, and the familiar faces along the way lent an INCREDIBLE amount of support and energy.

So thank you to Janine, Dianne, Jason, Margot, Amy C., Tanja, Morgan, Nicole M., Tyler, Katie, Adam, Meghan, Simone, Doug, Tim, Kris, Hao, Mom, Dad, and others whom I may not have seen, but whose presence I surely felt--you made an amazing run even more out of this world!!

The final countdown

Three days till the big day and I'm starting to get just as (if not a little more) antsy/nervous/excited about the M-A-R-A-T-H-O-N as I did before my first one.

Granted, I'm probably making it way bigger than it needs to be. There are so many things wrapped up in this for me:

• I want to PR (6:23 was ok for my first one, but hell, I'd like to do way better this time around!)
• I want to finish in less than 6 hours (I want a FINISHER'S medal, thank you very much, not some consolation prize)
• I want my ankle to not hurt in the last few miles (as it did in the last 3 long runs of the season)
• I want to stay injury-free ('nuff said, really)
• I WANT TO PROVE THE NIKE MARATHON WAS NO FLUKE

Probably putting way too much pressure on myself, but then, I have always done that, so I have plenty of practice there ;).

One thing is for sure, though: I am going to do this, ready or not, rain or shine. I'm going to do this for all the honorees who have endured plenty more things than wimpy ol' me will have to "endure" in a little over 5 hours (oh please let it really be only a little over 5 hours). This one is (and really all of them are) for them.

So cancer, get ready to cry, you sucka.