AWBC SF 2009 prewalk update

This video still makes me cry every time I see it! Perfect tribute to why we walk.

It has been an amazing year raising funds for the AWBC again. My MIL and her friend Jewels raised $900 by having a yard sale for this cause and my amazing Aunt and her friends raised an amazing $3700 to split between her friend Carolyn and myself. She raise enough $ in one afternoon bunco game to send both of us to SF this year! With a daunting $1800 minimum looming above us I was so blessed to have wonderful friends and family support us. I raised $3700My goal was to match last years totals at $3600 so $100 is going to Meagan Betts who is walking all 9 walks this year. Meagan is just 18 years old and to walk all 9 is required to raise $16,400. If you want to still donate please go to her page! As much as I 'd like to see my list of donors grow, it all goes to the same place, its the same mission, its the same cause.





I started walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer 5 years ago. I walked with my x-SIL that year in honor of my mother-in-law Karen who had been undergoing treatment for breast cancer diagnosed September 18th 2004. We trained, we raised the minimum $1800 and out motto out there on the hills of SF was you can walk slow (and get picked up) or you can walk fast and make it in time, its all going to hurt so you might as well walk fast. More easily said than done, let me tell you but we did it.





I walked in 4 more AWBC's over the next few years here are some highlights (and perhaps a reason or two you might want to walk next year too):

• Crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge (x2 on the years when I did 26.2 miles day 1)


• Walking along the beach in Long Beach on a perfect morning.


• Sleeping in little blue tents in Chrissy Field next to the ocean.


• Road trip with my mom and Aunt Sandy to LA for my 2nd AWBC last year.


• Taking showers in semi trucks (seriously)


• Signing the Stacks in the morning darkness for the city you are walking in.


• San Jose Bike police escorting us (day 2 they wore pink polos for us) for the SF walks.


• Amazing support from "Pretty Woman Guy", "PJ girl" blaring I will survive, "Hookers for Hooters" driving by in their mini van and convertibles cheering us on, and lots lots more.


• Urban Dog walkers rest stop in the Precidio where you could get your pic taken with a guy dressed like a pink poodle.


• Walking with my Mom in 2006. My BFF in 2006 a 2007. Walking with good friend/good neighbor Jenni AWBC 2008. Meeting Tobi and Debra day two of AWBC LA Beaches in 2008.


• Avon Breast Care center walk by on day 2 that will bring tears to your eyes.


• Walking with Barbara Joe who has raised over $1million dollars for AWBC and Susan G. Komen.


• Meeting up with my Aunt, sister, mom and Niece in Sausalito day 1 with a Starbucks waiting for us.


• The gals (and guys) walking by in survivor shirts, some still going through Chemo, Radiation or just having had surgery.


• The signs that read along the route, "Blisters don't need Chemo", "You are amazing", "Has anyone seen the bathrooms?"


• Speaking of bathrooms... spending 2 days only using big blue port-o-potties with amazing trivia and quotes inside and outside the doors. I always take pictures.


• Amazing crew who feed us, keep us safe, fix our feet, keep us hydrated along the route and in the wellness village.


• walking with my favorite people whether they came with me or I just met them. AWBC walkers are AMAZING. I can't wait to see Gerry, Nan, Martha, Meagan and so many others this year. AWBC has made a FAMILY.
• Closing ceremonies that no one should ever miss. Bring Kleenex.


• Raising awareness to find a cure, to help those who need it, to do something bigger than me every year.

I feel so blessed to be apart of this amazing charity. I am not walking just to find a cure for cancer. I'm walking for those who can't walk on their own, or need a hand to hold while they are walking. I'm walking because my MIL is a survivor so many more are not. I walk for the people who cannot afford early diagnostic tools like MRI's or Mammograms, for those who would like wigs to cover their bald heads or scarves instead because it's so darned hot in the summer, for those who can't cook so Helping Hand can bring dinner to their families, for those not diagnosed yet and for a cure to be found for ALL cancers.

In the last year cancer has taken my husbands wonderful grandfather Derril, My uncle Larry and my friend Judy's sister is now taking Hospice after an amazing 3 year battle. I have met so many survivors and so many people who have lost someone they love to cancer. I have endured sadness for loosing my Uncle James almost 3 years ago to Leukemia and no memory of losing my Grandpa Frank before I turned 2 but a sadness for never having had the chance to know him.

So I'm off for another adventure with Jenni this year. 39.3 miles in two days. Not enough walking under our feet but lots of miles in our hearts. Wish us luck.

Trail Less Traveled and my walk for a cure

First a shout out to Ed who ran the Paris Marathon Sunday morning. He took in his first sub 4hour marathon despite the crowds and cobblestones. I'm sure when he gets home you can read all about it here. We're so proud (and so jealous) but can't wait to run with him again soon.

Trail Less Traveled. This trail run took us up and around the hills overlooking (kind of) Lake Oroville. My plan was to have no goal, to just go out and have fun, take my time and cross the finish line. Some of us ran the Quarter marathon and some of us ran the 5K. I took off too fast into the race and when I hit "the hill" I was dragging. This hill just kept going and going and going. Vicki said it was about .6 miles or so of up, up, up. You look around the next corner for a reprieve. There wasn't one. At 3/4 of the way up I had to walk. I was walking faster than I was running. It was so awful and all I wanted to do was throw up. Thank goodness I didn't. When the top came I was so relieved!

The rest of the race was a lot of up and downs but just enough to push me but not so much as to make me cry, which wouldn't have taken much I'm sure. I caught up with Susan and we talked for a while. There was these guys who popped out of the bushes. I hadn't seen them before so I think they were taking a potty break, LOL. We kept them motivated for a mile or so making them run if we got too close to them. It's funny what a girl behind you can do for motivation hu? By the time we got to about 5.5miles I passed the boys and kept pushing it home. I came in at 1hour 6 minutes and 46 seconds. That's 10:12 a mile. Not great but not bad for the first trail run out of shape.

I'm looking forward to upping my mileage again trying to hit 25-30 miles a week through the spring. Summer will include a 10K program and a 5K in June, the Avon Walk for Beast Cancer (more info on that below) with my friends and then the Nike Women's Half Marathon in October while training for the CIM again.

This summer I will participate in my 6th Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in SF. 26.2 miles on Saturday and 13.1 miles on Sunday to raise awareness for the fight against Breast Cancer. Each year I have a new reason to walk. This year my Uncle Larry has been re diagnosed with cancer and this time it won't be an easy fight. Actually it is eventually going to be terminal. Chemo and surgery will help him hold on for awhile but eventually the cancer will take over. My biggest hope is that finding a cure for Breast Cancer, that my Mother in law is a survivor from, will be a key to finding a cure for cancers like Pancreatic cancer that took my Grandpa, Leukemia that took my Uncle James, and stomach cancer that is effecting my Uncle Larry.

This charity is more than a walk to me. It's a family affair. My Aunt Sandy (Uncle James' wife, Uncle Larry's sister), my mom, my Grandma all do so much for me to walk. They are throwing this huge Bunco party for me and last year raised an amazing $2100 toward my two walks. So if any of you are in the bay area and would like to come hang out and play bunco on June 13th give me a call. I'd love to see you. My family is so amazing. My Mother in law and her friend Jewels have had wonderfully successful yard sales that have raised as much as $1200 for me in one day. My friend Jenni and I are having fundraisers to ensure that we both walk including a local bunco game here in Chico. You see that this is more than a walk, its a mission for me. I am thankful for every day that I spend with my family and friends, thankful for my health and thankful to have the power to help.

mom, me, Aunt Sandy in Long Beach for my 5th AWBC

There's no place like home

Today is a day when I wish I had stolen my moms treadmill and set up shop in the living room. The run outside was horrendous. I just could not get and stay focused. I yearned for those easy miles to find me but they never did. OK so I stuck it out and came in at just under 3o minutes even though I was supposed to go out for 30-40 minutes today. Today it wasn't just in my head but my whole body was having a revolution against this new life change of mine. That's fine, I came in my the skin of my teeth but tomorrow I'm going to kick its butt in Kettle bells and take the doggie for a walk. I'm going to make it wish I was running so Tuesday night will kick ass and Wednesday and Thursday's 5 mile runs will be a dream. Friday will be my core/xt day maybe another kettle bell class and Saturday is another LONG run. I'm putting it out there... This will be a great training week.

=)

Mind over Matter

Because no matter what my leg still hurts. It hurts so bad that my 3.5 mile run yesterday was littered with walking breaks and tears. I went to Fleet Feet to buy a knee brace and Susan pointed me in the direction of the ITBand straps so I'll try that tomorrow and see how it goes.

I'm frustrated and scared... I really want to run next Sunday but I fear that my running has suffered so much these last two weeks that I won't hit my goal. I didn't even make it to the end of the street on Tuesday, there was so much pain every time my foot hit the pavement. Shooting stinging surging pain down my thigh to my knee.

Thursday was the Thanksgiving "Run for Food". I took the kiddos and walked ran through it with them. Of course there was a lot of running in the beginning and lots of walking at the end but that's OK. We had fun. I didn't hurt but then again I didn't run any farther than a few hundred yards at a time.

I've been super good about icing and I'll continue that this week. I usually run around the block a few times get warmed up, roll out both legs very well then ice my sore side.

I think one of two things occurred causing this malady to surface"

1. The long run post creek dip hasn't happened in like a month due to different routes and sick kiddos. I lived for those freezing dips in the local creek/pool to do my icing for me because if I don't get in I won't ice immediately after I run. Life just gets in the way you know.

2. My new Nike Pegasus shoes are cursed. My foot "rolls" in them ... A LOT. Let me tell you that this is my biggest culprit when it comes to instigating the ITBand pain. I may only wear my Brooks this week, wear the Nike's to short speed workouts and buy Mizunos again for my long dedicated runs. The hubby is going to be happy happy happy to be buying new shoes again just two months after buying me these.

Don't just run... walk

Not only do I run but I walk in efforts to raise $$$ to find a cure cancer... especially Breast Cancer. My hope is that finding a cure for Breast Cancer will be the key to unlock other cancers too. I got this from Good Neighbor and thought I would pass it on. Running has been a great preperation for my 39.3 mile walk in SF in July. I can't wait to walk in my 6th Avon Walk for Breast Cancer!

Today and Yesterday

So I got an email from one of the coaches for the Fleet Feet marathon Training program when I got home from our family vacation.

Hi Everyone

Welcome to the Fleet Feet Fall 08 Marathon
Training Team. Next Tuesday we will have our inaugural meeting and run. The
16-week journey that we are about to start will require a lot of effort and
commitment. If it didn't, then everyone would be able to run a marathon!
Consistency and sticking to the plan are what will carry you through the program
and all the way to Folsom Dam on December 7th.

Over the course of
the program we will see how your bodies adapt to the stresses we are going to
place on them. Ideally, you will run 6 days a week but for some 5 maybe enough.
If you are currently running less than 5 days a week, this week would be a good
time to bump it up to 5 days. One of those 5 days should be a longer run, say 6
or 7 miles, and the others can be 4 or 5 miles. The weather is still warm so
staying hydrated is very important. Dehydration is cumulative so if you are
running 5 or 6 days per week you face the risk of starting a run still
dehydrated from the day before. That will not help you achieve your goals! I
suggest keeping the water bottle handy at all times.

We will go
into more details of the program itself when we meet on Tuesday. However, in
general, Tuesday will be our speed workout day, Sunday will be our long run day,
and Monday will be a rest day. The other days will be recovery runs or
cross-training days. On certain weekends during the program there will be
options, e.g., in week 10 you can go run the Wine Country half marathon (with
our Half Marathon Training Team) or stay here and do a 15 mile easy run. We will
talk about those options nearer the time.

For now, if you have any
questions in the next week, please email or call me. Paul Smith will be the
assistant coach for the program; you can also email him at ...

Alan

So I was like HOLY $hit! I'm not running nearly as much as I should. So I said, "sure I'll run with the girls 6 @6 group again", so much funner in a group. We left from 5 mile rec area and ran the backside of the creek for more shade since it was 98*F and 60% humidity. There were 7 of us and we took out time today so nobody got hurt of overheated. Usually we do 6 miles but we turned around at the 2.25 mile mark to make it 4.5 because it just wouldn't cool down. Most of our miles ran in the low 11's to upper 10 minute times I was OK with that.

I have found that it takes me a good 2-3 miles to really get my body out of that anaerobic state and into the aerobic state no matter how warm it is, where I feel good when I run and I'm able to run faster, easier and with more confidence. Those first few miles are really, "I just want to quit" miles. I hate that. Now that I know that it takes a while to really warm up I prepare accordingly. I ran two miles before my 10K so I wouldn't be starting out in the 11+ to12 minute range on my miles and those first two or three miles were still hard for me. I need to do strides, they let my body know what it feels like to really run, then my brain says "OH YEA! That's what those legs are supposed to do." Those things and I need to ice more. I stretch pretty well for a runner (notorious I think for finishing a run and heading to the car or the shower or for food instead of stretching).


Today. I took the boys to school, Hollywood is in 3rd Grade and has a very sweet teacher. Blondy is in 1st grade, his teacher is very sweet too. I lucked out, let me tell you. They have great friends, great teachers, a great school and they are both there at school with their friends, their teachers... ALL DAY. 6 hours to myself. Of course Hollywood (he's my dramatic kid) forgot his lunch just inside the door at home so I got a late start at my run. I got down to the park and took the trail all the way down to Valambrosia hoping to make it to 5 mile and back about a 6.5 mile out and back. Apparently they were working on the road and I couldn't get across to I did the 5.5 mile loop instead. I didn't time myself because it was already nearly 100*F and I thought I would be obsessed with running faster but on inspection of my watch I found that my 4-5 mile pace was about 9:47 not too bad. I headed around the "Damn Bridge" and ran into Tracey's sista, Sarah, with her boys. I hung out and stretched for a few minutes then went down to get in the water and "ice" my legs since I didn't have any ice at home. We have a "pool" the city made from the creek that runs through the middle of town. Its been cemented in, a damb built and we even have lifeguards posted during hte summer for swimmers. Sarah's son Jack came down to put his feet in and Luke (the baby) wanted to play in the water too. He kicked and plashed as I held him and had a grand old time. We all headed home and I felt really good about my run today. Tomorrow I start earlier to get home at a decent time. Hubby is home... the kids are gone ALL DAY... ;-)

Trip

We had a great time on our trip. I got a good quality 4.25 mile walk in with Tracey in the hilly suburb of Seattle. ONE MONDO HILL to conquer that you think will end but it just keeps going, and pushing a stroller. Not my usual, hills yes, pushing a stroller really made it harder though.

We did A LOT of walking on Tuesday with our little walk together than taking the kiddo's and hubby with us to the Museum of Flight. I could have stayed there forever but the kids move a lot faster than us so we had to move on before finishing any one display. We had dinner that night at a YUMM-O pizza place then walked home. I figure we got about 7 miles of walking in total that day.

The next day we met Sista and took the Ferry to Seattle. We walked a lot, like 1.7 miles to Pike Market through the market area and then to the bus stop. We took the bus to Safeco Field for the Mariner's Game (Twin's WON!! YEA!) then walked another 1.2 miles back to the ferry. 4 adults and 3 kids walking all that was interesting but fun. I wish we had time to see the Space Needle but it sure gives us something to come back for.

I did run Friday Night for about three miles. The base is pretty flat compared to other areas (Tracey's neighborhood or down town Seattle) but enough hills to challenge me since my home town is REALLY FLAT. I have to look for hills where its safe to run, and there aren't that many. So that's my trip. Not as much running as I would have hoped but a good time with good friends and family(and only one kid puked on the trip). I am blessed.