"she's like angelina jolie!"

yesterday i went home for a friend's birthday party in worcester, ma. my friend haven and i had a fun drive up - great weather, no traffic and he has an amazing ipod. we also saw some great billboards. i'll post a picture or two later.

i drove from my house to worcester, which was about 40 minutes or so. it was the first time i've driven in a while and it was fun to be behind the wheel, radio cranked, cruising along the highway. i had a moment of panic when i realized what street the bar was on - it *could* require parallel parking. growing up in "the country" we didn't have to learn to parallel park. not even for the license test. anyway, i digress.

the party was a gathering of friends from college, most of which i haven't seen in ages. catching up with everyone made me really happy and snuggly, even without alcohol ;) everyone was really supportive about the run, and really excited about "project tattoo", promising to spread the word far and wide. as i was talking to a 2nd degree friend, she was asking about the run and said that my friend candice said "she's like angelina jolie with all the causes she's supporting!"

i could only hope to be so hot.

but seriously, the spirit of that compliment was definitely in the top 10. it put a huge smile on my face, it was so cute. thanks candice.

i got home to brimfield at a reasonable hour, and got up at one to head out for another run to nonna's house. the day was *gorgeous*. blue skies. 36 degrees and on the rise. a little breeze. i started out and had a new ache. in my right leg was the kind of pain that i used to think was a shin splint - muscle pain right next to my shin bone, in the front of my leg. it slowed down a fast start and after a few minutes of it not going away, started to really make me mad.

i tried to talk it down, stop that. it's a beautiful day, and i have no time for you to be complaining. so just stop now. and loosen up already! why do you have to be so tense! yeah, i'm a crazy lady. the one bad thing about the route i take to nonna's is that it is a lot of downhill in the first 1/2 mile (which while mentally "easier" is not actually easier on your body) and then is followed a bit later by a long, although gradual, hill. hills are not good for shin pain, and there were a few moments that i had to walk and try to literally shake my leg out.

once i crested the hill though, i had on more downhill and then it was nearly flat for the rest of the way, so i pushed through. once the pain dulled down enough for me to ignore it, i was going at a pretty good pace, and even with the slow points and stretches at the beginning, i cruised into nonna's right on schedule. yeaaaah.

back in the city and it looks like it's going to be a good week weather-wise for running...and i think it's time to start counting down to the marathon.

oh! and the tnt'ers training for honolulu ran today!! congratulations to larry (one of our honored teammates) and the hawaii crew for what i'm sure was a great run! i can't wait to hear all the gory details! xoxoxoxox

today's mileage: 6.1 miles
total mileage: 277.0

days until marathon: 35