Final Post of the TNT Season 2009

So the season has drawn to a close and fundraising has wrapped up (although it's never too late to donate, here's my link one more time: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood) To wrap up race day, it was HOT! And the start took forever. The RNR are very popular events and the Seattle RNR was no exception. They started us by corral, which is basically in waves and my lucky corral number was 29. Yes folks that means 28 corrals started ahead of me and there about 10 more behind me. Needless to say the race started at 7am and I crossed the starting line at 750am. The days leading up to the race were uneventful and I was doing everything by the book. I had goals for this race beyond the TNT goals. But the cards were not aligned for me this year. I was up at 230am and in Seattle by 330am to catch the first shuttle bus at 400am and yes, I was the 3rd person on. I was at the start line by 430am. Luckily there were massive numbers of porta potties and lots of food and water. So I drank...and drank...and peed...and peed...and drank some more to the point that I had time to get out of line once the race started, go to the potty and get back in line before we'd moved 3 corrals forward. Needless to say, I didn't stay off my feet long enough. I waited in line for our corral to start which put an extra hour on my legs, not too mention all the walking around I did before the race started saying hi to people. So by mile 12 I was spent. Unfortunately I didn't figure it out at mile 9 because I could have split off with the half marathoners at that point, but instead I went out on the bridge, which sapped me. All in all I finished just over 15 miles and crossed with the half'ers anyway. We picked them back up again at mile 12 so I just stayed with them at this point.

Now the good part! The fundraising was absolutely amazing this season.

$757,000 raised so far in WA/AK for Rock 'n' Roll Seattle
$965,550 raised for summer season marathon including San Diego and Mayor's
$1.5 million projected for the summer season, including the TWO triathlons that also took place the same weekend as Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle

On the National Scale:

1400 athletes from 30 chapters taking part in the Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Seattle
$4 million raised
$200 million raised over the course of our 12 year partnership with Elite Racing on the Rock 'n' Roll events

Everyone who donated and offered words of encouragement made this event super special for me. I'm thankful and honored to have run for people near and dear to you. I have attached a slide show of pics from race day and my jersey with all the ribbons on it!

Thanks again for making my TNT experience the best one yet!

Drawing to a Close

Wow, what an amazingly successful summer of fundraising! My event, the Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon is just a little over a week away and now I'm tapering and preparing mentally as well as physically, trying to stay low key and get my massages in.

On the fundraising front, a shout out to all that made such generous donations in this time of economic hardship. I know from my own financial situation it couldn't have been easy and thus it is appreciated with much ardor. If you haven't had a chance to donate, my website is still open and donations can be accepted until mid-July (http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood).

Here's a little tidbit to tell what your donations can accomplish:

-$50 will register 1 person to be a bone marrow donor.

-$100 will pay for the cost of 4 patient's chemotherapy drug prescription co-payments.

-$300 will train 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed patients.

-$500 will provide patient aid to a person with Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma or Hodgkin's disease for a year.

-$1000 allows patients to meet with health care specialists to design and discuss their disease, treatment plan and prepare them with the info they will need during the treatment process

And even $5 can make a difference! Next time you feel you need Starbuck's, remember what that one day's latte can provide! So many children and adults have been saved by even the smallest donation!

As far as the Washington/Alaska Chapter of TNT, for the summer season (which runs January to June) as of two weeks ago we had raised $770,000. The Seattle group alone running the Seattle RNR has raised a half a million dollars...yes $500,000!

And now I have a request for each of you! Cuz I haven't asked enough already, but this is super easy. Each season on my jersey I tack on ribbons for those that have been afflicted by blood cancers! My goal this year is at least 50 ribbons. So if you have a loved one that has been touched by blood cancer, whether it be directly or indirectly, please let me know so that I can wear a ribbon for them.

You are all amazing and I am so honored to be running for your friends, family and loved ones! Thanks for supporting this cause and know that many lives are being saved due to your generosity!

GO TEAM!

Taper Time!

Well, the season is drawing to close! It's been long, successful, busy, fulfilling, injury riddled and AMAZING! I reached my goal of $1000 and went over a bit but it's not too late to donate: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood, the team is trying to reach $1,000,000. Right now we are at $730,000.

I battled through shin splints and a cortisone injection in my foot this week, but those aches and pains are minimal compared to what a patient goes through when being treated with chemo and radiation. Especially children. Each time I think of Tyler and what his family went through as well as past honored teammates I strap on the sneaks and don't even think about the twinges of pain I'm surely just imagining.

Saturday's run was beautiful. It was at Seward Park on the shores of Lake Washington, the sun was shining, run start was a balmy 60F. My goal for the day was 18 miles if I was going to hope to complete the full marathon. So I set out at a brisk walk hoping against hope that my injuries would cooperate and allow me to do some running. This whole journey I've taken my cues and inspirations from the Universe! Starting with whether or not I should even do it. Each time I decided no, something happened to make me rethink and eventually I couldn't say no. Each time I thought I couldn't get the distance in I did! Since I started running 2 years ago I have not put this much distance in and I'm looking forward to another year of running and tri-training.

When I got to the top of the hill abutting the lake, the second team water-stop, I just took a minute and soaked in my surroundings. The sparkling lake was backdropped with an amazing view of Mt. Rainier to the south and in the way distance Mt. Baker. On the lake were rowers and yachters and it was just a breath-taking view. I was feeling strong and capable, and running of all things. As I hadn't "run" in weeks I didn't challenge myself beyond 1 minute walk/run intervals and it was working amazingly well. I got out to the point where the coaches told us to turn around before my half way point, which meant as long as I got back to the park with 40-45 minutes to spare I'd be very close to my 18 miles. I was exuberant! The trek back was feeling good and mind you I'm now 3-3.5 hours in and my body finally starts communicating to my mind. It was a good rehearsal for race day when I hit the wall at 20 or so miles. My legs started tightening up and you would have thought I'd stolen a couple off a mannequin by the time I finished (which I'm still feeling today with no doubt). The Universe sent me some company about 3 hours in and boy was that welcome. Great distraction that I most definately needed and it left me to reflect on my last 40 or so minutes. Which was my second trek around the park. My final distance was 17.7 miles and I still had two minutes to spare. I got a burger made by the amazing Skip and soaked waist deep in Lake Washington while chowing down. Having met my goal I'm now ready to start the tapering phase, allowing my body to heal and relax waiting for the big day!

I COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR WITHOUT YOUR DONATIONS & SUPPORT!

GO TEAM!

Very Delayed Training Update

Many apologies for the week's of no posting. But there's lotsa good news for this post!

1. The "Team" this summer has raised $667,420 to date! How amazingly awesome is that? 400+ of us recommitted to Seattle RNR and we'll be putting on shoes for the race. My goal of $1000 has unofficially been met, still waiting on a matching donation to go through. We need more funds though so you can still donate at my fundraising webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood.

2. Training in OK was amazing too. I got some awesome runs in of durations I never expected and almost met my 125 mile goal for the month. Unfortunately I seem to have overtrained and am now battling shinsplints. Coach Shelby says he can "dig it out" which worries me a little but I'm looking forward to finishing this marathon and hope to put in a reasonable time (for me that is).

I was riding my bike today and reflecting on this morning's mission moment delivered by Jackson. He lost his father to a blood disorder and was on an opposite coast from him during his illness. He joined Team in Training to do something positive to help other's like his dad. He related that when he got the call that his father passed away he laced up and headed out for a run. When he got to his run destination there was a "Team" there preparing for a training run, so he connected with them and mourned with "family" that morning. After having not trained with the team in several weeks I was eager to get back there this morning and Jackson's story really struck a cord with me. I personally have lost one person relatively close to me to a blood disorder. It more affected my mom than anyone else in the family as it was her best friend. When I joined TNT it was really for more selfish reasons. I needed a motivator to lose weight and I figured I could fundraise for a good cause at the same time. I figured if I was going to get something out of it I should give back. I did raise the money and didn't lose the weight but I finally realized today the many more things I did get. I've completed a marathon and not just one but two, also I've completed three half marathons and am now considering doing a triathlon. I've been known to be a "quitter" when things get tough. I think more than anyone I expected to quit running too. If you follow my training stats that would certainly seem the case. 2008 stunk as far as mileage goes. But 2009 was a bit of a renaissance for me. Training is great, I'm biking to work and I have an extended "family" that I don't think I really connected with until this year. It's been great seeing everyone on Saturday's and I'm really blessed with the new connections I've made: Stacey, Heather, Alexxx, Amy, Kim, Rebecca and getting to know Gerb better, just to name a few. The fellowship really centers a person and makes you realize why we do this. I've gained more than the $10,000 plus I've raised in friendship, fitness and motivation. I've learned that the only limitations I have are the ones I put on myself and over the years I've put "a Lot" of limitations on myself. So if you believe there's something you can't accomplish then you're probably right, but not for the reasons you think. You can accomplish whatever you set out too as long as you set out to accomplish it.

GO TEAM!

Wine, wine, wine, all you do is Brew...

So this week's run was in Columbia Valley Wine Country and we started from Redhook Brewery. Temps were okay at 45-50F and the rain managed to wait until the end of the run. One thing I forgot about this trail..it's abutted by a river and so there tends to be a lot of slugs, especially when it rains, which was apropos as I was feeling very sluggish today. As the fam was already at Grandma's for Easter I was home alone and the peace of the house plus the warm bed sure made it a challenge to rise at 545am on Saturday, but I did it and boy was I glad that I did...and why do you ask (I'm sure you were going to)? Because today the coaches and mentors planned something really cool. And had it not rained I would have tried to get some pics but alas was not in the cards...anywhoo, the really cool thing they did today was the Mission Mile. And what is this you ask? I'll tell you...for the first mile of our run today we walked in silence and on the trail was inscribed the names of all those we were running for. It was a bit overwhelming to see all the names on the trail and to think about the battles these people had to fight to survive and those that had to fight only to lose. It was a very humbling journey and made me feel lucky to be able to be there doing what I am doing to raise awareness and money. Speaking of money, I'm very close to my minimum goal of $1000. If you haven't had an opportunity yet to donate please go to my page at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood

Otherwise as far as training goes, lately has been really awesome. I've been managing to get good recovery runs in on Sundays. During the week I've been managing to get up before work on Tuesday and Thursday when I've been getting just over 4 miles in. It's really affected my energy and I'm looking forward to sticking with this for awhile. I get my hill workouts in on Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm hoping to get a good morning run in and then walk in the evening with Pam, one of our mentors. Wednesdays hopefully I can start getting a run in at lunch with the running club at work. Tuesdays I do yoga at lunch with the yoga club and its been great! Look forward to another long run with the team next Saturday, then we head out to Oklahoma for a two week visit.

Urban Running

So today we trekked into Seattle and started our run from Gasworks Park. I had never been there before and was eager to see it. As we started from the parking lot though, I had to do my sight seeing post run.

The day was absolutely amazingly beautiful. After nearly a week of rain which I think was contributing to my bad attitude (well along with the PMS) it was awesome to see the sunshine. Even though I was up before the sun, I had a beautiful drive in and was teezing fritties before we got started, it didn't take long to find a rhythm, settle in and enjoy the Pacific Northwest on a sunny day. The most amazing news was that our meager team of 600 has raised nearly $400,000 to date so we've nearly reached our goal of half a million. We're still not there though so if you've yet to make your donation it's not too late (http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood).

As for me personally, I'm experiencing my best season to date. The training is going amazingly well (I logged almost 75 miles last month, a new record) and I've started the weekday attempts at early rising to get my runs in pre-work so I have more energy during the day and more time in the evening with my family. So far I've managed to get one in, mostly because I couldn't fathom running first thing in the morning with dumping buckets of rain on me on Thursday. This week though, the goal is Tuesday am run (so I can yoga with my boss at lunch) and Thursday am run (so I can walk with one of the mentors in the pm). April's goal is 125 miles!

The fundraising though has also been fantastic! I'm bonding with my teammates on a new level and meeting some truly amazing people. This morning as I was running I encountered Stu. He came up behind me with the traditional "GO TEAM" and we proceeded to swap event histories and such. I asked him how many marathons he'd done and he told me a staggering 26. 26, I couldn't believe it! So you must assume he's a fellow in his mid 50's who got started early on but you'd be wrong. He's 76 and he didn't start running until he was 47. The guy left me in the dust. He was totally awesome and paced with me for awhile.

I've included some photos from today's run from the park and surrounding area. I didn't take my camera with me and I didn't have it in me to go back out on the course to take some shots but these are still pretty cool and hopefully entertaining.

GO TEAM!

Catching up with the pack

Well, I've been a bit remiss in my blogging concerning my training, mostly because I wanted it to be all sunshine and roses...now I'm realizing it's more like sunshine and rain (like the WA weather) or peaks & valleys may be a more apt description.

As far as running goes March has been amazing...my distance is picking up, the runs are starting to feel effortless and comfortable (only took 2 years). I attribute that to the weight loss but also to finally embracing what the running can do for me mentally. If I don't run for several days, I start to get anxious and tense, snappy and such. Two weeks ago I didn't blog because while the run was actually really great, my attitude pretty much bit it. The trail was nice, the team was great, the weather was decent, but wow, I had a bad attitude. I decided to blog about it after all simply because I imagine this must be what going through chemo is about. You may feel like the treatment went well and you had a good visit, but by the end of the day you're puking up your guts and feeling like a nuclear bomb went off inside of you. So I decided to shield the bad training days and just be completely honest about it all. That being said, this was a lazy week. I managed to get a great run in on Sunday last week that made up for the poopy Saturday run. I ran at lunch on Tuesday which was AWESOME! I'm hoping to do more of that this week. I intended to go on my long run this week...so prepared, everything laid out the night before...but I woke up at 4:30am which was an hour early, already in a mood and surprisingly (gasp) it was raining. So I turned off the alarm and decided a week to sleep in was in order...However, today the sun is shining and I'm looking forward to a good long run.

As for the fundraising, it's going great! We're at an official $700 and there is another $122 waiting to be deposited this week. That's more than 80% of our goal, but we're not there yet. We still need your help! Even if it's just $5, every little bit helps!