Hello. How are you doing today?

Me? I am hanging in there. It's been a rough few weeks.

My paternal grandmother had been very ill & eventually died on the 18th. While expected, it was still very sad to lose such a wonderful lady. I had the worst travel experience getting to Erie, PA for the funeral that weekend. It involved 3 plane rides (including 2 small puddle-jumper jets) which were late & a 100 mile drive through rush hour traffic & construction. And that was just one way! I didn't have to worry about the fact that I wasn't able to get in my long run that weekend because I ran enough miles through all the airports (carrying 2 suitcases to boot). Would it kill them to put the same airline in one single terminal??? JEEBUS!!

Still, it was a bit hard getting back into my work-out routine after being gone for so long with the family stuff. I'm doing surprisingly today well considering I ran 21 miles yesterday. It was a long, miserable, hot run, but I finished. It was a lot slower than I wanted, but then again, I included all the time I stopped to chat & eat at all the water stops, which I will NOT do on race day. So if you take that time out, I think it ends up being not so terrible (but still not quite as I'd have preferred).

I had a minor problem with my right calf, a pain in my right knee (from all the hills) & then a bad pain in the ball of my right foot during the run, but all that is fine today. When I got home I took a long ice bath, popped a bunch of ibuprofin, & wrapped my knee with a big ice pack. I was fully expecting to be walking like a 98 year old woman this morning, but other than a little pain/tightness in my quads & hips, I feel great. Hopefully I'll feel the same after the marathon in 3 weeks. *crosses fingers*

Next weekend the mileage goes down to 14. That should be a piece of cake! I can't believe race day is almost here!

I need your help!!!

It's almost time for the Nike Women's Marathon, which also means my deadline for raising the money needed for this race is also coming up. I'm still about $1000 short of the fundraising minimum, which is due this Monday, October 1. So please, if you'd like to help me out & help save lives at the same time, click here to go to my fundraising website & make a donation. Simply click on "Donate now!" & follow the easy instructions. Your donation is TAX DEDUCTIBLE!! Plus, you'll help save countless lives. Isn't that worth skipping a few cups of coffee or a few drinks at the pub?

Thanks for your help!! :)

PS

I saw the CUTEST thing at Memorial Park this morning. As I started my run at 5:00 am, when I got to the tennis courts, I saw a big tent set up across the street by the track with a banner that said (forgive me if I forgot the right names) "Dave & Mindy Wedding Day Run". There was a bunch of people setting up what looked like a mini wedding reception under the tent. Then I saw the groom... he was wearing running shorts & a t-shirt that looked like a tuxedo. SO CUTE!

I was bummed I didn't get to see the bride. I had visions of a woman in a white running outfit w/ a little veil.

Congrats you guys, whoever you are! :)

Slowly getting back into it

As usual, I got my post-vacation cold & have spent the last week pretty much constantly blowing my nose. It's made for some "fun" workouts. I skipped a few because I felt way too crappy & was having too much trouble breathing just standing still, let alone running. On the days I did work out, I felt as if I hadn't worked out in months. I was SO sluggish & my whole body ached afterwards.

Ugh.

Needless to say I was REALLY dreading today's 18 mile long run. My left calf had been bothering me all week (hill training Wednesday... which sucked... didn't help matters) so I figured it was going to be a problem today. I was wrong. It was my right calf that was bothering me.

WTF???

Despite the calf problem, I actually did pretty well. I was able to keep up my pace for 16 miles before I started to peter out. I really seem to have a big problem with the sun. Once it was out there & the clouds had gone away, I felt my energy drain away. Add in the calf pain & I pretty much just walked the last 2 miles back to the park. Thankfully it really wasn't too hot today or I'm sure I would've petered out much earlier. I guess I have Hurricane Humberto to thank for the cooler/less humid weather. Thanks Humberto!

The fact that I was able to keep my pace for 16 miles was really encouraging to me. I still have a month before the marathon so I feel I'll be able to improve even more. Hopefully I'll be able to keep a steady pace for the majority of the race. I really REALLY want to be able to finish within 7.5 hours. If I can do that, I will be ecstatic!!

Of course, my stupid calves have to heal first or else I fear the marathon will be a total disaster. But I have faith. Don't ask me why. I just have a good feeling about this race.

Oh! At breakfast after practice today, we were talking about our next big adventure... the Texas Independence Relay! Right now I've only volunteered to be the driver, but who knows, if I keep up with my training & lose even more weight, maybe I'll be fast enough to actually run.

30

As of today I have officially lost 30 pounds. WOO-HOOOO!!!! :D

Stop the screaming!

Apparently dancing for 3+ hours on your tippy-toes for 3 straight nights isn't that great for your calves, as I found out yesterday during my 12 mile long run. I was doing great for about the first 7 or 8 miles. I ran with Carmen & we were keeping up a pretty good pace. I was feeling good! When we got to downtown, we were testing ourselves by running some sections hard, getting our heart rates up there, then walking, repeating it over again each block as we ran through the streets of downtown Houston. (Btw... I LOVE running through downtown Houston at sunrise. It's SO peaceful.) However, by the time we were on our way back to the park & made it to the water stop at Waugh & Memorial, my left calf was SCREAMING. When I got back from vacation, that same calf was sore & tight, but I figured it would be fine by the long run.

I was wrong.

It was tightening up more & more with each step. I kept stopping to stretch, but it just seemed to make it worse. We pretty much did the "mall walk" for the last 2 miles, which was hard, because when I just walk, my back starts to hurt. I had to figure out which was the lesser of the 2 evils. The back pain was easier to deal with, so I kept walking.

When I got home & tried to get out of my car, I screamed out in pain. It was the world's worst charlie-horse in my calf EVER. I couldn't get the spasm to stop. I got inside & tried to massage the pain away but it didn't work. I took an ice bath, followed by a nice warm shower, which seemed to help, then I tried to roll it out with my stick. OW! OW! OW!!! The only thing that really helped was about 4 Ibuprofin & a 2 hour nap with my leg up. It's still pretty sore today, but at least now I can walk without a limp. Hopefully it'll be better by Tuesday. We have hill training that day & that can be a killer if I still have bad calves. Hopefully that won't be a problem. *crosses fingers*

Post-vacation blues

Back from vacation. Turns out this past week was a great workout...

• Go camping in the middle of nowhere WA state.
• Get a campsite the furthest from anything you need.
• Laugh so hard your stomach muscles ache, then laugh some more.
• Hike 2 miles up & down hills & valleys to the concert venue.
• Dance non-stop for 3+ hours on your tippy-toes.
• Hike 2 miles up & down hills & valleys back to campsite.
• Repeat for 2 more days.

Good golly did I have fun. And I have the screaming calves to prove it. :) I want to go back.