Sunday, March 22, 2009

Weekend Update

So, I managed to sleep through my alarm for Saturdays group run. Very bad--no more late night Fridays for the next few months! In lieu of Saturdays run I devised my own 12 mile run around the waterfront today.

My hip was giving me trouble right from the get-go, and finally shut me down at about 9.5 miles. I think I need a good masseuse to work the 'kinks' out of the deep muscles ... If not for the hip pain, I feel like I could have put down the 12 miles fairly readily.

The goal for this week will be finding a good massage therapist to help me out. The one thing I know is that my muscles are really tight, and it is giving me grief (makes me want to find another yoga class that fits my schedule!).

Today's run was fueled by Tricky, Imogen Heap, Poe, NIN & Metallica ... with a little Gleukos sports drink (local Portland company!) thrown in for good measure!

Be well,
MJ

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Here We Go

So, this blog was originally created to display some of my photography (a hobby I love). But that is put on hold for a while (the blog, not my photography!).

Instead this blog will start as a chronicle of my training with Team In Training to run the Rock N' Roll Marathon in San Diego on May31st!

Along with the training, I am also raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. To learn more, or donate, please visit my page @ http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/rnr09/mjohnsoucf

This first entry is just playing a little catch up.

I have never run before starting this particular endeavor, and the thought of taking on 26.2 miles seems more than a little daunting (with less than 4 months training--due to time lost lately it is more like 3 months!).

Why do this at age 40? First, I decided I needed to do something major that I had never done before--push myself to a personal milestone. When I saw the Team in Training brochure I knew it was what I was looking for--it was at the same time I started reading Lenore's blog about Hunter's fight against leukemia. So, I am running this race in Hunters honor; when it is hard to find the motivation it is this little boy, and his fight that pushes me forward. Please visit Hunter's blog @ http://healinghunter.blogspot.com

Below is a picture of Lenore, Zen, and Hunter as they packed up and headed back to Doernbechers for Hunters second round of chemotherapy.

A very special, and sincere thank you to Lenore for allowing me to use her photos, and share Hunters story. Much love to the Thawley family.

The running ... I have lost over two weeks of training due to an unexplainable illness, and a bum left knee. But, I am over the illness, physical therapy has worked well, and I just finished my first "race," the Portland Shamrock Run! I completed the 15k race in just under 10 minute miles--considering it was the first time running on my knee in a couple of weeks I feel great about the outcome.

The Shamrock Run ... It was wet, cold, and windy. An altogether perfect March day in Portland! The highlights: Heading up the last hill of Terwilliger and hearing the bagpipe players before I could see the top of the hill--it was a great pick-me-up for that last hill battle! Something about that sound that moves you, seriously it should have been playing along the entire route! The last 1.5 miles I felt like I could have pulled over and laid down in the gutter & been ok with it ... of course seeing the finish line, and having the thought of Hunters battle playing in my mind kept me moving forward; actually, "Hunter" became a mantra of mine during that last push on to the finish. Once I stopped I experienced a sense of numbness from the top of my head all the way down to my feet for a few brief moments--I don't know what that was about other than my body asking me what the hell I thought I was trying to do to it!

I felt stiff a couple of days after, but I feel great now.

The Shamrock's 15k (~9.3 miles) was the longest I have ever run in my life. This Saturday I will top that in our group run of 12 miles ...

I was thinking after the Shamrock ... if I could somehow pull off 10 minute miles in the Rock N' Roll that will be about 4hrs and 40min of non-stop running ...