Did you buy me a gift?!?

Today is World Turtle Day!!! Yes, May 23 is World Turtle Day, a day that was established to "celebrate turtles and tortoises and to encourage people to learn more about these reptiles and understand what needs to be done to ensure their conservation". So, go hug a turtle today!

Rest day today - yea! A short little 8-miler scheduled for tomorrow. It will be nice to have such a short little run.

Right this very minute (6:00 am) next Friday, my plane will be taking off for San Diego! (well, actually Minneapolis but THEN San Diego...)

Happy Turtle Day!!

Randomness

Hard to believe that this time next week, I'll be packing and repacking and packing and repacking and getting ready to leave the next day.

I got a "Final Event Update" from the marathon with yet more race info. Here are a few tidbits from that email:



There are more than 100 Running Elvi registered to participate in the marathon. What a riot.




They will post live results on the race website that day so you can totally check on me during the race! I'll check it out and post the info later on how you can do that. It should show updates at the 5K, 10K, 10 mile, 13.1 mile, 20 mile and of course FINISH.

The race (or highlights or something) is going to air on FSN on Saturday, June 14. Check your local listings....

I did a little run/walk on the treadmill today. It was fine. Hilareous to me that I do not like running on the treadmill. Remember how hard it was for me to break up with him? I *loved* him. My how times have changed.

I'm having a few little twinges in my shin and am really wondering what's going on with that. My IT band has been trying to rear it's ugly head this week too. And I am *not* allowing that to happen. So I'm stretching a lot and continuing to roll on Mr. Foamy. Same drills..... I've made it this far, I can't fall apart just yet. But man, my feet and legs sometimes just kill me. I told some coworkers the other day that my feet are just so done with me. They don't even want to be a part of my body anymore. But I just need them to hold on 10 more days.....

We're scheduled for 8 miles on Saturday. Sounds like nothing doesn't it? Compared to 20, it's really not! That will be our last official group run. I'm really REALLY REALLY ready to get my Saturdays back. So is my family. Jodi has been beyond great holding down the fort every Saturday since January. I told him to think of it like a 'half day, 20 week hunting season'.....No seriously, he's been so supportive and made it possible for me to 'check out' for a good part of the last 20 Saturdays....Thanks Captain!

I'm trying to complete my list of things to do and things to take. Time is getting short. I can feel myself getting ready to start getting nervous and fretful....

Happy Monday

I walked one little mile on the treadmill this morning. And also did some work on the stability ball. Felt ok. A little tightness in my calves and ankles. And an achey spot on the side of my lower back. That's a new one....Overall, the recovery from the 20 has been much better than I expected. I'm beyond glad about that.

We are 3 weeks from the marathon. Thus begins the taper. Our miles decrease during these next weeks. It's hard to believe that I'm to this point. It has been so all-consuming. Thinking about the run, complaining about the run, talking about the run, dreading the run, boring others about the run, loving the run, hating the run, preparing for the run, recovering for the run. That's all it has been it seems. But now we are really bringing this thing to a close. Exciting, but sad too in a way I guess. But I'm really ready to do it. Ready to finish this crazy quest.

I'm reading the chapters in the Marathon book titled "A Mental Tour of the Marathon" and "Countdown" -- both dealing with the few days leading up to the race and the race itself. I'm sure there will be some gems in there to share with you later.

Have a good week!

PS - Did I tell you that I ran 20 miles on Saturday?!?!?

I get by with a little help from my friends

May 10. It is the date that has been looming on the training calendar since January when I received my copy. It's the big twenty miler. And it's this Saturday. Lots going on in my brain about this. I'm dreading it. But I'm looking forward to it. I want to do it. I don't want to do it. Just the challenge of attempting it. Doing it. I am fretting about the recovery from it. Will I live to tell about it? Will I *want* to tell about it? Twenty miles. That's a long way. But after this Saturday's huge hurdle, I really feel like I'm in the home stretch. Because then it's 12 and 8 and then the marathon.

This week my legs and feet seem to really be feeling the 180 miles that have been put on them. Not real sure what's going on there. They are just achey and are so tired. I hope they'll hang in there with me. They have served me well. And I only need about 80.2 more miles out of them. Then they can retire.

WEATHER
The weather isn't looking too favorable for Saturday. Highs are expected to be in the low 80s. My email exchange with my personal meteorologist went something like this:

TO: Ron

FROM: Angie

RE: Cut it out

AW: You're killing me with the Saturday forecast Childers. I'm gonna' die in that heat. And the low Friday is mid 60's. I won't even start off with cool temps. Are you kidding me?! I thought you were my friend.

RC: Come on....a little rain and heat never killed anyone....intentionally

ROUTE
I asked George yesterday what the route would be. He said he was still working on it. But was looking for somewhere shady. No such place in Shelby Farms. He said, with a lilt to his voice and a sick smile on his face "The Hills of Walnut Grove Lake are shady!". Ugh. I. Hate. Hills. He also referred to this Saturday's run as "a nice twenty miler". Nice? NICE?!? Can you use that adjective when you describe a TWENTY MILE RUN?!?!? He's a good guy and a great coach and all. But he's just sick. (Sorry George. You know I love you.)

RIGHT BRAIN
It will be key for me this Saturday to keep Mr. "You Are Tired. Stop Running Right Now" Left Brain out of this. I've got to focus on positive -- and distracting -- thoughts. Last weekend, I admit that at one point when I was so tired and beyond bored, I started rattling off state capitals. I may try that again. Or just all the states in alphabetical order. Or maybe reciting Pi to 100,000 places.... So, the suggestion box is now open. Anybody have any ideas on things I can think about on Saturday? Any lists anybody wants me to create for them? Problems to solve? Any song requests that I may perform? I'd love to hear from you.

THINK TWENTY!!!

Miscellaneous Monday Musings

Walked this morning.
Not far.
About 1.5 miles.
It was chilly.
I was underdressed.
When will I learn?
Feeling ok.
Most muscle stiffness seems to be gone.
Listened to some 'easier' songs today.
Norah Jones, Michael Buble', John Mayer, Jack Johnson.
Nice change from my usual musical selections.
$3576 total raised.
$424 from my goal.

Today is May 5.

Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Ole'.

27 days til the marathon.

Can't believe it.
It's really almost here.
Longest run ever this Saturday.
Can't believe that either.
Think TWENTY.

Talk to me Mr. Right Brain!

I callibrated my new Nike iPod sensor on the treadmill this morning. The battery died on the old one. You don't replace the battery, or the whole kit, just the little shoe sensor thing. Easy enough. Except you have to recallibrate it. Hope I'm on target this time. It was a bit of a challenge with the first one.

I am thinking I'll do all of my running alone tomorrow so I need a pretty accurate way of marking my distance. Since I am usually running with Julie or George, I let them track distance on their Garmin. Anyway, I need to make sure how far I'm running, rather than just hitting the ol' trail... In case you forgot, I'm scheduled for 18 tomorrow!

A coworker loaned me some running books including "Marathon: You Can Do It!" by Jeff Galloway. He is considered a major running guru. There is some really good stuff in the book. I was reading last night about motivation and the whole 'mind game' of running. That's so true - a huge part of running is mental. I wanted to share some highlights from Chapter 7: The Source of Motivation.

The left brain = logic. This side of your brain is the center of logic. The left brain loves logic, details, facts, words. One of the main missions of the left brain is to steer you away from discomfort. Any form of stress or perceived stress will stimulate messages telling you to "slow down" or "stop". Since we rely on the left brain for logical guidance, we listen to these messages. We do have to pay attention to real dangers (like health things), but usually the left brain overreacts, warning us long before we are in real danger. Motivation training desensitizes us to such messages and the left brain's nagging.

The right brain = intuition. The creative and intuitive center is in the right side of the brain. Mr. Right Brain loves feelings, imagination, symbols. This side loves life and holds creative solutions to problems, challenges and obstacles. By doing things like walk breaks, mantras and motivations, and blood sugar/energy boosting (gels), you can cut down on stress, reducing the messages from the left brain.

Here's a neat test I found to see which side of the brain you use. Which way is the dancer spinning? If you can only see her spinning one direction, try this. I was definitely a left brainer here, but if I tried real hard (after seeing the 'answer') I could go back and make her spin the other way. Let me know what you saw her doing.

I am a *major* Left Brainer. This is great for Angie The Non-Runner, Obsessive Compulsive, Type A, Perfectionist, Crossword Puzzle Addict. This is a problemo for Angie Who Wants To Be A Runner, Who Got Chest Pains During Christmas One Year When She Tried To Be A Type B, Whose Spice Cabinet Is Alphabetized, Who Thinks Index Cards Are The Greatest Invention In the World, Who Thinks It's All Gotta' Be Perfect and Logical. So what does this have to do with running? When I run, I basically need to tell the left brain to put a lid on it. That's the side that is telling me "You need to quit. You can't go any farther. You are not a runner. Why are you doing this? This is crazy. Your legs hurt. You're thirsty. You're so tired. What were you thinking? Stop running right now." Mr. Left Brain needs to just nip it. Shut. Up. The right side is the one that needs to be speaking up. And make it loud. He needs to be saying "I'm a runner. I am strong. I can do this. I feel great. Daddy is with me. He is proud of me. I am in no pain. I will finish." Mr. Right Brain needs to be loud and clear tomorrow. I'm going to be paying real close attention to him.

Good luck to the Country Music Marathoners who are in Nashville for tomorrow's marathon!! Sending special speedy fast vibes to my coworker Kelly who is running in memory of her dad. I am hopeful the weather will hold out for them. Go Kelly Go!!!

It's better

OK, feeling better this morning. Maybe a little twinge, but all seems to be much better. I'll see how the day goes and perhaps try to get some miles in tonight. I know I need to get a little running in before Saturday's big one. But I also know I need to face Saturday pain free.

Happy Birthday to Connie. She turned the big 4-0 yesterday! Welcome aboard!

I'm only $549 from my goal of raising $4,000. It's not too late to make a donation to sponsor my 26.2 mile run for leukemia research. Hope you'll consider that today, if you haven't already. Click on the link to the right "How can you help?" and that will take you to my fundraising site. Thanks to everybody who has donated so far. You all are amazing! I've been so touched and humbled by your donations and your words of encouragement. I am so grateful for your support.

T -37 days and counting until the marathon!!

New day...New week

The good news is that I am walking today with only a twinge of pain. Almost no (noticeable) limp. So, I feel I am on the road to better knees. I have iced and stretched and used the foam roller all weekend. The rest yesterday did me good. I even took at nap. Yes, a nap. In the middle of the day. In. The. Bed.

Thanks to Tom who sent me the info on this cool show on PBS. "NOVA: Marathon Challenge" . A brief description on the show: How do you run 26.2 miles if you have trouble making it around theblock? With good coaching, discipline, and lots of group support, asNOVA shows when it follows 13 normally sedentary people through atraining regimen designed to prepare them for an ultimate test of stamina and endurance..."MarathonChallenge" takes viewers on a unique adventure inside the human body,tracking the physiological changes that exercise can bring about.

The show is scheduled to run a few times locally next week, but you can watch the segments on line. I did that yesterday and really enjoyed it. I can totally relate to these people. They, however, are training for 40 weeks (vs. my 20). And, they are running the Boston Marathon which they say is one of the toughest courses around. Anyway, if you are interested, I recommend taking a look at it. (They actually have it broken down in chapters that are about 10 minutes each so you could watch as time permits.)

I am anxious to see what the week brings for me in terms of running...walking....just moving!

Random thoughts

This is what's on my mind today...


My knee still hurts.
But only when I move it.
At this point I could not run on Saturday.
I just have to play it by ear.
I learned that lesson with the shin splints.
The massage yesterday felt good and helped somewhat.
He said every muscle in my body was tight. Achilles, calves, hamstring,
neck, etc.
You get the picture.
Happy Anniversary Connie & Ty.
We're supposed to get some very bad storms today.
It's very windy.
Gusts expected to be over 50 mph.
NBAdraft.com has mock draft. #26 goes to Grizzlies.
Guess who it is? Mario Chalmers. Irony.
I am $849 away from my goal.
It's not too late to give!
Every gift is appreciated - large or small.
Thanks to you all for your support and encouragement.
51 days until the Marathon!

The morning after the day before

No real news to share. I took today as a rest day. Felt bad last night. I'm trying not to give in to this yucky head cold. And, my knee is still bothering me from the IT band issue. I'll shoot for some movement tomorrow, rest Friday and then hit the long run (16 miles I think - need to check schedule) on Saturday. I'm getting a massage this afternoon to try to get this IT band loosened up.

The day of mourning is officially over, but Tiger pain slightly remains. But pride is winning that one. Gotta' move on....It will be interesting to see who stays and who goes. Would be nice to keep 'em all just one more year. GO TIGERS!

I leave you today with this little cartoon. I can relate. Hope everyone has a good day!

One step at a time

Since it wasn't raining, I got up this morning and ran 15 miles. OK, OK - April Fool's!! That may be the extent of my pranks today. We'll have to see what transpires.....My kids are *very* into this day of tricks. I'm sure it will involve Cooper's whoopie cushion and Jordan pretending to throw up at some point. Best of luck to the jokers today. Maybe Mark Twain summed it up best: "April 1st: This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four."

Today is a rest day for me. I'm glad since I was awake quite a bit during last night's storms and Jodi's cell phone kept going off. I have learned to love that extra hour of sleep.

On the race front, I submitted all my paperwork to the Leukemia Society for the marathon. It's becoming more and more official. Two months from *today* is the marathon!

Our long runs are getting just that: LONGER. We are scheduled for 15 miles this Saturday. Yes, you heard me. FIFTEEN MILES. Oh dear. I could really get freaked out by this if I let myself. But I'm not. I can't. I will just press on this week with my small runs and continue to stretch a lot. And then face Saturday when it comes. And I'll do it. One. Step. At. A. Time. That's all I can do. I can't look at the whole big picture when it comes to this. It has to be one step at a time.

Looking back at this whole journey, I would have never dreamed I would have even made it this far. I remember the night in January when I signed up, a coach told me me that once we started doing these long runs, I would look back on the shorter ones and say "JUST three miles" or "ONLY five miles". I remember thinking she was a NUT. But it is true. I think back to that first group run on January 26 when we ran (just) three miles. And what a challenge I thought it was. And how excited I was when I finished. I never thought I would be able to even do that. I've run over 114 miles since then. Including a HALF MARATHON! Sooooo, I can look at the challenge I have ahead of me for this Saturday (and the next....and the next.....) and just do it. It's 15 miles. I read that one mile equals about 2,000 steps. Maybe I should say I have to run 30,000 steps on Saturday. It may sound a little bit better. Regardless if it's 15 miles or 30,000 steps, it all happens just one step at a time.

Hello to possible new readers

It appears that Connie has been handling some PR for me....She works out *religiously* at the Wellness Center and also follows a website called Turbulence Training. They have a forum where all the members talk about their workouts, diet, and body fat (What fun! Insert sarcasm here). She posted this on her TT forum and sent it to me:

On another note, lots of you have posted your blogs - I love reading other people's blogs! I don't have one personally, but I will toss my sister's blog out there as it is fun reading. If you have some time, read from the beginning. She is a good writer (does that for a living) but let me tell y'all...THE GIRL IS NOT A RUNNER!!!! She is attempting to complete a marathon for the Leukemia Society in honor of my Dad. Bless her heart, this is not really her gift!!! But she is determined and she will finish (her goal is to finish "upright, not crossing the line on a gurney!"). She posted a nice little slide show of my daddy and our family. I am so proud of her determination which is why I am bragging on her to y'all!!! (No we are not twins..she is 2 years older than I am!! But I am taller....and much nicer....heehee!!)

So hello to any TT'ers that may be reading! I know you are all in great shape and exercise like crazy. So be easy on me!

March Madness Begins TODAY!!!

Today is not just the first day of spring.....It's the first day of the NCAA tournament!!!

The first game starts in less than 3 hours. Not like I can watch it, since I'm at work, but I'm just SO EXCITED! I love this time of year. Tigers play their first game tomorrow night at 9pm. GO TIGERS!!!

Things continue to become a bit more 'pain-free' as each day goes by. Just some slight ouchy this morning. We are headed out of town tonight for a church convention in Nashville this weekend. I will miss the scheduled 12 mile group run on Saturday. But to be honest, the thought of running 12 miles almost makes me puke. We will be at the Opryland Hotel which is HUGE, so no doubt I'll get some serious walking in over the weekend. I am also packing my running stuff and will attempt to get out early Saturday morning and try to put some miles in. Maybe by Saturday I'll be able to actually RUN.

In the meantime,
GO TIGERS!!!!!!

One more day

Kind of a quiet day today.

I watched the MIGHTY TIGERS win the C-USA tourny. WOW! They looked GREAT. Nice to hear some national media finally saying some things about us. Did Greg Gumbel actually say "This team has not been getting the attention they deserve." We were very impressive today. Our bench is so deep - it definitely makes us hard to beat. Tomorrow is Selection Sunday. I'll be stunned if we don't get a #1 seed. GO TIGERS!

I went to pick up our race packets and I even took a little nap. I'm making some tortellini soup for dinner. We'll have our own pre-race pasta party I guess....

The kids are spending the night at mom's so we can get to bed early and get up early tomorrow. I'm hoping for a good night's rest. Jodi and I both dreamed about the race last night....

My mind has already started the race

50 thoughts going on in my head right now about Sunday's half-marathon......




1. I'm excited.


2. I'm nervous.


3. What if I can't finish?


4. What if I'm last?


5. Somebody has to be last.


6. Jodi assures me I won't be last.


7. Maybe I should put a tag on my shirt for the GPD "Mrs. Captain Whitfield"


8. I ran 10 miles and did that. This is only 3 more.


9. I felt like I was gonna' die after running 10. This is 3 more.


10. What am I going to wear?


11. I need something with a pocket for my gels.


12. I need to charge my iPod.


13. I need to charge Jodi's iPod.


14. I hope Jodi feels better (he has an upper respiratory infection).


15. He's afraid I might beat him if he doesn't feel better.


16. Wouldn't that be funny?


17. What will my time be?


18. I hope I can finish faster than 3:30.


19. Think I could do it in 3:00?


20. Will my legs hold up?


21. Hope my calves don't flare up.


22. Weather is supposed to be nice. 40's at start time. Winds 5-10mph from the north.


23. I have bugged Ron Childers all week about the forecast. He is nice to tolerate me.


24. He said "This is what you have trained for."


25. Have I trained for this?


26. It doesn't really seem like I'm *training*


27. This is half of what I will do in June. YIKES!


28. I need to take a camera for post-race pics.


29. Everybody has been excited for me and wishing me luck and stuff. Nice.


30. Why are my calves burning a little bit this morning?


31. I wore higher heels yesterday.


32. Mistake.


33. Go get the ice.


34. What am I going to eat today and tomorrow to 'carbo-load'?


35. Surely I won't be T.H.E. L.A.S.T. to finish.


36. I'll be ok with that if I am.


37. No I won't.


38. I wonder if Mom & the kids will see me on their way to church?


39. I need to stretch today and tomorrow.


40. 48 hours from right now, I'll be running.


41. I'm glad it's not going to be too warm or raining.


42. I *cannot* forget my chapstick.


43. My playlist on my iPod is 5.8 hours.


44. At least I won't listen to it all the way through.


45. See #10.


46. What if I can't sleep on Saturday night?


47. I never thought I would run a half-marathon before I ran my marathon.


48. I'M RUNNING A HALF-MARATHON ON SUNDAY!!!


49. See #2.


50. See #1.

Having a ball

Really, really, *really* almost slept in this morning. What's wrong with me?!?! I never used to reset the alarm or even consider it. But these days, that thought it popping in my head more and more. This morning I convinced myself to get up and I'm glad I did. I feel good and now am not struggling with the guilt.

I did the 'lower body workout' dvd on my stability ball. It was quite nice. Good stretches - nothing too strenuous. It just felt real good. I've done some exercising on the ball before. Since the ball is unstable, you have to maintain your balance while you continue to do the moves. So, all this combined really strengthens the abs, lower back, etc. - the whole 'core' thing. Which, I have learned, makes for a stronger runner.

This morning, I'm actually not even hurting. Some soreness in my thighs - but that's from just running. May be the first time I've been "just sore" from running - and that feels ok. My calves feel better this morning than they have in weeks. Just a small amount of pain, but nothing at all compared to what I've been experiencing. Am I turning a corner here on my injury?

Jodi and I wondered why we weren't totally wiped out yesterday like we were last weekend. (He ran his 8 miles when I got home). I know it was 2 miles shorter, but neither of us felt anything like we did last Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I was ready to crawl in the bed by 9pm last night, but really didn't have to struggle with the whole recovery thing yesterday afternoon.

(Jodi did yesterday's run in Germantown on part of the Half Marathon course. He's checking out some of the hills. There is a *HUGE* one on Kimbrough. I chose yesterday to go to Shelby Farms. I never considered putting in the miles on the treadmill (what progress for me!) I thought about running here in the neighborhood, but decided Shelby Farms may be better for me. That is a little bit of a comfort zone for me for long runs. I like being able to just run on a trail that is a bit ambiguous on distance rather than run on a street that is more definitive. Seems so much farther to me if there are street names associated with it.)

So, my week is off to a good start. I feel better this morning overall than I have in several weeks. I will have to adjust my training schedule a bit since my long run was yesterday. I also don't want to push it too much this week since I am apparently making progress. And I would really like to do well Sunday in the 1/2.

I feel good today!

Progress made:

Fundraising total is now $2,486! That's well over half way, but I still have a way to go toward my goal of $4,000.

Ran 8 miles this weekend by myself and lived to tell about it.

Not hurting (too much) this morning.

Lesson learned:

It was hard to take it a bit slower the last few weeks, but it paid off. Learn to listen to my body - and to other people.

Need to work on:

Slowly work back into my short runs during the week.

Continue to fundraise to meet my goal. (Hope you'll consider helping me out!)

What's on my mind tonight

1. So are we going to get snow or not? At this point you could have the forecast of your choosing since there are about eight different ones out there. Anywhere from just lots of cold rain to 6 inches of snow. Wonder how it will play out. (Dad's cousin Tom lives in New Hampshire. He calls a forecast of 6 inches of snow 'finally spring'. Don't laugh at the Southerners Tom! There probably isn't a loaf of bread to be found right now....)

2. My legs have been flaring up yesterday and today. Especially the left one. I've continued my exercises, ice, anti-inflams, etc. I just wish it would quit. They are not as bad as they were that week that I had to give up my 9 mile group run. So that's slight improvement I guess.

3. I've read tons of stuff on the internet about periostitis (inflammation of lining of bone), medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints), etc. They all kind of say the same thing. Not sure what I keep looking for. It all pretty much describes what's going on with me. I'm hoping it doesn't progress to a stress fracture. Doesn't seem to be that at this point. I need to find the balance of continuing to run without overdoing it and causing more serious injury.

4. I was supposed to run 3 miles today. Didn't. I hope that by taking it a bit easier this week I can make it through my 8 miles on Saturday. Or if it snows, I'll have to do this alone on Sunday.

5. Cooper is taking Jodi for Show and Tell tomorrow. I had to make sure that it was ok to bring humans as it's usually a truck or harmonica or Spider Man or something.....

6. I am *NOT* running in the snow on Saturday. Sorry George. Yak Traks or not. No thanks. I would definitely end up with a fracture of some sort if I even attempted that.

7. Tomorrow morning I am definitely doing one of the stability ball exercise DVDs. It's a scheduled off day, but I took advantage of that today.

8. I am really sad that Brett Favre retired. I heart him.

9. I told Jodi last night that I guess this pain would stick around until I finally quit all this. He said "Quit what? You're a runner now." Hmmmmmm.

10. Jodi and I are officially registered for the Germantown Half Marathon. No turning back now. Our names are on the participants list.... YIKES! And that's one week from Sunday. 13.1 miles.

11. See #1.

Happy Birthday Boys!

Happy Birthday today to Jodi and my nephew Trenton!

I celebrated their special day by sleeping in an extra hour. After all, it is an off day. I had grand plans of getting up at the usual 4am and doing one of my stability ball exercise DVDs, but chose to sleep instead. The exercise would have been the better choice since my calves and ankles are sore and super stiff today.

I will have to do some stretches and exercises tonight without fail. The more I stretch and strengthen those muscles, the better they will become. Then I can run a little faster. Also they will just quit hurting, aching, burning, ouching all the time. I just wish I wasn't 'feeling it' all the time. I had that a few days toward the end of last week. But that was before I did my 10, so they are achey (how do you spell that? it looks weird) again.

The rest of the week shapes up like this:

• Wednesday - 5 miles (I may have to break this into AM & PM because of time. We'll see)
• Thursday - 3 miles
• Friday - off
• Saturday - 8 miles
  

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.

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.