Most of my posts have been about running, but I am not just running to be a runner, get in shape, complete a half marathon, get smaller thighs and flatter abs, etc. I'm running and training to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research.
Leukemia and Lymphoma encompass a broad range of blood cancers. My training for the half is with Team-in-Training (TNT), which has raised over $850 million in the last 20 years for blood cancer research, financial aid for cancer patients, cancer patient support, clinical trials, and many other things. This year, TNT is hoping to hit the $1 billion mark. Think about it. $1 billion. That $1 billion ($1,000,000,000) has and will be raised by individuals who have decided to train for endurance events and donate their efforts and time to seek donations. These are people writing letters to friends, having bake sales, and telling everyone they know about the cause. These people get rejected in their solicitations, but they keep going, as the cause is a worthy one.
I am one of those people. I have to raise $4,000 by October 6 to be able to run the Nike Women's Half-Marathon, which I have been training for for almost 4 weeks. If I don't raise the money, I have two options--quit or pay the remainder myself. If I quit, I will still have gotten good training, raised some money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and tried. I have already donated $114 towards my own goal. I don't want to work and quit.
I know that solicitations for money are unpleasant, but I'm not asking you to fund my Nordstrom habit or to buy me a gift. I'm asking you to help end blood cancers. The government is not doing as much as it should or could to end them, so individuals have to step up. Any donation helps. You even get a tax deduction for making the donation, because the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a non-profit organization.
So give up your latte today, skip lunch out, avoid the MAC counter, have one less martini and make a donation. I'll even send you a stamped, self-addressed envelope in case you want to send a check, money order, or cash--just let me know.
Donations in check/money order form should be made payable to: LLS. Give them to me, and I'll send them to the right place (you'll get a receipt mailed to you for tax purposes). Or, go to my fundraising page (second link on the right) and donate using your bank card or credit card (and you'll get an immediate receipt).
If you have questions, shoot me an email: rlhaynes@reedgiesa.com. If you want to read more about the cause and program, check out the Team in Training and LLS links to the right. Also, check out my first blog entry about why I am running--more great info on the program.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Spastic Runner? (Run 18)
In my desire to acquire more and more running toys and products, I ordered a pair of Nike Air Structure Triax running shoes online, so that I could use the Nike+ technology. Nike+ is the fusion of iPod and Nike that tracks pace, mileage, time, etc. of your runs. It works through two sensors--one in your shoe and one attached to your iPod Nano. Your iPod Nano, when using the shoe sensor, gives a visual read out of time, pace, and distance, and you get verbal feedback periodically as well. You can upload all your run data onto nikeplus.com. There are a few other things it can do, but that's the gist of it.
Prior to the purchase of the Triax shoes, I was logging my routes after I ran on either runnersworld.com or mapmyrun.com, so I could check distance (and therefore, pace). You can track your route on an actual map of where you are running, but of course, it's not exact. I wanted more info, but was not yet ready to drop $300+ on a Garmin GPS-type watch that does all these things. So having a Nano and knowing I would need new shoes before the race in October, I ordered the new shoes and the Nike+ kit ($29). Unfortunately, the new shoes didn't feel right just walking in my living room, so I didn't even try to run with them.
I headed to Runner's Soul yesterday to get a second pair of shoes, figuring I would either just continue with the close approximation of pace or I would buy a pouch that apparently let's you use the Nike+ sensor without Nikes. As instructed, I brought my Sauconys in so that the fitter/sales rep could see my wear patterns and make sure that I had the right shoe. Noting that the wear pattern was quite even, he brought out several different models for me to try. I asked him about why he selected the shoes he did, and I then learned that I wear a "stability" shoe that borders closer to "motion-control." Basically, my arches aren't very high, and I tend to roll my ankles in when my feet strike the ground while running and walking. Bottom line--I run spasticly without the help of the "motion-control"-type "stability" shoe to keep my alignment right and fix my heel-strike. Of course, the sales rep at Runner's Soul did not tell me that I run like a spaz. He just said that these were the shoes that would fit.
Well, turns out, the shoes I liked best were a different pair of Nikes--the Air Zoom Equalon 2--which is like a stability+ shoe. It is HIDEOUS-looking. Worse than the Sauconys. However, they felt good on my feet (after I learned a new way to tie my laces to make sure they don't slip when I run), and they were compatible with my new Nike+ gear. And...fantastically, my pace was faster than I had been estimating it at prior to the integration of Nike+ into my running.
So, I'm going to buy the pouch so I can use the Nike+ with my Sauconys...and see if there's any more gear that I need.
Prior to the purchase of the Triax shoes, I was logging my routes after I ran on either runnersworld.com or mapmyrun.com, so I could check distance (and therefore, pace). You can track your route on an actual map of where you are running, but of course, it's not exact. I wanted more info, but was not yet ready to drop $300+ on a Garmin GPS-type watch that does all these things. So having a Nano and knowing I would need new shoes before the race in October, I ordered the new shoes and the Nike+ kit ($29). Unfortunately, the new shoes didn't feel right just walking in my living room, so I didn't even try to run with them.
I headed to Runner's Soul yesterday to get a second pair of shoes, figuring I would either just continue with the close approximation of pace or I would buy a pouch that apparently let's you use the Nike+ sensor without Nikes. As instructed, I brought my Sauconys in so that the fitter/sales rep could see my wear patterns and make sure that I had the right shoe. Noting that the wear pattern was quite even, he brought out several different models for me to try. I asked him about why he selected the shoes he did, and I then learned that I wear a "stability" shoe that borders closer to "motion-control." Basically, my arches aren't very high, and I tend to roll my ankles in when my feet strike the ground while running and walking. Bottom line--I run spasticly without the help of the "motion-control"-type "stability" shoe to keep my alignment right and fix my heel-strike. Of course, the sales rep at Runner's Soul did not tell me that I run like a spaz. He just said that these were the shoes that would fit.
Well, turns out, the shoes I liked best were a different pair of Nikes--the Air Zoom Equalon 2--which is like a stability+ shoe. It is HIDEOUS-looking. Worse than the Sauconys. However, they felt good on my feet (after I learned a new way to tie my laces to make sure they don't slip when I run), and they were compatible with my new Nike+ gear. And...fantastically, my pace was faster than I had been estimating it at prior to the integration of Nike+ into my running.
So, I'm going to buy the pouch so I can use the Nike+ with my Sauconys...and see if there's any more gear that I need.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
What goes down (Run 17)...
Yesterday morning was a forty minute training run--one that was supposed to be easy. I headed out down Riverside (on the start of the Bloomsday route) with Chad just before six in the morning. The start of the run was an easy downhill. Somehow while running downhill, I did not consider that on the way back, I would have to run uphill.
We headed east towards the Centennial Trail, crossed the footbridge, and had to run uphill on the looping trail as it makes its way to the Hamblem (Hamlen?) Conservation area on the hill directly across the river from the hill we just ran down. The uphill run was a pretty decent climb, but I focused on keeping upright and keeping my arms low to conserve energy and power my run up the hill. The trail loops back and forth for a good distance, all the while on an incline. I remember yelling "flatten out," as my quads really started to burn. However, I rocked that hill and we ran a bit on the flat portion before it was time to turn around and head back.
Downhill on the winding portion of the trail was a nice break. Of course, every time I run downhill I think of an article I read in Runner's World about Lance Armstrong's marathon training. Lance asserted that cycling downhill was a pleasure while running downhill was work. In the same article, Lance also claimed he could "phone in" a half-marathon. Now, Lance is unarguably one of the best endurance athletes on the planet. I don't expect to be able to phone-in my half-marathon, but I am a bit disheartened when I think about his position that running is so much more work than cycling. If Lance thinks it's hard work, I might be doomed.
Crossing the bridge after the downhill, winding trail, the Riverside hill loomed before us. Another steady climb, that, after the previous hill work, required a brief walk break. I did manage to finish strong, after completely close to four miles of hill running before 7 in the morning. However, I am relegating this running route to the back shelf until hill work actually appears in my training schedule.
We headed east towards the Centennial Trail, crossed the footbridge, and had to run uphill on the looping trail as it makes its way to the Hamblem (Hamlen?) Conservation area on the hill directly across the river from the hill we just ran down. The uphill run was a pretty decent climb, but I focused on keeping upright and keeping my arms low to conserve energy and power my run up the hill. The trail loops back and forth for a good distance, all the while on an incline. I remember yelling "flatten out," as my quads really started to burn. However, I rocked that hill and we ran a bit on the flat portion before it was time to turn around and head back.
Downhill on the winding portion of the trail was a nice break. Of course, every time I run downhill I think of an article I read in Runner's World about Lance Armstrong's marathon training. Lance asserted that cycling downhill was a pleasure while running downhill was work. In the same article, Lance also claimed he could "phone in" a half-marathon. Now, Lance is unarguably one of the best endurance athletes on the planet. I don't expect to be able to phone-in my half-marathon, but I am a bit disheartened when I think about his position that running is so much more work than cycling. If Lance thinks it's hard work, I might be doomed.
Crossing the bridge after the downhill, winding trail, the Riverside hill loomed before us. Another steady climb, that, after the previous hill work, required a brief walk break. I did manage to finish strong, after completely close to four miles of hill running before 7 in the morning. However, I am relegating this running route to the back shelf until hill work actually appears in my training schedule.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Lazy Sundays...(Run #16)
Sunday evening I completed run 16. I have somewhere around 100 runs to go before the big day (October 19). Sundays are easy, "recovery run" days. The runs are around a half-hour, and they are designed to help my muscles recover from the long runs on Saturdays.
I ran with Chad on the Centennial Trail from the fountain downtown out east past Gonzaga and back. It was a nice pace, but I had to stop briefly by WSU-Spokane. There was some kind of landscaping work going on and the smell of gasoline and chemicals made me lightheaded.
I have completed three weeks of training, and I am starting to notice small advances in my pace, endurance, and overall fitness. Being a new runner, it's motivating to see the changes. However, I am still stuck in that competitive mode, and I either work harder than I should or I get a bit disappointed in myself and my performance because I think I should be better.
However, I am starting to fall for running. I subscribe to Runner's World magazine, and I spend time on runnersworld.com every other day or so. I think if I learn more about running, I will be able to use that knowledge to improve.
I ran with Chad on the Centennial Trail from the fountain downtown out east past Gonzaga and back. It was a nice pace, but I had to stop briefly by WSU-Spokane. There was some kind of landscaping work going on and the smell of gasoline and chemicals made me lightheaded.
I have completed three weeks of training, and I am starting to notice small advances in my pace, endurance, and overall fitness. Being a new runner, it's motivating to see the changes. However, I am still stuck in that competitive mode, and I either work harder than I should or I get a bit disappointed in myself and my performance because I think I should be better.
However, I am starting to fall for running. I subscribe to Runner's World magazine, and I spend time on runnersworld.com every other day or so. I think if I learn more about running, I will be able to use that knowledge to improve.
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