Khem is Going to Dublin!
"The miracle isn't that I finished...the miracle is that I had the courage to start.", John 'The Penguin' Bingham
Welcome to my Team In Training Fundraising Page!
I am training to participate in the adidas Dublin Marathon in Dublin Ireland on October 29, 2007 as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. All of us at Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I'm completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!
For all my awesome friends and family that have followed my journey when it started with the Arizona Marathon on January 14, 2007 and are still here, the Dublin Marathon will be my last event for the year and my last fundraising campaign! Thank you for supporting me through my training and fundraising efforts. Most importantly, THANK YOU on behalf of all the patients and families dealing with blood cancers. Without your generosity, we wouldn't be closer to finding a cure and able to support those who are affected by this horrible disease. I ask you again, please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society's mission.
"The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society"
Denver, CO 80231
I hope you'll visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. If you have any questions, feel free to reach me at (720) 233-5522 or khem.suthiwan@schwab.com. Thank you for your support!
P.S. For your donation you can also receive a $5.00 off coupon for a massage with Jann at Two Compassionate Hands spa. For every redeemed coupon an additional $5.00 donation will be made to my LLS sponsorship. Please contact me for details or go to:
Where: Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge - 930 Lincoln St, Denver
What: Live Music Entertainment and Silent Auction
$10 cover gets you in the door to enjoy live jazz with our very own Sasha Riffle singing! This event will also be in conjunction with my 30th Birthday celebration! Yours truly will be singing a solo to kick off my journey into a new decade. Many silent auction items will be available and proceeds will go to benefit the society. See you there!
http://dazzlejazz-tnt.blogspot.com
Last Updated November 7, 2007
Well, when it was all said and done....I finished with a respectable time. 4 hours 23 minutes...one minute shaved off my best marathon time.
The race turned out over 9,000 runners from all over the world...it was absolutely amazing! The course started out in Dublin's City Centre for the first few miles and made its way up to Phoenix Park, where the Dublin Zoo and the grounds of the Irish President's residence. The rest of the course winded through various neighborhoods surrounding Dublin. The locals were out cheering all the runners on and handing out candy and fruit along the way. It was great hearing them cheer..."Well done!" and "Nearly there!" in their lovely Irish accents. The last few miles we ran back into the City Centre where the streets were lined 6-8 people deep on each side. As the streets narrowed down towards the finish line, the noise and cheering got louder and louder. It was almost like finishing the Tour de France! Very exciting!
The course was surprisingly very hilly and the roads were hard to run on. I found out later from one of the locals the asphalt in Ireland is made of a mixture of tar and glass...making the surface extra hard. My feet definitely felt that...they were aching only after 12 miles of running. I started out at a pretty good pace and had a few miles under a 9 minute pace...but as the hard asphalt took its toll, my pace got slower. The last few miles were hard, but I kept the thought of my patient hero Janie and what she had gone through with her chemotherapy...which was far worse than the aches and pains I was experiencing.
After the race was done, I was sooooooo hungry! I checked in at the Team in Training station and grabbed one of every piece of food they had. Cookies, chips, bottled water. Then a few of us reunited and headed back to the hotel where pints of Guinness and a large lunch was served. Later that night we celebrated at the Team in Training victory party, drank more Guinness, danced, and went to a pub for some authentic Irish music. It was great to be able to celebrate this big accomplishment and be in the company of so many other Team in Training athletes who traveled from all over the United States to run this amazing marathon on the other side of the great big pond. This experience is one I will cherish for a lifetime!
The rest of the trip I spent sightseeing around Dublin, took a ferry to Wales for a day, and meeting a lot of great people. So now that I'm back home and slowly getting reaclimated to the time changes, I'm taking it easy and taking time off from running...for at least another week. Next week I hope to start running again so I can train for my next event, the Rock 'n Roll Arizona Marathon on January 13, 2008. I will be running this race with Team in Training and providing support to participants as a mentor. Although my fundraising is done, my work will never be as long as a cure needs to be found. I will always be taking donations, either in-kind for fundraisers or good 'ol greenbacks...as I will be helping others achieve greatness with Team in Training.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support with my training and fundraising for this amazing cause! You have helped so many people and touched so many lives...THANK YOU!
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October 22, 2007
Oh boy...it's getting closer and closer to race day!! 6 days 18 hours 3 minutes and 25 seconds!
My knees are definitely shaking! I figure, there's not much else I can do to prepare, train, or fix now...so I just need to show up and pray that great marathon karma is coming my way!! In the next few days, please feel free to send out your positive energy vibrations and any inspirational messages as I will need them tremendously! Thank you to everyone who has been on this wonderful journey with me. I appreciate all the support that you have given me this year! I can't wait to come back with great news and tons of wonderful stories and pictures! Next stop...Dublin!
Oh yeah...I'm still running a bit this week as well as carb-loading. I apologize in advance to my co-workers to have to deal with all the breads and pastas I'll be ordering in this week! Here's the last week of training....
Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - rest, Chiropractor & Physical Therapy
Wednesday - track
Thursday - 3 miles & checkup with Doctor
Friday - 3 miles & FLY TO DUBLIN!!
Saturday - 3 miles
Sunday - rest, rest, and more rest!
Monday......SHOWTIME!!! 26.2 MILES!!
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October 15, 2007
13 days, 23 hours, 28 minutes, and 30 seconds left!! Getting super excited and nervous...and scared! I had a crazy dream last night that I missed my flight to Dublin. I surely hope that doesn't actually happen!
This weekend was absolutely amazing. Our Denver Marathoners had their pre-race pasta party on Saturday and all of us mentors, captains, coaches, and staff cheered them on to celebrate their accomplishments as they walked down the red carpet into the dining area. Words cannot describe the sense of satisfaction I get from seeing their faces thrilled and excited for the race and success with their fundraising. After the lunch, we had a truly amazing speaker who shared with us her journey and fight with Lymphoma. It was truly inspirational and provided us with the motivation to go out there and run the race!
So I used the Denver half-marathon race as a training run...to see how much I've progressed with my running and to give me an idea of how fast to run in Dublin. Despite the cold and rainy weather (35 degrees), I managed to turn out a great run. 2 hours 3 minutes and 11 seconds, which nets out to a 9 minute 24 seconds per mile pace. The course was very hilly towards the last half of the race, but I was able to keep my breathing and pacing managable. Although my goal was to break 2 hours, I'm still very happy all things considered.
I do owe a lot to a very special person that made my race day extra amazing. Here's to Lance...for keeping me warm and dry before the race, walking me to the start to collect my gear, cheering me on during the race at 17th & Gilpin, cheering for me at the finish and capturing an amazing picture of my running stride, and for taking care of me after the race in getting me back to being dry and warm. I couldn't have done it without you!
If I taper well in the next two weeks, I should be well recovered enough to run Dublin in four hours or less!! I'm crossing my fingers.
So these next thirteen days I'll still be running...just not as hard and fast, stretching, and increasing my caloric intake. I have been waiting for this all summer long and cannot believe it's finally almost here!
As always, here's the training schedule for this week:
Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - track
Thursday - 4 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 7 miles
Sunday - rest
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October 8, 2007
As of this moment, I am 21 days, 00 hours, 45 minutes, and 02 seconds from the start of the Dublin Marathon! I am definitely getting more and more nervous the more I keep thinking about it. This race will be, by far, one of the most mentally challenging I will ever run. I know what to expect, I know what to do...and I know what can go wrong. So I'm hoping the latter will never truly manifest itself on race day.
Nonetheless, I am happy to say that I have raised my fundraising goal and in the past twelve months, have raised just over $12,000 to further the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission. This past Saturday, our group to a moment to talk about why we were running and our connection to the cause. My answer began as most people...a way to get back into shape, train with a group, and meeting other people with similar interests. I also added that I shouldn't have to wait to have a personal connection to blood cancers and hope that I never will. I am one of the few that have been blessed with good health and well-being...so I run for those who can't...and I will continue to run for those people and their families. Tears were definitely shed and then we ran one mile in silence to honor and celebrate those who had lost their battle or still fighting this horrible disease. As we come to the end of another season, this moment did put things back into perspective and made our long runs seem so miniscule compared to going through chemotherapy, bone barrow transplants, and other treatments. I know how easy it is to dwell on the negatives in our lives...misery does love company. So I hope that each and everyone one of you takes a moment to reflect on how wonderful life is and to make the best with the hand we're dealt. After all, the true character of a person is not who they are, but how they deal with adversity.
My training for this next event will come to a close very soon, but my efforts to spread the awareness of blood cancers will not. After returning from Dublin, I will take a much needed break from running and the resume my training for the Rock 'N Roll Arizona Marathon...again with Team in Training. Keep visiting my website for updates as race day draws near!
Yesterday I had the pleasure of running the Denver Race for the Cure with Lance. We had so much fun and the weather was perfect for running! We ended up finishing this 5K (3.1miles) race in under 30 minutes...29:37 to be exact. My fastest Race for the Cure time thus far! It was amazing to see how many people that have been touched by breast cancer. Patients, children, parents, husbands, and friends. It really puts things into perspective of how much work still needs to be done for cancer research!
Here's this week's training schedule
Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - 4 miles & Chiropractor & Physical Therapy appointments
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 4 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 3 miles
Sunday - Denver Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
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October 2, 2007
WOW! I can't believe it's already October! Time sure flies when you're having way too much fun! T-minus 27 days until race day! I'm super nervous! Found out last week I'm developing hip bursitis. One more running related injury to add to the collection. Hopefully I'll be able to manage the pain and keep the swelling down for the next few weeks.
This last Saturday's run...I was definitely NOT at my best. I started at 5:50am, when it was still dark out, with my headlamp on...going down the Highline Canal from the Nazarene Church. Felt pretty good for the first ten miles. When I reached Goodsen Recreation Center, which was 10.66 miles down the trail to turn around, I could feel my mind slipping. 12 miles into the run I was mentally drained and felt like I couldn't finish. Feeling a bit desperate, I called my friend Sasha to tell her how much I was struggling. Unfortunately, I got her voicemail....so I kept on running after I left the message. My mind didn't want my body to run, the hip bursitis was bothering me, and the thought of how long it was going to take me to get back to the car didn't help. Then I ran into Coach Bob and a few other TNT runners on the trail...what a sight for sore eyes! I couldn't keep up with them, so I kept going on by myself. Along the way, I texted messaged my friend to let her know where I was. Kept running into more people, which helped out mentally. After a while, I decided to try the run-walk method which has always worked for me in the past. Ran four minutes, walked one minute. I did this for the last 6-7 miles. It had been so long since I've struggled that hard with a long run...but I'm glad I got it over with and now I can do the taper dance!! I was definitely glad to see my car sitting in the parking lot!
Friday, the Hawaiian Luau was a huge success! We raised just over $1,300!! The silent auction items were a hit, considering we had over 20 bottles of wine brought in from Napa Valley and a few other hot ticket items...a Nolan Ryan autographed baseball, art work, and a dinner with me at Cool River. The music and dancing was absolutely amazing. The hula dancer put on a great show and taught us how to do a hula dance, which was a lot of fun! Sasha got up and sang a few songs and blew everyone away! A great preview of what's to come at our next big event in November.
So....I'm tapering now. Thank goodness gracious! Here's the schedule:
Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - 4 miles
Wednesday - track
Thursday - 6 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 12 miles
Sunday - rest
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September 24, 2007
35 days until Dublin!! I am getting nervous and anxious! I hate this! I have one more really long run until I start tapering...and I can't wait!
This last week was definitely busy as I'm trying to raise the rest of my fundraising. To everyone that has helped me get this far...,THANK YOU! I couldn't have done it without you. At this point, I have just under $1,500 left to raise and hoping to have this accomplished within the next two weeks. So, if I've contacted you and you have yet to donate...please do so! There's a huge need for these funds for all our research and patient support programs! Not to mention, it will be one last thing I can worry about in addition to my training. :-)
Speaking of training...the hips are still pretty tight, so I hope they hold up until I can do the taper dance! I could feel them the entire run last Saturday. Luckily I had a few things to distract me to keep my mind off of the soreness. Had a really good 10 mile run on Saturday, was averaging 9:47 minute miles, so I was really happy with that. Definitely could not have done it without company. So, Lance...thanks for running with me and keeping me entertained for the first 8 miles!
So here's the last week of true torture....
Monday - 4 miles & lift weights
Tuesday - 4 miles, Chiro & PT appointment
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 4 miles & lift weights
Friday - rest
Saturday - 21 miles
Sunday - rest
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September 17, 2007
Last week's running wasn't too bad. It wasn't my best, but it could've been worse. Had a fun night of bowling Friday night...averaged in the 130s, not too bad! Got home kind of late and had to get my running gear ready for Saturday morning. The next morning I got up at 4:45am, ate my usual whole grain mini bagel with peanut butter, and headed to Washington Park. I managed to get in 3 laps (7.8 miles) and then took a break at 7am when our Winter season group met up for their first group run. It was great seeing all the new faces and their enthusiasm. Our Team Captain Rick was there, as always with food, gatorade, and water to keep us going! I then attempted to run a total of 20 miles for that day, but by the time I made the run up to Cheesman Park, I could feel the lack of sleep really getting to me. As I ran back to Wash Park, I knew I wouldn't be able to do another lap, so I opted to finish my run as I got back to the parking lot. Total miles for Saturday...eighteen. Coach Jenn gave me crap for sitting my butt in a chair right after I was done. I was achey, sleepy, and just plain pooped. After the run, fellow Mentor John and another runner and I headed to Pete's University Cafe for breakfast...got my bacon fix in, and then went grocery shopping to prepare for my "slumber party".
So Saturday night I had a dozen gals over for a "slumber party". We had a lot of fun and if the sales exceed a certain dollar amount, then the distributor will donate a portion of her profits to LLS. Not a bad arrangement at all.
Sunday morning I decided to run the El Grito 5K down by the Buckhorn Exchange. My legs felt a bit tired from the day before, but I wanted to see how well I could do nonetheless. The course led us up and over the 8th street bridge...and back up and over again. I remember that bridge so well from the Platte River Half Marathon...except on that race it was at mile 13, very different. Well, I turned in another PR. Don't know what my official time is yet, but according to my watch, it was 28 minutes...a 9 minute mile. Not too bad.
With a couple weeks away from tapering, these next few long runs are going to be tough mentally and I just hope I have what it takes to get the job done. Its definitely been hard to keep the distractions and negative energy to a minimum, but I'm managing. So here's this week's schedule:
Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - 5 miles and lift weights
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 6 miles & lift weights
Friday - rest
Saturday - 10 miles (yippie!)
Sunday - rest
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September 10, 2007
Let see...now I'm having to refer to my training log to recall how my week went. Once I start getting up farther in mileage, I think my memory capacity somewhat diminishes. Tuesday I lifted weights with Sasha and introduced her to a few new exercises using a Bosu Ball. At track practice on Wednesday, the weather was quite cool...and on my last lap, I could hear the rain coming. By the time I took the first turn of my last lap, it totally dumped on me, but I finished the lap and got into my car soaking wet. Definitely a nice relief from the heat we'd been dealing with for the last few weeks. After the workout, I headed off to my auntie's restaurant "Chada Thai" off 17th & Race to treat myself to some home-cooked Thai food....yummy! Thursday I got a much needed deep tissue massage. I was loaded with knots and trigger points all over! After the massage, I was in no condition to run, so I took it easy that night and Friday as well. Saturday we had out Winter 2007 Season Kickoff event, so I had to split my 18 mile run that day. I ran 8.4 miles in the morning, went to Kickoff, went home and took a nap, woke up, ate, and then at about 6:30pm I headed to Washington Park and did 4 laps for another 10.4 miles. I bumped into Sasha at the part as she was doing her 3rd lap and by that time it had gotten dark, so I ran with her for a while since she had her headlamp on. My hips started tightening up and bothering me again, so hopefully I'll be able to get that worked out before my long run this week.
This is part of the training schedule that I hate the most....these long runs definitely get to you mentally more than anything. At this point I try to keep the distractions down to a minimum, celebrate the small victories and accomplishments, keep a positive attitude, and remind myself why I run...to further help the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Here's this week's schedule:
Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - 4 miles, lift weights, chiropractor and physical therapy
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 6 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 20 miles
Sunday - rest
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September 3, 2007
I finally took my own advice...I left work early last Wednesday and stayed home Thursday to get some much needed rest. Although I wasn't 100% on Friday, it definitely helped the road to recovery.
With being sick, a new addition to my cross-training regime has helped. What might that be??? Well, surprising enough it's singing. Yes...I said singing. It helps keep my lungs open and works out my breathing muscles too. There are a few pieces (of music) that I'm working on that really help out....The Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack as well as Con Te Partiro by Andrea Bocelli. Who knows, maybe I'll get enough gusto to perform them at a talent show somewhere! Haha. So my friend Sasha is helping by voice coaching me on these pieces since I haven't sang like this since middle school. I promise I'll keep the windows rolled up in my car when I hit those higher soprano notes!
On Labor Day I ran the inaugural race for the Aetna Park to Park 10 Miler. It was a great day and a great course! We started at City Park, ran to Cheesman Park, then Alamo Placita, and finished in Washington Park. I ran with one of the other TNT mentors, John Ratcliff, who managed to stay with me and keep me updated on our pace with his Garmin GPS watch. Official finish time....1 hour 36 minutes and 38 seconds....which is a 9:40 minute/mile. Not too bad. Coach Bob decided to come and check out the festivities and we caught up to him about a third of a mile from the finish line. From there, I took off like a banshee and went for a strong finish. I don't know where I got that last burst of energy, but it was from somewhere deep down...a place I didn't know existed. During the race I was coughing up phlegm from my cold, but I think the singing helped me with my breathing and keeping my pace nice and steady. We ran by this house and the owners were cheering us on....but we could smell the aroma of bacon cooking from their kitchen. Not nice. Needless to say, after the race, Sasha, John, and I headed to Pete's University Cafe for breakfast. It was a great race and I will definitely do it again next year!
I'm also trying another sports energy/recovery drink that I really like. I have had a hard time finding something that doesn't give me stomach aches and nausea as I get higher in mileage. I normally do not endorse one particular product, but this stuff is awesome! It's called Gleukos. All natural, free of artificial ingredients all it contains in glucose, so it's easily absorbed into the body and does not require digestion. Check out the website at http://www.gleukos.com.
So lets see if I can resume back to my normal training this week. Here's the schedule:
Tuesday - lift weights
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 6 miles & massage therapy
Friday - lift weights
Saturday - 18 miles
Sunday - rest
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August 27, 2007
I think the last few weeks of training hard and wearing myself thin has finally caught up. I started to feel a scratchy throat coming on towards the end of last week, so I tried to take it easy going into the weekend. Friday night I went out for a harmless happy hour with my friend which turned into a late night of being the "wing-woman" and making sure she got home okay. One piece of advice to you all...if a guy seems psycho, it's because he is!! By the time I got home and into bed, I had four hours of sleep going into my long run on Saturday. I ran for two and a half hours, have no idea how far I went, but I know it was short of the 18 miles I was expecting to do.
This Saturday's run I tested out my heart rate monitor. I programmed it to beep when my heart rate was too slow or too fast. My running buddies seemed to like it in the beginning, as it gave us an excuse to back off on a few stretches. However, towards the end of the run as I got more tired, no matter how much I slowed down, I couldn't keep my heart rate under the high point. I started cursing at it in my head and after a while I had to turn it off to keep the insanity from setting in. Being deprived of sleep definitely made it difficult to keep going and I was close to crashing, so I decided to play it safe and call it a day.
After the run, I rushed home, showered, and picked up my friends (Janie & April) and drove three hours to Gunnison for a wedding. My participant from last season, Cindy Abrams now Benson, got married and she looked absolutely beautiful. I stayed until I got my "Thriller" dance fix and then decided to go back to the hotel. The next morning I woke up and didn't remember ever falling asleep. Apparently Janie and April were carrying on a conversation with me and after a while realized I stopped responding. Boy, was I tired!
Today I almost called in sick, but decided to drag myself into work in hopes of preserving my usual routine. Lots of hot tea with honey as well as fruit has seemed to help. Luckily I've got a 3-day weekend coming up with Labor Day, so I'm looking forward to getting a little rest.
So here's to staying healthy and getting some much needed rest and relaxation!
Monday - Run 1 hours (increasing pace every 5 minutes)
Tuesday - Run 30 minutes, lift weights, chiropractor & physical therapy
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - Run 30 minutes & lift weights
Friday - lift weights
Saturday - Run 45 minutes with 4 X 100m strides
Sunday - rest
Monday - LABOR DAY!! Park to Park 10 Miler race
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August 20, 2007
So last week I thought I was tired....I think now I'm officially worn out. This kind of happens when you spread yourself out too thin. Last week I managed to keep up with my training schedule, squeeze in two days of weights, got a massage and adjustment, saw the dentist, attended meetings and fundraisers, and met up with friends for bowling and other social gatherings. This week is still busy, but not as bad, so I think I'll schedule myself a little "me" time and not answer my phone. This will be particularly crucial since I'm into my first full week of training under my new coach. So just a forewarning to all my friends as I try to lay low for a bit.
This past Saturday's run was quite entertaining. I ran with our Team in Training coach, Bob, and fellow TNT alumni Jerry. Lots of funny conversations came about that kept me entertained for the first 10-12 miles. I didn't really say much since I was concentrating on my breathing and keeping a steady pace. We started off at 6am and it was still cool outside, but the further we got into our run, the trail warmed up pretty quickly. With stopping at least 6 times along the way, I managed to get in 16 miles in under 3 hours. My legs seemed to be recovered from the previous weeks of torture, but as the day progressed, I could feel my hip flexors tightening and pulling on my joints. I think some time in the hot tub will do me some good.
This week's weather calls for temperatures in the 90s and 80s with occasional thunderstorms. Aside from the lightning, I don't mind running in the rain. With all this heat, I cannot wait until winter training. As weird as it sounds, I kind of miss running in the cold. This week we're starting information meetings for our winter season, so again, I'll be running the Arizona Marathon in 2008...as a mentor and official pacer for my wonderiffle friend...Sasha Riffle. What a great friend, amazing person, and truly an inspiration to all of us! Let's get 'er done!
Here's this week's training schedule:
Monday - run 6 miles (hills)
Tuesday - 3 miles (easy) & lift weights
Wednesday - track work
Thursday - 5 miles (easy ) & lift weights
Friday - rest
Saturday - 18 miles (easy hills)
Sunday - rest
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August 13, 2007
So I'm really really tired. It used to be that I looked forward to the weekdays and work to recover from my weekend, but I don't think that will be the case this week. It was quite the crazy week and my body hadn't fully recovered from the relay race. Every night it seemed I had some thing to do or some function to attend. So yes, my townhouse is a complete mess and I've barely unpacked a thing other than the kitchen, bathroom essentials, and my running clothes.
This past Saturday was the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half-Marathon and it has become a tradition for me and a few friends to run this race every year. Despite the muscle fatigue, lack of sleep, and altitude, I still managed to shave more than two minutes off my best half-marathon time. Official finish time: 2 hours 11 minutes 7 seconds. Boy was I tired! It was cool at the start, but as soon as we hit the sun, it was scorching hot. Every aid station I grabbed three cups of water....one to drink and two to pour on myself! I then started to feel the beginnings of my calves cramping. I managed to ward it off for most of the race by talking to them..."Oh no, don't you even think about it!!" That worked for a while, but coming up the last hill into Idaho Springs proved to be too much, so I had to stop and stretch just to finish. My calves are still pretty sore and I'm sure my massage therapist won't be too happy with me this week.
You'd think I would be so tired and exhausted from the race that I would just crash...nope. Got home, wired awake, I started cleaning the kitchen and then got ready to go to another fundraiser. A few participants organized a pub crawl through downtown Denver which was a total blast! It was a huge success and I was happy to see so many people turn out. It was a long night and I finally made it home at 1:30am....but so worth it. The next morning I went to help one of my mentees with her bake sale. So from 8:30am until 6:00pm, we sat out in front of Wal-mart and collected a lot of donations and sold a few goodies here and there. There were a lot of people that stopped by to share their personal stories of Leukemia, Lymphoma, and other cancers. They were definitely happy to see us out and increasing awareness. In all, we made $293.00!!
So last week, I decided to go forward with my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I'm hiring a wonderful coach who, like me, started running later in life and managed to quality for four Olympic Trials for the marathon and was the #1 American woman marathoner in 1987. Her name is Maureen and I'm definitely excited to see the results of my training with her. This journey will last just over a year, with the 2008 Chicago Marathon being the race I hope to run my qualifying time of 3 hours and 40 minutes. Please, feel free to shoot me an e-mail with words of encouragement...as I will need it more and more the closer I get to this date (October 2008).
Here's the torture schedule for this week:
Monday - run 4 miles & chiropractic visit
Tuesday - lift weights, physical therapy & massage
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - run 3 miles
Friday - lift weights
Saturday - run 18 miles
Sunday - rest
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August 6, 2007
Sorry it's been a few weeks since I've updated my website. Things have been really busy...especially with all the fundraisers and training runs that I've managed to squeeze into my schedule. The last few weeks we've had a few successful fundraisers. Noodles & Co. will be donating $280 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! We also raised $285 from our Guest Grilling night at bd's mongolian barbeque. That night was so much fun that we plan doing this again very soon.
Last weekend I was also busy helping out another organization that I do volunteer work for...The Denver Thai Lions Club. We had a Thai food booth at the Dragon Boat Festival out at Sloan's Lake. Very very busy!
This last weekend was definitely one of the most memorable ones...I ran in a 12 person relay team for the 195 mile Wild West Relay that went from Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs. I was quickly reminded of how difficult it was to run, run hills, and run those hills at over 10,000 ft elevation. Oxygen molecules were definitely scarce at that point! My team was an absolute pleasure to run with...which was very important since each of us would run around 20 miles in a period of 24 hours with maybe 2-4 hours of sleep and minimal sustinance if we were lucky. The views along the course were spectacular along with the occasional wildlife sighting. One of our participants I'll never forget...Earnest, a 19 year old cross country athlete for Sterling College ran 5 miles down Rabbit Ears pass into Steamboat at a blazing time of 31 minutes!! That's just over a 6 minute mile. Crazy and insane!! My hat is off to you!
So big kudos to my relay team!!
Ben Dicke, Mary Dicke, Mike Dicke, Amy Hanson, Anne Griffin, Jack Griffin, Shelby Griffin, Earnest Newton, Jan Melton, Kristi Earles, and Stuart Jackson. Also, thanks to our volunteers for getting our "Ass Over the Pass"....Heather Newton, Vietta Newton and Larry Griffin. Check out our pics at: http://www.jackannejude.blogspot.com.
So now that I'm back down to 5,280 ft, my brain cells are slowly recovering and things are almost back to normal. I've had at least one big steak dinner thus far to compensate on the lack of calories the weekend...but I'm still on my mission for the Dublin Marathon. So as always, here's my training schedule for the week:
Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - lift weights
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 4 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
Sunday - rest
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July 24, 2007
Another week of hot weather! Definitely not fun being out on the trail as it warms up. I'm still easing back into training, keeping things pretty light and tame. My right achilles is stil pretty tender and tight, so I'm doing my best to keep off my feet...but not really. In between work and running, I've been doing a lot of unpacking, painting, and fixing up my townhouse. I know a lot of people would never move in the middle of training for a marathon, but the training actually gives me a break from the chaos of moving boxes and projects. It's been very theraputic!
I went to the running store yesterday to stock up on essentials....the stick, a foam roller (for my IT bands), electrolyte replacement drink mix, and energy gels. It's amazing how in a matter of a decade that so many different choices are available...and are sometimes a lot better than just drinking Gatorade. I've come to like Honey Stinger gels pretty well, but still trying to figure out the right balance of replenishment to keep the tummy from cramping.
The next few months are going to be pretty crazy and jammed pack with fundraisers, so I'm excited to get that portion of the season started! I sure hope this season's fundraising is just as if not more successful than my previous ones.
Well, as always, here's my training schedule for this week:
Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - lift weights
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 14 miles
Sunday - rest
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July 16, 2007
Good heavens it's hot outside! I've been so spoiled with winter and spring training that it's been quite the adjustment running with heat. Unfortunately, this translates to getting up even earlier on Saturdays (5AM), drinking a lot more water, and shedding clothing off. Well, the latter could be unfortunate for some, depending on who's watching!! Haha.
Saturday's long run went really well. I did still feel a little stiff in the joints, but once I got warmed up, IT WAS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG! We ran around Wash Park and then up to Cheesman Park. Had a little pit stop waiting for the porto-pottie there. Otherwise, the run went great and I definitely started running faster. Today I woke up and my achilles and plantar facia are a bit stiff and sore, so I need to watch it. Tomorrow I'm going for my bi-monthly visit to the chiropractor and physical therapist. Sometimes I wish I was Lance Armstrong or some professional runner...they usually have an entourage of people for their support crew at their disposal. My support crew are all over town...between my massage therapist, chiropractor, physical therapist, and the running coach I'm about to hire, I've got quite the TEAM going!! So worth it!
Last night our group had our first fundraiser for the season and it was a huge success! It was at the Wynkoop Brewery and over 70 people attended and had lots of fun silent auction items. The bachelors and bachelorettes were all bidded on and taken! Thank you all for coming out and supporting the society's mission and our fundraising goals! I'm definitely pooped this morning, but again, it was all worth it!
So a new week, and another week of running....
Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - lift weights
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 4 miles
Friday - lift weights
Saturday - 12 miles
Sunday - rest
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July 10, 2007
Last Saturday was my first day back running. I definitely feel like my joints have aged about 10 years! Running at sea level definitely made a difference as my lungs had a hard time adjusting to breathing at altitude again. This is always the toughest day back...and I always ask myself the same thing...how the heck did I ever run 26.2 miles?? What a mystery! How one day you can run the race of your life and a few weeks later it's tough to get in 8 miles. Oh well, it's all about the cause!
The past few weeks have definitely not been a walk in the park. I just recently moved into the townhouse I bought, where the main living area is on the second floor and the bedrooms on the third. Hauling boxes and furniture up and down stairs was not my idea of proper marathon recovery, but at least I kept moving.
Nonetheless, I'm glad to be back running and running with my TEAM! Having an event to train for every season keeps the "marathon post-partum depression" away. My fellow runners, you know what I'm talking about!! Haha. I'M BACK! So...here's this week's training schedule:
Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - 4 miles & lift weights
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - lift weights
Saturday - 10 miles
Sunday - rest
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June 29, 2007
All I can say is....UNBELIEVABLE! The Marathon gods were definitely present on race day!! The weather was perfect for running...in the 50's, overcasted, with a few spits of rain towards the end.
The course was definitely the most difficult I have ever ran at any distance. Very hilly, mainly uphill for the first 14.5 miles. The first 7 miles were along the highway where I spotted a moose around mile 6!! Miles 7 through 17 were through the wildlife reserve on the Army tank trail. This is where I felt the "wind" at my back and it felt great running....faster. Large gravel was the main event along this section...very difficult to run on, but I managed to find flattened grooves to run on for the most part.
I reached the halfway point at 2 hours and 8 minutes, faster than my official half-marathon personal record! I was kind of scared that I was going too fast...worrying that I would hit the "wall" at the end. My strategy was to accelerate up the hills and rest on the flats and downs, which seemed to be working.
Between miles 15 and 16 the trail narrowed into a hiking path...tricky, but fun with the occasional stream crossing. The last ten miles of the race was along roads and into bike parths that went through some parks. This is where I caught up to coach Bob and fellow TNT'er Katie. I felt great at that point with my pace, so I went with it.
Coach Bob continued to run with me for the remainder of the race, providing entertaining commentary along the way. The last three miles seemed to last FOREVER! I got really quiet as Bob kept up the pep-talk. At that point, I so wanted to tell him to 'shut the hell up', but didnt' have extra oxygen to spare! Haha! Then it came....mile 25.5....quite the hill. A 100 ft elevation increase that lasted a quarter of a mile. By that time, my legs were shot. I took a bite out of an orange and headed up the hill, with Coach Bob yelling at me the whole way. Once I was at the top...the finish line never looked better. I started to cry, but then that caused me to hyperventilate, so I saved the tears for the end.
Official Time: 4 HOURS 24 MINUTES 2.2 SECONDS!
Wow! First to finish from the Rocky Mountain Chapter! I am so excited! I didn't know I had it in me. I was expecting just to finish...maybe at about 5 hours. Not to stinkin' shabby. So I guess qualifying for the Boston Marathon isn't that farfetched of a goal!
All I can say is THANK YOU!! Thank you Coach Bob for running with me when I really needed it. Thank you Katie for running faster than me during training and keeping our runs challenging. Thank you to all my fellow TNT'ers and mentees for cheering me on in person and spirit. Thank you to the TNT Staff for all your support. Thank you to all my friends and family for supporting me during my training and fundraising. Thank you to Janie, my team hero, for providing the inspiration and reminder why I run and the reason I run for Team in Training!
So the next few weeks I'll be taking it easy and focus my energy on moving into my new place and unpacking!! Countdown to the Dublin Marathon begins soon, so stay tuned to the website because it's only the beginning!
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June 19, 2007
Four days and counting until the Mayor's Marathon! I'm very excited, anxious, and a little bit scared. At this point, there's nothing much else I can do to better prepare myself other than drink lots of water, carb-load, and get plenty of sleep. Right now I'm just trying to get through each day the best I can. With packing and moving going on, it's been very challenging keeping up with training and all.
As this will be my fourth marathon, I'm getting really good at tapering my training!! Here's my schedule for this week:
Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles
Thursday - 2 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - Race Day! 26.2 Miles
SEE Y'ALL IN ANCHORAGE!!
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June 11, 2007
The tapering has begun for the Mayor's Marathon in Alaska! Time flies so fast that I know the Dublin Marathon will be here before I know it, but I am ready for a much needed break before I start training for Ireland.
This Sunday I ran my fastest half-marathon time at the Arby's Rocky Mountain Half Marathon....2 hours 13 minutes and 50 seconds. This course was definitely challenging with the Marine's Hill between mile 7 and 8 going up past Invesco Field leading up to Sloan's Lake. I'll have to find a "sea level" flat half-marathon one of these days to get a really nice finishing time...until then, running at altitude will do.
So here's to a great taper!
Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - lift weights
Wednesday - track workout
Thursday - 4 miles
Friday - lift weights
Saturday - 8 miles
Sunday - 3 miles
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June 4, 2007
Just got back from the Steamboat Springs Marathon, Half Marathon, and 10K race. There were many purple jerseys out on the course, including myself. I ran with one of my mentees, Cy Walters....he tried to take off like Speedy Gonzales, but I think I did a pretty good job of pacing him and bringing him to the finish line. At one point, I thought I was going to have to carry him, but he managed to run through his wall.
It was a beautiful run starting 13.1 miles out of town and running into downtown Steamboat Springs. One water stop, there was a camel, which I thought it was weird...but after a while, water stations do start looking a lot like oases. This run was a fun one for me, as I'm still training for the Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage which is only two weeks away. It was great seeing other Team in Training runners out on the course as well at the finish line. So many have come so far to get through the training and fundraising that I felt honored to be a part of an amazing group of people.
The weekend definitely couldn't have been better. I got to hang out with two fellow TNT runners/alumni, went and played a little golf, sang 80's songs in the car on the way up, and met some great people in Steamboat!
Weekend is over, back to Denver, and back to business. Here's this week's training schedule:
Monday - rest
Tuesday - lift weights
Wednesday - track work out
Thursday - 6 miles
Friday - lift weights
Saturday - rest
Sunday - Rocky Mountain Half Marathon (Denver, CO)
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May 29, 2007
Boy am I tired! I keep looking at my calendar and wondering when things are going to slow down. Doesn't look like anytime soon. Between fundraising events, planning future events, running races, training, and finding time to spend with friends...it's definitely been a challenge. Kind of sad when I look forward to going to work so I can recover from the weekend.
Last week's rain took my training back into the gym and on the treadmill. Not fun, but I needed to do it. Got in a really good 12 mile run on Saturday with the fall group and with a fellow mentor. Thanks Katie, for keeping the pace fast, challenging me, and keeping me company while we ran from Washington Park to Cheesman Park.
Memorial Day was the 29th annual Bolder Boulder 10K. Don't have my official finish time yet, but it was just a hair over an hour. Not too bad, but I didn't want to push it too hard considering that I'm running the Steamboat Half Marathon this Sunday and the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon the following Sunday. They had timing pads at every mile so we can see how our mile splits were. I'm excited to see how it came out.
Here's this week's training schedule:
Monday - Bolder Boulder 10K
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - speed work
Thursday - 7 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - 10 miles
Sunday - Steamboat Half Marathon
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May 25, 2007
I'm still on my training schedule for the Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage and definitely looking forward to begin my taper. Even with all the injuries I've been dealing with the past few months, I actually feel pretty good about my running. Come race day, my body will be rested and ready to go!
So a lot of you are probably wondering why on earth I'm doing a third marathon this year with Team in Training? First, it's going to be in Dublin! Who wouldn't want to visit Ireland let alone run a marathon there??? Second, this will be the last time Team in Training will be traveling to Ireland, so I've got one chance to do this. Third, if I'm going to fundraise for an event, might as well do it BIG! Last of all, there are so many people out there still losing their battle to blood cancers and as long as I have my health, I can keep running for them and their families.
You know the drill....here's next week's training schedule:
Monday: Bolder Boulder 10K (I'm determined to run it under 1 hour!)
Tuesday: lift weights
Wednesday: track workout
Thursday: 7 miles
Friday: rest
Saturday: 12 miles
Sunday: Steamboat Half Marathon
