18 Mile Run!

Ok, so this was the big one... now it's down hill from here until 26.2 miles on June 6. We will actually decrease our mileage from here until the marathon to ensure our bodies are well-rested for the big run.

The 18 mile run actually seemed easier than the 16 mile run - and it only took me ten minutes longer. I would have actually probably beat my 16 mile time, except the last mile and a half of the 18 mile run was especially difficult. I started getting really nauseated, and had to walk for about 8 minutes. I'm very disappointed I walked at all, but I keep trying to tell myself that 8 minutes out of four hours isn't too bad! I need to figure out why my stomach was hurting, so I can try to eliminate what's the cause. I think I may have had too much gatorade during the run. It's a hard balance, because personally, I would rather drink water the entire time but you have to have some way to restore your electrolytes - especially sodium. I mentioned taking sodium pills to my dad instead of drinking gatorade, but he quickly vetoed that idea.

During the run, we ran all over Austin!! We started at the intramural fields (51st St. and Guadalupe) and ran two miles north, then ran south all the way through campus to Town Lake. We ran about 5 miles on Town Lake all the way to the Longhorn Dam and back. I was at 2nd and Trinity, had run 14 miles and knew I had to make it back to 51st and Guadalupe. It was horrible having to look at the street signs from 2nd to 3rd to 4th all the way to 51st. This was actually just the last four miles, but it seemed so much farther!

Since I had to run the 11 mile from last weekend on Monday, I ran a total of 41 miles in the last 6 days!!!! As I'm writing this I am icing my knees, although they feel much better than they did after the 16 mile. I think my knee problems may be over (knock on wood).

This afternoon, the kids I babysit and I are going to have a lemonade stand to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! I am still about $400 away from my goal, so please donate if you haven't already and wish to!!!! There are only three weeks left until the marathon, and technically our fundraising ends next Monday!! So please tell your friends!!!

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!!

Lisa

11 Mile Run

I ended up not running at ALL in New Orleans this weekend. I opted to walk around New Orleans and check out the city instead. Also, staying out late and drinking wine doesn't mix well with early morning runs. This was not a great weekend to appear to be slacking on my running, since I was around my aunts, uncles, and cousins who were all very generous to donate to the cause. Needless to say, I was called a slacker several times.

But don't worry guys! I made up my 11 mile run today! It's crazy how an 11 mile run doesn't seem like a big deal now - especially when I have an 18 miler coming up this weekend. This will be the highest mileage we reach before we start running shorter distances to prepare our bodies for race day.

Last week, I broke my iPOD and my sports watch, which are two staples of my exercise regimen, as well as my life. Thankfully, I have borrowed my old iPOD that I had given to my friend, Jackie. She probably won't know that I'm going to have to use it until the race until she reads this. Sorry!!!!! I will begin saving up for a new one... Buying a new watch was absolutely necessary, so I did that this morning before my run.

We only have two weeks until our fundraising closes (though I believe people can still donate after - this is just the deadline of when TNT members will be billed if they didn't raise the minimum donation). I'm going to have another lemonade stand with the kids I babysit this weekend (hoping they don't back out!) Hopefully, I can get about $100 from that. I will be sending out a final email and facebook message soon in efforts to get last minute donators. Thanks again to all those who have donated thus far!

Cheers!

Lisa

16 Mile Run

Hey everyone!!!

Ok, I'm not going to sugar coat this one - the 16 mile run was exponentially harder than any of the others up to date. About 14 miles in, my calves and hip flexors were hurting pretty badly, but I kept running and finished so that is all that counts...even though it took me 3 hours and forty minutes to finish! Please don't do that math to figure out how slow I am. I actually walk faster than I run at this point, which I think is pretty impressive. In my defense, I had a massage two days before the run and my muscles were so tight that I had to stop to stretch several times along the way. Still, that's a long time to be out there running. At least I passed the local Austin celebrity/tranny/mayor candidate Leslie. He/she looked gorgeous in his/her usual skirt and skimpy top.

I can't believe I have to add ten miles to that!!!!!!! I hope adrenaline is on my side the day of the race. This weekend we drop back down to 11 miles, so the run will be easier, but I'll be in New Orleans, so I'll have to figure out some way to run without being killed. I think I'm going to make my brother, David, run with me. Friday is his last day of his first year of law school, so he'll be good and hungover for a Saturday 11-mile jog at 7 in the morning. :)

Fundraising is going well, although I'm still about $400 short of my new goal of $5,000. I had a lemonade stand last week, but it was a bust. You'd think having it in rich neighborhoods in Austin would result in more money, but I used to make way more money in Longview as a kid. We'll have people in $80,000 cars straight up tell us they don't want to give even a dollar (and that's when we were raising money for the Animal Humane Society - who doesn't like animals?!). I'm going to try to find an event in Austin at which to sell water and I'm going to have another lemonade stand with the older kids I babysit (the one I had last week was with the three year-old I babysit, and it was extremely difficult to watch her and try to sell lemonade. She also became bored after about 2 and a half minutes).

Pleaseee tell anyone you know that might want to donate about this cause! Even a couple of dollars helps! The marathon is only a month and three days away (ahh), so my fundraising will soon come to a close. Give anyone you know my website address: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ctx/rnr10/lsawyereb6

Thanks for your support! Peace and love to all,

Lisa

10 Mile Run

Hi all!

This past weekend, we dipped back down to ten miles which was refreshing after the 14 mile run the weekend before. I made much better time and was able to run the whole time with no problems from my knee! Now, I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the 16 mile run that is coming up this weekend. We're meeting at Austin High School, and I'm hoping we don't run the hills around Lake Austin again for this long mileage. Also, our runs were moved from 7:30 to 7:00 in the morning on Saturdays from now until the marathon, so my Friday nights are officially gone! :(

Since my run from last weekend was so uneventful, I thought I would talk more about the cancer aspect of the marathon in this post. I just read, "Every Second Counts" by Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor and 7 time (which is a record) winner of the Tour de France (the most difficult athletic competition), who has also raised tens of millions of dollars for cancer research and aid to cancer patients through the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

One thing Armstrong gives to cancer patients is hope. By various doctors, Armstrong was told he had a 20%, 30%, and 50% chance of surviving his cancer. At times, this amazing athlete was sleeping 20 plus hours a night and still didn't have energy to make it to the bathroom. When he ultimately won his battle with cancer, he decided he would live his life to the fullest and that is when he went on the win 7 Tour de France titles and form his foundation.

One of my favorite things that Armstrong said in his book was that "pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever." This is something he lived by both as he battled cancer and as he competed in these grueling athletic events. However, his battle with cancer was much harder than any race he has ever done. He was in immense amounts of pain, but he knew that if he gave up or lost hope, it would last forever and he would never have a chance to live his life. This is something I try to keep in mind now as I'm running. In cases such as cancer, the "pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever." At Team in Training, we're all running for the same goal - to help save lives. We keep going even through joint problems, fatigue, and other ailments, because we know that what we're doing doesn't even compare to the battle that Leukemia and Lymphoma patients are fighting all over the world.

Since the beginning of training for the marathon, I have worn a LIVESTRONG bracelet in memory of Terry O'Brien, who lost his battle to leukemia. His mother and father were on the mission trip to Guatemala I went on last year and they continue to give back to those in need. His mother, Anna, told me that Terry bought a LIVESTRONG bracelet the day he was diagnosed and wore it all five years of his struggle. When I'm running and feel tired or want to quit because my legs hurt or I'm dehydrated, I look at this bracelet and remember that what I'm running for is so important and so much bigger than this marathon. She sent me this bracelet, along with a pin with his picture on it that I will wear the day of the race for inspiration to push harder and never give up so that one day we will have the technology to help young people like Terry beat this disease.

Again, thanks to all for your continued support! Though it is not reflected on my fundraising page yet, I have raised about $4,600, which means I'm $400 from my goal! Please spread the word about this wonderful cause to anyone you think would be interested in donating!

All my best,

Lisa

14 Mile Run Picture

14 Mile Run

Hi Everyone!

The 14 mile run was great! I was very apprehensive starting it Saturday morning, since I had been having so much trouble with my knees and had missed two weeks of training, but everything went really well and my knees are feeling pretty good today! At the suggestion of our running trainer, I completed the 14 miles in run walk intervals (15 min. run, 5 min. walk for the first 7 miles, 7 min. run, 3 min. walk for the last 7 miles). Even though I wasn't able to run the whole time, I'm glad I at least got the cardio of completing 14 miles and am hoping I will be able to run the full 10 miles this weekend.

The run took FOREVER since I had to walk some of it. It took me over 3 hours! I took a hot bath and iced my knees really well yesterday and today, and I'm hoping for a good training week this week!

I'm trying to think of another fundraising event. (We've done car wash and my sis had a garage sale). Any ideas are welcome!!!! Please leave your suggestions under comments if you have any.

Have a great week everyone!

Lisa

Setbacks and Lessons Learned

Hi all!

I haven't written in a couple of weeks, because... I haven't been running! Now, this may seem strange for someone training for a marathon to not run for two weeks. Well, two Sundays ago I developed a pain in my left knee that became worse as the night went on. After talking with a trainer at the gym (and a couple of doctors), I found out I had tendonitis in my left knee. Tendonitis is an overuse injury, so the way to get better is to underuse your knee. This was not good news to hear!

That first week, I still did my usual 6 day workout week, but I swam, strength trained, aqua ran, etc. On the following Monday, thinking I was healed, I jumped on the elliptical for an hour and 45 minutes and had a 50 minute session with my trainer and felt GREAT... until the next morning, when I again had shooting pains in my knee. So that meant another week off, during which I did NOTHING!!!!!

The good news is that I worked out tonight and ran a little and so far, so good. It is a very scary thing to not run for two weeks when you have committed to run 26.2 miles in less than 2 months, but that was the only way to get better. My step sister, Jennifer, told me about one of her friends who kept training (with the help of steroid shots in the knee) and ending up with a tear and unable to run for months and months. Two weeks off sounds a lot better than that.

Not being able to run really put a damper on my mood - especially regarding health, working out, fitness, etc. - but I am fully confident I will be able to get back on track with training. After all, I'm 23 and in good health, what do I have to complain about? I think that's the mindset that is important to have through-out this process and this race.

Every time I feel tired, lazy, a general hatred toward running, I remember that I should be THANKFUL that I can get out and run until my knees feel like they're falling off. That's what this is all about - helping others who can't be out there running today get better so that next time around they can be running with me. Having tendonitis in one of your knees doesn't even compare to the emotional, physical, and mental stress of battling cancer. And if the people I have heard about and learned about in the past two months battling Leukemia and other blood cancers (and their families) can be that brave, strong, and resilient, then I can run a lousy 26.2 miles.

With this new determination and mindset, I have raised my fundraising goal from $3,500 to $5,000. I had a very successful car wash - with the help of 9 of my wonderful friends - during which we raised $550 for the cause. My sister Abby, who has the biggest heart I have ever come across, set up a garage sale using donated items and raised $440 for the cause.

Let's keep doing it!! Tell your friends, family, coworkers. This is such a great organization and a great cause. It is becoming increasingly apparent to the general public with the health care debate in main focus that healthcare is largely unaffordable, especially when battling something as serious as cancer. It is important that we do what we can to help these people, because it could be us tomorrow. I didn't EARN my health, it was given to me, and I am so thankful for that, among many other things in my life, that I find it incredibly important to give back.. so I'm going to keep on running with my head held high and just ice my knees for hours and hours a week! :)

Thank you for your continued support,

Lisa