august 26, then and now.

Seven years ago on August 26, 2001 Ashley Boyer was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoma Leukemia. She was only 14 years old and battled through several years of treatments and hospital visits. Today, August 26, 2008, Ashley is in full remission and graduated from the French Culinary Institute in New York City. She is a true hero and has followed her dreams when she could have easily given up. On October 19 I will be running a measly 26.2 miles for Ashley and all the people who have battled blood cancer. I say measly because it cannot possibly compare to what Ashley had to go through. She is my hero! Congratulations Ash for graduating!

This past Saturday we ran 10 miles! My hamstring was still bothering me a bit, so Anja and I did a little bit of walking, which I think is good for me! We got free massages afterwards from Bob and Ruth and Blue Ridge Massage! It was great and I felt good all day Saturday. I definitely wasn't quite as sore as I was the first time I ran 10 miles, so that is a good sign! My body is definitely getting accustomed to running long distances. I have also realized that walking for a bit after my long run helps with recovery and helps with not being so sore. So that is something to keep in mind, especially since the runs are just getting longer!

This Saturday we will be running a full 16 miles! I cannot believe that I am going to run that far! It also makes me realize the marathon is just that much closer. We will only have 2 more very long runs (18 miler and 20 miler) and then we start tapering in order to recover and build up for the marathon! It's just around the corner and all I can do is hope to be healthy! So here's to a good run on Saturday! I'll let you all know how I manage to get through a full 16 miles!