I've joined the Komen Maryland Race for the Cure, that is. On Sunday, October 18th I am walking with my cousins, my aunt, and other family members, along with about 30,000 others, in the 2009 Komen Maryland Race for the Cure held in Hunt Valley, Maryland. My aunt is a 3+ year survivor!!
Click here to visit my personal web page and help me if my efforts to support Susam G. Komen - Maryland Affiliate.
Your participation will help support the Komen promise of saving lives and ending breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality for all and energizing science to find the cures.
Because early detection is the best protection for breast cancer, Komen Maryland sponsors grants that increase the number of women who have annual mammograms and clinical breast exam screenings. Komen grants also target the entire range of breast health services from transportation to appointments and financial support to clinical trials and national research to find a cure.
All you need to do is follow the link above to my personal webpage to make a donation or to register as a race participant! It's that easy!
For more information visit www.komenmd.org.
Last night was Back-to-School Night at my younger son's school, Annandale High School AHS). He is a junior this year so now I only have one more BTS Night left. Kind of sad... Anyway, it was a fun night all in all. I started out by getting there on time and joined the PTSA and looked to see if there was anything else I needed to do. There was not, so I wandered the halls of the school to find one of the 12th English teachers there. She was in her room anxiously awaiting all the parents that would be coming in later. The cool thing she is MY old 11th grade English teacher... Now I did not go to my son's school - in fact his school was my old school's biggest rival. But my school (Thomas Jefferson High School, more affectionately known as TJ) kind of 'closed' when the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) opened. TJHSST is a magnet school which requires students to apply and go through a rigorous entrance process including testing and what not. So a lot of the teachers and students of course moved a few miles down the road to AHS. My son does (and his older brother did) sports and I have never in my life had so much RED - the school's primary color - in the laundry! Nor did I ever imagine I would be cheering for the Annandale Atoms! Anyway, back to my teacher. I visited with her for a while and it was so nice to see her. I let her know that I hoped she would be around for at least another year so my son could have her for English like I did. She was by far my most favorite teacher and I've kept up with her over the years...and it has been a lot of years! She had the biggest impact on my life during that time and I probably would not have made it through without her guidance. After my visit it was off to the gym for the welcome by the Principal, this was after the performance of the Men's Choir. Apparently it is tradition for them to perform at BTS Night and I enjoyed this year's performance as much as last year's. Finally they released all the parents out into the halls to navigate their way to the various classes. We we allocated 10 minutes in each class with 5 minutes in between to find the next class. I have to say that I am quite thankful the provide maps to the parents (and they do for the students as well) as AHS is the most confusing building I have ever been in. I think it has at least one hospital beat...(I'm referring to INOVA Fairfax if you've ever wandered around there before - nutty). First though...on my way to the first period I ran into my former Master's swim coach who teaches history there.The most interesting part of the class meetings was my son's first period teacher (first period on odd days, of course as they are on block scheduling). His teacher is my former TJ classmate that I graduated with 27 years ago... how crazy is that? He did not know my son was MY son (we have different last names) but he knows now! Most of the rest of his teachers seemed fine. His marketing teacher, who he had last year as well, even gave out candy! The only teacher I did not meet was his Physics teacher - because there technically isn't one and they've had a sub in who was getting assistance from the other Physics teachers. However the Assistant Principal was in the classroom last night and acknowledged that they'd hired one who would hopefully start next week. *Fingers Crossed* Finally, at the end of the last class of the night a 2 minute video was broadcast for the parents which was a documentary about being at the school from a student's perspective. It was quite motivating and I am quite pround that my sons have both gone there!One final note: I live in the same area I grew up in. There are many people in this area that I went to school with and have know (or known of) more or less for many, many years. It is great fun to run into someone from back then and realize that they too have a child at the high school. My kids get a kick out of it every time I find out about someone else.
I ran 3 miles last night. Whew! Was it ever hard. I totally ignored my heart rate, well keeping it in Zone 2 that is. I watched it climb as I tried to keep an 11:05 pace, as per the training schedule. Yes, that is how pathetic it is now since I have not been maintaining. Oh well, I finished, so there. My time for 3.02 miles was 31 minutes and change...can't remember. So that was actually under 11:05s. I'll take it. The schedule has me off tonight - which is good because I have Back-to-School Night, my second to last ever Back-to-School Night. Wow. Then for Thursday the schedule calls for (omg) speed work. If the 3 mile easy(?) run last night was hard speed work is going to be really hard. I think I will just do another easy run. No sense hurting myself before the sinus surgery...
I say not catching up because I have not done much of anything, workout wise since my last post. I found out why my sinus infection has not gone away since January...my right maxillary sinus is completely clogged. Completely. Joy! But a nice doctor is going to take care of it on October 8th. That is in two weeks and two days. Yikes! However, this is the same doctor that took care of my son's broken nose about a year and a half ago. We really liked him and Patrick came through just fine. So I think I trust him! Meanwhile, the Army Ten Miler is getting closer. And I have not run. Not much anyway. I am heading out to run very soon. I hope I can go three miles. My schedule says two miles, so maybe that is all I will do. I am still looking at a 5K PR schedule, but with the impending sinus surgery I am not too worried about trying to meet this goal at the Virginia Run Turkey Trot. I do plan to run it though. I will just focus on another race after that. And so on. I also decided that since I have not done much swimming I am going to just hold off on that till after the sinus surgery. Once I'm given the OK to workout I will get back into the swim of things. On a positive note I rode 42 miles with Carol and Pam and a couple other folks (Nancy and Roland) this past Sunday. It was a perfect day for a ride! And even though I had not ridden since my last ride (with Carol and Marlene) my legs felt pretty good afterwards. I even 'ran' for 10 minutes right afterwards as I've decided after every long ride I am going to run - even if just for a little bit. Like 10 minutes. Got to get my legs used to that feeling, you know? Especially since I'm doing Sprints and Olys next season! Cheers!!
Well, I was supposed to to The Nations Triathlon this past Sunday, but I opted not to go. I did not even go to packet pick up, nor did I attend the mandatory briefing... Last Thursday I had gotten a tattoo - the M-dot of course - and I am supposed to stay out of the water for a week. I felt bad for a little bit because I had spent the money, but it let me do a couple other things and not stress about the time, or lack there of which would have been the case. First, Saturday morning my younger son had his first cross country meet of the season. He was not racing till Noon and his goal for the meet was to break 18 minutes. The race was at Burke Lake, a 2.98 mile run, which he raced only one time before in last season's District meet where he ran a 18:25.00. Saturday he met his goal and ran a 17:54.51! It was a great day for a race, too - overcast skies and cool-ish temps. Perfect running weather! Saturday night was a concert at Nissan Pavilion for my older son's birthday - Toby Keith and Trace Adkins rocked! The weather for the concert was perfect as well - we got there in just enough time to have a picnic at the car before heading to the lawn where we had some pretty decent seats. Before the show started we were entertained by the older group next to us there for a 'retirement party'. They were hilarious! Speaking of the tattoo...I had gone to Independent Tattoo in Delaware, where I'd taken my older son for his 18th birthday tattoo last year. It only seemed right that I go back there. I had the moral(?) support of my three cousins - we were all on a girl's vacation of sorts last week. Anyway, I had gone in there with one M-dot idea and came out with another. This was thanks to the input from the tattoo artist and my cousins. And I am so happy with my shiny new M-dot! Once it is finally healed I might post a picture. However I have about a dozen pictures that my cousin took of the entire process! And speaking of the girls' vacation with my cousins... We were at my one cousin's place near the beach and it rained the entire week! But it did not matter - we did a lot of cooking and just enjoyed each other's company. We also followed through on one of my mom's wishes - that her ashes get sprinkled on the beach. So, in the early morning rain on Thursday me and two of my cousins headed out to the Boardwalk in Ocean City between 12th and 13th streets which was the area my mom and her sisters always used to stay at. After the climing the wall that blocked the beach and protected the Boardwalk for the impending high waters we said a little prayer and let a little bit of my mom go. There is no way I could have done that alone and I am so happy my cousins were there for me.
Week 1 of my 12 week 5K training program started on Monday...but my first run was Tuesday - last night. I only had a 2 mile run at an 11:05 pace. I wore my regular heart rate monitor as opposed to my old Garmin so I do not know the exact distance or pace. But I think I ran about 2.2 miles in 24 minutes...so, I guess that is close enough... It felt good to run again after about two weeks. Funny, my legs felt it first this this morning, ever so slightly. I am so excited for the Fall weather though - perfect running weather! Nothing on schedule tonight, but I may do an easy spin on the bike or a little swim AND bike if I don't feel too lazy. I should do something since I do have one more tri in 11 days. Tomorrow night is speed work at the track: warm up; 3x800 @ 4:14 with 400 jogs after each; warm down. I hope I can do those 800 intervals! Sunday is a long run of 6 miles at 11:05. I should be able to handle that.This past weekend I went on a bike ride with Carol and Marlene, a couple of Team Z peeps. Carol (who was also one of my IM riding buddies) and I were going 42 and Marlene was going 30. Both were also doing the Annapolis 10 Miler the next day! Marlene was to ride with us for the first 12 miles then turn off and all went well... Then Carol and I got to a T in the road and realized that the left turn was not our turn... So we backed tracked to find our turn, which was back about 4 miles - just before Marlene had turned off! (oops!) So we ended up riding an extra 8 miles for 50 instead of 42. We did what is titled the "covered bridges ride" and we did ride through three covered bridges! It was a beautiful ride. However, my legs were feeling it over the last 15 or so. Hard to imagine I had just gone over 100 miles a month before. After the ride I went home and was a lazy bum for the rest of the day. It felt great! Sunday morning I got up and went swimming outside with my old Masters group, the JCCNV. They typically swim indoors but on Sundays in the Summer they swim outdoors at the Annandale Swim & Tennis Club. I am a member of the club, so I am allowed to join in the fun. It is a treat to swim outside, that is for sure! Next up will be the Nations Tri on September 13th. Conveniently, my long run for the same day is 6 miles at 11:05...I'll be lucky to do that pace after the swim and the bike, but we'll see. It depends on the weather, I think.
