Taking a Break

Happy holidays, all! I cannot believe it's Christmas Eve! I'm at work for part of the day today, so it totally doesn't feel like it's Christmas tomorrow.

I went to the doctor yesterday. I did not get a Cortisone shot, because the doctor thought more rest would be better. Through all of his tests, I had no pain, so he's perplexed as to why I had pain on my run. He suggested wearing my knee brace to run from now on. So I'm going to rest until 2009, and then I'll try to run again. If my knee is still flaring up, then I'll get the shot right before we leave for Disney.

I probably won't blog much until after the holidays. I'm going to focus on resting and not thinking about running or the race. Instead I'm focusing on the great things that happened in 2008:

1. I got a new, amazing job.
2. Michael passed his LEED certification exam.
3. We expanded our family to include Boots Marmion, another massive orange cat.
4. I ran two half-marathons and exceeded my personal longest distance with an 18.5 mile run on 12/6/08.
5. We raised $4,265.00 to help eradicate blood cancers!!
5. Many of our friends got married, engaged, or had babies.
6. We have a wonderful family and more great friends than we can count.
7. We're healthy and happy.

That's the important stuff. I hope you all have a nice list of things to be happy about from 2008, and here's to a fantastic 2009!

This Could Be It

I went out for my test run this morning. I got a mile in and was in the exact same amount of pain again. I walked home and realized, this might be the end. And that's ok. I know it's disappointing for everyone and for me, but what can I do? I think my body's telling me it got as far as it can for now.

This was never about running a marathon for me. That was just an incentive, because I love to run almost as much as I love a challenge. This has been a really hard journey, and this might be the end of it.

I'm going to see my doctor on Tuesday, and I suspect he'll confirm this. And again, that's ok. Disney World will always be there. Hopefully, cancer will not be, and whether or not I cross that finish line won't change that either way. But the money we raised will.

I watched the end of one of my favorite movies, "It's a Wonderful Life," before my run this morning. I cried, as usual. My favorite line expresses exactly how I'm feeling right now:

"No man is a failure who has friends." Thank you all for being my friends. I love you all so much. I hope I made you proud. Merry Christmas.

Does this make me a yogi?

Status update: I'm feeling pretty good. (Knock on every piece of wood you can find right now!) I've been doing the recommended stretches, which take about 10 minutes, three times a day. I've been taking Motrin and icing my knee, even though it's not hurting anymore nor is it swollen. It's not even as tender when I press on it. I haven't felt any pain walking down stairs in days. I'm not wearing the knee brace. I think I am getting the rest I need.

Plus, I've done yoga 3 times since the injury started. I adore yoga. I know I'm not even working off one of the many cookies I had last night, but not only do I feel focused and refreshed, but I feel stronger. I think I have to work that into my new routine, which will involve LESS running beginning January 12.

I'm going to try to run on Saturday. I'll be doing a tenth of what my teammates are, but I've finally come to grips with that. Michael and I are going to go out leisurely, and we'll see how I feel with new shoes (that I've walked about 5 miles in) and stretching before and after. Then if that feels ok, the plan is to do a short, 3-mile run on Monday, and then I see my doctor on Tuesday. Then I might rest again until our 10-mile run the following Saturday. By then, I'm hoping I'll be back to normal. If I'm not, I'll force myself to rest some more.

I've received such an outpouring of support from my family, friends, even people I've never met. I don't deserve it, but it has REALLY helped me through this. Dad says this is my badge of honor now.

And the BEST news----Team in Training asked me to be a mentor next season!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!! I cannot wait to meet the new team. At least I'll have some good stories for them now.

All I want for Christmas is for my knees not to hurt.

10607

I was logging in to post something, and I was entering my password, which includes "10607," our wedding date. This changed the entire feeling behind my post. Be thankful for what you got, Therese.

I went to the best sports doc in Philadelphia tonight, and he said I should not run the 20 miles this Saturday. The original title for this post was 12/20/08, because I have been dreading/excited about this date since I got my training schedule. He wants me to rest. I might get a Cortizone shot in my knee next week so I can do the marathon.

The most discouraging thing he said? "If you can't do 10 miles, you can't do 26.2." Excuse my French, but screw that. I'm doing it no matter what. I'm taking a break, a well-deserved one and coach-approved, and I'm running a freakin marathon in a few weeks. I don't care if my leg falls off.

It stinks. This isn't how I planned it. When do I get to rest on my laurels? But as my husband reminded me, this is part of my journey. I'm never, ever taking this journey again. Right now I feel a bit lost on my journey. But it will make the finish line (God willing I make it to the start) that much sweeter.

I'm not going to be down about this. Screw this. Again, excuse my French, but I wish I had a Size 10 shoe to throw at my doctor. We all came too far. We have to see this through.

My husband, who promised to take me out on a 2-mile run on Saturday, thinks I can do it, so I do also. God knows he's gotten through worse than an illiotibial band strain.

A Long Walk

I went out for our 9 mile run this morning. Our coach and I decided that this would be a test run. If I didn't feel right, I'd go back.

At about mile 2.25, I realized that I was doing more harm than good, and I made the very hard decision to go back. I thought I'd run the rest of the way back. I couldn't do it. My knee, even with the brace on, hurt. My other knee has started to hurt in the same way.

I walked over two miles in the wind and freezing cold, and I cried. I passed all of my landmarks that always make me so happy at Cooper River--the hotel where we got engaged, the dog park that's always filled with adorable pooches, the parking lot right before the one I park in when I know that I'm almost done with my run and start to congratulate myself. It broke my heart. This walk took 30 minutes. I wanted to run, because I was so cold, but I couldn't. I did a lot of soul-searching out there all alone. Unfortunately, I didn't find much except a massive feeling of failure.

I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and I'm not attempting to run until then. My coach suggested I take the week off, which I will probably do. Our 20 mile run is scheduled for next Saturday, and I really want to be able to do that.

I cannot tell you how awful I feel. It's like there's this bad thing hanging over my head all of the time. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I can't figure out why it won't get better.

I don't feel like myself anymore. I've come to define myself through my running. I don't like changing my routine. I miss my shorter, solitary runs. I feel broken, bad, wrong, alone. I feel like a failure.

I know I have friends and family members out there who read this, and I don't want you to worry or feel like you need to cheer me on. I'll be fine. I just needed to get these feelings out. I hope that in a month, I'll read this and wonder why the heck I was so upset. I pray that will happen.

I guess this is the hard part

I went out for my scheduled 4 miles this morning, the last back-to-back mid-week run on the schedule, and I had to turn back after a mile. I eeked out 2.25 miles at a 9:05/mile pace. I could have gone longer, but my knee hurt from start to finish, so I thought I shouldn't aggravate it anymore.

I'm frustrated. I feel like I'm doing all of the right things, but it's still not cooperating. I left a message for my sports doc, so hopefully he can give me some advice. Now my other knee is getting achey.

The hardest part is dealing with the unknown. I don't know if I should wear a knee brace, change my shoes again, stop running, etc, etc. I wish someone could just tell me how it's going to turn out, because I feel like I'm not in control of anything.

While I had my personal pity party this morning, my husband reminded me how proud he was of me. Between my tears about how I was going to let everyone down and how I would be ruining our vacation if I can't do the marathon, he just kept saying how proud he was of me.

Then I'm reminded of people being diagnosed with blood cancers. Talk about the unknown and not having control. Maybe I should count my blessings more.

So that's it. Deal with the unknown. I feel like a failure, but I know I'm not. I may not run the 20 miles next Saturday. I may not run the marathon. Anything can happen. I'll just keep on keeping on and hope that God and my knees will allow me to cross the finish line. It's hard not to feel discouraged when you've trained for so long, but I should be proud of how far I've come, right?

If I make it, this will be my one and only marathon. This stuff is for the birds.

Back to training

I went out this morning for my scheduled 5 mile run. It started well. It was 60 degrees at 6am, which was a nice change. It was raining, but I don't mind running in the rain too much. About a mile in, I was doing an 8:35-mile and I felt good. Then I started to feel a little nagging pain in my knee. Pretty much all of the muscles in my legs are sore from the 18-mile run on Saturday and the yoga I did yesterday. My abs are killing me from yoga, but that means it was working. However, because I was tentative about my knee, and a little annoyed, I slowed down a bit. It didn't feel bad or worse than it's felt before. I was just used to about 24 hours of no pain at all, so I was annoyed that I felt anything. I was wearing my knee brace. At about mile 4, I had to stop twice to stretch out and kind of "pop" my knee back into place. As the doctor explained yesterday, the IT band gets moved out of its correct place on your knee, and that's why you feel pain in that spot. I found that if I just moved it back a little, the pain subsided. And when I got home, I walked down the stairs without my knee brace on, and I had no pain. I could not have done that last week, so I see that as a good sign. I'm wearing this brace all of the time, just in case. It ruined my plan to wear a skirt today, but that's alright.

I wound up finishing the 5 miles at an average of 9:35-min/mile. That's slower than I've been on short runs in a long time, but that's ok. Every part of me kind of hurts now, abs, shoulders, arms, quads, etc. I'm supposed to run 4 miles tomorrow. This is the last week with 3 training runs, and I already skipped one, so I'm going to go for the 4 tomorrow morning. I'll rest on Friday and not work out at all, and then we have 9 miles on Saturday morning. I'll see how everything feels during the 4 miler tomorrow, and if I have to stop, I'll stop. It's so hard to force myself to rest, but I have to do it. One month until race day!

Great News!

I saw a sports doctor this morning, and he said I'm fine to continue my training, and I should be fine for the marathon. PHEW! I currently have no pain. I skipped the training run scheduled for Monday and opted for 30 minutes on the elliptical. I also did yoga this morning, which seems to have really helped. I don't feel sore at all from the 18 mile run on Saturday. I feel no pain at all in my knee, even when I go down stairs. The doctor thinks my knee was just aggravated, not injured, which is such great news. I'm going to try for 5 miles tomorrow and see how I feel.

Thanks to all of you who offered advice, pain relievers, and prayers. It worked! I feel such support from my family and friends, and I could not be more grateful.

18 Miles

Alison, you were right. I had a great run this morning! For the first time I feel like I can do a marathon. I'm not going to lie, this was my longest run ever, and it was pretty hard. My brain was good to go. Having Gail and Chris by my side the entire time made the time pass so quickly. My knee felt ok. Towards the end, I would get some twinges of pain, but it was never severe pain in the least. It actually felt best when I was in my zone and going. Stopping anf starting wasn't as comfortable.

We did 18 miles in about 3 hours and 15 minutes. There were some bathroom and refreshment breaks, but overall, we were between a 9:45 and 10-min mile pace throughout. We stayed consistent, which was key. Gail and Chris are two of the most positive people I knew, so the conversation was light and happy even in the hardest moments (another hill on Forbidden Drive??). At about Mile 4, I was screaming quotes from "Wedding Crashers," (MOM! The meatloaf!) By Mile 13, we could hardly believe we ONLY had 5 miles to go and were congratulating ourselves on finishing a half-marathon. At around Mile 16.5, I was done. My mind just went, "Therese, for reals? This is ridonk. I'm outtie." So it left, and I zoned out. Following my two buddies was the only thing that got me through.

They ran up the Rocky steps at the end, but I chose not to. The steps up wouldn't have been a problem, but I have my worst pain when I go down stairs. I cheered them on, and yes, this is embarrassing, I started crying. Just a little. I had been so nervous about this run, and I could not believe we did it. As Gail ran down the steps to give me a hug, I felt and said that this is the happiest I've been in a long time. What a feeling.

I did an ice bath (seriously, I love them!) when I got home and took a nice nap. I'm definitely sore, but I think my old shoes are to blame. I was too superstitious to wear my new ones, but I think that was the last run with my old tried-and-trues. The best part is that all day, my wonderful husband keeps saying, "I'm so proud of you." I still don't think he gets that I do all of this for him, so hearing those words makes every step worth it.

Thanks for your love and prayers. We did it!

Your Words Are My Strength

It's 6:45am. In a little over an hour, I'll start my biggest run to date, 18 miles. I'm nervous. I saw the doctor yesterday, and he thinks I'm doing all of the right things for my knee and will be fine. My pain when he was checking my range of motion was minimal. The knee brace I got has really helped. I'm going to see a sports doc on Tuesday, so no matter what happens today, I'll have some medical support early next week.

Because I was feeling a little scared, I decided to go to my webpage and reread all of the amazing things people posted on my page when they made donations. All this week, I have been feeling badly that I might be letting all of these people down if I can't do the race. This morning I realized that this is not the case at all. I remembered the reason I'm doing this. It's not to win, it's to finish. It's to put a mark on the fight against blood cancers. I was so inspired by the words of my family and friends, and I remembered that we have already accomplished an even bigger goal--raising almost $4,300 for research! I'm going to go kick some you-know-what this morning for all of you!

Personal Pep Talk

Ok, so I'm an injured runner. I probably have an ITB injury in my right knee. It's one of the most common overuse injuries, but it's got me SO down. I know I can get through the run this weekend, but I'm nervous about it getting worse. I have 3 more big runs...18 miles on Sat, 20 miles on 12/20, and 26.2 miles in Disney. I want to be able to do them without pain. I don't know if I can. I'm scared.

More than that, I'm frustrated. I'm so damn close to the end. DAMN this! Come on! Of course it makes sense that this is when I would get injured, but it's so annoying. I am angry at my body. I just wanted to do this. I am obsessing and I need some perspective. I have to stop feeling sorry for myself.

So that's it. I will finish. I will. I will always be a runner, even if I have to take a break, even if I have to walk, even if I can't compete. I raised the money, I'm helping people, this isn't all for nothing. I will do this.

Now I just have to read this every time I walk down stairs in pain and curse my right leg and start to cry.

39 Days!

Wow, I cannot believe how close the marathon is! We got a bunch of information about the event weekend today. Breakfast at 2:15am on race day. Yikes! I'm so excited.

I went out with my new kicks for the first time this morning. They are great. I had a really good run. I did 5 miles without stopping halfway through, which I always do. I ran an 8:47 average mile and finished in 44 minutes. Another contributing factor to my good run was that I bought new headphones last night. They're the kind that hook around your ear so that they don't fall out. I swear, I was pushing those earbuds back in my ears every 1/2 mile with my old ones. I had no idea what a difference that would make. Plus, I had Michael with me. He did almost his entire 2 miles without stopping. I told him he's a serious runner now. I'm sure his new iPod helped his motivation also. It was a cold morning, but not windy. That made a big difference.

My right knee is a little twitchy. That's the best way to describe it. It's not sore. It feels out of whack, like I need to pop it back to its happy place or something. It hurts when I walk and go down stairs, but it felt fine to run on. I'll take it easy in preparation for our 18-mile run this weekend.

Here's a picture of most of my awesome team. We all went out to dinner two Sundays ago after the Philly Marathon. I did the half, and our coach, Gary (second in on left), did the full. His wife, Bobbi (third in on left), is a walk coach. I don't know what TNT would do without this dynamo duo! And I don't know what I'd do without all of these guys. Thanks for the picture, Ed!

Bad Blogger

The holiday this weekend has made me super lazy with this blog. Since my last entry, I've had 3 training runs. On Thursday, yes I worked out on Thanksgiving, I went with Kristin and Kara to a Zumba class at Kristin's gym in Toms River. Wow, it was the most fun I've ever had in a class. I had never heard of it before. I hope my gym gets in with the Zumba soon. It's basically a dance/cardio class, but it's so much fun. Sure, I'm not going to be hired as a backup dancer for Britney's new tour, but I had fun. There was a wide range of types of people there, and we had a blast. Then we ate lots of yummy food and had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

On Friday morning, Michael and I went to the local community college and ran on the track. I did 4 miles without stopping, which I don't usually do. I averaged an 8:32-minute mile! Michael did really well also. His high-five every time I passed him definitely helped me power through 16 laps around the track.

Then on Saturday morning, I did 8 miles. It was a little bit of a struggle, because I had essentially done cardio 4 days in a row leading up to Saturday. Also, I have a wicked cold. All in all though, I did a sub 9-min mile throughout, and I felt good. Then it was off to NY for more Thanksgiving gorging and family fun.

This morning I was really not feeling great. Now I'm coughing also. It was warmer out, about 50 degrees, and Michael came out with me. I did 4 miles at an average of 8:42/mile. I'm going to reward myself by getting some new sneaks today. I am in desperate need of new ones. According to my running journal, I have logged over 300 miles since the middle of August, and I've had these sneakers since January. Oops.

TNT also asked me to apply to be a team mentor next season. I am honored. It was a great experience last year, so I hope I can help again.

I need another cough drop...

Turkey Lurkey

I'd say I'm sufficiently ready for Turkey Day! After the half marathon on Sunday (and yes, I did shave 2 min off my best time!), I ran 5 miles this morning against the wind, and I think I did pretty well. I averaged an 8:53/mile. YAY! It wasn't too too cold this morning, but I have a slight cold, so my chest hurt a bit trying to breath through the congestion and the cold weather. However, nothing cures a groggy morning like a run, and now I feel wonderful.

I'm looking forward to a great weekend with both sides of our family. We leave this afternoon for my mother-in-law's. Tomorrow morning, my sis-in-law and I are going to a Zumba class at her gym. It sounds so fun! And Michael asked ME to bring my running gear so that we can run on Friday morning. I know, he is so great! I am very impressed. So this trip to Toms River, I am packing more workout gear than regular clothes. How odd. At least we'll all work off the crazy amount of good food we're going to eat.

I'd like to add how grateful I am for all of the blessings in my life--my job, my ability to run, my TEAM, my friends, my big extended family, all of my parents, my in-law sibs, my hysterical brother whom I miss dearly, and, of course, my partner in life, Michael. I love you all. May you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Philly Half Marathon

What a weekend! It started on the best note ever--Michael passed his LEED exam on Friday afternoon! I am so excited for him and thoroughly impressed. It's one of the steps towards him getting his license, and what a weight off his mind.

Then we had a surprise party for my mother-in-law in Toms River on Saturday. We started the day with a quick 2-mile jog. Michael's getting better and better every day, and he's my favorite running partner. The party was SUCH fun! Everyone was there, even my parents and Joanne's as well. It was such a wonderful day. I only wish I could have stayed over, but the Philly Half Marathon was this morning!

I was not totally into it, what with all of the other excitement going on. Plus now that I've done 16 miles, 13.1? Pishaw! Just kidding. It was 28-degrees when I left the house at 6:00 am. TWENTY-EIGHT. I wore three shirts, two pairs of pants, a hat, and two pairs of gloves. These were actually very wise decisions, and I felt fine. I was least excited about waiting at the start, but I shouldn't have worried, because by the time I packed myself in with the other 18,000 runners, we were starting!

It was a really cool route, through Center City, Old City, Delaware Avenue, South Philly, Society Hill, West Philly and the Zoo, and then back down MLK Drive to the Art Museum. I would have loved it more if there hadn't been so many hills. Thank goodness no one told me about that beforehand, because that would have been a mind-killer. I kept on keeping on, waited for the Clif shots that never materialized despite being on the map for mile 9, and I finished in a little over 2 hours. My Garmin said it was 2 hours, 6 minutes. I ran the last 3 miles without a break, because I think I'm a superstar. The Philly Marathon website has no results, so I have no idea what my chip time was. However, if it was 2:06, that's 2 minutes faster than I did the Philadelphia Distance Run only 2 months ago. Yes!

I feel fine now. It was an anti-climactic end, and I just went home and did homework and slept, but tonight I'm off to dinner with a bunch of people from my team. Should be fun!

Oh and because I love how Amy and Derrick do this, but I can't figure out "jumps," here are my stats:

Distance: 13.21 miles
Time: 2:06:44
Average Pace: 9:35/mile
Average Speed: 6.3 mph
Total Calories: 1346 (which I ate at the party last night)
Average Heartrate: 169 bpm
Total Ascent: 4,241 ft (ridonkulous)

Hello to my avid readers from the Passarella family! You're so sweet to keep up with my progress, and your love and support means the world to me.

Seventeen Years

Today is a very special day. Not only is it my mother-in-law's birthday, it is also the 17 year anniversary of the day that Michael was diagnosed with leukemia. He was 11-years-old. Every year, Mom Marmion commemorates it as a celebration. Today, on her special day, she made a point to reach out to all of her kids and remember this day as the day that their family was forever changed. It's amazing. That must have been one of the most terrible days of her life, and rather than try every day to forget those dark and difficult days, she works hard to remember it on this day and every day. She appreciates every moment with Michael and is grateful that they all made it through such a horrible ordeal. If you can't tell, I am extremely impressed by my mother-in-law.

I don't know about you, but I find myself often getting annoyed by lots of things. Why did I miss that train? I'm tired. Of course the cats knocked something over again. I don't feel like doing my homework. I don't feel like running. Pooooooor me. Days like today make me realize how lucky I truly am. We are all usually a lot luckier than we realize.

I know it's not very cool to gush so publicly about my husband, but I adore him, so I don't care. Sorry, baby. Michael is the nicest and most caring person I have ever met. He teaches me compassion and patience. He supports every stupid thing and every (rare) smart thing that I do and say. I cannot imagine loving a human being more than this selfless, kind, intelligent, hysterical man.

In 1991, I was in seventh grade. My biggest worries were if my ultra hair-sprayed bangs would look nice today, if I would get a part in the Christmas play, if the boy I liked would talk to me, and if I'd ever meet Johnny Depp from my new favorite movie, Edward Scissorhands. My parents were worried about the public school boys I was hanging out with, the makeup I was wearing, and if I was growing up too fast.

At the same time, Michael's parents were worried if he'd make it through this. If only I had known that the love of my life, my partner, was fighting for his life at the same time. We only met thanks to the advances in medicine made possible by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and by the grace of God. And I thank them both every day for letting me meet this wonderful man.

Twilight

No, I'm not going to gush about the movie or book about vampires, although I am not-so-secretly looking forward to seeing the movie and delving into Book 2 of the horribly written yet compelling book series. However, I did have a weird Twilight moment last night. I was giving blood, and the nurse saw my Francesca Lia Block book that I had with me. She asked about it, and when I started describing it, she admitted that she was crazy about the Twilight series. We talked about it for the duration of my donation, which was super weird, talking about vampires while blood's pouring out of my veins. Ew.

This morning's run was like running in twilight. The sun was just coming up, so it was dawn/duskish and so beautiful. I was a little tired from my donation, so I did 5 miles at a 9:10/mile pace. I was proud of that. It was 28 degrees and windy, however. Bundled as I was, my hands still managed to become completely numb. When I got inside, I guess the blood rushing back into my fingers caused EXTREME pain. It felt like I had just slammed both hands in a car door. I was in tears, and it lasted a good five minutes. Poor Michael had no idea what to do and was trying to be so helpful, but I couldn't even bend them. Thankfully, it didn't last long. I need two sets of gloves, I suppose.

Speaking of, Michael has been so incredibly busy this week, and he still wanted to run this morning. I was so impressed. He took my stop watch and old MP3 player, and he did 2 miles at about a 10 min mile pace. He only stopped twice. When I first started running, I couldn't even run for more than 5 minutes without stopping. 3/4 of a mile took me 40 minutes. I'm really impressed by his progress.

This weekend is the Philadelphia Marathon. I'm doing the half on Sunday morning. Sounds like I better bundle up again. The high for Sunday is 42 degrees. I guess it's officially winter!

Then we're having a Team dinner at Pizzeria Uno's on Sunday night. I'm so excited to hang out with my teammates in normal clothes and meet the special guys/gals in their lives. We are all going to have so much fun in Disney!

And if you haven't checked lately, I'm at my official grand fundraising total--$4,210!!!! Thanks everyone. Giving blood yesterday and reading all of the stories of people in need made it even clearer how important this journey truly is. Thank you all for taking it with me. We are really making a difference!

Poor Thighs

After Saturday's run, standing all night Saturday night at the wine auction, and walking around on Sunday at Harry Potter Day at work, my poor thighs were so not feeling a run on Monday morning. They're still a little sore. But I did 4 miles as scheduled on Monday morning. I did about an 8:40ish mile (can't remember). I'm officially much faster now. It's weird, it's just my pace now. I am curious to see how I'll do at the Philly Half Marathon this Sunday compared to the Philly Distance Run two months ago.

I just have to say that I'm so grateful that I'm still healthy and I'm done with my fundraising. Sure, the long runs are getting harder, but I'm actually pretty fortunate with everything.

I'm looking forward to chowing down at Thanksgiving. How is it only a week away?? There's so much I'm grateful for. I joined a Yahoo group of TNT people, and a lot of them are survivors running their 3rd, 4th, 5th marathons. I continue to be astounded by people. It really puts it all in perspective how lucky I am. My poor thighs can shut up :)

New Milestone!

I ran my longest distance, 16 miles, this morning! I did really well, considering the circumstances:

1. It was pouring for most of the run.
2. I didn't get the message before I left the house that the team run was cancelled, so I had to do it on my own. They are meeting up tomorrow, but I'll be at work, so I had to get through it today.

I did 16 miles in 2 hours and 31 minutes. My average speed was 9:27 min/mile. I can hardly believe I did it! Around mile 11, I was done. I never wanted to run again. I was annoyed and bored out of my mind. 2 and a half hours is a long time to be alone and in pain.

But I powered through, thanks to all of the love and support I continue to receive from my family and friends. I really thought of all of you in my darkest moments, especially Michael. When I finished, I was smiling to myself while stretching, and a nice fellow runner asked, "Is that it for you today?" I told him I just passed a new running milestone, and he congratulated me. I came to find out that he is also doing the Disney Marathon. We'll probably be at the airport at the same time. Runners are nice people.

I took an icebath when I got home, and it was actually soothing. I was dreading it, but I knew I had to combat the impending soreness. I stayed in for 10 minutes, and it was really nice. I think it'll make a difference in my recovery.

Now I need a well-earned nap before Satchmo and Kate arrive and the wine auction starts tonight! Wish I didn't have to wear heels tonight :)

8:37!!!

That was my average time on a 5-mile run this morning at 6am!!! I am so darn proud of this. There were a few contributing factors:

1. Michael fixing up a nice date last night that started soooo late, because I had a meeting after work. We didn't put the TV on. We just talked and caught up, and it was lovely, which led to me having the best night's sleep ever.

2. I'm back in my weight training routine, and I've been working out my hamstrings, which felt really strong this morning.

3. I think I wore exactly the right outfit to stay warm. It was 42 degrees this morning! The Underarmour, long-sleeved top from my mother-in-law was perfect! Plus I busted out my running gloves, and my fingers didn't go numb.

4. Michael got up and ran with me, but he let me go at my own pace, so I felt comfortable warming up and then pushing my speed a bit. Notice how my husband is 50% of the reason I rocked this morning.

So I did 5 miles at 8:37/mile in 43:05 minutes. I feel so awesome. Well, not really, I'm actually starving right now and feel kind of exhausted, but I'm excited that I got through a speed barrier. I know it will be easier the next time. Now I just need to find some caffeine.

Another Monday

I had a great run on Monday morning. It was 4 miles, and I was trying for a little speed. I've been doing the longer runs at a little over a 9-minute/mile pace, so I thought I should try to kick it up a notch for my shorter runs. I did this one with an 8:48/mile average pace, and I felt really solid. It's funny, because I have always felt wiped by the afternoon when I run in the morning. Yesterday, I couldn't remember in the afternoon if I had run that morning. I can usually more than tell that from how I feel. I guess I'm an athlete now.

Michael was right there with me. He let me go ahead and work on my speed, and he's getting better and better. He seemed to have had a great run.

I slept like a baby last night, so I must have worked hard, but it was a great night's sleep. This weekend is another milestone--16 miles. I'm a little nervous but more excited than nervous. I'll be totally prepped and ready! Now I just need to get new sneakers...

What a TEAM!

FINALLY, on Saturday I got to run with the team again!!! I have had to miss the group runs every week since October 5. I had no idea what an effect that had on me, but I was so glad to be back with my teammates. I can even see through my blog posts how this was affecting my training and my attitude. Thank goodness I'm back!

We did 8 miles yesterday, which is considered an "easy" run now. Ha! It felt easy, and I had fun. Brandi, an alumna from last spring, came out, which was awesome! It was so nice to catch up with her, and she's good at keeping me motivated. I ran primarily with Gail. We seem to have identical paces, and she is just the nicest person in the universe, so I definitely lucked out meeting her. We did about a 9:15/mile pace throughout with a little variation here and there. We had a few sub-9-minute miles, which was impressive, because we really didn't feel like we were working that hard.

After we all finished, one of my teammates, the amazing Don, handed me $50 and apologized for missing my fundraiser. I know, my jaw's still on the ground, too. He is too much!! I was floored by the generosity and support of this man who is an alumnus and a current participant, and he took the time and effort to help ME! Then we all started making plans for times that we can hang out in non-running clothes and have drinks or dinner. I felt so included and so happy. We are changing the world, I know it.

It's been such a great weekend full of relaxing and seeing some of our favorite people: SiSi, Linda, and Mike; Noah (who has TWO teeth now!), Michelle, and Doug. We are truly blessed with our friends, family, and most of all, each other. Speaking of, time for me to find my love and have some dinner and watch the Iggles!!

Getting Back in the Swing

I was pretty sick yesterday, but I still tried to run in the morning. Bad idea. I felt like I had a fever, but I thought I could power through. I'm kind of insane at 6am, it seems. I ran one mile and walked back. It was sad. Then I confirmed that I did have a fever, and I was actually sick. I stayed home from work and recuperated.

This morning I definitely didn't feel back to normal, but I had to get my miles in. I did 5 miles at a 9:13-minute/mile pace. Not bad. I felt sluggish, but nowhere near as bad as I did yesterday. The rain held off until I was done, but the wind seemed to constantly be going in the wrong direction and slowing me down.

Nevertheless, I got through it, and I'm still on a high for reaching my fundraising goal!! I still can hardly believe we did it!

I had lunch with a good friend who I hadn't seen in way too long who just got married and just finished treatment for cancer. I could not believe her strength and endurance. Her only complaint was that she couldn't run and work out during her treatments! I'll think of that the next time I can't get myself out of bed. What an inspiration. It made me feel bad for complaining about a cold! That really put things in perspective.

I'm listening to Christmas music on the radio. Too early? Never!

Yes, We Can!!

No this blog is not about our new Prez, but the sentiments the same.

WE DID IT!!!!

I can hardly believe that it's only November 5, and I'm writing this. As of today, I have officially met my fundraising goal for my Team in Training marathon in Walt Disney World!!! My website does not reflect the full total yet, pending receipt of one more check, but officially, I have raised $3,910!!!

I am so incredibly grateful to each and every one of you. If you made a donation, came to my fundraiser, encouraged me in person or via email, read this blog, or even just read my emails, I am eternally thankful for your help in getting me to this challenging goal, and I could never have done it without you.

If you still want to make a donation, I won't stop you--every dollar gets us closer to a cure for blood cancers.

The hard part's done, now I just have to run 26.2 miles! I'll be thinking of you when my legs get tired, when I'm on the plane to Florida, when I cross the finish line on January 11, and mostly, every time I hug my husband, who would not be here if it wasn't for the work of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the generosity of people like you.

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

Good Friends

I've been struggling lately with balancing my training with my food intake. As a Weight Watchers Lifetime Member, I am pretty conscious about my eating habits, and I try to be as healthy as possible. A few years and almost 50 lbs ago, I was not so much, and I'm proud of how far I've come and I don't want to go back. Michael is very good at reminding me that I'd really have to try to get back to that place, but it's still hard to let go of that fear.

We went to brunch with Alison and Derrick yesterday right after Derrick did a 5K. He's training for his first half-marathon (check out his blog and fundraising page in my links), so whenever we're hanging out, we talk gadgets, pace, fuel, general athlete-speak. Who would have every thought I'd consider myself an athlete! I mentioned my struggle with eating enough and not too much or, as I have a tendency to do, too little. He and Alison were really helpful in suggesting that I see a nutritionist or at least consult my doctor. I'm going to try that. Thanks for listening, guys.

I'm afraid of starting bad habits again that will be hard to break after my training is done. Basically, I reprogrammed my brain one way, and now I have to temporarily turn it back. It's not an easy task, and I know I have not been easy to be around because of that. But I'm working on it.

Michael and I had a great run this morning. I did 4 miles, and he did 2. He told me that he ran most of it, which is awesome! I did an 8:59-minute mile average and felt good. My legs felt heavy, which my coaches tell me comes from muscle exhaustion. I guess it's a good thing this is an easy training week to prevent over-training. We only do 8 miles this weekend--pishaw! I tried trickin' out my Garmin a little more, like Derrick showed me yesterday. That thing can do so much, it's scary. And as always, it was so great having Michael beside me as we ventured out this morning. Plus, it was light out!! YAY!

This blog has become so training-centric. I guess that's natural, given that I am almost at my fundraising goal but have a lot of miles to go. However, I'm remembering the reason, and I continue to be so grateful to everyone who has supported me with donations and shoulders to lean on, literally and figuratively. THANK YOU!!!!

New Milestone

I have officially surpassed my longest personal distance. I ran 14 miles! I did it in 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 16 seconds. That's only 4 minutes longer than my best half-marathon record and a mile longer. I wasn't going for speed. I just wanted to keep going and feel good. I think I did go a bit faster than I should have. Most of my laps were a little under 9 minutes per mile. I think I went a little fast, because some of my path was unfamiliar, and it got dark out.

I started at work at 5pm. I went down the River Path, which is so nice and very close to my office. Then I went up Kelly Drive all the way to Falls Bridge and back. I had to run around campus a little bit to finish up my miles, but that was easy and better populated. I lost my Powergel at the beginning of the run, which I was going to eat halfway through, so by the end, my muscles felt really stiff and tired. My knees are a little sore this morning, but I think I just need new sneakers. Pounding asphalt for 2+ hours is not easy on your bones.

Then we had a fun night of homemade pizza (thanks, Michael!) and watching Night of the Living Dead. It's totally cheesy and actually a great movie. We got no trick or treaters, surprise, surprise.

All in all, I'm pretty proud of myself, especially because I did this mileage totally on my own. From here on out, I get to do every long run with the team. The marathon will be here before I know it! I am so excited. Now that I've tackled a new milestone, I am really feeling more confident that I can do it.

Off to Penn's Homecoming this morning. Go Quakers!

A New Day

Well, today is much better than yesterday. The Phillies won the World Series, I had a great night's sleep, and I had a good workout this morning. My training schedule called for 0-3 miles, so I did 2 on the treadmill at the gym. It went quickly as I upped the speed to an 8:57-minute mile pace and was distracted by all of the Phillies Phun coverage on the local morning news shows. It's such a great day in Philadelphia!

I am working on not trying to take on everything and taking some time for me at the end of the day. I feel like I'm constantly going, going, going between training, school, work, chores, etc. My very wise and understanding husband helped me realize that I have to take a break every now and then.

Tomorrow after work I'll be doing my 14-mile run that's scheduled for Saturday. I have to work at Homecoming on Saturday morning, so that's the only time I can do it. It'll be a new milestone for me. My to-date longest distance is 13.1 miles, so I'm excited! I'm going to forge a route from my office and down the Schuylkill River Path to the Art Museum, which should be nice. The weather's going to be perfect. I kind of wish I didn't have to work and could just go to the Phillies parade.

Wish me luck! Hopefully the Phillies will give me some inspiration tomorrow.

Ugh

That's how I'm feeling today. Ugh. So I'm not going to sully this blog with my complaints. I'm going to take my own advice and read some older posts to find some inspiration. It's a hard day to feel motivated. My 5 mile run this morning was cold, windy, and I was not feeling well. I did a 9:07-minute mile, but something was definitely missing/wrong. So enough about that. Now I shall remember the reason I'm doing this while trying to forget that I'm utterly exhausted.

GO PHILLIES!!!

There is a definite energy in the city today. I woke up to homemade fireworks going off at midnight last night, presumably not long after the Phil's big win. I slept really well after that and felt great for my 4-mile run this morning. Michael started with me. I feel a lot more comfortable knowing he's out there with me, even if I'm a little ahead, since it's so dark in the morning. When do we turn the clocks back already?

I did a 9-minute mile exactly for the 4 miles. I felt really good. I think this is my speed now, which is so awesome. I listened to Preston & Steve as usual while I ran, and their energy was super high also, and they were hysterical. It's so fun to be a Philly Phan today!

In other news, without a few offline donations being counted on my website, I believe I am within $100 of my goal for the marathon!! If that doesn't get me motivated, nothing will. Thanks, everyone!

GO PHILS!!!

Whirlwind Saturday

I had to do my 8-mile run without the team on Saturday morning, because I had to go into work for a few hours in the AM. This wasn't a big deal, however, because, as my coach said, it's only an 8-mile run this week. Only. Haha! I have to agree, though. A run of that distance isn't that big a deal anymore.

I went down Delaware Avenue all the way to South Philly and back. I was going about 8:30-8:40 min/mile for most of it. I did the standard 9:00 run/1:00 walk model, and it served me well. I'll do the whole marathon that way. I finished with an average 9-minute mile, even with the stops. I felt great. The rain held off until I was done, and little did I know I had created an awesome MP3 playlist that was exactly long enough for this distance.

Then I worked for a few hours, went directly to looking at a few houses, and then right to the La Salle fundraiser. I was totally exhausted by the end, but it was a fun time. Now me and Becca are off to try on bridesmaids dresses for Tara's big day!!!

"Let the children come to Me..." Luke 18:15-17

My mom organized a bake sale at her school, Corpus Christi-Holy Rosary, in Port Chester, NY today. She and her 8th graders worked for weeks to organize this event, which raised $250!!! I am so overwhelmed by the generosity, dedication, and love of these children. I think this blog would be best told in the words and pictures of the inspiring children of CCS-HRS.

"I think we'll raise a million dollars today." ~ a first-grader

"How much does it cost to cure cancer?" "I brought $5." ~ two wonderful CCS-RHS students

God bless you all. Mom, you continue to inspire me every day. I will run my heart out for all of you!

Wow, almost there!

Without counting the proceeds from last week's fundraiser, I have cracked $3,000!!! I'm almost there! Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me so far. I am astounded by how generous everyone is.

I did 5 miles this morning in the COLD! Michael started with me, which is always the best. I was a little sluggish this morning, so having him by my side helped me get through that first mile. I cannot wait until we turn the clocks back, because I feel like I'm running in the middle of the night. It's so dark!

I did well this morning. I averaged a 9:15-min mile, and that was with a slower first mile. I felt a little pain in my right quad, which is totally weird, but it let up by the time I was done, and I feel fine now.

I have a test in Italian tonight, and I'm soooo exhausted. It's hard getting up, running, working, and then going to class. But as soon as I'm home, I'm kicking back and watching the Phillies. GO PHILS! I'm in my Phillies red today!

The Blessing of Friendship

I am still on a high from this weekend. It could not have been more wonderful.

Friday night's fundraiser was a huge success! I think we had about 20 people there, and in total, we raised over $350! A lot of that money came from tip jars I had on the bar. I really enjoyed bartending, and I think I got the hang of it by the end. The Field House totally hooked us up with a huge amount of food. Everyone seemed to have an amazing time. I just felt so blessed to have so many friends come out to support this. Our realtor and friend, Tim, and his girlfriend, Kim, Dave, Mike, Becca, my teammate Jeff and his wife, Nicole (and their infant Sophia!), Andrew and Joanne, Kristin and 4 of her friends, Jen and Lori, my hero Michael of course, and THEN Andy and Jess showed up!! I was so shocked when they walked in. I haven't seen them in over a year. Michael was in on the secret. I don't know how he kept that from me, but I'm so glad he did. Jen, Lori, Andy, Jess, and Kristin all stayed over. We had so much fun.

The next morning, I had to take Peter to get some shots at the vet (he was a trooper), and then we all had some breakfast and chilled. After Andy and Jess left, Jen, Lori, Michael, Kristin, and I went into the city and checked out the Reading Terminal Market. Then Lori had seen something about Eastern State Penitentiary, so we went there and did the tour. It was so much fun! Then everyone went home, and Michael and I crashed.

Sunday morning, I had to run 12 miles. Michael offered to come with me and run the beginning lap. We went to Cooper River, and we stuck together for most of the loop. Michael did a 5k! Then he waited in the car for another 90 minutes for me to finish. What a guy! I did really well. I averaged a 9:00-mile, and I finished in 1 hour, 56 minutes. That was the longest distance I've ever done alone or not in a race. It was a little boring, but being with Michael at the beginning really helped. And he seemed to like going out on a Sunday morning like that. I hope we'll do it again. We were like such yuppies getting up early to work out together. All we need is a Mini Cooper and a Jack Russell terrier, and we'd be set.

Then we went to Linda and Mike's for football and had an awesome time. We were seriously asleep at 8:30pm. What a fabulous weekend! I did a quick 2-miler this morning to keep my muscles from cramping up, and I feel great.

I sent out thank-you emails to my friends who came on Friday, and I got so many back saying that they were "inspired" by me. Are you kidding?! It's the other way around, people. I don't know how I would even come close to accomplishing any of this without my friends. I am the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you to all who have supported me throughout this journey.

In 82 days I will run 26.2 miles in honor of all of you!!

Like Peas in a Pod

This will be short, because Jen and Lori are here, and I'm having the best time ever with them! They arrived last night. We had a fun-filled night of wine, NKOTB, and laughs. Poor Michael had to work today. I just had to run 3 miles, which was a piece of cake. I did an 8:50-minute mile! I felt great.

My fundraiser is tonight!!! I'm so excited. Ok, off to hang with my wonderful friends. We're like peas in a pod. I love them, and it means the world to me that they came down to visit and support me! Hope to see some of you tonight!

He feels the need for speed

Reluctantly, Michael and I headed out at 6am this morning for a run. I say "reluctantly," because our darling kitties decided to keep us up a lot last night. They have gotten into the habit of starting to act up around 5:30am, which is SOOOO annoying, because I wake up at 5:45am every day. Can't I get my 15 minutes??

It was a great morning, cool and clear, but we were not feeling it. However, once we got going, I think we both felt better. About 3/4 through the first mile, Michael seemed like the speed wasn't perfect for him, so I said I'd go ahead. I've gotten a bit faster over the last few weeks, and he's been very busy with work, so he's missed a few runs with me. We were going about a 9:40 mile, and I didn't want to pressure him to go faster. So I go on ahead, start fiddling with my MP3 player, and then I hear the pitter-patter of New Balances behind me. Michael goes, "I decided to try to catch up." I was so impressed! I had already started going faster, and he stuck with me for the rest of the first mile. He looked great when I got home, so I think he had a good run.

I did 4 more miles after that in 45 minutes almost exactly, so I averaged a 9-minute mile. Nice! I felt fantastic. I wasn't tired or anything by the time I hit mile 2. It was a great morning. I even made a couple of green lights that usually annoy the heck out of me.

Jen and Lori are coming to visit tomorrow night, and I could not be more excited!! I'll have to get a 3-mile run in on Friday morning, but I'll just go after my kitties lovingly wake me up to feed them, and I'm taking a vacation day anyway. Then my fundraiser is Friday night!! I'm so excited for that.

On the training schedule, I'm supposed to do 12 miles this weekend. Since we have guests until Sat night, I'm going to do this on Sunday morning. Michael offered to come with me and do a longer run than usual. He rocks. We're going to do the run for 9 minutes, walk for a minute routine on Kelly Drive. I might do 3 miles with him and then do the loop (9 miles) to get my miles done. Then we're watching football and hanging with our buddies, the Gilberts. Should be an awesome weekend!

Wish me luck on Friday!

Trying to keep up

I will start by apologizing to the avid readers of "Making Mickey Proud" for not posting in a while. It's been a busy week, and I've spent a lot of my time running. I did 4 miles at the gym on Thursday, 7 miles on Saturday, and 4 again today.

The run at the gym was hysterical. I have a new MP3 player that my parents got me for my birthday. Of course I was fiddling with it, and I almost became one of those people on America's Funniest Home Videos who slips right off the treadmill! It must have been hard for the people around me not to laugh. I also fought with the new-fangled machine that only wanted to allow me to work out on it for 30 minutes. I spent the whole last mile upping the speed as it tried to make me "cool down." I've changed my mind again. Treadmills are for the birds.

Saturday's run was great. I did two loops at Cooper River alone, because I had little time to squeeze in breakfast with the Richardsons and then Reggie's wedding. It was a beautiful day, and I had an awesome playlist of Rihanna, Outkast, Kayne, etc. to get me through. I had a great pace of a little over a 9-minute mile.

Reggie's wedding was awesome. The reception was picnic-style with lots of German traditions, even lederhosen and a Tastykake cake (not really German, but definitely Philly-German). I was tired from my run, but that didn't stop me from dancing! (Photos courtesy Jeffrey Melodick)

This morning's run was a piece of cake. My abs are sore, which is super weird, but I think it's from the dancing and running. I did an average 8:53 minute mile. Whoa! I was impressed with that.

I'm getting a little stressed with all of the time I have to allot for running. My weekends are being consumed by the schedule, and weekends are already so busy as it is. But as always, when I'm feeling a little discouraged, someone wonderful in my life puts it all in perspective. Our Aunt Marcie connected me via email with her friend, who is also doing the Disney race with Team in Training in NY. We have become email buddies, and she really reminded me why I'm doing this and how important it is.

My event is Friday, and I cannot wait! Hope to see lots of friends there: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=AJSDHWFHDOMUACXWAVUI

Fall is in the air...

It was 51 degrees when I headed out at 6am this morning, and it stayed dark the whole time. I felt great. I took my coach's advice and did not dress like I felt before I walked outside. I have a tendency to overdress, because I'm perpetually cold. I wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and it was actually perfect. This was the first morning since last winter that I have felt my fingers go numb and then eventually come back once I got into mile 2.

I went out this morning after a blissful night of sleep. We had an event for work at the same bar where MY EVENT IS NEXT FRIDAY, OCT 17, THE FIELD HOUSE! http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=AJSDHWFHDOMUACXWAVUI I'm so excited for that, and I hope lots of people come out for it. Then when I got home kind of late, I did laundry and homework. I didn't get into bed until midnight, which is much later than usual for me. However, I slept really well. Our adorable cats definitely helped in that regard. Also, we read before bed, which actually got me much more relaxed than just watching TV. I might have to start a new habit.

I ran a 9:10 mile for 5 miles. I felt fantastic. I noticed how much the weather really makes a difference. I still feel good from the run this morning, and I had no soreness. Tomorrow calls for another 4 mile run, which might be a little tough, but this is an ease-down week to prevent overtraining.

At my event last night, I met my coworker's cousin, who is also a Team in Training alumni. I started saying how nervous I was getting about it, and he was really encouraging. I love TNT. Everyone involved is so nice and supportive. I just can't wrap my brain around 26.2 miles. I know my body can do it. We all can do just about anything if we really needed to. It's more my brain that's having trouble. What if I get bored? What if I get tired? What if I get sick? It excites me, but I'm definitely anxious. I'm hoping that I will feel better after I get some bigger distances under my belt. 14 miles on Halloween! Unfortunately, because of work, I have to do that one alone, but I think it'll be a good test. And hey, it's only 0.9 more miles than my personal best. Peace of cake... :)

One Year of Bliss

Today is our first wedding anniversary! We had such an amazing weekend in Long Beach Island. It was just what we needed and full of fun. We got home around noon today, so I did my 4-mile training run in the afternoon at home. It was a gorgeous day today. I was a little sore from Saturday's run and from walking all over LBI and Chowderfest, but overall, I felt great. I averaged a 9:04/mile, which is great! I got all of my information for the race weekend, and it got me so excited. I cannot wait!!

At the exact same time that I was running today, one year ago, Michael and I were saying "I do." What a fantastic year it's been. Can't write more, because there's still a few more hours of celebrating to be done. I love you, Michael. I am so lucky to be your wife.

Broad Street Run--it's nothing

This morning I did 10 miles, the equivalent of the Broad Street Run, which was my first official race in 2004. This was a piece of cake this morning. I ran with Gail, Jim, and Chris, the "lead pack," as our coach calls us. We did an exact 10 min mile the whole time. So we were doing about a 9 min mile with a 1 min walk break in intervals. It was great. It was cool this morning, so I wore my new underarmour long-sleeved shirt from my mother-in-law! It was perfect for this weather. I felt great, and it was just about as perfect a run as can be.

Now we're off to LBI for our anniversary weekend! I can't wait to show off the gorgeous bracelet my hubby got for me!

Belated Celebrating

Since I had work and class on my actual birthday, I took last night as an opportunity to celebrate with the hubby and our adorable kitties (they spent the whole night on the couch with us and didn't kill each other!). However, that made for a slow start this morning. I had to do 5 miles, and I'm proud of myself for powering through. The most important thing in distance running is staying consistent with training, so I'm trying really hard to stay on track. I averaged a 9:43 mile, but I'm fine with that. I don't care about my speed. I just want to make sure I'm feeling well and don't injure myself.

It is amazing though how much of my schedule is affected by my training. Weekend plans are dictated by how many miles I'm doing in the morning, even weeknights have to end earlier so that I can get my miles in before going to work the next morning. It's crazy. I have to allot at least an hour of my day to running 4 times a week. On Saturdays, it takes no less than 2 hours with traveling to NJ, waiting for everyone to get together and start, walk breaks, etc. And then 2-3 days a week I do weight training to keep my muscles strong and protect my knees and ankles.

However, I still love it. That hour in my mornings, especially when I'm alone, is so precious and really brings me back to center. No matter what, I feel great when I'm running. I could probably run with no music or anything, but I like the Preston & Steve morning show too much to do that. But it is like meditating at times. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't run.

The most important thing about this journey is that it's bigger than me. I can't imagine training for a race without a purpose behind it. When I'm feeling down on myself or struggling through a run, I "remember the reason," as they say in Team in Training, and I'm honestly amazed. It feels like everyone I know is aware of the race and my fundraising. I guess I had something to do with that, but it still astonishes me when someone asks me about my training. It makes me feel so great and so supported. Also, because of this, I get to tell our story, how leukemia almost took Michael away from all of us, how his family struggled through his sickness, how it affected everyone in his life, and how he won. I hope we can all help make that story possible for more people fighting these awful diseases.

On a lighter note, when I was walking up from the subway this morning, I saw a pair of crutches in a garbage can. It was at the bottom of the stairs. I was baffled. What on earth happened? Did someone decide they had had it with the crutches (they are a pain, I know)? Did they suddenly get healed like on a televangelist show? Bizarre!

It's My Party

Well, I'm officially one year closer to the big 3-0. It stinks that my birthday's on a Monday and I have class tonight, but I had a great weekend of celebrating with my hubby, my parents, and our TWO kitties. Saturday night was fun night out in NoLibs with Michael. Then we went back there for brunch with my parents on Sunday. The phermone-blocker we got for the cats seriously made a difference, and we spent most of yesterday with both of them coexisting on the couch with us! They still nip at each other every now and then, but it's a vast improvement.

My parents got me so many presents, and they got us nice anniversary gifts as well! I got a new MP3 player, which made a huge difference on my 4-mile run this morning. I had a great run at a 9:17/mile average. I'm a tiny bit sore from Saturday's run, but not too bad. It was a cool morning and so nice to have that "me" time to start my birthday.

Thanks to everyone for all of their birthday wishes and donations! I'm at 62% of my goal!! YES!!!

Just another Saturday run

We did 9 miles this morning at 7am with the team. I've found a core of 3 other runners who are about my pace. Most of them are doing Disney, which is cool. They're all pretty experienced, so I'm impressed I can keep up!

We had a great pace of about 9:30 - 9:45/mile with our normal minute-long stops every 9 minutes. I felt great throughout and at the end. My left ankle, the one I hurt in last year's PDR, is a little bit sore. I blame this on the boots I wore two days in a row this week. I walked way too much in them. I know it looks dorky, but I have to wear sneakers even with nice clothes. I usually have to do a lot of walking during the day, and I don't want to get hurt for fashion's sake.

The rest of the weekend should be awesome! Michael and I have some grocery and kitty shopping to do. Peter and Boots are almost civil, but every now and then we have to separate them. We're going to try this phermone-blocker plug-in thing so that poor Boots can have more free reign of the house.

Then tonight, we're going out for my birthday dinner, probably in NoLibs. My parents are coming down tomorrow, and we'll visit the Museum and have lunch. It should be a nice weekend. Farewell, 28!

I guess treadmills aren't that bad...

I did 3 miles this morning at the gym on the...dun dun dun...treadmill. I am such a jerk about the treadmill. I just get so bored. However, this morning, I started to embrace it again. That used to be the only way I ran, and I have to get used to it, because it's going to start getting really dark and really cold in the mornings. The nice part is that my awesome gym hasn't become too overrun since school started. Students apparently don't like to work out at 6:30am. Go figure.

I also had the added advantage of being distracted by watching the morning news shows about the downfall of WaMu and all of the financial drama in DC. I did a 6.5 mph pace (9:13/mile), and I felt fine.

Tomorrow I'm doing 9 miles with the team. I hope it doesn't rain on us. Other than that, I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend and pretending I'm not getting older in a few days...

It's Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It seemed like everyone was in a foul mood yesterday. We went out for a run at 6AM, and we were both pretty wiped. My legs still felt a little heavy from the half-marathon. I averaged about a 9:30, which given my week last week, is good.

Along my route, I came across lots of rude Philadelphians. One construction worker in NoLibs was too busy taking 10 minutes to put on a sweatshirt to stop blocking the sidewalk with his truck door, so I had to wait for 3 minutes for traffic to stop whizzing by to get around him. He didn't even notice me. Then some mom in an SUV almost hit me, because she ran a red light to get on the Ben Franklin Bridge a second faster. Yes, she had NJ plates. No offense, NJ friends, but I'm not surprised. Then some dude under the Girard El starts SCREAMING at me, "You're going to give yourself a heart attack!!" He was obviously "touched," as they say.

I then had a really long day of conferences followed by a test in my class. Ugh, I am still exhausted even after a good night's sleep. The nice thing is, I met a lot of colleagues yesterday who are also into running and did the Distance Run on Sunday. Running is sometimes a good way to make friends.

Now I'm off to bring Boots to the vet. Ew, we think he has worms. UGH! Consequence of life on the streets. Now he gets to live in the lap of luxury that is our home. Lucky dude.

Here's a pic of me crossing the finish line on Sunday!

The Eye of the Tiger

Clock Time: 2:17:24; Chip Time: 2:08:54; Pace: 9:50; 10 Km: 1:02:31; 10 Mi: 1:40:07

What a great day! I rocked the Philadelphia Distance Run. The morning started a little shaky after a restless night's sleep. We adopted a new kitty, an adorable orange tabby, on Saturday afternoon. But having a new animal in our room all night made it a little hard to sleep. Plus, I was a tiny bit anxious about the race. But I got up at 5:30, was out my 6, and had an awesome parking spot by my old apartment in Fairmount by 6:15. I saw lots of friends at the TNT tent, which was so nice. Renee from TNT was sweet and said, "I remember when this was your first event a year ago!" She started to cry! How sweet.

We began at around 8. It took a while to get to the start. I was cheered on at the start by the Mayor...again :) After the first 2 miles throughout the city, I did the 9:00 run, 1:00 walk for most of the rest of the run. The city part (first 4 miles) was a bit cramped with the 15,000 runners. I wish they would send us down bigger streets than Walnut. The Eagles Pep Band was playing along the route, which got me excited about our afternoon plans!

Around Mile 6, I ran into Brandi and Jeff. Jeff is doing Disney with me, and Brandi was one of my mentees from the spring. She did the full marathon in Long Branch. Brandi and I stuck together for most of the rest of the race, which was nice. We had our identical Garmins, and our pace was awesome, about 9:00/mile consistently. Towards the end, my knee and one calf were sore, but that was mostly because of pounding on asphalt and not being on perfectly flat ground. Overall though, I felt great, and I finished TEN minutes faster than last year!! The consistent training clearly paid off.

I didn't see Michael at the finish, but he saw me and said I looked like I was doing fine. We met at the car and were home with D&D flatbread sandwiches by 11. It was so easy! Then we showered and headed to Linda and Mike's for some football viewing and beers before the big game. They live about 1.5 miles from the stadiums, so we parked there and walked. It was so fun seeing them. And what a beautiful day! The walk was a little hard after all the running, but a few Bud Light Limes numbed my pain--haha!

We visited some tailgating friends in the parking lot. My one friend was with a group that had an RV with a keg tap on the outside of the van! It was so souped up. And everyone there had something like this. It was about 3pm, and most people had been there since 10am, so just imagine the scene.

Our seats were AWESOME!!! The Linc is amazing, and we spent a lot of time walking around, eating lots of good food, and enjoying being there. Sadly, my boy, Westbrook, who's jersey I wore proudly along with my official race medal, was hurt. I hope he's not done for the season. The Eagles won, and we had such a fun time. Thanks again for the tickets, Tara and Jeff!

When we got home, we crashed. Running 13.1 miles and walking 3 miles wore me out! We were asleep by 9, no lie. Jack (name might change), our new furry friend, snuggled with us all night. It was one of the best days ever.

Thanks to everyone who texted me and congratulated me on the race!! I cannot imagine doing twice that distance, but I think I can do it!

14158

Follow my progress in the Philly Distance Run tomorrow! Go to this website http://www.ingphiladelphiadistancerun.com/home.html, click on "Live Results," and enter my bib # 14158. I know I'll feel your support, so thanks in advance!

I had a great morning--spent 45 min in CVS (why do women love CVS so much?), went to the Expo and was harrassed by a Saucony salesman (but I saw my future sneaks, the sweet black Hurricanes!), and then I got a haircut. I love my hairdresser, Bleu, at Salon Blush. It's such an awesome place in Fishtown!! Everyone, go there.

Michael's making me a pasta lunch. What a guy. Then we're off to see if we can find a friend for Peter Jackson Marmion at the kitty shelter!

Also, my friend Derrick is training for his first half-marathon. He rocks, and it's for a great cause, to benefit the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. Read his story here: http://www.active.com/donate/MI09philadelphia/derrickwise and his training blog (which is far superior to mine) http://www.reidwise.net/journal/.

Ok, next time I blog, I'll have run HALF of what I have to do in Disney!

Treadmills are boring...

There, I said it. I'd rather run in 100-degree heat or below zero weather than run on a treadmill. I have an awesome gym, but it's just so boring, no matter how you package it. I had to do 3 miles this morning, which I did no problem at a 9:13/mile pace (based on the machine). This new treadmill scares me. It has so many bells and whistles. Apparently you can even plug your iPod into it, and something will happen. I don't have an iPod, so that's irrelevant. I just used my radio to listen to the TV news that's on display on a few big TVs in the room. Ugh, boooooring!

Speaking of boring, my most boring birthday ever, my 29th, is 10 days from now. Oh hooray. We're going camping to celebrate, which is awesome. I just wanted to remind my vast readership that I don't need any presents this year. If you are inclined to get me anything, make a donation to my race. That's all I need, and that's the most important thing to me right now.

After my boring run, I walked through Penn's campus on a longer, but prettier route to my office. Penn is gorgeous! It was so brisk this morning, and campus was so quiet. The trees, the old buildings, everything was astonishing. I love working here and being part of this community.

Sunday is the Philly Distance Run! I'm excited, not as much as last year, but still excited. I'll post my bib # when I get it tomorrow and how to watch my progress on the race. It starts at 7:45AM!

TGIF, right? It's been a looooong week, and with the weird schedule, I missed my running partner this week. We'll catch up next week, right, hubby?

I Am Iron Man

I have been trying to only blog when I have completed a run, and as fascinating as I'm sure that's been, I'm adding in a post about my day yesterday that involved no training at all. I got up early to donate blood for the first time. I was rejected last time for being iron deficient, so I didn't have high hopes, but thankfully, I was in perfect range to donate. My blood pressure was 98/50-something though. Weird. I think I was just reallllly tired. It was 7:15am.

I had no problem with the donation. I felt fine, just tired all day. And then I had class, so it was a long day, but a good one. I felt like although raising money for LLS is great, I can help even more by giving blood regularly. I was inspired by Uncle Rick who has given like 3 gallons of blood or something ridiculous! He goes every 2 months. I'm going to try to follow his lead. What a guy!

However, next time, I will not try to take off my bandage in the evening. My vein all of a sudden swelled and hurt SO bad! Then I got faint and nauseous. Thankfully, my lovely hubby was there with an icepack and some water right away. It finally passed, but I learned NOT to try to clean off a wound in my vein until the next day. Still worth it.

Then my mom calls me and tells me that she's organized her students to have a bake sale to raise money for my race! The thought of kids I don't know in NY baking cupcakes and sitting at a table to help our cause brought tears to my eyes. Thanks, Mom and the 8th graders of CCS!

THEN Tara called, and she and Jeff offered us EAGLES TICKETS for Sunday!! That'll help me speed through the half-marathon. What great friends :) It was a good day.

And if you haven't read it, go out and get Three Cups of Tea. It's a book about the real-life hero, Greg Mortenson, who was a mountain climber who was saved by a small, Pakistani village. He then dedicated his life to building them schools and improving the lives of thousands of Afghani and Pakistani people. If you're pondering what a small donation to something like my little race can do, this book is evidence of the difference ONE person can make.

Two-a-Days

That's what they call it when you work out twice in one day, like a real athlete, right? Yeah, I don't want to be a real athlete ever again. I did my normal weight routine at 6:30AM this morning, but because I'm attempting to give blood again tomorrow morning early (iron don't fail me now!), and I have class tomorrow night, I had to do my scheduled 5-mile training run after work. Oy. I powered through doing an 8:53/mile. I am beat right now though.

A couple of good things kept me going--I have reached my "recommitment" fundraising goal, or halfway! Also, Michael is making us dinner tonight, a homemade pizza. And 90210 is on in less than an hour. Life is good.

6:16 a.m., 79 degrees!

Wow, it was hot and humid this morning! When I passed the bank on Girard Avenue, the display said 6:16 a.m., 79 degrees! I thought I was going slowly, because it felt like a struggle with the humidity, but I actually had my best short run yet, 8:51/mile. I was shocked when I saw my time. I was alone this morning, because Michael had a bad night's sleep, but that was ok. I was pretty bleary this morning and would not have been an interesting running buddy.

It stayed dark for almost my entire run. Ah, the fall is coming. And I discovered one thing I'm not crazy about with regards to running in the city--the smell of garbage. I love to run in Northern Liberties past all of the fun restaurants and shops, but the problem is that I am running at the same time that the garbage trucks are picking up a weekend of fermenting beer bottles and rotten food along my route. Every block would hit me with another pungent odor. The heat over the past few days didn't help, I'm sure. Ick!

We had a really relaxing weekend, which I'm sure helped me run well this morning. Last night's dinner at an italian BYOB with Dave and Mike was pretty great. I am sure my stomach full of yummy marinated lamb and lemon sorbetto helped my speed this morning! On to another Monday...

Lose Yourself

We had a long team run yesterday morning. It was a big group of really nice people that came out, and we did 8 miles. I felt great. The extra training runs during the week have kept me in good shape. I used to be down for the count all afternoon after doing anything around 8 miles in the morning, but I felt good all day following this one. I was in the "lead pack," as my coach, Gary, calls it. I cannot believe that my pace would be considered fast, but I guess it is compared to the rest of the group. I felt proud that I had a good pace, but I'm more concerned with just finishing. I also like being with the big group better than leading anyway, so hopefully we'll all gel together soon.

It's so cool to run with people who are new to running. There are two awesome women who hit new milestones on every group run. Can you imagine going from running 1-2 miles ever to doing 8 miles in a matter of weeks?? I am astounded by them.

We had a nice rest of the day visiting Victory Brewery with our friends, Alison and Derrick. Derrick is starting to train for his first half marathon for Team Challenge, another great organization that benefits the Crohn's and Colitis Society. We talked gear, GPS systems, and other running stuff over some hand-crafted, yummy beers. I hope he has a fundraiser at the brewery!

One week from right now, I'll be finishing up a half-marathon. I can't believe it's been a year since I did this race for my first Team in Training event. It was such an amazing day. Seeing Michael cheer me on, meeting my coaches near the finish line (and bawling my eyes out), and then the best part was when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law drove over to Philly to meet me right after the race. It was such an emotional moment for me. My mind had been so focused on my physicality, and that moment reminded me why I did this. As I shared the largest omelette in the universe with my new family, my teammate Michelle and her husband, and my best friend in the world, Michael, I felt such a sense of accomplishment that had nothing to do with athleticism. WE made a difference in the fight against blood cancers. That day, that moment would hopefully change the future of these diseases. That was a day I will never forget, and I look forward to repeating.

Oh TGIF!

This morning, I wanted to do a quick run before our long run tomorrow. I'm feeling the effects of this week, however. Last night, we were out until after 9 looking at houses in South Jersey! I don't think we found our next home, but we got a much better idea of what's to offer, what we want, and we found a really nice agent, so we'll continue with the process. But between this, a meeting on Tuesday, and class on Monday and Wednesday, every day this week has been looooong!

This morning we were both tired. Michael did a little less than 2 miles, and I did 2. My average speed was 8:54/mile! I was quite happy with that, as I'm trying to up my speed on my shorter runs so that I am more prepared for the longer ones on Saturdays (and the BIG one on January 11!)

It's hard to believe that the marathon is actually not that far away--4 months from yesterday! Thanks so much to the many friends and family members who continue to support me and ask me how the training's going. You help me keep on truckin'!

Tonight is my first event at work, which I'm very excited about, but it will be another 12 hour day here. TGIF!!!!!

Speed Demons

I don't know what happened, but this morning's run was super fast! It was nice and cool out, but I was definitely a bit tired. Michael and I started out in the almost complete darkness feeling ok. He had some shin splints, and I was just a little sore from weight training. About 0.7 miles in, Michael asked how fast we were going. I looked down and see that we're racing at a 9:18/mile pace! Holy moley! I was really impressed with both of us.

I went ahead and did a 4-mile run down to the river and then back up through Northern Liberties. It was a new route for me kind of combining two of my usual routes, and it helped keep me interested. It's easy to get bored seeing the same things. I felt great and had an average pace of 9:12/mile, which was pretty awesome!

When I got back, Michael reported that he ran most of the way home, and he seemed totally energized. I am so happy he's running with me. He's the best motivation in the world, and I'm so impressed with him for getting out there.

Hopefully my run got me focused enough for my first Italian quiz tonight!

Monday Morning With the Hubby

I have to dedicate this post to my husband of 11 months and 3 days, Michael. I know he's not a morning person, and I am to the nth degree. Nevertheless, he wakes up early to run with me twice a week, and when I say early, I mean 5:45AM! And he doesn't complain and actually motivates me more. He always encourages me to go faster and leave him in the dust, which I have to admit is not physically possible anymore.

Yesterday I did 4 miles. It was a perfect morning. I was sore from all of the dancing I did Saturday night, but I felt great overall. I slept like a log on Sunday night. We were both exhausted, but Michael went the first mile with me and did so well.

Then he waited at home all day (was only supposed to be until noon) for the fridge repairman to come and tell us there was nothing wrong with our fridge. It's apparently supposed to collect water on the shelves, because it's hot out. And did he complain once? Nope. He had to use a personal day for this, and I made him get up early on a day he could have slept in. And all of this was after he was such a good brother and best man this weekend. Look for his stellar speech on Youtube shortly.

So thank you, Michael, for being a great confidante, a wonderful support to my training, and my best friend. It's been a joy being your wife for the past 11 months and 3 days.

And They Lived Happily Ever After...

What a magical weekend! I'm still coming down off it, hard. It's such a letdown when a fun time comes to an end. Andrew and Joanne got married yesterday!! I had an amazing time, but I feel like my adorable cousin Abby felt this morning when we were all leaving the hotel...I want to cry that it's all over. Being around my wonderful family all weekend long made me so happy. The bride and groom looked gorgeous, and the whole thing was non-stop fun.

Peppered in the middle of the rehearsal dinner and the wedding (and a little too much wine), I had to do a 7-mile training run. I went out on Saturday morning, a little groggy. We had a fantastic dinner the night before at one of the 12 Filomena restaurants in the Deptford area, and we were up a little late enjoying being together in the Fairfield Inn. But I went out at 6:30am on Saturday morning and did two laps around Cooper River Park. The team run was cancelled due to the impending Hurricane Hanna, so I ran alone, but that was fine, because I was in no mood to chat. By the end I felt great and enjoyed a nice breakfast with Michael and his grandparents. They had 4 kinds of cereal at the complimentary hotel breakfast bar! And I felt a kindred with the bridal party girls, who were getting their hair and makeup done before I even started running!

I did the run at an average of 9:30/mile, which I was happy with given the distance and the humidity. Plus, I felt very motivated by the joy of the weekend. Despite a little wound on my back from my abrasive fuel belt, I made out ok and was able to dance the night away.

Times like these put it all in perspective. Love and family are the most important things, and that's why I'm doing this. Sure, I might love running and all of the gadgets that accompany this habit, but I love Michael and our family so much more. Not even a hurricane can kill my motivation for them.

I'm hoping my 4-mile run tomorrow morning is ok, given that I'm still sore from all the dancing we did last night! And I also hope it lifts my spirits a bit, because now I just want to be with everyone celebrating again.

Have a great time in Disney World, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Marmion! Thanks for bringing magic into our lives with your beautiful love story and this wonderful weekend.

Back to School

Wow, it seems that the school year has started. Michael and I went out at our normal time, 6am, this morning, and there were so many cars and people out! Michael was awesome this morning. I was working to keep up with him! I did 5 miles into Old City. It was like a video game--I was constantly dodging traffic, dog walkers, etc. It's nice to see so many people out and about, but I guess I have to have my wits about me a little more now.

As I was running a route I've run about 100 times down 2nd Street from Northern Liberties into Old City, I glanced to the right, which I rarely do (see paragraph above--must keep my eyes on the road), and I saw Independence Hall in the daybreak light. It was gorgeous, and it kind of made me a little awestruck for a moment. I didn't even know I could see it from there. Say what you will, Philadelphia is a really great city, and it's a beautiful place to run.

Speaking of back to school, my class starts tonight! I'm really excited. However, my day just started, and I'm already tired, so making it until 8:30 tonight might be a challenge. That's what they made coffee for, right, Mom?

Getting Up Early on Labor Day

This is probably the day that most people in the country are sleeping in, but I was out there on the road at 7am this morning. I hear it's going to be 90 degrees today, so I thought I should get a 4-miler out of the way before the sun got too high in the sky. I have the rest of the day to relax.

It was a rough run this morning. I had a couple of things working against me--I have a cold, I clocked myself in the eye with the laundry basket yesterday, so I have a nice shiner (just in time for the wedding, great), and I was feeling a bit down on myself this morning. Running made me feel a little bit better, but the inspirational people in my life got me out of my rut.

First of all, this Saturday's run was awesome. I met a woman on the team who is in the Air Force and has been on seven, SEVEN tours in Iraq. I also met some other great men and women, and we had a good run. One participant has a 10-month-old baby and another little one! She told me she's doing this, because their friend is battling leukemia, and he can't afford his medical treatment. It's atrocious.

Then I logged on today and saw that I'm at almost $1,900 in donations from my amazing family and friends! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!! Then I saw my mother-in-law and talked to my mom this weekend, and they both said how they read this blog and share it with friends, and that just made me a) a little embarrassed, because I thought no one read it and was writing it as such--haha! and b) so impressed with the support I'm getting and so motivated to keep on going. I have the best moms ever. It's going to get harder as the weekend runs get longer and longer, but as TNT says, "Remember the reason." I've got it today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHELLE, MY TEAMMATE ALWAYS!!!