When life is too hectic...

...just add fund raising and marathon training!

My paperwork has been in for weeks and I've accomplished almost nothing for fund raising so far.  I feel the pressure of all there is to do and how little I get done of it in every aspect of my life.  Not sure why or how it got to be this way and I do recognize that I am truly blessed to even have some of the problems that I do have.  It's just that there are days...

I'm well ahead of training for this marathon.  Which is actually kind-of bad...  It means I need to ramp up and spend more time mid-week and weekends to maintain where I am than if I were starting from the normal starting level.  The training schedule won't catch up to me until July/August.

In the midst of what I feel is the chaotic pace of my life, there are some really fun things happening.  During the last four weeks I completed two half-marathons and a couple of 5k with a 10k on the schedule for this Saturday.  The first half-marathon was the Indy Mini which is almost an old habit now.  As much as I hate the crowded course I love being out there to support and raise awareness of TNT in the biggest half-marathon in the country.

The second one was a trail run--my first.  It was probably a little crazy to do two half-marathons back to back.  It was definitely nuts to do this one back to back with another. I rested my legs as much as possible between races, but it was a tough, tough course.  They had 4" of rain in the week prior to the race.  There were yards and yards of 12" mud throughout the course (including on the hills).  Large sections of the course were simply through the woods and in creeks following ribbons tied to trees.  As hard as it was, I loved every minute of it.  OK--that's a slight exaggeration.  There were a few while climbing straight up hills that I didn't like so much.  And I'm really glad I didn't see the huge snake on the tree a few yards off the course.  Everyone we spoke with said the same thing we did--there's no way to prepare for it unless you can be in those hills practicing.  Mom & Dad may see me more next spring.  I fully intend to do that one again!

I'm still "resting" after the two half-marathons, but plan to do a few miles tomorrow during our annual "Spring Fling" event at work.  There's a 2-3 mile walk that I will do with my friend Ellen.  We've done it together the last twenty years and traditions must be upheld! 

Hope to really have my fund raising started by the end of the weekend.

Until later:  GO TEAM!

Let The Season Begin

There are just a few short minutes to blog this evening which is likely to be the case every time!  While I love marathoning, there's barely time for regular life + training.  Then add the commitment of raising thousands of dollars--time is very short!  But as I remind myself (and you will hear me say frequently) it is nothing compared to what a cancer patient faces.  Therefore, I remind myself that my "problems" are the small stuff and keep moving!

My paperwork is in and I'm officially a TNTer for the Marine Corps Marathon.  As I watch the students pack up and leave for the summer, October 31st seems quite distant.  I say that now!  It really is true that the older you get, the faster the years go by.  That is quite a scary thought when I stop to think how much there is to do between now and October.

I feel good about training for this marathon and actually look forward to it more than I did the last one.  In part, because it is an event I hoped to do for a long time.  The other part is that I get to participate with a very special former TNT trainee of mine.

Must call it quits for now.  There's a 5K race in the morning and very full weekend ahead. 

Change of plans!

Turns out I can't do the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon due to family plans. TNT has one other marathon event, but that falls on Memorial Day weekend. And that's just a tough weekend to plan for anything when you're married to a proffessional racer... So I've decided I'm going to push out my next fund-raising event to the fall. As of now, I'm thinking about going back to where it all began--The Indianapolis Marathon in October. Strange to think that back in 1998 I had no idea that I would soon be signing up for a marathon or that there would be many others to follow.  Certainly clueless as to how it would change me and my life!

In the meantime, I'm considering a 1/2 marathon trail run back home in Brown County and several other 1/2s through the summer and fall.  Still looking for a full to do sometime in June.  I need those big goals to keep me/get me moving.  I've been really lazy since October.  Just can't seem to consistently face the cold weather training.  Hang over from training in winter of 08/09 maybe?  Sub-freezing temps for a significant amount of my training that season.

Ah well--Dog n Suds opens on Monday. So I can be sure that spring (and more daylight) is coming!  Perhaps that will help with my  motivation to move!

Planned to close on that note.  So I went to spell check my blog and realized they've removed the spell check utility.  So please pardon any errors?  It's too late and I'm way too tired to go find a dictionary!  Thanks!

Lacking Originality

It's been a chug and plug kind-of day and I'm all out of originality. Had a good cardio workout that definitely counts for training--especially these early stages. It's based on the Biggest Loser workouts. It takes a lot for me to feel a workout in my legs, but this I feel! No progress in fundraising yet, but hope to get a little done yet this week before a big Smith weekend. On Saturday, my oldest neice celebrates her Sweet 16. Not sure how that happened since I haven't aged a day since she was born. On Sunday, we Smith kids are taking the parents out to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Big weekend and I'm not sure how I'm going to get my training in. Ah well! I suspect that will be the theme of my training this season: how will I get my training done?

Wow! It's the middle of February!

I'm having a tough time getting my head into training and fundraising this year. The days evaporate so quickly! I managed a long run of four miles last Sunday. It wasn't one of the fun ones. 1/2 mile in I knew I would love my new Brooks jacket, but needed another layer on my legs. It was one of those days out there that I just kept thinking about loved-ones and friends who face treatments and don't have a choice. What is a small amount of time in the cold compared to that? I hope to mix it up and do a bit of cross-training this year. Tomorrow I'll do a pretty stiff cardio workout at lunch. I think I look forward to the change-up of routine! Too tired and too late to do much more today.

Train
Endure
Achieve
Matter