i'm so ready for this.

Got my gear laid out and planned out. My dread has turned into excitement. My belly if full of good things. I've been hydrating for the past 48 hours. The taper has gone well. My family is ready to cheer me on.

Come on, Chicago Marathon. Bring it.

#TeamWorldVision.

20. Check.

I finished my the peak of my marathon training long runs this past Sunday morning. 20 miles. 20 long, grueling miles. I usually do my long runs with the Team World Vision training group, but had to change it up this weekend (for the longest run) because of the #Lawndale5K (which was awesome, btw).

My man and littlest kiddo at the Lawndale 5K - just before the Kids' Dash.

But my running buddy was true and great and we struggled along and finished together. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the 20 miler effort. Blast. :(  But even though it was so much longer than I wanted it to be, I finished. And I finished strong. My feet were sore, my back hurt, my mind was numb - but I finished with a strong pace.

Some of my motivating thoughts while running: I thought about my kids and how proud they would be. At some point. You know - like when they're older... and I thought about my loved ones who have sponsored me. They see my effort and how much I care about this "clean water" thing and are willing to give their hard earned money to tell me "Go, AMANDA! I think you can totally do this!" And all those things motivated me to want to finish.

The marathon itself is only 15 days away now and it's looming closer. I can't believe all the hard training is done and I'm tapering now. I have two more "long" runs, and I find myself looking forward to them. I love running. I love clean water. And I love all my friends and family who have been so supportive this training season. THANK YOU!

A family that trains together...

I ran 29 miles this past week. My calves are sore and I have blisters on my feet, but it's worth it. That cost of soreness and blisters really isn't too much considering all the benefits - fitness, fun(ish) and I love that I'm running for a great cause - clean water. Who doesn't need/crave/love clean water? But another unexpected benefit for me is being able to experience this with the support of my family.

Base training for most of the other runners on my team started in mid-April. But I had more of a "base" to build, so my training started way back in January. It's already been 8 full months of early mornings and treadmills and running magazines. But my husband has been supportive the whole way - making sure we have plenty of the right foods to eat, keeping gatorade in the house and cheering me on, all while managing the kiddos. With two little ones - that's no small feat. He plays with them and handles morning routines on longer run days. He's even been known to rub my feet. Once. (But it was amazing and I'd really like it to happen again someday. Soon.)

My kids are awesome at being supportive too - in their own kid ways. One of my favorite parts of a run is the when I come back home after running and my 4-year old daughter asks me "how many miles today?" She's so excited that she says, "Wow! That's awesome!" no matter how many miles I tell her (even when it's "just" 3 miles). My little guy squawks and squeals when I come home, and runs feverishly around my legs and the living room - he likes to be a part of the excitement too. I didn't realize how good this was going to be for our family to do together. We even started a countdown calendar (shown here) for race day - the big day is now in just 41 more days (I'm a day late posting this picture). It's starting to feel like it's actually going to happen and race day will be here before we know it.

I thought that doing this with kids was going to be so much harder. It's not always easy, but it's so fun to have this family thing that we can do together.  They make this whole process of training for a marathon a little less grueling. (And a lot more cute!)

Chicago Marathon FAQ

Below - listed in order of frequency - are the questions I regularly field in regards to my upcoming marathon.

Q: How long is a marathon? It's like 20 miles, right?
A: Um, yeah - it's 26.2 long, grueling miles to be precise. Please remember that last point two is pretty important.  (A few of the miles might not be absolutely terrible, but I won't know that for sure until race day.)

Q: When is the Chicago Marathon?
A: October 12, 2014. Or - maybe an easier way to remember it is 10-12-14. (your'e welcome for the easy memory trick {winks})

Q: Have you ever run a marathon before?
A: Yes. When I was a much younger version of myself - just over ten years ago. I ran the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon in 2004. That was FOREVER ago.

Q: Yeah - so you knew what you were getting into then...
A: Well - kind of. I did this the first time when I was in my early twenties and my body could bounce back from anything with an ice pack and a nap. This time around, my body is ten years older, healing takes quite a bit longer and I'm also constantly chasing around two young (and wonderfully amazing) small kiddos so naps aren't really a thing for me. So I kind of knew - but then I didn't. (Yes, I realize this isn't really a question - but I'm including it anyway...)

Q: That's cool. What are you running for?
A: Sanity. Alone time. Fitness. But I can get those things running around the block. I'm running a full-out marathon with Team World Vision because I also want to help provide clean water for kids in Africa. Clean water = education, sanitation, health, opportunity. You can partner with me by supporting me on my fundraising page. Or by sponsoring a child. (Just write "Amanda Bratschie - Chicago Marathon 2014" in the notes section.) I sponsor a child from last year's marathon when I friend ran it - it's been a great family experience. I highly recommend it!

Q: Are you losing weight?
A: HA! I love you! Thanks for noticing all my effort and hard work! But, no. I haven't lost a filthy little ounce since I've started this whole ordeal. I have, however, been trimming up. Just not sure where the weight is going (because scales don't lie, right?). I'm really hoping that the tides turn soon and I'll start shedding the lbs at some point during the next 55 days of training.  Help me talk my scale into showing some progress, and if you're trying to gain weight, I'll try to lose it where you can find it.  ;)

On the blog again...

So - I've been training for the Chicago Marathon since January. You read that right - about 8.5 months. And I've come a long way. Like, really. I'm doing great. But I wish I had captured some of my progress on the way. Hence the idea for this blog. I'm kinduva blogger any old way - so it makes sense.

Also - I'm really hoping to get more people out there cheering me on AND possibly get some new child sponsors for World Vision too. That would be AWESOME! (If you want more info, just click here. If you sponsor a kid, just write "Amanda Bratschie - Chicago Marathon 2014" in the notes section.)

Lastly - I just really want somewhere appropriate to share all my running stories. You don't want to hear 'em? No problem. Just navigate away. You've been warned. ;)