Running home from BiLo

Today was quite an interesting day. We really only had one commitment, and that was to meet the owner of the pedicab business downtown. Phil has gotten a taxi license, and I am getting one on Tuesday. We are both going to drive pedicabs on the weekends to make some money. It is such a cool idea- I am going to get paid to cross-train! The pedicab is 100 pounds, and can probably hold 3 adults comfortably. Wow. And it is fairly hilly downtown!

What was really exciting was, there was a friend of the owners outside the building, and he said that "obviously" we were both cyclists! And the owner said that we were both "obviously" in good shape, but would probably lose weight doing this job! Two people in one day said I was obviously in shape- I don't think that has EVER happened before.

Well we both took turns riding each other and Jacob around downtown, to get a feel for the pedicab. It is a bit tricky to turn, and you really have to concentrate on staying in the middle of the lane since it's so wide. I rode them around for about 20-30 minutes and it was hard work!

Then, just to be sure to get my mileage in, I had Phil drop me off at the Bi-Lo while he got things for our dinner. It is 2.66 miles to home, and I ran/walked it. I have found that I have a very hard time pacing myself, and go too fast and blow myself up. I am going to start running with a heart monitor on like I used to when I ran before. I can keep myself at a certain HR and keep myself from blowing up, and that helps me to run longer.

On this run, I was running down a fairly busy road, and it was funny- all of a sudden I was like- yeah, I am a runner! Up until now I have felt like a "wannabe", but out there on that road, I felt like a "real" runner. Wahooo!!!!!

And just to prove to myself I am a real runner, when I got home I got into an ice bath. BRRRR!!!

First run with TNT

Yesterday morning Phil and I rolled out of bed at 5:30 to get to Furman University and work out with TNT. I mistakenly tried to stay on my nutrition plan from the gym, and ate 1/2 cup of yogurt, protein powder, and a peach. Definitely NOT the thing to eat before running.

We met in front of the activities center, where the "newbies" got to meet the veterans and talk a little about the runs. We were supposed to run 2 miles yesterday, but we all agreed it might be fun to do the 5K course on the campus. Two of the vets ran with us, which might have caused us all to run a little fast...I felt pretty good for the first mile, I was keeping up conversation. Into the second mile I started to feel out of breath, and started slowing down. I finally did need to walk when we got to a steep hill. Another girl walked with me, until I caught my breath. Our mentor (one of the vets we ran with) came back for us, and we ran together until I started to feel dry heaves coming on so I told them I was walking again. I heaved a little then started running again, at a comfortable (read: slow) pace. I finished up and was talking to the coach when Phil saw me and stopped his watch- we figure it took 36 minutes maybe. Happily, Gatorade is one of our sponsors so we got a bottle of gatorade at the end. Yum! So, I will NOT follow the nutrition plan Saturdays, or at least Saturday mornings.

We then drove to Phil's bike race, which was a LOT of fun! He rode like an animal, was in several breaks, and was definitely the most aggressive rider in the race. I was so proud of him, but I could tell he was a little disappointed because he tried to bridge up to the break with 3 laps to go and just didn't have it in him. He had been so aggressive though, that it wasn't surprising that he just couldn't do it. He was AWESOME!

Today- probably a run on the treadmill. Also Phil and I will be meeting with the pedicab company to find out about driving pedicabs on weekends!

Wow, what a day!!!

OK, first of all, Wednesday I worked out with my personal trainer and we did a bootcamp workout and she KICKED MY BUTT!!! It was awesome- I almost threw up.

Yesterday- day off, except for some stretching. Today, I was busy most of the day but will do my pushups and crunches before bed. But the reason I was busy- I did my first fund drive! I sat outside Walmart from 10 A- 6 P. I raised $248! I was amazed when I counted it. It was shocking how many times I heard "My (aunt, uncle, cousin) had (is in remission, died from ) leukemia or lymphoma." It is such a widespread disease! And one of the people who donated and chatted with me, observed that it was those you wouldn't think would donate, that did. And those who looked like they had extra cash, didn't donate. These were my observations: Every gangster type guy who I asked, donated. Black men donated the most, followed by black women. Then white women, then white men. Not one latino or asian donated. No one wearing kelly green donated (well I was never a big fan of kelly green anyways!) Many young people donated. If it was an elderly man and woman together, they didn't donate. But elderly men by themselves did. It felt so good to help out this cause!

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving the house at 0545 to run for the first time with my coach and hopefully some of my teammates!!! Then we will be going to GA for Phil to do a race. It will be a sporty day! I hope your weekend is, too!

Tonight we had our meeting- this one was about fundraising. I got some posters and stuff for doing bucket drives, and some other things for sending letters and such. I also got my running schedule! It was so exciting- I got my envelope with my name on it, and when I opened it, the first page was "Patti's individual training plan- Marine Corp Marathon". Oh how exciting! It lists out each day what I am supposed to run- I will be running 5 days a week, with my long runs on Saturdays (with the group). There are actually 2 weeks before the plan starts, so I have a pre-training training schedule too! I will run at Furman on Saturday with the group- the rest of the week is going to be cross training, including an hour session with my personal trainer tomorrow! (she kicks my butt!)
The best part was talking with one of the volunteers and finding out more information about how to help out my dad. He will be going to the doctor's office many times over the next couple of weeks, to get a bunch of tests done before the port-a-cath is put in and he starts chemo. So I guess this will be like his pre-training training, too. I'm afraid mine will be much more enjoyable. And much easier too.

Ready to cross train

Well last night we went to the gym, and I ran on the treadmill. I was planning on doing 4 miles. After about 5 minutes I really didn't think I would make it through- I had a tightness in my right medial calf. This used to happen the last time I ran, too. I did 2.5 miles and called it quits.

I will cross train for the rest of the week until Saturday.

I have a meeting tonight for TNT so I am very excited about that!

Weekend

I went to my parent's house this weekend with Jacob to surprise my family. Jacob's b-day is coming so we had a little party for him too! He had a lot of fun with the birthday hat, as you can see!

Friday I drove to my parents (5 hours) and in the evening I went out with my sister to jog/walk. She is just starting to work out andso I think we did maybe 2 miles, mostly walking. I told her what was important was that she was out there moving.

Saturday, we were going to go on Ft. Bragg and run on one of the tracks, but I had a headache and her shins hurt, so we skipped it. And then- I told my mama that I had been craving chicken wings, so she made them for me! I felt like an Italian boy! (The mamas always waited on them hand and foot while the girls had to do all the chores).

Today, woke up with same headache. We drove back and instead of 5 hours, it took us 6. There had been some sort of big accident and so we were stuck in standstill/inch forward traffic for an hour. It really did not bother me, because I didn't have a schedule to keep up with. Plus, I was better off behind the accident than to be in it.

I am REALLY looking forward to getting a run in tomorrow. And now that our pool is open, I can really get that ice bath after a run!

This run ROCKED!

Back when I was running before Jacob, I very often had awesome runs. The kind where everything seemed just right, the traffic wasn't too bad and you could smell the salt air; you would see the regulars and had enough energy at the end of the run to go down to the beach and jump into the waves. Of course that had been after lots of training, and once the miles don't seem like torture they can be a lot of fun.
Right now, I am getting most of my running in on the treadmill. I find treadmill running boring, but constant. As in, I can set it at a certain speed and stay at that speed. I don't have to worry about accidentally slowing down, etc. I pop in the earphones and run. Well today, even though it was on the TM, I had an excellent run. First of all, I ran 3 miles, stopping to walk only so that I could get my shirt off. I finished that 3 miles in 34:30, so not too bad. Then I still felt good, so I decided to do some of those little "sprints". I alternated fast walking with little :30 bursts, first at 7 mph, then 7.5, and finally 8 mph. It felt so great! At 8mph I could maintain 30 seconds but probably not much longer. But it really felt GOOD! It reminded me of some of the runs I did in the Army, or again, finishing sprints at the beach with my running partner (who shall remain nameless!!!)
And today's favorite song on the run: Let's Groove, by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It's a song from my childhood. It makes me think of dancing with my family in our family room in our old house, laughing and having a good time. And that is what families are for!

It;s a beautiful day!

So hard to roll out of bed this morning- I slept like a rock last night! Phil and I went to sleep when the new Law and Order:SVU came on, so you have to know we were tired. We rarely miss that show, even in repeats.
So roll out of bed I did, and went to the gym. Rode 15 minutes on the bike (about 4 miles) then did some little "sprints" on the treadmill. Since my hamstrings were still sore, I didn't think I could run a solid 15 minutes before my training session, so I walked at a fast pace and then did 1-2 minute sprints. I did them at 6 mph, then 6.5 mph, then 7 mph. I think I could have even gotten up to 7.5 mph but I ran out of time. (Fave song for this workout- The Devil Went Down to Georgia)
Session with Steph- 30 minutes of arms- bicep, tricep, shoulders, chest. And some abs thrown into the mix. It was a hard, hard workout again. We have really stepped it up a notch!

We don't know yet when the bone marrow biopsy will be. But I will keep you posted!! Enjoy some fresh air today!

Tired Tuesday

Today was a day off from training. Good thing because my hamstrings are SORE!!! Stephanie put me through such a great workout yesterday.

I worked a little more on my letter today, but I had a lot to do work-wise so I didn't sdo much more than that. I am happy to say that my fundraising on my website is now at $50! I still have a long way to go but I am so grateful that people have started giving for this fantastic cause!

Plans for tomorrow include another killer workout with Stephanie as well as 30 minutes cardio done beforehand. I am planning on going out to Furman University to meet up with the Greenville Track Club for the first time. It sounds like they are very family oriented so my little one can run a race too!

Remember to take some time in your day to relax too. Too often we push ourselves too much and everyone needs some rest!!

Monday, Monday

Tired today!! I wnet to the gym this morning and did about 20 minutes on the treadmill- half of that I walked backwards! Then Stephanie (my trainer) put me through a HARD workout, working the hamstrings and abs. I was sweating like a pig! It was a great workout.

Today I am working on my list of addresses to send my fund-raising letter to. The Leukemia & Lymphoma society wants us to try to send a letter to 100 people or more. It is funny when you get down to it, I don't know if I know 100 people! But I am trying to get it all together. I also have to write my letter today, so that I can bring a draft of it to our next meeting. I actually think the fundraising might be harder than the training!! But I am determined to stick with it!!

Hope everyone gets a chance to get their heart pumping today!!

Sunday May 6

Well today I was feeling a little tired. We have had a bit of a virus running around our family so I tried to rest a bit so we could go to the gym tonight.

I ended up doing the elliptical for 20 minutes. I went really hard and it ended up being a mile and a half. I try to do some of it backwards each time, so today I did 15 minutes regular and then the last 5 minutes I did backwards. By running the elliptical backward you end up using different muscles, especially the hamstrings. I am trying to keep the hamstrings in shape since runners tend to develop their quads out of proportion to their hamstrings. I also work on that by walking backward on the treadmill- it looks funny but it works!!

I hope that this blog will motivate some people to keep themselves moving too!

I am official!

I did it- I signed up today for the Marine Corp Marathon with Team in Training. I have about 20 weeks to get ready for it. I am running for my dad, who was just diagnosed with diffuse Bcell lymphoma. He will be getting chemo while I train, and when I run at the end of October he will be near the end of his chemo.

I started this blog so that my donors can track my progress and see what I am doing to get ready for this big race!

Today, I did 3 miles on the treadmill since it has rained all day. I did my 3 miles with two brief walk breaks- they totaled about 5 minutes. While I am running I like to listen to music, and I daydream too. Today's fave songs were: Jesus Walks (Kanye West) and the theme from Rocky. My daydreams: squashing cancer cells with each step. Also running to the beat of: kill. cancer. kill. cancer. as well as dad. Jenny. dad. Jenny. Jenny is a girl I met on the Runner's World forum whose dad had the same type of lymphoma as my dad. Jenny is fighting Hodgkin's disease right now.

This picture is from the end of my three miles at the gym. Looks great, doesn't it?