Welcome to the first installation of my marathon blog! I'll be using this space to keep track of my training and progress as I run for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. I am training for the Portland Marathon, to be held on October 7th of this year, and it will be my first marathon. While I claim to be an "experienced" runner, my only running claim-to-fame was a 2 month stint on the SFHS cross-country team with Coach Chisam during my senior year of high school. I left the team after experienceing a common ailment known as "shin splints"...or, as I like to call it, "the best excuse for running slowly." After quitting cross country, I abandoned all running aspirations in pursuit of other (less strenuous) adventures.
Upon moving back to the Bay Area this past winter, I decided to get out and enjoy the California sunshine, which led me back to running. I have been known to loop around the neighborhood now and then; you can catch me huffing and puffing after 20 minutes down at Rancho San Antonio. A few 5Ks here and there (30 minutes of running with 400 people closely packed around you) were about all I could handle. That said, the longest run I ever completed was a recent 7 1/2 mile extravaganza through San Francisco...also know as Bay to Breakers. The fun of the events, for me, is being with so many people who do this running thing everyday, and seeing them suddenly congregate in one spot. Looking over a crowd of nearly 1,000 runners on any given Sunday morning, you wonder: "Where did they all come from?"
But, now that I'm facing a 26.2 mile beast, I have mixed feelings. My first thought was "I'd love to be able to say I've completed a marathon!" and my second thought was "Why on Earth would I complete a marathon!? 26.2 miles...I must be crazy!!"
I have to thank my father for sending me an e-mail about Team in Training one afternoon. The Team was advertising a free workout at a local park preserve, so I thought I'd check it out and see if I liked it. Well, the first impression was incredible. Anyone who has started an activity alone knows how nerve-wracking it can be to walk into a group and try to blend in. Team in Training was so welcoming! From the very start, Coach Terry introduced himself and made sure I was given the run-down on how the day's traning would go, what I needed to do throughout, and even gave me some helpful tips on managing my shin splints (which had returned, but only on my right inside shin).
After running with the team for the first time, and discovering how encouraging everyone is, I decided to join the cause. The most striking aspect of this process was learning about the honorees. I am running to raise money for LLS, for cancer research, but I also have the good fortune to be interacting with the patients we are honoring through this season. There are a handful of local patients for whom we are running, and though some of them are battling leukemia right now, they come out to watch us train and cheer us on. It is extremely uplifting to see their smiling faces and hear their encouragement at the track when we are doing sets of never-ending lunges!
So, it is now two weeks into the training, and during my run yesterday, I felt that for the first time I was really starting to enjoy running! It used to be that I would head off on a 4 mile run with thoughts of "I'll be glad when this is over...!" but I am now finding that I can't wait for a 4-miler to start!
Of course, I still have 22.2. miles to cover and I hope that over the course of this season, I'll be able to stay safe and injury-free...
I'd like to also thank those of you who have already contributed to my efforts. Your donations provide me with additional moral support for those long runs ahead!
If you'd like to donate to my cause, I have a $2800 goal to reach before September. Donating is
easy! click on the link at the bottom of this webpage!
Stay posted and thanks for your support!!!
