Pre-race pic

Post Race pic

GOAL ACCOMPLISHED!!  Ron and I have officially run the longest distance in our training season.  We finished the 26.2 miles in 4hours 17min.  I will update in depth later but we are just returning home and the goal for the rest of the day is do to the bare min to survive.  We are both hobbling around.  Thankfully Ron is recovery from his post race dehydration, something he seems to be plagued with after any long exertion.   More updating later, I am headed to the couch!

THE BIG SURPRISE WAS SEEING DOUG AND ROBYN ON THE COURSE CHEERING AND SCREAMING  FOR RON AND I.  They had driven 19 hours to cheer us on!!!-WHAT GREAT INCENTIVE TO ADD TO OUR MOTIVATION!

THE TIME HAS COME

Last night my parents arrived in town to help take care of the kids while Ron and I embark on our last leg of our Marathon training-THE RACE! I can't believe that it is Nov and the race is Sun. It seemed so far off so long ago and now that it is here staring us in the face it is almost unreal. To think back to all the places we have run, from CA to MI seems ages ago. From running in sweltering heat and setting sun to running in the freezing cold under the morning blanket of star's the memories are many. Tonight we say goodbye to our Tulsa running partners-they feel pretty good as they have their marathon accomplishment under their belt, completed three weeks ago. The morning looks cold but should be perfect running weather once we get warmed up. All race essentials are going on the plane with us-don't want to arrive without our running shoes! We are both ready, it seems to hit me in waves the amount of time we have dedicated to training and this race. All the time and effort are well worth it, not just the memories and friendships strengthened but most of all being able to help in the fight against the Leukemia as added a much greater dimension to the whole experience. Seeing the determination and strength in little one's so small only make us want to work that much harder. Our friends who are on this real life journey of battling leukemia are forever the real champions in the race. For all the complaining and seemingly tough times of training it pales in contrast to the rough times Katherine has pushed through and is able to just shine. Thanks again, to all, for your support and your prayers.
I close with the encouraging words Brayden told me as I tucked him in tonight. I don't know how slow he must think I run or how long he thinks this race is but his concern was that I was not going to be back in time for Christmas and his Birthday. I know I can make it before both, and really just seeming the smiles on their faces when we return is reward enough!
http://www.rnrsa.com/home.html

LAST SAT RUN

I can hardly believe that this is our last Sat run. It seems like just yesterday that I was saying I can't believe I am training for a marathon way off in NOV! The time has come and we are both excited to go and hopefully accomplish the goal of a 26mile completion. I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband who has trained with me through out the entire past 6 months. Ron's parents are in town for a visit so Ron and I were able to run the sat long run together. While we were out we were passed by many fast men out doing some pretty hard/fast runs. Ron has been great running/training with me and continues to assure me that he will be by my side through-out the race this coming Sun. I know that he could be training a lot harder and faster and could be out there with those guys but having him by my side means the world. Anyway, we continue out taper, which feels wonderful and continues to make me a little nervous at the same time. Last week the longest we ran was 6miles and on Sat we completed 10miles...lowest mileage in a LONG TIME. This week I think the longest we run will be 4...I hardly even remember by 4mile route! So this week stats: 10.03Miles, 8:56pace, turnpike/hills.
We are ready for this coming Sunday and look forward to heading out. Not only have we accomplished our training schedule I have also reached my fundraising goal plus some! I never thought that I would be able to raise the amount of money with such ease. To all friends and family who gave and continue to pray and cheer us on we both thank you! The support means so much to us and to be able to support such a great cause that is close to our hearts we thank you. Every day we see the results of cancer research as Katherine continues to thrive in the face of this disease.
If any of you are interested in following us as we race you can get updates as we run by following this link http://www.rnrsa.com/. Our race numbers are 7071-Beth and 7103 for Ron. Thanks again for all your support!

THE END IS IN SIGHT!!!

The motivation for running this past week was the thought that this was my last week of having to do full mileage. I have been running in the morning as by the evening my motivation for getting out and running is non-existent. I actually have enjoyed the quiet, cool mornings...a nice change from the blazing hot sun this summer. I have seen the sun set, the sun rise, felt the bite of cold winter air in my chest and endured the sweltering Tulsa heat. The time has come to get this race done! I think that we are ready, although it makes me nervous to start a taper as mentally I feel as though I am not putting in enough mileage to sustain me to the marathon. Ron assures me that thats not the case.
Okay, so after completing the weekly runs of 6, 8 and 6 miles we finished up on Sat with 15miles. Perfect running conditions, I ran by myself but ran into my training partner about midway which helped keep me going. I managed to run 15.2M at an 8:44pace, no hills. Ron ran 14M at an 8:50pace-hills.
Our training partners completed their race this past Sun and had lots of tips to pass along. I believe that Ron and I have to have a solid agreement on how we plan to run and what we plan to do with any obstacles we might face as things don't always go according to plan. It was good to talk with them but also a little scary to here their thoughts and frustrations through-out their race. Well, on to another week-one with less miles, the days seem to just fly by as Nov 16 quickly approaches.

TULSA RUN

Just a quick update. This week was one where I felt low on energy and it continued on to the Tulsa Run. Unfortunately I felt at the top of my game one week ago and seemed to have crashed after last Sat. Anyway, Ron and I both did the Tulsa Run this morning. It was terribly cold and even though it started at 9am I still ran with a long sleeve shirt. The course was a little different this year and it seemed full of endless hills. I could tell that I have been focusing on just getting the miles in and not speed work because the 15km seemed endless. The conclusion of the morning was that when running the marathon I will not be racing, I am going to just run at my comfortable pace and feel good about running! We both ran the 15km. I finished 35th in my age category out of 281. My time was 1hour and 16min, around 8:15M/M. Ron finished 37th in his age category our of 227 with a time of 1hour 9 min, around 7:28M/M. It was actually a very good run, I think we both thought we could run faster because of all the running we have been doing. I missed having family on the course as no one was in town this year to participate or watch. Even the kids were left at home-I missed seeing and hearing their positive words of encouragement at the conclusion of the race.
The Marathon is coming up! My running partners are completing their marathon tomorrow in Washington DC-they are going to have a wonderful run. It is crazy to think back to the weeks during the blazing hot summer where we were meeting three times a week working intensely on speed and distance. The training had definitely paid off and I am so glad they spent the time figuring out our training schedule.

SOLO RUN

This morning it was just me, myself and I out running. Ron decided to do his long run on Sun. I ran with the TNT group but with everyone at different distances and paces I just headed out alone. It actually was not that bad, the path was fairly busy and most runners are pretty friendly, making the miles past pretty quickly. It was a very cold start to the day, in the fifties-but perfect by the time I was finished. I wore shorts but had a long sleeve shirt on-first long run of the season with a long sleeve shirt, hard to believe just a month ago I was still sweating it out in the Tulsa heat. Anyway, I ran a total of 15miles, a total time of 2 hours 12 mins at a pace of 8:45. I think the cooler temps kept me moving! Hard to believe that we ran 22miles last Sat....seems a LOONG time ago. On to another week.

WHAT A WEEK

Today was the last 20mile run before our Marathon in Nov. It was just Ron and I running, after talking to the sitter, dropping off our drinks along the route and a quick bathroom stop we hit the pavement by 7am. We ran a new course, still along the river but different enough that it didn't seem so long. We basically ran three loops, each starting and ending at the car. It worked great and it was much easier mentally breaking up the miles. These are our stats according to the Garmin, my new i-pod sensor didn't calibrate too well and was not up to par-frustrating! (It would be nice if you didn't need to buy a new one after your old one dies!)

TOTAL DISTANCE: 22.2 Miles
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 3 hours and 27 min
AVERAGE PACE: 9:19M/M
TOTAL TIME FROM START TO FINISH (including water breaks and having to move the car)
3 hours 45 mins

The best news of the day is that Ron is feeling great and informed me that his legs were not even that sore. I on the other hand feel like my hips have rusted in place. Thankfully Ron is paying me back for being sick last run and took the kids for a nice long bike-ride this afternoon. I am so glad to have this run done, our neighbors have their marathon in two weeks and are in their taper...I am little jealous as the weekly training has been exhausting. These are my weekly totals for this week-including today

WEEKLY TOTAL: 42.9 miles
AVERAGE PACE: 9M/M
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 6hours and 28 min
CALORIES BURNED: 6000cal (equivalent to 2LBS OF FAT!!)-which I have replaced with my new favorite munchie cinnamon sweet potato chips!