Las Vegas Half-Marathon 2:39

I'm back! I have piles of laundry and my legs are so tight and sore! The race was awesome, I actually preferred the course over Long Beach. In Long Beach there were huge stretches of beach, just sand and water, nothing to look at or hint at how much further. In Vegas I know all of the hotels so I could set mini goals and have a general idea of how far I have gone. I made one really big mistake... I drank WAY too much water trying to hydrate and had to wait in line for a porta potty on the course! My official chip time was 2:39 which really completely bums me out. I want to improve at each race, not get slower! I saw the clock as I came down the final 3 miles, and pushed hard to make time up. My lungs were burning, legs pumping, even my arms were screaming at me to stop. I threw all of my little self forward and just pushed chanting to myself "Pain is temporary, Pride is forever!" I was like freaking Mel Gibson or something... ok maybe not but I felt like I was flying down that last mile. Every time I thought I was there it was just a little further, then I saw volunteers throwing their arms up and I saw a cluster of bright yellow CTF shirts and my babies waving at me from the sides, and I crossed the finish line in what felt like a blur. I received my medal and took my finisher's photo, and met my family who gave me tons of love and hugs. My Dad had promised to quit smoking when I finished the race, so we crumbled up his last cigarette and took pictures with our patches: his nicorette and mine for muscle pain!

Pictures will be up soon, I have to wait for my Dad to send them, I don't have a camera right now!

Vegas baby yeah!

I have butterflies all through my stomach, I am hyped up and just want to get on the road! I have to wait for Paul of course. Only 2 days until race day in Las Vegas! Yeah baby! I love Vegas but since my parents live there we have become honorary locals, meaning we don't really go to the strip. I love South Pointe, and even some of the Station Casinos. Everything is cheaper and less pretentious. I doubt we will even do that this time. We'll get in late tonight and settle in. Tomorrow morning we will hopefully see Paul's Aunt Lori, then head to the Health Expo. Straight from the expo we'll have dinner at Planet Hollywood in Ceasar's Forum with CTF, then head straight home for sleep... because we are meeting the team at 4:30 in the morning!!! Race time is 6 am, I plan to finish the half in 2:30, but since the course has a slight incline and my wisdom teeth set me so far back I just want to at least make the same time I did in Long Beach, 2:35. After the race we'll grab lunch and head back home! Wish me luck and hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

So You Think You Can... Run?

Today I am procrastinating on getting to the gym! It sounds so enticing to lie around watching “So You Think You Can Dance” with a nice glass of wine. Whenever I am having a hard time getting motivated I just visit my Active.com donation page and read through all of the inspirational comments people have left me over the last few months. Some of the comments say what I am doing is amazing, but I in turn find the comments inspiring, and see strength in every person who supports me. I can’t just take a day off, because I have given my word in exchange for peoples’ donations, and I take that very seriously. So everyday I commit to training I have to put my all in it, not just for myself, but for everyone rallying behind me! On that note, I am off to Bally’s. Today I am running 5 miles on the treadmill at an easy pace, then doing strength training, and finishing with deep stretching. What are you up to today? You, yes, you! You do know it is not too late to run with me? You can go here and click to join my team at the top! You can do anything from walking a 5k to running a marathon! You can choose to raise funds for NF2 or just walk/run for moral support! The Long Beach marathon is on October 12, and I would love to see all of you at the finish line!

One Run at a Time...

Last night I did my first hill run. I used mapmyrun.com to map a solid run with a few hills, separated by flat stretches. I set out for my run with the intent of meeting Paul at the gym, working out, and riding back with him. Starting out everything went great, even my first hill was not so bad. Then I hit a stretch of flat ground with absolutely no shade for about a mile! As the hot summer sun beat down on my neck I was incredibly tempted to text Paul and give in… I even started walking instead of running. As I walked with my thoughts I realized walking and quitting are not options! I told myself just start running! I pushed through and ran the rest of the way, even after I realized I had passed the gym and had to backtrack a street! When I finally walked in to the crisp cold gym I felt wonderful, and instead of thinking of my next run I just allowed myself to be in that moment, proud of that one specific run. So that is how I will do it now, one run at a time, one step at a time. It really is true that endurance running is about your mentality more than anything else.

I woke up a bit stiff today, and I was lucky enough to go for a massage using a gift certificate from my good friend Clara! It was a full body relaxation massage, and I could literally feel the tension and doubts being released from my body as the girl worked. I glimpsed myself in the mirror as I redressed and realized I have developed a newfound sense of self. In the past my body has always let me down. I have always felt like my body is a traitor, and that my mind is trapped in this diseased vessel. With running I have developed more respect for what I am capable of, and have found a way to transcend those boundaries I had always assumed were impenetrable. I started this journey with the intent of raising funds for NF2 and running the Long Beach half-marathon, now I realize this is only the beginning…