Miscellaneous Memoirs

I have been MIA for a few days because I finally took the time to back-up my computer and install Windows 7. It took my computer 24 hours! to back up to an online storage place, WOW. Six thousand something files. Then it took another couple of hours to upgrade to Windows 7 so my computer was out of commission all weekend. I think I like it so far though, we'll see.
I ran 8 miles on Saturday. We did part of the Austin Marathon course and some of it is in my neighborhood so it was fun. I started having bad shin pain about mile 3, stretched it out occasionally and finished the 8. Well, then Monday I ran with pain and yesterday I had to stop running at our track practice.

So, my coach thinks my shin and ankle pain and pressure may just be because my calves are really tight and pulling on all those other muscles. I am going to take the rest of the week off until Saturday and see how it goes. I am going to stretch really good and use the foam roller to relieve some of the pressure. I love the foam roller! It hurts so good! I am also going to go have a sports massage and hopefully the therapist can work out the pain! I got new shoes Sunday too and they rubbed a blister on my arch so that didn't help the pain. I hope I can get used to them because they feel good on my right foot and I think the discomfort in my left foot is related to the calf tightness.

I’m crossing my fingers this works because I would be devastated! Absolutely devastated if I have a real injury that prevents me from running. My parents got their flights to Nashville so it's a done deal and I'm running that race!


Also, this weekend my friend Micha and I are hosting a screening of 'The Breakfast Club' at the Alamo Draft House on South Lamar. We will also be holding a drawing for those who attend for gift certificates to restaurants and bars around town like Uchi, Saba and Lavaca Street Bar.


I'm getting a little concerned though because not many people have RSVPed and we don't want to get stuck having to pay for anything and not raising any money. So if you're reading this come and bring your friends Sunday, Jan. 31, at 10 a.m.!

Thanks for the support!

Ten miles was awesome! I seriously felt great almost the whole time and ran intervals to the finish! Ran for 10 minutes, walked for 2 min. I feel like this is a milestone in my training. Now that I have run 10 miles (in 2 hours) I feel like I can do anything. I am happy with my time too, I was afraid it might take me all day! I got a cramp below my right calf about mile 4 but was able to stretch it out and finish. It was really sore Saturday and I rested Sunday and yesterday to make sure I didn't injure it but I think I'm ready to run again!

Oh, after my ten miles I took an ice bath! This was excruciating for me and a lot harder than the run but I can actually say it worked. Besides my calf I had little to no soreness, and 10 miles can make you really sore. Although I could only sit in it for 6 minutes and my toes were throbbing and then I shook uncontrollably for 10 more minutes, I would probably take another ice bath. Maybe I will see if just cold water will work, the ice is brutal.

I had a great long weekend spending time with friends, especially my friend Megan. I loved my Mighty Fine burger after my run; it made for a nice nap Saturday afternoon. Megan and I went out Saturday night and had a blast. I ran into my brother's roommate and friends on 6th street. What a small world! The Cowboys make me angry, but other than that, my weekend was a success. I played disc golf with Bmo and friends Sunday afternoon at Zilker and went to dinner with my cousin Zack and Clarrissa Sunday night, and then rested all day yesterday, thank you, MLK, Jr. Now back to the routine. Tonight is track practice! Thanks everyone!

Uncle Ray is getting out of the hospital today! Thanks for the prayers.  This is good because now he can still go to his appointment at M.D. Anderson on Tuesday to start another round of chemo.  They gave him some blood and stuff, not sure exactly what was wrong, a complication of cancer, but now he is able to travel to get treatment.  Chemo sucks but it is what you have to do.  My mom is going with him so please keep them in your thoughts. 

I ran 4 miles of hills last night in the rain! It hasn't been as cold this week, thank goodness. I went to all my practices this week and did great on my own all the other days!  It feels good to be hardcore because today I get a rest day to prepare for tomorrow morning's 10 miles!

Today is 'recommitment' dat for our team.  This means that I sent in a form confirming that I am committed to raising the full $3800 and to running the race!  The team staff will now make our travel arrangements and register us of the marathon.  This is exciting!  I made it this far and I am going strong to finish what I started!  And it's Friday, yay! And a long weekend, yay! We have a team party tonight to celebrate and then I am going to bed early to ensure I am at my best for tomorrow's run. 

My friend love Megan is coming in town this weekend so I am looking forward to seriously relaxing after my run and dentist appointment on Saturday.  Megan just moved to Dallas from Austin and I miss her a lot so this weekend will be great. We have Monday off too, did I mention that?!

I am also going to eat a Mighty Fine Burger with my friend Oscar after my run tomorrow.  I've never had one but I hear they are super yummy.  We were planning a day trip to Manda, Texas and Oscar, Texas after our lunch, haha, but since Megan is coming I am postponing.  Manda, TX is a small now ghost town outside of Elgin off of 290.  Who knew!?  And Oscar is about an hour away from Manda near Temple.  It will be a fun day trip sometime soon. 

Bad news, my mom called this morning to let me know that my uncle Ray was admitted to the hospital last night. Apparently, my other aunt and uncle went to Ray and Kathleen's house last night to hang out and left about 8 p.m. and Ray was fine. By 9 my aunt Kathleen had to take him to the ER, :(. He was running a high fever which can be scary because his immune system is so weak. I haven't heard anymore news except that he is waiting on a bed and will be in the hospital until they can figure out what is going on. Please keep him and my aunt in your thoughts and/or prayers. As I mentioned in a TNT letter I mailed out recently, Ray is eligible for a bone marrow stem cell transplant! This is awesome news and can be life saving. After my mom and her brothers were tested and were not matches the doctors actually found one that was nearly perfect, an anonymous donor, right before Christmas. Unfortunately the donor backed out, or changed their mind, or whatever, it sucks and was obviously a big disappointment. However, there are some other possible matches that they are evaluating so this is good! This could possible save Ray's life and allow him to life cancer free! Please also keep him in your thoughts that this transplant happens, he needs it. The transplant process is a roller coaster of emotion, just like they show it on TV. I know it's really hard on Ray and Kathleen and our family to get news there is a match and that change so quickly, so I hope that we don't have to go through that again. It is apparently common for donor's to change their minds though, which is unfair and shouldn't be allowed in my opinion, so I pray that Ray and Kathleen have the strength to get through this process of finding a reliable match. Ray would receive an allogenic transplant, or one that uses a donor's marrow instead of his own. It's very interesting to hear about the process, etc and you can read about it at http://www.lls.org/all_page?item_id=5965&gclid=CJqehdLhoZ8CFRSdnAod-wpcJw. If you are interested in joining the bone marrow registry, please visit Be The Match's website at http://www.marrow.org/index.html?src=GOOG04304. It is as simple as swabbing the inside of your cheek and you can save a life. If you are skeptical just ask yourself, why not?! Do it! Thanks for the support everyone!

I was going to end my post with these photos, but am having a few issues with the blogger so pretend that they are at the end after it says I'm ending it with photos from New Year's fun! Happy New Year!

I launched a balloon. Mom and cousins.

Foosball and Jav and I.

Clintonious, my brother and I.

Aren't these glasses great!? I tried to wear them the entire night and was almost successful!

And now for the start of my post!....Hey guys! So I'm back after a small break from blogging, not running! I have to call Dell, which I am dreading, because my keyboard is acting very funky and does not want to work. I started this week of 1/11 (11 is my favorite number and day!) with a lovely run around town lake. I met my co-worker Lila and her friends. They ran at a faster pace than me so I lagged behind a little but it pushed me to run harder and I finished just a few minutes behind them (I told them to go ahead without me)! I finished the 3 miles in 35 minutes which is a little less than 12 minutes a mile, an easy run pace I am happy with today! I also got another fundraising letter out to several of my coworkers and friends. I feel like the response from this will be good so cross your fingers! I have great coworkers who periodically check in on my progress and it is so nice to have that encouragement at work. They all make my job very pleasant and I am very thankful and feel lucky to work with good people.

Anyway, I am starting week 11! Can you believe it?! I can't. This past week I only took one break to watch the Texas game. Funny thing is, I actually woke up early Thursday morning to go to practice but couldn't find my team until it was too late and they were too far ahead. This won't happen again because luckily, my coach sent us the map so if we are late or lost, we can find our way. I guess I wasn't the only one.

This weekend was freezing and I couldn't bring myself to run in the 14 degree weather Saturday morning, so I waited for it to warm up (to 35 degrees) in the afternoon and ran my long mileage alone.. I thought I mapped the full 7 miles but turns out it was only 6.4! Boo! Hopefully I won't let this 0.6 mile intimidate me because this Saturday is 10 miles. Cold or not, I am going to run with the team because I am much more confident that I can run this with them by my side. Ten miles is a lot to run and I am a little scared, but I will give it my all and finish one way or another! I have started to tell myself all these encouraging thoughts now in order to be mentally strong for the 10 miles too! You have to realize how mental it is to run that much, especially for me because I am not good at running yet. Even I don't realize how mentally challenging it will be so I will let you know. I am going to keep telling myself I can do it until then. I have my running belt and Gu ready to go! And my coach has recommended trying ice baths so I am going to take one after my run on Saturday, that should be a good story.

Now for a few updates on the holidays. My brother did a semi-long run with me while I was at home on the seawall in Corpus. He is a better running than me but was so encouraging and a nice running partner. Hills were easy because I live across the street from a parkway, I will take pictures next time. Overall, I am happy with how I kept up, it could've been better but I got some miles in!

My mom and dad did wait to decorate the tree! Below is a before and after! We even listened to music and drank eggnog! Clinton, as I predicted, helped by making drinks and putting a few hooks on ornaments. It's really not his thing but I love my family for humoring me. Before and after, all in one day!:

So, the holidays were great because of all the time I got with family AND the puppies! Jet and Crow, the two cutest boys you've ever seen. They're the two best friends anyone could ever have, ha. See for yourself:

For New Years we had a crab and shrimp boil at our house and lots of family and friends came over to celebrate. Javin went down to Corpus with me to squeeze in one more party before he left for the Army (he left a week ago today!). We spent some time together before he left and I really enjoyed it. Now he is in the Army and who knows where that will take him or when I will see him again. Here are a few pictures from New Years to end the post. We did lots of activities!: shot water balloons from the launcher in the front yard, played Foosball, ate crab, sat around the backyard fire pit and just had a great time!

This is dad and me:). The one picture I got down here. For other 'post ending' photos, see beginning of post, haha. I will get better at this!

Tomorrow is track practice and then a friends birthday but I will update again ASAP! Thanks for your support! I promise I will get better at blogging, this one is a mess, I'm still learning!