Marathon Weekend!

For those of you who are following along, it's no surprise that~ IT'S HERE! I'm heading out first thing in the morning to catch my flight to seattle. I will be running at 7 am PST on Saturday morning. Think of me!!

I ended up raising the most money of anyone in the rocky mountain chapter this season~ $6,535... so I thank each and everyone of my donors for that as well as my emotional supporters... absolutely could NOT have done this without you!

Until the finish line...

Getting close...

I cried hysterically today. I have so many beautiful people in my life. In the last few weeks, my fundraising total has shot up more than $1,000 with the total thus far coming to OVER $6,300!!!! I have received over a hundred emails and letters over the course of the past 5 months expressing encouragement, personal stories, thanks, and support. I cannot express in words how much this entire experience has meant to me.

I had a bit of a rough patch last year, actually a very rough patch... and right now, I feel better than I have in a long time- emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I am so blessed to have such an amazing support system in my life. I know that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.

Speaking of accomplishing anything~ my longest training run was 22 miles. I ran my first race ever (the half marathon in denver). I got up every Saturday morning at 6:15 to meet with the team for our long run. I went to the CSU track on Thursday nights and pushed my body in speedwork. I have run over 400 miles since February. In 10 days, I will run 26.2 miles through the streets of Seattle and I will think of each and every one of my friends, family, and strangers who have supported me on this journey.... and I will think mostly of my Aunt Anne Marie, who inspired this wonderful chapter in my life.

Memorial Day Bolder Boulder 10k

Well that was certainly the most fun (and only) 10k I've ever done! I entered the Bolder Boulder. The event is held every Memorial Day through the streets of Boulder, Colorado. I've heard a lot about this event and it had a rather large repuatation to uphold... which it did. There were over 54,000 participants. Many of them in great costumes (had I known this, perhaps I would have been more aptly prepared... we all know how I love to wear costumes). And this race was really for people of ANY ability level. Literally, at the starting line, I was jumping over small children and running around men dressed in gorilla suits. This was not a race to get my record time by any means, but it was sure was an entertaining jog...

The race went through the neighborhoods of Boulder, where we ran through keg parties and belly dancing squads. Music was blaring from every corner and slip n' slides and sprinklers were a standard part of the course. The finish came into the CSU stadium which was filled with thousands of people in the stands (see photos). It was pretty frickin' cool.

After "the common folk" race was over, they bought on the elite racing teams. Men and women from ethiopia, kenya, morocco, mexico, japan, etc all competed on the same course we had just completed (though I have a funny feeling they didn't stop for a beer along the way). The winner was a guy from ethiopia who ran 6.2 miles in 28 minutes- averaging just over a 4 minute mile!!! He was SO fast and the crowd was going NUTS when he came barreling throgh the final gates. After that, an airplane flew overhead and started dropping skydivers and then a fleet of fighter jets roared through. During the national anthem and the 21 gun salute, the thunder rolled and then the rains came POURING down, putting a little damper on the afterparty, but it was still overall a SUPER fun experience and one I definitely plan to be a part of in the coming years...

so i let a little month roll by...

oops. I am really terrible at this blog business- but then again, I'm guessing that those of you who are reading it don't really need to hear my EVERY move =)

I fell off the bandwagon last week when I was in California. I did a couple random runs, but nothing according to my training schedule and I skipped my long run... which is a big "NO" in the distance runner's eyes. But alas, group training came on Saturday and I ran 18.81 miles in 3 hours... so I guess it didn't hinder me all that much after all... still, no more excuses... and no more leaving the state- it's time to buckle down and go full force because my marathon is in less than 7 weeks!!

Me and a few others from TNT have signed up for the Boulder Bolder on Memorial Day. I've heard it's a great time- a 10k with the 3 b's (bands, bar-b-que, and beer!) So that will be fun, I'm sure.

Donations are still coming in, although they've slowed down at this point. I have over $5,000 so far!... and I still have a few more weeks to try to get that number up a little more.

As for the upcoming marathon, I'm rolling with an entourage!! My family (mom, dad and brother) are flying out from NJ and my girls are coming from portland, breckenridge, and santa monica to be there for moral support (and sarah, the brave soul... has taken on the 1/2 marathon) THANK YOU GUYS! It means so much to me to have such a great support system during this whole thing- not just the actual marathon, but all the donations and letters and words of encouragement. Keep it coming! Until next time....

Easter Saturday

Sorry I never wrote about my half marathon- it was awesome!! I finished in 1:58:25, which for me was a thrill because it was under 2 hours... and I loved the experience of racing. Now I am really excited about the marathon!

I have been having pretty good runs all week. I did some RIDICULOUS hill training on Tuesday in poudre canyon. BIG hills... small mountains :) Wednesday was a recovery day, so just a 30 minute easy run. Thursday, we had group hill training- just intervals up this loooong but steady climb behind the university stadium. It's a good thing I am doing all this hill training, because they posted the course for Seattle and miles 14-19 are ALL hills... eek. Who is responsible for making these courses anyway?? Clearly, NOT someone who is intending to run them....

Today we had a little easter/recommitment celebration post run- Alex (the team hero) came to cheer us on (see photo) and Mary made us all breakfast burritos and little easter basket treats... what a great mentor she has been. Today was a 2 hour run and I got in 13.7 miles! That is the furthest I have EVER run in my entire life! And it felt DAMN good!!!

For the on-line fans :)

here's the link to the article about me in the courier...

http://www.recordernewspapers.com/articles/2009/04/03/chatham_courier/latest_news/doc49d3e87dbfc03853803859.txt

oh... and the forecast for my half marathon on sunday is snow... sweet. this should make for an interesting 13.1 miles :)

Front Page!

If you live in the Chatham (New Jersey) area... check out the front page of the Chatham Courier today!
If you don't, look it up on-line tomorrow (Friday)