36, 7, 40 (Beginning of Week 8)

Sunday was the beginning of Week 8 of my training schedule. I began week 8 by skipping my 30-minute recovery run (Run 36). This is not to say that I didn't need to recover--the hot, hilly run 35 from Saturday left me a little sore and a little dehydrated on Sunday.

I overslept Sunday morning--perhaps my body's way of saying all this running means you need to sleep more, met a friend for coffee, and I headed into the office. Yes, even after school is over and even though I no longer work retail (where weekends are required), I often work on Sundays. After work, it was around 4:30-5:00 p.m. and around 100 degrees. Not time to run. Had dinner and ended up watching the Olympic Trials,* which were amazing, but also disheartening. I watched men's and women's sprinting/hurtle events (including seeing Tyson Gay break the 100m record, even if it was wind-aided), and a bit of swimming. One of the women competing in the 400m hurtles had had a baby about 7 months prior, and she had what I guess (unscientifically) to be around 7% body fat. I have some multiple of her body fat percentage--and the only "baby" I had in the last 7 months (or, ever) was a holiday food baby. By the time it had cooled to below 80 it was about 9:30, so I skipped my recovery run. My ego was deflated to say the least.

On a positive note, I have now raised $1600 towards my fundraising goal of $4,000, which is 40%. The $4,000 is not just a goal, but the minimum amount I have to raise to even be able to run the race. The Nike Women's Marathon (and Half-Marathon) was full within 2 days of accepting entrants. The only way to get into the race now, is to be running and fundraising with a Team-in-Training team, as I am doing. Part of the exchange for my coaching, training schedules, race entry, etc. is a minimum fundraising goal, which I have to reach in order to run in my event. If I do not reach the $4,000, then all the funds are still donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, but I will either have to pay the balance or forfeit my race. So, I still need to raise $2,400 by October 6, 2008.**

The good news: training started on May 11, 2008. I am starting Week 8, and October 6 is in the beginning of Week 22. So, I am third of the way to the fundraising deadline, but 40% to my fundraising goal, so I am right on track. Remember: Every donation, no matter the size, will help.

*I am not going to watch a single moment of Olympic coverage in August because I believe China's less-than-stellar human rights record should have precluded them from hosting the event. However, I am watching some of the trials held in the U.S.

**If I pay any portion of my fundraising total on October 6 (not counting any funds I have already donated--which to date is $159), then I have a month after my race (November 19, 2008) to submit funds raised so I can be reimbursed for my additional out-of-pocket expenses. Ideally, I would prefer to donate no more than $1,000, as this would be the amount that I would likely incur to travel to and run the race myself.