Dear Grandma,

Ready or not, I'm 4 days away from probably one of the greatest physical struggles I will ever voluntarily undergo. I can only hope that I've done everything I can to prepare for this - but the anxiety I feel is much like that I felt when I was preparing for boards. I've done all I can do - now all that's left is to dive in and hope the outcome is what I've dreamed it would be. Last week was filled with nothing but fear. This week, the thought of all my supporters has brought me excitement. But then, I thnk about being at about the point in the race when the half marthon runners split - when they seperate the sane from the insane - and everything in my belly drops to my feet. Not literally - well, yet. You've gotten me through a lot of long runs while I've been training, but this race is ten miles more than I've ever done. So please, please Grandma, don't give up on me now!

I'm looking foward to all the Pape's coming this weekend. Since my roomate and her fiance are running the half marathon (they have their head on a little straighter than I do) and my other roomate will have company as well, we're all going to stay with Casey in his new house for the weekend. It was his idea, so, I hope he knows what he's getting himself into. =) I don't see my family as much as I used to, and definitely not as often as I'd like to, so knowing we're all going to be under one roof is a big relief. Miss Hannah's 2nd birthday is coming up, and since I'm not sure that I'll be able to make it there because of work, we're going to do some mini celebrating for her. My friend Blair has a little girl who is a month older than Hannah, we're hoping they can have a lot of fun together. But they're both 2 - so we'll see.

This month is going to be a busy one. Once I get through this weekend I have a pretty big stretch of call and then at the end of the month, Casey and I are going to Florida to visit his sister. I've never been to Florida, so I'm definitely looking foward to just having the chance to travel there. I'm mostly looking foward to getting on an airplane and leaving Nebraska for a few days to do somewhere and spend some time on a beach.

We've been having some pretty nice weather here with the exception of a few chilly, windy, rainy days. I hope you're getting that out of your system so that Sunday we have clear skies and a nice (but fairly still) breeze. Please Grandma, I need all the help I can get!

I love you,
Kristen