PHEW! 12 Miles!

Today was the long run day. I haven't been able to participate for a few weeks due to events/injury. So I did 12 miles today. It amazes me how my body has changed since I started running. When I ran the Princess Half almost 2 months ago I felt like crap when I finished. I was ravenous, and my body wanted to shut down. A couple weeks later I did 12 miles and I was sore and hungry, but not as bad. Today, not too sore and not very hungry. In fact, my body feels similar to what I used to feel like after 3 miles.

I am pretty slow, which means I usually end up running by myself. I am cool with that though, because I get a chance to listen to my music which I don't normally get to do. But it also gives me a lot of time with my thoughts. Which isn't always bad, but not always good either. Today I was thinking of my honorary teammates, and their struggles and fights. I was trying to find a way to honor them. I wish I could express to them how much of an inspiration they truly are for me.

On the way home I needed to stop by and give Luke and his family some prayer shawls. That family amazes me. On the door has a sign that says no sad faces allowed. Friends had 3 delivery trucks full of snow delivered to their home this morning! It was so beautiful. Luke had recently said he wished it would have snowed this year, and his family was planning to take him to the snow. Well the snow came to them! It was pretty remarkable. Many people have asked where I got the HOPE necklace I wear. Luke and his family gave one to each of the staff after his first bone marrow transplant. I hope that in June I can make Luke proud.

Two weeks from today will be the one-year anniversary of John passing away. He is another honored teammate. I am dedicating Mile 4 to him in June. I can't imagine how difficult a time this is for his family. John was a truly great young man taken way too soon.

Running has been so good for me. I am enjoying every moment of it, even the moments I hate. And I am so happy to be running for such a great cause!

Seven slopey Miles

Today was a surprise day off! Gotta love those. Sad part of it is that I do not get paid....which means I don't get to buy more cool stuff, but oh well! CB had school, so I had a little bit of "me"time which involved some cleaning (BOO!), cooking (YUM!) and a little run. It has been awhile since I have run Kelly Road (the giant mountainous road I live on) so I tackled it today. On the marathon schedule was 70 minutes, my goal was 7 miles. Well it took me 80 minutes to do the 7 miles. It was also the longest run I have had in a few weeks since I have hurt my butt.

After the Bridge to Brews, E had noticed that my downhill stride is more of a shuffle. So he told me to open up, relax and kind of let go. So being that I was running on a lot of hills today I did. WOW! What a difference! I went from looking like a little old lady shuffling down a hill to kicking butt and maintaining a good pace, and even gaining. I really love running hills. (I know....maybe my head should be checked!) In fact, my but actually feels better when I am running up and down hills than on a flat surface.  But I am pretty sure that since the last time I ran this route I took off about 10 minutes from my time.

Saturday is going to be tough....12 miles. But I am going to do it, and I am going to rock it. Hope everyone has a happy Friday!

One of my Heroes

My emotions are all over the place. 

"I don't have time to worry about the things that could happen. I am too busy thinking of all the happy things that have happened."  -Luke Jensen

In June, when I run in the marathon, Luke will be one of the heroes that I will be running in honor of. Right now he is fighting for his life. The cancer has returned. He and his family are looking for HOPE that this awful disease won't win. Despite the cancer, this family continues to maintain their strength and faith to live each moment to its fullest. They show amazing courage through this journey. 

I HATE that this family is not the only one that is facing this right now. It makes me angry knowing that a disease can ruin the life of others. I want to make this family proud, and the others I am running for in June. Please, keep Luke in your prayers as well as the others that are listed on the side. 

I am still $1200 from my fundraising minimum, I want to raise even more that the minimum. If you are able to donate, please do. If you know anyone that would be interesting in supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, forward this on. Visit my findraising site at http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/rnrseatl10/mmosso.

What Cancer Cannot Do
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It cannot corrode Faith
It cannot destroy Peace
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade the Soul
It cannot steal Eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit.
-Author Unknown

Catching Up

Over 23 miles in the last week. It feels great to be able to run again. There still is a giant pain in my butt though! This week I am going to the physical therapist, massage therapist and the team chiropractor. Hopefully this will help. My body feels like I have been run over by a truck!

The past week has been busy. Balancing being a mom and wife, work, tough running schedule and appointments has been difficult. There are times when I feel like I am only doing some half-assed. Last week I needed to do some short runs (because of the injury), but I wanted to spend time with E and CB. So we went on a family run. Black dog got to join us, and she loves it. She is already showing some weight loss. I am so proud of CB, she ran 1.5 miles then got to play on the playground and ran another 1.5 miles.

Track night was great too! And I busted out some hard core running just as my brother in law happened to drive by! (Great to see you L!!!) Hill repeats on Terwilliger are not fun, but I survived! My warm-up laps I was cranking out a 7.5 min/mile! What the heck :) I couldn't believe how awesome I felt. Then some of the team went over to Suki's for a little Richard Simmons discussion and Garage Sale planning.

The weekend was productive! The Garage Sale rocked, and we made almost $600! So we each got over $140 for our fundraising. So now I am only $1200 from my fundraising minimum! Sunday was Bridge to Brews. E and I ran the 8K. We ran it in 56 minutes. I had to stop twice though to stretch out the butt. I love being able to run with E. He is great at pushing me when I need it and support me when I need that!

Clothes....Clothes....Clothes!!!

There are even MORE clothes than what are shown in this picture! Isn't it crazy. We had such a great response to our request for clothing donations for the garage sale that four of us are having this weekend!

Haven't you always wanted a beautiful vintage pink mother-of-the bride dress? Or a pair of stiletto pink flowered fluffy boots? Come on! We have one of each.  We will also have a GREAT selection of name brand women's, men's and children's clothing at great prices! I can tell you I have a clothing bin of children's clothes that are marked from $.25 to $1! There is also a BRAND new Brighton purse and many clothing items with the tags still attached. Do you need a new little black dress? We have some of those. Need some new summer clothes? There are some of those too!

We also have some great eccentric and unique options! It is sure to be a lot of fun, interesting and all for a great cause! 100% of the funds we get will go towards our fundraising efforts and will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

Our garage sale will be at Portland Largest Garage Sale at the Portland Expo Center from 8-5 this Saturday April 17th. For more info check out their website here at http://www.portlandgsale.com/index.shtm.

Back in the Saddle Again

It is only noon, and so far it has been an amazing day. I woke up at 5:20 am to head into Portland to help out at the Team in Training aide station for the Race for the Roses half marathon. WOW! I now have a totally new appreciation for those wonderful people that pass you water, Gatorade, etc during a race. It is NOT easy! There were at least 15 of us that were handing water and glucose to runners/walkers of all ages. What a rush. I (stupidly) volunteered to be the first person people came to as they got to the station (I really tried not scaring them away). As the first runner came to mile 4 (where we were) about 20 mins. after the race started, I got nervous....what if they didn't want it, what if I spilled it on him, what if he spilled on me? Oh the horror! Thankfully, he accepted the cup graciously and without incident. In fact, I am not sure if I got more water on me from the runners or my coach that was pouring the water.

All of a sudden, there was a huge rush of people. I remember looking back thinking, wow there is a lot of water. Then there was none and we couldn't pour and distribute water fast enough! But runners I have found out are pretty nice, even when they are impatient.


But the best news is that after 10 days of resting, I ran again today! My butt muscle is still sore, but after running for about 10 minutes, that actually started to ease. We did a family run, so it started with E, CB, black dog and me at Lewisville Park. I haven't been there since fall, and I forgot how much I loved it. But after half a mile CB decided she "hated" running and wanted to go the play structure. So I hung back with her while E took off for a singleton run. We played hard and soon black dog and E returned and I got to go out. I didn't have my iPod, and didn't even notice the lack of music. It was so beautiful running along the river. I am trying to get my pace a little faster (shocker...I am super slow!) and was able to keep the pace below 11 min/miles for the 1.75 miles I did on my own. I am happy to be back to what I love, and I am addicted! What makes it even better is that it is an activity my entire family can enjoy together.

Randomness

The day was sure to come....the day of complete random facts about me!

1. I am random, or at least seem to be. Generally there is a logically (to me) thought pattern in my head.

2.It wasn't until I consumed 14 shots of espresso and I became more calm that I was tested, and diagnosed with adult ADHD. (Explains a lot doesn't it)

3. Running did not become enjoyable to me until last year. In fact, until then the only running I did was after CB or for a cup of coffee.

4. Before I ran my half marathon, the farthest distance I had run was 7 miles.

5. Running with Team in Training has been the best thing I have ever done for myself. Not only am I making myself more healthy, but I am doing a wonderful thing.

6. I am a bib whore. I love earning them. Unfortunately, I am now moving onto medals :)

7. I love my husband! He has been one of the best supports I have had through my training adventure. He is the runner in the family, and I am trying to steal the title from him....until CB steals it from me.

8. Running in a skirt is better than running in shorts.

9. A light misty rain is the best weather to run less than five miles in. There is just something about how it feels against my face. Although it does cause my legs to itch, which leads to me having bruising from scratching up and down my thighs.

10. When I ran the Shamrock Run for the first time I was passed by two guys dressed as pints of Guiness. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't admit that....

11. Sometimes I feel like doing the cha cha while running because of the song on my iPod.

12. The first time my husband was deployed I took an exotic dance class for exercise. It was awesome. And no, there was no pole involved.

13. June 26th is the day I run my first marathon!!!

Hard Habit to Break

Just like Pavlov's dog, I am now conditioned to run on Saturdays. As I sit here I am about ready to scream because I have all this energy that I didn't get expelled this morning. Why didn't I run? Well I have a pain in my @$$. My piriformis muscle (a deep muscle in the backside) is very angry. It pretty much feels like a constant charley horse in my rear-end! Yesterday the pain got so bad I was using a pop can to sit on and roll over it. So after some serious (and I mean a good 45 minute self discussion) contemplation, I decided taking a rest day today would be better than a 10-mile run that could lead it to getting worse. The decision was really tough. I felt like I was being a weinie, what if it is just sore because I have been increasing miles and it isn't injured. Then I wondered if it was injured would it lead to the possibility of re-injuring my back. UGH!


I missed running. I missed my team. Never in my life did I imagine that I would love running. Tuesday I am heading to the physical therapist to see if they can help the piriformis. Last time I had something called A-STYM. It was pretty intense, but very helpful. Pretty much it is using hard plastic instruments to "scrape" the muscle and cause inflammation and blood flow, which then leads to increased healing. Last time I bruised, hopefully this time he can do a cool pattern ;)


Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!!!