things i learned today.

Today we had our second group run. I didn't sleep very well last night, so 5 o'clock came very early. When I woke up it was pouring  down rain and lightning really bad. I really didn't want to run in the rain but knew I needed to get a run in somehow. I checked the radar (cause I am a big weather geek) and realized by the time 6:36 rolled around, it wouldn't be raining or storming anymore. Relief. Although I knew it was going to be humid (pronounced hooooomid) again today. Better than running in the rain!

We ran the Furman 5k course today and I have to say that was the longest 5k I've ever run. I have this huge thing about if there is a start and a finish, the finish line seems to be running away from me. I feel like if I just set out to run and had no particular distance to go, I could run for days. But when you give me a finish line, I freak out! So I am definitely going to have to work on that mental aspect. I don't really think it will work to my advantage in a race of 26.2 miles. I even said before we started that the course we were going to run seemed so far. Maybe that was my problem. I had negative thoughts from the beginning! I'll definitely check that at the car door next run!

The things I learned today are:

1) Furman's campus has hills.

2) Follow the painted white guy.

3) Not to use non stick spray when making scrambled eggs.

4) Naps are awesome. (Not that I didn't already know that, but my nap today just reiterated that fact.)

i can't walk, but i can still run!

I worked out yesterday with Tanya and man am I sore today! She kicked my butt, literally. My butt is so sore from the exercises she had me doing yesterday. I can barley walk. But I can still run! Yesterday afternoon I started stiffening up and was wondering how I would manage to get out of bed this morning to run. But I did! I didn't feel like I needed to take the day off since I took Tuesday and Thursday off and just worked out. And I had the desire to get a good run in, so I took off running down Main Street this morning.

The first couple of miles were tough because I was so sore. The hills were even worse because those muscles I use to run uphill are those I worked out yesterday. Probably looked a little funny trying to run. But I managed to get past the 2 mile mark and make my way over to Cleveland Park to finish out the run. It was pretty humid this morning too and made me have flashbacks of Savannah. The air was so thick! At least there aren't any sand gnats around here, or they would have been following me around like the plague. All in all though, it was a good run this morning and put me in a really good mood this morning.

I was reading my Runner's World magazine the other night and came across this story by Bart Yasso. It's a good read and provides a bit of inspiration. And for those who don't know, Bart Yasso is a columnist for Runner's World and is also a big time runner. He has done just about every marathon in the US and some 150 international events. He's just a bad ass runner and is even the creator of the Yasso 800s, which help you reach a goal time in your marathon. But anyway... check out his article The World According to Bart Yasso. And if you don't feel like reading the entire thing, definitely skip to the section entitled "A Taco Bell Nightmare" on page 4. It's hilarious! 

So that's it for today! I need to get working on my fundraising letters and all that other fun stuff! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

humid. (pronounced hoooomid.)

Man it's was humid this morning! I was definitely sweating some major bullets and my hair was super curly by the time I finished. I even woke up early this morning and got up and ready to go run before 8. I am definitely going to have to start getting up even earlier. Although it wasn't very hot, thank goodness for that, it was certainly not the best weather to run in. I actually felt pretty good though considering. I do not like the humidity.

I starting out running right by my house so that I could get a few more miles so I wouldn't have to run up that hill coming home. Much rather run down it when I am fresh than run up it when I am tired. So I did the usual route, all the way over to Cleveland Park and back. I had already stopped for Bama to get water once, because I knew today was going to be a day she would need it because it was so humid, and by the time we got over to Cleveland  Park, I knew she needed some more. The first time she didn't really drink much or get her feet wet, even though I told her. So about half way back from the Park, she started running out in front of me trying to get to our "watering spot." I felt so bad because even though we were running along the river, it is such a steep drop that there was no way I was going to be able to let her get in the water. I'm also going to have to start bringing water on my runs. I've been thinking about getting one of those backpacks for Bama, that way I don't have to carry anything and it tires her out a little faster. But I don't think she would like that very much.

It was actually a very quiet morning and by the time I had gotten down to the falls from my house, I had probably only seen one or two people out, which is very  uncommon. And Bama was being a good runner today, so I actually had a little bit of time to really take in the beautiful surroundings. It was so peaceful with the sound of the water and the quiet air. I wish I could have stayed in that moment forever. I was very thankful I was able to enjoy it and for once really realized this is why I enjoy running. I was able to reflect on some things and just enjoy my run today. I get so caught up in trying to run, run, run, that I forget why I enjoy it and why I am doing this. So I felt very refreshed by the end, not to mention soaking wet! 

yippee!

I got my first online donation! Thanks to the great Mr. Shawn Dunbar. What an awesome feeling. I don't think I can thank him enough. I still have so far to go though! I am going to be a fundraising nazi next week, though. I just have to get through this week of school and I will feel like a brand new person!

I ran a little over 4 miles this morning. I actually thought I was going to run more because I just ended up running to Cleveland Park and ran a little bit over there and headed back. On the way back I wanted to stop and let Bama play in the river, so I was trying to run as much as I could in Cleveland Park so I wouldn't have to tackle the hills downtown. But it didn't turn out to be as far as I thought. But still it was a good 4 miles and I was happy with that. 

Bama and I were just running along and I was off in La La Land and BAM! I ran right into Bama. She stopped to smell the flowers I guess and I wasn't paying any attention to her and I practically kicked her in the butt. She of course, jumped and looked at me like, "what the hell was that for? You were running slow, so I stopped to smell the flowers." If you know my dog, you know that her facial expressions can say a lot! So off we continued to run without another incident.

Running from Reedy River Park to Cleveland Park there is a model plane about halfway. On the way back I saw this little boy and his dad looking at the plane. They both seemed really engaged in the plane until I started to pass. I heard the little boy yell out in his best country accent, "I seen the puppy! Look! Look!" It was so cute and funny! I turned around and just smiled at him. It's so funny how some kids are so interested in dogs and others are so scared of them. But it definitely brightened up the end of my run.

Thanks again Shawn! For being the first person to donate, I will bring you back something special from San Francisco! Your donation really means a lot to me!

pat myself on the back.

For those of you who know me well, know I am not a morning person nor have I ever been in my life. But get this, I got up at 5:00 this morning. And I ran 5 miles. Yay for me! I actually feel like I have accomplished something huge. It was just about 4 months ago I couldn't get out of bed before 10 am. Although 5:00 was still early, I managed to crawl out of bed and eat a bowl of oatmeal and get in the car and meet my team.

We had our first team run this morning at 6:36. Although I think we started a little later than that because we all went around and introduced ourselves. It's actually quite inspiring to know that I'm not the only non-runner. We met at Furman and ran about 2 miles. I ran with Katie and Whitney and got to know them a little bit better. It was great to be able to run with someone and those 2 miles flew by! After that I continued and ran another 3 miles on my own. I think I would have paid someone to run with me at that point. It was so boring. But then again it was also nice to just run and not have to think about anything but what I wanted to think about (which wasn't much that early in the morning!). Bama usually occupies my thoughts by pulling me or stopping to mark her spot or running into me, you name it, I always seem to be concentrated on her. So it was a nice break. I'm actually really looking forward to next Saturday!

Now I'm off to finish up all of my school work! I will officially be finished with school next Thursday! I have a lot of work to do between now and then so wish me luck. That 10 page research paper is calling my name...

easy smeezy.

I had an easy 3.5 miles this morning. I was pretty tired when I woke up this morning, but I have finally gotten into the habit of running. It just makes my day so much better, so I pushed myself out of the bed and put on my running shoes. 

My trainer, Tanya, has told me to try and stay within a certain heart rate range, and not to go over 177. So I ran slow enough to stay right at 175-177 the entire time. I probably should have run further since it was at a pretty slow pace, but at the time I hit 3.5 miles, I was running uphill so it seemed like a good stopping point! I don't actually think I have ever said running 3.5 miles was easy! I am going to rest tomorrow because on Saturday I have to get up and meet my team at 6:36 to run! Although I am getting pretty good at getting up early in the morning, that still seems very early to me!

I went to the kick off meeting on Tuesday night. It was nice to see all of the people I will be training with, although I didn't really get to meet all of them. But I'm sure over the next 5 months I will have that opportunity. I am ready to start writing my letters and designing some postcards and other things to go along with my letters. I just have to get through this last week of school and then I will be able to concentrate on it a little more.

Thanks for all your support! I am getting really excited about the training and getting  to run with someone on Saturdays!

those damn hills.

I swear I ran up the same hill coming back as I did going out. I think they follow me around and it's like a treadmill, adjusts the incline so I'm always running uphill. I had a good run this morning. I ran 3 miles harder than I usually run. I need to get faster if I am ever going to make 26.2 miles in the allotted 6 hour time frame! And thinking about running for 6 hours makes me want to pull my hair out.

I started running my typical route today, along the Reedy River. It allows me to stop and let Bama get drinks of water or put her feet in to cool off. Although I think Bama could run longer and faster than I can, I get a bit nervous about pushing her too hard. So I like to make sure we can stop and get her water if she is getting too hot. I ended up getting behind another guy running and I was actually running faster than he was! He apparently didn't hear us coming up because he took up the entire sidewalk. I hate to run off into the grass because I don't want to twist my ankle and I don't want to yell out "excuse me!" So I ended up just turning around and running up this small hill to the road. I had no idea where I was going, but I figured that was best because I won't know how far I have run. I just ran back in the general direction I came from and soon everything looked very familiar. I actually ended up close to where I started, and had to run  up that damn hill again. I know it's good for me, but I just hate them because they fatigue me so much. But I have to say, they are a lot easier than they were 3 months ago! I had to walk up even the slightest incline. So that makes me feel like I am actually getting somewhere and in a lot better shape than I was.

I have my team meeting tonight and am excited about meeting everyone. I actually can't wait to get started on the actual training schedule and run with a group on Saturdays. I know it's going to be a lot easier to run and push myself more with others than I would by myself. So this is going to be an exciting week!

committed.

After a couple of weeks of debate, I finally committed to running a marathon and to raising $4100. When I went in to talk to Melody at Team in Training, she kept explaining the fundraising and that it wasn't as bad as it seemed. $4100, that's a lot of money to raise in 5 months! But I wasn't worried about raising the money, I was more worried whether or not I would kill over before I made it to mile 26. I think once I make it 26 miles, the .2 won't seem so hard. I might be wrong there, but I will find out in October.

Why am I doing this? Well I started out running back in January to get back into shape. I realized I had gotten way out of shape and basically just felt like crap. Since it was so friggin' cold, I probably only ran 2-3 times a week. I knew I couldn't do this alone and since I have always had someone hold me accountable for staying in shape and working out, I called Tanya at Reform Bodé. She has really helped me get my diet on track (I get to eat every 3-4 hours!) and has me working out a couple times a week. I can't tell you how much of a difference it has made. I have a renewed energy, as I call it, and that pushed me to commit to running 26.2 miles. I've always wanted to run in a marathon, but actually never thought I could do it. I've never been much of a runner when I was told to run, so trying to do it on my own is going to be a big test to myself. I've actually always enjoyed running, I've just always been slow, so I think that has held me back a little. I don't like to fail, so being in a competition where I know I am slow is not really my idea of fun. I don't want to be last.

When I found out about Team in Training, I thought this is going to be the perfect opportunity. I get to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma and run in the NIKE marathon, the one to run in if you are a woman. Well if you are a guy too I suppose. But it is catered to women and just sounds like a great time. All the reviews I have read in magazines and online have only had positive things to say. It's in San Francisco and has excellent views along the way. So if anything, I am taking my camera and I'm going to get some cool photos.

A week after I went off to college, my friend Ashley from high school was diagnosed with Leukemia. I remember the phone call from my mom like it was yesterday. I was watching a movie with my friends Sarah and Erin and I stepped outside my dorm room to talk to my mom. I was in tears by the time I went back in. Thank goodness for those two being there or I probably would have driven back home that night and never returned to Savannah. I called Ashley as soon as I could get myself under control. I can still hear her voice, "I'm going to be okay." I knew she was, but I just couldn't believe it, as I'm pretty sure she couldn't either. I always wanted to physically be there for her, but knew that her family was there and I needed to stay in Savannah and continue with school and soccer. So raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is something that I will be very passionate about. It's also not just about raising money, it's about creating an awareness about the blood cancers and helping to find a cure. In the meantime, I get to get into the shape of my life and hopefully make some new friends and really test myself physically and emotionally. I know this can't be easy or everyone would be doing it.

I am keeping this blog so that everyone can follow along as I train and raise money. I have a kick off meeting tomorrow night where I get to meet the others on my team and learn more about fundraising. As my dad has said, it's not like I am selling chocolate bars and my parents can cover the part I don't sell. I am really excited about this opportunity, although I don't really think it has all set in yet, but maybe that's a good thing.

Please check out my fundraising page, http://teamintraining.org/sc/nikesf08/lmerkt and by all means donate! Also make sure you bookmark this page so you can check out my progress as I get closer to San Francisco.