One Lazy Week

So it has been a long week of babying my injured IT band and honestly I am extremely tired of it. Resting it, massaging with a foam roller (which hurts A LOT by the way) and stretching it out are starting to become despised activities in my daily routine.

I just want to run. I want to put on my running shoes, pop in my headphones and head out the door. That should be as easy as it sounds. Unfortunately after a full week off of running my IT band is not completely healed yet. Every night I hope to wake up feeling good and ready to run but instead find myself in pain. Today has been the best day yet. I haven't had to limp around and I really feel like it is getting better. I even did a leg workout at the gym just to remind those muscles that I haven't forgotten about them! They do have to carry me for 13.1 miles in just 17 days from today!!

I am very hopeful that tomorrow will be the day that I can run again. Hopefully I will be able to put this injury behind me and move forward. I do not have much time left to get in the amount of training that I had wanted before my race but I know that I can do it. I am determined to run and finish this race, hopefully comfortably (reasonably so anyway) and without pain but I will complete it no matter what. I may have to adjust my pace expectations and go easy a little easier on myself but I will be there, ready to run  and excited to cross the finish line. My heart will motivate my legs to continue.

And just for fun...

23 Days To Go

Time goes by so, so quickly! There are only 23 more days until the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon or if you think about it like I do, 2 more long training runs and a taper week. I felt like this was a good time to update you all on my training progress. I have been running around 20-30 miles per week with one long run on Wednesdays. I have been adding on between 1-2 miles to my long run each week and Wednesday before last I was up to 10.3 miles. Not quite half marathon distance but I was feeling a little more confident! Yesterday was a little bit of a setback. I had been suffering from Illiotibial Band Syndrome , or IT band syndrome, for a few days and should have known better than to go for a long run. If you are lucky enough never have experienced this it is a very irritating and painful injury and is really good at halting your training run efforts. Because of this my long run yesterday only amounted to (a very uncomfortable and at the end downright painful) 8.25 miles. I should have rested but I am not always good at doing what I should do. I paid for it with an evening of excruciating pain any time I had to walk (hobble) anywhere in my house. Fortunately I have very understanding and supportive guys in my house. Bryce did the laundry for me so I didn't have to go up and down the stairs and Trav helped me massage out some of the tension that had built up in my leg and hip. I am lucky to have them! Today after using the foam roller to massage it and stretching it as much as possible I am feeling almost normal...will definitely be taking at least another day off to help it heal properly!

During my last long run (not yesterday's catastrophe) I was thinking about how training for a half marathon is so much more than just physical training. The mental training is just as important and on race day might prove to be even more important than the strength and endurance of my body. During every run, and numerous times during my long runs, I start to question what I have gotten myself into. Why am I out here exhausted, aching, sweaty, hot and thirsty but still running? This is when my mental strength gets a workout. This is where I remind myself what I am doing and why. For me Running For Tish is all about living life to the fullest, pushing myself to the limit and feeling alive. Tish taught me how precious life is and how short it can be. She taught me to keep my loved ones close and remind them how special and important they are to me. She also taught me to keep going, push forward and just keep running. I believe that it would be hard to find a moment that you feel more alive than you do at about 7 miles into a long run. Your sweating, aching body is questioning your sanity and wondering if you are serious about running "a few more miles". You feel every breeze and smell the world around you with intensity. This is usually wonderful as the most common smells during my runs are the ocean or the rain (I do love the northwest). Occasionally this can be not so wonderful like when you run by a group of smokers or have a giant truck drive past leaving behind a not so awesome trail of exhaust. It is a good feeling to know that you can (and will) keep running. The best part of any run is finishing. The sense accomplishment (paired with all of those endorphins you released) is a very wonderful thing and is often the drive to keep running or to get out there the next day and do it all over again! If you just keep going you will make it to the end of your run and enjoy your own little celebration of accomplishment. Often on long runs Dory from Finding Nemo pops into my head and repeats "just keep swimming, just keep swimming", I don't know why but it seems appropriate and motivating while I am struggling through the longer runs.

One other thing that I would like to mention is that two of my very favorite ladies have signed up and are training for the Bellingham Bay 5k. Jo who would be my Aunt in law and Kristy who would be my sister in law if of course Trav and I were married. That is a whole different story and all that matters is that they are family and I love my family! It will be Kristy's first 5k ever and I am very excited for her! I was lucky enough to run Jo's first 5k with her a couple years ago and am super excited that she is making a running comeback!! They have been running and training and are going to rock the 5k! Bryce will be running with them as well. He is very excited! I am proud to add them to the Running For Tish roster!

Jo (left) and Kristy (right) 

Jo and I after her first 5k in 2010

Bryce after finishing a run

A Trail Half Marathon!

After raising $400 for Relay For Life I began searching for another half marathon to sign up for. I was seriously considering the Seattle Half Marathon but the starting time for it is 7:30 a.m.! That would mean I would have to wake up before 5, drive and hour and a half and then find the energy to run...no thanks. After some more searching I found a race that caught my attention. It was the Lake Padden Trail Half. Trail running has always been something I knew I would like to try but never have. After considering the pros and cons of signing up for a race like this I decided that it is definitely something that I can do and I will gain a new running perspective.

I am now signed up for my very first trail half marathon! Lake Padden is located just outside of Bellingham, Washington which is very close to where I live. This will make arriving there awake and ready rather than exhausted much easier! I am excited to train for it and to gain new running experience! The race is on October 19th which is about 3 weeks after my Bellingham Bay Half Marathon. This will be perfect timing as I will have enough time to recover and not enough time to lose all the hard work put in while training for it!

I am proud to say that my Relay for Life team raised over $7,000! Our final total will be higher as there are some employers that haven't put in their matching funds yet! People can also still donate to our 2013 team up until the end of august. Feel free to donate and make me run! $200 more and I will sign up for a third half marathon!

I want to thank all of my donors and supporters! Because of you we were able to help current and future cancer patients. We helped to give hope to those who need it more that anything and that is something you should all be proud of!

Four Miles

After a few weeks of getting back into the swing of running I am really kicking myself for taking such a long break from it! I have been trying to add more miles into my runs but so far my legs really don't feel like doing more than four miles. Running is hard but it is SO much harder after taking time off from it! It is starting to feel comforatable again aside from a pretty irritating injury. Out of nowhere an area the size of a quarter on the side of my calf hurts. A LOT. It is a strange hurt though, it seems to be seriously offended with running. The rest of the time it just quietly complains. Today during my 4 mile run it was the worst that it has been. I had planned on running six miles but four was the most that the injury would allow. The last mile was more of a "hobble run" than anything else. So compression sleeve, ice and epsom salt baths will definitely be in my near future! Hopefully I will get in a few more runs this week before Relay For Life and hopefully I will be able to add on some miles! Four is not very close to 13.1...definitely have my work cut out for me!

Please donate and support me in Running For Tish.

Running For Tish~ Bellingham Bay Half Marathon

I would like to take a minute to thank all of the people who have generously made a donation to Running For Tish~ Relay For Life fundraiser! I am happy to say that because of you I have been able to raise $265 in honor of Tish, for a cause that is so important and close to my heart.

Because I made it to the $200 mark I signed up for a half marathon just as I said I would! I spent quite a while going over all of the local (and some not so local) half marathons that take place between now and the end of September. It is harder than you would think to find a race that is appealing and works with your schedule!! I finally settled on the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon which takes place September 29th in Bellingham, Washington. I chose this race because of its location. I live less than an hour from here and Tish lived less than five minutes away. As I am running for her it seemed like an easy choice to run in her city. For the last month or so I have only been running about five miles a week so the idea of running 13.1 is a little scary. I have gotten in a few runs this week and am excited to start adding more and more miles as I train. I will get stronger and faster and I will be ready to take on the half marathon! I will run for Tish.

Running For Tish

Donate to Relay For Life!

Tish Hurst was wonderful mother of three beautiful young girls, a cherished daughter, a very loved little sister and a great friend to so many people who loved her very much. Tish was an amazing woman with strength that was inspiring. She was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer in 2011. Less than a year later it had spread to her lungs. We as a family came together with such hope and love that it seemed pretty impossible for her to not survive. We joined the Whatcom County Relay For Life and created the team We Fight Cancer Together or WFCT. On July 13, 2012 our team walked all night long and raised over $10,000. After Relay For Life Tish continued to fight her cancer but it was just to aggressive. Despite all of the Chemotherapy and other available treatments her cancer continued to grow and spread. When she ran out of other options she participated in a clinical trial. We never lost hope. She was such a big part of our family. She was so important to us, there was no way we could lose her. In April 2013 it became apparent that the clinical trial was not working. Instead of shrinking her tumors were growing and spreading. Because of this she could no longer be a participant in the clinical trial. Despite all of this she planned a family Disneyland trip. Like I said, she was pretty amazing. 

Right before this trip her tumors were making it difficult for her to breathe. She had to bring oxygen tanks with her to help everywhere she went. This didn't stop her from enjoying her vacation. She created moments and memories that we will cherish forever. Soon after returning from this trip her breathing became more difficult and soon she was in a hospice. We lost her on May 3, 2013. We will miss her forever. We hurt because there is a hole in our family. We will keep her in our hearts and remember her forever.

In February I ran my first half marathon. Tish commented on one of my Facebook posts. I recently started really thinking about what she had said.

My first thought after reading her comment was -what a great idea. I already run and I want to raise money to help find a cure for cancer. My second thought was- I have no idea how to make that work. Almost three months have gone by and I keep coming back to that comment. So I have decided to try and make that work for her.

Click here to make your tax deductible donation!

Over the past few months when I was running and was tired, out of breath and wanting to quit, I thought of Tish. She has inspired me to be better, to enjoy my ability to be exhausted and to enjoy every moment no matter what. When I feel like quitting I tell myself that I am lucky, that I am fortunate enough to be able to suffer through a difficult run. After a while it became more of a way of thinking rather than something that I only thought of when I was struggling. Running for her became something I do. It became normal to say to myself this one is for Tish as I began a run. Since she has passed away I feel even stronger about the importance of appreciating every moment. You do not know how many moments you have so to waste a single one is unacceptable.

After giving this running for donations idea some time to roll around in my head this is what I came up with.

I am asking you, all of you, to support this cause that is so important to me. I am asking you for a donation to go towards finding a cure. A cure that will ensure that no one has to go through the horrible, toxic treatments that are currently used. A cure that will save our loved ones so that no one will have to go through the loss of someone to cancer ever again. Here is what I am offering for your donation. If I raise two hundred dollars I will sign up for a half marathon. Now you might be thinking, she runs all the time, that's nothing. I do run all the time...not 13.1 miles though. Despite having conquered my first half marathon it is still an intimidating beast to me. So this is what I will do. As donations come in (if they do *fingers crossed*) I will start training. You can see my donation progress here. If I reach $200 I will sign up for a half marathon and post about it in here. I will then sign up for another half marathon after another $200 is donated, and then another after an additional $200. To be clear I will sign up for my first half marathon after $200 is donated a second half marathon after $400 is donated and a third on after $600. If I make it to six hundred dollars in donations I will sign up for another for every additional $300 donated. If you guys go crazy with donations *fingers crossed* I may have to put a cap on how many races I will complete...like I said 13.1 miles is a giant scary intimidating beast! So come on people...make me run!! 

Please donate for my family and for yours!

This picture was taken the very last time I got to visit with Tish.

Donations can be made here~ Relay For Life
Just click on the "donate now" button and enter your info.
Donations are tax deductible!

If you are wondering what happens to the money donated here are some answers for you. Why We Fundraise