Week 3: 5 miles

Well, last Saturday was interesting to say the least. We ran for the first time at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek. There's a few small hills and it is much warmer there. We ran almost two miles when we came to a "T" intersection and there was NO direction sign. We started to head backwards when we saw the next group coming down the street. Since they were coming the same way, we collectively decided to take a right turn. After about 3 minutes running, we came to a "No Outlet" sign, so another decision to turn back was quickly made by our group "Jacqueline Hansen" and we took off to try and find the route. We managed to find the next sign and found mile markers 3 through 5. We had water stations at mile 2 and 4. I feel for the Mile 2 people, I don't think they had a single person come by!
After this "adventure" we will now receive a printed map before each run!

Saturday July 2nd, 6 miles!

This Saturday 5 miles! (29 miles total)

This Saturday is our 5 mile run. Slowly the miles are building! Last night I ran with EBFRW and did 4 slow miles. This is exactly what I needed. Sometimes I get disappointed with my time if it is too slow, but with my ankle still sore, I really needed to take it slow. I need to be more consistent with icing it at night. That seems to help a lot.
Donations have come to a screeching halt! I'm hoping it's because the office is overwhelmed with donations and are taking a long time to process. I still have a long ways to go!!

Week 2: 4 Miles

Saturday we did a 4 mile run (35:33). We had a new experience, RAIN! It's not suppose to rain in mid-June! Our group did really well; we came in 30 seconds early.
I bought new shoes Friday. 1/2 size smaller and one size more narrow. I also learned a new way of tying them so it doesn't cut-off the circulation in my foot yet still providing support for my ankle. Speaking of ankles and feet, my left ankle/foot is finally feeling better! I've been doing a few exercises to strengthen my foot and John has been great massaging them at night!
This weekend will be 5 miles! If you are interested in volunteering, we need people to hand out water (plus I receive $20 donation credit!) We will be in Walnut Creek this weekend if you are interested!

Training continues

My second day of training was Tuesday. During the week we run Tuesdays and Thursday for 30-45 minutes each day. Including Saturdays, this is the minimum that we need to complete for the marathon training. Yesterday I ran 4 miles in 31:33. That's 7 total miles; only 493 more to go!! :)

Garage Sale Success!!

The garage sale was a success!! I raised $680!! Thank you T.A. & John for your help! Without you I could not have done it! I plan to do another sale in late July, so...all of you that have cluttered garages and closets (you know who you are!)...

Fundraising update: With the proceeds of the sale & a few more donations...I have reached the halfway mark!! With another garage sale and several more donations (or a few GENEROUS donations) I'll have reached my goal of $3,000!

THANK YOU!! For you, the supporter, make this happen! THANK YOU!!

First day! 3 Miles

Here I am, the first day of training. I got NOOOO sleep last night. I didn't fall asleep until 12:30am and woke up during the night constantly. I finally got out of bed by 5:30am.
I guessed my pace group to be about 8-9 minute mile. So, I was with the first 10 that went out. We ran fairly fast. It was very sunny and pretty warm (upper 60's). At the turnaround point, I took a little fall, but caught myself from totally wiping out! A group of 6 of us ran together (I stayed in the back and let them set the pace.) We finished in about 22:09. That's a 7:24/mi pace, which I thought was fast for me, but I actually didn't have any problems doing it. So, the first pace group our coach put us in was "Bill Rodgers" at 8:30/mi, but then decided to bump us together with the other group (since there was only one of him!) to 9:00/mi. Actually, I think the 9/mi will be a better pace for me anyways! Plus we'll be doing 6:1 or 7:1 run/walk ratio. Run 6 minutes, walk 1 minute. I certainly did better than what I first thought! I figured if I got into the 10 minute group, I would very happy. I'm in the fastest group!! Woo hoo!

173.5 miles...time to hit reset!

I am currently at 173.5 miles and it's time to hit the reset key. No, I'm not really going to erase the log, it's sort of like resetting the trip meter on the car. There's no rolling the odometer back! Tomorrow will be my first three miles of official marathon training. Seems like nothing when I look back at just completing a 10 mile run and a total of 173 miles! Soon enough I'll be back running 10, 12, 15, and even 26 miles before the marathon!
Tomorrow I will be running a timed three mile run to see what pace group I'll run with. Check in tomorrow to see which group. I'm guessing 10 minute pace.
btw, GARAGE SALE SUNDAY JUNE 12th!

10 Miler!!

Wow!! Last night I ran with the EB Frontrunners and Jeff and I ran 10 miles! My longest run!! And it took all of 1 hour 26 minutes! My legs feel ok today. I can definitely tell that I ran a lot yesterday though! Rest for today (maybe I'll go to the gym though). I need to be prepared for the 3 miles on Saturday. Not that 3 miles will be difficult to do, but to do them well is my goal. This will determine what pace group I'll be training with for the marathon. I'm thinking about a 9:30 minute/mile training pace.
Thanks for everyone's support!!

Cool website to use

I found a cool website to keep track of my running, nikerunning.com. It has a really cool feature that shows time for mile splits for the Honolulu marathon. You enter the your time and it shows you each mile and how fast I need to run it. So cool! Also has some nice training plans for 5k - marathons.
It is raining today, so I'm not feeling the need to go outside and run! I may join the frontrunners tonight at Alameda to run. If other people show up, I run.

159.5 miles in 2 months!

Ran another 5 miles Monday night in 39 minutes! Something seems to have clicked because I'm running closer to 8 minute miles now. I think once I push the number of miles higher, I'll slow back down.

After two more generous donations, my total raised is $770! Only $2,230 more! After the garage sale on Sunday, June 12th (have mentioned that date before??), fundraising efforts will be in full swing! I am planning a couple of pool parties for the month of June. If you don't receive an invitation, that doesn't mean I have forgotten you, just send me an email!!

12 more miles!

Over the busy weekend, I managed to get in 12 miles in two runs. Plus I managed to set a new personal record (PR), 6 miles in 48 minutes!! I finally got a watch that I can keep track of my mile splits. I'm also thinking of getting the Garmin Forerunner 201. It has GPS and can trace your route and tell you anything and everything about your run (time, speed, distance). Awesome. (I'm such a running dork!)

Garage Sale this Sunday June 12th!

The Longest Run

Nine Miles! Yes, I ran 9 miles! Wednesday evening I met up with the East Bay Frontrunners (all two of them) and ran three times around Lake Merritt. 9 miles is my longest run so far! When we were done, my legs kept bouncing up like they wanted to keep going. (Another time, I told them!)
Just a reminder that I need to start collecting everything for the garage sale (JUNE 11th). If you have something you would like to donate, let me know! I can give you a receipt, if necessary.

Running while vacation?

Yes, it is possible to run while vacationing! Over the Memorial Day weekend, John and I took a nice long weekend break up at the Highlands Resort to camp. I ran about 12 miles, including a uphill run of about 1.5 miles (up 1400 ft!) in Armstrong Redwood State Park. It took little time to go down the hill! Like anything, unless you ask, you'll never know; there are a lot of runners out there! I had a nice 4 mile run with Tim Sunday morning and met Jeff, the President of East Bay FrontRunners (a gay running group). And this evening, I'll be running 9 miles around Lake Merritt (the longest run yet!) with the East Bay Frontrunners. (How quickly they get you!)

Training starts in only 10 days!

Just a reminder, Garage Sale June 12th!!!