It all comes down to this

It all started October 4th, 2011 with a 2 mile run and a promise to raise $500 by November 30th. As you may recall, I reached my goal and then some! This week I started off with my usual trip to Woodland Hills Physical Therapy.

Tuesday I met up with my training group at Fleet Feet Encino for our last group run before the marathon. The fast group held back a bit which allowed a large group of us to run and chat over the flat 4 mile course.  After the run we did some quick ab work and then Brooks held a raffle but I didn't win anything.

Wednesday Fleet Feet hosted a pub run sponsored by adidas so even though we only were scheduled to run 4 miles, I joined the group for a 10k that started with a free round at Tony Roma's courtesy of adidas!

Then we ran about 3 miles to Springbok where we had another drink before running the remaining 3 miles back to the store.

Once at the store, we walked over to Numero Uno for our third drink and pizza. It was a really fun night and I'm glad I was a part of it!

Thursday was bittersweet as it was the last yoga class before the marathon. Although yoga will continue to be held every Thursday at Fleet Feet for the other training groups, I will probably not be attending if I'm not in training. I'm excited to get my free time back but I'll miss the incredibly structured training regimen.

Friday I went to the expo for the LA Marathon with my cousin! It made everything seem so real. It was pretty cloudy but didn't rain. I found my name on the Honda, right at the top!

Then I picked up my race shirt and bib... with sticker granting me access to the CATS suite before the race!

We hit up the Rock 'n' Roll Race Series booth where I signed up for the LA half marathon and saved $20! They also gave me a free promo shirt.

After walking around the expo for a while, we entered the Asics tent and I picked out the Dodgers themed shirt.

Then I saw this awesome tech tee and my wonderful cousin bought it for me as a good luck present!

After the expo we went to Marshall's where I picked up this water resistant jacket for $20. Unfortunately this was a necessity due to the forecasted rain. I'm not a big fan of new clothing for race day but it was such a warm winter I never had a need for such an article.

Saturday I got my shoes blessed at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels. It was a beautiful service and I was really glad I went.

After the shoe blessing I packed up my gear and drove out to Santa Monica picking up Sarah and Lauren on the way. We checked into The Shore and went to True Food Kitchen for dinner.

After dinner Sarah and I went in the hot tub to unwind while Lauren went on a covert mission. It started to hail so we went inside and it was time to bedazzle our bibs!

They came out great and it was so fun!

Big thanks to everyone (all two of you) for reading about my journey. Also HUGE thanks to everyone who made donations and helped me reach my ultimate goal of $3,000! It's not too late, you can still make a donation at: http://www.crowdrise.com/crystalarrieta