It's been a while since I posted, so here's a quick update. Saturday continues to be our long run walk days. We've done 18, 20 and 22 miles over the last month. This weekend we only did 16 miles because we are starting to taper our miles as the marathon quickly approaches.

It's a mere 2 weeks away (June 5th) until the San Diego marathon! Next Saturday I'll do 10 miles while vacationing in my home state of Maine. Even though it won't be a record breaking mileage day for me, I will savor being able to train back "home".

Today was a tough workout due to the fact that it was the hottest and most humid workout we've had. A couple of runners, who did 22 compared to our miles, ended up with heat stroke/exhaustion. It was a cautious reminder of the importance of staying hydrated.

Since I haven't had a chance to do any updates on my training, I thought you'd enjoy a photo or two from my most recent race. The first photo is prerace. The second is from mile 8 during the race, at the Infield at Churchill Downs. This is the only time you will find me in the Infield during Derby Week!

Or 16 miles on Southern Parkway. While the mileage was new, the aches were not. But after an ice bath for my feet, a couple of Aleve pills, and hydrating I felt great by early evening. Looking forward to the next mileage milestone!

Yesterday was the last leg of the Triple Crown of Running... The Papa John's 10 Miler.

Megan, Emily and I started out downtown at 6:30am and walked 4.2 miles to the starting line. It was a little cool (35º or so), but moving kept us warm and was a great warm-up for the race at 8:05am.

Soon after the start, I wanted to see how my body would handle running. Unfortunately, that meant leaving Emily behind. However, Megan and I were able to stay together the entire race.

As soon as we entered Iroquois Park (somewhere around Mile 5), there was a deer that cut through the runners just ahead of us, crossing from our right to our left. You could tell it was freaked out by the mass migration of humans. It bolted wide left, looped around and leapt OVER a group of runners behind us! It was an amazing site just to see the animal. But to see its skill at jumping 8' over a moving pack was incredible... a sight that I won't soon forget.

Megan was a HUGE help when I started to hit a physical & mental wall at Mile 7 in the race (but our 11th mile of the day). Megan reminded me of why we were doing this – for all of those fighting or those who have fought blood cancers. And while my feet and knees still were sore - it reminded me that these aches and pains were temporary and for a bigger & greater cause than me.

When we finally got to Papa John's Stadium, we kicked it in gear and crossed the finish line together. (My feet were thankful for the Astroturf.) We finished in 2:15:56.

My next race is April 30 at the Derby miniMarathon.

Check it out: http://www.derbyfestivalmarathon.com

You can just make out Megan and I... both in our white Team in Training shirts. Megan is on the left; I'm on the right in the white ball cap.

Much thanks to Mr & Mrs Oleksa for cheering us on across the finish line!

Photo credit goes to Megan's Dad. Thank you Mr. Oleksa!

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/facing-the-fight-of-his-life_2011-03-18.html

Check out this great article on Jeffrey Bearce. He is a close family friend... my nieces consider him their second father. He is just one of the reasons why I'm raising money for LLS with Team in Training.

My marathon training is nothing compared to his battle with leukemia. If you've been touched by his story, will you please donate?

Thank you,

Sherrie

I'm trying to raise some green on St. Patrick's Day. I have two t-shirts (one size Large, the other Extra Large) from O'Shea's that I will give to the first person to donate $100 (or more) to my fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the next 24 hours.

Just click "Donate now". And I'll send the t-shirts out with my thank-you card.

Sorry about the photo. It's right-side up on my computer but when I try to add the photo here, it flips it upside down. At least you have an idea of what the front & back of the t-shirts look like. BTW - the front of the t-shirt is the side with the clover.

Yesterday was the Rodes City Run, a 10k (6.2 mile) road race. Megan, my friend and Team in Training partner-in-crime, did a 4 mile warm-up with Teresa, one of the cool walking coaches with TNT. It was perfect... we got to the starting line just after the starting gun. I took off on a fast walking pace, but Megan decide to run and I never caught up with her.

I felt pretty good during miles 2 & 3, but seemed to lose my energy after that. I had to keep reminding myself why I was out there. So the last couple of miles my mantra became.... For Dad, For Jeff P., For Jeff B., For those that can't, etc...

Out of 7952 finishers, I came in 6329th place. Pretty darn good for being at the very end of the starting line. My time for the 6.2 miles was 1:20:43 - breaking down to just about 13 minutes/mile. That is much improved over my 14:40 minute/mile pace at the Anthem 5k two weeks earlier.

In two more weeks is the Papa John 10 miler. I hope to improve my time even more, maybe even running a couple of miles during that one!

If you haven't had a chance to donate yet, it's not too late. Every little bit helps. No donation is too small.

For those of you that have donated, I appreciate your support. Thank you!

We have had some flooding. It impacted the Anthem 5k. I'm not sure if it will impact this Saturday's Rodes City Run 10k or not. But it has affected my workouts.

I can usually follow the paths along the Ohio River in Waterfront Park. But many of those paths have been swallowed up by the Ohio as you can see from the photo below. The path is to the right of the boat but to the left of the lights. The river is going to continue to rise, so for now I'm sticking to the treadmill in the gym.

Yesterday was so much fun. I hung out all day at BoomBozz Taphouse for the Fund-Day for LLS. I saw a lot of old friends there who came out to support me and Megan. And I even met a few new friends.

If you you couldn't make it out to the Taphouse, it's not too late for your support. Just click on the "Donate Now" button to give a little.

Thank you to:

Barry, Beckmann and BoomBozz Taphouse.

Megan

Christy and Sun Tan City: Steve, Mark, Zach, Lindsi, Trista, Danny, Melissa, and Lauren.

The LSM crew: Ronnie and Lori, Sarah and Aaron, Amelia, Julie, Kevin and Ron.

TNT: Leszlie and her huge UPS crew

Louisvillehotbytes.com Forum: Bob & Carol (Ted & Alice)

Other supporting cast: my Irish friend Kenny, Steve and Cathe, Beth, Louise, PJ, Will, Jeff G, his daughter, and Lauren's husband.

A final thank you to those that sent their regrets because they couldn't make it in.

Apologies to anyone I forgot to include! Send me an e-mail (sgreenlaw@me.com) and I'll edit my post to include you.

Megan and I raised $1251.07!!!! (That includes cash & checks donated onsite, as well as one online donation.)

Picture of me and Louise (photo credit to Louise):

Today was the Anthem 5k - the first leg of the Triple Crown of Running. I walked the entire thing but at a decent pace ~ 14:40/mile. After the race, the full San Diego marathon walking group (me, Megan and Emily) walked an additional 6 miles. Teresa, one of the walking coaches, joined us for a good portion of the extra walk. Chris, another walking coach, finished the walk with us.

It was a great day. The picture of me is just before the race, doing some stretches. And it looks like I might be mouthing off, too. Or maybe I'm just asking if you would kindly donate to my cause.

Would you give if you haven't already? Please. And thank you!

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