I was TESTED!

And it wasn't pretty. Yesterday was our 12 mile team run in Grafton - I was all ready to go, just the usual early morning wake up that leaves me dragging - something I usually snap out of, apparently not yesterday. I have no idea what got into me, but I just felt like I couldn't do it. My body felt like rubber and wasn't in sync - terrible combination. Kristina and I both weren't into it and at mile 3 decided we'd had enough. As we approached our first water stop, I saw coach and Annelle (our mentor) shaking their heads at us, "I'm just done, I'm having a bad day and I just want to stop". They weren't having it. They wouldn't let us hop in the back of the jeep and call it a day. I was NOT happy to say the least. Yes, I will admit - I am was being lazy and making excuses and when I have my mind set it's hard to change it. I was PISSED to say the least. Thankfully they didn't let me give up. I set small goals for myself throughout the run and I am proud to report I DID finish. It wasn't all pretty, but I got it done. It really wasn't until mile 8 that I decided to finish the entire thing (coach said he'd come by every 2 miles and if I really felt like stopping he'd pick me up, of course he didn't end up checking on me because he knew I could do it!), of course at that point I was in a lot of pain - something I hadn't experienced 'til now. It wasn't muscle pain - all joint pain. My hips were SO sore. So sore that if I stopped for a water break, I was in tears when I started to run again.

All in all, it was a tough run but a very necessary one. I was miserable and MAD pretty much throughout the whole thing, but it was a lesson that will help me get through the tough times.

This week I plan on following the schedule to a T. I made a pact with Kristina that we'd work hard/push each other this week. Starting tomorrow morning (Monday) with a nice run at 6 am, can't wait for that! :)

It's been a few weeks since I've sent out my blog and fundraising link - fundraising has plateaued a bit and I'm hoping we can work on that this week! Does anyone work for a company that matches donations? Or knows someone who does? It's very easy - All you need to do is fill out the paper work (which I'd be HAPPY to do) and they will match my total (usually $1,000). It's very easy on your end and would be a HUGE help in my fundraising efforts! If anyone would be willing to help me out please e-mail me at danarunsnike@gmail.com.

If you would like to donate on-line, you may do so by clicking on the link at the top right-hand corner or my blog. Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement! This is a tough time in the training process - I need all of the motivation I can get!

xxo D

7/22/08

Wahhh...not my best day. I was SO tired after work all I wanted to do was nap but I had promised Kristina I'd run with her...what was I thinking?! Today was a bit rough so my goal was to get out of the house and be active. We got a mile into our run and decided to walk the rest...I know I know, I swear it's the first time! Eating on the other hand? BAD BAD BAD.

B: Starbucks Banana Chocolate smoothie (it's only got 250 cals and has a bunch of protein, didn't feel so bad!)
L: Small wheat/garlic baguette slices topped with rotisserie chicken, watermelon and a glass of milk
D: (this is where is gets bad...) 1/2 potato w/ a little veggie chicken pot pie. WW club crackers and late night macaroni and cheese (eeeek, at least it was whole grain!)

11 Miles & A New Agenda...

Hola! A few days late on my weekly post, I apologize! I had a pretty good week last week - 2 strength training workouts (upper/lower body), treadmill workout (blech!) and a nice 5-miler around n-boro. Saturday was our 11 mile team run - it was STEAMY! One thing about living in New England that sucks is the weather. It's never dry heat, theres always gotta be some humidity thrown in there.

I have a new way of tackling long runs. I only "start" the run when I get to the half-way point. For example, last Saturday I kept telling myself the first 5.5 miles was a "warm-up". Once I reached the half-way point, even though I was VERY sweaty and tired, I told myself what's another 5.5 miles? It sounds weird I know...but it works! Granted by mile 9 I was on the verge of tears - my hip flexor was pretty close to cracking in half I think. Thank goodness for Kristina, once we reached the top of the North St. hill I let out a little cry (a noise, whatever you want to call it), basically letting her know I was about to throw in the towel. At that point we had less than a mile and she wasn't letting me give in. This is the point in any run where you are pretty oblivious to everything around you (pretty sure I almost got hit by a car...or a side view mirror), look like you are going to drop dead and/or throw up. Kristina could see I was struggling and brought up "sam's girl". Every week we have a dedication and person we run for - Saturday it was for "sam's girl". Sam is a med student working in pediatrics, one of his patients was a little girl who had Leukemia - she hated being cooped up in the hospital while all of her friends were free to enjoy summer, in turn she was not fond of any of her Dr's...except for Sam. She would light up when Sam was around, making him pictures, one of which said "my favorite dr!". Dr's had hope for her, but she took a turn for the worst and passed away a few weeks back.
So, as I was in my moment of panic Kristina looked over to me and says "sam's girl, dana"...without hesitation I yelled "SAM'S GIRL" right back. As I said it tears filled my eyes. The least I could do was finish strong for this little girl who went through more pain than I'm sure I will ever experience in my lifetime.
Those last 2 minutes of my run were definitely the most meaningful. K and I began singing "Sweet Caroline" at the top of our lungs while doing a little dance (more like flailing our arms). I'm sure everyone who saw us thought we were insane and that was OK. 11 miles down, baby!

_______________________________________________________________

Now, don't get my wrong, I am VERY happy with the effort I have been putting into this, but in true Dana fashion, I can always find something to criticize (haha!). Now that my workouts are improving, my next area of business is eating. I am still enjoying big delicious dinners, most of which come within hours of my long runs, and the occasional trip to Bedford Farms for homemade ice cream after work. All of which is fine as long as I am consistent with my HEALTHY eating. Sooo...for the next few weeks I am planning on updating DAILY with my workout and eating plan. I am hoping this will keep me somewhat accountable knowing everyone will see it. For the past week I have done my best to cut out processed foods and focus on eating "clean". Please feel free to yell at me if I begin to stray :)

JULY 21, 2008

WORKOUT: Goal was to work on my speed, so I broke my 4 miles in half.
2 miles hard on TM - took me 17 minutes.
20 mins. upper body
2 miles "easy" on TM - took me 20 minutes.

FOOD
B: 1/2 dry oatmeal, 1 tsp. brown sugar, 1/4 cup milk & 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
L: Trader Joe's Roasted Veggie Enchilada (spinach, mushrooms)
S: Banana
D: Rotisserie chicken, 1 cup WW pasta w/ chopped pepper, onion, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumber, feta drizzled w/ olive oil, (and this is where I became weak) 1 cup of "mexican shells".

Land of DOUBLE DIGITS!

I can't believe it, I am pretty much halfway done with training...insanity! Yesterday marked my entry into double digits...pretty scary but very exciting!:)


I did my best to make up for my bad week prior, but recently I've been feeling like something always gets in my way.


I was definitely feeling my slump during my 1st run of the week, but refused to stop or give in to to the heavy breathing and soreness. I never realized how competitive I am with MYSELF. It's actually a little ridiculous. If I don't perform consistently, I get so down on myself. If I don't run fast enough, or meet my goals I can't let it go. After our team run yesterday this came up. I was chatting with Byron, one of our mentors. I was asking how his first marathon went and if it was a total disaster (to which he replied "yes") and what advice he had for me. He said the mistake he made was over-training - he will never again follow the training schedule to a "T", because it was just too much. I can totally relate to this. Pretty much from week 1 I haven't followed the schedule, and was a little ashamed to admit it. Now, not so much. I always want to do more than is asked, something that is good for most everything except training for a big race. I guess that is my lesson of the week. My over-all goal is to FINISH the race, throw the desired times out the window. I am leaving it at that before I start over-analyzing :)


Yesterday I finished 10 miles. It was definitely a milestone:) We had water stops every two miles beginning at mile 3, and I swear that is what got me through! Once it was over, this wave of emotion came over me...10 miles is one of the many milestones I will reach, and damn it feels GOOD!

No specific goals for the week, just wanna keep on keepin' on as they say...

I am SO happy to report that as of today, July 14th, I have raised $1225!! It wouldn't have happened without your love and support...thank you all!!

If you haven't (or have!) donated and would like to, you may do so by clicking on the link in the top right-hand corner of my blog. THANKS AGAIN!

xxo D

Maine is NOT for running!!

Hey everyone! Here we go with the update of the week! I am ashamed to say that last week was not a good one - at all. I don't know what got into me, I wasn't feeling the least bit motivated. Ok, I will say it...I BARELY ran last week. Ugh. I ran 4 miles last Sunday and that was it until the 9 miler I had on Saturday 7/5. Yea...just imagine how that went!

I am 100% to blame. I wasn't being good to my body and let myself revert back to my famous couch potato days. Bad!! Saturday quickly approached and I KNEW it wasn't gonna be fun - and I was right.

Before I get into that, let me tell you about my weekend in Maine! I went up to Poland, ME with the Kenney's (family friends). Their family has a beautiful home on Lake Thompson - breathtaking! We arrived on Friday morning, had lunch with the family and then high-tailed it to the water for the rest of the day. Apparently I didn't listen to my own advice and got BURNT on my stomach and thighs! It was awful. Wearing pants, shorts or anything with a waistband just killed (imagine how those 9 miles were...ahhh). I learned my lesson quickly, and lathered up ASAP. I got to visit with C & E's grandparents, Don and Joan Zelten (sweetest hosts ever!), Aunt Mary and cousins Kristen & Karie, and of course Caren and Patrick. We enjoyed big family dinners, late night games of Scattergories and a beautiful fireworks display.

Saturday rolled around and neither Catherine or myself wanted to run. We were supposed to wake up at 8 but pressed "Snooze" 'til 10. Another bad idea - now we know why our team runs are early in the morning...because it's not 90 degrees! Catherine was nursing some serious shin splints and I was just feeling like a bump on a log - but we did it. 9 miles under our belts!

I'm not even exaggerating when I say 6 out of the 9 miles were up-hill. It was BRUTAL. Never again will I abandon my training schedule because I was NOT ready for that. I have learned my lesson.

After my poor performance on Saturday, I am making a promise to all of you to STEP IT UP from now on. I have been working very hard, but not hard enough. There are so many elements that go into proper training and although I have been consistent with most of them - I am still slacking.

I realized that a "slow" training week can affect the strength and endurance I have built thus far, and I'll be damned if I let it affect anything else from here on out! (hold me to that...ok?!)

I just got back from a 6.8 mile run (I'm LOVING my Nike chip!) with Megan and am heading to yoga tonight at 7:15.

I am happy to report that as of today, July 7th, we have raised $955!! I am so thankful to all of you who have donated and given me words of encouragement - PLEASE keep them coming.

Now, can I ask a small favor of all of you? If you know of anyone who would be interested in donating or my story - please pass my TNT (link at top right of my blog) and blog link on to them! (PLEEEASE!). I have been approached by so many people thanking me for putting my time and effort into this, it only makes me want to exceed my goal.

I love you all!
xxo D

Bad Ass?...errrrr...OK!

I have been called lots of things for running this marathon - crazy, ridiculous and even stupid (thanks whoever called me that...). However, my favorite to date, believe it or not, is "bad ass". I was talking to a good friend the other day - she sent me an e-mail that was full of encouragement and at the very end she ended with, "you're bad ass...". I never thought the word (s)? "bad ass" would have a profound effect on me, but somehow it did (in a weird empowering sort of way...). I AM bad ass for embarking on this journey - one with many ups, downs, pains, smiles and tears. I have many moments where I feel very proud of what I'm doing, but also moments where I feel overwhelmed, tired and downright crazy. I knew going into this that it wouldn't be a piece of cake, that there would be days I just wanted to give up, call Monica at the TNT office and tell her this just wasn't working out and "thanks, but no thanks". I do feel like that, often actually - but I also find myself worrying about things that initially never even crossed my mind. What if I get hurt while training and don't even make it to the race? What if I don't make my fundraising goal? What if I can't get through the long team runs? What if I let everyone down? I also never knew what a roller coaster of emotions I'd feel. One second I can't lace up my shoes fast enough, and the next I have NO desire what-so-ever to get off the couch. I have come to expect it, but it's still not always easy to snap myself out of it when I'm in the moment.

This past week has been a good, but interesting one. Physically I have been all over the place. My goal for the week was to work on my cross-training - I have realized that strength training is a MUST in addition to my running. As the mileage is increasing, I have been noticing how weak my upper body really is. Last week I took a Body Pump class (high repetition strength training class that covers everything from biceps to glutes), and worked in a 30 minute circuit in addition to running...and boy did the extra activity tire me out!

I am pretty pleased with my workouts last week - some days I was on and others not so much, but I got it all done, that's all that matters...right?

Saturday 6/28 was our 8 mile run. The weather just wouldn't give me a break - when I left the house at 7 am it was MUGGY and CLOUDY. Awesome start to the day. I was NOT excited to be up that early. What I could have used was a sunny, low 70's kind of day (couldn't everyone?) - but apparently the weather man felt differently.

It was a rough start - the 1st 3 miles my legs felt like tree trunks, I was tired, uninterested and sweating buckets. Mind games were in full effect the entire 80 minutes I was running, again no break there. I trudged to the end, only stopping for quick water breaks and when I reached the end my hips felt like they might crack in half. Nothing else to report except that it's o-v-e-r.

Workouts Last Week:
Sunday: Off
Monday: 4 Miles/ 60 min. Body Pump
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 7 Miles
Thursday: 4.2 Miles
Friday: 2 Miles/ 30 Min. Circut
Saturday: 8 Miles

I am hoping for another productive week in terms of training, wish me luck!

I am up to $855 as of today, June 29th...YAY! Thank you all SO much! If you haven't (or have!) donated and would like to, please click on the link at the top right-hand corner of the blog. I can't express how much your support means!

Love D

PROGRESS!

Hey everyone! I will start off by saying I had another great week of training (as I sit here icing my knees with bags of frozen veg tables!). I am finally beginning to see my endurance improve! I can officially say I am OBSESSED with running AND all things running.

In the beginning of the week I was having a lot of knee pain (primarily in the knee cap) and was starting to freak out. It's too early for any injuries - so I went to the Dr. to check things out. I have since started taking Glucosamine Chondriton and Flax Seed Oil (thanks Rena!), both which help lubricate the joints. That, along with icing my knees and popping the occasional Ibuprofen has REALLY helped the discomfort. I was even able to increase my mileage this week without over doing it.

I feel like every week I have a running break through. This week I reached the milestone of getting through my 6 and 7 mile runs without feeling like I was gonna die. In fact, I learned I can actually carry a conversation well past mile 5 - trust me...that's huge! I also focused on a faster pace (another milestone which we will get to later!).

Over the course of the week I ventured into no man's land AKA Grafton, MA (which is beautiful). It is literally farm after farm - we even made a new best friend, a horse that we named Ginger (seriously, we come up with the most ridiculous things to keep us from getting bored, naming random horses is one of them!).

I just returned a few hours ago from our 7 mile team run. I didn't feel my best today, but I definitely exceeded my expectations. The morning didn't start off very well - I forgot my breakfast and resorted to a packet of GU (energy gel) because my stomach was going crazy before we even started the run. Thanks Coach Kevin, if it weren't for you I would have been toast this morning!

Kristina (another teammate) and I ran together today and boy did we kick some major (excuse me mom!) ass. We were flying! We ran to Westboro and through Tuft's Vet school where we saw some lamas, really big cows, roosters etc.

When we came to our last hill we decided to try out Coach K's hill climbing strategy - running up the hill in a zig-zag form. I'm not even kidding when I say we ran up that hill pretending like we were airplanes (wings out and all!) - I spent more time laughing at myself and "flying" then I did paying attention to the hill I was climbing. Whatever gets the job done!

When all was said and done we finished in 72 minutes (that is INCLUDING 4 short water stops). MUCH better than I expected. I have never been able to carry a 10 minute pace that long - yay for improvement!

Workouts Last Week:
Sunday: Off
Monday: 3 miles/ Body Pump (weight training)
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 4.2
Thursday: 6.2
Friday: 0ff
Saturday: 7

I also want to thank everyone who has helped me reach the point I'm at. I owe my friends, especially Megan, a BIG thank you for letting me vent about my training and share my successes. To everyone who has contributed to help "wipe out" blood cancer - I can't thank you enough!

If you haven't and would like to contribute, there is a link to my TNT page in the top right-hand corner of my blog.

xxo D