oh shit.

Despite not sleeping very well last night and having to get up early, I was actually having a fairly decent morning. I left on time, popped in my headphones, put on my favorite song and headed down the elevator looking forward to watching my first graders try Reeses for the first time. Then, as I walked down the stairs of the metro and reached for the morning paper, I saw the headline..."Un corredor falleció en la media maratón de Madrid." For all you non-Spanish speakers out there, this means that a guy died yesterday at the end of the half-marathon in Madrid. Let's just say, this did not help with my ever-increasing anxiety about actually being able to pull this thing off.

This past weekend I wandered around Madrid looking for new running shoes. For some reason, the most simple things tend to be WAY more difficult over here. I have no idea where most madrileños get their running shoes, but they must have some secret code to an underground warehouse of hi-tech gear. With that said, I found a store fairly close that sold Asics and decided to give it a try. Upon entering the store, I was immediately told that I could not have access to the women's section of the store because there was a conference. Clearly I was inconveniencing them by trying to buy shoes in their store. Thankfully, they had gels (those gross things I have to eat while running to make sure I don't fall over and die like that above-mentioned señor). While checking out, the sales clerk asked me if I was running the half-marathon. After I explained I was running the full, he stared at me for a second and then continued to tell me that the Madrid Marathon is really hard (shocker). I left the store with him repeating the words paciencia and tranquila as I walked out the door.

Needless to say, these two experiences combined with a week of not so good runs (minus the 12 mile on Sunday, that one was good) have made me have what I like to call an "oh shit moment." You know what I'm talking about - those moments when you look at yourself in the mirror and think, what the hell have I gotten myself into? Hopefully, this rest day will lead to a plethora of good runs this week as I prep towards the final run a week from Sunday (April 25). Just thought I would share a freak out moment in hopes that positive responses will calm me down. I mean, I know I will cross the finish line, let's just hope I don't die trying...just kidding.