Group Run on April 18th

I hit a personal best today by running over 12 miles! Still not up to what the rest of my fellow Rock n' Rollers are doing, but definitely a step in the right direction!

See my route and run statistics here

What a difference it makes running with another person ... so much easier to just ignore the little nagging distractions when someone is running beside ya talking & helping to keep ya motivated; once I left the group to finish a shorter route it became much more difficult to keep moving forward!

My knees were hurting by the end of the run; a direct result of not keeping up on the stretching and massage of my IT band! I think that if I work on that consistently this week, next weekends long run should be more pain free.

I feel great today, no real muscle fatigue or lingering aches (except for a bruise on the top of my left foot which hurts when I start running no matter how I adjust my laces, but eases once I get going).

Next weekends group run is 18 miles ... that is a considerable jump from 12, but I think I may just go ahead and see if I can make it work. Otherwise my goal is going to be 16 miles.

Non-running update: Hunter has had a set-back as the second round of chemo did not eradicate the last signs of leukemia in his system. He now has to be put through the rounds of an experimental drug in an attempt to do what chemo could not--eliminate the leukemia so that he can get his bone marrow transfusion.

Send your well wishes through Lenore's blog.

1st Group Run Post-Chest Cold

I did a modified (by that I mean short!) group run today. 1st time with the group after having crap in my lungs for the last two weeks .. for the most part I was able to breath ok, which was extremely encouraging! I am thinking again I can pull this off and be ready to tackle the RnR on May 31st!

I have a handy, dandy little gps system that I wear on my wrist (just bought it last week), and it tracks my runs! Still trying to figure out how the whole thing works, so I missed the beginning of today run, but was able to capture most of it. I think it is pretty cool, you can see the route I ran along with the rate (kinda slow today, but I was just happy to finish!) I ran.

It was nice being back out running today ... never thought I would say that!

Been Ill, But Getting Back to It

It has been a while since I dropped any updates on here. Of course it has been a little while since I last ran. Seems mild ailments, and then a cold hanging out in my chest have been trying to slow me down--actually, they have been quite effective!

Today I got out for the first time in over a week, and it definitely felt like the first time--I was dragging. I only put in a little over 4 miles today, not great, but at this point I will take what I can. I still feel that if I can put the last bit of cold behind me the marathon is still well within reach (after some encouragement from coach Andy).

The thing that struck me most today ... Today is a gorgeous spring day; it is sunny, in the mid to upper 60's, and everyone was out at Willamette Park where I was running through. I had just read Lenore's latest blog entry about meeting with the doctors regarding Hunters upcoming bone marrow transplant this morning. I couldn't help but slow to a walk to watch all the children playing soccer, and attacking the climbing structure with vigor ... I couldn't stop from shedding a tear as I thought about what the Thawley's have gone through, and are about to go through. I have great faith that they will all pull through this, but the journey no doubt will be beyond anything I can imagine. My thoughts are with them.

Click on Hunter's pic to visit his blog and catch up on his fight!

Be Well,
MJ