Team Mimi

before and after photos

2007-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Before:

After:

I think we look great for having just run 13 miles.

Next stop: the Asheville half in September...any takers? Amber? Anybody?

2 Hours 53 minutes

2007-01-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

We finished in 2 hours and 53 minutes. We got up at 2:45 in the morning and walked a mile to the start and than ran and did it, even with my fibula dislocating and Kara's blisters looking, well, really gross (we took pictures at 6 miles, at 10 miles and at the medical tent at the end). We finished and we didn't cry and it felt great in a painful crazy kind of way. Kara's mom, Peg, finished 3 hours and 32 minutes and she celebrated a birthday today. She is a grandmother and she did it.
Collectively we raised close to $12,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. How awesome is that?
All of the crazy travel plans (my husband and daughter are still not home as I type this due to weather issues in the Atlanta airport...is anyone shocked?), all the training, all the injuries we have encountered made it worth crossing that finish line.
Kara wants to run the Marine Corp in DC next October.
We'll see.

Pictures will be posted soon.

Some good PR

2006-12-31T07:52:00.000-08:00

Less than one week to race day!

I've been neglecting this site in the mad craziness of Christmas, but I have been managing to keep up my training (for the most part). Having a goal so soon after the holidays has really helped me stay in line. There are days when staying on the couch and playing another round of Princess Monopoly is the only thing I want to do, but that race isn't going to run itself!

I had my last "long run" on Christmas Eve. I ran ten miles and it really wans't bad at all. At this point, the running is the easy part. I've found a comfortable pace (slow, but comfortable), my knees and ankles feel good, my lungs are clear. Blisters are still a huge problem for me thanks to some wonky anatomical engineering south of my ankles. Cliff has been a great help in working with me to keep my feet healthy and last night, had the Dremel tool out to file down a rough spot in my running shoes. I'm about to give them a 4 mile test drive to see if the shoes feel better.

Speaking of shoes, I've been breaking-in a shiny new pair of Brooks Ariel sneaks which are the nicest sneakers I've ever owend. The lovely folks at PR Running spent a good half hour with me analyzing my gait and having me try 7 or 8 different shoes to see which ones gave me the best support. It was sort of strange running around the parking lot knowing someone was staring at me, but it helped me find the right shoes.

I've also been experimenting with Skin Lube. I can't figure out whether it's helping me to get fewer blisters or if it just reduces the feeling of heat associated with the blisters. Either way, I will be carrying some on race day to re-apply along the way.

Mags and I fly to Savannah on Tuesday to spend a few days with my dad and Gail before heading to Orlando on Thursday for some park-hopping fun with Arwen and her fam before the race! My mom, Marc, aunt and uncle will arrive sometime on Friday and we will all take to the course on Saturday morning with some of us walking, some running. Arwen and I are going to try to run the entire course together.

We'll post final info on our bib #'s here so you can follow our progress this weekend. Afterward, we'll be sure to post plenty of photos and write a long wrap-up.

Many thanks to all of you for you donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and for your support and encouragement.

Happy New Year!

Ouchy - Update - Not Quite That Bad These Days

2006-12-18T18:21:00.000-08:00

Saturday I ran to the Y, exercised on the elliptical for 3 miles and then ran 6 miles. I walked down hills. Asheville has quite a few hills so I walked a little more than I really wanted to. Disney has no hills (phew).
I did ok. I called Trey from half a mile away from the house and asked him to get ice ready but there was no fibula dislocation issue, there was no aerobic issue. It was good.
My knees were sore after but I think I will have to start building muscle around my knees after the race.

Ouchy

2006-12-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

I have a running problem. At 5-6 miles it appears I dislocate my fibula. It pops right back in but it hurts like a mofo. Not what I needed 3 weeks from the run.
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh

My Mix

2006-12-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

First everyone should know about Podrunner. He is the bomb. He makes one mixes at different speeds and they are fun.
Here is my running mix:
screenwriter's blues - soul coughing
rental car (remix) - beck
do you remember - jack johnson
Whine and Grine - The Beat
clampdown - the clash
the littlest birds - the be good tanyas
one more time - daft punk
hotel intro - moby
the rockafeller skank - fatboy slim
blank expression - the specials
here it goes again - OK Go
Out of the Sun - Joy Zipper
These arms of mine - otis redding
flagpole sitta - Magnificent tracers
don't stop - brazilian girls
A message to You Rudy - Specials
Mr Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) - The Killers
Train in Vain - The clash
Youth - Matishayu
Such Great heights - The Postal Service
You're wondering now - specials
Give It Away - RHCP
Body Moving - Beastie Boys
This Woman's Work - Kate Bush
Feel Good Ing - The Gorillaz
Pioneer Skies - The Chemical Brothers
Respect - otis Redding
Star Guitar - The Chemical Brothers
Mambo Sinuendo - Ry Cooder
Wish Coin (Diplo Remix) - Beck
I'll Be your Mirror - VU and Nico
Angel - Massive Attack
A New England - Billy Bragg
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Temperature Rising - Les Nubians
Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
Shake Em Down - North Mississippi Allstars

It slightly varies run time to walk time but each iteration is 10 minutes. I need to work on a few areas. I have Massive Attack to far down the list. They are great to run to.
Run Strong!

Training session

2006-12-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

So we all know Team Mimi is a remote training team. Arwen and I and basically train together online and over the phone. We call and chat several times each week to compare notes and talk about how we're faring on the road. The following is a rare glimpse inside one of our 'online training sessions':
Arwen: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6212080.stm my cat really is senile

me: ooh lulu was senile too, poor thing
Arwen: whoogs is so sweet but she has a remarkably vacant stare
me: lulu stared at things and then started peeing every time she was stressed which was pretty much any time someone outside the family entered the house or she heard a noise outside or she was just having an emo kind of day
Arwen: lol I loved Lulu
me: bless her -- she had ISSUES
Arwen: Whoogs doesn't do any of that, she just walks around the house at 3 in the morning caterwaulling it wakes Trey every time and he thinks Elizabeth is screaming
me: communicating with the spirits --i just ran 3 miles in 33 degree weather
Arwen: you don't sweat :) );
me: plus side: no sweaty head
Arwen: did you do galloway?
me: down side... when you finally go it it feels like the flesh is going to melt off your body- yeah i'm basically 8/2
Arwen: sweet that is where I am
me: and still managing about an 11 minute mile on a really hilly course
Arwen: on saturdays they make us do 1 mile and 1 minute (which is like 11 / 1) and it stinks
me: oh we won't be doing that
Arwen: I am between 11 & 12 when running 10 miles but that is with the evil 11 /1
me: no no no
Arwen: with 8 / 2 I can stay conversational
me: yay
Arwen: which is what we want me: i'm rebuilding the running mix as i type this... Arwen: cool ); me: i think i like the new one even better
Arwen: I will email you mine if you email me yours
me: btw- the song that killed the music on my ipod?
Arwen: heh heh yes
me: wind it up by gwen stefani which may be the best running song ever
Arwen: I think it is corny
me: dude- she sampled the lonely goatherd song and made it work... she deserves SOME credit Arwen: I agree
me: corny maybe, but infectious.
Arwen: but she is corny cobrastyle is infectious
me: in a campy way, not in a wayne newton kind of way
Arwen: if you ask Elizabeth what her style is she will tell \'my style is the bomb\'
me: can we put this conversation on the blog?
Arwen: yes me: we always say we're going to and then don't. okay then,so no swearing
Arwen: I can't access blogs but you can post it let's post our running mixes too
me: and nothing to offend our gentle readers okay!
Arwen: gentle right are we going to edit this
me: what? my typos aren't endearing? nah, let it rip
Arwen: i thought more about my swearing
me: no- everyone who knows you is well acquainted with your filthy mouth

*it was edited... just a little, but only to protect the innocent ;)

Good News All Around

2006-12-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

I have met my fundraising goal! Thank you, everyone, who has supported and reads the blog. I think Kara still needs some support so if you can find a couple of dollars to toss her way I would really appreciate it (as would she).
I ran 10 miles yesterday. Yesterday my knees hurt. They burned, they ached and I was sort of pathetic. I iced and elevated and vaccumed (don't ask) to try to work out the kinks. Today I have a little pain in my right foot but my knees feel better than they have in weeks. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I will go to yoga today and rest tomorrow. Yeah!
All the travel issues have been worked out. Things are shaping up down south. My friend Amber finished the Marine Corps marathon a few weeks ago and I want to post pix:

Here she is at the beginning (I hope I look this good at the beginning). Do you think she loks a bit cocky? Yep. That would be Amber.

This was about half way through. Great form. Here she is completing her first marathon. Congrats Amber, you did great!

The Vacation From Hell*

2006-11-22T05:41:00.000-08:00

*And it hasn't even started yet...

We are going to Disney to run our little hearts out and so far the have been errors in booking the room, airline cancelled flights, IT band injuries and the vacation is still 5 weeks away.

The injury still hurts so I am doing low impact work outs (blah) and not running (double blah). I will say I usually am not in pain until about mile 8 so hopefully I will be able to work through this issue.

I booked my room with Disney and everything seemed fine. I then got my reservation and it was for the wrong day. I am sure it was an error on the part of the booking agent because I told her the days we are flying (4th - 7th), I told her I was running half marathon on the 6th and I told her I am raising money for team in training to go run on the 6th. But the confirmation read the 7th-10th. So I called and they were sold out on the 5th but could get us in the 4th and the 6th.
Huh?
I took those and proceeded to cry, gnash my teeth and create a Mickey Mouse voodoo doll.
Trey and I spoke (he was amazed I didn't just tear them a new one over the phone). Kara and I talked (more gnashing of teeth) and I called them back. Finally they found a smaller room at the Saratoga for us. Fine, whatever, I need somewhere to sleep, that's all I care about. They finally found the room when I used this classic line 'Because of an error on your (sic. Disney's) part, my little five year old daughter won't have a magical experience.' We had a room within 5 minutes of me saying that. Total call time: 56 minutes. They have now double charged my room and I have to call back but I don't have the stamina.
Delta sent me an email to tell me our flight on the way back had been cancelled. Originally we would leave at 4:30 and get home at 7. Now we leave at 4:30 and get home at 11:30...on a school night. Not only does Delta kick nursing women off their planes, they change our flights mid-itinerary. Actually the flight that is a non-stop is being discontinued while we are travelling. We have a non-stop on the way down but not on the way home. So now we will be leaving at 3:30 and getting home at 9:30.
One good thing about all this: I called to book breakfast with the princesses.
It was sold out.
Elizabeth really wanted to eat in the castle but they are sold out. I have this vision of Trey feeling up the princesses as the walk by our table. I have to say, I was suprised that I called 2 months in advance and they were sold out on both the 5th and the 7th but I am fine with it. Really.

Tomorrow I run the Turkey Trot: its a 5 k fun race...I can't wait.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'll take inspiration anywhere I can find it

2006-11-13T06:08:00.000-08:00

ZOOT just finished a half marathon!!!!

Go girl! Click that link to real her training stories. Good stuff!

FYI

2006-11-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

I woke up at 5 this morning and could barely walk because my knees hurt so much. I had this in my cupboard because they are an old dear client of mine. I took 3 at 6, I took 3 at 11, I took 3 at 4. I can walk with no problems right now. I can't believe how effective this stuff is. I can't take alleve or ibuprofen because I react to them by getting severe ulcerative colitis. Tylenol isn't an anti-inflammatory. I was icing and stretching and that was about it. I am so happy about this stuff I am sending it to Kara for her X-mas present (I know she really wanted a puppy or a CD or a baby or something but she is getting this instead).

I am shamelessly endorsing a product and I don't even get a kick back. I need to work on that.

11/12/06, The Day I Fired My Sneakers

2006-11-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

I'm getting really tired of writing about my feet (and you poor people who actually come here to read about them have my sincerist apologies).

Today I was supposed to run eleven miles. It's pouring rain here so I dutifully hit the gym and was going strong until I stepped off to take a water break at mile 5. I felt that familiar "ketchup packet in my shoe" feeling and decided to remove my sneaker to check out the damage. I had irritated an old blister and started a new one in the same spot that has been inflamed since I started putting in legitimate mileage. I could have kept running, and I catually did for a little bit, but I noticed I was favoring my left foot and didn't want to create another injury by altering my gait.

I have flat feet and my feet keep rubbing the side of the insole where my arch shoud be. I had wanted to put off buying new shoes until December, but I think I'm going to go to the running store tomorrow. There's no sense in putting myself through any more pain if there's a better shoe for my feet out there!

On the fundraising front, I have over $300 in check pledges from my co-workers which will push me over the $2,000 mark (woo-hoo!) and my advisees and I are holding another bake sale so that should net us another $100 or so.

Speaking of work, I think my Team in Training coaches are worried about me. They keep inviting me to weekend runs and special weeknight symposia and nearly every one has been at a time when I'm working. I actually had one of them call me at work this week to ask why I haven't been attending training events. Few people outside of the prep school world actually understand what I do and the hours involved (the only people with harder hours work in hospitals). How do you say to a person, "this week is really busy, my students have exams and I have comments to write" and expect them to understand? I also explained that I'm running as part of a team and that my teammate lives in North Carolina and that we train together by phone, email, instant message, and this blog.

I'm planning to run the Feaster Five in Andover this year on Thanksgiving Day with my friend, David. It's a 5 mile course, mostly uphill, but it will be good training for the half marathon.

Those comments arent' going to write themselves, so it's back to work for me!

Ice Packs (I love Ice Packs)

2006-11-11T07:01:00.000-08:00

I broke through the 10 mile mental block this morning. I am now sitting with my legs elevated and ice packs on both knees but I did it.
I ran 10 miles at an 11 minute pace.
I did it.
Too tired to Yahoo! but, you know, yahoo!
I will be running my first race on Thanksgiving morning, it's a 5k here in Asheville called the Turkey trot. Trey will be joining me. My trainer wants me to know what a race feels like before Disney.
Hey Kara, Disney is in 8 weeks!
And did I mention I ran 10 miles this morning?

Neglect

2006-11-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

I have been seriously neglecting this blog and all 4 readers of the blog. But I have not been neglecting my running or my fundraising. My super fantastic family and my very fantastic co-workers have kicked down quite a bit so I have gotten really close to my fundraising goal. I do have a IT band injury so I haven't been running this week. I have been stretching and thinking about running. I have been visualizing running strong at 10 miles which sounds really corny but I have a mental block about running ten miles. It just seems so big, 10 miles is an unfathomable number to me so while I stretch I see myself running past a 10 mile marker and enjoying the run. I hope these visualization techniques aren't just goof ball antics on my part. I think they will help. I hope they will help. We have 9 weeks until the race. I will keep running after the race, I like running.

Recommited and it feel so good

2006-10-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

I just faxed my recommitment paperwork. I'm all in. No backsies. I feel today, like I felt on the day of my first ultrasound; this is real, there's no way out of this without some amount of pain and struggle. Mingled with the fear is a heavy dose of excitement and, already, a building sense of accomplishment. Today, I am 43% of my way to goal with a little over 5 weeks to go in fundraising.

A few weeks ago, while I was having some anxiety about this entire undertaking and, I heard a sermon in church that was perfectly timed. It wasn't about training for a race, it was aboout lessons the minister learned on the campaign trail, but it gave me encouragement. She said:

There are things we say to demonstrate grace under fire. They can seem
platitudinous or clichéd. But I have come to see the truth in the wisdom
imparted by parents and coaches to young athletes: It’s not whether you
win or lose, it’s how you play the game.
Winning is fun. I know; I have worked on winning campaigns. But I have worked on more losing efforts. Each campaign—like anything you put your heart and soul into—was worthwhile, even when we lost. Why? Because in the end, campaigns are about touching people’s lives, not just about winning. They are about wrestling with substantive issues and finding solutions to complex problems. They can be about relieving suffering and restoring hope. Working on a campaign for a candidate we believed in made us feel like we were part of something larger than ourselves—something important.
And feeling like you are part of something important is ennobling and strengthening. A colleague wrote to encourage me mid-summer, passing on words from his mentor. He wrote: most causes you will devote yourself to that are
truly worthwhile will probably feel like “lost causes.” But when we undertake an
endeavor with good intention and a good heart, that self-giving effort, however
tangential to the direction of history as a whole, is never truly “lost”. It
makes a contribution.
In his letters to the newly forming Christian communities of the first century, Paul often wrote advice about proper conduct:
(1Cor. 9:24) “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such as way as you may win it.”
But he adds in other letters this reminder: do it with joy. Think about undertaking a campaign—that is, any important endeavor in your life--the way you would play a sport: employing discipline and fair play, team work and excellence, commitment, loyalty, and a little style. There are extra points for good humor. And singing.
It matters how you play the game. Running a race is hard. Winning is fun. But it
is important to see that, often, the prize is in the running. So rejoice! Your
race is on!

29 degrees is cold for 1.2 miles

2006-10-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Blisters: 1 in my instep
Miles Run: 8+
Saturday was a cold morning in Asheville. We stated running at 7 and finished at 9. I did fine. Which is good becuase next weekend is a 10 mile run. Trey agreed to run with me. Why he wants to start running with me once I hit the 10 mile mark is a big fat mystery. He did marry me though so he may be a glutton for punishment.
I mostly ran by myself because I run really really slow. Some people actually walk faster than I run. I had my music going, I have actually time my music to our Galloway speeds so I know when to walk and when to run by which song is playing. It works for me. 29 degrees is cold. Cold Cold Cold Cold Cold. Until I started my first walk (at 1.2 miles). And then my extremities were awash with heat and I felt great.
I have been told by more than one person that the coldest marathon they ever ran was Disney. I think it is because we will be starting at 6:30 in the morning. Trey has already agreed to meet us at the finish line and not at the start since we have to be there by 6.
So I went to REI today to find non cotton socks. Kara's feet are freaking me out. Smart wool, which is my favorite hiking sock, has a running sock. I am going to run in them tomorrow night and let you know how they are. They advertise that they are BLISTER PROOF!
We'll see. I am skeptical.

High as a kite, I just might stop to check you out*

2006-10-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Blisters: 4
Miles run today: 7

After two weeks of less than all-out training (I was sick, I worked two weekends, and Cliff had a last minute trip to San Diego) I am back on track and feeling great. Better than great. I ran seven miles today and could have kept running. I wasn't winded, I wasn't even all that tired, but I was vaguely aware of the fire in my sneakers. My feet, once again are ripped to shreds. The gash on my right heel actually occured earlier today from a pair of my favorite shoes. My feet are always swollen. My "regular" shoes don't fit. I've been wearing mules at work but the weather's getting colder and I need to start wearing shoes that actually cover my feet. I don't want to go out and buy shoes that won't feet me when my feet aren't swollen (yes, I just made an argument against shoe shopping. I don't believe it either). Cliff says I need to start icing my feet after every workout. I'm more afraid of plunging my feet in a slush bath every day than wearing uncomfortable shoes at work. I'm a big baby.

*This is the only song I could think of that has thw word blister in it. I liked the last foot lyric reference better.

Math Time

2006-10-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Blood Donation + Running = Exhaustion
Calories in - Calories Out = weight loss (when calories in <>
(Calories in*ice cream sundaes) - Calories out = weight gain
sore knees + ice packs = relief
bad mood = bad workout
bad mood + blood donation = bad work out* exhaustion
sin(bad workout+blood donation) = depression
cos(bad work + blood donation) + motivational emails = improved workouts
Running + Disney = Vacation!

Fear and Loathing in Ashevegas

2006-10-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

OK, I have been a slacker. I should have been blogging but instead I have been working. I hate when work gets in the way of, well, anything. I am supposed to run 8 miles tomorrow. 8 MILES! Last weekend I ran 7.25 and it was great! and I felt great! And I got home and babbled to Trey. And then the endorphins faded and I felt like a heroin junkie.
I wanted more feel good running feeling but all I was feeling was sore.
I am so glad I never dabbled in heavy drugs like coke or heoin because me likey the big endorphin rush. Sunday there was no yoga. This week I have had crappy work outs. Tuesday I was exhausted and Wednesday I gave blood so Thursday I was still a little low energy.
Have I mentioned my mom had gobs of blood transfusions? She did but I gave blood before we ever knew she had leukemia. Most of our blood comes from the military and I think they give enough to our country. To me, it is a important civic duty. Almost noone I know gives blood and to me it is like religion, it is a very personal thing. I love when people give but I totally understand why they don't.
After yesterday's workout I actually called Kara yesterday crying because I was so scared about tomorrow. But the phones were weird and we didn't get a hold of each other and it was for the best because I am better now. But how the hell am I going to run 8 miles tomorrow when I struggled with two 4 miles runs during the week? How? Ugh! Why the hell did I sign up for this again?
Good news...both Kara and I have met our first recommitment goal (25% of the total fund raising goal). Thank you so such for all donations, please tell friends and family, the more the merrier.

Because we believe in truthiness

2006-10-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

S'morgasm and The Biggest Loser

2006-09-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm not just watching The Biggest Loser, I'm making these amazing gooey crunchy s'mores bars for the bake sale we're having tomorrow for LLS, and simultaneously, I'm NOT running, which is what I was doing at this time last week. This is day 3 with the head/ chest/ nose/ body ache blight of death and I haven't run since Sunday.

The Biggest Loser, oh my goodness- the red team just won the contest and got to open their care packages form home and one woman's autistic nephew gave her one of his attachment objects and Cliff and I turned into blubbering fools.

Once this batch of s'mogasms cools, I'm making another batch. Want some? Any donation over $50 gets you a box of your own. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Yummmmm.....Beeerrrrrr

2006-09-26T05:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a great run. Sunday we had to go pick up the rental car I drive to work before I went to yoga and ended up being 15 minutes late for the class. I am not late that often (because it drives me crazy) so I already felt bad and then there were no yoga mats lef twhen I entered the studio. That was a bummer too. And then I noticed that noone was doing a downward dog, or warrior poses, or a chaturanga (evil, evil chaturanga). Everyone was sitting, everyone was listening to the yoga instructor. She was talking about placing your nose in the right position. I stood at the back of the studio and stared.
I then put my shoes back on, went home and had a beer.
This was not a dream.

Five miles of fun!*

2006-09-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I completed my third week of training on the Galloway program which I capped with a five mile run. I am a bush league runner at best. I started running nearly two years ago, and before that my workouts of choice were swimming, yoga, pilates and the occasional three mile walk or spin on the elliptical. As my life became more and more full of work and transporting Mags to her 40 or 50 planned activities per week, my gym time started to shrink, and I started to expand. I needed to do SOMETHING to stay in shape that didn't take too much time. I knew that running would give me maximum return on my time.

I started running a mile at a time and ran my first 5K a year ago. For a year, I've been holding steady at 5K. It feels good, It's a distance I can maintain without too much effort. With Galloway's plan, I cross train (usually elliptical) three times per week, run twice, and then do the long run. Last week, I ran three miles, happy as can be, and on the 4th mile, I thought I was going to vomit, and then pass out. Today, I ran three miles and spent the last two miles remianing upright through sheer will. I actually talked myself through every minute of the last mile. When I finished my workout, I had serious doubts about whether I was going to be able to pull this off (my serious competitive nature wasn't even helping).

Imagine my relief when I was able to get together with my aunt Kathi this evening. Kathi is a mentor for the NH Seacoast Team in Training. She gave me a lot of encouragement about training (she's a seasoned marathoner) and about fundraising. It was exactly the boost I needed. She said that I'm building endurance and that I'll get to where I need to be as long as I keep up with my workouts. She and my uncle will be with us in Orlando. With all this support around me, I know I can do this. I can. I know I can.

* and by fun, I mean feeling like I'm going to barf, but then not barfing!

Cat Calls

2006-09-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

I went running yesterday with my team. I ran with a young woman named M. She is very athletic and very pretty. She has thick blond hair that she had pulled back into a ponytail. She's one of those people who looks good even when she is sweating buckets. She is also a leukemia survivor. She is also very funny and was wonderful to run with. M. and I were running up a hill (Asheville seems to have more uphills than down...at least it feels that way) and a guy in a big old truck drove by, honked and cat called (he actually whistled and waved). M. growled something about stupid moron ass***e. I said "maybe he is just trying to give us positive re-inforcement since we are raising money for LLS." She laughed and said 'you are an optimist.' She also pointed out that neither of us were wearing our Team in Training shirts so it may have been a stretch for him to know this. Well, more time passed and we were up to mile 5 and another car honked and waved but this time it was a woman with bleached blond hair in a cream colored Acura sedan. This time I said "Now she cat called."

Not the biggest, but a loser nonetheless

2006-09-21T05:14:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty dutiful about following Galloway's training program which calls for six workouts per week. This, so far, has been the toughest part of the whole thing. I have an unusual job, that few people really understand (I know these folks do, because they've done it). I work nights, I work weekends, I do some private consulting, and last night marked my 6th night of work in a row, and my 10th consecutive day of work. I have had to be creative and carve out little blocks of time to hit the gym. So far, I have been able to go late at night, after the Mags is asleep and Cliff is snoring away on the couch to whatever show he dozed off in front of (he leads a wild life).

Last night, I was programming my hour-long hill climb workout on the elliptical machine just as The Biggest Loser was starting. Have any of you watched this show? I had never seen it before, but with God as my witness, I will be watching every single episode from now on. This is some compelling stuff, human spirit, overcoming obstacles, blah, blah, blah... these people had the muscle tone of veal and there I was, working up a sweat, climbing that artificial hill, actually feeling GOOD about it in the process, while I watched the new recruits barfing their way through their first workout. Buoyed by a feeling of wicked superiority, I upped the resistance, once, twice, three times. By the end of the hour, walking felt like I had cinder blocks attached to my feet. And I liked it.

The Biggest Loser is my new must see t.v. for fall. What gives you inspiration at the gym?

Sob, Smile, Sigh

2006-09-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

So, things are a little challenging here at Team Mimi. My Uncle, younger brother of my mom, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and the severity of the situation is still unknown. So I am not really up for blogging right now. I am still running and fund raising but I am anxious about my uncle's situation. Today I received my first on line donation from an old friend, Josh, whom I haven't seen for 2.5 years and we are horrible about staying in touch. His comment was so sweet that I am posting that for everyone to read because it made me sob, smile and sigh. Thank you, Josh, for both the donation and reminding me of your boating excursion.

Josh wrote:
Count me in! In honor of your Mother, who showed me such kindness rescuing me from my fateful sailing debacle, and gave two young men, only one of whom she had ever met before, a ride from a small coastal town all the way to Boston.We had been sailing back from P-Town to Boston on my friend's sailboat, one which I thought he knew how to sail... We got caught in the tail end of a hurricane coming up the coast, and long story short, by luck ended up in a harbor instead of on the rocks. (The boat not having a radio we could use, nor any real navigation but a compass...) Needless to say, we were stranded in this small town, with no way to get back to the city. That is when I remembered that I had once met Arwen's Mom years earlier, who lived in the same town we had ended up in. I had to look up her number in the phone book. Write it off to youth's brashness, or the memory of a warm heart, but I gave her a call. In no time at all, she picked up two very wet (did I mention we couldn't get back in to the cabin after the boom broke...) men, and though I would have considered it the hight of kindness if she had brought us to the first town with a bus stop, insisted on taking us all the way home.We spend a great deal of our lives in our own little worlds, but that day, your Mother taught me a lesson about kindness that I will never forget, and can only hope to honor just a little here...So count me in for two young men, shown the grace of a warm and kind soul.Best of luck, I will look forward to checking back to see how you are doing :)

Kara's Toxic Feet

2006-09-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

Kara went swimming in a super fund site yesterday. I wonder about these crazy New Englanders sometimes (since I haven't lived in the south for the last 10 years I feel like I am no longer a northerner). We spoke on the phone yesterday afternoon because she had a question about the blog and she told me about her superfund feet. I didn't question her letting her child swim in the superfund site because I let my kid eat poptarts and I think it all kind of comes out in the wash (or at least in the therapy bill that we will get from them while they are in college). I didn't think much about it until I fell asleep and then I dreamed that we were running at Disney and part of the course was in a tunnel. But all the lights in the tunnel were out and if it hadn't been for her feet (which were actually glowing through her shoes) we would have been lost and we would have fallen in a sewer and drowned. I am thinking we may need to stick some of these on our bodies...just in case. Her feet may only glow in my dreams.
BTW - Kara, Noodle (who is 5) has decided that she and Baby Buffalo (who is 6) are going to have a baby together and live in your mom's apartment. They are going to have bunk beds and the baby will sleep in the other bedroom. Please let your mom know she can't sell that apartment...ever...per Noodle's directive. Oh, and she said we could come over for fireworks and ice cream and to bring their baby to the aquarium. And they are going have husbands too but later, like when they are grown ups. She wasn't sure where they would live.

I get excitement at your feet

2006-09-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

I have to share this very exciting thing about my feet which, because of the hour or so per day I spend on the habitrail, look like stewed tomatoes. Saturday night we went to see the WHO (Jason, I'll have you know they were very, very good) with my mom and Cliff. Maggie spent the night in Boston and when I went to collect her tpday, the 80 degree temp and sunshine got the better of me and I found myself on the Revere Beach Parkway. Mags and I parked and spent a little time on what will probably be the last beach day of the season with our feet in the water, the sun and smiles on our faces.Then I noticed my foot felt a little... funny. I looked down and noticed that the huge blister on the sole of my foot had opened and filled with ocean water and sand. Not just any sand, mind you... Revere Beach, Boston Harbor, toxic, superfund sand. And, not surprisingly, it didn't feel so great. So I sucked it up for a while and made my way home where Cliff did surgery on my foot (don't worry, he's a professional) , cleaned all the gunk out of it and discovered a blister within a blister. Ever watch those Discovery Channel shows where people have the twin living inside of them and they live their whole lives that way, until one day, they have pain, and they discover the twin has started growing or dying or something and then they show the surgery and it's totally gross, but you can't pull your eyes away? My foot is kinda like that, only with more sand. Enjoy your dinner.

Show Me Your Money

2006-09-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

How Crude...How Lude...But I have a monetary goal to reach. Please help me raise the money I promised for this run. Here is the link to donate on line. It is secure, it is safe, go. donate. please. This link is also on the left hand side of the screen so you can always click there to see how my fundraising goals are progressing.
I will be running 5 miles tomorrow. Strangely enough, I am looking forward to it. I downloaded new software for my iPod today and it has a stopwatch now so I can run following the Jeff Galloway plan for running while on the road. Wahoo!
I have mentioned Jeff Galloway a few times now and we posted a link to his style of training to the left. Here is the deal with Galloway: he believes that running and splitting up the the running with walking intervals reduces stress on muscles and joints so we will reduce potential injury by running some and walking some. Kara and I have had numerous discussions about how many minutes to walk and how many to run. We have also discussed how fast to run and how fast to walk. To train in parallel living 800 miles away is ~~IMPOSSIBLE~~ a challenge but we are doing it.
Please support us in our run. Kuddos are great, money is great, humor is great!
Go Team!

Chili's Leukemia Day

2006-09-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ann over at Roc Rebel Granny pointed out Chili's is having day where 100% of their profits go to St Jude's to benefit Leukemia Research and support. September 25th is the date.
Here is St Jude's website.
Here is the 'Create a Peppar' promotional website for the Chili's St Jude's charity.
It's a Monday night.
They have margaritas.
What else do you really need to know?

Why

2006-09-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Because watching a friend lose a parent is vivisection.

Because watching a mother cry because she's buried her baby evokes emotion I can not name.

Because when you're in high school, and you're with your best friend the morning she hears her dad is gone, you don't have the skills, or the experience to cope, so you skip school with her and smoke a pack of cigarettes.

Because when my knee hurts, or I'm tired and just want to stop or blow off my workout, or take a break... I remember that they couldn't take a break from being sick.

I run for Elizabeth, Arwen's mom, Noodle's Mimi, who took a beautiful heart, melodious voice, and gifted mind with her.

I run for Brailey, a former student at my school who didn't live to drive a car or apply to college.

I run for Andy, who left my friend Susan and her three siblings without a dad.

I run because I'm here, because I can.

Anticipation

2006-09-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

I ran Saturday. I ran 5.25 Miles with a team. I have mostly run by myself so it was a treat with a few exceptions. I am in the 'winter team'. The 'fall team' is at the height of their run, they are mostly women (Go Team!) training for the Nike Women's marathon in San Francisco in a few weeks. They are running 20 miles. I ran 5. I actually met them at the second loop of their run so they had already run 8 miles.
I.Could.Not.Keep.Up.
Fortunately I ran with a nice young woman who ran at my pace. Unfortuantely we ran so so slow that we lost the rest of the team and couldn't find the water stop. So we went to Port City Java (Go Port City Java!) and they gave us water.
And then we found some of our team and jogged back with them. That was nice.
I am running on a treadmill doing the Jeff Galloway training plan and it is actually going pretty well but I don't wear a watch so I can't time the amount of time I run and the amount of time I walk when I am road running. This is fixable. I am just lazy about it.
I ran again tonight on a treadmill (Sunday I did a Flow Yoga class and yesterday I rested). Tonight when I ran I realized what the hardest part of training (besides the sweating, the knee aches, and the funny red face I have for hours after I run): anticipation. Anticipating all these things. Anticipating the run is the horrible, anticipating the beginning of the run, the build up before the run, the intense desire to sleep instead of run. Then I get dressed and I start running. Once I start I struggle for about a mile and then I can deal. At two miles I finally find the balance in my breath and then I just sort of go for awhile. I have started a little chant when I start getting changed for my run:
I am doing this for my mother
I am doing this for my brother
I am doing this for my daughter
I am doing this for myself
and I repeat that over and over again until I no longer need to.
I have also learned that music helps get me in the mood to run. Here are my two songs so far that I know are good for me to listen to:
The Littlest Bird by the Be Good Tanyas
Here is the video for the littlest birds
One More Time by Daft Punk
Here is video for One More Time
Yes, I know, they are VERY different from eachother but Littlest Birds is my warm up. It reminds me of my cousin K8 and it is the sweetest song. And, to quote the song, the littlest birds sing the sweetest songs. It then the next song is a really silly dance song but I cannot help to get excited listening to it. After that I sort of listen to random songs that I need to get through each run/walk cycle. I think it would be really cool to put together a playlist that will make it so we can run on the street and run and walk timed to the music instead of a timer on a watch.
What do you think Kara?

Running for My Life

2006-08-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Kara and I had this silly idea that we should train to run a half marathon. What the hell were we thinking? First, it is going to be in Disney which will be fun for Baby Buffalo and Noodle (they are the best of long distance friends) and will be ~~freaking murder on the 2 of us~~ a great bonding moment for us. Secondly, we are going to be raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My mother died of Chronic Lymphocytic leukemia two years ago so I feel strongly about supporting this organization. Thirdly, my brother and I have a 10% greater chance of getting this same leukemia than someone whose parent hasn't had it. I am literally running for my life, and that of my brother and that of my daughter. Finally, I have always wanted to be able to run a marathon. I just think that is cool.
We are going to working with Team in Training. Soon this blog will be all fancy, there will be bells and whistles galore. There will even be a link that you can click to support us (we raise money individually so we both have our own link). But this blog is also like training for a 13.1 mile run. You start slow, with a mile, or maybe even a half mile (or in my case, a quarter mile). We are in week 1 of a 17 week training schedule. So this week you get a standard template and no bells or whistles. But you just wait, because soon this blog will be running a half marathon.