Silent Mile

Today was a special run because it was really in honor of those that we are doing this for. It started out with the TNT intern telling why TNT is so important to her. Then the honored patients said a couple words of what TNT means to them. After a very meaningful opening to our morning Sarah and I set out on our run. The first mile we ran in silence in honor of those we are doing this for and taking time to reflect and think about what all this means to us and what we have accomplished.

On the first mile out I thought about Sara T and others that I know that are affected by blood cancers. I was happy that the silent mile was today because it is Sara's birthday and I am always sad that I didn't do more for her when she needed friends and family the most. She is an incredible person and doesn't let cancer define her, she defines herself. I am glad that I could run in celebration of her on her birthday. I thought of what TNT does for LLS and how LLS saves our loved ones. It really pumped me up to know that I was helping in some small way and that research in this are is making such great strides because of what we are doing.

I was FULL of energy today. I started off a lot faster than normal but I couldn't slow myself down. The first mile and a half had a lot of muddy spots so that slowed me down because I had to walk through those or else I would have fallen and broken something. I almost did fall at one point but a fellow Nike member was nice enough to grab me before anything fatal happened. After that section though, Sarah and I flew through the next 2 1/2 miles. We barely stopped at the water stops and on the way back through the muddy section we went slow through the mud but fast everywhere else.

For the last mile on the way back, I thought about how much I have grown as a runner because of TNT. It is amazing all the things TNT has given me. I am proud of my growth as a runner, and I am proud of my fundraising for something that affects so many. TNT has made something that I started so selfishly become something bigger than me and more important than I could have hoped for. At the very end Sarah took off at a sprint and while I can't sprint as fast as her, I did speed up to what I could and I was only a few steps behind her. I was really proud of myself for this. I am glad that she pushed me or else I totally would have kept going at the same speed and not pushed myself to completion. I feel like Sarah and I are a good running team. I'm really glad that I found her.

There was a fundraising faux pas yesterday. My sister called to tell me that I was way over my $5000 goal and I couldn't believe it. I was right not to believe it. Another team member's donations got put in my slot. It will be remedied on Monday. I am still $600 away from my goal. Tomorrow I think I am going boot blocking with Sarah probably around 11am so hopefully that will bring in a nice little sum. Please drive by and give me your change!! Call me or FB me if you want to know where we will be boot blocking. Please encourage others to either drive by with their change or just bring me their change. Thank you for all your support!

Routine

I got up a touch later on Wednesday than I had on Monday to get my run in. Fortunately the weather was still nice outside. The sun was shining and the air was cool. Starting out later also meant that on the way home, school had already started so traffic was gone! Atreyu and I headed out to do the 2 miles together and to start with the slow hill down and end with the steep hill last.

We started out great. Trey ran behind me for the first half but didn't make me drag him, so plus. Then for the second half when the run got harder, he shot out in front of me and kept looking back like, "are you coming?". The run itself felt easy even going up the steep hill. It is nice to know that these really short miles are become like a nice walk around the block.

Once we got back I threw Atreyu into the shower with me and gave him a good scrub down. He gave me the, "why are you doing this to me? I promise to be better." face. Then when I toweled him down he thought that was a game and when I whipped the towel off of him he shot out and around the house like a pinball.

Then I finished cleaning up and got myself out the door to start my day. My short mileage runs are becoming less interesting, but I am happy about this because it means they are becoming easy and routine. Thank you for reading and supporting. Tell those you know to help me raise money to cure blood-related diseases!

Back to school. Back to school.

This morning was incredible. For some reason I had a fire in me and I started out pretty fast for me. I thought about trying to make myself slow down but then decided that since it is a short run that I would just see how long the fire lasted.

The weather this morning was everything I could have asked for. No humidity, cool air, and a cool breeze. I felt like I could fly. On the way out I run past a high school and now that school is back in session, going past the school is a little tricky again because there are cars coming and going from everywhere. But they are pretty good people driving and they wait for me and let me pass.

About half way through my run I hit that park that I told you about in an earlier post and it was glorious. There were no camps there! It was almost empty except the occasional biker/runner/walker. I didn't have to weave through kids or worry about their unpredictability. I slowed down a slight touch about this point but I was still moving faster than usual.

I flew the rest of the way home. Even the half mile slight incline didn't seem to phase me. I got home and I didn't time my run but I new I had gone much faster than usual because I made it back before boyfriend left for work and if I had gone my normal pace I wouldn't have come close to making it back before he left. I feel really great about today.

I am sending out thank you letters for all my recent donations today. I am hoping to decide on a new fundraiser soon. I am about $600 away from my goal!

Thank you for all your support!

meh.

Saturday's run was a mixture of disappointment and pride all mixed into one which equals meh. It was my first 16 miles so I was nervous and excited all at the same time. I got to the trail and the weather was beautiful. I put a quick thank you in to the big man upstairs and then started the run with Sarah and was quickly joined by our mentor Amy.

We started out slightly faster than usual, but not much. It felt like a good pace though so I didn't question it. The trail was a loop of 8 miles that we did twice. The first loop was pretty smooth, although on the way back Sarah started to pick up the pace and Amy and I had to slow her down because we knew we wouldn't be able to do a second loop at that pace.

Before starting the second loop I put some athletic tape on my knees and gave some to Amy because my hips were really sore for some reason and it was making my knees sore. The tape really helped but all along the second loop I kept getting more and more sore. The last 4 miles were actually a little painful for me. I had serious mental struggle with the last 4 miles.

Right at the beginning of the last 4 miles, Amy got sick from over-hydrating/fueling. We walked with her for a minute and then I ran a slow pace with her and Sarah took off ahead of us like her amazing self. Amy stayed with me most of the way but the last half mile she sped up and finished out her mileage with a bang. I slowly made it back to the finish. It was a struggle. In the end I was proud of myself because I didn't give up and walk, I ran everything except that minute with Amy and Sarah, and because I finished 16 miles for the first time. But I was also disappointed with myself because I was so slow and my body was not cooperating with me. I feel like I could have done so much better. So all in all, I feel very meh about the whole situation.

After the run I swung by the waldo-mart picked up 2 bags of ice and went home to take an ice-bath. I was also very fail-cakes at this. I only lasted 10 minutes in it instead of the instructed 15-20. I got in and it was so cold that my feet were in pain. I almost screamed and cried from the pain. It felt good on my legs, hips, and butt, but my feet burned and stiffed. So after 10 minutes I crawled out of the tub and sat on the floor waiting for the burning to stop and some movement to come back to my feet and then I got in a luke-warm shower. I think I am going to talk to coach Jen about this because I was very worried about my feet. I was sore for the rest of the day, but today I am feeling much better if not a little tired.

My boyfriend's family is donating today! So a little more to add to the fundraising pot. I am going to try and boot-block with Sarah the next time she goes out. Please donate if you haven't already and encourage those you know to donate! Click on the link above the posts to get to my fundraising page. Thank you for all your support!