Only 13 days til the Marathon, will my feet hold up?

I'm in the back row 6th from the left, pink /white top.

I had a good week of training and running on my own and only missed Friday, but this was intentional. I knew I had my long run on Saturday and I wanted to give my feet a rest on Friday so I chose not to run the 2 miles that was on my schedule.

I also had EMG/Nerve Conduction Velocity on my feet. It wasn’t painful and very similar to the electrical stimulations I’ve had done in the past but much stronger. He attached three electrodes to various parts of my feet, calves and behind my knees and tested various muscles for patterns of electrical activity. All of this was recorded into a laptop. Science is pretty amazing. I won’t have the results until sometime this week.

I had hoped resting my feet on Friday would be enough to make it through my long run, 12 miles on Saturday. I set two alarms since I had to be at practice at 5am! All three teams, Central, East and West came together on Saturday for everyone’s long runs (my coach had us do ours last week because he wanted us to do a three week taper versus a two week taper (when you decrease your mileage before your event)). So I woke up at 3:45, and didn’t have to rush to get to practice. I started off okay, took the first bathroom opportunity that I had (finally learned my lesson) and progressed with my 5:1 pace. Thankfully no stomach issues or groin pulls, just a little twinge in my left knee that eventually went away but my feet are still not cooperating with me. I was about five miles in when I had to stop and try to stretch them or something. It just hurt so much. I’m not sure why the pain has progressed so much. As I was hobbling along, one of the coaches from the East Valley team caught up with me and asked if I was doing okay, she had seen me stop to stretch. I explained to her the problems I was experiencing. She had a very sympathetic ear and we ran/walked together for the next three miles. I will tell you that it really helped to talk to someone as I was running because it took my mind off the pain. She had said at one point, we prefer the runners to push themselves on race day then at practices and not being able to make it to race day. That was all I needed to hear to give myself an excuse not to run the 12 miles that I had originally intended. I know I will cross that finish line on June 6th, I have absolutely no doubts about that even if I have to cross the finish line on my hand and knees. I do wonder if I will be able run other marathons though. I guess time and the EMG/NCV tests will tell.

Thanks again for all your support and words of encouragement and Kate I'm so excited that I've motivated you to start running!

My longest run yet

Life seems to be taking on new meaning since I started training. I just recently told my lunch group that marathoning and fundraising are my two new hobbies. Although I’ve been a bit remiss in my weekly trainings. I only ran about half what I was supposed to last week. It really makes a huge difference when I am running with someone versus running by myself. It’s been very hard to keep motivated without Sheri to spur me on. I have to find the motivation within myself because I can’t always be sure that I have a running partner. No wonder I don’t have the stamina and endurance yet, because I haven’t been as consistent as I need to be. I will have another chance though, since I just signed up for PF Chang’s Rock N Roll Marathon, which will be here in Phoenix in January. While it was my goal to just cross the finish line for my first half, it is my goal to improve my speed for PF Chang’s and would love to finish averaging 12 minute miles, currently I’m averaging 15 with 13 being my best so far. So I have to get all my weekly runs in to truly build up my stamina.

This past Saturday was to be my longest run yet. 12 miles, it would have been the most that I would run until the actual marathon. I set my alarm for 4:15 to meet the team at 5:30, my alarm went off and I promptly hit the snooze button, or so I thought. I must have accidentally hit the dismiss button instead of snooze because I didn’t wake up until 4:59. Crap. I still had to get dressed, eat a little breakfast, drink 12-18 oz of water, and drive to our meeting location. I drove at break neck speed, thank goodness no cops were around, and made it to practice by 5:39. I was the last to arrive and we got started with the warm-up as soon as I got there. The morning was cool, and a great temperature for my long run. It started off good enough, I started first as usual and determined to increase my pace to 5:1. The trail headed west on the canals and there were quite a few “hills”, I use quotes because they weren’t true hills like South Mountain but they were definite inclines and declines. I passed my first opportunity to use a bathroom, about a mile in. Thinking that I would have more opportunities, I waited not feeling any urges. Well of course three miles in I felt that urge and I had to go off the trail to find one. Darn runners trot! Well it was downhill from there. My stomach started cramping big time, and I felt a serious groin pull so I decided to walk it off, not wanting to cause any permanent damage that would prevent me from running the actual marathon. And every time I tried to start running again, my groin wouldn’t hear of it. Eventually the groin pain finally went away but now my toes were so numb that it felt like the skin was being peeled off the tops of my toes. It was the oddest, most painful sensation. So I walked and walked and walked with a few attempts here and there to try to run. Today was not going to be the day to move to my 5:1 pace. I had about three more miles to go when I ran into one of my captains and she saw that I wasn't doing so well, although she was running the opposite way, she was almost done with her run, she promptly turned around and walked with me. She suggested that if I was in so much pain that I should turn around and not complete my mileage for the day. I was hesitant since I only had a few more miles to go and I had never not finished one of the team practices. I walked a bit further, feeling that odd painful sensation in my toes. And then I had a meltdown. As I was telling Kristi how important it was for me to finish and thinking off all the people that I was running for because they couldn’t run, I just started crying and felt guilty that I couldn’t finish my measly 12 miles for my honorees who are fighting for their lives. If I couldn’t do 12 miles, how did I expect to do 13.1 in three weeks. I let myself be defeated and I felt horrible. Thankfully for Kristi she assured me that everyone has horrible runs and she shared with me one of her experiences of when she wasn’t able to complete one of her runs and actually had to have the coach come pick her up in a car. This made me feel a bit better and I chose to turn around instead of fighting it out and perhaps causing some permanent damage that wouldn’t allow me to run in San Diego.

I should also mention that I saw my podiatrist earlier in the week who said that my toes shouldn’t be going numb like they are now that I have the correct shoes and orthotics and it may be possible nerve damage. Dr. Forman made another adjustment to my orthotics and told me to call him if my toes got numb again. I have an appointment to get my nerves tested this Friday. I’ll keep you all posted. Thank you for keeping up with my blog and donating! I couldn't have done it without you guys!

26 days and counting

Eeeekkkk!!! Where has the last three months gone? How can it be only 26 days until I have to run/walk 13 miles? I'm already feeling butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. I had hoped to be a running machine by now (cue Rocky Balboa running up the steps music), able to run 10 miles without any walk breaks and breathing easy, instead it is truly a struggle every time I go out for my runs. I haven't fallen in love with running, I haven't lost twenty pounds, and I'm definitely not a mean green running machine. But I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I have met some great people through Team in Training, I've learned tons about fundraising, realized the generosity of people I barely know and am much more fit than I was three months ago. I must like something because I've already committed to running a full marathon next year and possibly another 1/2. It's amazing to be a part of something that is much bigger than me, to be a part of such an amazing organization that has raised thousands and thousands of dollars to help find a cure for blood cancers. I am truly feeling blessed for this experience.

So last I left off my long run was 8 miles and I was up to a 4:1 pace. May 1st was another 8 miler but on hills (South Mountain) which was a killer. I did well the last time on South Mountain but this time, South Mountain got the best of me but I can still proudly say that I walked/ran 8 miles on hills!

This past Saturday, May 8th I was in Flagstaff for my cousin Kate's graduation from NAU. I was really sad about missing my first team training but I wasn't going to miss my cousin's graduation. Not only was I on my own for my long run, I had to increase it to 9 miles in high elevation none the less. I wasn't sure how I was going to fit it in, the ceremony was at 10 am with an 8 am reception, lunch immediately following with another ceremony for a family friend at 2pm and then dinner reservations at 7pm. Sunday was Mother's Day with a brunch at 10, a drive back to Phoenix to the Grandparent's house who were having a graduation ceremony for Kate. I decided to skip the 2nd ceremony and do my run before dinner. It was beautiful weather in Flagstaff and I really wanted to run outside but I don't know my way around and I don't have a fancy watch that tells me the distance that I ran and I was afraid of getting lost so I ran on the treadmill at the gym at my cousins' apartment complex instead. By the time lunch was over and the last straggler left our lunch party I didn't have much time for my nine miles. I had also made the mistake of wearing high heels earlier for the ceremony not realizing all the walking we would be doing around campus. So I started off my run with very tired, sore feet...not a great way to start a run. By the time I got to the gym I knew I wasn't going to have time to get all nine miles in but I was determined to get as much in as possible, Also justifying that I had already walked at least a mile all over NAU campus and in heels and that I needed to take it a bit easier do to the change in elevation. So I managed to squeak in 4 miles before I had to meet back up with my family to get ready for dinner. Boy were my feet killing me by the time I finished my four miles. When I got back to the hotel I did my first ice bath ever. It really helped with the swelling in my feet and legs.

I also felt ok about not running my full nine because according to my last training schedule I would have another chance to run 9 miles this coming Saturday. However on Monday I received an updated schedule that this Saturday would by my longest run to date at 12 miles!!!! And then we start to taper. 12 miles! That's almost the entire half marathon. Well I guess this will be the true test to whether or not I can do this. Pray for me!

Did I really just tell her I'm a runner?

Wow, I really did. I just treated myself to an overdue pedicure and found myself saying to the technician, Yes I like my toenails really short because I'm a runner and if I don't keep them short they rub the sides of my toes. It's a bit trippy to think that I now have the confidence to say to a complete stranger, I'm a runner.

This last week was tough, I only got two days of my four training days completed. And one of those days, Monday running with Sheri I had to cut short due to bathroom "issues." Seriously running has become a natural laxative for me and while that's good?!? it's not because it cuts into my running, my times and just generally frustrating. Poor Sheri! Thanks for still wanting to run with me every week! I honestly don't know if I would be as diligent on my weekday runs if it wasn't for knowing she was waiting on me. We've actually made a pact to run a full marathon together next year. We're both going to turn 40, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

I definitely felt the impact of not getting all my runs in. Yesterday was an 8 mile run and the first mile or so was really tough. I was breathing extremely hard and I just felt tired. I made my weekend deposit at the Biltmore (thank goodness they never question why I use their bathroom every Saturday - LOL) and felt pretty darn good for the rest of my run. Last Saturday I had moved up to a 4 minute run with a 1 minute walk break and I continued this week with a 4:1 again, however both last Saturday and this Saturday I actually ran for 8 minutes with 1 minute walk breaks. I am finally seeing improvement!!! I'm still not going to break any speed records but I'm okay with that. I'd like to at least finish averaging 15 minutes per mile. My fastest so far has been running during the week where we average about 13 + per mile but to my amazement I hit 13:54 mins/mile on a long run! Before this my long runs were at 16 min/mile. I already feel like I've accomplished so much and I haven't even crossed the finish line yet! 42 days until I can say that I've completed a 1/2 marathon.

Dr Weigand at SpineBuilder ROCKS!

A special thank you to Dr. Weigand and Spinebuilder for donating $1 for every patient seen in March 2010! You are a chiropractor with a heart! http://www.spinebuilder.com/

This Saturday's run was tough. I had to run seven miles and I started out okay but lost steam after I had to take a quick bathroom break. In the beginning I felt ready to try to move my pace to a 3 minute jog with a 1 minute walk break but Saturday was not going to be the day. I stuck with my 3:2 pace. My feet hurt more than normal with my right toes feeling extremely numb. This was also my first week of getting all my training in and as one of the captains pointed out, my feet need time to adjust from running on them so much. I ran a total of 17 miles this week. And to think a short two months ago I was pretty much a couch potato. It's amazing how our bodies adjust.

I actually ran almost a 1/2 mile further than I needed to, I got confused on my turn around point. Due to the pain in my feet, I walked the second half more than I ran but I did manage to jog the last mile all the way without any walk breaks, quite the feat at the end of seven and half miles and I even managed to sprint the last 1/4 of mile. I just visualized the finish line on marathon day. This week I'm determined to get to the 3:1 pace. Wish me luck. Please click here to donate.

Speed Intervals, ugh!

Tonight I met two of my teammates to run speed intervals. Not as much fun as it sounds. We started with a ten minute warmup (code for a ten minute jog), then we run as fast as we can for 400 meters, take a 2 minute walk break, sprint for 400 meters, walk for 2 minutes, sprint for 800 meters, walk for 2 minutes, sprint for 800, walk 2 minutes, sprint for another 800 meters, walk 2, sprint for 400 meters, walk for 2, sprint 400, walk for 2 and finally a ten minute cool down. Not including the warmup and cool down that's a total of 2 and half miles. With the warmup, cool down I ended up running about 3 1/2 miles. It should have been 4 1/2 but I got confused at how many times we were supposed to go down and back on the trail. And I will be honest in saying that while Mike and Sarah really were sprinting, I was jogging and I didn't push myself as much as I could have or should have but at least I was out there. It was my first time running speed intervals, I will do better next week. Please click here to donate.

13 minute mile! Thank you Sheri.

The fastest that I've ran so far!!! For some a 13 minute mile may seem slow but for me it's an amazing accomplishment. I don't think I've ran faster than 16 maybe 15 minutes before this. My new 3:2 pace is working really well. The second half of my run I was feeling like I could take my walk break down to 1 minute 30 seconds. I love running with Sheri because she holds me to it. I accidentally took our last walk break to almost three minutes and when I noticed it she's started running and said we run to the end. Thank you Sheri for keeping me honest! My goal is to get to a 7:1 by marathon. I would be really happy with that. I truly feel like I can get there. I only have 62 more days left to the marathon. No more fooling around, I am hitting every one of my runs. No more running 1 mile when I'm supposed to run 2 and no more skipping a weekday training here or there. This is the time that is extremely critical to get all my miles in. As an added bonus, my clothes are starting to get loose which is giving me even more motivation!

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When nature calls

Saturday was another 6 miles but this time on South Mountain. It was an absolutely beautiful day for our run. There were spring flowers blooming everywhere and I had my new Brooks on. I was ready for my six miles and I was ready to increase my run/walk pace. I moved my jog to three minutes with a 2 minute walk break. It's amazing that seven weeks into my training that my lungs still burn within the first few minutes. It will get better, I know it will. As usual I started off before everyone else since my pace is so much slower and I set off on my own and my coach caught up with me in my first rotation and asked how I was doing. I told him that I was going to try my new 3:2 pace and he told me good job. Then one of the captains caught up with me and she usually has a much faster pace than me and she's running the full marathon but she's been sick the whole week and wanted to take it easier today. Sara and I got into a comfortable rhythm, with her running still a bit faster than me. During the walk break, she would walk back towards me. The first two miles were such a struggle for me, my lungs felt like they were going to burst and I felt like a had a huge boulder in my stomach (note to self do not eat a protein bar before my runs). And of course the first half is mostly all incline so give myself a break it's going to be harder.

Then about two miles in Nature calls, of course I already past the portapotty about a 1/4 of a mile back. Do I go back or do I push forward. Well I pushed forward, in hindsight I should have turned back. So we made it to our three mile turnaround point and and about a mile from the portapotty I just couldn't hold it anymore. I told Sara she could keep going and I'd see her at the end but she said she'd wait for me. So I veered off the road and found big enough bushes sufficient enough to hide me from the road and gathered up as many of those beautiful wildflowers (checking for thorns of course) as I could. Sorry flowers. Well the rest is history, and I felt so much better. I felt like I could run another 6 miles. Another lesson learned, carry tissue in my water belt.

The rest of run was much better, considering it is mostly down hill. I stayed up with my 3:2 pace and felt great afterwards. Thanks to my new shoes, my knees didn't hurt and I just ran 6 miles in the hills on a beautiful morning.

Please click here to donate.

Oh New Balance how I had high hopes for us. You and I fit like a glove in the beginning, there were many before you but as soon as I met you I knew you were the one. Unfortunately things went wrong from the beginning, but I wasn't ready to give up, I tried different things to rekindle the love affair, lacing differently, wearing different socks but alas I had to give up. I have a new love now, I've traded you in for Brooks. Thank you New Balance for getting me through my first 6 weeks of training.

Seriously though, what a difference a pair of running shoes make. As you have read I have been having trouble with my knees. So on the advice of Dr. Sherman I bought a new pair of running shoes, Brooks Adrenaline. I ran in them on Thursday and they felt pretty good, and I ran in them again on Saturday and I had zero knee pain! My toes still got numb, and I am going up to the next width which should help with the numbness.

I saw Dr. Sherman on Friday. He gave me another adjustment on my knees and gave me electric stimulation treatment. The correct terminology for my knees is that I have slight hyper extension in addition to the tendonitis. Basically my knee bends backward further than the normal person. But with the new shoes and icing my knee caps right after running, my knees feel a whole lot better!!

Thank you so much for donating and if you haven't had a chance to yet, Please Click Here to Donate, every dollar counts.

6 miles and counting...

Sorry I'm again behind in my blogging. I will do better. This past Friday I went to see a sports medicine chiropractor (I still love you Dr. Weigand! but he's my spine guy). Dr. Sherman came to practice a week ago Saturday and gave a talk on injury prevention and he treats mostly marathoners and triathletes with a few golfers thrown in. How cool am I that I'm going to see a doctor that only treats athletes!!!! The prognosis is in, I have tendonitis in my knees, which is pretty common. Basically my tendons in the knee area are inflamed and irritated. My kneecaps also naturally extend further than normal so it rubs against the bone already (I think that's what Dr. Sherman said, I'll have to ask again when I see him on Friday). My numb toes are definitely due to my shoes not being wide enough and Roadrunner Sports does not carry shoes nor can they order shoes wide enough for me. Most women would wear men's shoes but the length isn't short enough for me. I wear a 6/12 E in women's 7E for running and the smallest men's' come in are 7s which is the equivalent of a 8 1/2 in women's. I found some New Balance shoes online but I need to find out return policies, etc. I need either neutral or stability but not motion control due to my orthotics. Who knew buying running shoes could be so complicated?!? Dr. Sherman suggested Brooks so I'll search for those.

This past Saturday I ran, well mostly walked 6 miles. I had to train much earlier than the rest of the team due to a fundraising event (I worked concession stands for Peoria Sports Complex - they donate 9% of the profits back to LLS, and that percentage gets split among the volunteers who work that day) so I met up with one of my teammates who is also working the concession stand. However she's a walker and since there is safety in numbers, I stuck with her pace which is to walk 4 minutes and jog very slowly for 3. It was much slower than I am used to going but I will say that it was also much easier on my knees. Finally with about two miles left I left her behind (there were plenty of other people by this point) and proceeded to my 2.20 minute jog/walk. I'm trying to move to a 2.5 minute jog and a 1.5 minute walk but I was struggling big time this last Saturday but I finished and did all of my 6 miles and then proceeded to be on my feet for the next 10 hours for the next three days working concession stands. Boy am I tired!!

I will say this has been a very positive experience and it feels good to be giving back to a very worthwhile cause and organization that helps thousands of people. Thank you to all of those who have visited my pages and have donated. Please spread the word to all your friends and family! Please click here to donate.

Oh cursed numbness.

Yet another milestone this week. Week five and I ran/walked five miles today! Boy did I feel my laziness from the week before with only training the one day. I was so short of breath so quickly I thought I was going to have to walk 4 minutes and jog 2. Fortunately we have a new runner on our team, Christian. He's running the full marathon but his current pace is run/walk for a 1.5 minutes so he was willing to run/walk my two minutes which he considered a push for him. And during the times that I wanted to walk more than two, he pushed me. I tell you...it truly makes a difference to have someone push you on those runs. The only negative is that I'm not such a morning person and I'm so used to running by myself and Christian liked to talk and talk and talk and talk! I don't know how he was able to talk so much and keep up his pace! But it really was great to have company along the way. And it really made the five miles go faster!

I saw my podiatrist and he thinks that my shoes are not wide enough for me and he also adjusted my orthotics. When I ran on Saturday, my knees definitely felt better but my toes still got numb. And remember that Nike + adapter I was sooo excited about...it's a piece of $%^*! At least the one I have. I ran five miles and my adapter said I ran 2.5! 2.5 was week 2 what the heck! So I'm taking it back and hoping that I just got a bad one. So I went back to Roadrunner sport where I bought both my running shoes and adapter and of course they don't have any shoes in my width in stock, nor does the running shoe I have come in wider width. Instead I'm going to have to change brands which are not nearly as attractive as the ones I currently have, but I am willing to sacrifice vanity for better comfort (I think I must be getting older and maybe wiser). The store manager also mentioned that when most people complain about numbness it's because of the the rubbing on the top of the foot not necessarily the width (huh?!?) but she's a marathoner and she manages a running store and I'm willing to try anything so she told me about skip lacing (I think this goes back to Heidi's original theory that my shoes are tied too tight). So I will try this tonight when I get home and hope that works. I also exchanged my adapter so hopefully this one will calculate the mileage closely. Please click here to donate

I'm so over this!

I hit a wall, I'm done. I don't want to train, run or raise any more money. I'm tired and my knees are always bothering me. I'm so over this!!!! So I thought. Part of my problem this week is that I traveled to St. Louis for a business meeting and only ran once this week. So by Thursday when Sheri came by my cube to see if we were running I said I wasn't sure and instead of giving me a hard time, she said okay! Now I know that Sheri isn't my keeper but she can't let me off the hook that easily! Ok...no more blaming Sheri for my laziness. I truly was being lazy and then I received a ding on my blackberry notifying me that someone had made a donation, my largest donation to date as a matter of fact, $500!!!! Well I surely can't quit now. How disappointed in myself would I be...how could I face all my family and friends who had already donated to say that I gave up. Did Rich give up when he was going through chemotherapy....heck NO! If he had he wouldn't be in remission today. And if all the other cancer patients were able to make it through all their pain and suffering...then I can get off my butt, lace up my shoes and run. Please click here to donate.

Late entry from 03/06/10

Wow, has it really been five weeks since I embarked on this training journey. Amazing accomplishments so far, I’ve ran over 31 miles, raised $1145 dollars and it’s really just the beginning. Who knew that there was so much more to running than lacing up shoes and getting outside or on a treadmill. As I mentioned before, I’ve been having problems with my toes feeling numb during my longer runs, and a friend of mine suggested that my shoes were laced too tight even if they didn’t feel like it. She told me to scrunch my toes before tying my shoes which I tried and my toes still feel numb, one of my TNT team mates wondered if maybe I had too much room in my shoes and my feet were moving too much, someone else thought maybe I was wearing the wrong kind of socks. Well I have a follow up appointment finally with my podiatrist. It may very well have to do with my orthotics since I have not been wearing them for very long. I’ll keep you all posted. The next thing I’ve mentioned is my knees hurting me. And the same friend that mentioned the too tight of shoes suggested that I check the strides per minute that I’m running….who knew math was involved in running.

The next saga I’ve mentioned is my Nike iPod adapter. It's still not working correctly! I ran four miles on Saturday and it only notated 2. ! I will exchange it for another one, perhaps I got a bad one and if it still doesn’t calculate correctly, it may be on to a Garmin – a bit more expensive but hopefully more reliable.

Back to training…this past Saturday we ran hills for the first time. All three teams from Central, West and East valleys met at South Mountain at 7:30 in the morning. We did a warm up walk (I much prefer a warm up walk than a warm up jog), stretched in a huge circle and then we all proceeded to run. We were given fair warning to run opposite of traffic and stay as close to the edge of the road as possible. Great advice because some of the curves were blind curves and it was hard to see cars coming. I started off with two other teammates, however one’s pace was much faster she’s running 4 minutes, walking 1 and another one was a bit slower but Nicki and I stayed together for most of it. I actually really liked this joint training with the other two teams. Along the way the coaches were lined up to say only ½ a mile more or you’re almost there. It felt more organized than my normal weekend practices, but I also have to remember that on our Saturday practices, there is only one coach, and with all three times combined there were 5 coaches. The other two teams actually have two co-captains. So Nicki and I did my two minute jog and two minute walk. And I was happy to see that I was keeping up fairly nicely with the pace, and on second half, I think I could have increased it to 3 minute jog and 1 minute walk, but my numb toes and my knees were preventing me from increasing my pace. I’m afraid of burning out my knee – I have so many more weeks left! Nicky's pace is a bit slower than mine so I found myself pulling away but tried to stay in ear shot so that I knew she would be okay. Every now and again I heard her belt out line from a song...she was doing fine. I must say that I really wish there was someone else at my pace so that I can have some company on the run. It helps to motivate someone and be motivated with a partner along the run. Fortunately during the week I do have someone to run with. Sheri who used to be a runner is starting back up again and she’s been meeting me as often as possible on my scheduled running days. Not only is it great to have someone to run with, Sheri has a faster pace than I do so during the week I can work on my pace and on Saturdays I can work on my distance. According the email Coach Bobby just sent out to the team, this is exactly what I should be doing! Now I’m just waiting for him to tell me what Fartlek means! I’ll keep you all posted!

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I've been a bit remiss in not adding a post from this Saturday's training. It was bring a friend day to practice, and I had two friends lined up but unfortunately were not able to make it. It was very cold and windy on Saturday and I didn't do the usual warm up lap with the rest of the team, instead I started early with the two other half marathoners. However I quickly realized that our paces were completely different. They were walking and I really wanted to jog. So I said bye to them and started my new my jog/walk pace. My cousin Jamie wisely told me that although pacing myself between telephone poles was a good place to start, it will be highly doubtful that there will be telephone poles marking the path during my marathon. I had already bought a Timex sports watch but hadn't taken the time to learn how to work it. Well earlier in the week, I had made sure to make the time. And learned how to set a repeating two minute alarm, which is what I use to track my pace. So I jogged for two minutes, walked for two minutes and so on.

This Saturday we went from three miles to 4 miles! 4 miles! I can't tell you the last time I ran or walked four miles in a row. Honestly I don't think I ever have! Even in my most athletic, best shape ever I never ran four miles at one time. So I was really anxious and started to think four miles...I'm freaking out about four miles when I've signed on to do 13! I better get over myself and just start moving. So I set my trusty Timex and couldn't wait for it to beep for my walking interludes. OMG...there goes my left toes again feeling numb (I really need to call my podiatrist) there goes that left knee...oooh, that hurts a bit. Good news is that I didn't feel the burning lungs like I did last Saturday. So Coach Bobby told me to that 32nd street was my two mile mark and turn around point. Well in addition to my fancy Timex marathon watch, I also bought a Nike iPOD adapter that tracks my miles, pace, calories burned etc! Was I excited to use this thing. So I'm jogging/walking/jogging/walking/walking/jogging when I reach 32nd street. I look down at my trusty Nike iPOD adapter expecting to see that I had completed two miles. Well wouldn't you know it, it said I only completed 1.25. So I thought well maybe Bobby was mistaken so I decided to continue until my iPOD say two miles. So I get to a point where I am so ready to turn around, I'm running into the cold wind, my hands are freezing, my toes are numb, now both knees are hurting and I cross paths with a teammate and I noticed she's got a Garmin watch. I asked her if she's able to track mileage on it. She said yup, I asked how far did it say she had gone? It was at 2.05 miles...guess what my Nike iPOD said....1.5something or other!!! What! I ran a .05 miles further than I needed to!!! I said well I guess I'll turn back now. I said thank you and goodbye to my teammate and started cursing my Nike iPOD thingy maginy and was very thankful for running into my teammate.

As my pace is so slow at this point (I'm averaging a 15-16 minute mile) the faster paced full marathoners who had to run 8 miles are starting to pass me up. Mike, one of the team captains started to keep pace with me for a short distance and asked how I was doing and if I was working on a pace. He thought the 2 min walk 2 min jog was a great place to start. I said I'd see him at the end because I definitely didn't want to slow him down. It's so great to run into your teammates along the way and cheer for each other. I always shout GREAT JOB, Go TNT and their name if I know it whenever I see one of my teammates along the path.

It really is amazing how warmed up you get towards the end. The last four minutes I actually jogged the whole way in. Mike was at the end of the trail and asked if that was the longest I had ran and I proudly replied YES!

So it looks like I need to re-calibrate my Nike iPOD adapter and check it against my treadmill. I tried this morning but I had to use the rest room in the middle of my twenty minute run and pausing my treadmill didn't pause the time. Next time I will focus more on the mileage and not so much on the time. If the adapter is still off, back it goes.

Thanks again for taking time to read this blog and stopping to make a donation on my TNT page. Click Here to Donate. Every dollar you donate is helping to find a cure!

Go Office Max!

Thank you to the Office Max on 44th St and Thomas for donating $25 worth of office supplies. That $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.

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Most of the gang, Central Team, Go Central! I'm in th back row next to Coach Bobby

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New running shoes! About to
get some dust on them!


February 20, 2010

I have let this cold get the best of me for the last two weeks. No more, I'm ready to get serious about my marathon training. Today was our 2nd team training, the goal was 3 miles. Off I go...uh oh...lungs burning, left knee twinging, toes feeling numb...I must be close to finishing my three miles!!! Not so fast, I was only a quarter mile in. So I started to pace with the telephone poles, walk to the next pole, jog to the pole after that, walk to the next pole and so on. As I was walking/jogging and trying to ignore the various pains in my body I started to think back to San Francisco 2008 when I was cheering my cousins on for their first marathon. At the time I was really there to just cheer them on. I knew they were running to raise funds for a cure, I knew the emotional ties they had because of Brian's father Rich but I just didn't fully feel connected to the cause even though I was saddened by Rich's condition. I had even forgotten at the time that my own grandmother, Florence "Pete" Gulde had passed away from Leukemia. I've only been with this organization since February but it's hard not to get swept up into the excitement, energy and compassion that every single person who is associated with TNT exudes.

I'd really like to say thank you to those of you who have already donated towards this very worthy cause and shared names of their loved ones who have/are battling blood cancers. I'll think of them, along with Rich and Pete during my trainings, they will spur me on when I don't want to get the next telephone pole.

Please be sure to post comments and past this blog on to your friends and co-workers.

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First Day of Team Training

Yesterday was my first team training. We all gathered at Grenada Park at 7:30 in the morning. All week I've been fighting a cold and wasn't sure how much actual running I was going to be able to do. But I knew I didn't want to miss the first training.

I let the coach and the captains know that I wasn't feeling well, and they all told me to listen to my body and do as much as I can but not to kill myself. Coach Bobby had us do a warm up jog and I was doing okay for about 2 minutes. During the lap, I was talking with one of the captains and I lost steam about half way through. I slowed to a walk and walked the rest of the way in. Fortunately my ego did not get involved and I didn't feel that I needed to prove myself by overdoing it on my first practice, this is a marathon I'm traing for after all. For me it's about crossing the finishing line and raising money to help find a cure, not about how fast I go.

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I must be crazy!

Today is January 26th and it's been almost a week since I signed up for Team in Training to run a half marathon and set a goal to raise $3500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'm nervous, scared, and excited. I worry about my feet, will I be able to cross the finish line, can I raise enough money. I love the idea of challenging myself to something so physically demanding and accomplishing the goal.

October of 2008 I went to San Francisco to cheer on my cousins Jamie and Brian while they ran their first marathon and I walked away from that thinking I can do that! Fast forward to November 2009 and a seed started to formulate in my subconscious..."I should start to think about running that marathon before I turn 40 in 2011". Then the seed grew and it crept into my vocabulary and I found myself saying it aloud. First to a few co-workers, than to my cousin Jamie...I said the same thing...I want to run a marathon before I turn 40. I'm not really sure when it became I want to run...to I am going to run a half marathon this year. But somehow it did.


For those of you who haven't heard about Team In Training (TNT), The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) groundbreaking charity sports training program, has reached a remarkable milestone of raising $1 billion to support blood cancer research and patient services. Jamie and Brian trained for their marathon through this organization and I saw first hand how much support this group provides.

Jamie and Brian first got involved because of Brian's Dad, Rich Moniz. In early 2008 he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell. While Rich is not directly related to me, I've always felt like he was family and was shocked to hear this news. After chemo therapy and a stem cell transplant (I have extremely abbreviated his fight for survival), I am happy to say Rich is in complete remission. I know this would not have been possible if it wasn't for all the money raised through TNT! I unfortunately lost my maternal Grandmother to leukemia in 1990.

While you may not be personally affected or know someone with a blood cancer, the LLS sponsored research has been the catalyst for effective treatments for Hodgkins disease, lymphomas, and other common kinds of cancer, including stomach, breast, and lung cancer.

Not only have I committed to running this half marathon, I have also pledged to raise $3500 for LLS. 75% off of my fundraising goes directly to research and patient services. Anything I raise above $3500 goes 100% to the cause!

I welcome your support and contributions as I fundraise for this amazing cause! Every encouraging word and stories that you share will spur me on to the finish line.

Please come back often as I plan to keep a running blog of my trials and tribulations during my four month training. I must be crazy!!!! Nahhhh just excited to help the cause so more people like Rich can be cured!