30 posts tagged “team in training”
The race is this Sunday! Eek! I'm runner #12894. I'm still a little wary of the race. I have been trying out some different socks, but I think I'm going to go with the beat up pair of New Balance ones that I wore for the marathon the first time around. I'm hoping to get a new pair of Race Ready shorts at the Expo. I've been training with my existing pair, but I want some in black.
I bought a foam roller. That thing hurts while you're on it, but it's like a miracle cure when you're off! Wish I had started this sooner. Too bad it's too big to take to WDW with me. I am going to have to be satisfied with the Stick.
Finally, I'm very happy with what I've accomplished with my fundraising. I appreciate all the support from those who donated.
Now it's on to the race. Go Team!
So, the curtailed mileage schedule continues. I only ended up doing 10 miles on Saturday, as instructed by the TNT coaches. It is very hard to get my brain to accept that this is the right course of action, especially when presented with others going 20 miles etc. Thankfully we have entered "The Taper" so now it won't be as obvious that I am hobbled. I did put in a couple of short runs on Sunday and today. I plan to do some elliptical work tomorrow so that I don't have too much pounding on my legs.
I had a wonderful massage yesterday though. I told her to go to town, and she really cranked it up on my legs. It really seemed to help, so I think I will have another about a week before the race. Hopefully I can find someone just as good in Albany.
On the fundraising front, I am still waiting for my corporate matching to come through, and when that does I will be above my goal. However, I have to fret in the meantime. It's still not too late to donate! If you want to contribute and help fight leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers, you can still do so online at my website (http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyvt/SWien) and if you do it this year, you can take the deduction on your 2007 taxes! :)
So that's what I'm doing right now. Maybe not to the true freak out stage, but getting close. We'll see how the run goes tomorrow. The therapy seems to be helping, although I have also reduced the mileage at the same time. I'm starting to become concerned about getting in a longer run (18-20 miles). I figure I will probably not make it to 20, but hopefully 18 next weekend.
Tomorrow we are scheduled for a 12 miler, although I'm not sure what I'll manage to do. The predicted temperature at 7 AM is 12 F. TWELVE freaking degrees! We also got 8 inches of snow yesterday. So 12 miles in 12 degrees. Makes me think of that old Sesame Street song. I bet you hear it in your head right now...
Only 44 days until the WDW marathon! It seems like such a short time! How did the time pass by so quickly? Last night was probably my penultimate soccer game for the time being. I have been trying to find a substitute for the team but I'm not having much luck. I need to stop though. It's getting too hard to get the running mileage in and I'm worried about possible injury close to my event. I have enough problems just with the running part!
After taking the week off to let my toe heal, I hit the trail again yesterday morning with the Team in Training group. It was cold cold cold! There was some wind, but again we are blessed with the trail being mainly shielded from wind as it is surrounded by trees along most of the route. The temperature at 7 AM when we headed out for our 10 mile run was about 28 F. As usual, it took me the first couple of miles to warm up.
When we go more than 8 miles, we get into a part of the trail with more hills. One of these had some iced-over puddles on it, so I had to watch my step. Don't want to slip! I felt a twinge in my knee on a couple of the uphill sections. That cold air makes them a little bit stiff.
On the way back from the 5 mile turnaround the running went a little more smoothly. I had a Double Espresso Clif Shot at the water stop (about mile 6.5). Not the tastiest thing in the world, so I may go with other flavors over that one. I'm not sure that the caffeine is really what helps me the most. I like the Mocha flavor, which has one "shot" of caffeine, so I would probably choose that one.
Hunting season is over, so there were geese back in the fields on either side of the trail. I also saw a great blue heron take off from a tree, giving a very loud call as he flew down toward the water. I'm not sure I've ever heard a heron's call before. It was a cool moment. I'm glad I decided to run without my headphones on. I've decided to try to do that more. I still have my iPod with me to record the data with my Nike+, but am trying to get used to going distances without headphones since the rules for WDW do state no headphones. I know there are a lot of people who will still have them, but there's so much external sound at WDW, I will just absorb the atmosphere and pull out the 'phones only when on the desolate stretches if necessary.
I was able to keep a good pace over the whole route, so I'm hoping to keep up with the 5:30 Clif Bar pace team this time around. I signed up online, and I'll probably visit the table at the WDW Expo. I figure if I can at least keep them in sight, I should be good. A good pace for me on the training runs has been 11 min/mile, but I'm not sure I can keep that up over the whole 26.2. That would give me a finish time of 4:48. I would be stunned if I finish in under 5 hours. Entering some of my recent race times, the Nike pace calculator gave me a goal time of 5:17. It would be awesome to smash my first marathon finish of 6:02:29. We'll see how the next few long training runs go. It may also depend on the weather on race day. Another hot and humid forecast would definitely not be favorable.
Wow, I've been slacking off on my updates! I finally got a race report posted for the Tower of Terror 13K run that substituted for my 12 mile long run that weekend.
Last weekend I was back in Rochester to do a wine tasting party as a fundraiser for Team in Training. It was a great success and we were able to raise about $850! Once again all the wine was provided by Keuka Spring Vineyards (that's their building in the photo to the right). Many thanks to the Wiltbergers for their continued support of me and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! I highly recommend that you stop by if you are ever in the New York Finger Lakes region. Keuka Spring has a beautiful view of Keuka Lake from their tasting room, and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. They even have chilled bottles on hand if you want to buy one and have a picnic outside with a view of the lake. With the proceeds from the tasting, I am at about 67% of my $4000 goal. Still a little bit to go, but we will make it! Thank you to everyone who has pitched in so far.
As far as training goes, I haven't had any major problems to deal with before this week. I had a blister develop on my little toe, and had tried to drain it. Big mistake! It ended up getting infected (yuck), so now I am on antibiotics and taking a few days off to let it heal. I have definitely learned my lesson about leaving the blisters alone!
Saturday morning we are supposed to run 10 miles, and the weather forecast is for temperatures just about at the freezing mark for the morning hours. Time to pile on the layers, kids.
Miles run since the beginning of August: 220
It's definitely fall here in Upstate NY. When I got up for my long run this morning, the temperature was just a hair under 40 F. I wonder if we're going to start running a little later also. We meet at 7 AM, but with the time change pushed out to November 4, we may be running in the dark in a short amount of time here.
I wasn't feeling all that great this morning. I had strained my groin muscle on Thursday, or maybe it was on Wednesday, and was noticing it yesterday. I talked to the coach about it, and she said just to take it easy and see how it felt. My ankle has also been a bit of a nag recently, although it's not swelling, which is good.
Today was a 10 mile day. The weather was good, with cool temperatures and mostly sunny skies. I had on my full-length tights and two layers up top. I wore gloves for most of the run as well. I never got too hot, so it was just about perfect weather for running.
As is often the case, the first couple of miles were rough. My legs felt tight and I was dragging a little bit. I decided to stick with Lynne who was doing a run/walk. Her run is pretty quick though, so it evens out to be a good pace. We decided to turn around at the 4-mile mark in order to avoid the second set of hills, and I ate some sport beans at the water stop on the way back. I didn't realize until later that when I had paused my workout at the first stop, I had accidentally ended the workout on my Nike+, so I lost about 5 miles of my run. I really need to get an armband to hold my nano, because I have been doing that too often lately.
When we got back to the parking area, I still had 2 miles to go, so we grabbed some water and took off down the trail again. Lynne was going to do 4 more since she's tapering for the Marine Corps Marathon, but her knee started to bother her, so she turned around with me. After the brief water stop, my hamstring had tightened up a bit, but my ankle and groin muscle seemed okay.
On the fundraising front, I'm off to a good start. I've got over $1,200 now, mostly from work colleagues. A lot of the money will double too, because my company matches any donation over $25. I'm planning another wine tasting event for Veteran's Day weekend, and I may do something else if I decide I need to boost my total.
Despite fighting off a cold/cough I'm sure I caught from my germ-bearing bundles of cuteness (aka nephews), I had a pretty good running week. I kept to my schedule, although I did swap the Thursday run for a Friday one, so I ended up running 3 days in a row. That could be why I was so tired. My ankle continues to bother me occasionally, and that is a little worrisome. Hopefully it will just continue to be a nagging ache.
I ran 9 miles on Saturday in Mendon Ponds Park. There were a fair number of deer and Canada geese out, and the leaves are turning nicely, so at least the view was good. My energy level was low however, so it was more of a slog than usual.
Also, my headphones finally seem to be on the way out. They are Nike Vapor earbuds, and the plastic earpiece on one broke a few months after I got them. The other earpiece finally broke and now the one on the left doesn't play sound at all. I'll have to get a new pair, so I'm trying to decide what to get. I like the earclip feature of the Flights, so I might try the metal version. Hopefully they wouldn't break as easily.
My trip to London and Germany was great! I even got in a few runs, which was an added bonus. In London, our hotel was near Regent's Park, so I ran around there a couple of times. It's a nice size and not too busy, so there was plenty of room to roam. I would recommend it to any runners looking for a spot to run in the city. It's a good thing they have those parks in London too, because running along the streets was pretty miserable. Too much car exhaust!
I also ran in the vineyards that are up behind the town in Germany that my father's side of the family comes from. It was a lot more hills than I'm used to running, so that was a good workout! I didn't end up going as many miles as I was intending because it was taking me too long to get up the hill.
My task this week is to get back on track with my training. Luckily it's early yet, so we're still in the shorter run stages. I went 7 miles on Saturday in 1:23 and didn't feel too bad afterward. That's a good sign.
Dear Friends,
Here I am again, getting ready to participate in my second marathon fundraiser for the Luekemia & Lymphoma Society! This year, my goal is to raise $4,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by running with Team in Training on January 13, 2008. I need your help.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a non-profit organization whose mission is to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. The money I'm raising goes toward much-needed blood cancer research, patient assistance, and professional education. A lot of progress has been made but leukemia is still the leading cause of cancer death among people under the age of 20.
This year, I am racing in honor of 9 year-old Abby Meacham (pictured at left), my mentor for this year's race Lynne Oudekerk, and in memory of my grandmother Joan, who passed away from lymphoma. If you had told me a year ago that I would complete a 26.2-mile marathon and then want to do it again, I would have thought you were crazy! Those who continue fighting, like Abby and Lynne, and those who have passed on, like Joan, inspire me.
Please sponsor me through a donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. If you're not sure how much to give, please consider a donation of $1, $2, $5 or even $10 per mile for each of the 26.2 miles. Please make your tax-deductible donation by October 31st at my website: http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyvt/SWien or contact me for offline donation information. In exchange, I promise to make it across the finish line on Sunday, January 13th!
Please feel free to comment here or message me if you have any questions, concerns or words of encouragement. Will you help me?
Thank you very much for your support!
