Email from George the Coach

Hello Rock n Rollers!

Well, Saturday is the "big one" - our first double digit run! 10 miles, count them ten! Uno dos tres cuatro cinco seis siete ocho nueve diez!

Our route will be Shelby Farms visitor center lower parking lot (8:00 am), cross Walnut Grove at the traffic light, and head out along the paved path and gravel road to the Agricenter. From there, south along the paved path to our well deserved refreshment stop at the gravel parking lot immediately across from Walnut Bend/Shell Station (cooler full of goodies). Rest room at Shell Station if needed.Then, south along Germantown Road, cross the Wolf River, and then we head west on the Germantown Greenway that borders the Wolf River. At the magical mile 5 point, we turn about and head back the same route. Same rest room stop if needed, same refreshment break.

Weather should be picture perfect!

It looks like most of you prefer the 6/2 or 8/2 run/walk strategy, so we will plan to use that routinely in our training now that we are getting into the longer distances. We may also need to dial the pace back a bit, since the key is getting in the miles, and forget the clock. (Easier for me to say than do, as many of you know).

As typical on a Friday night, I have begun to fret about tomorrow's run. I *so* want to be able to run this. I know I probably won't be able to do it all - even with a 6/2 interval. I just have to be ok with that. I have to just do what I'm able to do. And no more. I have to really listen to my body and not get stubborn about this. I really can't push myself. I can't allow myself to think that I'm in better condition than I am. I have to take this ramping back up very slowly. That's the only way that I will be able to get back on the mend and get back in line with my training and really give the marathon a good shot. Tonight, my head is not really playing along with this one. But tomorrow, I'm pretty sure my shins will over-rule.

February 29

Happy Leap Day! We all know that Leap Year happens every four years, in years divisible by four. But did you know that of those years, if it can be divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless the year is divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year. So, 1600 and 2000 were leap years, and 2400 and 2800 will also be, 1800 and 1900 were not, and the years 2100 and 2200 will not be leap years. And did you know that a leap day is more likely to fall on a Monday than on a Sunday. Today is also Sadie Hawkins Day. Anyway, thanks to Wiki for that trivia. I love useless trivia.....

I spent 30 minutes of my extra day's 24 hours on the treadmill this morning. Put in 2 miles. I would guess about a fourth of that was running. Maybe a bit more. There was some discomfort, but nothing like it has been. So, while this wasn't anything major in terms of distance or running, it was progress and movement. So I will chalk it up to a good day. I'm light years from where I was last Friday.

It is becoming very apparent that this recovery is going to be very slow. I know there is no way that I can run the 10 miles tomorrow. I am going to have to walk most of it. I will try to run some of it. But I have discovered the hard way what happens when you push yourself. And it hasn't been fun. So, tomorrow I'll probably hang with the walkers. And I'm ok with that.

I did about 30 minutes of stretching and strengthening exercises last night. Some were easy and felt good. Others were just downright hard and not fun. I am seeing the importance of overall strength and conditioning.

Progress made:

Movement on the treadmill. Albeit slow and steady - but hey, isn't that what wins the race?

$2,116 raised. I'm at 52% of my goal! Yea!

Need to work on:

Commit to at least 30 minutes of stretching exercises every day.

Let's Talk Tigers

I only caught the last half of the game on TV last night since we didn't get home from church until 8:30 pm. Seems like I missed the best half. The Tigers won - yea! - but definitely got outplayed in the second half.

A few thoughts.....

What was up with Joey Dorsey's hair?!?! Anne said he was "giving it the old Ben Wallace look" last night. Connie said it reminded her of Keith Lee (remember him?) .....Well, whatever it was, it didn't work because he scored ZERO points. Zip. Nada. Nil. None. If he doesn't get his act together, he'll have plenty of time to work on some new hairstyles - WHILE HE'S ON THE BENCH!

The bench outscored the starters: 43 to 39.

Tigers were 13 of 25 from the three-point range.

Cool picture here of Derrick Rose. (If you look close, you'll see the Campbell Clinic sign on the left. If you look *real* close, you'll see the other smaller Campbell Clinic sign on the right!)

GO TIGERS!

I didn't attempt any running, walking or general movement this morning. To be honest, when the alarm went off at 4:00, I reset it for 5:00 and went right back to sleep. That is really not my nature, but my bed was so cozy and I was just convinced I needed an extra hour of sleep today. Of course, now I feel guilty about that decision, especially since I'm trying to make up some miles and get back with it. So, I'm going to do some new stretches tonight.

Nanette led a strengthening and conditioning clinic the other night that I couldn't attend, so George brought me the handouts. He said she stressed the importance of a "strong core" and how that really affects the way that you run (pace, mechanics, endurance, etc). It's really interesting how all the body's biomechanics work together to just R-U-N. Thus, the importance of cross-training. I'll give those new exercises a shot tonight. I also bought some stability ball workout DVDs. I'm anxious to give those a try too real soon.

My legs are feeling so much better than they were this time last week. I am very encouraged and really ready to start back with the training.

Team in Training

I hope you'll watch this 4 minute video that will tell you more about Team in Training. It makes me even MORE excited and committed to participating.

(To all my Campbell Clinic friends - it's on You Tube - you'll have to watch at home!)

Tunin' in to the Tigers

Just read this in the paper:
"Saturday's game set a record as the most-viewed college basketball game in ESPN's history. The broadcast was seen by an estimated 5.28 million viewers."

GO TIGERS!!

Walk this way

Before we get started, join me this morning in raising your coffee cup to salute the Vanderbilt Commodores who knocked off the #1 Tennessee Volunteers last night. Woo-hoo! We were all Vandy fans yesterday weren't we?! The Tigers take on Tulsa tonight and Southern Miss Saturday. So, I hope UT enjoyed their BRIEF stay at the top (Rocky NOT Top - ha ha), because next Monday, we should be back on top of the polls. Then there are two games remaining. Pundits have us at 30-1 at the end of the season and a #1 seed in the tourny. March Madness is looming and I'm excited!!! GO TIGERS!!!!!





This morning, I walked a nice little mile on my treadmill. Just one... Every once in a while, I broke out in a slight trot. Nothing major. There was some tightness and just a slight touch of ouch. A little discomfort remains, but nothing like it has been. So, I would say I'm on the mend. I'm not going to be able to just jump out there and pick up where I left off. Hard to think that two weeks ago I was running 7 miles and now I can barely squeak out one mile walking. But, shin splints can be summed up in four words: too much, too soon. So I'll just have to SLOWLY get ramped up again.

Julie the Mentor sent me an email last night and summed it up like this: "definitely better to take it easy now and still be able to finish the season than to be sidelined for a longer period of time...(and if it takes a little longer, there are still more seasons - we ain't goin' nowhere til there's a CURE!)..." (Thanks Julie!) I'm still viewing this as a detour not a derailment. Plus, if it comes down to walking the whole stinkin' 26.2 miles, I'll do that. My goals for this quest were to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia Society, honor and remember my Daddy, and finish the marathon in an upright, vertical position. I am convinced I can do all of those things.

I've also been keeping an eye on Darren McFadden (my favorite former Arkansas Razorback) who is knocking everybody's socks off at the NFL combines this week. He's expected to be a top 5 NFL draft pick in April.

And, in case you were wondering, my favorite American Idol guy is that cute little David Archuleta. I love how he is just so surprised and embarrassed by the applause and cheers he gets. He's a cutie and a darn good singer.

Desperado

Add to my latest treatment method.... Castor Oil. No, NOT drinking it. Just rubbing it on my legs. Mom read about the healing powers of castor oil from Dr. Gott. She tried it on a painful arthritic joint yesterday morning and got some pretty good relief. So I figured, what the heck. Got nothing to lose. So we rubbed it all on my legs. Jodi walked in to Mom's house and there we are going to town with a bottle of castor oil and a cotton ball. He just rolled his eyes.

He said when he got home last night, the entire house still reeked of Icy Hot.

Poor Jodi.....

I will try *anything* to get this problemo taken care of. I am seeing some improvement this morning and I'm very thankful for that. I just want this whole injury thing to be a small detour rather than a derailment. Because I REALLY want to participate and complete the marathon.

I did some Pilates this morning. Whew -- that abs dvd is very tough.

On another note, Jordan spent Sunday afternoon at Trenton's playing with his new Wii. Last night, there were about 20 pictures of the Wii printed out and taped all over our house with the plea "We need a Wii". Nothing like a little advertising to get your message out there.....

And finally, I'm looking forward to watching Vanderbilt HOPEFULLY beat UT tonight, so we can take back what is rightfully ours.... THE NUMBER ONE RANKING!! GO TIGERS!!!!

Miscellaneous Monday musings about motive

I'm glad to say that I think things are moving in a good direction for me. I'm not having the continuous pain, so that is definitely a good sign. I hope that a few more days off will just do the trick and I will be back to it in a day or so.

I'm also VERY glad to say that my fundraising total is $2,076! THANK YOU!!! That's so awesome and I'm so excited about that. I'm at 51% toward my goal of $4,000. Thanks to you all for contributing to my effort. I thought I'd share a bit more info about my cause.

Did you know...

• Over 135,000 people were diagnosed with leukemia or another blood cancer in 2007.
• Over 52,000 people will die this year from leukemia or lymphoma.
• Every 10 minutes someone dies from a blood cancer. That's 143 people per day. That's 6 people every hour.
• Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20.
• There are 4 different types of leukemia. AML, the type my dad had, currently has a 20.7% five year survival rate.

By the time you finish reading this post, someone will have lost their fight with a blood cancer. Sometime today, there will be people who will be told "You have leukemia." There is research on new drugs and new treatments that is being done every day. In fact, there are a few drugs that have come out since my dad's diagnosis and death that very possibly could have extended - or possibly saved - his life.

I hope if you reading this and you have not yet made a contribution toward my goal, that you will consider it today. Your gift can be large or small. (I got a very clever gift of $26.20 last week. Get it? One dollar a mile = $26.20). I am appreciative of very penny that you send my way. I just want you to know that what you are doing and what you are giving *really* makes a difference. You are helping find a cure for leukemia.

So what's my point? The rest of my life will be dedicated to raising money and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. One day there will be a cure. Will it be in my lifetime? Will my kids see it? Who knows. I miss my dad. I lost him to this disease. And nothing that I go through in this marathon training will even hold a candle to what he went through while he fought it. I read a quote by a Team in Training runner over the weekend that summed up the whole training thing: "Think this is hard? Try chemotherapy."

As always, thanks for checking in today. And thanks for all the support you give me - words, notes, donations. I couldn't do any of this without you.

It will all be OK

The day after.....

I think I can finally talk about the Tiger game without crying. Tough loss. I'm just sad they lost. At home. To Tennessee. I'm sure we'll plummet in the polls. The media loves to hate us. Guess the loss had to come sometime. Maybe I'm glad it came now during regular season than later during the tourny. I hope there's a #1 seed in our future. Although that does add much more pressure. Oh the stress of it all! Can't wait for March Madness to begin - truly the *best* time of the sports year. GO TIGERS!

Thanks to all who commented or emailed or called or just gave me some encouragement yesterday while I was D-O-W-N about not running. I think I did work through that disappointment and am seeing the importance of the decision. Just a small detour early on is better than a major derailment later. I do want to complete this training and FINISH THE MARATHON so bad. I realized just how bad yesterday. Plus, Daddy would really give me the what for if I continued to try to run while I'm messed up. I don't want to let anybody - especially him - down during this quest.

The good news is that I THINK my legs may be some better. I alternated ice with heat last night and again today. And I've switched over to Alleve. Maybe the combination of those things (along with the laying off) has given me some improvement. I am not feeling the constant burning and pain today. Only an occasional twinge of ouchness. That is a first for me in about a week. Maybe I'm turning a corner here... I hope so!

I'm thinking I'll need to alter my training schedule again this week. I'll have to take a look. I'll get some pilates in tomorrow and Tuesday. Maybe a little walking and then maybe by Wednesday or Thursday, I could put in a mile or so to see how I'm feeling. I think I'm scheduled for 10 on Saturday. Wonder how that will play out. I will just take it slow. And be ok with that.

On another note, I read a few blogs of other runners - most of them are a bit more seasoned than me. Some are TNT members too. But I get a lot of info and advice by just reading their stories. I found one blog belonging to Roxie in NY. She is devoted TNT runner who lost a dear friend to Lymphoma. She is now training for her third marathon. (She ran San Diego in 2007!) I made a comment on her blog Friday about how I had discovered her blog, was struggling with some injury, why I was doing TNT, etc. She, in turn, replied with a nice encouraging comment. I was reading her post today where she detailed her 16 mile run yesterday (WOW!). She listed the things that kept her going during the last stretch of her run. One thing was "a comment from a reader (thanks angie!)". That made me feel really good. Then I started thinking that while I was feeling all sorry for myself yesterday morning, I was actually encouraging somebody at that exact time. And that was a nice feeling and helped me check out of my pity party.

So see.....it will ALL be OK.

My poor Tigers

*sniff*

Trying to be smart not stubborn

It's GAME DAY!! I just read on the Commercial Appeal website (since my paper isn't here yet - GRRRRR) that by 5am there were already almost 100 students at the Forum getting in line for tickets and spots for the ESPN College Game Day show. I'm *so* excited!!!

Now let's talk about running. Or for today, NOT running. I've decided to sit today out and not run or walk. Very hard decision and I'm disappointed and upset and trying not to cry right now as I type this. But after listening to Nanette and Dr. Azar and Ty (my MD bro-in-law), and Connie (my WISE sister), I've decided to just rest today and not push it so this inflammation can heal. I did think about just walking the entire thing. And while walking is just walking, nine miles is a LOT of walking.

The inflammation is the body's way of dealing with injury. I have to listen to that. The last thing I want is to try to push through something and then REALLY get hurt. So I'm hoping that a day or so of real genuine rest will benefit me a lot.

So, today is game day. In more ways that one. And here I am on the DL. But hopefully this will be a smart decision and I will be back on track very soon.

In the meantime,

GO TIGERS!!!

It's Friday night

It's Friday night.

Eve of the long run.

Nine miles tomorrow.

I'm pretty sure I'll be walking most of it.

Walking is ok.

It's movement.

Maybe I should stick with the walkers tomorrow.

How long will it take this inflammation to go away?

I am tired of smelling like Icy Hot.

Jodi is tired of me smelling like Icy Hot.

I want to be able to run.

I think I might like it.

Maybe I'll turn into a runner.

Wouldn't that be funny?

The ouch has to go away.

Guess it will sooner or later.

Wish it were sooner, not later.

Now I'm trying Alleve.

Twenty four hours and thirty minutes until the Tiger game.

I'm so psyched.

What time is it?

It is 99 days until the Rock 'N Roll Marathon

and

33 hours and 20 minutes until the TIGER GAME!

Yes, it's some 'itis'

Nanette said she thought I needed to let one of our doctors take a look at the 'point tender' spot on my leg. Kind of scared me because I really didn't want them to find anything. Ignorance is bliss. But it was also painful. I saw Dr. Azar this afternoon (He's the team doc for the Grizzlies.) and he agreed with Nanette. Just some major inflammation. He didn't think an xray or MRI would be beneficial right now. And I should just watch it and not push myself beyond what it feels like what I can do. So, again, I'm very thankful it's not a stress fracture. I'll settle for some 'itis'. They both agreed I shouldn't run on Saturday if I'm not up to it. But I could at least walk my 9 miles. We'll see how it is.

It did seem that as today went on, I didn't have as much pain as I have been having. So maybe there is some small improvement. Maybe my cortisone bionic patch is working. I hope so. I get another one tomorrow and Nanette said I should get three more next week.

I'm so thankful - and lucky - that I have these orthopaedic resources available to me. I can just go down to PT or knock on Dr. Azar's door and get help. How great is that.

(Hey, I made it through a whole post without saying GO TIGERS!)

Taking it slow

I was anxious to attempt to run, walk or even move on the treadmill this morning because my calves were hurting so bad. I put in 2 miles - walking mostly and a little running. My calves were burning almost the whole time. I just think I need to take it real slow and not push myself through this. But right now, almost 2 hours later, I am feeling better than I was while I was actually walking. So I wonder what that's about. I am wondering if I will be able to run/walk the 9 miles on Saturday. Or maybe I should just walk all of it and just let this inflammation settle down. I need to ask Nanette about that.

Big banner headline on the front page of the CA today about the Tigers/Vols game: "Bring 'em on!". That's funny - that's almost the same title I posted last night. But that's how Memphis is thinking right now. This game on Saturday is huge and is the talk of the town and the hottest ticket around. I AM STOKED and cannot wait!!! GO TIGERS! (Can you believe we shot almost 78% from the free throw line?!)

Progress made:

Accomplished 2 miles of movement this morning

My fundraising total is $2,026! Thanks everybody!

Bring on the Vols

GO TIGERS!!!

You search -- They give

Heard about a website on the radio yesterday and really wanted to share it with you. Here is the lowdown from their site:

GoodSearch.com is a search engine which donates 50-percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It's a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers - the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!

They also have a shopping portal, GoodShop, and you just click on a partner retail site and start shopping. GoodSearch will donate a portion (from 3% to 20%) of your purchase to your designated cause. These are stores you probably already shop at online anyway - Amazon, Sephora, iTunes, Best Buy, Zappos, Target, Barnes and Noble etc. There are hundreds of stores that participate.

So, you will raise money for your favorite charity (Leukemia Society!) or school (Harding Academy!) by doing something you do every day - searching the internet. It's free money for your cause.

It will take awhile for me to break my Google habit. But this is an easy way to help raise some money for my favorite causes. Hope you'll give it a try.

Aloha and Ole'!

I exchanged my defective DVDs on Sunday and thought I'd do the abs workout today. It was originally a 4 mile day, but the schedule had to be altered to let the inflammation settle down a bit. So, I figured I'd at least do something.

This DVD looked like it had been filmed in Hawaii. We did our exercises by the roaring surf. Her mat was even surrounded by volcanic rock. How quaint. Anna Abs led us in some of the hardest exercises I've ever done. Wow. The picture on the cover of the box is very deceiving because most of the time we had our legs stretched out like that, our hands were on our ankles, not down on the mat. "Now hold....." Are you kidding me?!?! I don't think the human body is meant to be folded like taco shell for minutes on end. But maybe with practice, I'll get there.

Am scheduled to get another cortisone patch today. Hope it helps.

The Bionic Woman

LOVED that show when I was a kid. Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin. The perfect bionic couple. Lindsay Wagner was so pretty. And Lee Majors was beyond handsome. Connie even had the Bionic Woman doll - her rubber skin rolled up to show her bionics.






Well, The Bionic Woman doesn't have anything on me. Check this out.
I finally acknowledged that my shin/calf pain was a bit more than "oh my calves hurt because I've been running". There was a specific place that hurt pretty bad to the touch. So, I went down to see Nanette in PT and she said it was probably an "itis of the peroneous something or other" which basically means inflammation of the leg muscle. So she gets this patch thing that uses a small electronic current to put cortisone directly into the sore spot on my leg. I am to wear it for three hours and then take it off. It even has a little green light which will turn red when my time is up.

She wants me to rest tomorrow and get another patch. Run on Thursday. Rest Friday (which was already scheduled) and get another patch. Then do my long run on Saturday.

I'm very thankful that this is just some inflammation and not any kind of a stress fracture. I google too much.....But I think I had ignored it long enough and then realized that this could lead to something a lot worse that could end my marathon running career before it ever got going. (insert laugh here)

Jaime Sommer's bionics gave her amplified hearing, a greatly strengthened right arm, and enhanced legs, enabling her to run faster than a speeding car. I can't wait to see how I turn out after my electronic patch.

Keep those cards and letters comin'!

The Blogspot people have changed the way you leave a comment on these posts. The nickname option is gone so this is how to do it.

• Click the comment section as always.
• Enter your comment and type in those funny letters.
• Click the "Name/URL" button and then ONLY type in your name. You don't have to put anything in the URL section.
• Then click 'publish your comment" and voila! Instant feedback.
  

Hope that makes sense and now you can continue leaving all your suggestions, encouragement and witty comments for me once again! I love fan mail!

Owwww

My. Legs. Hurt.

First sign of spring

The forsythia in my backyard. Spring can't be far behind.

Heart attack

That's how I felt after the Tigers pulled off a win last night. It came down to the wire and even then, there was some controversy. And a bit of a fracas. UAB was ready for the Tigers and they wanted to win, no doubt. Tigers were down by 7 with a little over a minute to go. But Chris Douglas-Roberts converted a 3-point play with about 6 seconds left. (It was his game last night, that's for sure.) Then UAB made a basket a split second too late. Tigers win. WHEW! The UAB fans thought the basket counted, and they rushed the floor. Rumor has it they were spitting on the Tigers and throwing pompoms, cups and bottles at them. Heartbreaker for UAB that's for sure. But c'mon.

Apparently ESPN.com thought we were going to lose (or had lost), because this is what they had on their website minutes after we won. (Thanks to my blog contributor, Anne, for this submission!)
"IMPERECT"And then there were none. No. 1 Memphis is unbeaten no longer. UAB, on the back of sharp shooter Robert Vaden, knocked off the lone perfect team in Division I on Saturday night. UAB XX, Memphis XX

What a game! GO TIGERS!!!

I feel ok this morning, just a little sore in the legs. Am headed to church shortly reeking of Icy Hot.

Training schedule for the week:

• Sunday - cross train
• Monday - 3 miles
• Tuesday - rest
• Wednesday - 4 miles
• Thursday - 3 miles
• Friday - rest
• Saturday - 9 miles

Every train has a caboose

Today's long run is COMPLETE! I ran 7.5 miles in 1:41. That figures to about a 13:47 minute mile. While this is slow, it's a bit faster than my norm, so I was excited about that. And excited that I did the run today. I was the caboose this morning. The LAST one to finish. (There were two ladies that quit after 4 miles. So maybe I wasn't quite the very last....)

Today's run was a 6/2 interval (run 6 minutes/walk 2 minutes).We kept the route in Shelby Farms and ran along the south side of Patriot Lake, up a gravel trail along Walnut Grove until it hit Raleigh Lagrange. Then we turned around and came back up the trail and returned to the Visitor's Center on the north side of Patriot Lake. That was 4 miles and a good spot for a little restroom visit and some gel. George gave me some orange Hammer gel yesterday - like Gu, just another brand. It was a bit more tolerable. It almost tasted like orange. I sucked it down with lots of water. Then we were off to finish our last 3 miles. We ran the Chickasaw Trail. I guess the gel did give me a little bit of energy. At least enough, combined with the quick pit stop, to make it the last 3 miles.

Julie the Mentor ran with me today. Sometimes, she ran ahead but then came back to get me. It's nice to have somebody to run with because it really does make the time go by faster. She knows her stuff and is very encouraging.

I really didn't have any shin/calf pain except one little place on my shin. So I think that's a sign of improvement. At one point, during my precious 2 minute walk interval, I had to take off my shoe and rub my toes. But I must have been pretty fast at this, because once I got my shoe on and was ready to run again, Julie said I had one minute to spare. YEA!

When we were finishing up, Julie had gone on ahead just a bit and I was running the very last hundred yards or so into the parking lot (aka The Finish Line. aka the GLORY LAND). I ran by this very fit, very tall, very young, very handsome guy who was stretching before what was probably his weekly 20 mile run. I must have either reminded him of his aging mother or he was afraid I was going to go into cardiac arrest right in front of his Jeep and he thought I needed some encouragement because as I ran by he said "Nice hustle this morning. Looking good. Keep it up." I smiled and said "Oh thanks a lot. That's real sweet." and figured a 40+ year old married turtle with snot running out of her nose probably wasn't his type....

When I got to the finish area, there were only a few people left waiting on us. Nice of them. But they do have to make sure all the crazies are accounted for. Lindy, another mentor who is nursing a stress fracture and couldn't run, was there waiting and she had brought Krispy Kreme donuts and bananas. I liked her immediately! I consumed the donut in about 4 bites. It was so delicious, I almost cried.

Music that kept me moving this morning was some Lenny Kravitz, Billy Squier, No Doubt, and the Go Go's.

I felt pretty good today. Don't get me wrong - it's a long way. And it took a long time. But, I ran 7.5 miles! So I'm excited.

Progress made:

Ran 7.5 miles in improved time.

My fundraising total is now $1,901! That's almost 50% of my goal.

Lesson learned:

The caboose makes it to the same place the rest of the train does. Just not at the same time.

Finally Friday!

It's Friday. And that means two things.

First - today is a rest day. WAH-HOO!!

Second - tomorrow is the long group run. On Fridays I'm excited and scared and nervous all at the same time. I do, kind of, look forward to doing it. To attempt it. Wondering if I can do it. But then I get nervous about it. Because what if I can't do it. What if my legs start hurting real bad. Or what if I'm the last one to finish. What if the walkers beat me!?!? I know it's not a race. But I'm sooooo not fast. What if it takes three hours? (It will probably take a little under 2 hours said the turtle.)

Our distance for tomorrow is 7 miles. SEVEN MILES. Yikers. George says he thinks we will run from the Visitor's Center at Shelby Farms to the Shell station at Germantown Road and Walnut Bend. Oh - but how will we get back to our cars?! He informs me that's about 3.5 miles. So we have to run back..... Hmmmmm.

I think it's a lot more intimidating when you can actually put specific locations on the distance. For some reason, the thought of running 7 miles on a trail at Shelby Farms isn't nearly as frightening as running to the Shell station and back. To gain further perspective, I looked up some distances on Mapquest. Seven miles is also from Poplar and Germantown Road to Poplar and Goodlett. Or from my house to Wolfchase Mall. Maybe I shouldn't have looked that up.

The good thing is they have taken the precip (including the frozen kind) out of the forecast. Ron Childers tells me that tomorrow morning should be cloudy and about 42 degrees. That's good news.

Progress made:
My fundraising total is now $1,701!

Need to work on:
Buy some Power Bar gel and get used to consuming that delicious stuff.
Do my stretches more than twice a day.

Who needs candy for Valentine's Day when they've got Gu

To Gu or not to Gu? That is the question.

At this phase of the training, I am learning that it is important to maintain blood sugar levels and replace carbohydrates that are used while running long distances or doing other types of strenuous exercise. This is done by taking carbohydrate supplements before and especially during a long run. These supplements come in several different forms but apparently Gu is the most popular one.

Gu.....Gu is an energy food designed to be quickly and easily digested so it can be eaten during endurance activities, like running. It is a gel that you squirt in your mouth and rinse down with some water. It contains carbohydrates that can be broken down into fuel very quickly.

Gu is called Gu because it's really GOO. I had seen these little 1 ounce flavored packets at the shoe store and read about them in some running research I've done. And now, as we are beginning longer group runs, the topic of Gu is coming up in my training.

I had completely talked myself out of the Gu. I would almost gag just thinking about it. It doesn't even sound appealing. Gu. I was much more interested in checking out the other types of carb supplements like the Shot Blocks (small squares that are kind of like gummy bears) or Jelly Belly Sport Beans (Now we're talking! "Hi I'm training for a marathon and I get to eat jelly beans!!!!")

I expressed my Gu disdain to George the Coach yesterday. He said I needed to try it and he would 'bring the goodies'.

So this morning, George brings in a lovely array of supplements. Happy Valentine's Day! Who needs flowers and chocolates? I've got orange Shot Blocks, fruit punch Sport Beans, and tri-berry Gu. My friend Anne was in my office, so we decided to tackle this taste test together. We both really loved the Jelly Beans - of course. While I was getting up the nerve to eat the Shot Block, she had already halfway devoured hers. Then we both realized that those were totally nasty. Couldn't even swallow those so we spit them in the trash can. Next came the Gu. It was so thick that it wouldn't even drop off the spoon when we turned it upside down. It was less than delicious - a little medicinal.

It is strongly recommended that you train with the same supplements that are provided at the race you are running. At the Rock 'N Roll Marathon, this will be Power Bar Gel (like Gu, just a different brand). George says that I "best get some Power Bar gel so I can grow to love it by June 1." UGH.

I am a slug

First, GO TIGERS!! Tough first half - I was nervous - and we even trailed at half-time. Houston wanted it bad, but the Tigers pulled it out during the 2nd half. The first few minutes of the 2nd half were beyond awesome. Big test ahead this Saturday against UAB on the road. Crowd will be hostile and a sell-out I'm sure. GO TIGERS!!!

Slugs only have one foot and they do not move at an astonishing speed. In fact, they only move at a meagre 0.025 miles per hour. That's one mile per 1.6 days. The slug would be descriptive of me today. What an off day I had. I was supposed to RUN for FOUR miles. I ended up WALKING for TWO miles. Slug. My body just said "No way" this morning. Honestly, I just could not run. Normally when the alarm goes off, I'm able to get up and get moving pretty quickly. I do love early mornings. But today just wasn't like that. The alarm went off and I was so tired. I felt completely wiped out. I had good intentions of running the entire distance. But nothing from my knees down was working. At all. It just wouldn't happen. So now I am trying to decide if I should put in 2 miles tonight to get my 4 miles in or just take the remainder of the day off to rest. My head says add the 2 miles. My legs say no thank you. I am discouraged this morning, but determined to press on. At this rate, me and the slug are running at about the same pace. It should take me 41.6 days to complete the marathon.

Every dog has his day

Thanks to the contributor of today's title - you know who you are!

How cute is that little guy? That's Uno, the winner of the best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. First beagle to ever win. Gotta' love the beagle. This was a picture of him on Monday getting ready for his competition.

That was also me this morning. I had already decided yesterday that I would not venture outside today once I saw that it was going down to the low 20s. So I did my 4 miles on the treadmill watching ESPN's Sports Center (man I've missed those guys...). Shoes felt ok, shins and legs were tolerable. I got in bed later than usual last night and I could feel that this morning. But now my 4 miles are complete and I've had some ice and advil and have now moved on to coffee and cereal.

On another canine note, happy birthday to my doggy Gauge who is one today!

It's Tuesday

Pilates for me this morning. I still need to go exchange my duplicate DVD. I also think I'm going to get a new DVD too. I'm a bit tired of "pushing through the thick molasses".

Training schedule for the rest of the week:

• Wednesday - 4 miles
• Thursday - 3 miles
• Friday - rest
• Saturday - 7 miles

If the shoe fits, it's too small

I have discovered that my fancy new running shoes are too small. Actually they fit. Which means they are too small. I did not know that running shoes really need to be a size bigger than your normal daily dress shoe. Your toes need extra space to spread out as you run. Plus, after you run longer distances, your feet swell. I found this out yesterday after putting in my 6 miles when my poor piggies were crying. I went back to Breakaway in Germantown today and they fitted me in a larger shoe. The guy, Brian, was super nice and he exchanged my shoes with no problems. I told him that I appreciated his doing that for me. He said I had to do something for him: I had to tell two people about Breakaway. I told him I would do him one better than that. So I put this on my blog! (Surely there are at least two people reading this blog....)

Miscellaneous Monday musings about motive

Since I put in 6 miles yesterday, today was the wonderful OFF DAY! Divine! I slept in a bit and that was nice.

I think a lot these days about why I'm doing this marathon thing. Because it's totally crazy. It's so beyond my comfort zone and my ability levels. I guess there are lots of reasons I'm doing this. Some are not easy to even express in words. And maybe I don't even understand all of it. I have never done this for the desire to be a runner. I want to do something to honor my dad - to remember him. I want to create more awareness for leukemia and other blood cancers. I want to raise money to go toward research to find a cure. (I hope you'll consider helping me meet my fundraising goal!)

These pictures were taken October 5, 2006 at the Leukemia Society's Light the Night Walk. Daddy had just found out a few days before, that he would be able to be there that night and walk with his team, Holcomb's Heroes. And, that he would also be able to go with us the next week for our weeklong family beach vacation. If you will notice my red squinty eyes, I had just finished having a total crying meltdown a few minutes before this picture was made. (Imagine, me crying....). I remember feeling so completely overwhelmed and so thankful - almost beyond words - that Daddy was there and that he was surrounded by a huge group of people who loved him and were celebrating him that very night. It was a night full of prayers answered. I will never forget that night. I can't tell you how special it was.


As a leukemia survivor, he carried a white balloon that night and the rest of us, as supporters, carried red balloons. I took this picture at the end of the walk. After he had just walked a mile and crossed the finish line (another victory for him!). He had just released his white balloon to the sky. I've probably looked at this picture a million times since that night. I just wonder what he was thinking. I love this picture.

I talked with a friend at work the other day who also lost her dad several months ago to Leukemia. We were talking about the commitment that this training requires and the time that it takes. And she kind of laughed and said "Like our dads had time to be sick..." How true is that. I've thought about that too. The time, the inconvience, the shin pain - all those things just pale in comparison to what my dad went through while he was fighting AML. So perhaps that is another way to put all of that in perspective for me. And while my dad completed this battle, there are still millions who are fighting it right now. Or who have not even begun to fight it. It's all just awful and I hate it.

So maybe all these rambling thoughts help explain why I'm doing this. This whole marathon training thing isn't about me.....it's really about my dad. Because what I'm doing isn't nearly as hard as what he did.

The Game Plan

So George the Coach emails last night to see how the 6 miles was. I explained how we did the reverse race and that I only got 3.82 miles in and I was concerned because I thought next Saturday's 7 miles would be challenging. (I still can't believe I said I was a bit disappointed that I didn't RUN SIX MILES -- what's wrong with me!?!?!?) He suggested to change up the game plan a bit and either do a 3+3 this week (3 miles in the AM and 3 miles in the PM on the same day) or, if I was "up to it, a nice gentle 6 miler all at once" today. And then tomorrow would be an off day.

So.....

I put in my six miles this afternoon. Whew! That's a long run. It was a bit over 90 minutes. I did it on the treadmill while I watched "The Game Plan" with the kids. (Looking at Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for 90 minutes did help a little bit with my motivation!)

Anyway, that's a 6-miler for me. I believe that's almost the equivalent of a 10k. It's 4:00pm and I could go to bed right now.

23-0

GO TIGERS!!!

Reverse Race

I have never heard of such an activity until this morning...

We met at Fleet Feet on Erin Drive this morning at 8am for our group run. We were scheduled for 6 miles to be followed by the shoe & gear clinic at the store. The group leader then says we have to be back at the shop by 9am, so we are going to have a reverse race. We were going to run for 50 minutes total regardless of distance. When you reach the 25 minute point, you were to turn around and go back. The goal is to complete the return in 25 minutes or less. So, sometimes, the slower runners finish first because they may not have gone as far a distance as the faster runners. I still contend I am not focusing on speed or time. Just forward movement in a vertical fashion.

So off we go....

We left from the parking lot on Erin Drive and cut down William Arnold Drive to Mendenhall. Left at Folk's Folly onto Mendenhall. Down Mendenhall to Sanderlin. Left at the Racquet Club on Sanderlin to White Station. Down White Station to Shady Grove. Right on Shady Grove. I almost made it to Yates when the 25 minute mark occured so I made a U-turn and headed back.

For this race, I set my Nike+iPod to 'time' instead of distance. So my ol' buddy Nike Voice Man told me "10 minutes completed...15 minutes completed...etc." On the way back, I had just rounded the corner at Folk's Folly when Nike Voice Man told me I had 3 minutes so I really kicked it in gear and made it back to the finish line with a minute to spare! A real runner would say that I 'shaved a minute off my split time'. I just said thank goodness I didn't experience any cardiac arrest on White Station. Boy there was a lot of traffic....

My total distance today was 3.62. I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't do the scheduled 6 because next Saturday poses a big challenge to go from 4 miles to 7 or whatever is scheduled. But, I completed today's task which was to make it back in the total 50 minutes. And I did that.

Calves a bit tight, but pretty tolerable.

Weather was nice. Pretty morning. I only got a bit toasty toward the end. Minimal layers today. I remembered my sunglasses and was glad I did.

Music that kept me moving today was 'Paralyzer' by Finger Eleven (love that song), 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' by JET (really love that song), a little Prince and some Justin Timberlake.

Progress made:
Completed the reverse race. I finished in the middle of the pack. Nice feeling.
Total money raised so far is $1426! That's awesome! Thanks y'all!

Lesson learned:
Slow and steady may not win the race, but it will get you across the finish line.

It takes a village to train for a marathon

Not voting for ol' Hillary, but I do kind of like that phrase....here's why....

This morning, as I have done the last two Friday mornings, I emailed Ron Childers for a custom forecast for Saturday morning from 8a-10a. I know what the HIGH is tomorrow and I know what the LOW is tonight, but I really need to know what the temps will be at the exact time during my run. I like to lay all my clothes out the night before and am just not good enough yet to figure out at the last minute how many layers, etc. Anyway, he sends me my own personalized custom forecast. (FYI - We are friends - it's not like I'm just emailing the weatherman....). Forecast for tomorrow's group run: Clear / Mid Forties to start near 50 by 10 / South wind @ 8-10 mph. That sounds nice.

So that lead me to thinking about the fact that I have my own personal marathon training team. I have my own meterologist, my own physical therapist, a running coach, access to a wide array of orthopaedic surgeons (love 'em, but hope I don't have to see 'em in a clinic), etc. And a HUGE cheering section. All my family, friends at work and friends at church are really cheering me on and supporting me. Jodi is even running the training schedule even though he's not running the marathon. He runs on his own, but said he wants to train 'with' me so we can do it 'together'. And so many people have made a contribution to my fundraising goal. And it's all just nice. And so so so encouraging. Because I really can't do this by myself. It's not real easy. And I'm really not even to the hard part yet.... So, thanks to everybody in 'my village'.

Today is Friday and that only means one thing: OFF DAY! I did my calf stretches this morning so I wouldn't be a total slug. But I was a partial slug, because I was still in my jammies.

Tomorrow - SIX MILES. Oh dear me. We're starting from the Fleet Feet shop parking lot over on Poplar Avenue. They are doing a shoe and gear clinic after the run, so we're putting in our miles there. I'm a little nervous about that because I don't know where this 6-mile route will be taking us. And I'm a little weird about 'running out of my comfort zone'. And I'm scared that we may have to run down Poplar Avenue. And that would be b-a-d. But I think there are some neighborhood streets behind that shopping center. I hope so. I'm running with Julie the Mentor tomorrow because George the Coach is running in the Sedona Marathon this weekend.

Tight calf

I was just doing a bit of googling about this shin/calf thing. I found a forum where somebody asked the question "What is the best solution to relieve tension in a calf that is so tight that it hurts to run?"

One reply: "Amputation."
Another reply: "I thought this thread was going to be about baby cows...."

Silence is not golden

First, GO TIGERS!!! Andre Allen (my fave) was on FIIII-YAAAAA last night! A career high 19 points for him. Another win. A little off-court drama, a bad attitude, and the flu didn't stop the Tigers from chalking up a victory. 22-0. Actual verbs used in the sports columns this morning about our win: smacks, rolls over, blasts, and romps. GO TIGERS!

It was cold this morning. 31 degrees. Back to the layers, hat, gloves. Despite some tight calves, I was able to push through the miles with a combination of running and walking. Maybe a bit more walking than running. But again, it was movement. My real issue came at about .25 miles into the run. I was enjoying "Steady As She Goes", a nice little ditty by The Raconteurs, when my Nano just quit. Silence. Nothing. Dead battery. I have not, apparently, charged my little Nano in some time. So I completed my assignment listening to nothing except my feet, my breathing, and the occasional airplane. I really missed all my musical friends and Nike Voice Man this morning.

Progress made:
Able to run a bit more this morning.

Lesson learned:
Charge the iPod.

Need to work on:
Get last batch of fundraising letters mailed out today.

Calm after the storm

I hope everybody is ok after last night's major storms and tornadoes. The kids and the dog spent about an hour in the closet. There were a few times I had them "assume the position" when I heard some streets mentioned on TV that were less than 1 mile from my house. At one point, I went outside and I heard a train. And I started to freak out because everybody says that a tornado coming sounds like a train. But then I heard the train whistle and realized it was a real train. Whew. But the storms were major and there was loss of life and property right here in Memphis. It was scary. I took this picture on my patio looking south. Not sure what it was, but I didn't like the looks of it.



I think even Dave Brown was a bit rattled when they said the National Weather Service had issued a "tornado emergency". I looked that up on Wikipedia (love me some Wiki). Check this out: "A tornado emergency is issued by the National Weather Service when a large, violent tornado is expected to impact a populated area. Since its inception in 1999, the Tornado Emergency text has only been used on ten occasions, and until February 5, 2008, no more than one per day. During the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak of 2008, four Tornado Emergencies were issued in Tenneseee." That's pretty major. It was a bit scary, but we all made it ok and I'm thankful for that. I am, however, still missing a patio chair...

Now to the topic at hand. This morning was very pleasant and a lovely morning for a walk. And that's just what I did. Walked. All stinking 3 miles. My calves were so tight when I tried to run that they felt like they would snap in two. Bad enough that I just didn't think "pushing through the pain" was a good idea. So I walked it. I'm trying not to beat myself up about this. I know I have to listen to my body and I certainly don't want to really injure myself and be in major trouble. So, I will look at the positive side and be ok with the fact that there was "continuous movement" (that's what the coaches encourage). I'm sure part of the problem is that I get up and stretch and then go run (or try to) first thing. But it would probably be more helpful if I had more time to really warm up and let my muscles wake up, etc. Because now, 2 hours later, I'm feeling ok and I'm a little ticked about that. Maybe I can get the runs in later at night after homework, bath, bed, etc. Not sure how that would work. In the meantime, more ice, Advil and lots more stretches.

Progress made:
My fundraising total is $1,376! WOO-HOO! Thanks everybody!

It's all about the accessories

Thought I'd share a picture of my fancy new running shoes. It's hard to see, but there are little flames on the sides of the shoe. I thought that might make me go faster. Or at least give the appearance of going faster. Maybe it's a new nickname for me. Like Flaming Feet or Feet Afire or something like that. What was the name of that running movie - Chariots of Fire? Hmmmm.

Still some pain in my legs - even today, which is an off day. I did Pilates this morning, so maybe that stretching will help. I'm a bit bummed, because I had bought a 2 DVD set - one was lower body and one was abs. So this morning, I'm thinking I'll try the one for abs. But it was the same DVD as the lower body one - the 'Push your way through thick molasses' one.... So now I have two of those. Will need to return that set I guess. In the meantime, I've become pretty adept at what Polly Pilates is trying to get me to do.



I also got a neat little gadget the other day to "add instant visibility". It's a 2-piece thing with a strong magnet - so the blinking part goes on the outside of your jacket or shirt and the back goes on the inside. And then the little LED light just blinks so cars will see you while you are running in the dark. I used this yesterday for the first time. And was sadly reminded again that there are no cars at 4 in the morning.....

Rain is wet, but 63 degrees feel pretty darn good

It was just misting a little bit this morning when I headed out. I don't check the weather before I go out in the mornings; I only check the low the night before. I don't want anything to discourage me from heading out in the morning. So, last night's low was 58 and I dressed accordingly. It was nice to not have to put on all those layers. I also only wore an ear band instead of my wooly little hat. I found out pretty quick that the ear band is not a friend of the iPod ear buds....there were some issues there. I also found out that when it starts raining, a cap is in order. I was wiping the rain off my face. It wasn't real hard rain, but it was enough for me to think that I was a bit nuts for tackling today's run outside. But, I did it. All three miles. And I only had to stop one time. Small victory there. About the time I finished up, the bottom really fell out of the sky. Good timing there.

I do think that I almost have the Nike thing set on my iPod. The Nike Voice Man did give me accurate distance today. (I drove my route in the car last night and also wore a pedometer this morning.) Nike Voice Man was pretty cool too. I set the distance I am going to run and then select "begin workout". Then, along the run he would tell me when I was 0.5 miles, 1.0 miles, etc. Then he said something about "workout half way completed". That was pretty good timing because that is when it was raining pretty good. But his encouragement, along with 'Brick House' by the Commodores on my iPod, encouraged me to continue. Once I got half way, Nike Voice Man started counting down the distance. So that's a nice little push too. And, since this was the first real callibrated run that I've done with the Nike+iPod, it registered as a "personal best" and I got a congratulations message from Lance Armstrong. How about that! Other music that kept me moving this morning was The Cars, OK Go, and Good Charlotte.

My shins did not hurt this morning as much as my calves. So I'm chalking that up to success because maybe it's more muscle today than bone. I can work through shin splints, but I do not want a stress fracture. I'm hopeful some of the soreness is because of the stretches I'm doing. I'm still holding out for progress to be made as a result of my new fancy running shoes and the exercises Nanette gave me. Plus, I have to remember that I've only been doing this distance stuff a little over a week.

Overall, a very nice, albeit wet, morning.

Training schedule for the week:

• Sunday - cross training (did Pilates yesterday)
• Monday - 3 miles (done!)
• Tuesday - off
• Wednesday - 3 miles
• Thursday - 3 miles
• Friday - off
• Saturday - 6 miles

Progress made:
Nike+iPod successfully calibrated.

Lesson learned:
Even the slightest bit of mist or rain really calls for a cap.

Two work-outs in one day

I don't know what had me sweating more today... My 4 mile group run or the Tigers close call. But boy they both had me out of breath!

I completed my 4 mile run this morning. Actually it was 4.28 miles (If I ran it, might as well claim it!). It was a pretty good run. There was a major hill right as we started that nearly killed me. I got a bit winded, but once I made it to the top of that, it was ok. Hard to tackle that right in the beginning when you're not really warmed up. Most of the time, we ran 4 minutes and walked 2 minutes. Very doable. Entire run was 1 hour and 1 minute. I may be slow, but I'm very consistent! A nice 15-minute mile.....

My shins weren't much of a problem. Just a little discomfort. I saw Nanette yesterday. She is one of our PTs and a previous TNT coach. She helped me out a lot and was very encouraging too! She showed me some stretches and gave me some shoe recommendations. Apparently my calves are very tight and my ankles are not very flexible which could be the cause of the shin problem. I also bought some new shoes yesterday afternoon. So maybe it was my fancy new running shoes that helped me out today! I'm really hopeful that my exercises will just eventually eliminate the shin pain.

I ran most of the time today with Julie the Mentor. Again, the time and distance go quicker when you are talking with someone.

I don't feel as wiped out this afternoon as I did last week (except for exhausting myself trying to help the Tigers pull the win out). I guess running during the week helps that. I have run 16 miles in a week. Wow - that's pretty major for me.

Now, about the Tigers. They couldn't buy a basket it seemed. And heaven help them if any game comes down to a free throw. It was just ugly. But they won. And we remain undefeated. And #1. GO TIGERS!

Progress made:
Got new running shoes.
Fundraising total is now $1,150!! I was even the highest TNT fundraiser this week!

Lesson learned:
Take water with me on longer runs. Sunglasses would have helped today too.
Even if it's 35 degrees, my body will heat up pretty quickly with the sun out. I got a bit warm today and had to start removing layers. Layering is key.

Need to work on:
My stretches to help loosen and strengthen my calves and shins.

Silly me

When George originally gave me the training schedule, and I saw that Tuesdays and Fridays were "off" days, I asked him if that really meant "OFF" - like no exercise at all. You see, I explained, I walk on my treadmill every day. I've walked on my treadmill every morning for about four years. I like doing it. I feel good when I do it. It's just what I do and very much a part of my morning routine. I just don't see how I can't do anything. I just cannot have an 'off day'. He said that maybe in the beginning, I would want to still walk on the off days, but once we started getting the longer mile runs in, I would not want to walk. And that I would need the off days to allow my body to recover and rest. I continued to try to explain that I felt like walking every day was something I really wanted, and needed, to do and I would just do it anyway. It would just be walking for goodness sakes. Probably only a mile. Nothing fast or major. Just some simple walking on my beloved treadmill. So the conversation ended there. I was thinking that I would still walk on off days. He was probably thinking that I'll find out the hard way.

Well, here we are at the end of WEEK ONE. And today is an off day. And it was very, very, VERY nice to sleep in this morning and not run. Or walk. George 1 / Angie 0

Progress made:
Fundraising total is $925! WOO-HOO!

Lesson learned:
He who has run 37 marathons knows more about running and training than she who has only run a total of 37 miles in her whole life...