marathonipod

The marathonipod has seen me through some pretty tough hills

and some very lonely miles. When I have to run without

either having Emily by my side or with Em by my side, but both of us without the lung capacity to both run and talk, I turn to my marathonipod. This little purple number has seen me through some of my toughest moments. During training for marathon #1 there was a lot of speculation about ipods not being allowed in marathons and even leading to runners' disqualification. Luckily the Pig (and I am hoping Chicago) have not enforced this rule. There have been many a rough moment when a simple verse of "Stronger" from Kayne has pushed me up a hill. During training I try not to rely too heavily on my ipod as running motivation, but it is still a much welcome boost during the most painful of running times. The only drawback is in that month 9 of consecutive marathon training I am getting a little tired of the old song standbys. So I decided to go with a drastic approach. A playlist of only 11 songs, but all almost brand-new and really quality stuff.

The current list:

1. Chris Brown- Forever

2. Danity Cane- Damaged

3. Dierks Bentley- Sweet and Wild

4. Estelle (w/Kayne)- American Boy

5. Jason Mraz- I'm Yours

6. JoDee Messina- I'm Done

7. Jordin Sparks- One Step At A Time

8. Kayne- Stronger (old, but still AMAZING)

9. Miley Cyrus- 7 Things

10. Pink- Long Way To Happy

11. The Pussycat Dolls- When I Grow Up

I am loving the new list as it had a VERY large part in getting me through 18 miles on Saturday morning. Thanks to a fabulous JoDee concert on Saturday night with Katie (see tiny picture above) I now know about JD's most recent single, "I'm Done." The concert was amazing, the single is amazing and I cannot wait for the new JD cd to arrive (too bad it will be after the marathon). Any suggestions for the new and improved "short list" are appreciated!

Why I Do It...

"In just 59 days, more than 40,000 individuals will participate in one of the most prestigious marathons in the country: the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon will take place on Sunday, October 12th, on a 26.2 mile course that boasts the best of the city's historic buildings, renowned architecture, and the sights, sounds, and smells of 29 unique and culturally-diverse neighborhoods. In addition to its scenery, the marathon is known for its fast, flat course where its highest elevation is just 24 feet. Elite athletes and amateur runners flock to Chicago to generate personal, national, and world records.
The 2008 Team LUNGevity Chicago Marathon Team is pounding the pavement to raise money and funds for the nation's #1 cancer killer. Twenty-seven runners from five different states will run for lung cancer research on October 12th. More than 80% of these individuals have a personal connection to lung cancer and are running in honor or memory of a loved one who has battled this horrific disease.
Team LUNGevity is making its fifth appearance in the Chicago Marathon and was started in 2003 by a woman who lost her father to lung cancer. Over the past four years, the Chicago Marathon Team LUNGevity has raised over $143,000 for lung cancer research."

I received this email from Team Lungevity just a few days ago. I also reached my fundraising goal! Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated and to everyone who still plans to. Even though I have reached my initial goal, I would love to raise as much money as possible for lung cancer research. You can donate to either me, Emily or Casey by visiting our Team Lungevity donation sites (just click on our names to access the sites, aren't I techy).

Like father, like daughter?

Topsail, 2006.

Vacation All I Ever Needed

Oh sweet vacation bliss. The last week has been a little piece of HEAVEN for me. I am stealing MA*'s term "staycation" to describe my past week. I definitely knew I wanted to take a week off from work before the school year started, but I also knew I had no money saved for traveling funds and no one to travel with. So my staycation began.

It was a week free of work, blogging and 6am wake-up calls. But it meant more time for home improvement, running, OLYMPICS, and friends. I had an amazing week and hope it was enough to get me refreshed for the '08-'09 school year. This will be my 3rd year at Xavier and I am excited for it, but I always feel a bit anxious going in to a new year (some things never do change). While I don't start my new year with a sparkling backpack and never-used crayons, I do still have a tradition of a first day of school new outfit. One week until all the kids come back to campus, but my vacation week has helped me prepare.

I did some fun home improvement/repair. I FINALLY decorated the living room with some oh-so-pretty wall decals from IKEA. These little babies (in the goldy-bronze) appear to be growing on my living room walls. It only took me a year to decorate that final wall! I also FINALLY (you may notice a theme, me putting off all things domestic) replaced my broken toilet seat. For months it has been a bit of a slip and slide ride. One side was basically unscrewed and you could lose your center of gravity very quickly. Several a drunken houseguest almost flew off the toilet when the seat went swishing to the side. I was so excited to break out my toolkit and replace the offending toilet seat. Sadly, I could not unscrew one side. I had to admit defeat (hate that) and ask Casey to take care of things for me. He even offered to put on the new seat, but I HAD to do it myself. So, I have acquired another new skill, toilet seat installer, woohoo.

I also learned a hard lesson in the world of running. My all-time favorite post-run treat is... cole slaw. Gross, I know, but so satisfying. I have had many a post-run meal complete with this little side dish of delight. I learned that this should only be a POST-run meal. I made the unfortunate mistake of having cole slaw before a run. BAD IDEA. My entire 4 mile run it felt like my lungs were full of the slaw. Not a good feeling. I will be sticking with what I know works, and only indulge in the slaw AFTER I have finished the run. Also finally got back to a long run, 17 miles on Saturday. The first 14 were wonderful, dare I even say, fun, but the last 3 were torturous torture time. I finished the run, collapsed for hours and just hope I will feel stronger going into the 18 this Saturday.

And finally, another first for me. I went to my first church festival. St. Mary's in HP had their annual church festival this weekend. I had never been to one before, so my expectations were high. And I was not disappointed. Highlight of the night/my life was the Berry-Go-Round. I love strawberries and was soooo excited to know this gem exists. Obviously I will be renting one for my backyard for my next milestone party. Sadly I didn't have a camera to capture this amazing ride, but I found a picture to share.

Overall a great vacation. It might not have been as exciting as going to the beach. But my apartment is the cleanest it's ever been, I have watched enough Olympic coverage to be a serious job threat for Bob Costas (lay off the caffeine Bob), and I have four new X's on my running schedule.

Back to work, back to reality...

The Wild, Wild North?

Thursday night was the beginning of some serious country time. Kenny Chesney concert at Riverbend! Katie and Bill came down to go to the show with Em and I. We put on our boots and got ready for some serious stomping. The concert was amazing; complete with a beach tailgate (we found a sandbar in the parking lot), captivating drunken antics by those around us (people being escorted out in wheelchairs at 6pm, grown men sobbing, LOTS of air guitar). Once the concert was over it was on to a wilderness weekend at Lake Erie with my mom's family.

The family gathered at Sawmill Creek Lodge in Sandusky to celebrate my Papa's 80th birthday. Please note the pictures from the lodge: bearskins, teepees, antlers. Katie and I really settled into the wilderness lifestyle: sunning ourselves by the pool, drinking moonshine (vods and sprite), and battling with woodland creatures (lots of oversized bees around the pool area). It was a fun weekend with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. It isn't that often that we all get together, so even the wilderness aspect of the weekend wasn't that bad. I was happy to get back to the big city, Columbus, on Sunday night.

The wilderness didn't really lend itself to long runs. I missed my long run this weekend and I missed Tuesdays run due to some serious rainfall. Back in the Saucony's tonight for a 7 miler. 10 weeks until the marathon. I wish I could buy some go-go-gadget legs and just forget about all this training.