It's time

I can't believe that the race day is practically here. Where did all the time go? I started this journey back in February; it seems like yesterday. I re read some of my earlier entries and I really can not believe how far I've come. Simply amazing. I can't believe that I will be running a half marathon on Saturday morning!!! I'm thinking to myself, WTF?

I don't even know where to start to tell you how much this experience has meant to me. I am so grateful that I am allowed to be a part of this wonderful team I'm on. I have made so many new friends. Hopefully friends for the rest of my life. Our team raised over $90,000.00 for childrens cancer research. The best part is that $0.97 of every dollar will go directly to Seattle Childrens for research there.

I am still amazed at what my body has allowed me to do. I feel especially grateful because for 27 years I abused my body by smoking. Now I'm trying to reverse some of the damage I did. Hopefully it will work.

We leave tomorrow to go to Seattle. We will go to the Expo at Qwest field so I can get my race packet and number. I will probably change my corral because I think they put me in the wrong one. But I will talk to my coaches first. Then we will check into the hotel. I was fortunate enough to fund raise enough money to get a free night at the hotel. I would've paid for it anyway.

Friday evening we will meet for the coaches clinic. Then we get a pasta dinner and we will get to meet some of the Rally kids we've been doing this for. Plus we get to meet some of our teammates from Seattle and Tacoma that we haven't met yet.

Saturday morning the shuttles start running at 4 am, yes I said 4 AM! So it will be an early night for me on Friday. I watched a video of the course, it looks like it is pretty flat. And it's supposed to be sunny, so it will be a beautiful run.

So I will close for now. Next time I post I will officially be a marathon runner! YIPPEE!!!!

Till next time.......Rally On!!!!

One more week........

Tomorrow is our finaly team training run. We are going to Yelm to run where our coaches train. Then after, Jason and Anna are throwing a BBQ for all of us. I can't wait to meet more of my team members. We have almost raised $90,000.00 for childrens cancer research. This has been an amazing journey.

Next Saturday I will be running my first 1/2 marathon. I still can not believe how far I've come and that I am REALLY GONNA DO IT!!!

till next time...... RALLY ON!

taper down time

So today we started our taper down. We did 6 miles around Capital Lake. It was a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest. We finally got some sunshine and I forgot to put on my suncreen. So, of course my left arm got a nice sunburn.

My body felt good today. I didn't even have my leg taped up. It feels so weird to say I only had to do 6 miles, no big deal! Just a few short months ago I couldn't even run 1 mile let alone 6!!!

I am so proud of how far I've come. I really have enjoyed this process. Learning what I can get my body to do for me. This is just the beginning for me I think.

Till next time......Rally On!

still here running!

I know it's been awhile since I've updated this blog. I have still been doing my training. I don't run during the week, only on my Saturday training runs. I didn't run Memorial Day weekend since we went camping. So I ended up taking 4 days off and doing absolutely nothing. I did do my 9 mile run on my treadmill at home. That was on Saturday the 22nd of May. My shin was killing me so I ended up walking more than running. It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes. I can honestly say, don't try this. It was the longest 2 hours of my life! But I did it.

This past Saturday was our longest training run. 10 miles for those of us doing the 1/2 marathon and 20 miles for those who are doing the full. Or like I call them "THE INSANE ONES" lol just kidding, I have to give them credit they are all doing an incredible job!

After taking the time off, I felt pretty good, not discouraged like I had been feeling. I decided Saturday that I would just do what I could do; take my time and not push myself so that I didn't hurt my leg again. Guess what? It worked. I did my 10 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes! I did the 5/3 split and when I got done, I could still walk. I actually felt really good. Like I used to feel when I first started this training. So, when I got home I iced my leg for good measure! The only soreness I had on Sunday was my calves were a little tight. I used this plaster stuff I got from a friend on my left calf and shin area, it's called Wu Yang Brand medicated plaster. It stinks really bad, but it works great. I left it on all day, for about 9 hours, and my leg felt great on Monday! So I went to amazon.com and ordered some more.

So, now I actually BELIEVE that I WILL DO THIS and IT WILL BE FUN! I was really feeling discouraged and thought that I would not be able to do this.

But like my mom told me recently: " you are just like your dad, once you make your mind up to do something.......you do it"! You know what, she's right!

till next time...........Rally On!

Capital City Marathon

This is me at the start of my 5 mile race today. The weather was great. This is the 2nd race I've been in ever in my life! It was sooo much fun. Through most of the course the residents of the homes we were passing were out in their yards cheering us on. Some of them had music playing and signs and pom poms. Boy I never thought it would make a difference, but it sure did. It was an amazing feeling having so many people I didn't even know cheering me on. Telling me I was doing a great job. Unbelievable. I really can't even describe the feeling.

My leg was taped up nicely by my coach Anna. It still hurt, but not as much as last week. I took it easy again this past week, so it wasn't too bad.It's pretty darn sore now tho! Here are a few more pics.

ok, so the pics are at the top of the page. I haven't figured out how to get them where I want them on the page. Every time I add one it goes to the top. If there's anyone out there who know how to change this let me know!

The first pic is of me after I was finished. The second one is me crossing the finish line and the third one is me on the last stretch right before the finish line.

All in all, it was a great day and I had a blast. I can't wait for the Seattle Rock n Roll 1/2 I'm doing in June! Woo Hoo

till next time.......Rally On!

takin it easy

This week I've been taking it easy again. Walking and icing my leg. Sunday I have a 5 mile run in the Capital City run in Olympia. My leg is slowly feeling better. Today I actually ran alot in my 35 minutes on my treadmill. It still hurts but not all the time now. I've still been icing it as much as I can during the day and I'm still taking the ibuprofen on a regular basis. I think I might be able to get back on track next week. We shall see!
till next time..... Rally On!

team run

So I went in for my team run in Olympia today. What a beautiful day. Sunny and the temp was perfect. Coach Anna was kind enough to tape my left shin for me so I could try to do my run. Both coaches told me to take it easy and only do what felt good. I ended up doing the entire 8 miles and I did it in around 1 hour and 55 minutes. Not too bad. My shin actually felt OK. It reminded me that it was sore, but not so bad that I couldn't do 5/3 splits. Altho I was much slower pace on most of my run splits, I still did the entire mileage. Coach Jason said that from here on out that was the most important now. The mileage. We need to get the mileage on our feet and legs!
But, my shin is telling me "I'M STILL SORE"!!! I've been icing it off and on all day and taking plenty of ibuprofen. I was instructed to only run one day this coming week. On Sunday I will be competing in the Capital city in Olympia, since I'm doing the half at Seattle in June, I will be doing the 5 mile in Olympia on Sunday as part of my training.
till next time.... Rally On!