Happy Earth Day

I hit the street this morning at 4:00 am and it was 70 degrees! Wowie! (Tom, I felt a little guilty about typing that until I checked your New Hampshire weather and found out you should hit the 70s today too. So I don't feel so bad.....) It was really super nice out there. Shorts, t-shirt and sweat. Haven't had that combination during a 4 am run in a long time. It was *great*!

Speaking of great....so was my little 2 miler! It felt good. A few short walk breaks, no pain or tightness of any sort. Just a good run. Some stretches and rolling when I got back inside. I feel really good today and I have since Saturday. Maybe I've turned a big corner here. I think so. Yea!

Happy Earth Day! When I went out later to get the paper, there were two of these in our yard. Guess they were celebrating Earth Day.



Got an email from Julie last night: This weekend, we will be heading out for a "breezy, easy" 18 miler. Our rockin' coach George will update us on the route once he gets back...Just checking in with you to make plans now. Stretch all week, do whatever strength training exercises you need to do, get your runs in this week (but without overdoing to cause injury), stay hydrated (don't wait 'til Friday), get sleep, and eat pasta Friday night. This Saturday is a great time to try out the gear/clothes you want to wear for June 1 (minus the TNT jersey). Find out now what rubs you the wrong way while you still have time to heal. Get used to using Body Glide if you think you may need it. I will get some bottled Accelerade for those of us brave enough to try before race day.

As we think about the long distance ahead, reflect back on what brought you here individually. Why LLS/Team in Training? Why now? What impact has Leukemia or Lymphoma had on your life? Take that energy/drive/impact and channel it this Saturday. You are all champions for getting this far...just a few short steps to go...."Whatever you think you can or think you can't, you're right" ~ Henry Ford. Visualize yourself crossing the finish line in a few short weeks...You are almost there!!


There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my daddy. I miss him beyond all words. But especially when I'm out there on the long runs, those are times that I really think about him. I know that he's there with me cheering me on and helping me go that extra little bit. He is the whole reason I am doing this. I think a lot about exactly what he would say to me. Will my running this marathon bring my dad back? Unfortunately not. Will the money that we are raising find a cure? Well, it's money for research that is just one step closer to finding one. And maybe there is just that feeling of having to do SOMETHING. Something to make a difference. A good friend told me a few weeks ago (after I learned of yet another person who lost their fight to leukemia): "ONE DAY there will be a cure....and you will be part of the result. Maybe you won't know it....but you WILL have been a part of it." And I guess that's what it's all about.

I'm getting very excited about June 1. There are only 6 more weeks. Only 5 more long runs. FIVE MORE LONG RUNS! Wow. Hard to belive. I believe they shake down like this: 18, 14, 20, 12, 8. And then....THE ROCK 'N ROLL MARATHON!! 26.2 miles!!

OK, I've said enough. Everybody have a good one!

T-I-G-E-R-S --- TIGERS!!!!

I am still beyond excited about the Tigers win! FINAL FOUR!!!! Sports pundits are enjoying some free throw crow this morning after we shot 83.5% from the line. Here are some headlines:

• Memphis Hammers Texas
• Memphis Thumps Texas
• Memphis Athletes Overwhelm Texas
• Memphis Dishes Out a Big 'I Told You So' (my fave)
• Memphis Blows Past Texas
• Memphis Routs Texas
• They're GRRRRREAT! (another fave)

One little recap from Sports Illustrated.com:

The Memphis Tigers will finally get over the hump and advance to the Final Four under the direction of John Calipari. They have been knocking at the door for a few years now, winning over 30 games, entering the tournament as 1 & 2 seeds, but this year they have broken through with an impressive victory over Texas. They received excellent performances from their key players and even managed to shoot 30-36 at the free throw line. If they continue this level of play through next weekend, they'll be as tough an out as any of the remaining foes - when they're rolling, they can truly get loose. Though often doubted, caveated, and explained away, there is a reason Memphis leaves this game with a record of 37-1.

First time ever that all #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. I'm so glad we are one of them!!! It's a good day to be a TIGER!!! GO TIGERS!!!

Now, let's talk running. I wasn't sure the weather would cooperate with me this morning, so my original plan was the treadmill. But after a quick radar check, it looked ok so I headed outside. I put in 2.5 miles. NO PAIN! Some tightness in my achilles, but that's ok. I took it slow with some 4/2 intervals and it felt pretty good. I'm feeling good about this morning. Especially since there was no flare up with my knee. I stretched a lot yesterday, so that obviously helped. I feel good today. I'm very glad!

100 MILES!!

Today I officially hit 100 miles that I have run since the beginning of our training in January. I'm sure I've gone over that since I don't track some of the 'runs' that were mostly 'walks'. But I am celebrating today as my 100-mile mark. Ta-da!!!

I put in 2 miles on the treadmill this morning. I actually thought once that I wished I were outside -- who would think I would ever feel that way about my treadmill. But it's so boring. And there is that constant blinking display telling you how far (or how NOT far) you've come. But I got through it with a little help from a Law & Order rerun.

My knee was hurting while I was running. What's up with that?

I am accepting the fact that it has taken me longer to recover from the half than I thought it would. It took quite a little toll on the ol' 42 year old bod. In turn, I've had to slow it down these last 10 days which makes it a bit harder to pick up again. I am catching myself thinking that I really want to RUN a large portion of the marathon. Which would be nice. But my goal is to FINISH the marathon. So when I am sidelined, or slower, or aching, I have to just continue doing what I can do, at the pace my body dictates, and keep my mind focused on the original goal.

In the fundraising arena, my total is sitting at $2,821!! You guys are amazing and I am humbled and so appreciative of your generosity and support. I know Daddy would be too. I am touched by the gifts I have received from people I do not know. I received a gift this weekend from another friend of my dad's cousin. A person whom I've never met. But she is cheering me on and supporting my effort. (Thanks Sally!) I also got a donation from someone with no connection to me or my family. She was searching online for participants in the Germantown Half Marathon, found this blog, and made a donation to my Team in Training. I am almost at a loss for words by her act of kindness. (Alissa, I don't even know if you've come back to read more...but thank you!!) I am just so thankful to all of you for your donations. It's an amazing testimony to my dad. This is all about him. And I hope that you know how humbled and grateful he would be. But most importantly I hope every one of you knows that your gift - large or small - makes a difference in the lives of people who are suffering from leukemia and other blood cancers. Each dollar is just one more step toward a cure. You really are making a difference. I hope you know that. I'm crying now, so I'll quit.

One. Uno. Un. Eins.

Bad news is that Jordan stayed home from school today with a bad sore throat. A quick visit to the doctor and some Rx and she will be on the mend soon.

Good news is that I ran on the treadmill this afternoon while I was home with her. One mile. Just one. But it's better than nothing. I could definitely tell I had not run in a week. Stiff. But it felt good. And I'm glad I did it. Even if it was just one little mile.

Morning for Miracles

Training schedule called for 6 miles today. My time frame and my C.C.C. (current calf condition) called for 3 miles. I sure don't want to press myself right now when I'm making such progress and then louse up Sunday's 1/2. Very pleasant morning today. It was 61 and no wind. I actually wore short sleeves. Nice.

I can sum up my first 1.5 miles like this:

It just STUNK. My calves were tight. I was S.L.O.W. It just wasn't happening. I kept walking, but even that felt slow. Not a lot of running. Lots of stretching. Pressing on.

Then, something AMAZING happened. I saw this:


Coming right toward me! IT WAS A CAR! Oh hello car!!! It was a person!!! And it wasn't even the paper boy. I'm sure he thought "what a nutcase out here at 4:15 am". I flashed him my peace sign and kept moving.

I hit the halfway point and stretched out AGAIN. Then, miracle #2. I turned into this:

OK - maybe not speedy, but just play along.... I ran my last 1.5 only stopping one time. It felt super duper. And my average mile during my last half was (drumroll here) 13:18!!! WOWIE! I could not even believe it. I am really happy with the way that turned out.

I know that's not fast. But it is fastER for me. And to think that just a few weeks ago, I was hurting so bad and on the DL. Now there is almost no pain in my shins like before. And once the tightness gets worked out of my calves, I'm apparently good to go. So yea for me!

On another note, long story, but I found out that the three-legged dog that almost lapped me at the lake a few weeks ago (remember that one?) belongs to one of my doctors here. Small world. Dr. S. made a generous donation to my effort and he is also running the Germantown Half. I was thanking him and talking to him this morning about all of it and he explained that the course actually doubles back rather than making a big loop, so eventually, every one who is ahead of me, will pass me going the other way toward the finish. Does that make sense? What I'm trying to say is that Jodi will come back by me at some point (as will about 650 other people), so I'll see him during the race, not just at the start line. Sweet.


Progress made:
My pace is quickening!
My fundraising total is growing!
My 'itis' is improving!


Need to work on:
Getting everything ready for Sunday. Altho I'm not sure what I need to do. I just feel compelled to 'prepare'.

Tuesday for the Trotting Turtle

Since I did my long run on Sunday, my training schedule for the week has been pushed forward a day. So today was 3 miles.

The first mile was a bit rough only because my calves were *so* tight. There was only a touch of pain in my shins from the 'itis', so I am really excited about that. I think I have made some great progress here and am definitely on the mend.

I had to stop about 5 times during the first mile or so to stretch out my calves. I think part of this problem is that I am literally getting out of bed, stretching a bit and hitting the road. If I had a few hours to let my legs wake up, this might not be a problem. But, because of our schedules here, I have to get up and get it done early. Anyway, once I hit 1.5 miles, things seemed much better and I trotted along.

Temps were 47 although it felt much cooler when I got started. I wore my hat and gloves and definitely needed them.

My total time was 43:14 which averages to a 14:19 minute mile. So, I'm thinking that perhaps if I had not needed to stop and stretch, my time could have been 14:00???? Or maybe better????? I did push it a bit faster this morning. I read somewhere that "if you want to run faster, you have to run faster." Hmmm. An obvious thought, but maybe I had not thought about it exactly like that.

On another note, I read yesterday that the world record holder for the marathon will probably skip the Olympics in Beijing because of the poor air quality. Read all about it here. His agent said "racers who have performed in damaging conditions have never returned to their best." His current record is 2:46:26. That's 26.2 MILES in 2 HOURS and 46 MINUTES (and of course 26 seconds). And to think I ran 8 miles in just under 2 hours on Sunday.... Maybe I should delete the paragraph above where I was thinking I was running faster. On second thought, maybe it's the pollution here in Memphis that is slowing me down.

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!

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!

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.

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.

Miscellaneous musings on January 31

My dad died a year ago today. It's been the toughest year of my life. I think about him and his life and his death every day. I miss him a lot. Thanks again to you all who are supporting me in this marathon quest. I'm really only doing it for him. And to raise money to fund research to find a cure for leukemia and other blood cancers. I. Hate. Cancer.

Today I returned to my beloved treadmill for my three miles. Our weather was a bit iffy this morning and I didn't know what condition the streets were in. Also, I thought a 'kinder, gentler' surface would be better for my shins. They were better today. Still some discomfort. I'm getting them checked out tomorrow. I'm hoping the problem will be solved with some new shoes. A little more ice and some advil after my run and now I'm good to go.

And then there was one! GO TIGERS! Kansas got beat last night, so we are the only unbeaten team in the country. Tigers looked GREAT last night against those scrappy Houston Cougars. GO TIGERS GO!!!

New running stuff for me!

Today is my birthday! Connie gave me a gift certificate to Breakaway and Mom gave me a gift certificate to Dick's. Looks like more cool running stuff in my future! The kids gave me a gift certificate for a massage and spa pedi. I know I'll be needing that soon!

Jodi gave me this neato Nike+iPod thing that goes with my Nano. It's a sensor that goes on my shoe which communicates with a receiver plugged into my Nano. It tracks distance, pace, calories, time, etc. and shows it all on a red display screen. And there's a voiceover that tells how far you've gone. You can also download all the data to your computer and keep up with your history.

So I tried it out this morning during my three mile run. What I did not do, however, was to calibrate it before I used it. Mistake number two was that I had it set in kilometers not miles. I figured out rather quickly that it wasn't calibrated. At one point, when my little voice man friend said 1.75 kilometers, I said out loud "It HAS to be farther". Then I decided to just focus on the time, rather than the distance and then callibrate it tonight or tomorrow. I ran for one hour and it showed that I put in 2.1 kilometers which is about 1.3 miles. Now, I'm not fast. But I'm faster than that. I may have put in a bit over three miles actually.

It felt pretty good. Had a little discomfort in my shins. Need to find some good stretches and get that taken care of.

Progress made:
Stepped out of my comfort zone a bit with some fundraising yesterday.
Have secured $525 in donations - yea!!
Ran this morning in 'freezing fog'- whatever that is.

Need to work on:
Callibrate my new Nike toy and figure out what else it does.

Lessons learned:
I'm in America. I should always focus on miles, not kilometers.