Week 13!

We’re going on week 13, wow! I’m improving and yesterday at track practice, my coaches presented me with a new pace card (3rd one so far)! So that means I’m now in a different pace group, finally! I’m getting closer to where I want to be running, which is awesome! But you know what else is awesome? The whole reason why I decided to join Team In Training again in the first place. To fundraise for such a great cause! It doesn’t hurt that even though it’s a lot of work (both for the training and fundraising) there’s nothing like feeling a huge sense of accomplishment. For myself, my teammates, and for anyone who is suffering (or has suffered) from blood cancer. We are all literally training and fundraising to help find a cure for all blood cancers ONE MILE AT A TIME.

This Saturday I’ll be running 13.5 miles and afterwards our team leaders will be hosting a brunch gathering to honor our team heroes and remind ourselves why we’re running and pushing our bodies in ways we didn’t know we could! Our coaches are also going to have a Marathon Strategy Session to review the pre-race checklist, learn all the details about our specific races, etc! Looking forward to that!

Please help me with my fundraising efforts! If 30 people donate $10 each, you can help me reach my February fundraising goal!! Thank you so much and GO TEAM! Click here for my fundraising page.

Week 11!

We’re going on our 11th week of training! Boy, last week was a crazy one for the husband and myself and included a car accident. Nobody was hurt, but our car is still in the shop. Last Saturday we decided to skip the group run and head to Garden of the Gods for a little bit of a change. I think we needed to spend some time together on the trails. We were out there for a while, first doing the 5k route (which challenges me to no end) then we headed to the trails and RAN LIKE KIDS!! We definitely got a serious workout, but it was loads of fun and recharged our batteries.

I have been feeling really sorry for myself with the training, even though I’ve been keeping up with it, but well pride gets the better of me sometimes. I haven’t forgotten why I joined Team In Training again, but running here IS STILL HARD FOR ME. I’m looking forward to running at sea level to hopefully fly like the wind because I sure am not running at my regular speed here. OK, enough of that! Track on Tuesday evening was really great and made me realize that I have been thinking about my progress all wrong. Nothing like doing some speedwork and plyometrics to get your mind in a better state.

Anyway, tomorrow we’ll be doing a timed 10k with an hour run after. So basically a 20k. The longest I’ve run since last year for my half marathon training. I’ll write a post probably after I’ve had some food and an ice bath! Go Team!

p.s. I’m really thankful to the wonderful people who have donated to my fundraising efforts! I appreciate it so much!

Denver Nuggets ticket info.

Click the image to see a larger size. For those of you in CO who like basketball, the password is “Kat” for the discount.

Week 9 update.

For our Saturday run, we met up right off the USAF entrance and ran on the Santa Fe trail. It started off cold and sunny but quickly warmed up and it was a great day for running. I ran the first 5k by myself, but the husband caught up with me and we ran in total of 9 miles together. It was nice to have him next to me, even though I do run slower than him, because long runs can be so lonely. I miss the larger TNT group my first season with the National Capital Area chapter only because there were always a lot of people on the trails. I haven’t run 9 miles in a long time and energy gels never tasted so good!

Fundraising has become slightly more difficult due to the fact that a lot of attention has turned to help the people of Haiti. That includes us too, it’s impossible for us to turn our backs and we donated as much as we could. I do hope to continue to raise much more money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, of course!! I have a long way to go still before reaching my total minimum goal! Go Team!

Pub Crawl.

More information coming soon!! (raffle prizes, etc) Since I don’t know many people in Colorado, PLEASE invite your friends or anyone who you think may be interested!! PLEASE pass this invite along if you can’t make it!! THANK YOU!!

Date:	Saturday, 20 February 2010
Time:	18:00 – 23:00
Location:	Phantom Brewing Company
Street:	2 East Pikes Peak Avenue
Town/City:	Colorado Springs, CO

Description

“The pub crawl is a charity event organized to benefit
the Colorado Springs – Rocky Mountain Chapter of the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society is an organization devoted to curing
leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and Myleoma, and
to improving the quality of life of patients and their
families. Every 4 minutes, someone learns they have a
blood cancer, and every 10 minutes someone dies from a
blood cancer. 100% of ticket sales will go directly to
benefit research or patient services through the local
chapter of the LLS, and will go toward research, patient
aid, advocacy, and public education programs.

Online Sales
Go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/rm/dhmomu10/kethingeo9
and donate a minimum of $20. On 02/20/10, when
you arrive at the first location, you’re already
“on the list”! (You will receive a printout of your donation.)

At the Door
If you haven’t gotten a ticket by the 20th, you can
just show up at the first location (Phantom Canyon)
and purchase a ticket.

What?
All participants in the pub crawl will get a ticket and lovely violet lei to identify you as a pub crawler. The ticket will allow you to take advantage of very special offers at each of our destinations along the way, including free drinks, free food, and severely discounted consumables.

where?
If you attend, we’ll be kicking off at 5:00 pm at Phantom Canyon, at the NE corner of Cascade and Pikes Peak. Because the bar will be offering a free beverage to us pubcrawlers, it may be in your best interest to show up early and miss the rush… you don’t wanna be left behind!

Some things to consider:
1) Wear comfortable shoes. We’ll be hoofin it from bar to bar, so ladies, unless your heels are made by nike, I’d leave them at home.
2) Don’t forget to bring some small bills. The serving staff at the bars and restaurants we visit will be busting their butts to get us our free or reduced priced goodies, so let’s not forget to show our appreciation.
3) We’re going to *try* to get a discount for pubcrawlers to take cabs. Either way, you’re going to need to figure out how you’re getting home.
4) If you need a free place to crash in the Springs area, we can try to work something out. Need to ask in advance, though!
5) Parking suggestion: The parking deck at the corner of Pikes Peak and Nevada is only $1. You’ll have to walk a bit further to the first destination (Phantom Canyon), but you’ll be right around the corner from the last one (Jack Quinn’s) and they don’t charge you extra or boot your car if you leave it overnight.”

A slight change in plans.

I’ve decided to drop the Moab, Utah half marathon out of my training and stick with the Nashville, Tennessee full marathon.  Mostly because I want to concentrate on training and fundraising for one specific event.  It sure sounded awesome when I signed up, but I have been ridiculously stressed out about it all lately. It shouldn’t be stressful, it should be fun!! I feel much better now and will continue to give my all to train and fundraise.  Thanks to everyone who has donated so far and please continue to cheer me on! This isn’t over yet!!

Two teammates of mine were talking about training for the Pikes Peak Ascent this year on our own.  Whoa, I think we’re crazy! But they have become good friends and I can’t think of better people to do that with! Stay tuned.  But for now, GO TEAM!!

“Barefoot” running.

Let me introduce to you one of two pairs of Vibram FiveFinger “shoes” that I own.  I bought them last year after being so disappointed with constant pains and issues.  I have always gone to running stores to get my gait analyzed, etc and get the “right” pair of shoes for my feet.  But even then I had some nagging pains and slight injuries.  I had gone to doctors and physical therapists and even tried a couple of different insoles.  Then a friend of mine introduced me to these.  I was quite skeptical about them only because it has been DRILLED in my head of the importance of proper cushioning for the feet.  I had known about barefoot running before, but these “shoes” made me feel as though that was more doable.

It takes time to build up strength in your feet and legs with these.  I only have worn them on short run days, but I’m hoping to be able to wear them for longer.  After I run in these, I get a different kind of ache… and that comes from conditioning the legs and feet in a different way.  I have the KSOs, which keeps stuff out, but I’m really looking forward to the release of the KSO Trek for women apparently sometime in Spring of 2010.  The mens version is already out and they are more rugged and will be better to run trails with them.   They’re a bit pricier than the regular FiveFingers, but the usual running shoes that I get tend to cost just as much anyway.

Before I tried them out, though, I did do a lot of research.  A lot of people seem them think they are weird… but most find them really interesting.  I love them and will try to incorporate them more in my training as I’ve been neglecting them.  If you do a search online about barefoot running, you’ll find a lot of interesting websites and articles by people who both do actual barefoot and VFF running.  I recommend them, but only because they have  beneficial to my running.  I hope that continues to be the case!

p.s. I’ve reached my January fundraising goal thanks to many generous friends.  Please go to my TNT Fundraising page to find out how you can help me reach my February goal! Every little bit helps!!

Happy New Year!!

I hope that everyone’s 2010 will be completely amazing and filled with love, good health, fun times, and prosperity! We started our day with our first race of the New Year and it was a challenging but I had a great time! I was pleasantly surprised with how many people showed up for it because, well, it’s New Years Day! We met up with a couple of our friends from our TNT group and that made it even more fun.

I’ve chosen my quote/mantra for how I’ll live my life this year.  It’s something that is more appealing to me than a resolution.  It’s from Amby Burfoot’s book “The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life.”  That’s one of the running related books that I like to read from time to time.  A lot of it applies to life in general anyway, as this quote does.  So go out there and kick some butt in 2010!! But always to remember to enjoy it along the way.

“Life is a marathon, not a sprint; pace yourself accordingly.”

~Amby Burfoot

A new year is coming.

I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season so far!  I took a bit of a break from blogging, but I didn’t take a break from training! I can’t say it’s getting easier, but it’s getting better.  I’m improving and that comes with not slacking off.  I’m serious about training and if getting faster and having more stamina come with that, awesome! Can you believe that 2009 is almost over? Well, I can’t.  It seems as though every year passes more quickly than the next.  I don’t have any big New Year’s Eve plans this year, but like last year I’ll be spending it with my husband.  On New Year’s Day, we’ll be running the Rescue Run which benefits the all volunteer El Paso County Search and Rescue.   I think it’s a great way to jumpstart 2010! I don’t do resolutions, but last year I decided to find a quote that will define my year and live by it.  I’ve found my quote for next year and  I’ll share it on New Year’s Day!

Meanwhile, I’ve just about reached my January goal of $735  but of course I’d love to continue to raise more.  I really would appreciate it if you donated or bought some of my prints for such a great cause! Every little bit helps, I can’t say that enough! Thank you, again, to those who have been so generous and supportive.  It means the world to me because I know how hard it is deciding to give when times are so uncertain and when there’s so much that we all need to take care of.  Thank you so much again!

My Fundraising Page

Also, if you’re in Colorado I’m part of a Denver Nuggets tickets Fundraiser.  $5 of each tickets sold go towards my fundraising efforts.  Make sure to use the password/promotion code “Kat” to get the discounted price.  Right now tickets for the first game are being offered, but I’ll put up information for the rest of the games soon! If you like basketball, this is a great opportunity! Check out the PDF flyer below for more information.

Leukemia&LymphomaSociety01-13-10

Running with no oxygen.

This morning we did a timed 5k to evaluate our speed and progress.  As usual, we arrived and did a warm up before doing our run on a nice trail.  Even though I’m sort of relieved that we aren’t doing those crazy hill repeats anymore, today’s run was still difficult.  My body felt great, but I struggled  to breathe since the air was so cold and dry.  Good news is that I did improve on my 5k time, but my time is still slower than what I usually run.  I can’t say enough that training here is seriously

a) humbling, which is good

b) making me grow a stronger backbone

It’s like starting all over again, but seeing even slight improvements melts all the fears and doubts away.  I’m really enjoying getting to know my teammates and our coaches and mentors are really super.  Also, my online photo fundraiser is doing well and I’m so thankful for that! I still have a lot of money to raise, though. Hoping to finalize dates for local fundraisers here too, which will help!

Next weekend we’re on our own with training, but a group of us are getting together to run anyway.  As usual, tomorrow is my Sunday recovery run and Tuesday is our track workout.  The rest of the week is some strength training and  my running mileage is going to start increasing.  Thanks for those who are rooting for me! Keep rooting, because I sure appreciate it when I’m out there struggling to breathe! People keep telling me that it will get better with time and I know that’s true, but well… I’m only human and can’t help getting frustrated!

Have a great weekend and Happy Holidays! To all my East Coast people, stay safe & warm in that big snow storm! Go Team!