A blog about my journey of training to run a 1/2 marathon with Team In Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and beyond.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Mexican Juju & a Suburbian Shank


So I take a few days off and there is soooo much to catch up on. First, I took a few days off because my body got pretty angry with me and threw a little hissy fit. Saturday I could barely get out of bed. I had some serious cankles and sausage fingers. This weather change and fluctuation really does a number on me, but the weather is stabilizing and my body seems to be acclumating well. Fingers crossed that is the last episode for the fall. Being out of commission on Saturday caused me to miss a  big 6 mile run this weekend. : ( My runhers ladies had a great run without me, but at least they asked about me. The weekend wasn't a complete wash though. Sunday I got to meet up with a few of those ladies for a kayaking experience with Team USA's Kaitie McElroy, who just returned from the USA Sprint Natl. Championships with 3 Gold Medals. She was super nice and super patient. : ) It was a really cool experience. 

 
My hands didn't wanna fully cooperate with me, which made paddled interesting. It was still worth it.
Then tonight, I got back on the horse, so to speak. I was due 5 miles according to the training schedule. I got in 4.75, which is not bad considering that I could barely walk just 2 days ago. It wasn't me feeling bad, per se, that made me fall .25 mile from my goal. It's a long story, so of course, I'm going to share it with ya'll.
 
Tonight I headed out with my running partner, A, took off on a 5 mile route that we had done before. It's a little hilly, goes along a busy street, through a neighborhood, and through the park. So it's pretty well lit and only a few ackwards spots where you don't have sidewalk, but it never hurt anyone to do a little off-roading, right? So we are running and running. A, is naturally a little faster (ok, a lot faster) than me so we soon begin to separate, but I can still see her. There is a creepy spot on the way back that is a heavily wooded area right up against the sidewalk. It always gives me the heebies. A, was well past me when I got to the spot. So I took  out my one ear bud and took off sprinting past. But since that sections is also uphill, I'm not sure that I moved that quickly out of the danger zone. All of a sudden it was like the lights were turned off. It went from daylight to dusk to the darkest of night within a few moments. I rounded the corner and peered into the darkest street I have ever seen. My Mexican Juju was going off and telling me something wasn't right. (For those of you who don't know what Mexican Juju is, it is what my best friend dubbed that feeling I get when things aren't quite right and I know before hand. It's also how I'm 10 for 10 of naming the sex of friend's babies before they know. That kind of thing. Now you may doubt the Mexican Juju, but you shouldn't. Just ask the Aussie. )  So the Mexican Juju was screaming at me and.... I pretty much sprinted for nearly a mile to get back to our meeting spot at the park. Do you have any idea how hard it is to sprint when you are crouched down in a ninja stance?  As if I wasn't already on edge, on my way I had a punk kid in a huge truck swerve AT me and then swerve back and then honk. I had a guy throw a bottle at me. Lastly, I had a huge black truck, pull me next to me and then lay on his horn and then squeal off. I did have to slow down at one point to cross a bridge and I stopped and picked up what I thought was a big stick. I ran (sprinted) the rest of the way to the park holding onto the big stick. I met up with A, and we finished out our miles, still holding the big stick. I even carried it home with me. My hubby inspected it when I got home and detailed my little adventure. It turns out it was a skinny piece of pvc pipe cut off into a point. My hubby said "Leave it to you to find a shank on the side of the road in suburbia". Hey, a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do! I know, I know. I live in a nice Southern town where some people don't even lock their doors (which I think is crazy). But isn't that how all those scary news reports start out, with them interviewing someone in a small Southern town who says, "Well, golly, I never wouldn't thought something like that could ever happen here. Everyone knows everyone. I don't even lock my front door." So tomorrow I am going and getting some pepperspray that is, if  my legs are working tomorow after sprinting so much tonight.
 
Peace, Love, and Mexican Juju.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

And the winner is.....

The first week of this new A & C's Big Ass Challenge came to a close today. We've tallied the miles and this week's winner is....me. However, it was by the skin of my teeth. 0.02 miles to be exact. A did a fantastic job this last week. She now admits that she forgot that I was in training when she issued the challenge, but I don't think that is going to slow her down any. So I'm still bringing my A game this next week.

My victory for bragging rights for this week is well.... awesome. : ) But the real victory this week is how my body is adjusting and starting to remember how to get through those longer miles. My first 2-3 miles are like a slow death, but it's always between miles 4 and 5 that my body quits fighting me and just goes with it. It's still not easy, but at least it's beginning to feel normal again. I feel healthy, I feel good, and I'm hoping to stay that way.

Now this morning's run was good. The weather was a nice change from the sauna-like conditions, but it was almost chilly. Cooler weather is coming and that usually means a harder time for me, healthwise. The cold makes my Lupus flare ups more frequent and worse. Lots of redness, lots of soreness, lots of swelling. I am hoping that since I'm ahead of the game this time going into training that I'm going to stay healthy. Knock on wood. So this next week is a busy one with a few social events with the running group and a extra large group run next Saturday. Can't wait!

Peace, Love, and running.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

It's On....AGAIN

I have this friend, let's call her A, she is always challenging me to contests, duels, and challenges. She is the brilliant initiator of C&A's Big Ass Challenge of 2011. And she is back, folks. Today she issued the challenge of a running duel. ONE month, Most miles wins! So from today until Oct. 5 we will do daily mile ins, weekly bragging rights, and the monthly winner will not only get bragging rights (very popular among my crew), they will get a homemade crafty gift from the loser. AND that's not all folks, for a limited time the LOSER will have to wear a t-shirt saying they lost and how many miles they lost by at the next race that we are both attending. Now I know that A is gunning for yet another of my beautiful hats made with love and sunshine.


She really loves my hats!

But I'm not going to make it easy for her. She's gonna have to really earn that hat. Because IT'S ON!

Peace, Love, and Homemade Crafts!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Full Circle

September, for those of you who don't know, is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. Pediatric Cancer is the reason that I started this journey.  No, I didn't have cancer when I was a kid, and no, Thank God my children haven't had it, but I have seen so many of those close to me be affected by it. My journey began because of it. My journey has been cyclic to say the least. Lots of starting and stopping and starting again. But recently, I feel like I have started a new cycle. That I have once again returned full circle. So I would like to time some time to remember why I started in the first place. Those of you who have never went back to my very first post, please do. No recap can ever truly capture the emotions and determination I expressed in that very first post. But here it goes:

Well, here I am, 2 years later and I'm still a little fat girl. A little thinner is spots and less jiggly in others, but still have that pair of not-so-skinny jeans. I can keep up with my kids, but would love to have whatever super energy-charged fairy dust that they apparently have in unlimited supply. I'm still on that mission to get back into shape, be healthy, and be a good example for my kids. They are now starting to get the "running thing", and I have 2 little accountability monitors that ask me every day if I'm going to go running. : ) Apparently, Momma get a little crabby when she misses too many days because they will bring my shoes to me and open the front door. What's that about, huh?! : ) I haven't done any activities with Team-In-Training this year and plan to remedy that next year. They are a great organization that I fully support. I will be forever grateful to the coaches, teammates, and friends that supported and loved me as I started my journey. More importantly, I am grateful that they make such a difference in this world. TNT is a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Let me tell you why they are so precious to me.





I have two good friends who lost their little boy to leukemia. His name was Jamison. He was 2. I am still amazed these years later at how my friends handled such a devestating tragedy with such grace and how they continue to use their own loss to encourage others and give hope, love, and support to those who need it. See that little guy bottom row, third from the left, that's Jamison.  As a parent myself, I knew that nothing I could say or do would help take away any of the pain that my friends were feeling. Yet I was desperate to try something, anything to help them. So when the opportunity to raise money and awareness for Leukemia came up, I seized it.  I would run to honor Jamison. I know that it sounds silly, but it's true. Running is not been easy for me. I have bleed, cried, and puked during training. I have exhausted myself to the point of collapse. I have iced, elevated, and heated every part of my body. And I did it all to honor one little boy. Yet Jamison did something for me too. He changed my life, and I will always be grateful to him for that.
 
 

Now running and I still don't always get along, but running is like family. I may be able to fight with it and perhaps even say something bad about it, but by golly, no one else better try to. : ) There is still tears, screams, cramps, shin splints, and sometimes even a little vomit, but if my friends can survive what they have been through then I can still survive a few measly little miles. I still hope that I can make a difference, in one way or another. My hope is still that one day no other parents, friends, or families have to go through what my friends have gone through.

I am always running in the memory of Jamison Watters.




But Jami, this next one is for you.

Much Love To You ALL.




If you feel moved to do so, you can donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at http://www.lls.org/waystohelp/donate/donateonline/