Rock 'n' Roll Baby!!! (or, "why crazy Lynn is going to San Diego")

finish line euphoria

2006-06-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

wow! 26.2 miles! (5:30:37 Time)

2006-06-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

What a great and satisfying weekend. I so enjoyed seeing San Diego, visiting with my and Bob's family and yes, running a marathon! Here's a timeline of the Race Day I spent with nearly 18,000 other runners:

3:23am -- Alarm clock goes off and we begin to stir. Race day clothes on, sunscreen applied, and powerbars and bananas in hand for breakfast.

3:50am -- Arrive in hotel lobby where other sleepy teammates are assembling. We munch on breakfast goodies and ponder the sanity of the decisions that brought us here. But we're a smiley bunch.

4:33am -- Bus drops us off at the Start Line area. We find a tree that serves for our team's staging area. The weather is not cold -- I would have liked it to be cold at 4:30 in the morning. The night before, at the Pasta Dinner, they warned us that race day is likely to be significantly hotter than the other marathons in San Diego and they will be taking extra precautions to keep us cool. For a warm weather wimp like me, this is all cause for concern.

5:30am -- Stand in a ridiculously slow line for a "Honey Bucket". Stand in a line at 6:10 that is even more ridiculous and nearly makes me late for starting the race.

6:31am -- Run up to my group, get in Corral #16 with Team and Bob and begin moving towards the Start Line. The crowd is excited!

6:40 -- Cross the Start line and begin to run.

Miles 1-3 -- What fun! My group jostles in the crowd to stay together. We heed the advice to start out slow and easy and follow our run/walk (8min/2min) routine from the beginning. Bob takes off to run his race when we start our first walk. Bye Bob!

Miles 4-8 -- Things are feeling good but MAN, it was muggy! There is also some sunbreak as we run through the downtown area and I am already "glowing" with alarming intensity. I admit to being worried about the heat but otherwise I feel really good. It's a blast to see my family, Christie/Henry, and Bob's family at mile 5 by their hotel. I was supposed to see them at mile 7 too but somehow we miss each other.

Miles 8-12 -- Although I failed to notice the only hill of consequence on this run, I realized it was over when we started running downhill because we had been repeatably warned about this stretch. It feels good because it's downhill but it's almost always at a slant so you have to be careful not to hurt yourself. I feel it in my ankles with my effort to stabilize my balance. I think I missed the hill though cause I was already worried about needing a "Honey Bucket" again. I convince the group to stop where the line isn't too long and I feel so much better after that! It's also during this stretch though where I'm having a hard time keeping the pace of my team "group". The heat is really zapping my energy.

Miles 12-13.1 -- See my family again which is way exciting. I won't see them again till the finish so it's a nice mid-race "boost". I'm feeling better cause there's been a breeze but I'm still struggling to stay with my group. The half-way mark is pretty encouraging.

Miles 13.2-14 -- At one of the water stops (which are CRAZY) I finally lose my "group". It's so easy to get separated and I just can't catch up. Jim (a mentor from my team) and I run together for awhile. I can see the group ahead and for awhile I worry about getting separated. I've prepared myself that it might happen but I didn't figure it would be so early in the run.

BUT -- soon I'm feeling so much better. On my own, I can run my pace and no longer be stressed about speed and keeping together. I still don't hurt anywhere and things are good.

Miles 14-19 -- The cloud-cover has lasted much longer than they thought it might which is a huge blessing to me. The course is really beautiful in this stretch.

** Course Support, TNT and Bands -- In my opinion, the course was really well staffed and supported with volunteers handing out water, Powerade, salt and any number of things. The Team in Training (TNT) coaches, staff and volunteer well-wishers are AMAZING! My name was written on the front of my jersey and I literally had probably hundreds of people yell out "way to go Lynn!" - "you're looking good Lynn!" and so on throughout the entire run. They had a particularly dense concentration of TNT people at mile 19 and I got a little choked up -- it was really touching and a great time to have that lift in spirits. Sure, 19 miles is long way to have run but 7.2 miles is still a long way to go. The bands throughout the course are also really fun. There have a good variety of music and the runners were really into it. My favorite band was "Safety Orange" or "Orange Safety" but I enjoyed them all. It's a good thing it's Rock though cause "Classical Music Marathon" would really suck (I don't care how into classical music you are -- it would still suck).

Miles 20-23 -- This is where I could finally believe it was all going to happen. Still no injuries and even though body parts are getting sore, nothing is wrong or troubling. Although hot (I dumped A LOT of water on my head that day) the cloud cover has only recently left to let the sun through. I also see Coach Dan around Mile 23. He's been able to check in with most everyone and I can honestly tell him I'm doing great and happy. He leaves me to run further back.

Miles 24-25 -- It's so close I can practically taste it. I hold to my 8min run/2min walk formula as the ultimate recipe for success -- if I can just keeping doing it, I will get to the finish line. This is when all the mental and physical training pays off -- I know that I'm prepared and able to complete this run.

I catch up with Pete around Mile 24. His knee is acting up again so he's taking it slower. But he's okay and I run on.

The run is going in slow motion now. I know that I'm so near the finish but it still takes time to cover the distance. You can also tell that the TNT coaches working down the course are encouraging you and also assessing you for distress. I feel like any one of the them would have run with me and helped me in any way if I'd needed it.

Miles 25.5-26.2 -- Running onto the Marine base felt pretty freaking awesome and soon everyone was screaming, "just half a mile to go!" You could also now hear the announcer at the finish line cheering people in (I heard him broadcast a successful marriage proposal) by name. Marines are in the crowd too being supportive. Finally I turned a corner and could see the finish line. I didn't sprint but picked up my pace and ran as strong as I could towards the finish. Miraculously, I heard and then saw my family screaming for me at the end. I was able to wave and smile in their direction (my dad has video footage) just before I cross the line.

Post Race -- There was a maze of things to get through before I could find my family. I had my picture taken, got free slippers, fruit and yogurt, and an icy washcloth which I promptly draped on my head, before I was able to find the folks. Hugs all around. I found out that Bob had had some trouble with cramps in his calves in the second half but was otherwise okay. Pete arrived a few minutes later. The rest of my team made it in okay too. Although I skipped the free beer, I talked a stern looking Marine into letting me back into the no re-entry area when I realized I'd missed getting my completion medal. But I don't think the Marines are any match for a first-time marathon runner that has finished and he waved me in. Pete and I checked into the TNT booth so they'd know we made it, got a cute "26.2" pin and found Coach Dan and the others. My body starts to freeze up a little but I consume food, stretch, sit and/or move around. It's nice to have an entourage taking care of you.

The folks split off and Pete, Bob and I hobble over to the shuttle buses. Luckily we don't have to wait long and the air-conditioned bus feels wonderful. Standing up and getting off the bus isn't even as bad as we fear. Back in the hotel, we take ice baths that make you yell for the first few minutes (I indulged in ordering room-service hot chocolate in order to deal with the ice bath) but then feels illogically wonderful. As Dan says, the ice bath kinds of glues you back together and makes recovery easier. We rest (but don't sleep) for an hour or two and later meet up with everyone for a excellent and well-deserved Italian dinner.

My biggest physical complaints have to do with sunburns on my shoulders and chafing caused by running in drenched clothing for over 5 hours. Although bodily achey, in some ways I am much better off than my 20 mile training run where I had a lot of hip/knee pain.

So overall I rate it an excellent experience! I finished smiling and happy. I don't know if I will ever run a full marathon again but I will absolutely do half-marathons to keep it up.

Family and friends got some great pictures of us. I'll post some as soon as I can!

Such a long post but I'll make it a little longer and thank everyone for the support throughout this entire process. It meant so much! Thanks to Team in Training and my teammates for an unforgettable journey. Thanks to Bob and Pete for doing it too! Thanks to my parents for coming out and to Bob's family for folding me into the "Team Deeken" cheering section.

Rock 'n' Roll!!!

let's do it!

2006-06-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

I head out tomorrow morning. Today is about packing and running around to get every last thing done. In a couple minutes I'm going out for my last "little run" before the big event.

Not getting nervous yet, just ready to go do it. I'm as ready as I'm going to be -- it's showtime!

Thanks for all the well-wishes. Thanks for all the financial support. I made my fundraising goal of $3800!!! I'll be thinking of everyone over the course of 26.2 miles on Sunday......

lovely, 8 miles

2006-05-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

This week I ran eight miles in Seattle. It was lovely and easy (and flat on the Burke-Gilman trail!). Bob and I ran the first three miles together and then he turned around cause his schedule was to run 5 miles on Saturday--mine was to run 8.

I did get a massage this week and that's made me feel a million times better, stronger and pain-free. I think running a flat course helped to not un-do that progress.

I ran in Seattle cause then Bob and I drove over to the Sasquatch music festival at the Gorge. Everything was beautiful and fun until we got caught in a hailstorm like I've never seen during Neko Case's set. Luckily, we had a change of clothes in the car and were able to stick around when the music finally started up again. But we took it easy and left after the Shins. We refuse to get sick before the big day!

I am really good at running 12 miles

2006-05-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I am. And I can say things like, "I'm just running 12 miles this week" and mean it. To be honest I was sore and tired at the start of Saturday's run. But that actually made me run more aggressively cause I was worried that if I didn't, I wouldn't make it at all. Isn't that messed up?

I can't believe it's less than two weeks from now that Bob, Pete and I (along with friends and family) will trek down to San Diego. For now I'm going to just try and stay healthy. May even treat myself to a massage (it really helped a few weeks ago) to help some pain in my hips and back.

20 miles - enough said

2006-05-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

But still curious? 20 miles was tackled yesterday. It's the longest training run we'll do. The next big run is three weeks from today. From now on we're tapering our long runs to recover and rest our bodies. "Yes please," says mine.

It was a good run. Back in the hills of Pt. Defiance, I reminded myself that it was good training to run lots of hills (San Diego won't have much in hills) in warm weather (San Diego probably will have that). In three weeks we can add thousands of cheering spectators, 40 cheerleading squads and bands playing every mile. Basically it's going to be a huge party -- just one where you have to work really really hard for the beer at the end (we had beer at the end of the 20 mile run yesterday to simulate actual "race conditions"). Beer.......

This week we also had a "marathon tips" clinic to talk about what to do in the days leading up to June 4th and how to take care of yourself afterwards. I've been getting excited about race day but this made it feel even more real.

Bring it ON!!

18 freaking miles!!!! (4:05 hours)

2006-04-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

It's weird to think that 18 miles was a better run for me than last week's 14 miles. In fact, I didn't even post last week cause 14 miles was hard and I admit I was a little scared about 18. I don't think I could have run 18 a week ago.

But I did yesterday! It was hard work--make no mistake--but we took it slow (four hours slow) and got to the end. For locals -- we started at Pt. Defiance, ran to Wright Park, around the park twice and then back to Pt. Defiance. Amazingly, I still had gas in the tank at the end. I could have run another two miles which makes me feel good because in two weeks we will run 20 (we're being practically lazy next week by only running 12 miles).

I think last week was so hard because we were returning to the hills and I really needed to adapt the run/walk pattern and not put pressure on myself about speed. I'm so over that.

Recovering from the run yesterday was the toughest so far. I felt kind of sick and feverish and much more physically sore than I have. But today I'm feeling normal. But I'm looking forward to a lazy Sunday afternoon nap so maybe not 100% normal.......

that was tough (16 miles, 3:10 hours)

2006-04-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

This was a challenging run. Psychologically it was hard because we had to run two miles past last week's turnaround. As someone said, "we feel really far out." Two weeks ago we ran 13 miles (our longest run) and last week we ran 12 miles. So this was a real jump up -- physically and psychologically.

In the return second half, a bunch of us ran together in a group. I incorporated the run/walk approach for the first time. That combined with the support of the "bunch" helped me get all the way through. At the very end, someone even led a sprint and we all joined in. But that only proves we really are nuts.

For the hour following the run I was pretty darn sore. Now I'm feeling much more normal but I'm still taking it easy tomorrow.....

cheese!

2006-04-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

that's me in the back. aren't we cute? what a great group of people.....

6 of one, half dozen of the other = 12 miles

2006-04-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

back to 12 miles this week (run one minute faster than the last 12-miler!) as we strengthen "the base". now it's about to get really crazy with the mileage jumping up and down this month to get us to the longest 20 mile training run on May13th.

this week was good - felt good to be on a flat course for a bit of break from the hills. this coming saturday we do 16 miles!!!!!

baker's dozen (13 miles, 2:44 min)

2006-04-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

Whoo! I was pretty nervous to run 13 miles all on my own without the usual company and support. But today, little ol' me ran a half marathon!!!!

I borrowed Bob's water-bottle waist-pack, stocked up on GU, made sure my mp3 player was fully charged and headed out. The nice thing about running on my own is that I never seem to get out of breath -- it's always my own pace. I felt good the whole time and at one point I realized that my biggest obstacle was boredom. Luckily, I feel I have an interesting inner landscape and was able to keep myself mentally entertained as I worked through the miles.

But I missed the team and it will be nice to be back with them next Saturday. This week's run will also be flat -- welcome to me since that is only a few days away and I'm probably a lot more tired than I currently feel......

home again, home again

2006-04-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

I've made it back safe and sound to Tacoma. I even got in a fourth run at the Lava Springs in Idaho. It was my best "trip" run which may have been due to our soak in the hot Lava Springs mineral pools the night before which did a lot to dispel the traveling tension in my body.

But now I feel all left out because Pete and Bob got their 13 mile long runs in (Pete for the first time with the Team in Training crew) and I won't do mine till tomorrow. Wish me luck!

mile high run

2006-03-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging this post from Laramie, Wyoming!

I'm on a road trip from Austin, Texas back to Tacoma and have been getting my easy runs in along the way. Yesterday I ran in City Park, Denver. It was lovely. Tuesday I ran in Austin which sucked (because I had no energy and it was already too hot for wimpy little me at 6:30 am). But I did it.

Back on the road!

even dozen (12 miles, 2:34 min)

2006-03-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

Another good run!

We bumped up two more miles but I can't say it felt all that different from 10. The first three miles were harder than last week but after the first water stop I quickly found the groove. We ran from Pt. Defiance ALL THE WAY TO Metropolitan Market on Procter. Impressive, no?

This time I remembered to take pictures, I'll try to get them up soon!

Next week: Baker's Dozen.

time for a little numerical reckoning....

2006-03-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

218 - miles covered since I started running in late September
2760 - dollars contributed to my fundraising!! (73% of my goal!)
0 - times I've been knocked down by a deer (happened to a poor guy in the Austin Texas Marathon)
221 - number of times Maya has left her "calling card" on a run in the park (no, I didn't really keep track and I'm sure the number is much higher)
8 - number of long runs with Team in Training!

and sometimes it all comes together

2006-03-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

(10 miles, 2:05 min)

wow - that was fantastic! it was another mile and a couple more hills but I felt so much better and stronger today. it seemed like a long run instead of a really long battle. I actually felt like a runner (although a slow one) and enjoyed myself. that doesn't mean I wasn't happy to see the parking lot at the end but I wasn't desperate for it. I also figured out how to wear my waist pack whereas last week it just annoyed the !#*% out of me.

this week I also had a fundraising boost from Bob's friends and family. thanks!!!

hey!

2006-03-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

I got hailed on this afternoon! I guess that will teach me to dally after work and before the run. If I'd just gotten to it I would have been back inside before Maya and I got hailed on and then soaked by rain. Still, Bad Form as Peter Pan would say. I was slightly mollified by the rainbow arching over my house as we came in.

it was uphill, both ways (9 miles)

2006-03-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

I so wish that was an exaggeration. We started out along our now familiar Pt. Defiance route which is plenty hilly. But this time we ran out of the park and I swear, towards anything that was a hill. And I'm not kidding, there's a section of this run dubbed the "Valley of Death" by the mentors who were training last year......(I'm not sure why, but I made myself keep running until the top of the VoD and then took a minute to walk)

But I did it and felt great (or at least proud) afterwards. It is really strange, the highs and lows of running. This Saturday, the first two miles were awful -- I was tired, couldn't seem to catch my breath and didn't know where the next seven miles were going to come from. But it's always like that ("what, am I crazy?") until you find the groove. And so far, the groove has always appeared. God bless endorphins.

I'm going to buy a disposable camera though cause we ran past a gorgeous panoramic view of the sound and I thought for the 20th time that I need to take pictures during the runs.

But lest the above paragraphs seem whiny or gloomy (they're not meant to be either, just honest), my run this afternoon was great!

8 mile (starring Lynn Olson)

2006-03-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

Actually, I've never seen the movie by the same name starring Eminem. So if there is clever movie-related joke to make, I don't know it.

But today was eight miles out in Orting. The trail was beautiful (and FLAT!) and I was certainly in better to shape to run this week than last. I never did get sick though so that's been great.

Bob got his run in and for the first time, we tried a packet of "Gu" for energy. "Chocolate Outrage" tastes like slightly chewy chocolate pudding. It may have given me a little bit of a stomach ache but I didn't take any water with it so I will next time. I was curious to see if there would be this magic minute where I suddenly would feel like, "let's make it eighteen miles today!" but I can't say I did. But I also didn't crash so I suspect it did its job.

well, that was a little rough

2006-02-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

Today was 7 miles!

I was worried starting out though. This is has been a very long week and Friday was an action-packed day. I feel like I've been fighting off a cold and I didn't get much sleep.....whine whine whine. So I didn't know how the run was going to go.

It ended up being good though. In the middle stretch I actually felt great. I also felt good about determining that my current pace is about a 10 minute mile. It's been hard to judge (my pedometer's not very good and I keep forgetting to look at my watch during the long runs). I ran today's seven miles in 68 minutes!

But I think there's a nap somewhere this afternoon for me -- I still feel a cold waiting to emerge...

three stooges or three musketeers?

2006-02-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

Bound for the San Diego marathon
.....Pete, Bob and me!

it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

2006-02-11T11:17:00.000-08:00

5 miles! Long enough for a water stop!

In contrast to last week's inclement weather workout, today was brilliantly sunny and clear. It was cold still but once you get going you appreciate the coolness.

Running feels good. I really like the combination of sometimes running alone and sometimes with others. I find that when Dan or the mentors run with me it kicks my pace up a little bit but still in a comfortable way. When I run alone I put on my headphones. Today, Bright Eyes' First Day of My Life come on which is terrible as a running song but matched the sunny gorgeousness of a saturday morning at Pt. Defiance.

well that was soggy

2006-02-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

This morning was our second team run - 4.5 miles (a little bit longer than I'm used to). Our location was scheduled to be at Pt.Defiance but when I got there, a gate was locked to the area I was going. Cars circled up as we began to gather. Apparently branches and other things had fallen to make that area unsafe and it was still blowing and raining pretty hard. The decision was made to have today be an "optional" run but down by the waterfront instead.

I decided that I had already gotten out of my warm Saturday morning bed and I was going to run. We caravanned over to the new location and got to it. Once I was moving, I was warm and my clothes do a pretty good job in these conditions. And there were people to talk to which made it more cheery.

The distance was a little longer but at some point you hit a rhythm and it does feel like you could just keep going and going (let's see if I'm still saying that for the 12+ mile runs). The stormy-looking sound was beautiful!

p.s. Pete and Bob also got their runs in.....

Have I got a deal for you!

2006-02-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

People often wonder about fundraising - "but how much does she really want me to give, anyway?" Well, I can't really answer the question of what is right or good for you to give. And honestly - every contribution will be appreciated by me and by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. But here's my idea of a deal. If you, or a group of people, donate $52.40 (only $2 a mile!), I'll make you a batch of homemade cookies. Chocolate chip or snickerdoodles. If you donate $100 or more, I'll make Nanaimo Bars OR another special order dessert of your choice! Find six other people, everyone contribute $8 -- in return you've supported a great cause, cheered on my personal goal and you GET COOKIES!!

To quote Homer Simpson - "Cookies....arghlarghlarghlarghlargh."

kick-off!

2006-01-27T07:40:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night was the TNT (Team in Training) kick-off event. I got to meet the running coach Dan, my mentor Matt, the coordinator Aja and just some of the people I'll be running with for the next four months of Saturdays. So far, no one I've talked to has run a marathon before (but one woman has done half marathons).

This Saturday is the first team run. We're going to meet at South Sound Running for a shoe clinic (I run in Brook's Addiction and have liked them very much) and then a 2-3 mile run.

fly like the wind!

2006-01-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

This is me! NOT! But it will be....I switched back to music after trying to listen to an electronic book (No.1 Ladies Detective Agency). I was enjoying it very much as a book but it wasn't doing a lot for my running.

I heard back from TNT, they received my registration. First training session is January 28th. We're having a shoe/injury clinic, running a 5K and having brunch with the Team.

I'm doing it!

2006-01-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

Today I am sending in my registration for Team in Training (TNT) of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Training starts January 28th.

It's a commitment to raise $3800 (minimum) which is a LOT to me. I never even liked selling Camp Fire Girl cookies. But as a participant in this training program, I will be a sponsor for someone with the disease. So it's inspiring that I will focusing this for a specific person -- being able to put a face on this cause.

Maya (my 5 year-old Aussie) has already pledged 5 dog biscuits.

I was a Dasher Dasher....

2005-12-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month I ran in my first 5k at the 21st Annual Jingle Bell Run in Downtown Seattle in the Dasher Dashers category.

I wanted to have a "race day" experience because it made me kind of nervous. So early on a COLD Sunday morning, Bob and I headed down to Westlake Center to join 10,000 other people for this event. It was very festive (they even gave out jingle bells) with people in costume and everything.

Race-wise it was a total madhouse. I don't think I started running for about 2-3 minutes because the starting area was so thick with people. And at times I felt that I wanted to run faster (may have been deluding myself) but couldn't because of how close together people were. That was particularly apt, I thought, during the section we were on the I-5 express lanes.

I don't think I got a valid sense of time (it took me 36 minutes) but it was way fun to run towards a finish line.

Afterwards we celebrated by having doughnuts at Top Pot in Capital Hill. Sounds like a great race day tradition to me.....

The Marathon MP3 Soundtrack (or, "Bob's the Best")

2005-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Another strategy of mine was to buy an MP3 player for working out. I have a Dell "DJ" and I love it!

In addition to 90 or so songs of my own, Bob gave me over 200 working out songs. From ZZ Top ("She's Got Legs") to Bruce Springsteen ("Born to Run"), there is something in every workout that makes me laugh or kicks my running up a notch. "Walkie Talkie Man" by Steriogram is a pure shot of adrenaline.

If you are interested in the playlist, I'll attach it as a "comment" to this post. Please suggest other titles I should add!

What do you know?

2005-12-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

I'm liking it!

So after all that serious thinking I still had to face the fact it didn't mean nothing if I didn't start to run. It's a lot more glamorous to think about being a runner than to say, go run three miles.

I jogged a couple times on old shoes and knew I needed to invest in new ones. At the same time I found a great pair of running pants--destiny!

I also met with Carliss at my YMCA to get schooled again in weightlifting in order to begin getting stronger. I've found that cardio and weightlifting done together are what actually changes my body.

It was hard at first. In fact, I started by running 5 minutes, walking 2 minutes, running 5 and so on until it added up to 25 minutes. Then I ran 7, walked 2 until it added up to 30 minutes. Then I ran 9 and walked 1. Then I ran 15 and walked 1. Finally I was ready to just run for 30 minutes. Over the weeks I've built up to where I can run comfortably for 40 minutes.

My biggest surprise has been how much fun it's been to run with Maya (my australian shepherd). It took us a little time to figure it out. I couldn't have her off-leash when we ran because it was too much work to know where she was all the time (I like to run with music so I couldn't hear her). I thought she'd hate being on a leash for 30 minutes. But it's actually worked out great - I think she just likes going along. I love having her because it feels like added security (I pay attention to what she pays attention to and usually know if someone is approaching from a direction I haven't seen) and because she likes to run faster than I do. It's a little added motivation. It's annoying how much easier it is for her though.

I've been able, except when sick, to manage about three runs/workouts a week. I'm pretty proud of that. And I can't wait for the days to get longer - it can be hard to squeeze in that run after work before it gets dark.

In the beginning.....

2005-12-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

It won't be fair....but in trying times I'm going to blame Bob (the boyfriend). Not that anyone can make anyone else run a marathon. In fact, it's always been on my "list of things to do in life" along with "swim with dolphins" and "build a house". And Bob and I had talked about it before in just that way. But then Bob turned to me one day and said, "would you really? run a marathon? San Diego has the Rock 'n' Roll marathon in June." I have no memory of what I said to him at that moment but the inner dialogue had begun.

Would I run a marathon? Could I really get it together enough physically and mentally to do that? How would I begin to think about running a marathon? I've never done anything that physical in my life and can be a bit fair-weather about the whole exercising thing, to be honest. I knew that I would need to scaffold such a goal or it would never seem manageable. I made the predictable pro-con list. Pros - I had plenty of time to get ready - I was in probably the worst shape of my life and pretty motivated to do something about it - it would be an incredible to thing to accomplish (and with Bob if he did it too) - I only had to run one once. Cons - it's running a crazy 26.2 miles (duh!) - I've never been great at staying with fitness goals - it would become my life for awhile when training got intense.

And the more I thought about it, the less crazy it seemed. So I started thinking about the scaffolding.
1) I became familiar with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program. They train and coach you into being ready to run a marathon - pay your entry and travel expenses. In exchange, you fundraise four times the money they spend on you ($.25 goes to helping me, $.75 goes to research, support and services to people with Leukemia and Lymphoma). On the selfish side, I knew that the structure of a program like that would be what could move me from a 3-mile jogger into a long-distance race participant. On the less selfish side, I loved the idea of combining my own personal life goal with a bigger cause - making two things happen and having a way to give back. The fundraising is intimidating, I will admit.
2) Secondly, I started talking about it as a goal to "put it out there". People have been incredibly supportive. I also wanted to see who else might be interested thinking "the more the merrier". My friend Pete is interested and started running again and working out.
3) I would still have the short-term fitness goals to keep me going.
4) Since the training for Team in Training wouldn't begin until the new year, I had all Fall to simply become a runner/jogger again and make exercise part of the routine.