I have some really fun updates! First, I am participating in the Open House event at the A.L. Mangham, Jr., Regional Airport in Nacogdoches on Nov. 12. I will have a table set up to sell lemonade, baked goods, face painting, and even airplane rides! I will also have a "guess the number of lemon drops" (or other candy) in a jar raffle with an amazing prize basket. I have high hopes that the event will be a success. There are many people helping me work on this event, including some very nice donations from local businesses.

Second, the donation amount on this website doesn't reflect all my donations--the cash and check donations I have received won't be posted on this site until I mail those in after my marathon. I am now up to $730, thanks to all my awesome donors who deserve really big hugs! The students of the SFA creativing writing program helped that number jump up to its current location by selling a "Lemon Chapbook" with pieces of original poetry, fiction, and non-fiction writing by students (the theme of all the pieces is that each piece is inspired somehow by lemons).

Finally, my last update isn't so fun, so I almost don't want to put it here. My foot is still giving me problems. If I walk too much, it starts throbbing again in the location of the healing stress fracture. With the marathon two weeks away, I have no idea what I'll actually be able to do come race day. I'm trying to stay on the positive side of it all: This experience has pushed me to raise money for a great charity and to release my inner athlete as I walked mile after mile. I am proud of how far I've come, and I'm hoping (so much!) that by race day, my foot will be able to support me throughout the marathon.

Thank you again to all the wonderful people supporting me!

Today I walked 14 miles. Wow.

Six months ago I wouldn't have thought myself capable. If someone had asked if I'd walk long distances, I would have made every excuse I could. "My knees are bad--I can't walk too much." "My schedule is really crazy. I couldn't fit it in." "Yoga is more my thing than cardio." And now, my knees are still bad, my schedule is still crazy, and yoga is still my favorite form of exercise; yet... I am out there. Not only am I out there, but I am out there and amazing myself in the process.

To fit the 14 miles in with the rest of my day, my alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. this morning. When I went outside, it started drizzling. I didn't even consider going back to bed, and when I realized that, I thought, "Maybe I am really an athlete!" About 10 miles into our walk, the sky opened up and let the thunder, lightning, and rain loose. And we kept going. Yes, we are athletes!

Two weeks ago we walked 12 miles, and I could barely drag my feet during the last two miles, which made me start to really question my ability to do another 14 miles come race day. But I think 12 miles was some sort of mental--and possibly even physical--road block for me because today's 14 miles actually felt easier to me than the 12 miles two weeks ago. Again, I am amazing myself.

Now that I realize I am getting the physical abilities to (hopefully) finish this marathon, it's time I turned my attention to the other half of this: the fundraising. Raising money is more uncomfortable to me than the thought of getting out there and walking for 7 hours straight. Based on my experience so far, though, I am opening my mind and my heart and getting prepared to amaze myself with my fundraising capabilities.

I mentioned in my last post that I walk with my friend Jackie. It's nice to have someone to walk with for many reasons--safety (we walk early in the morning before the sun greets us), entertainment (it can get boring spending all that time in my own head), health (if I can't speak a whole sentence without losing my breath, I'm pushing too hard) and encouragement. Encouragement, for me, is especially important, and it comes in all forms. Obviously, it's encouraging when someone else notices how hard I've been working and says something about it. It's also encouraging when someone--who isn't me--says, "You can totally make it up that hill." But it's also a form of encouragement knowing that she'll be waiting for me in the morning at whatever place we're meeting and that I have to get out of bed to meet her and then to keep up with her as we're walking even if I'm tired and want nothing more than to climb back into bed.

A couple weeks ago it was difficult for me to walk up a hill at the end of a trail that Jackie and I would often walk. I always knew I'd make it to the top--it wasn't an extreme hill--but it took a considerable amount of effort. But then, a week ago, we started walking a new route (to mix things up a bit), and it had some bigger hills and one incredibly massive hill. By the time I get to the top of the massive hill, I feel like doing the Rocky dance. And maybe passing out. Every time I start walking up that hill, the first feeling I get is bravado. I'm going to tackle that hill. Then, partway into it, I think, "What the heck am I doing? Isn't there a way around this thing?" Once I pass the midway point, though, I realize how close I'm getting and that if I just keep going... And then I finally hit the top of the hill, which is sweet victory.

After only a few times of walking that hill, we went back to our old trail with its piddly little incline. I didn't even notice I was on a hill. I am physically adapting to my routine, but I am still mentally struggling many days. I'm out of the "I am going to conquer this marathon" stage and into the "What the heck was I thinking?" stage. The bad part is that the midway point of my training is still, oh, 9 weeks or so away. Yet I am getting so much encouragement from so many sources that I know I'm going to make it.

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me already, and please continue that encouragement because I'm going to need it to conquer this personal hill of mine!