Laura Johnston's Team In Training Page
Racing to Save Lives
Welcome to my Team In Training home page. I am training for the Mayor's Marathon this June in Anchorage Alaska as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. All of us on 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, or for any others affected by this disease. I will be running in memory of my father, who lost his life to cancer; and my "honor patient" and heroine, Stephanie Pink, who is valiantly fighting this disease this very moment. If you would like me to honor someone you know, please share with me their story and I will wear their name on my TNT bracelet as I run for a cure.
Please make a donation to this worthy cause and help me win this fight!
My deepest thanks,
Laura
laurajohnston00@yahoo.com
Visit Stephanie Pink at: www.carepages.com
January 26th
Today I woke up at 5AM and drove off into the dark morning to the Natatorium in Madison for my very first running clinic. There, I met with a coterie of people who will be ardently training the next 20 some weeks for the Anchorage Marathon. I was relieved to find out that for most of them, it was their very first time doing something like this too. After a word from our coaches on proper running attire and buying the right shoes, we all set out, en masse, on the snowy lake shore path to Picnic Point and back for our first 5 mile run. It was slow and easy, allowing me to talk to my new friends without lapsing into an emphysematous fit...being humiliated on my very first day would kinda suck. But I better get used to the indignities that lie ahead of me. Its all gonna be worth it in the end...
Feb 2nd.
It was 29 degrees with a tempest of snow outside today. I was crazy to even leave the house, but it beat the mental anguish of running 6 miles on the tread mill. I went to Stoughton to meet with Lia, my new TNT cohort, and we took a very apprehensive, 3 mile jaunt though the snow-frosted milieu of downtown. She had mapped out a more bucolic 5 mile run for us earlier, but the paths would have been laden in deep snow by then. We thought it would be better to play it safe by running through snow-cleared sidewalks of Stoughton than to risk slipping and falling on our jimmycakes elsewhere! As we ran, we chatted about our fears and anxieties about trying to run 26.2 tortuous miles, as well as the Herculean effort that goes into fund raising. It's a little intimidating, but we both will have to JUST DO IT! On my way home in the rumpus of wind and snow, I found myself pulling over in New Glarus and parked in front of the Sugar River Trail. I had told myself earlier it was gonna be 6 miles today, so I was determined to reach that goal. So I looked up and down the trails, in fear of being whacked off my feet by a posse of snowmobiles, and set off to pound out the last 3 miles. Half way through the run, the trail had completely vanished from beneath my feet and turned into a drag way of deep, unwieldy snow. Our coach didn't teach us anything about arctic tundra running- Holy Crap! HOW HIGH CAN KNEES ACTUALLY LIFT UP? Ouch. Ouch Ouch! It was one big, impassable white out before me. I had no choice but to keep going until I found the first road that took me back in to civilization...waaay back. The great thing was, after that little row with Mother Nature, as whipped and bedraggled as I was when I got home, I was the one who really prevailed that day- I made my 6 miles!
Feb 4th.
Today was an other adventure. I went out on the Sugar River Trail again, this time with a bag of breadcrumbs to sprinkle, in case I got stuck in a marshland of snow again. I wasn't in the mood for this morning's run, but I had my Warren Zevon tribute Cd, "Enjoy Every Sandwich" (which was recorded in memory of him a couple days after he died of cancer), on my ipod to inspire me..."sha-la-la-la-la-li-lo, keep me in your heart forever"---what a hauntingly sad but beautiful song. It always makes me want to cry. Okay back to my run: everything was going fine until the sky darkened and it started to rain. Oh crap. There I was again, out in the tundra of Green County, and it has to start raining! I thought about heading back to my car but that would make me a sissy. So I kept going, trying to ignore the cold, biting rain that was pummeling my face barbarously. I thought about Harley's 100 year anniversary several years ago when I had my first near death experience with rain. I was coming back from the hoopla in Milwaukee on my bike wearing light summer clothes and a pair of slippery kitten heels, and you guessed it- no helmet. There I was, on my bike with no windshield, driving down the interstate, back home to Chicago, when it started to RAIN! I don't know if anyone of you have ever felt rain on your face and bare arms when you're going 60 miles an hour, but I will just say this: It is excruciating. To make a long and formidable story short, I managed to make it home all in one piece, but it was the most painful, deplorable, and terrifying experience I ever had (I know, I know, mom, I'm sorry you had to read this little anecdote, but you were right: God really does watch over his little fools) !! That day not only built character, but I learned a very valuable lesson from that ride...never, ever leave home without waterproof mascara! So, drawing from such a pernicious memory, running in the winter rain isn't the worse thing in the world. I managed to put in my 5 miles, chalking them up under "grit & guts" miles, and drove back home cold, wet and shivering. It was kinda a cool feeling...
Check back in a few days as I try to reach 8miles...oh golly! I think I'm gonna BARF!
Feb 11th
Due to the Siberian weather conditions lately, I've appointed myself to the "dreadmill" all week instead of battling the grim and bitter outdoors. After the first 3 miles, ennui sets in and my mind becomes antsy and nomadic; in short, I would rather be woefully sleep deprived and forced to read Dostoevsky cover to cover than to finish my run. My Ipod and Netflix help thwart my lassitude, but 60 minutes is all I am mentally capable of doing before I go Britney! Sorry gang, I won't be logging any epic runs in until I can run outside again. Thanks for checking in...I promise my next run will be swashbuckling and intrepid!
Feb. 20th
I know, I know....some of you are wondering if I'm keeping up on my miles because of this pitiless, record breaking cold and snow. Well I am trying to do my best on the treadmill. I find that by stopping after 60 minutes, jumping off and making a Bloody Mary, then jumping back on for a little longer helps breaks up the boredom. Hey, it does the trick! What ever it takes to increase my miles, right? Hopefully this weekend will bring warmer weather...stay tuned, and thanks for checking up on me!
Feb 24th
It was a gorgeous weekend, with temps in double digits finally! I went outside for the first time today in weeks for a run. I knew that this spell of lovely weather was ephemeral, because tomorrow…another winter storm was looming in. So I made like Forest Gump and just started to run. And I kept running, and running, and running. 10 miles (and 10 days) later, I wobbled back home after covering two counties of rustic roads and dauntingly beautiful country sides. I sort of know how Pheidippides must have felt like when he ran all over Greece: “Rejoice, I conquered”! Just add 16 more miles to that and I’ll be ready for Anchorage. Easy Peasy, right? As long as I don’t drop dead like poor Pheidie did. Well, okay, so he had 140 more miles on me, who’s counting?
PLEASE keep checking back, and thanks for all of your continuous support!
March 1st
Today I had my last frolic in the snow hopefully for good...because when I come back from JAMAICA next Sunday I expect to see the bare ground again. I plan on running on the beach every day there; this is the week we have to start doing 15 miles, so no dirty bananas for me there (at least not before breakfast). I will be back with a full report next week! Ya'Mon. Again, thank you for all your support, it's overwhelming!
March 12th
"A little madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King." - Emily Dickenson, # 103
Well, it looks like the sirenic charms of Jamaica followed me home to Wisconsin with this blithe, and sunshiny weather we have been getting here. It's so good to see pieces of Spring nascent in the air after such a despotic Winter. I can finally run outside again with out fear of slipping. And I must say, it's good to be back running on the cold, solid ground; I found out the hard way that 10 miles of barefoot running on the beach leaves you with blisters on your toes the size of cherry tomatoes- ouch! Running merely to feel your toes in the sand is foolhardy and quixotic; wear your damn shoes! As promised, I duly kept up with my training, mostly on the treadmill in the ill-ventilated gym at the resort. At least I could gaze out at the palm trees, coconut groves and blue mountains in the lush Jamaican backdrop as I ran. I had my moments of discomfiture, though. Especially when I could hear all the Bacchanalia out on the beach front and swim-up bars in the pools near by. I would start to yearn for a frosty rum drink after mile 5, but I if I had a made a commitment to do 10 miles that day, well, then, I just had to resist temptation to join the revelry outside, and keep on on running. And besides, one of my very altruistic donators from our travel group threatened to cancel payment on his $200 contribution check if he caught me slacking off that whole week! What a great motivation-it worked. Thanks, Doug! My liver thanks you; my team thanks you, and, of course, the Leukemia and Lymphoma society thanks you! Its good to be back. Spring is starting to emerge...no problem, Mon!
March 23
I just returned from the prodigal burbs of Chicago; 10 days working an event inside a mall left little time to train, not to mention no where to run except the funereal environs outside my hotel- which was essentially one copious strip mall and steakhouse after another. I became too desolate from the babel of suburbia each morning and gave up after just 30 to 40 minutes of running. It was just too dispiriting to get into it. But,now I'm back home in the hinterlands of Green County again, ready go out for pastoral run around the farm- and they just got done spread manure...PERFECT! Never have I longed for the sweet, ambrosial scent of cow dung more. Before I go, and on a more serious note, I just wanted to mention my new hero, Stephanie Pink. She's an indomitable young woman from my community who just had a bone marrow transplant last week. The next two weeks are crucial for Stephanie and her family as they wait to see "engraftment", where she starts showing signs of new cell production (platelets, red blood cells, white blood cells, etc) in her bone marrow. At this juncture, they hope the donor's cells will mesh with Stephanie's so she will get a fresh new chance at LIFE! When I read her care page journals of her arduous struggle with this disease, I was abjectly humbled. She is the real victor here, and my longest, most agonizing run won't even come close to the physical expenditure she has to go through from day to day. I'll try to stop whining about blisters, shinsplints and rueful running conditions from now on for Steph. We both have finish lines to cross now, but hers, of course is far more vital and divine. And off I go...NO WHINING!
April 1st.
Mudflowers and Farmdogs
"April is the cruelest month...begins the first lines of one of my favorite modernist poems, The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot. And, no, he wasn't exactly referring to tax day deadlines, but more to the confusion and despair of his times, and the life & death metaphors of April's vociferous cycles. I am especially reminded of this elegiatic poem today, with the dolorous rainclouds daring me to come out and run among the "dead land and dull roots" of mud season here in Green County. Plus, its hard to get motivated lately when I feel so exhausted from all my traveling, but I remember my tacit pledge to Stephanie: "No whining". By the way...Today is the day Steph's bone marrow transplant showed "engraftment"! This means new cell production, which is a critical feat in the process of her recovery. This day is actually kinda allegorical of the "cruelness of April" Elliot speaks of: beneath winter's, maudlin, barren soil, there's a tendril root somewhere about to burgeon into life and bring someone hope. I'll keep an eye out for that first quiescent bud to blossom from the mud. Yay, Steph! Happy first day of April.
In the meantime, the Sugar River trails are too muddy to run on right now, so I'll have to map a long run out on another new county road to explore today. Last week I just parked my car and started running (Forrest Gump style) down some unnamed county road I picked randomly and set off for a long, solitary run. It was so rustic and reposeful, except for the parts being chased down the road by an overfed lab, two Airedale Terriers, and a chaotically passionate goat when I passed by the only three farmhouse on the route. Note to myself: don't be so temererious when it comes to country running- creatures with four legs can run faster than you! Always scout out the territory a bit before you head out. Does anyone know if goats really bite?
April 3rd
I ran along the Sugar River today: the mud was firm and gelid, and the hidden legacies of snow beneath the trees were still compressed enough to hold my weight. I was still fighting off a little flu bug that granted me a few days off, but knowing I was about to hop another plane to Tampa tomorrow for work made me try to enjoy it all the more. This means more...yes, more sombre strip malls and hotel parking lots to run in before standing 10 hours on my feet. I took in as much of this lovely morning run as I could. I can't wait, already, to come back home. I'll do my best to squeeze those colorless miles in some how, I promise!
April 11th
I'm off to NY this weekend for work, so no Nirvana-esque runs on the Sugar River trails for me the next couple of days, unfortunately. At least the hotel I'm staying at has a Bally's, so if anything I will have a nice, safe treadmill to run on instead of dodging cars pulling in and out of parking lots like the last few weekends. Besides, I am giving myself a little time to heal: Weds. afternoon I went for a 12 mile trail run that left me with yet another toenail black from injury and a couple new blisters from not wearing the right socks...E.U! I have 3 garbled toenails so far, and still counting. The impact of my toes slamming into the box of my shoe is so intense that even though I bought my shoes a whole size bigger, it maimed me. Runner's "icky toe syndrome" is simply....ineluctable. It's okay, though, I can deal with it. God knows there are worse things to lose in life than toenails- and that is exactly the reason why I run. I feel sorry for my pedicurist, though. Yuck.
April 23rd
Last week I did 19 miles on the Sugar River, woo hoo! I had a lumpish, indolent pace of a St.Bernard, but I finished before a search & rescue party was summoned for my return. I didn't cause too much damage to my body, other than my already maligned toenails, and a dull ache in my knee that is clearly a portent to problems yet to come, but at least I can prepare for such setbacks. I ran another 12 miles a few days later without too much difficulty so I guess it was okay. I'm off for another long run today. I counted three snakes sunning themselves on the trail last time, I bet there will be buckets more on such a warm day today! Oh yay.
May 1st
Still trying to squeeze my miles in. I was in the warm, verdant state of North Carolina last weekend and managed to pound out a loop around a business park outside the hotel before heading into work. It lacked the serenity of the Sugar River back home, but of course, all business hotel sites are pretty sepulchral when you think about it. I haven't done much more than 12 miles a stretch since my big 19 miler last week, mostly because it takes a lot of time, and because I'm now encountering that foreordained stage of runner's woes like iliotibial band syndrome( knee pain) and plantar fasciitis (connective tissue inflammation from toes to ball of foot), that can only be remedied by R.I.C.E: rest, ice, compression, and elevation...and lots of cold beer! No, but seriously, it's hard to repose after maniacally trying to keep on schedule for so long, but if it will save me from more affliction down the road, then I guess skipping a day or two won't be the worst thing in the world. Besides, just two more weekends of this onerous, spirit-sapping travel left and I will be able to run with the pack on Saturdays. I'm off to Cincinnati for yet another ferocious weekend of work, but when I return, I will be ready to hit the trails again, hopefully with no more pain and a little more vigor!
May 13th
The big Syttende Mai run is this Saturday. It's a 20 mile course from downtown Madison to Stoughton. I put next to 0 miles in ths weekend in Houston because the heat and humidty was to oppressive, and I probably won't be able to put much more than that in this week either, due to more enormous days of travel. I'm getting a little nervous. But it makes things all the more interesting, I guess.
Oh...yeah, the fundraiser party at Ludlow's last week was wildly successful! Thanks again to everyone that came by to show support. We raised almost $4000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma, and had a heck of a lot of fun doing it too.
May 17th
I ran the Syttende Mai Run this morning. 20 flipping miles! Made it to the finish line all in one piece. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately that's all I can write for now because it HURTS even to type...now, where is that tequila and Advil? Oh golly...I think I'm gonna barf. Go Team!
May 27th
I know, I know...I haven't had time to post lately. I am keeping up on running...and I am still alive after that 20 mile Gargantuan run to Stoughton 10 days ago. I just did a easy 12 mile run yesterday through the river bluffs back home, while visiting the 'fam in Ferryville for the holiday. It's pretty magnificent, river country there. The morning was resplendent in an ethereal way: it was like you could hear the earth sighing. The hills were all dewy and chartreuse with tiny wild violets and dandelions emanating from the once somnolent earth- it's my favorite time of the year, and my favorite place in the world to be, of course. I ran up (ok, HOBBLED up) Buck Creek hill, and along the serpentine ridges that bore shimmering scintillas of the Mississippi below. I shuffled across miles of mazy farm valleys arching down and back up to the twisting Sugar Creek road. Finally, I reached my heavenly descent down the road that led to the great River itself. I could almost hear it 's churlish murmur: "go Laura, go". This route was one of my favorite bicycle haunts as a kid, and now I was actually running it! Who woulda thunk it? The wonderful thing about running is that you get to experience all these sacred, little nuances you normally would let escape you. I just hope a big old moose in Alaska along the course won't be part of this runner's piety I speak of....holy crap!
June 4th
Last weekend was a good training weekend; I think it was sheer fear and adrenaline that kept my poor, beaten body from insurrecting against all the abuse I've been putting it through these weeks lately: I ran 19 miles on Friday; 12 miles on Saturday; and took a 30 mile bike ride out in the Swiss Alps of Green County for "recovery". Harsh. I'm feeling feeble, frail and apprehensive. Oh, and did I mention OLD? How the heck am I gonna make it 26.2 miles? Only 18 days left. I will just have to keep plugging along, no turning back now, right? Go Team!
June 9th
13 more days! I can't wait! But I'm a wee bit terrified.The Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon 26.2 mile course reels along the magical Chugack Mountains of Anchorage, which are to be spectacular; Coach Art said to remember to occaisionally look behind us as we run to take in the majesty of these mountains; he promises it will be a moment that will never elude our memories. The route also includes the historical Cook Inlet, which has both rolling hills and vast stretches of flat terrains, and 15 miles of the Oil-Well Tank Trail. Supposedly this trail is comprised of packed dirt, gravel, and mondo-sized rocks which lay there in quiet peril, just waiting for some unsuspecting OAF like me to stumble over them and fall, taking down all the other runners behind me. Now that would be a way to make this run historical! Okay, so I just hexed myself, so what? It all about how well we walk through the fire, right? Oh boy. I really am feeling timorous though- like, what happens if my feet and hamstrings cramp up again like during the Syttende Mai Run and I have to CRAWL to the finish line? Coach Jimmy already sternly instructed me not to make him get out of his lawnchair and put down his beer again at the finish line for me. He needs to rest: it gives him side stitches when he has to reach over and pull another beer out of the cooler himself. I've learned from his training program, that, when I drop to the ground in exhaustion after a long run, I am not a very good beer wench. I guess I better use these next 13 days to train smart and avoid injuries- to myself and others around me! And of course so I can cross the finish line in time to bring Coach Jimmy a cold one. Look out Anchorage, here I come, I am almost there!!! Go Team!
June 11th
Nine more days left...We leave for Anchorage a week from this very day. One more short, team run this Saturday if Madison isn't washed away by these horrendous storms. Then, it will be time for my swan song. Oh My God...OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! 26.2 miles? WTF did I get myself into? I wonder how much trouble I would be in if I showed up to the race just a little tipsy?
June 18th
This is it folks...we are about to see what 6 months of home schooling will do for the fledging athlete (ME) during the real deal. It's 10pm (we head out to the airport 3 am) and I still am working on an spry and ebullient playlist for my I-pod in hope it will take more minutes off my lumbering,12 minute mile-pace. My goal is to beat Katie Holmes' pace of 5 &1/2 hours (shut up already! I am serious) and to be able to wear a pair of 4 inch heels to the Victory party afterwards, just like Katie did too. What solemn and penetrating goals, right? Oh man, I just want to finish; and to be able to run through the Chugack Mountains during the midnight sun. I don't know what the universe has in store for me these next few days, but, I guarantee, it will be epochal. Keep sending warm thoughts my way on Saturday... I could never have made it this far without all your inspirited support! God love you all...and I'm OFF! Go Team, GO!
June 25th
OMG! OMG! OMG! I DID IT! I did it! I did it ! I did it I did it! More details later, when I can collect my thoughts; the whole experience was sublime. I flippin' DID IT! Cool...
July 1st
Well folks, this is it: this is the epilogue that I’ve been putting off since my return. I had so much fun in Alaska that it still feels all too ethereal to be true. The sleep-depriving midnight sun; the pounding rain on marathon day; the maniacal thrill of hilly Tank Trail; the mental and physical near-surrender at mile 25; and finally, the silent, hollowed-eyed woman standing alone in the rain that held a sign that read: Thank You, Team In Training...I am alive because of you"!! I'll never forget her face. Wow. It’s been such an epic journey, that I hate to say adieu. So I WON'T. I just am going have to do it all over next year. And because it was such an amazing experience, I’m going to do it with even more amplitude and immensity by DOUBLING my goal and raising even more money for such a wonderful cause. Which means, of course, my magnanimous friends, I will be duly hitting you all up for more donations next spring…so be on the look out for my fundraising letter in your inboxes!! Just keep in mind (when you are writing out that HUGE check), how you were the force that kept me motivated to run 26.2 miles and raise over $6000 (Holy Crap, I still can’t believe I did that)! You all should be proud of yourselves for helping me and Team Wisconsin (AKA “Team Cheese”) raise over $125,000; and a whopping 4.4million dollars with all the TNT teams together for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. So, again, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, and ask you all to remember that The RACE IS NOT OVER UNTIL THERE IS A CURE!
