gosh, the weeks are flying by, and it's time for an update again.

the first, exciting news is that i've started collecting donations for Team in Training. thank you, you awesome people who have already made contributions! all money goes to support research and treatments at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. my fundraising goal is $1400 - so far i'm collected $350, so i'm off to a good start but have a long way to go still.

this past sunday i ran in the Shamrock Shuffle, which is the largest 8k race in the country (in the world?). 30,000 runners swarmed into downtown chicago on sunday morning to run the race. my marathon coach had recommended that we do this race to get some experience with big races - like the chicago marathon, it starts and ends in grant park in downtown chicago, and it's HUGE. i'm glad i did the race for the experience with the crowds alone - i was pretty intimidated by the whole rigmarole - getting downtown on crowded sunday public transit, fighting the crowds for the gear check, the portapotty lines, getting into a starting corral, etc. now i feel much more confident about what i need to do and where i need to be when on marathon day for a stress-free start to the race. and i have months still to look forward to that!

i also felt pretty good about my race time. i ran the 8k in 43:29, averaging an 8:45 pace. not that long ago i was thinking of myself as a 10-minute miler, it's cool to realize that in my second season back to running i'm continuing to improve. and lately almost all of my "easy jogs" have been coming in around 9 or 9:30 in pace - i guess i'm actually getting stronger/faster.

the past 3 weeks i've been doing much better about hitting all or nearly all of my workouts. the weather has been easing up a bit, which helps - less time on the treadmill, more time out exploring (what pass for) nature (in chicago).

tag!

Ups and Downs - That's Life and Running

I'm inspired by reading Jen's posts. I'm reminded that all of us have challenges in life. We have ups and downs, but it is how we cope that really makes it an UP or a DOWN. I have had apparent phases in my life of extreme ups and extreme downs. I am now old enough and wise enough to recognize the onset of a downturn, and have developed skills to stop myself once in an arms-and-legs-flailing-as-I-skid-down-the-face-of-the-mountain fall. However, I am not always good enough to keep myself on track or pick myself up again once I have stumbled and stopped the downward slide. The metaphors between life's challenges and running have been explored extensively in literature and amongst running partners, but let's just say that running has become one of my greatest antidotes for curing "the downs" because I somehow have it in my head I'm always strong enough to finish the run, even when I'm not so sure I'm strong enough to cope with life's challenges. I will be putting that statement to the test over the next 7 months as I train and complete my first marathon. The challenge is really quite exciting.

It must be the season. I too have been challenged with trying to get out and run as I wait for the weather to break. I too have all the same excuse: work, personal life, weather... I did great for a week, getting in 6 workouts that week. Then I ignored the idea of running and going to the gym for a week. Now I'm back at it. The desire is to list all my excuses and all the going-ons of my life right now, but this week I've decided to toy with the idea of taking a positive approach to every excuse, complaint, and frustration. Skipping a whole lot of the details (I just hit the delete button) and focusing on the positive has made me realize and appreciate the amazing people in my life; my dearest husband, Shannon Brown, and Jen. My husband has a way of making me get out and do the things I love, when I'd rather stay curled-up in a dark corner. Shannon has become my personal life coach and counselor (which is not her profession), and boy what a weight that must be. Finally, I've recently had a dear friendship go through turmoil and it is currently not fairing well. I've let myself sleep at night by reminding myself that friendships do endure all, and that friends have a way of finding their way back into your life when you need that person most. Thanks Jen, for giving me the motivation to run and pursue what seems like a daunting (26.2 miles!!!) goal. (This is another one of those life-and-running metaphors.)

That being said, I'm home from work today (which is a gigantic story in and of itself), so I've got to get moving and take the dog out for a brisk jog in the present sunshine that has been rather allusive lately.

March already?!?

Yup, March already. This week marked my return to the full training schedule - I've been slacking, depressed by the winter, traveling, working too much - all good excuses, but excuses nonetheless. Anyway, this week I managed to hit all my planned workouts. Next week we'll work on getting that whole healthy-eating thing back on track (as I type I'm enjoying a post-run chocolate milkshake, so obviously, something's gotta change :)

It helped that the first signs of spring weather turned up in Chicago late this week. My marathon training group meets at the lakefront path at 8am on Saturdays, and the past few weeks, just getting out of our cars and not slipping on the ice has seemed like an endurance sport. Today the sun was shining and most of the snow had melted away, and the lake was blue blue blue, and I remembered why I like running out of doors so much - even in a city like Chicago, it makes me feel more connected to nature, just seeing the sun rise, the way the clouds recede over the lake, the color the water - very restorative.

Also, another great motivator is that this week I got my first TNT donation! Thank you very much to my brother and sister-in-law for their generous support. It was one thing when I had forked over my $50 registration fee and made it out to a few group runs, and I was pretty darn sure I was gonna do this marathon thing. Now, well, now I'm committed. And I'm really excited about that.

What's new in your world?