10 hrs 16 minutes...

It just doesn't seem real. As I type this, there are officially 10 days and 16 minutes until the official start of the marathon.

Should I start to freak out?

I'm very calm at the moment, which is quite unusual for me. I'm a worrier, and when something big is on the horizon, my mind goes into overdrive. But I feel quite confident that I can and will finish this marathon. God willing, I will be crossing the finish line on October 7.

I'm really excited about going to Chicago. This will be Claude (husband) first trip to Chicago (my 3rd), so I'm excited for him. He is going to be there to cheer me along the way.

I keep visualizing the day of the race and try to imagine what it will feel like to line up with thousands of other people, all of us with one goal in mind, to finish 26.2 miles. I just can't imagine how amazing it will be.

Between now and Oct 5, I have tons of things to do at work and at home. I have to get my race "outfit" ready for the big day. Mind you, I already have the main components, but I'm adding a few personal touches to make it "my own". I'm adding the CFC logo to the hat I'll be wearing that day, since I'm running for Lillian and all CFC kids and their families.
I have a small flag of Panama to attach to my clothes, so I can remember every step of the way those I left behind, and my home country.

It's hard to explain to anyone why the heart of an immigrant yearns for home. I love living here, but my heart will always miss home. My first memories were made there, and the essence of who I am was forged there. I left my country for the first time when I was 15, and my family moved to Costa Rica. It was close enough to home I could travel back during the school breaks, and the holidays. Then we moved here, on Dec 1, 1990. I have spent more than half of my life away from home and I still miss it.
Crazy, isn't it?

I'm looking forward to seeing other runners from Panama in Chicago. I checked the registration list a while back and there were at least 5 coming all the way from Panama. Exciting!

Last run together in MS soil this Saturday. Am I the only one who thinks the 1st mile, back at Belhaven, was the hardest? I think it was. I guess it was the first step to this amazing journey. It was the hardest for me because I could not fathom doing 26.2 miles, when I was so out of breath after walking one mile. Yet, here we are, getting ready for the big day.

Thanks Mark, Robin, Matt, Scotty, and my new found amigo, Wayne; for being so encouraging to all of us during this journey.