Oct. 15

Spent most of today running around getting last minute items for the trip...more recovery drink, vitamins, food items, plastic bags for ice packs for the car on the way back, etc. I'm fairly overwhelmed with getting my gear ready along with everything else...lots of details. Today was my last training run...and it was AWESOME...not because I did 3 miles in 46 min (15.3 min/mile)...but because on that 3rd mile today...I hit 450 miles of total training since I began this journey!! That is just hard to believe...especially knowing that the first mile I walked, I had to ice my knees and take ibuprofen! So 450 miles is almost walking to Denver...or almost walking to Madison, Wisconsin (Joy)! Wow! Sweet!!

Oct. 13

Leo and I went up to the oncologist up in Omaha at the Med Center for a second opinion today and it was good news…he agrees with the doctor here that he should just wait for a PET scan in December to assess things then. So that just verifies things and is really good to know. We didn’t get back from Omaha til around 4:00 so I went for a late run…and it was pouring rain the whole time. I was supposed to do 4 miles but gutted it out and did 2 miles in 30 min (15 min/mile). I was soaked when I got back. I was close to wimping out as I sat in my car waiting for it to stop raining, but I had a talk with myself and decided to go for it. I skip training tomorrow and only have one more run before heading off to Des Moines on Saturday. It’s hard to believe that the marathon is in 5 days!

Oct. 11

Went on the usual Sunday morning run with Leo…he kept up a really good pace today and did his usual 2 miles. I did 3 in 45 min (15 min/mile). Went up to Omaha late tonight to pick Sara up from the airport in Omaha…she had a great time on her bike ride and the whole weekend. It was great that Andy, Darcy, Delia, Matt, Joy, and Laura all drove up from Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina to cheer Sara on…she called them her posse…or entourage!

Oct. 10 (continued)

The geese flying overhead had it right today...they were heading south!



This is a picture of my shoes...or one of them...covered with ice from the run. It didn't even melt off by the time I drove home...15 minutes with the heat on in the car!

Saturday, Oct. 10

Ok…I guess I really have lost my mind! I woke up at the usual 5:30 AM to go on the final team run and guess what….I woke up to snow on the ground and snow still coming down!!! AND…it was 24 freakin’ degrees!!! So here’s what it looked like as I drove to the Mopac to meet Rachel:


When I got to the trail, I bundled up with gloves, 180 ear muffs or pods or whatever they are called, buut wearing them didn’t work out so well because I couldn’t hear my pace watch with them on…so after a few miles I took them off and my ears were just cold. The trail was covered with snow at first but we just plowed through. Here’s a picture of the start of the trail a bit later when the snow had melted some:

It was a beautiful run with the snow covering the cornfields and trees….but it sure was brisk! Another view from the trail:

Even with the snow I had a decent run of 10 miles in 2 hours and 38 minutes (15.8 min/mile). Boy…my hips felt it today…I guess it was the cold weather. It was sad that it was the final training run with Rachel, but we’re going to get together after the marathons…she is going to the San Francisco marathon the same weekend as the Des Moines one. So I came home and took another ice bath…not exactly what you want to do early on a Saturday morning after running in the snow for 2 ½ freezing hours! I sat in the ice tub with a sweatshirt on, drinking some hot apple cider, and doing a crossword puzzle (it helps pass the 25 min. in the tub). After that, I had to work the rest of the afternoon. Leo came to work with me and it helped pass the time. We were waiting to hear how Sara did today on her 100 mile bike ride and SHE DID IT!!! TOTALLY AWESOME!!! Oh…and last week she was named athlete of the week with Team in Training!! Way to go, Sara! And…she was the 6th highest fundraiser of all the TNT participants in the Century Ride, thanks to all of you who have donated to the cause!!
I can only include 3 photos per post…so I’m going to add 2 more pictures on the next post…but they are pictures of today’s run.

Oct. 8

Did 4 miles in 59 min (14.8 min/mile)

Oct. 7

Did 4 miles in 60 min (15 min/mile)

Oct. 6

Did 6 miles in 91 min (15.2 min/ mile)

Oct. 5

I called the director of the Des Moines marathon and told him I had heard that Des Moines was a walker-friendly marathon…I wanted to know just how friendly it was…and it turns out they don’t have any freakin’ buses….yay! So I won’t have to be drug off by the police and hauled to jail when I refuse to get on the bus…again, yay! That was great news. Now I just need to keep a good pace and cross that finish line!

Oct. 4

So when I’m a bit bent out of shape and a tad irritated, I tend to try to prove a point. I really pushed my run this morning. Leo came along and did his 2 miles in good time. I did my 3 miles in 43.47 minutes…for an all time low of 14.5 min/mile…oh yeah. I’m back!

Saturday, Oct. 3

I went to the team run and met Rachel at the Mopac. I did a full 10 miles and I was very proud of that even though I didn’t have the best time. I walked the first 4 miles and then got into my usual pace of 2 min. walk and 30 second run for the remaining 6 miles. My time was 2 hours 42 min (16.2 min/mile). We started at 6:30 AM and it was still dark…and chilly…I think it was around 39 or 40 degrees, but the important part is that I did it! Coach Rachel had sent me an email yesterday telling me that she was tossing out a suggestion for me to think about. She said that if it would help me feel less stressed about doing the full marathon since I’ve missed out on a bunch of training, that I could consider doing the half-marathon in Des Moines and then she would take the extra time afterwards to bring me back up in my training and then she would do a 26.2 mile marathon of our own even though it wouldn’t have the excitement of all the people in a marathon. I really appreciated her offer of this and I will consider it if I feel the need to cut down to a half. That was so nice of her to offer to spend extra time with me to get me back to full training and then run it with me. This just shows what a great person she is. I know I’ve said it before…but I could not have asked for a better coach anywhere on earth!! Of course she followed her offer by saying that she was pretty sure how I’d feel about cutting back to the half-marathon….yay! she really knows me now!! ..but I will keep that in the back of my mind!
Later that afternoon I went to a workshop out on the prairie that dealt with creativity and we ended the session with a bonfire out on the prairie and besides listening to the crackling of the embers, we heard the coyotes and their pups howling close by under the full moon. When I hear coyotes howling during the night under Nebraska skies, it tells me all is right with the world.

Oct. 2

I decided that I was going to get back to training come hell or high water…and so I did. I did just a walk to ease back in…no running. I did 3 miles in 48 min (a pace of 16 min/mile)…not bad for being out of commission for 10 days.