3 more to go!

We only have 3 more team practices before the big race! These last couple weeks have been a challenge. A week ago Sunday, we ran our first 20 miler. It was a real tough one. Between miles 11 and 12, my knee started to hollar out to me, letting me know it wasn't too happy to be doing what I was doing. By mile 14, it was telling me it needed a break. The remaining 6 miles were discouraging. Luckily though, I had Coach Javier and fellow teammate Maribeth with me to share in my agony. While my knee was misbehaving, Maribeth's IT band was doing the same. We helped each other out and pulled through the full 20 together. By the end, we were in pain, but proud to have gotten through it.

I then took the week off to rest, but then yesterday ran 12 miles for our taper week. Boy, did it felt great!! I had gotten new shoes and wore a knee brace, and it seemed to do the trick. This upcoming Sunday we have another 20 miles to go...our last big distance before the race. I am crossing my fingers that this one will go better than the last. After yesterday's run though, I am feeling pretty optimistic. Just need to rest, stretch and ice up this week!

Before we started our run yesterday, we had the pleasure of hearing Captain Jack's song he had been working on all season long. Anyone who runs or is a TNT supporter needs to hear this song. Check it out here:

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150259327676578&comments

Hey everyone. I know it has been a while since I've posted, but don't let that fool you into thinking I've stopped training or stopped raising money for LLS. This last weekend was a big one for us. We ran 16 miles! And there were some hills! It was a tough run, but there was a good group of us that stuck together and got 'er done. This upcoming weekend we are running 18 miles. We'll see how it goes!

This week's mission moment came from a teammate of ours. Crazily, Lymphoma has touched 4 members of her family. To have to go through that process with 4 different family members is unfathomable. Something she said at the end especially moved me. She said 20 years ago, their odds would have been 0 and 4. But thanks to groups like LLS, they have made huge strides to help cancer patients and her family is instead 3 and 1. We are fighting so that one day it will be 4 and 0.

Thanks again to everyone who has been so supportive with their kind words and have shared their stories with me and have donated to the cause. You are all an inspiration to me and are definitely the reason I continue to do this. Thank you!

Holy moly! We ran 14 miles today! That's more than a half marathon! Although it wasn't easy, I am feeling great now. I just need to strap some ice on to this body and I'll be set.

I just want to take a second to recognize the lovely ladies of Pace Group 4. There are a solid 7 of us: me, Steph, Julie, Michelle, Marilyn, Maribeth and Alex. I love these ladies. We stick together through our runs and we've been known to sing a jingle or two while doing it. These ladies keep me going through all the aches and pains. So thank you ladies. Group 4 rocks!

We are just a little over 2 months away from the big race. Thank you to everyone who has donated already. I truly appreciate all the support you have given me.

And just as a heads up, keep an eye out for details for Steph and my upcoming fundraising event. We are having a wine fundraising event at 55 Degree Wine in Atwater Village. I will post details soon!

12 miles? Check.

Today we ran 12 miles! That's almost a half marathon! We are halfway there. It felt pretty good, but now, I'm feeling it. Ha. My knee and the icepack will not part today. The run was great though. I run with Pace Group 4 and I must say, we are a group of rockin ladies. We like to chat it up during our runs...it makes it go by much quicker. Today, Captain Carlos joined our group to help lead us. Besides his USC hating ways, Carlos is awesome. After the halfway mark he started playing some jams from Pandora on his phone. Usher, Rihanna, JT...they pumped us up on our run. After we finished our 12 miles, we all dipped into the ocean. Well, I should clarify...I put my feet in. The best thing you can do for yourself after a long run is give yourself an ice bath. On the Westside team, we are fortunate enough to have a natural ice bath...the ocean. So in we went. This is the first time I did that, and it hurt so good. Next week is 14 miles. I'm sure I'll be meeting the ocean again after that run.

Since we were rained out last week, yesterday was our first Hill Training practice. Whoa! After the workout, I thought, gosh, that wasn’t too bad! But wow, I am feeling it now. In my back, my bum, my hips, my legs. That really is a workout. Ice is my best friend today. We did 3 repetitions on a longer, but less steep hill. Then just 1 time up a shorter, killer hill. I gotta say though: although it doesn’t sound like fun, it actually was. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment afterwards and it just makes me look forward to more hill training. If that is what it takes, I’m in.