slow and steady

That is my new theme :) I'm not going to bother sharing times as this point, because time doesn't matter! I'm focusing on the finish line, and I'd like to be be breathing when I get there. Those Saturday runs are LSD--Long Slow Distance. Key word: slooooow. The LSD runs, while slow, really help to build endurance. Our run last saturday was 16miles! We were in Lake Havasu for a very special little girl who turned 5! (That was Cailyn, my neice, for those of you who didn't guess!) Today is her actual birthday, so "Happy Birthday, Cailyn!"
Tyson, Crystal and I set out on our LSD adventure (I know there are other blogs that the phrase "LSD adventure" would lead to something else entirely different, but remember the aforementioned definition!). We started running at about 6:20am, and kept on truckin' for several hours. Tyson was steadily ahead of us the whole way, and finished significantly faster, and he covered more distance! That's my man :)

The weekend was a great one, but is was not without much soreness.

To catch you all up on my last few weeks, I have a photo for you:

[I'm having some trouble with the photo upload feature, I'll try again tomorrow...in the mean time, I'll tell you that you should see a pic of my right foot, with my big toe featuring a large wine-colored bruise]
Ingore the need for a pedicure. Focus more on the bruising. That photo was taken a day after the major bruising set in, and actually looks alot better than it did the day before.

That toe has caused me some anguish these past few weeks. I injured it playing co-ed recreational soccer back on March 30th. Ok, so soccer is not my strong point, that's obvious. I've been trying to take it easy during my games to make sure I don't get hurt, but sometimes collisions are inevitable. My toe hurt like the Dickens, but I iced and elevated and did all that I could that night. The next morning, I went out and did my 14 miles. Maybe that wasn't one of my finest decisions, but I'm dedicated! It actually didn't hurt much as I ran, but boy did it hurt after. I ended up getting an x-ray and was diagnosed with a fracture, but I decided to get a second opinion from an orthopedic surgeon, and he said "no break". So, I'm taking his diagnosis. I still took over a week off from running and took to the pool. I learned a technique called "deep water running". Basically I strapped a flotation device around my waist so that when I stood upright I was submurged up to my shoulders. Then I ran. I didn't go far, though. It takes alot of movement to move in that water! But I chugged along and did all of my weekly runs in the pool.

My toe was feeling better so I got back to pounding the pavement last Thursday. I went to an accupuncturist on Monday and he did some Chinese Medicine techniques, so hopefully that is helping in the healing process.

I think that is enough for now. Sorry for the lack of updates, I'll try to stay on top of it!

Sabino Canyon

For the most part, my training has been going well. Last Saturday we ran up Sabino Canyon. It was gorgeous! It was also very flooded, making for an adventure. It rained quite a bit on thursday and friday, and with the debris from the Aspen fire filling up the under part of the bridges, all the water flows right over the top. We didn't let that stop us. We went straight through the freezing cold water. So, after each bridge, I felt like I was running with ice blocks in my shoes. I definitely could not feel my feet, but my shoes were really heavy. Needless to say, I did alot of walking up the canyon. But, I made up for it on the way down and ran most of the way.

It took me about and hour and 45 minutes to go up and back. The trail is a little under 8 miles. I don't think that time is so bad (considering all the walking), but I know I will improve the the next time I run up there.

This Saturday we face 14 miles. It's funny. It doesn't seem quite as daunting as I would have tought. Granted, it's still a scary distance for me, but I know that I will complete it. I did 12 miles two weeks ago, and I survived :)

I have been focusing ALOT on stretching. Especially that IT band I talked about. It still bothers me, but it is getting under control. At the advice of an excellent DPT, I purchased a foam roller, and have been using it religiously. It can be pretty painful as it rolls along the IT band, but it's a "deep-tissue massage" sort of pain. It makes a big difference for me. I love it. I have been using it to aid in the stretching of most of my muscles.

68 days 'til the Rock 'n' Roll marathon!

Anyone want to join me? Hanako originally recruited me, and now I have Crystal, Tyson and David committed to 26.2 grueling miles! Misery loves company ;)

Here I am selecting the winning names for our Team in Training fundraising raffle! We raffled off a weekend stay at Best Western, a cancer awareness bracelet, a Jazzercise gift basket, a Sidewinders gift basket and a Lenox serving dish. It was a success!

In the background is our Team in Training marathon quilt. A friend of TNT quilted it to represent the two upcoming marathons, our Rock 'n' Roll marathon in San Diego and the Mayor's Midnight run in Alaska. It is a beautiful quilt, and it represents all of the hard work that goes into fundraising and training. Each week a member of the team is presented with the quilt to signify hard work and dedication to the cause. I earned it that week, and was proud to hang it!

Below is a photo from our day at Walmart. It was a tough crowd, but Walmart is matching all of the funds we raised that day! Special thanks to Kelley (on the right) and Scarlett (not pictured) for all of their help.

Two things I have learned...

First: I finally know that a "runners high" feels like. My 8mile run on Saturday was amazing. It started out rough, and I was dreading the rest of the run. About 3-4 miles into I decided to buck up and concentrate. I ate a Clif power shot to give me some energy, and worked on my form. Shortly thereafter, one of the TNT coaches joined me and ran the rest of the way with me. He was a life saver. Having someone to chat with makes the run go by so much quicker. I was running intervals of 5:1, and with someone there, you can't really make any excuses on why it takes so long to start running again. So, an hour and 45minutes later, I completed 8miles. Crystal had to miss our group run, so she did the run by herself later in the day. She also had a great run, and was pretty pumped by the end.

Second: I learned what an inflamed IT band feels like. I'm sure any runners out there know just what I'm talking about. I had the pain on the outside of my leg, just below my knee. I know my mileage increase is to blame, but it certainly didn't help that I played soccer the night before, and then rode up to Phoenix and back on Saturday. My legs were not happy with me. I ended up taking the day off on Monday, because rest is the best think for IT ban inflammation. Yesterday I did some strength training for my core and my legs, but not much. Today I plan to do a little bit of running, but I will take it slow and be sure to stretch the IT band area, at least as much as I can.

Congratulations to the raffle winners! You should all have been notified and most of you have your prizes, so enjoy! Thank you for participating.

This Saturday is the Climb to Conquer Cancer, so join us if you can. Check www.teamgiant.org for details. Since I will be walking the Climb on Saturday, I will do my 10 mile run on Sunday.

I'm a runner?

Well, I'm not quite sure that I'm comfortable saying that quite yet. But, I can definitely say that I have acted a bit out of the ordinary. Two things I did this week that I can honestly say I didn't think I'd ever do:
I ran while I was sick
I ran in the rain

Running in the rain was actually quite nice, running while sick, not so much.
I woke up Friday with a pretty nasty head cold. I tried to rest and fight it off, but it was in full force when I woke up at 6:30am Saturday morning. Thankfully Sudafed came to my resccue.
I went to the race walk clinic before our group run so that I could learn a bit about using my walking time to my advantage. The information was useful, and I intend to "walk athletically" during my walk intervals as much as possible.

Saturday morning continued on with me completing 4miles. I ran about 2.5 of those 4. I definitely wasn't feeling up to par, but I fought through it anyway.

The rest of the day was dedicated to fundraising! Crystal and I (with the help of a couple friends) set up shop outside of Walmart to basically ask for donations and offer raffle tickets, brownies and bracelets for sale. Let me tell you, that was a tough job and we earned every penny. In total we raised about $300 there, and we are hoping that Walmart will match those funds.

This coming Saturday, our mileage jumps a bit....6miles! I think that may be the furthest I have ever run or walked in one time frame. The Climb is 3 miles up and 3 miles back, and I always walk both ways (I do jog a bit on the way up, but that's just to socialize). So, from here on out I'm going to be breaking personal records every week! It gives me something to look forward to :)