This is us before our track workout on Tuesday night. Fresh back from vacation in Telluride, Jim and I are ready to train!!













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And this is us when we got home. Track workout was brutal this week. We started doing "dynamic drills" which are basically different drills that are done while moving. We did lunges, and grapevines, and skipping, and different funny ways of running on the straight parts of the track and then we "recovered" on the turns. Running isn't my idea of recovery, but we did it. And let me tell you, if you ever want to feel completely detached from your legs, try doing 40 really deep slow lunges, and go straight in to running. I really just couldn't pick my legs up, it was ridiculous. But I still made it :)






My goal for our next long run is to bring my camera with me, because I really wish I could show all you out there in internet land what I did this morning. Here's a picture I stole from the internet so that you can at least get an idea...

Woke up at 6:20 am today, a Saturday, and headed out. Even the drive to Half Moon Bay is beautiful. I've never been there before today, but I really want to go back and see more of it.
Anyway, so we get there, and it's really chilly and overcast. Park the car, warmup a little, stretch and then we're off! Erin and I ran together again, and we were going to go 8 miles. Well, I was going to see how it went, but we started with the 8 mile group. I think it's one of those mental things, I just convince myself to start running, and that I can turn around at any time.
The first bit was pretty cruddy. I was tired and stiff, and it was chilly. Probably about mile 2 I got in a pretty good groove and started to feel better.
The path we went on followed the ocean, and was stunning. There were lots of trees and other naturey bits too. There were horse tours too, so we passed the people on horses and picked out which ones were the prettiest (the horses, not the people). By the time we got to the 6 mile turnaround point I was feeling pretty good, and Erin and I ran right passed it! We got to the 8 mile turnaround and were grateful for aid station #2, which was stocked with Gatorade, gummy worms, and peanut butter M&Ms. Once we were there we were 4 miles away from where we started, so we had to run 8 miles, cause we had to get back to the car! On the run back, Erin and I had some eating adventures. I attempted to drink water out of a cup while running, and got the whole thing ended up on the front of myself. Erin was carrying a cup of gummy bears and at she accidentally dropped it, and then my next step I smashed them and we both screamed in shock. A nearby mentor turned to ask us if we were OK, but we were both so giggly and amused, we shouted "we dropped our gummy worms" So maybe you had to be there, but it was really quite funny at the time!
The whole run was overcast, and the sun never showed, so we managed to stay cool the whole time, which was great. It was weird feeling so warm internally, but having it still be cool outside.
I think I'm going to have to invest in one of the little running belt things that will hold my water and snacks (and camera) for next time, it'll be better to be able to sip liquid constantly, then just the aid stations.

So we FINALLY made it back and stretched while our muscles yelled at us. One of the coaches advised us to get in the water, so we went to the car and got long sleeve shirts and different shoes, and then waded into the water up to our thighs. Well, we got our butts wet too, but we intended only to get our legs :) The water was freezing! But that's supposed to be really good for muscles after a long run, and I wanted to treat by legs well, so we stood and chatted with teammates in the water. We watched seaweed attack one of the other girls and her freak out. The water was pretty murky and gross.
To give perspective on the temperature, everyone who wasn't running was generally wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts or light sweaters. And the water, well it's the Pacific, it's never warm! But my legs went a little numb and it was all good.

Drove home and ate a crepe from the farmer's market. Took a nap, ate some more, watched TV, and tried not to do anything that involved bending down, because my legs are not interested in doing that right now!

But I feel really good. I'm really impressed with my body and with myself. I mean, I've never been a runner, never really ran, and in about a month I'm going 8 miles. Wow...

Shopping, Talking & Running

Shopping:
Tuesday after our track workout we went to MetroSport in Palo Alto to learn about Gear. I got fitted for for shoes, and bought me a new fancy pair of running shoes. Jim actually got the same shoe in the men's version. I also got some clothes so I can look good and feel good while I'm out there. Everything I had was cotton, which holds in moisture, so now I have some nice teknit sort of stuff that is good for running. It's good to have the right tools. I need to get some more stuff, since we're working out all the time, but I have enough for a good start.

Talking:
I drove my friend Arthur to the airport on Friday night and we were talking about Team in Training. His father passed away from a really agressive form of Leukemia just over a year ago. I remember his Dad from high school, and I lived with the Ulfeldt's for a summer after we graduated. Both of our parents moved up north after we were in college, and we both ended up at UC Santa Cruz. I remember making eggnog on New Years eve with Arthur and his Dad in Pollock pines and visiting when we'd be home from school. Stan (Arthur's Dad) fell sick really suddenly, and at the time I just remember being really worried about him, and about the entire family. But I didn't know anything about the diagnosis, just that it was very serious.

When I started Team in Training, everyone kept saying how you'd be surprised how many people you know out there have a personal connection to blood cancers. I didn't really think that much of it. But Friday I realized how close to home this really is. Stan was an amazing man, he was so happy and non-judgemental, and so smart. He was one of those people that seemed to know a little bit about everything, actually a lot about everything. He took care of his sick wife and raised 3 kids, and always had some amazing (and often crazy) project going on. He was really amazing.
I asked Arthur if I could run in his Dad's honor, and he said that I could. I'm really excited to be able to dedicate my marathon to Stan, and to the Ulfeldt's.

With all of the progress that has been made fighting Leukemia & Lymphoma, and cancer treatment in general...there is still a very long way to go.

Running: On a happier note, today we had a regional run at Palo Alto Baylands. Erin and I ran together again, which was great. She inspired me to push myself past what I thought I could do. We ran 6 miles this morning. SIX MILES! We paced ourselves by alternated running and walking. It worked really well, and we were able to keep a pretty constant pace the whole time. And we ran in the whole last 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile. I really wanted to walk, but Erin told me I could do it, so I kept going. Stretching felt sooooo goooood when we got back. My shoes feel a little funny, and I'm not sure if I just need to get used to them, or if they don't fit quite right. I'm going to go back to MetroSport and see what they say. That's for tomorrow...today is for watching CSI and playing board games.

4 miles

Yesterday was our first regional run, we ran at a really pretty park in Mountain View. I challenged myself and did the 4 mile course. Yup, I woke up at 7:15am to run 4 miles. I met one of my teammates named Erin, and we ran the course together. She's really cool, and it was a lot of fun to have someone to run with.
Jim zoomed ahead and ran the whole course without stopping. Go Jim! I was just excited to finish without dying. I was doing a run-walk :)
Anyway, it was a very exciting day.
Today is a rest day, which is good because it's Jim's 26th birthday, and his family is coming in to town. Happy Birthday Jim!

2 workouts down, how many to go?

Tuesday was the first workout, and it wasn't so bad. I was actually impressed with my body, it did a good job of doing what I wanted it to.
The idea of a half mile 'warmup' was daunting, but not too bad. Did some stretches, ran another halfmile. Did a bunch of planks, push ups, sit ups, and other stationery excerices. Then finished up with another half mile. My running was a combination of running & walking, but that's okay. I feel like as long as I can convince my body to keep moving forward I'm still getting closer to the goal.

Today was the OYO (on your own) run, 2-4 miles. Jim and I went to Stanford track and worked it. We did a half mile warmup, which I ran the whole way, then did some stretches and went into the rest of our laps. I was pretty beat by the end, my ratio of running to walking changed quite a bit, but I finished.

I'm still excited, and Jim is being really great at keeping my energy up, I'm glad we're doing this together.

Exercising at work.

The first team track workout is tomorrow night, so today I decided that it was time to aquaint myself with the office workout room. I work in an office building across from the Palo Alto VA that Stanford rents out. It used to be lawyer's offices, so the offices are huge, and it's really fancy. Downstairs is a workout room. It has a stationary bike, eliptical machine, stair climber and treadmill. So on my lunch hour I headed down and spent 40 minutes riding a bicycle in place and listening to my ipod. It was actually pretty cool because no one else came in the whole time, so I sung out loud, and danced around while cycling.
So now I'm aquainted with the workout room. I have a feeling that by the end of the summer I'll be good buddies with those machines. And if I hope to be friends with the actual people in my office I'll start to get acquainted with the shower at work, too. :)

Welcome to my first blog post! Yesterday was the kickoff party for Team in Training, and I'm really excited to get started. I've decided to to run the Portland Marathon, October 7th. Jim has also decided to join in the fun this summer, and is running the Disneyland Half-Marathon, September 3rd.

Team in Training is a really amazing organization, they are super organized, and everyone I've met is so excited and inspiring. At the kickoff meeting I met my Mentor, and was introduced to all of the Coaches, Captains, Honoree's and Staff. It was a little overwhelming, there are a lot of people... but it was good.

I really wanted to do something different this summer, something totally out of my box. I've heard about Team and Training from several people, and everyone has such positive things to say about it. Sarah, a friend from high school, blogged about her experience with Team in Training, and it was really inspiring to hear about her journey. So I guess I'm ready... my fundraising site is set up, now my blog is set up. I have a calendar for the first two months of workouts, and the first track workout is on Tuesday. I guess we'll see how this running thing goes!


I think this was the last time I ran, chasing birdies on the beach in Mexico....