Kickoff, 5 miles, and first wave of donations!

This week was a bit better than last in terms of my training. Well, let me correct that, this past weekend was a lot better. Unfortunately due to my schedule in the evenings after work, I wasn't able to get any training in at all until Friday. However, before I get to my training, I need to talk about the Central PA Team in Training Winter Kickoff 2o10!

On Tuesday, August 24, the TNT Event Staff, coaches, mentors, team members, and Honored Teammates came together for the Kickoff. This was the first time we all came together in support of the LLS mission, and essentially "kicked off" our season of four events - the Walt Disney World Marathon and Half-Marathon, and the P.F. Chang's Rock-n-Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon (held in Arizona the weekend after the Disney events). Our Honored Teammate for Disney, Jeff Allen, was introduced and spoke, which really gave the reason we are all running a face and a story. I also got to talk briefly with my coach, Linda, and my mentor, Ally. I even found out that I know someone who is going to be walking the Disney Marathon; I first knew Rita because she is the mom of someone I went to high school with, and who was in the band with me, and she also attends the same church as I do. Even though I know one person, there are a lot of great people I am looking forward to getting to know as we train together.

Speaking of training together, I am unable to go to the team run tomorrow night because of an event I have to be at for work. Then, on Saturday, I will be attending the wedding of two beautiful people, Nicole and Josh, so I won't make it to the first Saturday run (which is still technically pre-training). However, I am planning on making it to the Tuesday night run on the 7th, which will officially be the second day of the 18-week training!

So, back to this past weekend. But even before we get to that, I guess I should describe what happened on my 4 mile run that I did on Sunday the 22nd after my last post. For some reason, I decided to run out Erly Road, and up Mannsville Road to Middle Ridge. Well, obviously to run up to "the ridge", I needed to go up a hill - a pretty steep hill....or at least so it seemed to me at the time. I didn't make it up the hill without having to stop - twice. And I got sick...I didn't throw up, but I was feeling pretty awful (dizzy, nauseous, etc.) and actually had to sit on the guardrail for awhile. I attribute it to various things, and I'm sure the hill didn't help much. So, I wasn't entering this week with high hopes, especially knowing I wouldn't have much time at all until the weekend to work on my training.

This past Friday was an absolute gorgeous day! So, as soon as I got home from work, I packed up my bike (it barely fit in the Santa Fe with the seat folded down...I will need to look into a bike rack that I can attach to my hitch) and headed to the Cumberland Valley Rails to Trail in Newville. I biked from Newville almost to Shippensburg, turning around at the Shippensburg Township park. In two hours, I estimated that I went about 18.5 miles and it was awesome! The trail was lined with farms and the mountains in the distance paralleling the trail was a great backdrop. I was a little concerned as I had never been there before and was by myself, but the individual who told me about the CVRT assured me it was safe....and I felt pretty safe....until I saw a kid in a mask sitting on the side of the trail loading a gun! But don't worry, it was just a paintball gun:-). I will DEFINITELY be heading back several times to bike, and probably run, too, just so I can get off pavement once in awhile - I can't wait to see it in the fall with the leaves changing (my absolute favorite time of year).

Saturday I was to do 4-5 miles. Optimistically, I GoogleEarthed a 2.5 mile trek on Little Buffalo Road along the lake and headed out. I ran the 5 miles (okay, so I walked 2 minutes at both 20 and 42 minutes) in 59 minuts and 19 seconds. But the BEST part was who I literally ran into a little past half-way in to my run, and who met me back at my vehicle. One of my very closest friends Emilee (we go WAY back), her husband Ryan, and their Golden Retriever, Ellie "stalked" me to Little Buffalo so we could go get ice cream afterwards! We ended up not stopping after ice cream, as then we ended up at Cluggy's for pizza, wings, fried mushrooms, (so much for those 596 calories I burned on my run) and LOTS of laughs! I haven't laughed as hard as I did Saturday night in a very long time...

Sunday I attempted to go for hike along State Game Lands, but ran in to a sign that said "Danger. Unsafe Conditions. Keep Off. Pennsylvania Game Commission". Not being one to break rules, I turned around before I barely even got started...it turns out that the sign was just talking about a bridge and not the trail! (I found that out because I have some pretty cool connections with the Game Commission - haha!) Oh well, I'll make it back to that trail for some cross-training in the near future. I took advantage of being so close to Em's dad's place, and since Em, Ryan, and Ellie were there already for the afternoon, I went to visit them and hang out by the pool for a bit before heading for some dinner at Mr. G's in Marysville on the deck. I was so lucky to have two great evenings with them in a row!

I took 133 fundraising letters to the Kickoff meeting, and they mailed them for me last week. I know they mailed them for sure, because today at work, 2 of my awesome co-workers - Kathy and Mitch - gave me their donations! I also received a donation in the mail from Steve and Holly when I got home today! This'll be so exciting to get the mail everyday - sort of like getting our wedding RSVPs back (but not really since they were mailed to my parents and my dad just brought me bundles to work everyday)! I am still going to try to get a few more letters out, and also place collection boxes at both of my dad's offices. Thanks to Aunt Barb & Uncle Dave, Alexis, Kathy, Mitch, and Steve & Holly, I have raised $196.50 already - 5.8% towards my goal!

I can't wait to see what the coming week will bring in terms of fundraising and training!

Pre-/Base Training Continues...

To help me out a little with my training, I bought a Polar Heart Rate Monitor/watch. I've been running with this nifty gadget for about one-and-a-half weeks now. Although it automatically sets my "zones" (light, moderate, and hard) based on my sex, age, height, weight, etc., I think they may be a little "off" for me, so one of these days I am going to have to check out what my actual 'resting' heart rate is before I even get up out of bed. The reason I am thinking they may be a little "off" is when I run, oftentimes my watch "yells" at me to back it down a little because I am exceeding my "hard zone" of 155-173 HR, yet I still feel like I am not running to my maximum potential. So, if I figure out my true resting heart rate, then I will be able to better-program my monitor to my actual HR stats and zones. I have fun coming back after a run and recording the results of my run - time, Max and Avg HR, calories burned (and the percentage of those being fat calories), etc. Now I just have to figure out how to use all this information to my advantage!

The last two weeks, and the last week in particular haven't been my best. I know I haven't been eating like I should, which may be when I run I don't feel very well and my time really suffers. One thing I am going to try to improve on is eating better, and the first step was buying some whole wheat bagels I keep in my office for breakfast; I work with a guy who is pretty big in to biking and nutrition, so he has given me lots of good tips not just on biking, but also nutrition and how to use my heart rate monitor - the whole wheat bagels were one of his tips. Additionally, I missed two runs this week - Thursday I was to do 3 miles, but instead I went to the Perry County Fair. Then yesterday I was supposed to do 4 miles, and I planned on doing so when I got home from my cousin's Housewarming Party, but I found myself getting caught up in a game of trivia and didn't get home until it was too close to dark to start a 4 mile run. To try to make up a bit for these missed runs, I will do 4 miles later on this evening.

On Saturday the 14th, I attemped 4 miles for the first time. Since I was upping my mileage (even though it was just a little), I decided to walk 2 minutes every 10 minutes, and then run pretty hard during my 10 minute runs. It worked pretty well, I think, and I finished the 4 miles in 45 minutes and 45 seconds, which equals a 11.44 min/mi. If I can keep exacty that pace for the actual marathon, I should be able to finish in my goal of 5 hours, although hopefully I won't be walking every ten minutes :-).

This past Wednesday (a cross-training day), I had a nice 15 mile bike ride, as I rode to Little Buffalo State Park, then along the lake there, and back home. I wasn't completely sure of the miles, but I knew it was somewhere around 14. Rather than go back and drive it, I took the advice of my not-so-little brother, Eric (who has a marathon and a half-marathon to his credit - the picture below is after he completed the Philadelphia half-marathon in November 2009 (my mom also completed it)....you can see why I call him my "not-so-little" brother!), who maps his routes and measures them on Google Earth. The measuring tool worked pretty well, and when I used it on my standard routes I run up and down Erly Road, I found that I may actually be running a little bit more than 3 miles when I run up to my 1.5 mile point and back (which might have something to do with my horrible times when I compare them to what I ran my two 5K's in this past spring). While at Little Buffalo for a picnic last Sunday, I grabbed a trail map - I have lived so close to this state park almost my entire life and have spent a lot of time there, but had no idea of all the hiking trails that are there! Since it was to be a day to cross-train, I took a little hike on one of the trails. I think I will be taking advantage of the Little Buffalo trails a lot on cross-training days now! I would also like to check out the Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails, which I also just found out about this week thanks to another co-worker - this rail trail goes from Newville to Shippensburg and is 11.1 miles one way. Considering going from Blackwell to the Turkey Path and back is slightly longer than 22.2 miles and I've already done that, I figure biking the CVRT will be no problem (not to mention there won't be a 2 mile hike in the middle of it, either). I'm sure I'll hit up the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail with my bike some Sunday afternoons this fall.

This Tuesday is the Winter Season Team in Training Kickoff. Although I've already met both my mentor and coach at the informational meeting I attended, and some Central PA LLS staff, I will also get to meet my fellow team members and hopefully my Honored Teammate, Jeff Allen. Additionally, if I bring 150 fundraising letters to the kickoff, LLS TNT will mail them for me, saving me $66! So, this afternoon I am working on getting my letters and sponsor forms personalized and addressed; I had started them a little over a week ago, but I still have more than half to do today. Hopefully after they get mailed out Wednesday I will soon start to receive some donations back in the mail and via my web-site, so that will be exciting to track. Since I took a break from them to write this blog update, I'd better get back to them!

An anniversary, a 5K, and a canoe float...

What a busy week, and a jam-packed (but good) day today ended the week!

Monday was an "off" day for pre-/base training. Tuesday I was to run 1-2 miles, but I worked a 12+ hour day due to a presentation I had to give in the evening, so I didn't get home until after 9pm, and therefore wasn't able to get a run in (and, of course, I didn't get up and run before work - not sure why I ever thought I would be able to do that).

Wednesday was our 3rd anniversary, so we headed to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore where I got to feed a giraffe (her name was Angel)! Afterwards we headed to Inner Harbor (we went there with some friends the night of our wedding) and walked around a bit before dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. On the way home, we stopped and picked up my anniversary gift from Neil - a writing desk for my side of the bed to replace my coffee-table nightstand and which matches our new bed! It was very hot, but I am told it was also very hot the day of our wedding, but I don't recall that at all!


Thursday I ran 2 miles after another long day at work (I conducted an all-day Basic Archery Instructor training workshop for 4 gym teachers, a principal, and an emotional support teacher at Halifax), and it amounted to about an 11.16 min/mile. Yesterday was an "off" day".

This morning, Neil and I were up early for a Saturday (well, early for me - Neil is always up early), and we headed to Millerstown for the Wildcat 5K to benefit Wings of Kindness. A lot of friends from our church also participated, so that was nice! Neil and I both took 2nd place for male and female 25-29! Neil beat his previous 5K time of 27 minutes (and some seconds) and finished in 25 minutes (and some seconds). Me, on the other hand, didn't exactly set any land speed records, as I finished in about 34 minutes and 28 seconds (I can't remember the exact seconds) - my first mile was 10'25", and at 2 miles I was about 20'50'', so I really must have had an awful last mile (which I felt - and, I also walked for probably about 15 seconds up a steep hill from the river up to the bridge right around the beginning of the last mile, and when I started running again I was really sluggish). The last half-mile or so was not on the road, but rather along a trail (which also began the race), and so that was different and a bit hilly. I try to rationalize my down-hill slide in time by reminding myself that really, I have only been running again for two weeks, so hopefully things will improve.

Some of our friends from church at the race reminded us about our church's MATES (marriage) ministry's annual canoe float and cookout, which we previously weren't planning on doing, but it didn't take much convincing for us to agree to go. So, we ran home after the 5K, showered, and then headed to Port Royal where we were one of nine canoes who floated a few miles down the Juniata River this afternoon. Although no canoes tipped, five "bad canoes" (and our canoe was one of them) were pretty good at splash fights, so we all got pretty wet! We had a blast!

I met with Lauren, the Team in Training campaign coordinator on Friday for a one-on-one fundraising meeting. I have my letters and sponsor forms created, I just need to take them to Perry Printing to get them copied. TNT will mail them for me at our Kickoff on August 25, so I need to get them printed up this week so I can personalize them and get the envelopes addressed.

Tomorrow we may bike a little for some cross-training. At any rate, here's to this week being not quite so busy!

Pre-Training Begins!

This past week marked the beginning of my six weeks of pre-training. With my new iPod in tow, I ran/walked/ran 2 miles Tuesday evening. I wasn't able to wait for it to cool off because of an evening activity later on, so I headed out in the heat right after I got home from work. It took me 27 minutes and 17 seconds to complete the distance, which isn't as great as I had been running in the spring (amounted to 13.64 min./mile), so I chalked it up to the heat. Thursday evening I was able to get my run in right before dark, and I ran 1.5 miles in 16 minutes and 45 seconds - 11.17 min./mile...still not the pace of the 5Ks I ran in the spring, but better than Tuesday and I felt pretty good at the end of my run.

On Friday night Neil, the dogs, and I headed up to Tioga County to spend the night and Saturday with his parents and sister at a cabin they were staying at in Blackwell along Pine Creek. Not far from the cabin, we came upon a yellow-phase Timber Rattlesnake in the middle of the road just west of Morris, the town where the annual infamous "Rattlesnake Roundup" is held. This was the second live rattlesnake I saw this year, much less my entire life (we saw a black phase one in the spring in the Tuscarora State Forest), but the third for Neil as he saw a yellow-phase just earlier this week on a work excursion! We didn't, however, get to see the visitor they had last fall when they stayed in the same cabin and that others had reported in the cabin's journal of spying earlier this summer - a black bear.

On Saturday, the five of us (Neil's mom and dad, sister Cyndee, Neil, and I) headed out on the Pine Creek Rails to Trails. Starting at Blackwell, we biked 12.4 miles through the Pine Creek Gorge up to the Turkey Path. We then hiked 1 mile up the Turkey Path to the top of the ridge to a lookout point in the Leonard Harrison State Park. I had been there once before on a family vacation when I was in fourth grade - we camped at Watkins Glenn (NY) and stopped on our way home at the lookout to see the PA Grand Canyon; that morning, I had a bit of a bike accident before we left our campsite, so I have a picture of me with my brother, Eric, standing in front of the fence at the overlook (with bandages on my knees). The trek up was a bit steep, and at the top we noticed a sign saying the roundtrip should take 1.5 hours. It didn't take us nearly as long to get back down, and when we did, Neil's mom, who had waited at the bottom with our bikes, said we had only been gone for 1 hour and 10 minutes. We agreed that it was a much better idea to start at the bottom and head up, then back down, rather than start at the top, and then have to head back up! Although, it seemed like the majority of people on the trail were starting at the top due to the easy road access; the only way from the bottom was to access the trailhead from the Rails to Trails.

After our 2 mile hike (roundtrip), we ate the lunch we packed and headed back to Blackwell. The first four miles, we really made some good time, averaging about 10-12 miles/hour according to Neil's dad's bike pedometer. We stopped at Tiadaghton for a quick bathroom break. Shortly after we were back on the trail, some people in front of us were stopped and said that a rattlesnake had been spotted, although we didn't see it (several places along the trail there are signs regarding rattlesnakes and their popularity in the area). At this point, we all just wanted to get back; at the point where there was a sign for Blackwell saying it was still 6.7 miles, I thought for sure we had less to go than that. At the marker indicating we were still 2.4 miles away, Neil asked me if I wanted to stop (we were in front of our family at that point), and I told him no, I just wanted to be done. We FINALLY made it back, and we were all pretty tired. I wasn't necessarily hurting anywhere, other than my "sit bones" on my butt. After a shower and a yummy meal of chicken kabobs, we headed home. All in all, we covered more of a distance than the marathon, which is pretty neat to think about - biked 12.4 miles, hiked 2 miles, biked 12.4 miles...26.8 miles total!

Yesterday was to be a run day, and today a cross-train day, but I figured with our bike/hike yesterday, I would just swap the two. So, this evening I ran/walked/ran 3 miles. I really wanted to run the whole time, but after about the first 2 miles, I walked for probably about half a mile; my lower back was hurting, and I figure that biking yesterday probably was the culprit. Once again, due to the walking, my time wasn't great - it took me 38 minutes and 37 seconds (12.87 min/mile).

Neil and I are running a 5K on Saturday - the Wildcat 5K in Millerstown to benefit Wings of Kindness. This will fit in nicely to my pre-training since I am to run 2-3 miles on Saturday. Hopefully I'll be able to run the entire time. With other runners, I should also keep up my pace pretty well. I'm not really sure of the course, but I'm sure some hilly terrain will be involved!

I'm off tomorrow, with 1-2 miles on Tuesday (which I'll have to do in the morning before work since I have a presentation to give in the evening for work and I won't be getting home until probably 9 or later that night), off on Wednesday (which is nice since it is our three year anniversary and we are headed to The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore to feed the giraffes and then the Cheesecake Factory in Inner Harbor), 1-2 miles again on Thursday (although I may try to go for three in preparation for Saturday), and then off on Friday.

On Friday, I am meeting with Lauren, the Central PA LLS TNT Campaign Coordinator, to go over my fundraising strategy. At this point, I am 3% towards my goal. I am hoping after I send out my letters (August 25), my fundraising will take off. In addition to my letter campaign, I have some other ideas up my sleeve, so stay tuned!

Rise Up and Run...

So, why a blog? WHY run a MARATHON? And why "Rise Up and Run"?

First of all, I like to journal, but rarely make the time to do so. A blog seems like a logical way to journal in the digitial world we live in today. I also like to write things down in terms of accomplishments (how many eggs my chickens laid a day, how many pints of jelly I made, etc.), and I figure this would be a great place to record my progress while training for a marathon.

Last fall, I saw in Redbook that Disney was hosting their annual Disney Princess Half Marathon in March 2010, and I had my heart set on running it (if, for any other reason, it was an excuse to go back to Disney, which is one of my FAVORITE places!). Other than playing indoor soccer through late fall/early winter, I hadn't been running. Sure, I'm pretty active, but settling down and running on a schedule is a whole new ball game. For a variety of reasons, I didn't run the Disney Princess Half Marathon....or run in any way, shape, or form, really. Until this past spring when two of my friends asked if I was interested in completing 5K's with them, and I agreed. I ran my first 5K with my friend Katie in April - the York White Rose Lady 5K. My time wasn't great, but I was elated that I RAN the entire 3.1miles! Then, in May, I completed my second 5K - Harrisburg's Armed Forces Day 5K - and this time my husband, Neil, ran with me. I actually increased my time, but not by too much, and, again, I ran the entire time. Since then, I haven't really been running, but the dream of running the Disney Princess Half Marathon was still on my mind.

Then I received a postcard in the mail a few weeks ago about the Leukemia and Lymphoma's Team in Training program which invivted me to an Open House. So I went. And, with the motivation of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's misson behind me, I figured I finally had a great reason to consistently run towards a goal that wasn't a completely selfish one. And, that evening, I signed up as a LLS Team in Training team member for the Walt Disney World Marathon on January 9, 2011. That's right, a FULL MARATHON (that's 26.2 miles - 1 mile for every year I have been alive, although I'll soon be 27...thought that was just a cool coincidence).

As part of Team in Training, not only do I need to physically and mentally prepare for an endurance event, I have also committed to raising $3500 for the LLS. Now, I could just fork out the money for the flight, lodging, and race registration myself, but a full 75% of the money I raise will go DIRECTLY to the goals and mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. So, why did I decide to raise a large amount of money by asking people to donate (something I AM NOT good at doing) rather than just pay for my own expenses, or, just not run a marthon at all? Because by the Grace of God, I CAN! I CAN because I am healthy, and so I am going to use that gift of health God has blessed me with, and raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in order to bless others in a small way. We are all just one phone call away from our knees, and perhaps with the money I raise, less people will be on their knees asking God's strength in the shadows of a new diagnosis, but instead will be on their knees praising Him for His faithfulness in restoring their health, or the health of their family and friends, through the work of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Finally, why the title of this blog? A friend of mine is a very talented song writer and singer, and God gave her a great song called "Look Up and Rise". I have two favorite lines in that song, and one of them is "Rise Up and Run for the Son has set you free"....that line describes the grace we are all given through the blood Jesus has shed for us. Daily I live in God's grace, and am so thankful for the love and forgiveness I have in that, which is free to anyone who seeks and asks for it.

I look forward to blogging about this experience, which will be a walk (okay, more like a full-out marathon run) of faith for me, especially in terms of raising the funds I have committed to. Not to mention the actual motivation and endurance I will physcially and emotionally need to reach my goal of running a marathon!