Why we do it

This morning I had the opportunity to meet our Honored Teammate, Sarah. She is the cutest little girl who has been cancer-free for 5 years. It makes the aches and pains I get from running seem like nothing, knowing what Sarah had to battle as a young child. I'm so proud to be a part of such a great organization - to be able to hang out with wonderful, supportive people who give so much of their time to a worthy cause is amazing to me.

Speaking of aches and pains, I'm working out a minor knee issue that flared up during my 10 mile run last week (which I finished!!!!!!). After taking the week off, I ran six this morning and felt good. Still stiff though. We spent 10 minutes cooling off in the ocean after the run - it felt great on the muscles. Another month and that water will be REALLY cold. Hopefully I'll be able to work through this injury and not get too far behind. I know the well-being of my body should be priority number one, but it's hard to commit to something and think I might have to back down from the challenge if it doesn't get better. I'm not there yet, thankfully. I'm striving for 11 next week, so stay tuned.

Strength

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's training session - 10 Miles!! Some of it will be run on the race course for the Carlsbad Marathon, so I'll get to start channeling some positive energy and practice my visualization. If I'm happy running 10 on those roads, I'll breeze through 26.2. Tomorrow we're also going to get a clinic on strength training. I know all about lifting weights - I remember sharing the weight room with the football team when I was in college. (Although I think back then I did more watching than lifting.) I've been somewhat consistent with weight training over the last 5 years, but I put it on the back burner when I started training for the marathon. I worry that I'm going to fatigue my legs too much and it will slow down my run. Plus there's the time factor. I'll be glad to hear from an expert how and when I should be fitting in weights.

I know I'm getting stronger regardless. I can tell by my performance in my weekly softball game on Wednesday. I ran the bases faster (legged out a bases-loaded triple!) and hit the ball harder. Two of my teammates even commented on it. I've always been active, but I haven't been as fit as I could be. Why didn't I do this sooner?

Century Mark

I've passed 100 miles in my trek across America. I'm still somewhere in Virginia - mile 121.8. Looks lovely, doesn't it?

Rollin Rollin Rollin

NINE miles yesterday!! And it was the hardest course we'll run (at least that's what the coach told us). Hill after hill through the lovely town. of Rancho Penasquitos. The first half of the run was the downhill portion. I felt awesome on the way back though, until the very last hill. Not even the worst hill. Overall, I kicked ass. Each week is a new accomplishment, and I feel like I'm breezing through them. But nine miles? Wow. I never thought I would want to run that far, and I did it. Working hard and training all week helped. Preparation and knowing it would be a tough course helped. Taking it all one hill at a time, I'm actually doing this.

54:42

Shaving more time off of my 5+ mile loop. I think two weeks of track helped! I've also given in to the fact that I'll accomplish more if I run in intervals - 8 minutes running, two minutes walking. I struggled with that because if I'm walking, I feel like I'm not really a "runner." For me to say that I've run a marathon, I have to run the whole thing, not walk every ten minutes or so. But I have to say, the run/walk makes the whole process easier. Studies have shown that walking intervals improve your overall pace and reduce injury. I ran my loop this morning in 5 less minutes than my first time, walking at specific intervals rather than trying to run the whole way. I'm still a runner though. And I'm going to run a marathon - and finish strong! I've never been a fast runner, so I don't think my time will be affected a whole lot by it.

Who knows, though. Maybe over the next few months I'll improve to the point where I can go 10/2 or 12/2. Or even run two miles, walk 2 minutes. For now, I'll stick to what's working.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - and for helping me get closer to my goal! You are all awesome. If you haven't had a chance to contribute yet, you can go to the website listed below to donate.

And if you have a story or any experiences you'd like to share about a loved one who has been affected by cancer, please feel free to post a comment!! Thanks again, Amy

http://www.active.com/donate/tntsdh/tntsdhALarson

Motivation

This has been a tough week to be motivated. Coming off a weekend in Vegas (where I ran 8 miles on Friday!) I was tired and didn't feel like doing much. I made myself go out Monday night, and my body revolted. My ankle hurt and I felt awful. Tuesday I thought I'd get a good workout in at the gym, but ended up not going. Last night I went to track and finally felt like I was getting into it again. That is until I pulled a groin muscle. I know that I have a shorter run on Saturday (only 5 miles), so I'm going to take it easy until then. Walk instead of run today and take tomorrow off.

It makes me nervous how easily unmotivated I can become. I got my schedule for the month of October on Monday, which didn't help. It was a bit intimidating (ok, a lot intimidating). I'll be running 11 miles by the end of the month, and trying to fit in as much as six miles at a time a couple of days a week. One run at time. That's the only way I think I'll get through it.

In the back of my mind there are two other motivating factors: one is purely selfish. Of course running my butt off is literally running my butt off. I've started to get comments on changes in my appearance, so losing weight is definitely motivating.

The other motivation is LLS and raising money for cancer research. I met one of our honored teammates last night who has battled cancer and is getting ready to run his second marathon. Trying to imagine what these people have gone through and the strength they have to keep going makes me realize how capable I am to accomplish this and to help. I have been inspired.

Track Workout

I felt like I was back in my college softball days last night. It was the first structured workout I'd had in nearly ten years (I can't believe it's been that long since I played college ball). I always get a little nervous with anticipation of having to run hard on demand - I think I'm afraid I won't be able to do it. Which is silly because even though it was hard work, I succeeded at finishing without stopping or complaining (or puking, which is always good). I had to channel the focus I had learned to develop in those 6am conditioning workouts in the Barn at SDSU. We ran one lap hard, one lap easy, eight times each (plus 4 laps cool down). The goal was to have our first and last hard laps be the same time. I was able to run each lap in the exact same time (about 2:10) except for the last one, which I ran in 2:05. I don't know why I get so worked up! But I focused on my breathing and my form, and that made the workout go by fast. Hopefully more of this will help me improve my speed.

I'm off to Vegas tonight and will be running 8 miles by myself tomorrow. Another good challenge!