Many of you are familiar with the "No Wimps" shirt. That's something we've been taught to say and have been taught to think. It's been 16 weeks of training and believe me I've had to really remind myself every week why I'm dedicating myself to this cause. I can think of many people that I've known, heard about, or just met that have inspired me to continue going. Just yesterday I had a family party at my house and my uncle invited his friends. In speaking with my uncle's friends I came to find out that they were Lymphoma survivors. Most of their family has had Lymphoma and they've all survived thus far. My uncle's friend, Charro, told me how she was told that she was not going to recover and had very little time to live. She is now in remission and she is loving life. It was wonderful to hear her story and see how much she enjoys life through her bright smile. Although she is still recovering from the chemo and radiation, she is going to do the Disney marathon later this year. I'm happy to know that the funds you've helped me raise has had a hand in helping Charro and her family. I've raised $2340 of my $2500 fundraising goal in these 16 weeks and I have several more weeks before I'm done. This is the most I've fund raised and I couldn't have done it without my special donors. Thank you!
This was my most recent run in San Anselmo at Sleepy Hallow Park. I took it nice and easy. I ran in the back of the pack because I have missed three Saturday training runs. The first Saturday I missed I was in Las Vegas visiting my father that had quadruple bypass surgery and a heart valve replaced. This was out-of-the-blue and I had to stop what I was doing to go be with my dad. I've always wondered what would happen if something came in the way of my training. I've wondered how it would affect me. Well, Mama Lisa, my coach, told me to take it easy while I was away. She said that I'm one of the few people that train myself the hardest and push myself. It felt really good to hear her tell me to relax a little. Unfortunately I take the training calendar very seriously. So I followed Mama Lisa's verbal training schedule while I was gone. She told me to continue with my training schedule on Wednesday. I did that but Wednesday was a 10 mile run. Not thinking anything of it I wore sandals that day. I hadn't worn sandals since last year. Guess what? I hurt my calf wearing sandals just by walking in them. I didn't trip, fall, or hit anything but I must have been clenching onto my sandals throughout the day. By late afternoon my calf was aching as if I had torn my muscle. I was a little worried. I iced and took it easy, again, for the next few days.
Well, when I returned from Las Vegas I tried to run again but my muscle hurt too much. I had a race I was looking forward to since the beginning of my season. It was a race that Team In Training had scheduled as part of our training. The race, called Quicksilver 25k, was to take place in San Jose. I did everything I could to help my calf get better but I twisted my ankle on the opposite leg the day before. It wasn't in God's plans for me to run that race. Oh well. I got to sleep in. So that was the second Saturday I missed with my team.
The third Saturday I was all better but I had a fundraising event. I was at the Oysterfest in San Francisco pouring beer all day long. All the tips were to go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I had seven lovely people donate their time to help me fund raise. Together we raised $720 in tips. Not too shabby right? Needless to say it was a long day and a lot of fun.
I missed my team and I was so happy to run with them on Saturday. I've been running on my own throughout the week and it's been quite difficult. I've learned that it takes a whole lot of motivation and determination to get through the lonely workouts every day. You see the picture to the right? Well, we saw wild chickens, wild turkeys and deers last Saturday. It was a beautiful and gorgeous day. I'm looking forward to spending this weekend with my team again. We're going to spend the weekend in Auburn. We will be doing day 2 of the Western States Training Camp. The Western States Training Camp is a 3 day training of 70 miles total in preparation for the 100 mile race that takes place on that same course. Hundreds of ultra marathon athletes get together to learn from each other on techniques, running attire, nutrition, etc. The training weekend is split up into 30 miles Saturday, 20 miles Sunday and 20 miles Monday. After the runs they have speakers and dinner. I'm excited to be a part of this experience and learn from more experienced runners. Here's a little bit of interesting information about Western States from my coach.
"Western States is the oldest 100-mile "ultra" event; the grand-daddy of them all. That's one of the reasons that it is so hard to get a spot each year. How did it get started?
In 1974, Gordon "Gordy" Ainsleigh was the first to run the course of the Western States Endurance Run. At the time, only horses participating in the 24-hour Western States Trail Ride used the trail. When his horse went lame prior to the race, Ainsleigh decided he would run the torturous 100 miles of mountain trail from the Squaw Valley Ski Resort to Auburn, California, rather than look for another horse to ride. Ainsleigh, amazingly, completed the 'equestrian race', without a horse, in 23 hours and 47 minutes. This was the fabled beginning of the Western States Endurance Run, and the beginning of the modern sport of ultra distance trail running." This is why 100-milers (and many 100-Ks) to this day, still give out Western-style belt buckles (usually) for finishing. By the way, Gordy still runs the race after all these years and wears a number 1 bib number. I hope you get to meet him next weekend." Here is the link if you'd like to check it out http://www.ws100.com/.
Happy trails!
