My First Milestone…

Let’s see. I am so excited to say that I ran four miles last night. I was not sure if I could make it but I just put one foot in front of the other and kept going. And, I was able to convince/drag my friend Kari (www.KarilBrown.com) to come with me! She gave it her all out there running in her flip flops and house skirt to support me and my cause. It was not without its struggle, but we did make it. At least I was better prepared for the run this time around. I realized that marathon running in truly about endurance and having the energy to make it to the finish. Now historically I have always been a sprinter. I was right at home in a 100m , 200m, 100m high hurdle, or even the 400m hurdles but this was a whole new world. It is not about how fast you go it is really about having the strength to finish the race.

Now let’s talk about some of the little surprises that I found out along the way (in just four days of training). First and foremost shoes are the most important part of running. You have to make sure your feet are taken care of if you want them to carry you to the finish lines. Ladies I too love to get a pedicure but you must make sure they are getting trimmed as short as possible to avoid serious toe pain.  Also your shoes must be at least one or two sizes bigger than your normal size to allow your feet to swell. Let me tell you when I took off my sneaker my poor toes looked like little sausages.

The second thing that I learned is that food is your friend and your source of fuel. Now normally for a short run that only lasts a few seconds at best I would go on an empty stomach and eat afterward. This is not the case for distance running. I eat a nice dinner and filled up my water bottle and put it in the refrigerator an hour before my run.  I was so thankful to have that food while I was out there running.  It was almost like I could feel my body burning off my dinner while I was out there. Hmmm this does present an interesting question of exactly how much food do I need to eat before the marathon. Or perhaps I’ll just run with a turkey and cheese sandwich in each pocket. Oh don’t worry about gaining weight with all the food you need to eat for fuel. Trust me when I tell you my metabolism has never been faster. It gives a whole new meeting to in one end and out the other.

But, at the end of the day I felt really good after the run. I think I may have discovered the runners high.

Yvette

http://pages.teamintraining.org/snj/honolulu09/ylincoln

So it begins…..

So the training has begun. It is pretty scary to think that I am going to be able to walk/run 26.2 miles and not just pass out. But the journey started long before this race. I am participating in this marathon in honor of my sister. When I was ten years old she lost her battle with cancer. Although a different type of caner nonetheless it was still a fatal cancer. That is one of the most difficult memories of my childhood to look back on. She was a big sister to me and I now have far too few memories as time goes by. She died at the exact age I am now. And just thinking about this birthday coming made me a bit nervous. I could not imagine what she was going through or thinking about knowing that she was going to move on and leave us all behind. As a result she has become my motivation.

Saturday was my first day of training. I got up nice and early all excited about my run. I drove to the group Team In Training (www.teamintraining.org) site and met my team. They were the nicest group of people you ever want to meet. We talked about stretching, exercise, motivation and then the running started. I started off pretty strong and confident about my new endeavor. I hit the first milestone of one mile and was feeling pretty good. And then all of a sudden mile two hit and it felt like my lungs were about to explode. Perhaps I should have brought my inhaler considering I have asthma. So needless to say I did a combination of walking/running to complete the remainder of the distance. But I finished! The secret to finishing is to run out half the distance so it forces you to come back to your starting point to get home.

After the run I was a bit dizzy due to lack of food. Never try to distance run on an empty stomach. You need the energy to burn to keep you going. But after a bottle of water I was fine and felt pretty proud of myself. I had accomplished the first step to my goal. Stay tuned for more……..

Yvette

The secret to getting ahead is getting started.  Mark Twain

It’s Official!

 Hello World,

The count down has begun. It is offical we are running our first marathon on 12/13/09. We are running to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Their mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Stay turned as we travel this road to reach our gaol.

The Beginning..

So, along with my sister, I have decided to run a marathon in efforts to raise money for blood cancer research.  My inspiration comes from loved ones I have lost to cancer.  I lost someone really dear to me due to lack of knowledge and research of this particular cancer.  I truly believe in the mission of LLS (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) and that our efforts will help to save more lives and raise awareness.

I hope that through us sharing our experience with the world, more people will be motivated to give back where they can in life, whether it is by running a marathon, volunteering time, or donating funds.  It is important to help others as someone has helped you.

As Yvette, my first training was Saturday morning also, however, I must admit that I was not as prepared.  Just before walking out the door, I realized that my tennis shoes were at work!  Needless to say,  I almost called it a no go, but I decided that I would rather be a little tardy than to not show up.  I arrived shortly after the team started the 3 mile hike around the lake. 

I started off jogging but quickly realized I was getting ahead of myself, I still need to make it completely around the lake.  Therefore, I felt a walk-job routine was more suitable.  It took me about 40-45 minutes to complete the 3 miles.  My legs were tired but I felt empowered thinking…this is just the beginning…

Charlene