Georgia on my mind

Easter weekend, the weekend of March 21st, we were in Northern Georgia with friends. The idea was to have a mini vacation and squeeze in some good mountain training runs. Well, we got some hard runs in alright. Friday we did a 5.7 mile run which was about 1/2 up 1/2 down, it was challenging but didn't get the best of us. I finished feeling strong and in shape!

On Saturday however, was a different story. Our 10 mile run was extremely challenging, the first hour was up a mountain. When we got to the top the views were amazing. The downhill was nice, but overall one of the toughest runs I've done. During that first hour I definitely felt defeated, it was tough!

The picture you see above is a view from the top of Springer Mountain. I went with Bill, Tucker (my running pup), and some good friends Beth, Aaron, their little boy Leon, and a friend Kailey (Beth, Tucker and Leon are pictured on the right). It was just a 2 mile hike but it was one of the highlights of the trip. We were able to hike to the start of the Appalachian Trail (AT), which I have been fascinated with since reading a Walk in the Woods. My plan is to start the AT at Springer Mountain in March of '09 and hike to the NC/TN border. All in all the trail is over 2,000 miles and runs from Georgia to Maine, but my plan is to do about 6-8 weeks on it rather than the 6 months it would take for a thru-hike.

Now we are back at home and I am dealing with another injury. Came up suddenly on last Saturday's run. I think I have figured out what it is, and without going into the details I believe it is subluxated cuboid syndrome (if you are really interested see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuboid_Syndrome). Of course this comes from my overpronation problem, that has caused almost all of my running injuries. But, as always I am determined not to let my physical "deformities" get the best of me, and to find a work around to get me back out there. After some research I've rigged up a small pad to place under my cuboid bone in my foot which is said to help, so hopefully it does, otherwise I'll bring in a professional.

I'll keep you posted!
Happy Running!

Thanks to God!

Couple of things, both of which I thank God for...

First, for now, I am pain free! Which is amazing after re-reading my frustrated last post. I don't really have much of an explanation, so I'll just count it as a true blessing!

Second, refers to the picture in this post. On Saturday the 8th, Megan and I had planned on running our 16 miler in O'Leno State Park, reportedly they had a well marked trail system where we could do our long run. Well, upon arriving we studied the map and were a bit confused on the reported trail distances but we ventured into the woods with my 16oz gatorade bottle and 4 gels. Over 3 hours later we made it back to the car as the sun was setting and dark was falling on the park. We got a little lost on the trail, which caused about 15 minutes of panic, because the woods were getting dark and we both have terrible night vision (and of course we weren't wearing our glasses). After about 7 minutes of personal panic, to which I tried to hide from my friend, I prayed for safety and peace.

We also ran 18.5 last Saturday, the 15th. We traveled down to Clermont and ran up the only "mountain" in Florida, Sugarloaf Mountain. To show you how desperate we are to find elevation, we drove 2 hours for a 300 ft. climb. But, not to fear, we found lots of other hills on our route, and were completely exhausted at the end of our 3 hour run!

This weekend we head up to the REAL eastern mountains of Georgia. We are renting a cabin outside Blue Ridge, GA, near the NC border. Elevation here we come, quads get ready!

My Unsung Hero

It is challenging being a "marathoner" and long distance runner sometimes, but the toughest job falls on my faithful husband. Every race he can he gets up at the crack of dawn with me to come out and cheer me on. He listens to all of my complaining about all of my aches and pains. He doesn't say a word when I vow that 'this race' (whatever race it is at the time) will be my last, only to hear me talk about the new race I've signed up for. All the hours I train, the miles I put on the car traveling to fun new training sites, and the money I spend on race entries, shoes, and electrolyte replacement drinks/foods, get nothing but support and understanding from Bill. And, all of that carb-loading he must endure with me, oh wait, I think he really enjoys that part! All of this without ANY glory. Bill is without a doubt my best friend and biggest supporter. I am 100% confident that I would not be doing any of this if it wasn't for his consistent love.

Running Update:
It's been awhile since I've "blogged", I must have been enjoying my birthday celebrationS (yes I was spoiled this year!) and focused on home improvement projects. As the birthday season has wrapped up and the home is starting to get sorted out... I'm back online.

Running is going pretty well. A couple weeks ago I ran the Gainesville 1/2 Marathon, and PR'd (running lingo for - I set a new Personal Record), so that was exciting. My folks came up and we had a great visit. I kind of took the week off of running before the race hoping to give my tendinitis issues time to chill, with the exception of 1 leisurely 3 miler, so I hope that explains why I was ridiculously sore the few days following the race. I never really get sore anymore, unless I do something out of the ordinary, so it felt kind of foreign. This past weekend Megan and I ran 14+ miles of trails and I felt really good. But, then this week hit. I ran Monday and experienced pretty extreme calf pain, which I attribute to my bum knee that I've been favoring. I also had some pretty sharp pains in my quad which followed up the groin. Last night the pain was so bad I could barely walk... so that was pretty discouraging.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty frustrated. The miles that I'm doing are really normal for me, my training has pretty much been by the book, but my body is barking at me for sure. I think this third marathon will be my last long distance road race for awhile, I hate to admit it but I think my legs need a break from concrete. I go to a PT today who is also a massage therapist, so hopefully he can work out some kinks.

Having said all this, I still am REALLY excited to be doing the Big Sur Marathon! I am constantly thinking of the kids in Kenya, 8 of whom ran the Kilimanjaro Marathon this past week (20 had to stay home because of visa problems, so frustrating), their training and terrain is way more challenging than anything I'll ever face, so it keeps me going. Just to give you an idea, their 20 mile training run consisted of over 2,300 ft change in elevation, and a normal run for them is at 6,000 ft! All of which is dirt and rock. Yeah, puts things in perspective for me!

Bye for now! Your support and donations keep brining tears to my eyes, thank you for joining me on this journey!!

Generosity

I am starting to see the effects of generous friends and family. I sent out my fundraising letters for Hope Runs last Monday and barely a week later we have raised $200! A feeling I can't quite describe comes over me each time I receive a check in the mail or an email telling me of a new online donation. I think it has something to do with the original feelings of trepidation when sending out the fundraising letters wondering what people will think when they read my request for money. But, then I receive a donation and I am reminded that it completely is not about me, it is about the kids at Tumaini, Huruma, and Shamba. I'm so overjoyed when I realize that the givers have looked passed the bumbling words of the messenger and seen the message.

So, thank you all who have taken the time to visit this site or have given to the children touched by Hope Runs. Bless you. "Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." -Desmond Tutu

Yes, I'm that tall...

Well, I forgot, yet again to take a picture before our Saturday run. I must get major morning brain or something! I can't believe I always forget my camera. My apologies.

The picture you see, is of Jacque and I after the Charlotte 1/2 Marathon in North Carolina. It was this past December. This morning Jacque and I ran 12 miles which is our last run before the Gainesville 1/2 Marathon next weekend. For those of you who don't know, I am the REALLY tall girl on the left! Yes, I'm really that tall, just over 6 feet actually.

Our run was nice. It started warming up towards the end and now it has turned out to be quite a warm day. Florida weather is strange. My last post I was sad about the hard freeze and today I am in shorts and a tank top! So silly.

Unfortunately my right knee is really bothering me. I'll be icing tonight and might take a few days off next week and swim and/or bike instead. I know it's just a little inflammation, and it will subside if I let it rest and ice like I should be. I might even treat myself to a leg massage to loosen up all the kinks... as I write that I realize how inappropriate that is, saying I'll treat myself, because if any of you reading this have ever experienced a deep tissue athletic massage, you know it brings tears!

Well, off to the garden, time to replant my veggies!

Day of rest?

Well, today I should be doing speedwork, but it is Valentine's Day and Bill has worked the past two days but is off today(he is a nurse so when he works it is a 13 hour day), so I'm thinking it might be a day of rest. Perhaps tomorrow I'll find the time for speedwork.

Last night was a great run with my running buddy Jacque. Jacque is a great friend and trained with me during my first marathon training. We did 6 miles and tried to find as many hills in Gainesville as possible on a 6 mile run.

This morning was a very sad morning for me and fellow gardeners/farmers. Last night we were supposed to get temperatures in the mid 30s (Fahrenheit), so no real freeze warning. Well, this morning everything was covered in thick ice. We apparently got into the 20s. Which I know isn't that cold compared with other places, but when your in Florida and the last freeze date is only 2 weeks away, you expect to have a warning of a hard freeze. My passion, other than running, is veggies, and I lost about 100 new veggie plants. It will be okay, I'll replant tomorrow, but some of my friends weren't so lucky, which goes to show that this freeze was a sneak attack.

But, if I didn't garden I would be thrilled at this cold snap and crisp air. Today though, I'll morn my little plants and be reminded again of what can happen when we try and out smart mother nature. After all, the books say the last frost date is March 5th, and it isn't March yet, so I have to let mother nature win this one.

Ocala run and good food

Last night was a great run. I went down to Ocala, FL (about 40 minutes south of Gainesville) to meet Megan after work to run 7.5 miles. Even though Megan lives in Gainesville, she works for the Marion County Court System in Ocala. So, to change our scenery and squeeze in a longer run before dark, Bill and I drove down.

The miles really flew by, I love running with Megan because of our great friendship and her sneaky talent of talking through any hills we encounter, to make sure we are adequately distracted. The nearly 8 miles felt like half that, and to finish our visit in Ocala, we treated ourselves to Thai food, which was gloriously sinful.

It's funny how in America we crave foods that our not our own, and then when we travel outside our country we come back hungering for those foods we call American. Is that normal I wonder? Or is that a symptom of Americanism? Like the saying the grass is always greener on the other side, did we make that one up?

As I write about my experience last night, I wonder what the kids at Tumaini ate for dinner? What can you buy at the markets right now? What is growing in February in Kenya? I hope it is every bit as delicious as our little Thai meal.