So this morning my plantar faciitis acted up again.... I ran 2 miles of a hilly course at Lake Chabot (a local regional park), and at the turnaround to go and run the next 6 miles I felt a sharp pain in the ball of my foot. Generally my plantar-related pain is in the arch or my heel, so I didn't suspect this as the cause of my trouble. I checked in with a couple of coaches, with a walking coach suggesting a different walking technique that gave my foot some relief while saving my knees.

When I got back to the honoree bbq after a 2 mile walk back to the start/finish, I checked in with Mama Lisa - one of our senior coaches and guru of all things kenisiology. She taught me how to tape my foot to help relieve extra strain on my tendons (different than "wrapping" - no tension, just support). I learned even more about my feet, and got confirmation that my intuition to go for one of the $30/hr foot massages up the street from my house is a smart thing to do while I'm training.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't finish the 8 miles I was planning since Lake Chabot is so hilly it kind of gives you running bragging rights, but better to take care of a small pain than to cause a severe injury.

As I came home and warmed up (it's chilly here this morning!) I thought of Ed and the "marathon" experience he is preparing for as he gets ready for his treatments. I feel so fortunate to be able to do this in his honor and know he's here with me in spirit as I am with him. Makes my plantar faciitis seem kind of small.

I don't really ever remember not knowing Ed Searcy, although I guess my first memories of him are from when I was a "Youth at Conference" at BC Conference of the United Church of Canada (UCC) when I was a teenager. Ed, an ordained minister in the UCC, is the son of George Searcy - one of my grandfather's best friends from seminary.

By the time I was in seminary myself, Ed had already had a long tenure with University Hill Congregation - neighbors on the campus of where I did my theological training: the Vancouver School of Theology.

In 2007, months from graduating with my MDiv and subsequent ordination (to further study), I was called by UHill to minister with them as the UCC Chaplain to/for the University of British Columbia. So Ed then became a colleague.

Even though I have been living in California, Ed has continued to minister to me as colleague and friend through the ups and downs life has thrown at me. An avid runner himself, when I decided to raise money for Team in Training to run a half marathon, Ed was supportive both financially and emotionally. When I ran the Nike Women's Marathon 1/2 in October 2009, few people knew I was five weeks pregnant with my son, Gabriel (who just turned one!). Mauricio and I had been talking about whether or not I shoudl do another 1/2 (which hopefully I wouldn't struggle with as much while not pregnant). I was pretty decided on doing that, next step in the discernment was whether or not to train with TNT again and raise more money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Then...

Ed was diagnosed with early stage multiple myeloma in May 2011. He feels very fortunate that the disease was discovered before he has experienced any symptoms. He is currently preparing to undergo a stem cell transplant in late August and will be recovering at home until Advent when he expects to return to ministry at UHill.

How could I not?

You can ready about his journey since Ed will be recording his thoughts on living with multiple myeloma on his blog: Holy Scribbler.

This morning my running buddies Katie and Kathyanne and I - to our utter astonishment - ran 6 miles in 71 minutes! All three of us started (or re-started) running within the last month or so, with a 14 min mile being the fastest time among us. So to hit under a 12 minute mile today felt pretty awesome..... like we could run a marathon!

Tonight it's been 10 days since I joined the TNT East Bay Bayside's Team "Driven." I ran 4 miles yesterday with my great teammate Katie and we totally kicked butt, but tonight when I ran Lake Merritt (a local 5K/3.2 mile course) by myself and shaved 3 minutes and 17 seconds off the time I was proud of just this past Tuesday, I got really excited about this race!

I want to say a HUGE thank you to the amazing support you've already shown - both to me and to Ed Searcy. I'm happy to say my good friend and colleague Caroline Penhale (who now ministers to UBC'ers and UHill with Ed) is joining me in training for the Nike Women's 1/2 and she'll be flying down here to we can run this race together for him.

I'm going to bed tonight a tired but happy momma - thanks to you all!

CL.

Running for Ed Searcy & Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to participate in the Nike Women's 1/2 marathon (October 2011 in San Francisco) as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) 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 am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

In particular, I am running this race and raising this funds for my honoree: The Rev. Dr. Edwin Searcy. Ed is a dear friend and colleague, gifted preacher and pastor, and recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He is also a marthon runner and my inspiration for running my first 1/2 marathon at this event two years ago!

If you know and love Ed, and even if you don't, please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!