My darling sister and her darling daughter 
Two weeks and five days after Boston I ran the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon in Minnesota. I’ve never run two marathons that close together. It was a beautiful, small race with about 150 participants. It runs along a railway that has been converted into a paved trail. The whole race is flat and scenic, through the trees, along lakes, beside farms. It was a perfect day for running, cool and cloudy with a little breeze. And I had my sister, her husband, and their darling 16 month-old daughter braving the cold to cheer me on. I also met some amazing racers, including a man in his seventies who was 47 states into his second time through the 50 states. He had run more than 300 marathons in his life. Wow! My goal was to run 7:30s as long as I could. I lasted until about mile 19 then slowed way down and finished in 3:27 (21st place, 3rd in my division). Every race, I’m amazed at how difficult the end is. My body just completely runs out of gas—emotionally, mentally, and physically. I’ve yet to run a marathon where I don’t think to myself, “Why am I doing this?” during the last few miles. Yet the next day, I’m already thinking about and getting excited for my next race. My next race will be my hometown Teton Dam Marathon. It’ll be the third time I’ve run it. It was my first marathon in 2007. I’m really hoping to finish in under 3:30 but it’s a tough, hilly course. I need to lose some weight if I’m going to improve my speed and stamina. But I ate cookies for breakfast this morning. They tasted so good after my 5 mile recovery run. Chocolate chip. Yum.
