Blisters are a real pain in the... feet. Both Dan and I were suffering earlier this week- after only 4 days of training! I had expected to have some small problems, but not to the degree that we did!
So on the recommendation of our coach, Jerry-- have we mentioned how GREAT this guy is?, we went over to The Running Place in Newtown Square (http://www.therunningplace.com/). I was a bit nervous, because well, I'm not a "runner". I am completely intimidated by "runners", and for some bizarre and admittedly unfair reason always worry that they will look down on me because I am a "walker". (Ridiculous, I know, but still...)
Well, we met probably the coolest lady EVER at the store. Joan, whom I have dubbed "St. Joan of Arch- the patron saint of runners", couldn't have been more helpful! First she had us take off our current shoes. She looked at them (despite the horrid odor coming from Dan's- sorry honey, but they reeked!), and had us walk across the room to observe our gait. And, poof! As if by magic, St. Joan found the most comfortable shoes I have ever put on my little feet (which, incidentally, are two perfectly matched size 6's-- I knew I was perfect SOMEWHERE on my body)! Joan also outfitted us with socks, which makes a huge difference in the blister issue. We also picked up some snazzy new water bottle holders for our training and race. I'll bet you're not surprised, dear friends, to hear that I picked the pink one.
My friend Casey was right, I should have brought my camera to document our shoe shopping! Sorry! Had I known that the staff at The Running Place was so great, I would definitely have done it! Thank God for St. Joan of "Arch"! I'm a reformed woman. I'll never buy sneakers from the mall again.
I guess Joan has been a runner forever- and she had some really great words of wisdom that I will truly recite over and over through race day. "If the whole race felt like the first mile, do you think I, or any one else, would actually do the other 25 miles?" Brilliant! So I am not alone in hating the first mile.
Now if I could just grow some longer legs...
-Sara
Friday, January 26, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
When will we have time?
With TEAM IN TRAINING, we will train once each weekend with the rest of the team at either Valley Forge Park or Kelly Drive. But in order to prepare for the marathon, we will have to train at home as well. We were given a schedule by our coach, and today is our first day to train. I am beginning to get a little worried about how we will juggle our "real lives" and training!
Because it is the middle of winter, we wake up for work while it is still dark outside. And since I started working 10 hour days, I now get home at around 7:30pm (when it's dark outside). So between the lack of daylight hours and the snowy weather, we'll have a hard time walking outside for the next month or so. Dan and I decided to go to the gym for some of the training, and on my day off, I will train alone outside during the day.
But today is a perfect example-- we need to do 4 miles. So, if we are at a 15-16 minute mile, that's a bit over an hour. The gym doesn't open until 5am, and in order to get ready for work, I need to be in the shower at 6am. So we'll go to the gym after I get home tonight, which means we won't eat dinner until around 9pm. It's stuff like this that makes me wish I lived closer to the hospital, so I would have more time!
I am sure that as time goes on, we'll figure out a schedule that works for us. And the bottom line is, we are doing this for a reason. So we'll sacrifice now and make an impact on other people's lives, as well as our own. Every time I question whether or not I can do this, I try to think about the families and patients that are going through so much more. And as much as I wish for time to get "things" done, I know how blessed I am not to have to simply wish for more time being healthy, or more time in remission, or more time without chemo, or just more time to live! I'll try to remember the reason and I know that will be great motivation!
On another note, you'll see that there are now 2 sites for online donation. Because of the way that the financial end will work, Dan and I are considered 2 separate fundraising entities. Our end goal of $9000 is the same, but for the organization's purposes, we will be raising $4,500 each. When you make your donation, feel free to just pick one or the other. There will be a running tally at each site, so you can see which one of us needs to "catch up" to the other.
Also, I have included a "STATS" area so you can quickly see our fundraising and mileage building up. We are on track to walk a total of 36 miles this week (18 miles each)!
We are psyched for our next team practice on Saturday at Valley Forge Park! I'll try to remember our camera so that we can post some pictures of us in action. It looks like it will be just as cold, if not colder, than last week. I can't wait for spring-- warmer weather AND daylight savings!
-Sara
Because it is the middle of winter, we wake up for work while it is still dark outside. And since I started working 10 hour days, I now get home at around 7:30pm (when it's dark outside). So between the lack of daylight hours and the snowy weather, we'll have a hard time walking outside for the next month or so. Dan and I decided to go to the gym for some of the training, and on my day off, I will train alone outside during the day.
But today is a perfect example-- we need to do 4 miles. So, if we are at a 15-16 minute mile, that's a bit over an hour. The gym doesn't open until 5am, and in order to get ready for work, I need to be in the shower at 6am. So we'll go to the gym after I get home tonight, which means we won't eat dinner until around 9pm. It's stuff like this that makes me wish I lived closer to the hospital, so I would have more time!
I am sure that as time goes on, we'll figure out a schedule that works for us. And the bottom line is, we are doing this for a reason. So we'll sacrifice now and make an impact on other people's lives, as well as our own. Every time I question whether or not I can do this, I try to think about the families and patients that are going through so much more. And as much as I wish for time to get "things" done, I know how blessed I am not to have to simply wish for more time being healthy, or more time in remission, or more time without chemo, or just more time to live! I'll try to remember the reason and I know that will be great motivation!
On another note, you'll see that there are now 2 sites for online donation. Because of the way that the financial end will work, Dan and I are considered 2 separate fundraising entities. Our end goal of $9000 is the same, but for the organization's purposes, we will be raising $4,500 each. When you make your donation, feel free to just pick one or the other. There will be a running tally at each site, so you can see which one of us needs to "catch up" to the other.
Also, I have included a "STATS" area so you can quickly see our fundraising and mileage building up. We are on track to walk a total of 36 miles this week (18 miles each)!
We are psyched for our next team practice on Saturday at Valley Forge Park! I'll try to remember our camera so that we can post some pictures of us in action. It looks like it will be just as cold, if not colder, than last week. I can't wait for spring-- warmer weather AND daylight savings!
-Sara
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Training Day 1
We have officially lost our minds!
We woke up this morning at 6:30am to make it to our first practice, held at Kelly Drive in Philadelphia. Dan and I both bundled up (I even went to Target last night to buy thermal underwear) because it was a chilly 28 degrees! The first thing that we discovered is that NOBODY is on the Schukill Expressway that early on a Sunday morning. If the commute could always be that easy, I could DRIVE to work instead of taking the train.
When we got there, we met Jerry, our head coach for the marathon. He and his wife, Robin have been doing TEAM IN TRAINING since the late '90s, I think, and were both REALLY enthusiastic. We learned some stretching exercises and set off on our 4 mile walk for the day. I never knew that there was a "proper" way to walk. It will take some getting used to, but the more we practice our form, the more natural it will become.
After about 1/2 mile, I sort of fell behind the rest of the pack. I wasn't really tired exactly, but my legs were kind of sore. Of course, I immediately began to regret our decision to do this. If I can't do 1/2 mile and keep up with the group, how am I possibly going to do 26.2 miles on Marathon Day??? Dan was great, he walked with me. Eventually, one of the assistant coaches, Linda, came and walked with us. I told Dan to go ahead, and Linda stayed with me.
I was SO embarrassed! But Linda was a great motivator, and we completed 3 miles today! The second half seemed to be a bit easier (and faster), so maybe it just took me a while to GET GOING (ha!). Head coach Jerry told me that he thought I did fine, that with the cold weather and since it was the first time out it could affect how far I went. So at this point, I feel pretty good. I still intend to do the full marathon, but I know the option to drop back to the half (13.1 miles) is still available.
We are going to begin our fundraising campaign soon. Our goal is $9,000 (this is a little scarier than the 26.2 mile Marathon sometimes)! We hope to set up links to our online fundraising page, the TEAM IN TRAINING page, and other fun stuff that we come across in this journey.
Thanks so much for your support! I hope you'll visit this blog often to check in on our progress!
-Sara
We woke up this morning at 6:30am to make it to our first practice, held at Kelly Drive in Philadelphia. Dan and I both bundled up (I even went to Target last night to buy thermal underwear) because it was a chilly 28 degrees! The first thing that we discovered is that NOBODY is on the Schukill Expressway that early on a Sunday morning. If the commute could always be that easy, I could DRIVE to work instead of taking the train.
When we got there, we met Jerry, our head coach for the marathon. He and his wife, Robin have been doing TEAM IN TRAINING since the late '90s, I think, and were both REALLY enthusiastic. We learned some stretching exercises and set off on our 4 mile walk for the day. I never knew that there was a "proper" way to walk. It will take some getting used to, but the more we practice our form, the more natural it will become.
After about 1/2 mile, I sort of fell behind the rest of the pack. I wasn't really tired exactly, but my legs were kind of sore. Of course, I immediately began to regret our decision to do this. If I can't do 1/2 mile and keep up with the group, how am I possibly going to do 26.2 miles on Marathon Day??? Dan was great, he walked with me. Eventually, one of the assistant coaches, Linda, came and walked with us. I told Dan to go ahead, and Linda stayed with me.
I was SO embarrassed! But Linda was a great motivator, and we completed 3 miles today! The second half seemed to be a bit easier (and faster), so maybe it just took me a while to GET GOING (ha!). Head coach Jerry told me that he thought I did fine, that with the cold weather and since it was the first time out it could affect how far I went. So at this point, I feel pretty good. I still intend to do the full marathon, but I know the option to drop back to the half (13.1 miles) is still available.
We are going to begin our fundraising campaign soon. Our goal is $9,000 (this is a little scarier than the 26.2 mile Marathon sometimes)! We hope to set up links to our online fundraising page, the TEAM IN TRAINING page, and other fun stuff that we come across in this journey.
Thanks so much for your support! I hope you'll visit this blog often to check in on our progress!
-Sara
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