My Fundraising Page

Racing to Save Lives

TNT LLS Information and My Journal

Thank you for visiting my Team In Training (TNT) site for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This may be the single most important activity that I have done in my life and I hope that you join me in completing this event in honor of all of the individuals who are battling blood cancers. Each of us in some way has been impacted by these illnesses, whether it is a friend, a family member, or your own personal battle.

So what can I do to help?

I am asking that you provide a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by sponsoring me in the March 2009 Yuengling Shamrock Half-Marathon. I realize that with the current economic instability and the holidays coming quickly upon us, money is a little tighter this year than usual; however, there is no donation too small and all donations are 100% tax-deductible. Be sure to check with you employer to see if they have charitable donation matching program as well.

In exchange for your donation, I will do the hard work by training throughout the fall and winter in preparation for running the 13.1 mile race at the VA Beach oceanfront in March. I will keep you abreast of my training activities by recapping each daily workout on my website so that you can be right there with me during this journey. Im not simply asking for your donation I am asking you to become an active member of our team, being there with me through every grueling mile until we eventually cross that finish line!

Your involvement is critical to us reaching our goal. I pledged to raise $1900; however, I cannot do it without you. In appreciation for your donation, I am offering some special gifts. More detail is listed below in the first journal entry.

How do I make a Donation?

The easiest and quickest method is to select the Donate Now link on the left-side of this page and enter the amount that you wish to donate. A window will open requesting your contact and billing information. Note that if you have a pop-up blocker running, you may need to add an exception for this site. If you prefer, you can donate by making a check to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and send it c/o Travis Owney at:

944 Saint Andrews Reach

Unit C

Chesapeake, VA 23320.

I request that donations be submitted by January 9th, 2009. As long as you are here, there is no time like the present! :-)

Thank you for joining our team to help us find the cure!

Sincerely,

Travis Owney

travis.owney@gmail.com

My Journal

Gifts

Any donation of $50 - $99 will receive an unframed 4x10 signed copy of the Local Legend: The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier printed on Kodak Endura Professional Metallic paper.

Any donation of $100 or more will receive an unframed 8x20 signed copy of the Local Legend: The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier printed on Kodak Endura Professional Metallic paper.

The metallic prints are absolutely stunning images of a piece of Virginia Beach history. More important, though, is that it will be a lasting reminder the generosity that you have extended to help find a cure for this vicious form of cancer.

Everyone, regardless of their donation amount, will be included in a drawing on March 20 for a free portrait session with me if you live in Hampton Roads or print from my fine art collection. The portrait session includes (1) 11x14, (2) 5x7, (20) wallet-sized prints on Kodak Endura Professional Metallic paper.

Wednesday, Oct. 22

My official training program starts in November so I've been focusing on building my endurance until then. A couple of months ago I completed the Rock-N-Roll half marathon with very disappointing results and I'm dead set on making a drastic improvement for the Shamrock. Monday was a 45-minute spin class, tuesday was 30-minute Precor plus 30 minutes of circuit weight training, and tonight I completed 32-minutes on the bike plus another 70-minutes on the crosstrainer. Running in place while staring at a wall, I can't help but think what life would be like if you had to lay in a hospital bed all day and stare at the ceiling. Too many people have to - this is a reminder as to why I joined this team so maybe we can provide, even at the tiniest amount, hope that fewer people will finish their lives that way. I'm tired and a little sore but I know unlike some, tomorrow I will wake feeling great.

Thursday, Oct. 23

The training was put on the back burner tonight in exchange for our weekly kickball game. I guess technically kickball is considered a sport now but it does little in the way of conditioning. I decided to forgo the usual beer and post-game pizza. I hope this doesn't become too much of a habit! ;-)

Firday, October 24

After a long day at the salt mines, I spent an exiting Friday night knocking out 70 minutes of interval training on the Precor. Finished out the evening giving the dog a bath and fixing chicken/vegetable/pasta dish.

Saturday, October 25

What a dichotomy of a day! The temp is up but intermittent showers have moved in. After a failed attempt to find something - anything - worth photographing in downtown Norfolk, I hit the gym for a quick 30-minute hill climb on the crosstrainer. Hopefully the rain will let up so we can go to the Haunted Village at Hunt Club Forest tonight.

Monday, October 27

Yesterday was a rest day. Mahala and I took a nice, relaxing 2-mile walk around City Park before I headed out to shoot photos of 4-mos old twins, making it more of a workout than I intended. :-) Tonight is Shannon's spin class. What are the chances it is a nice easy ride? lol

Tuesday, October 28

While not technically a rest day, I took a vacation day in order to have a root canal. Figure I may be better off waiting till tomorrow before pushing it any.

Wednesday, October 29

Last night Jill joined the team with a donation in honor of her father, Vincent Beninato, who is in remission from stage 4 leukemia. Please keep Jill and her father in your prayers and lets hope that there is no future reocurrence! On the training front... 65 minutes of interval cross-training tonight.

Thursday, October 30

Representing Charlotte, NC, Gretchen Reid Pokorski joined team along with Shannon Tipton of Chesapeake, VA. The outpouring of generosity is incredibly inspiring. Tonight is the last regular season kickball game of the season but since it isn't scheduled until 8:30 tonight, I'm going to try to get in an hour of training beforehand. We are playing the best team in the league but maybe by some miracle, we will pick up our win of the season!

Friday, October 31 Happy Halloween!

Last night I did manage to squeeze in 70 minutes of interval training before driving out to Fort Story to play my part in our kickball team taking an old fashion beat down in freezing conditions. So what do you do? Roll with it and have a good time. I'm going to miss our last regular season game because it coincides with the kick-off meeting for TNT next Thursday. If last night was any indicator, it looks like I need to head to Running, Etc. and pick up some cold weather running gear. Did I mention I hate running in the cold? Good times.

Saturday, November 01

Wow, its hard to believe that it is November already. I hope that everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. The last day of October ended on an amazing act of generosity. David Rogers of www.greyleafphoto.com, an incredible photographer from Waldorf, MD made a donation to LLS. Please visit his site to see some of his excellent images - especially the flowers and landscapes.

Believe it or not, I actually behaved myself last night. Probably not by choice but I was driving, so water was the drink of choice for the evening. Michelle's party was a great time and I was hoping to hit Megan's and RJ's but decided to call it an early night at 11:30 and head home. I was thankful for it during my hour-long spin class first thing this morning. Someone forgot to tell Karla that the pain should have been delivered yesterday. :-) This afternoon I'm off to shoot a dual family portrait at 85th St. Enjoy a beautiful Saturday!

Monday, November 3

I made an easy day of it yesterday, opting to edit photos from Saturday's shoot and slipping down to Paradocks to catch the second half of the Bears win. w00t! When I woke this morning, I was greeted with more generous donations from the Rutherfords and the Gerloffs. I am truly humbled at the generosity I'm seeing. The kickoff meeting for the fundraising drive isn't until this Thursday night and we are already over half-way to reaching our pledge!!!!!!

Tonight is Shannon's spin class. It has been a great way to maintain my cardio while letting my knee heal. I'm experiencing zero pain in it now so I'll be starting up my running program in the next week. It will be nice to take the workouts outdoors again.

Tuesday, November 4

Tonight I put in 70 minutes on the Precor while glued to the election result reporting. VA is a swing state and we are actually in the spotlight for a change. I'm not sure that is a good thing.

Wednesday, November 5

I received my training schedule from Bob and tonight was the start, a seemingly easy 2-mile run. Of course it had to happen when a nor'easter was blowing in cold rain. Regardless, I was surprised - actually a bit dissapointed in my run. The low impact cardio that I have been doing extensively for the last couple of weeks did not translate to jogging. I've lost a lot since the RNR. I did the 2-miles running 10-minute miles and actually developed small cramps in the quads. I have a lot of work to do before March rolls around but I'm not worried about it in the least.

Friday, November 7

Last night was the kickoff meeting for the TNT and what an incredible, diverse group of people were in there. There were seasoned triathletes to first time walking participants. Their athletic experience is irrelevant compared to the mission that they are supporting. It was a truly uplifting group to be apart!

I also woke this morning to a nice donation from Diana and Ron Reaves given on behalf of Diana's Mom, Dad, and Brother. Their names will be carried with me on race day as well as in my thoughts during the grueling training days up till that point.

Today is a rest day with our first group training run tomorrow morning. Hopefully they won't have to send the cart for me! :-)

Saturday, November 8

What a great morning! I woke at 6:00 a.m. to find that Terri Bealle joined the team with a donation. Terri and I grew up together but haven't seen each other in years. She is now living in GA Check out her website to see some of her great photography when you have a chance.

At 7:30, I met the rest of the TNT group down at Final Kick off of Great Neck Rd. for our weekly group run. Today was the first and I fully expected to average 12 minute miles over the 4 mile run, seeing that it was to be a "light" run. Imagine my surprise when I finished avaeraging sub-10 minute miles and felt absolutely great!!!! I'm off to Lynchburg to see my sister Dea, Jake, Skylar, and Caleb.

Monday, November 10

I had a great visit with my sister and family in Lynchburg. Yesterday we drove up to Peaks of the Otter lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway for breakfast and then went to watch Skylar play soccer. Talk about a competitor!

While there I received a call from my mom saying that my nieces Savannah and Megan along with a few friends had collected over $100 by selling bracelets they were making. I am amazed.

After unwinding from the 4-hour drive back home today, I hit the track for a 3 1/4 mile light jog where I concentrated on maintaining a 145 bpm heartrate. When I finished the run, I did quick weight lifting circuit and then a 45-minute spin class. I think thats enough work for one day...

Tuesday, November 11 Happy Veterans' Day

I was dragging tonight and it is cold out and raining. Did I mention I hate training in the cold? :-) A spring race was probably not the best idea from a training standpoint. As I was about to talk myself out of the run, a song came on by Catch-22 about a woman who finds out that she is diagnosed with cancer and has only weeks to live. Instead of spending her final days in bed, she goes out to live a lifetime in those two weeks.

Being a little tired and not liking the conditions is no excuse. However uncomfortable I am tonight doesn't compare to those living with the pain of cancer. And to think that many of them push past the pain to live incredibly active lives! The short 2-mile run was more challenging than I expected; however, I was thankful my discomfort only lasted 20 minutes. Hopefully one day we'll be able to say that for everyone.

Wednesday, November 12

Tonight was an off-night for running so I hit the gym for some circuit weight training before spending the rest of the evening editing portraits of my sister and her family from this weekend's trip to the mountains.

Thursday, November 13

Whooohoooo... Eileen Lamb is the newest addition to the team with a nice contribution. Thanks Eileen, your support is awesome!

Friday, November 14

Tonight I split my workout between 30 minutes on the crosstrainer and weight lifting. For the latter I stuck to upper body/core exercises seeing that tomorrow morning is our 5-mile run. According to the forecast, it looks like it is going to be a soggy one.

Saturday, November 15

Its Saturday so that means I crawled out of bed way too early for a Saturday morning to meet the team down at Final Kick Sports for our weekly long training run. The temps were in the early 70s. Sounds perfect? Well it was until we got mowed over by a massive thunderstorm. They're not typical in November but as fate would have it, the storm caught us about 3 miles into the run. Funny how lightweight running shoes turn to 5 pound bricks when waterlogged. The run was made a bit easier with the support of all you behind me. Just this morning, we received a donation from Melissa Cole. I'm glad to have her on board as part of the team!

Tuesday, November 18

Wellllllll... Last night didn't go as planned. I initially was going to do a short 2-mile run and then a 45-minute spin class except when by the time I got home from work, I barely had enough time to make the class. So I decided to do a flip-flop and hit spinning first and then the run. Great idea until midway through the spin class, I felt my lower back sieze up. I probably should have stopped there but I'm much too stubborn and finished out the workout, only deciding to skip the run when I realized I couldn't standup straight. I'm going to take it easy tonight - maybe do some light cardio and stretching. Hopefully it will loosen up by tomorrow night.

Wednesday, November 20

I'm surprised! As I mentioned in the last post, I pulled a muscle in my lower back. This happens about once a year due to a slight curvature in my spine and usually I'm laid up for a week or so. I planned to take last night off but when i got home, I was feeling pretty good and decided to get in a short jog. It turned into 4.25 miles with a heartrate averaging 155 bpm. I felt good enough to continue; however, I was only scheduled for 3-miles and I didn't feeling like pushing my luck. My back still has some soreness today but I'm not too worried about it.

This evening I ran intervals for 2-miles. It was 400-yard sprints separated by 400-yards light jog. I was shocked that I did the entire 2-miles without a break. The heartrate was averaging 174 bpm and topped out at 187 bpm.

Tonight was a mix of great news and not so good news. The great news is that Janet Ellis joined the team with a nice donation to LLS. I am elated to have her support (and I'm not saying that simply because she is my boss! lol) On the not so good front, I found out that a close member of my family was diagnosed with cancer. It is treatable and there should be nothing to worry about but this has struck way too close to home. Tomorrow is a rest a day before the weekend so expect my next update after my 7-mile run on Sunday.

Sunday, November 23

I had a great run this morning! At 8:00, I met up with Steve and Bev at Final Kick for a 7-mile jog thru Seashore State Park. Going by the schedule that Steve had provided for the 1/2 marathon training, I was supposed to be running 6-miles today , but I made the decision last week that for awhile, I was going to follow the full marathon schedule. Steve was running 10 miles today; so at the 5-mile mark, he left Bev and I to complete our final 2-miles on our own. We finished the run averaging just over 11-minutes a mile. My hr averaged 162 bpm. This was awesome not only because of the pace, but also the fact that we talked the whole way! If this improvement continues, I'll be resetting my goal for March. Regardless, I should shatter my time from the RNR.

Monday, November 24

Schedule is a little off-kilter due to the long run on Sunday. I had planned to make the spin class but work got in the way. Instead I took the opportunity to hit the weight room . Tuesday will be a rest day so next post should be Wednesday night.

Wednesday, November 26

After making 4 - yes, FOUR, trips to the grocery store during pre-holiday panic shopping to purchase various ingredients to brine the Thanksgiving turkey and then wrestling said 22# turkey into a 2-gallon zip lock bag, I decided "hey, tomorrow I should probably run a 10k". Okay, I understand that it is not the typical decision that most people make at 7:00 the night before a race but at the time it made sense. I threw on some gym clothes and headed over to the Mount Trashmore YMCA to register.

I find out when I get there that since I didn't pre-register, I don't get a shirt; so it looks like I'm paying $20 to do a run that I could do for free without having to get up at some early hour on a holiday to drive across the city. Hmmmmm. At least I'll have 2000 other runners for company. While I was there, I did a 2-mile sprint run on the treadmill even though I thought it probably wasn't the best of ideas seeing that the race was in another 12 hours. I never considered myself to be too bright. Ha!

Thursday, November 27 Gobble Gobble!

Wake at 5:45, shower, dress, grab assorted runing gear and what has become a 30# turkey, drive the turkey to my parents, and then backtrack to the MT YMCA where others are arriving in a steady stream. Air temp is a balmy 32 degrees; however, I wore shorts because the weatherman said it was going to the upper 50's. Oddly enough, it was a good choice even thought the temp at the gun was 40.

The plan was to beat down my competitive nature, forget about the "race", and treat this like a normal training run. My goal was to maintain an average heart rate of 172 bpm for 6.3 miles. I expected that to equate to 12-min miles. I was pleasantly surprised when I crossed the finish line in 63-minutes, meaning that I ran approximately 10-minute miles AND nailed my HR target. This probably doesn't mean a lot to most people; however, I'm elated to see that much of an improvement in my conditioning in such a short time.

We have a lot to be thankful for today. Our friends, our families, our health. I know I often take all three for granted. Events lately have touched my friends and my family that have truly made the mission of LLS and other like organizations very real and very special. I was listening to a song during today's run that had a passage that has become something of a mantra...

"we sow seeds to get us through

For our days are precious and so few"

What will we make of our time here? Be thankful not just for today but for everyday......

Saturday, November 29

8-miles, 84 minutes. I thought that I would be dragging this morning after the run on Thursday so I packed a secret weapon - Mike and Ike's. :-) Seriously, I saved them for the 6-mile mark and then I popped a handful into my mouth, holding them in my cheek as I ran. I wish I could hear the people that passed me because I know they thought I was nuts. "We saw this guy running in the park today and he had what looked like a big chew in his jaw, carrying Mike and Ike's in his hand, and laughing the whole time. He must have escape from the ward." lol It was an enjoyable run.

Sunday, November 30

It is hard to believe that today is the last day of the month. Time is flying by way too fast! With it being chilly and rainy outside, it would have been a fairly easy decision to stay on the couch this morning; however, I ended up up heading over to the gym for what turned out to be a fairly intense weight session. It's funny how when you get into the groove of exercising regularly, you find yourself looking forward to each workout.

3 months and 22 days till race day!

Wednesday, December 3

I have been pushing the training pretty hard lately so I took a 2-day break to fully recuperate. At least, I thought I had until this evening. To back up a little, in September I joined a kickball league. I mean its kickball so what "injury" could come from it? Sure enough in the first game I sprinted to catch a flyball and felt a sharp pain in my groin. I've heard that groin strains are rather uncomfortable but until experiencing one, I had no idea. I took it easy for a few weeks and the pain began to subside.

By the time we started training, it was feeling pretty good. Then a couple of weeks ago I noticed that it would come back at the onset of the run before dissipating. Last night, Mahala and I did 3 miles on the local track and the pain was constant, extending into the lower abdomen. Ironic this happened on the night following the injury prevention clinic. It looks like I'll be scheduling an appointment with physical therapist sometime soon. Until then I'll continue icing, stretching, and taking it easier on my runs.

Monday, December 08

Going stir crazy. :-) Bev sent an email earlier today with details of the Saturday morning 8-miler and the Jingle Bell 5k. I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss it. Being sidelined with an injury was not in the plan. To complicate things, on last Wednesday's 2-mile run, I started compensating for the groin strain by favoring my left leg and on the last 1/4-mile, I felt a sharp pain in my left ankle, my own personal proof that injuries breed injuries.

However frustrating it is right now, I keep reminding myself of the reason we're training for this race. My injuries are only temporary and will heal soon, enabling me to be back on the trails again. That is minor compared to those who endure the pain of cancer and its treatment for years. A sore leg and a week or so of down time are trivial in comparison. While I still want to get in a few light non-impact exercises this week, I'm going to use the rest of the schedule to work on my fundraising. I'm targeting meeting the goal by New Year's but have some work to do!

Tuesday, December 9

I went to see Dr. Ayers to verify that my self-diagnoses of the ankle was correct. After 5-minutes of twisting and poking, he said what I expected and what was also a releif. It is just Achilles Tedinitis. Painful but with proper care, it should recover fairly quick. He said that the pain that I was feeling last night was typical of this injury in that the pain increases after a couple of days, peaks, and then disappates. I can tell tonight that it is already subsiding. As long as I stay patient, I should be back on the run in a week or so.

Wednesday, December 10

What a difference a day makes. There's still some tightness and soreness; however, it is feeling a ton better. I scheduled an appointment with the Atlantic Physical Therapy group for early Saturday morning to see about orthotics as well as talk to them about the original groin strain which is still lingering.

Tonight I went over to the gym since I couldn't take sitting around anymore. I performed a relatively light upper workout and then spent 20-minutes stretching. It felt good to do something physical again and get the blood running.

Friday, December 12

This has been a great day support-wise! Tom Pritchard, a fellow photographer out of Delaware, joined the team with a nice donation. He recently just started a site on Smugmug at http://wolftep.smugmug.com/ . Be sure to mark it because I expect to see some great images there soon.

A donation was made by parents as a Christmas gift on behalf of Betsy & Mc Callaham as well. We are rapidly closing in on our goal!

Tomorrow morning I have my first appointment with Atlantic Physical Therapy about the tendinitis in my left ankle. It is feeling a lot better but I want to see about ordering some orthotics to minimize the pronation that caused the aggravation. Afterwards I'm planning on meeting up with the group at Final Kick to support their morning training run. have a great weekend!

Monday, December 15

Wow, I really wasn't expecting this. After my doctor's visit last week, I was pretty happy that I should only be losing 2-weeks at the most. That was until Saturday morning when I went in to Atlantic Physical Therapy to see about orthotics. Before talking orthotics, Physical Therapist Jenn Cigna put me through a full evaluation and the end result was totally unexpected.

The pain in my ankles and legs were symptoms of an injury to the L4 vertabrae in my lower back. The L4 is the point of connection for the nerves in the legs and feet. Needless to say that I've started physical therapy and am looking at 3 - 4 weeks before I can begin running again. While the downtime and the rapidly closing race are driving me crazy, I'd rather go into it heathly than end up doing serious damage to the disk. APT has a great reputation and judging from this mornings 1 1/2 hour session, it is well deserved. It is going to take even more work to get ready for race day, but it will be well desreved.

The good news for the day is that Teresa Hall provided the first donation coming from my BoA friends. Thanks Teresa for joining the team!

Monday, December 22

Physical Therapy has going well and I can't say enough good things about Atlantic Physical Therapy. They are awesome. Hopefully it will not be much longer before I'm back to running. Until then I'm following a much lower impact but still stressful routine.

Brenda and Poochie Owney (lovingly refered to as mom and dad) made a donation on behalf of Betsy and Mack Callaham, Dea and Jake Callham, and Tom and Jean Sagraves (in memory of Nancy Francis). The most special gift received thus far has been from Megan and Savannah Reaves and their friends. These kids (the oldest is 10) have raised over $120 on their own, by selling jewelry door to door that they handmake. It is really something amazing.

This afternoon April Tse, an incredible photographer that I've met through the Digital Grin community, was generous enough to provide a donation to LLS. When you get a few minutes, please stop by and view her images at

http://aktse.smugmug.com/ . She has a little of everything with an emphasis on sports and landscapes. It is all impressive!

Saturday, January 3

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! I slacked a little during the holidays on my writing but not on the training. I'm just finishing up physical therapy and started back running a couple of days ago. I'm still taking it easy on the ankle until I get my orthotics fitted on Thursday. In the meantime, I'm picking up my low impact cardio to help get me up to speed when I hit the trails again.

On other excellent news, the Gerloffs donated again bringing us to our $1900 goal!!! Their generosity is greatly appreciated. Now that the pressure of meeting the goal is gone, I'm still pushing for us to raise more. I'd really like to see us hit $2900 before race time. I'm sure we can do it!

Happy New Year everyone!

Monday, January 5

Good news! My dad's surgery for prostate cancer went smoothly and the doctor didn't see any indications that the cancer has spread. he did take samples from other nodes for biopsy but so far it looks positive. Dad should be home later today. We are all incredibly thankful!

Dea will be getting in town tonight for a few days to help mom out with assisting dad. It will be good to see her seeing that October was the last time I saw her. Last night, her and Jake made a donation to LLS bringing us closer to the $2900 I want to raise before March. Thanks y'all!

After spending the day in the waiting room while also trying to juggle work-related meetings remotely, I was happy to get in a solid workout last night. It started with Shannon's 45-minute spin class followed by some weight and stretching work. In addition to my workout, I've made a big revision to my diet. Last nights dinner was a baked chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and green beans. A cup of yogurt and a banana made for the late snack. With the injury and the holidays, I let my healthy eating slip a bit so I'm now back on track.

Friday, January 09

Lots to report this morning.... First off we received some awesome news last night. the biopsies from my dad's cancer surgery came back negative! The doctor advised that they got all of it and none of the cancer cells migrated to other nodes. We couldn't be more overjoyed.

Yesterday I went into the Atlantic Physical Therapy to get fitted for my orthotics. While there, David took a 30 second video of my feet while I was walking on the treadmill. My jaw dropped when I watched the footage. My right foot was tracking normally with a clear arch visible but the left foot.... it was a mess. You couldn't distinguish the arch and it was rolling in so bad that it almost looked like I was walking on that bone that protrudes from the instep. I'm going to see if I can get David to email me the video to share. The good news is that the orthotics will be ready tonight and I should be able to test them out on the trail tomorrow. I'm down to about 9 weeks of training so I have a lot to pick up.

in the meantime, I have managed a few good cardio and strength training workouts this week as well as maintaining a healthy diet. I'm beginning to truly look forward to race day again!

Saturday, January 10

What a great morning! Last night I picked up my orthotics from Atlantic Physical Therapy and then capped the evening with a 3rd place finish in our monthly poker tournament. The only downside to finishing that deep in the field is that I didn't get home until almost 1:00 a.m. It didn't matter - the excitement of joining the TNT group run and actually running this time was enough to propel me out of bed, into my gear, and off to Final Kick to meet up with the crew at 7:30.

I told myself that I was going to make it a short run of 2 - 3 miles; however, it turned into a 6-mile jaunt. The great news is that the ankles, Achilles, and back all felt great and my cardio hadn't slipped as much as I thought it would. The groin strain obviously hasn't improved and I doubt it will until after the race when I can take it seriously easy on it. I read somewhere that it is one of the hardest injuries to recover from and to think I got it playing kickball of all things is ridiculous.

The only real drawback to the run is me being somewhat of an idiot. David told me to take it easy on the first run or two in order to avoid blisters from the new inserts. I planned to put some moleskin on the suspect parts of the foot before setting out but totally forgot until I started my run. Sure enough, huge blisters on both in-steps. Looks like I will be limping around for a couple of days until the new skin toughens up. I'm shooting for Tuesday for my next run.

Monday, January 12

I met the team yesterday at G. F. Keagan's to plan for the silent auction coming up later in the month. I need to get busy collecting donated items!

More great news was received earlier today when a donation was sent in by Shawn Quigley, putting us even closer to the new goal of $2900. Shawn does a lot of charity work for ALS and puts on several great event over the year. Be sure to keep an eye out for them!

Saturday, January 17

18 degrees when I showed up at Final kick for the morning run. I've never been much of a cold weather person but this was ridiculous! In light of the conditions, Bev and I set out on an 8-mile run finishing with approximately a 10:30/mile average. The only discomfort (aside from the chilling cold) was in my left knee but according to David, that was to be expected.

Monday, January 19

While most had the day off, I had the pleasure of working. So before the day got started, I headed into APT for a therapy session with Jen. If that wasn't enough, I closed the day with a good lift and Shannon's 45-minute spin class.

Tuesday, January 20

The snow that was supposed to materialize never came but it didn't stop the cold from being severe. Okay, I wussed out and took the training run inside to the warmth of the treadmill. 3.75 miles. The knee pain was a bit more severe tonight. Tomorrow I have another physical therapy session to look forward too.

Saturday, January 24

Wednesday and Friday were continuation visits for physical therapy. I'm feeling great overall with the only nagging issue being some pain that has moved into my left knee. Oddly enough, it doesn't bother me when I run. This morning I clicked off what felt like a surprisingly easy 10-mile run averaging around 10:30/mile. While not my initial target pace when I set out on my training, I am extremely happy with it considering the injuries.

Sunday, January 25

This evening we conducted our silent auction hosted at G.F. Keagans at Hilltop in VB. It went awesome!!! We had 60+ packages up for auction and brought in a total of $3000. The entertainment was great and Mardy and her staff absolutely rocked in their support. A great time was had by all.

Monday, January 26

I decided to stick with lifting only tonight due to the lingering knee pain. I'm planning a short run (2 -3 miles) tomorrow before my Wednesday's pt appointment to see how everything feels.

Saturday, January 31

I met up with the rest of TNT staff for another 20 degree Saturday morning run. This was a fallback day so while Bev was going 16-miles for her full marathon training, I only had 6-miles scheduled. Bev and I hung together chatting for the first 3 miles until I hit my turnaround point to leave her alone to slug out the rest of the miles. When I started back, I realized that I forgot to renew my mp3 subscription and my licenses had expired. In plain English - no music. Uggh. it is funny how long 3 miles becomes when you have nothing to listen tonor someone to talk to. I was happy, though, to finish in a little over 58 minutes while being pain-free.

Later in the day, I returned to Final Kick to pick up a new pair of shoes. I wasn't ecstatic with my Kayanos so I made the switch to Brooks Trance. Man I wish they still made the Mizuno Alchemy 6's!

Monday, February 02

I hit the track tonight for a 3-mile run in the new kicks. 29:05 and felt great.

Wednesday, February 04

I was going to limit my run to 4-miles tonight but when I reached Greenbrier Parkway, a little voice told me to run the 5-mile loop. Windchill was 23 degrees with a 20 knot wind. This is the best run that I have had to date and at the 4-mile mark I found myself laughing at loud even though my ears were practically frozen off. 48 minutes.

Thursday, February 05

Cold, rainy, miserable evening so I wimped out and took the run in doors to the Y. As much as I hate treadmills, I knocked out 3 miles in under 28 minutes.

Saturday, February 07

This morning was the longest run yet. Marylynn joined Bev and I for an 11-mile run. The first 6-miles were a piece of cake until I caught my toe on a tree root and pulled a superman into a complete sumersault, coming back up on my feet in full stride. It wouldn't have been bad, except their was a group of young women running directly toward me that stopped to make the obligatory Olympic scoring comments. At least I got all 10's for my clumsiness.

We completed the 11 miles in 1 hour 58 minutes with 3 water stops and one tumble. My heartrate averaged 161 bpm, down from 179 bpm that it was averaging over 4-miles when I started. Overall, I felt incredible. However, and there is always a however, a sharp pain stabbed my right knee just under the knee cap during the last 100 yards of the run. I'm going to take it easy for a couple of days to see how it feels.

Tuesday, February 10

Tonight I did a light 3-mile run. The right knee is still aggravating me. I plan on taking it easy tomorrow night and run again Thursday.

Thursday, February 12

Another light night limiting the run to 3-miles. I'm hoping that the right knee is going through the same adjustment as the left did over the last couple of weeks. I'm now debating on running the VA is for Lovers 14k on Saturday.

Sunday, February 15

First off I feel horrible - not in a sick way but in a guilty way! I totally overslept this morning and was a no-show to my group training run. I sent Bev a text to let her no I wasn't coming but I still feel miserable for missing it.

Around noon, I headed for a run. The sun was shining but the temps were in the 30's and the wind was whipping. I ran down to the Chesapeake City Park and made three 1-mile laps before the battery died in my mp3 player. Ugh! I hate running without music when I don't have someone with whom to talk. I also wasn't feeling it. My heartrate was soaring at 175 bpm and the knee was really bothering me. I ran into a nice head wind for the 1/2-mile run back. 4-miles in 38 minutes wasn't too bad but I'm less than excited with my performance.

Tuesday, February 17

What a difference a couple of days makes! I don't know what the heck happened but I'm not going to argue about it. When I left my townhouse into the 23-degree darkness, I planned on running a short 2-miles to see how everything felt. 1 hour and 14 minutes later, I completed an 8-mile run with average heartrate of 165 bpm! Added to that, I felt great. I will say that the new Brooks Trance running shoes are extremely stiff, creating a hard impact but my knees held up well; so much so infact that I believe I could have click off the full half with no problem. I feel renewed and looking forward to race day!

Thursday, February 19

A light evening workout was planned for tonight seeing that I have a long run coming up Saturday plus I had an appointment that kept me busy until after 8:00. It was windy and cold so I headed over to the Y to do some stretching and then knock out a quick 2-miles on the treadmill, followed by some weight training for the legs. Everything felt pretty good and the workout wasn't too taxing.

Saturday, February 21

Awesome morning! I met up with Bev, Elisa, Carolynn, Elizabeth, Sara, and the rest of the TNT team for the weekend group run. I ran the first 2-miles with Elizabeth and her niece. Elizabeth is training for the San Diego Rock-N-Roll marathon and her group just started their training runs so their mileage is down from those training for Shamrock. At the 4.5 mile mark, they turned back and I hooked up up with Bev, Aissa, and company for the next mile. While the full marathoners continued forward, Alissa and I doubled back to finish out our 11-miles. I was amazed that my average heartrate was 155 bpm! I did not ever imagine that I would see this much improvement this quickly!

On the run back, Alissa told me about her father who was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma 4 years ago and given 3 years to live. Thanks to the efforts of of the LLS, the reseachers, the doctors, and his own strong will, he is doing well. I can't help but believe that the donations provided by all of those that have supported the TNT athletes play a large part in her father still being here today. It is a truly wonderful thing!

Btw, tomorrow marks the 1-month to go mark. I'm looking forward to race day with every improved outing.

Tuesday, March 3

I took a few days off after my IT Band became inflamed during a 5-mile run last Wednesday night. I've spent the last several days stretching and tapering. If you don't know about the latter, it involves a masochistic device in the form of a 6" foam roller. You lay own your side and roll back and forth along the outer thigh muscle. Sounds innocent, huh? The pain it inflicts is incredible but it supposedly helps with the stretches.

Anyway, tonight I hit the treadmill for a 3-mile run since there were still patches of ice on the road. The run felt absolutely great until the 3 mile mark and then the tell-tale sign of ITBS made its appearance on the outside of my right knee. I immediately stopped and returned hom to ice, hoping not to aggravate it further.

Wednesday, March 4

18 days left till race day and I returned to the treadmill at the gym. actually, it wasn't my intention. I planned on doing some lower impact cardio but after 10-minutes on the elliptical trainer, I became bored and head for the treadmill. Once again the run felt great starting off and then at the 2 1/4 mile mark, soreness started. I stopped and headed back for more ice.

The band problem truly started after I switched shoe brands. Saturday I'm scheduled for 12-miles for which I'm going to revert back to my Asics and use the knee strap to see if it makes a difference. If pain develops on the route, I will break off the run short and then stick to low impact exercise until race day. I've worked through too many issues to get to this point and a breakdown. With the exception of the band, everything else feels race ready. Keeping my fingers crossed that Saturday's run goes smooth and pain free.

Monday, March 7

Saturday's run was off to a great start with good friends, light-hearted conversation, and beautiful weather. I initially planned to scale the run back to about 8-miles; however, we took a rather easy, light pace with frequent breaks and I felt great. Before I knew it, we moved out the distance out to 11-miles. No worries. Coach Bob passed us a couple of times and inquired about the knee to which I gave the thumbs up. Honestly, it felt fine. Around 9.5 miles, a dull ache started. It wasn't too bad and with a 1.5 to go, I figured it was okay. Then at mile 10.5, a sharp, stabbing pain ran thru the outside of the right knee. and I almost went down. Ugghhh. We walked the 1/2-mile to the finish. I knew I should have cut it shorter but I was being pigheaded.

The good news is that the Sports Institute of Virginia fit me in Wednesday morning for an appointment. I'm hoping that there isn't any serious damage and they get me through the race the 22nd. I'll be laying off running for the next 2 weeks and concentrate on stretching and strength training. As much as I hate to admit it, I guess I am getting old. I've never been plaqued with this many injuries at one time. Frustrating.....yes but I'm not letting it beat me.

On a up note, I need to give a shout to Hu and Becky Smith down in Lake Norman. They sent is a donation this morning to support the LLS. Thanks y'all!!!!

Tuesday, March 17

What a week! My little visit to the Va Institute for Sports Medicine for ITBS turned into a referral for an MRI and a fear that I had torn my miniscus. After sweating it out a few days, I got the results this morning. No tears. The doc prescribed me 3 cortisone treatments and advised that while I would be uncomfortable, I should be able to run the race Sunday. First appointment is tomorrow morning at 6:30 (bright and early) followed by Friday night and then Saturday morning. Keep your fingers crossed that this works and the race goes smooth. I'll be finishing it one way or the other!

Don't forget that the drawing for the portrait session or fine art print is coming up in a few days. Good luck!

Sunday, March 22

As the race began, I left the line with Alissa and her friend Indra. Within the first half-mile, a sharp pain ran up my shin and through the right side of my knee. When I grimaced, Alissa said it may be better if I stop; however if I didn't stop now, she wasn't going to let me until the end of the race. The doctor had told me that it would be painful but no permanent damage would be done. The thought of all of you behind me and of those that suffer pain everyday due to LLS from which they simply can't walk away made my mind up that I was going to continue forward. The pain never subsided, occassionally surging worse before normalizing; however, for 13.1 miles Alissa kept giving me encouragement and pushed me further along the path. At the halfway mark I was shocked to find that we were running sub 10-minute miles. I owe her a lot of thanks for being a great teammate and friend. 1-mile from the finish, the pain sharpened to where I couldn't land on my right foot. I told Alissa to go ahead without me while I walked for 20-seconds waiting for the pain to subside before starting back to a jog. Just as I was thinking that it may beat me, I ran into my niece Savannah and my mom at the half-mile mark. A big hug from each was all it took for me to push through to the finish line. I looked at my watch and was ecstatic to see that even with the injury, I managed a 2 hour 17 minute half marathon. Just 7-months ago, it took me 2 hours 53 minutes to finish the Rock-N-Roll. I can only think that had I been healthy, I would have been much closer to the 2-hour mark, a goal for the next race.