Miscellaneous Memoirs

I have met my fundraising minimum!  It doesn't reflect it on my fundraising page because I had to mail in the last few donations and it takes a while; but, YAY!  My cousin Clarrissa's parents gave me the final donation to meet my goal yesterday!  Thank you Freddy and Irma!

Thanks to a lovely Easter weekend with my parents and cousins Zack and Clarrissa and their families in Bastrop, today, Monday came too soon!

On Good Friday I ran 10.3 miles around Town Lake and then I got on the elliptical for 2 hours after that at the gym to simulate the cardio workout of the 20 mile run my team did on Saturday.  Because of my injury, my body probably couldn't handle both 20 miles now and 26 in three weeks so my coach planned an alternate workout for me.  It went well though and I was glad to finish with only some tolerable pain in my right foot.  I am going to the physical therapist tomorrow to have him work out some of the pain and give me the go ahead to keep running on it!  I feel good about it because now I know I can do it, even if I have to walk a lot and after a month + of frustration at least I know I can still run, even if it hurts! My cousin Alan gave me some great advice today to remember to enjoy myself, even I walk the whole thing I can still brag about having finished a Marathon!  I dont want to injure myself and not finish!

I played golf with the boys on Saturday at the Pine Forst Golf Club in Bastrop where my cousin Zack used to be the pro.  It is less than a block away from thier house. It was such beautiful weather and a beautiful course that I forgot how to play and did pretty bad.  I think I beat my brother on one hole...terrible. Luckily the boys were patient and we all had a great time.  I used this purple ball that was magical and skipped over water and bounced off trees into the fairway a few times and was almost un-lose-able and that was pretty entertaining.  Zack was also nice enough to help me through some really hard times with come golf pro pointers.  But it was definitely the worst I have ever played.  Props to Clinton for playing really great on the front 9 and out-driving Zack twice!

Other than golf we had a super relaxing weekend at the Fleming's house and I got lots of rest, reading and relaxation in.  I also didn't drink anything but water all weekend and that made me feel good! I needed a break and I have vowed to take good care of me for the race.  I miss my parents and brother a lot so it's always nice to spend any time with them I can. 

My brother turns 20 on Tuesday!  He isn't a teenager anymore.  This makes me feel old, I can only imagine how old it must make my parents and family feel.  He is the baby of the family.

My uncle Ray was admitted to the hospital Saturday to start preparations for his transplant THURSDAY!  Ah, this is so exciting and nerve-racking.  Please continue to think about him and my Aunt Kathleen!

Another update to come soon!  I soo appreciate all the encouragement!  Thanks everyone!

I just wanted to take a minute to tell everyone Happy St. Patty's/Paddy's/ Patrick's Day.  This is my favorite day and I love to celebrate everything it is about.  I took a half day off tomorrow and I'm pretty Irish so today is guaranteed fun!  Did you know the shamrock is a symbol of this day because St. Patrick used it to illustrate the holy trinity?!

I am starting to run again, slowly but surely and getting more and more motivated everyday!  I will give more updates soon!  Have a great day!  Don't drink and drive!

MM

After the Austin Half I went to the doc and was on crutches for a week because he thought I had sprained some tendons in my right foot.  THEN it got worse and my left foot had pain so I went to a sports medicine guy and I have tendonitis in both legs/feet.  BOO!  I was frustrated that I spent a week going through the horrible hassle of using crutches but I have been seeing the physical therapist and can thankfully walk mostly without pain now! This is just not pleasant though.  I haven't run in more than two weeks and I'm worried about it and anxious to start back but I still don't think I am quite ready. 

I have exercises and stretches to do daily and I am still going to PT so hopefully I can try to take an easy run early this week.  I just am afraid to re-injure myself and make it worse.  According to my PT and coach I should be able to ease back into it and get right back on track for my marathon that is in 54 days!  They are both really encouraging and I need them! 

I am still so excited to run in Nashville, injuries or not and I am trying to stay positive.  It feels weird that I feel weird about not running, and I like that! 

This weekend is also the Austin Sports and Social League Annual Kickball Tournament and I am pumped to be joining my championship co-ed softball team for a day of fun kickballing.  I think my legs and feet should be ok, granted my easy runs before Saturday go well. 

I have been trying to keep up my cardio by doing spin class and getting on the ellipitical.  I also did yoga this weekend, which was super awesome.  I had taken a class or two before but must not have been into it because I went this weekend and LOVED it! 

Jill, my bff and roomate from ACU came in town last weekend and we had a blast.  Party bus, rebels honky tonk, crazy cab drivers and so many more things Jill and I will have in our hearts forever (ha) made for a ridiculous and memorable time.  I love and miss Jill and will post pictures soon. 

My brother has for real pneumonia...It's crazy that he has it and he has been sick for almost a month now but is finally starting to feel better.  Poor Clintonious.  He is a trooper.  I went to Waco last Sunday to help him and went to the grocery store, etc.  I would be crying for my mommy if I were him. 

My fundraising is going awesome! I am about $400 away from my minimum and I have raised 85% of my goal!  One more fundraiser is in the works and it is going to involve April Fools, beer pong and flip cup tournaments and it will be awesome! 

So lots of good and weird stuff going on but I am excited about March!  My second favorite holiday, St. Patty's Day, my trip to see Bree in D.C., increased mileage, hopefully, kickball, fundraising party, etc will make for a great month! 

Thanks for all your support!

I always start my posts with, 'Its been a while', so, I know its been a while. I'm still alive and running. Our Breakfast Club fundraiser was fun and not a complete fundraising failure, so thanks to everyone who came, especially Marie and Lyla...they are so cute and I love them! I finally went to Highball, too with some friends and had a great time. We bowled and played a lot of ski ball...what I call herkey ball. It's so cool! I also planned a trip to Washington, D.C. for the end of March. My cousin Bree who goes to Georgetown is graduating in May so I am going to visit her and hopefully see the cherry blossoms. I've been once before, the summer when I was 14 I think, but I was in an awkward stage and didn't really appreciate it so this time I know I will!


So, I've talked a little about taking ice baths and Epsom salt baths but I just want to sing their praises a little more. Ice baths after a long run are the strangest thing, they hurt, you freeze and kind of go numb, and then you forget all about the 10 miles that you ran because they almost totally eliminate soreness. Not to say I am not sore after 10 or 12 miles, but they seriously do help. I bundle up with a jacket and a ski cap and a swimsuit bottom, get some coffee and a book to read and the 10-15 minutes I spend in the ice is totally worth the tingly burning sensation my legs feel.

This was Saturday after my 10 miles. My parents came in town this weekend and we had such a lovely time. My dad's sister, my Aunt Barbara came too! I hosted a Silpada jewelry party for fundraising Saturday and my mom and Barbara helped make the most delicious food and just really made the party nice. It was a success too and I made some money for LLS. My party will stay open until the end of February if you are interested in buying some jewelry! My brother came in town for a few hours and it was just a great weekend. Oh and GO SAINTS! I love them and Drew Brees...I've said it before but they Cowboys better not let me down another season because I am really excited for the Saints. And I'm not on the bandwagon...I've liked them for a while, and I've like Drew Brees for longer than that...so boo yah.

Now onto Epsom salt baths. I mentioned these I think in my last post when I was resting for a possible injury. Well that turned out to be that I let my calves and lower legs get way too tight and they built up with a lot of toxins that were trapped. I had a massage and the therapist suggested salt baths. The magnesium, etc helps to draw out all the bad stuff (it draws good stuff out too so you have to hydrate really well) and help loosen your tight and sore muscles, as well as improving circulation, etc. Here is a great blurb on their benefits. I am a fan of these now too because I hardly have any calf/shin/ankle pain at all! I have one spot that is still sore on my ankle but I've been icing it and took another Epsom bath last night so hopefully this will help relieve it. The bag says pour two cups in or something like that which is pretty accurate but you should just pour about 2 lbs in. If it's a 4-pound bag, use half, and so on. Get the water as hot as you can stand it and swish the salt around so it dissolves and you don't sit on salt crystals. Soak for about 20 minutes while drinking water. Again, hydrating is important because the salt is drawing out important fluids with the bad ones. I did one like two weeks ago and one last night, some people say once a month but it's up to you. Yay for baths!

Other than that everything is going well. I was sick last week with the flu/stomach bug that is going around here and didn't get to run until Friday and Saturday. I am feeling much better and I am excited to get back into the swing of things after being sick and injured. Luckily I haven't missed any long distance runs so I still feel like I am on track. I ran 12 miles two weeks ago, 10 last Saturday and am supposed to run 14 this Saturday, but it turns out I am going to run the Austin Half Marathon on Sunday!

I missed the memo on doing a half for practice before my full race but I got really lucky and got a spot to run this Sunday!! All my other teammates will be running, too. The circumstances are unfortunate - another girl on our team had a death in the family and is unable to run - but I am thankful for the opportunity and that her race bib won't go to waste. Here I come Austin Half! The course is in my neighborhood so I am really pumped to run it and get the feel for how a race goes. My coach says to see it as a dress rehearsal. My friend Jacci is coming in town to run it too! And we have Monday off! I am getting really excited.

I bought a yoga DVD last night. Got home after track practice and realized it's an intermediate level disc:(. I am a beginner so I am going to try to find a beginner level DVD and try to take some yoga at my gym. I've heard it is great for you obviously like everyone else has, but for training it's really great for stretching your over worked muscles. I am really excited about all these new things I am learning! And I thought I knew it all;).

I will update you soon about the race and etc!  Until then I am going to keep running and resting and gearing up for Sunday!

Thanks for the support!

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. 

Manda, TX School House


Ok, I will let you know how the 10 miles goes, oh and how the ice bath I have planned goes.  I will have a lot of firsts this weekend: Running 10 miles, taking an ice bath (eek), eating a Mighty Fine burger, and probably more.  Happy Friday, Friends!