Last time with the group was Wednesday night at Bayshore. Tapering, tapering, tapering. Easy 3 mile jog. Nothing to it. Kinda dark but exciting...this is the last group run before the big run. Wow.
Running with Coach Steve and Debbie. Hit the dark area. Sidewalk turns to driveway. Concrete turns to blacktop. I turn to talk with Steve. Debbie makes a slight misstep. Steve lurches toward Debbie to steady her. Debbie gets her balance. Debbie glides onto the blacktop like a gazelle. I sidestep like a lumbering bear. I step onto the blacktop. I topple like a house of cards. I drop to the blacktop and try to roll. I smack my forehead. I drag the top of my knee along the blactop. I slide on my forearm near my elbow. I roll my arm mysteriously and slide along the top of my forearm. I stop. Wait....I am in training. Try everything you are going to do in the half marathon during training. I don't need to fall during the half marathon. I get up. Steve says to wipe the blood on my forehead because it is about to go in my eye. I say no way until he takes a picture...I earned this for all my training.
I left bad mojo on the sidewalk because Marai comes up behind and trips in the same spot and twists her ankle.
Wow...maybe that was one training session too many.
Well I am okay and the bleeding has stopped. Judy has just landed at the airport from her business trip. I tell her about the fall and my battlescars. I am heading home when the flashes of white light start to flash in my right eye. Hmmm...concussion? Maybe I should have this checked out.
That was 8:00 PM. Got home from the hospital at 2:00 AM. Cat scan said I was okay and they couldn't find anything to stitch. Unproductive time spent and now I am pooped. Got some ointment to prevent infection.
We that is all behind me now. The event is Sunday.
Fly out with Judy and the team on Friday to Phoenix. Southwest makes a great announcement for the whole plane about us and our involvement with TnT and L&L Society. Wow we're celebrities.
Landed and met up with Jenn and then Frank Lisa and Miranda. Got a big van and headed for Flagstaff where we had rented a house for the week. Great run through Sedona and the Red Rocks. Beautiful!!
Back to Phoenix on Saturday to go to the Expo and get souvenirs, stuff, and our race packages. Met the team for shirt decoration and last minute instructions.
Short night sleep in the hotel and an early start with the team.
Bus ride to the starting area and met up with Jenn. Did not see Lisa but since she is going faster, she is in an earlier corral than Jenn and I.
We are jammed in with 1,000 half marathoners looking to go at our pace. There are a lot of slow folks here but all are really excited. We move forward every two minutes as another 1,000 move on. About an hour after the initial gun, we are off.
So incredibly exciting. The bands were terrific...the cheerers were terrific...the race watchers were terrific. Wow! Am I having fun.
We passed some, some passed us. Lots of purple jerseys of fellow TnT participants.
Frank got pictures from the van about the halfway mark. Judy got some near the end. Bea took our cameras out ahead and got some of us coming along.
The bridge from Scottsdale to Tempe was pretty and the night concert stand was being readied along the roadway. We are approaching mile 13. Down a narrowing chute as we approach the finish line. We are actually going to make it. I remembered Bill Conway's advice to enjoy the final yards....got time for some good pix. Cheered and displayed my honored teammates for all to see. What a great feeling. Crossed the line to the announcer's comments and learned that with the right preparation, mighty terrific results can be attained.
Team Daniel was united at the finish line and we celebrated, got pix and then went to join the rest of the family. Lots of hugs, cheers, and some stiffness.
After the post race festivities, it was off to the hotel for an icy cold tub to fend off the inflammation and an hour or so of power nap to get ready for the victory party.
Lots of fun and exuberance at the party as well as dancing. Roaring cheers for the results of the fund raising by TnT for this one event of over 3 Million Dollars.
The rest of the week was spent in enjoying Arizona's sights and the trip house with the hot tub and the trampoline. Note to self....13.1 miles is do-able with minimal distress to the body. 13.1 seconds on the trampoline nearly did me in.
Flew home on Friday and woke up on Saturday wondering what to do with all my extra time since I am not doing grueling distance runs to prepare for my first Half Marathon. I did however give some thought to another. Virginia Beach has another Rock and Roll Half Marathon in the summer which will net us our 26.2 mile pin to go with the 13.1 mile pin we have now. Well maybe another blog can be anticipated.
Three cheers to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for their great work. Three more to Team in Training for making such a successful program to support their work and to support all the athletes who Train, Endure, Achieve and Matter. Go Team!!
Three more for the great folks in Suncoast Chapter who were so supportive all the way along. Coach Steve, Mentor Marai, Aimee, Bill, Marianne, Robin, Sandy, Rick, Coach Bea and all the others who helped me through this very memorable process. Old and fat...a Clydesdale...but now I can add the title of Runner.
Also special thanks to my new friends who were out there both first time and alumni, Linda, Kelly, Joe, Phil, Eric, Tommy and all the rest for your great spirit and sharing this with me, you are a great group.
Lastly, my one more really big cheer for my inspiration, Janice...I hope you know how much you helped me on this and I know we will do more of this together.
I guess that is all for now....thanks to all those that made contributions on my behalf...You are all heroes....thanks from the bottom of my heart.
And thank you Judy for all your support.
Go Team!!!!!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Happy New Year
It is now January 6...6 plus 7 equals 13...our race will be over in one week. Wow! How the time has flown by but how much has been accomplished.
I am glad that I kept my early notes on my initial struggles to move my feet. I don't think I would really believe the amount of change and that I really kept to this. For a guy who has been able to drop out of almost every physical training endeavor with minimal excuses, I am thrilled to realize that this has gone on for nearly half a year.
I am a runner. I am not fast but I saw a sign the other day at a running store that said " Your easy run is probably longer than most people run in a whole week." I do believe that is true. And I can handle running and I enjoy it.
I have enjoyed my solo runs and my runs with the team and the runs with my daughters. Running has united the three of us in a way that adds a whole new dimension to our relationship. And that is so much better than sharing needles or smoking pot or doing shots to find something that we all can enjoy together. Thanks girls (Kiss Hug Kiss Hug)
This week brought winter to Tampa. Our Wednesday run was down at Bayshore again and it was cold. Hats mittens and sweatshirts on this bunch was a strange sight. We have mostly had 80+ weather and high humidity to deal with, even in our night runs. We all seemed to run faster and nobody seemed to want to hang around and chat afterward.
We did a tapering 5 miles but we did get to see each other and that was good.
Saturday was at the Upper Tampa Bay trail. Started at 7:00 AM and was nearest to home. I almost felt guilty sleeping in so late on a Saturday.
We did another 5 miles but this time the weather had softened to 40 degrees and that is race weather for us. 40 to start and 65 at the finish.
I ran behind Linda who has been a good pace runner as she is a bit faster than I. She was in good form Saturday though and I was catching up while she walked but then she started to run again and was pulling away. I decided she was out of reach so I walked for a short bit. I started my run again and I heard a voice from behind say "How am I going to catch you if you keep running like that?"
I turned and saw Janice behind me and I merely said "Don't worry, you''ll catch me soon enough." She did by mile 1 1/2 when I stopped for water. We ran together from then on. She had her pace set for walk 1 minute run 2. We had a good chat and a good workout. We were nearing the starting pavilion and knew we had to run in so we waited til we were the right distance out and got the run going. We hit the final turn and she had Rocky music on her MP3 player so we had a good pace going. Then I let the long legs loose and we busted for the finish. Finished to cheering and high fives for the last long run. Good feeling and lots of fun with the friendships I have developed along this path.
Joined the crowd (18 of us) at First Watch for breakfast and stories and laughs. A really nice way to finish.
One more Wednesday and we are off to Phoenix. WOW!
I look at the money that is being raised by TEAM DANIEL (and that includes the runners and the my major fund and moral supporter, Judy) and I feel very proud to be one of the Team. We don't often get a chance to make a difference in the lives of strangers. Fortunately for the whole Daniel bunch, we have mostly been spared the challenges that face Leukemia and Lymphoma patients daily. I am truly blessed for not having to have had to explain chemotherapy to my girls or grand daughter and tell them what they would soon have to go through to try to get better. But this does happen far too often. I know that we are providing some assistance to those patients and families with our efforts here.
Also I am so pleased with the response from friends and family and strangers who have opened their hearts and wallets to assist us in our fund-raising efforts. I can not say "Thanks" with enough enthusiasm to get my true feelings across.
Special thanks to Boss Ron, Sandy and Art and Janice for the recent donations. You guys are great and will be in my thoughts as I run next weekend.
Also Special thanks to Steve, Marai, Sandy, Bea, Aimee, Kris, Marianne, Robin, and Bill. You are all exceptionally special people and I am very happy to have met you all and your training and support have gotten me to this point in a healthy and positive way.
I guess that is all for now. May the best of results be received by the patients, may the researchers make HUGE strides this year, and TEAM and TRAINING continue with overwhelming results for the elimination of these terrible diseases.
GO TEAM
I am glad that I kept my early notes on my initial struggles to move my feet. I don't think I would really believe the amount of change and that I really kept to this. For a guy who has been able to drop out of almost every physical training endeavor with minimal excuses, I am thrilled to realize that this has gone on for nearly half a year.
I am a runner. I am not fast but I saw a sign the other day at a running store that said " Your easy run is probably longer than most people run in a whole week." I do believe that is true. And I can handle running and I enjoy it.
I have enjoyed my solo runs and my runs with the team and the runs with my daughters. Running has united the three of us in a way that adds a whole new dimension to our relationship. And that is so much better than sharing needles or smoking pot or doing shots to find something that we all can enjoy together. Thanks girls (Kiss Hug Kiss Hug)
This week brought winter to Tampa. Our Wednesday run was down at Bayshore again and it was cold. Hats mittens and sweatshirts on this bunch was a strange sight. We have mostly had 80+ weather and high humidity to deal with, even in our night runs. We all seemed to run faster and nobody seemed to want to hang around and chat afterward.
We did a tapering 5 miles but we did get to see each other and that was good.
Saturday was at the Upper Tampa Bay trail. Started at 7:00 AM and was nearest to home. I almost felt guilty sleeping in so late on a Saturday.
We did another 5 miles but this time the weather had softened to 40 degrees and that is race weather for us. 40 to start and 65 at the finish.
I ran behind Linda who has been a good pace runner as she is a bit faster than I. She was in good form Saturday though and I was catching up while she walked but then she started to run again and was pulling away. I decided she was out of reach so I walked for a short bit. I started my run again and I heard a voice from behind say "How am I going to catch you if you keep running like that?"
I turned and saw Janice behind me and I merely said "Don't worry, you''ll catch me soon enough." She did by mile 1 1/2 when I stopped for water. We ran together from then on. She had her pace set for walk 1 minute run 2. We had a good chat and a good workout. We were nearing the starting pavilion and knew we had to run in so we waited til we were the right distance out and got the run going. We hit the final turn and she had Rocky music on her MP3 player so we had a good pace going. Then I let the long legs loose and we busted for the finish. Finished to cheering and high fives for the last long run. Good feeling and lots of fun with the friendships I have developed along this path.
Joined the crowd (18 of us) at First Watch for breakfast and stories and laughs. A really nice way to finish.
One more Wednesday and we are off to Phoenix. WOW!
I look at the money that is being raised by TEAM DANIEL (and that includes the runners and the my major fund and moral supporter, Judy) and I feel very proud to be one of the Team. We don't often get a chance to make a difference in the lives of strangers. Fortunately for the whole Daniel bunch, we have mostly been spared the challenges that face Leukemia and Lymphoma patients daily. I am truly blessed for not having to have had to explain chemotherapy to my girls or grand daughter and tell them what they would soon have to go through to try to get better. But this does happen far too often. I know that we are providing some assistance to those patients and families with our efforts here.
Also I am so pleased with the response from friends and family and strangers who have opened their hearts and wallets to assist us in our fund-raising efforts. I can not say "Thanks" with enough enthusiasm to get my true feelings across.
Special thanks to Boss Ron, Sandy and Art and Janice for the recent donations. You guys are great and will be in my thoughts as I run next weekend.
Also Special thanks to Steve, Marai, Sandy, Bea, Aimee, Kris, Marianne, Robin, and Bill. You are all exceptionally special people and I am very happy to have met you all and your training and support have gotten me to this point in a healthy and positive way.
I guess that is all for now. May the best of results be received by the patients, may the researchers make HUGE strides this year, and TEAM and TRAINING continue with overwhelming results for the elimination of these terrible diseases.
GO TEAM
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