As I filled you all in on Friday, we had 9 days til the marathon, and 9.25 miles to go. Not too bad, but 5 of those days are work days, and Sienna had been rejecting her jogging stroller, so I was definitely getting nervous. I’m a former athlete, so the mileage isn’t an issue for me, it’s completing the mileage toting my 36 pound sidekick.

As a reminder, Sienna is completing a full marathon between now and the Boston Marathon on April 21st. The Boston Marathon is being run in her honor by Kuber S., as part of Genzyme’s Running For Rare Diseases program. Each week I’m sharing our training progress and sharing the story of another FOP friend. If you are new to this series on our training, you can catch up here:

https://raremom.com/2014/02/25/siennas-training-for-a-marathon-and-bringing-her-fop-friends/

And see Kuber’s page here:

http://www.razoo.com/story/2014-Boston-Marathon-Kuber-Sampath

Luckily, Saturday was a beautiful day and Sienna suggested we go for a walk into town (which is 2 miles each way – wahoo!). She happily climbed into the stroller and we were off. Sienna loves going into town: shops, good things to eat, the train station. We made it quickly into town and went for a full investigation of the train station (the NY side AND the New Haven side). After a stop for a mini bagel we set off back through town. There were a few obstacles, such as the nice lady from the Lion’s club selling giant chocolate bunnies for $5… (of course, we bought one) and a stop at the overpriced dog toy store (a highlight! She got to snuggle the owner’s adorable black lab puppy AND pick out a new collar for her stuffed dog, Martha. Well, she picked it out and then I walked her out of the store while Rare Dad bought it so we can hide it for two weeks until her birthday).

On the way home we added a detour into the local nature center where Sienna got some teepee sitting time and a few trips down the slide.

That Saturday walk was a total of 4.46 miles. Good comeback! Our goal is now in reach!

On Sunday, Sienna had plans to see her cousin in NJ for a dress-up craft/ lunch party and her first-ever manicure. Serious business here:

After naptime, it was still beautiful outside so Sienna and Pepper and I went to the dog beach, for probably the last time of the season. (I believe dogs become banned from the beach May 1-Oct 1). Before hitting the beach, we squeezed a little extra walking in to the end of the pier. Sienna also got in some carefree beach cavorting, which made it a success.

On our way home, I added in an extra loop of the huge parking lot for some extra mileage, and Sienna made me run the last part home, which was uphill. I was definitely appreciating the miles Kuber has been putting in as we neared the top of the hill and Sienna looked back at me and asked “Are you SURE you are still running?!”

Sunday’s total: 2.18 miles

Which leaves us with 7 days and 2.61 miles to go! Do you think we can do it?

Also, I’m out of FOP friends’ stories to share. FOP friends, message me if you’d like to share your story!