Running from mosquitoes (Lindsey)

We're back (after entirely too long...many apologies)

Because Lauren is off traveling through China and hasn't had the chance to update you all on her good news, I feel I should begin by saying....SHE FINISHED THE RACE (and in a good time, too)! I will let her relay the rest of the gory race-day details but wanted to be sure to give her credit for being an incredibly tough athlete, even on an overcast day and without her training buddy. She was awesome! And Dad & I spent most of March 29, 2009 chasing the race on Marta, hopping from one point to the next, cheering & whistling & generally embarrassing our running friends. It was a blast! I also managed to make it off my crutches in time to run up one small hill with Lauren for moral support....so in a sense, I did in fact compete in Atlanta ING.

However, due to my femoral stress fracture & consequent gimpiness, I was unable to be a marathon finisher. So....I have decided to re-train with Team in Training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon on October 18, 2009. I will continue to train in honor of Maddie & Daniel, and will also train for Kate (our Nike team's special honored hero). Check out my new training page for more info: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/nikesf09/lhorton.

The interesting twist to my blogging this time around is that I will begin my first three months of training in the Philippines, where I am scheduled to work starting in 3 days. So, not only will I be running for life and hope and a cure for blood cancers. I will also be running away from mosquitoes, possibly dodging scooters & taxis & stray animals & potholes. And while I have no idea what exactly this will mean for my training, I do know it will be an adventure. As of today, I have my mosquito net & DEET ready, my bags almost packed, and my veins pumped absolutely full of vaccines.

So far, I have clocked a total of about 25 miles since the injury, and things are feeling good. No pain. Plenty of muscle memory. It is looking hopeful. I will try to blog as often as I can once I arrive in the Philippines...so please follow along for updates on my attempt at training on the equator.

Thank you all for your support & friendship throughout these many journeys,

Lindsey

The final 10 days… countdown to ING! (Lauren)

As I approach the final week leading up to the half marathon, I’m trying to do everything right. I’m testing out the various types of Gus and Energy beans and Carbo-loading fruit snacks. I’m drinking lots of water (and making lots of emergency runs to the ladies room). I’m eating well, and turning down invitations for late nights out and dehydration-inducing drinks. I’m stretching daily. And right when I was starting to run again, after a brief run-in with foot pain, I’m tapering off the high mileage. The running schedule is back to 2’s and 3’s, where 12’s and 13’s used to be.

It’s hard to imagine the time is really here. When we started running in November, it felt like it would never end… literally. I truly did not think I would survive. I guess we all surprise ourselves sometimes.

But at our “Countdown Meeting” for Team in Training on Monday, the coaches and mentors applauded everyone for their efforts, and congratulated us for making it here. We picked up our Team in Training race day gear, and reflected on the fact that we have actually made it this far… and our coaches gave us a statistic that absolutely blew me away. The Georgia ING team alone has raised over $140,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society… and that is at a time when budgets all over the country and the world are shrinking. Lindsey and I have raised over $5200 all by ourselves—above and beyond the goal we set for ourselves.

Of all the things I will take from this experience (sore muscles, aching feet, a much-more-powerful heart, another worn out pair of running shoes, a purple Team in Training singlet, and a foot-immobilizing boot, to name a few), I think the most incredible gift has been to see the very best in our friends and family. We have been able to witness first-hand the incredible generosity of the people around us, and it has been truly inspiring.

I do believe we have each made a difference, in our own way… and all together, the contribution we’ve made has been enormous. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And wish me luck!!!

PS… if anyone wants to come out on race day and cheer, my dad and Lindsey will be making the trip. I’d love to see you!

Double digits! (Lauren)

Guess what? I made it through my first ever double-digit run! Yes, that’s right, I ran 10 miles on Saturday, and survived… even felt pretty good after! Thanks to our awesome teammates, and the many Team in Training water-stop volunteers, I finished 10 miles smiling, and excited for more!

Like all good things, though, that adrenaline-induced euphoric feeling that can only come from a good hard workout quickly came to an end. When I immediately went to the High Museum after my run, and then tried to go out on the town for a friend’s birthday, my dizzy head and aching feet brought me back to reality. I had run a crazy long distance, and it really did take it out of me!

Still, though, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment (Facebook-status-worthy accomplishment, even). Double-digits, and for the first time I have real confidence that 13.1 miles is within reach. Yay!

On a much less happy note, after a few days’ experiment walking on her own this week, Lindsey’s pain came back, and Dr. Dad ordered her back on crutches to continue resting her injured IT band.

This whole twist in our training story has been an incredible test of poor Lindsey’s patience, and a lesson for both of us that life doesn’t always work out the way you plan it. The last thing I would have imagined when Lindsey first drug me to the information session for this event was that I would end up running it alone, while Lindsey cheered from the sidelines on crutches. No fun!

It is amazing, though, how sometimes the timing of things seems strangely appropriate. Within this period of frustration for us, I have been reminded several times of the real reason for our efforts. A friend from school lost her mother to leukemia just a few weeks ago, and within a few days after receiving that news, I learned of another young person here in our community who has just been diagnosed with leukemia. About one week later, I opened the morning newspaper, to find a story about a child in Atlanta who died of the very same disease. It was a harsh reminder of all the work still to be done in the fight against blood cancers.

In light of these sobering events, I have come to feel even more strongly about the cause I am running to support. Ultimately, whatever happens to us over the course of this training experience will be inconsequential, when compared to the incredible accomplishment of raising $5000 to help move toward a cure for blood cancers… and if Lindsey ends up postponing her running to another event, later down the road, I hope we can all see it as one more opportunity to stand up and make a statement about the importance of funding research about diseases like leukemia and lymphoma.

Thank you one more time to those of you who have helped us in this effort. I know we say it a lot, but you really have no idea how much it means to us to scroll through our list of donors, and see all your names there. I find myself truly overwhelmed by your generosity and support.

For those who haven’t had a chance to contribute yet, it’s not too late! Visit our website. It’s super easy to do, and really means a lot to us, and to all the people whose lives your donation will someday touch.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

TEAMwork... (Lindsey)

As a big sister, I feel it is my duty in life to support and encourage, to lead by example, to give advice and lend a hand. But the past few weeks of training (or lack thereof) have taught me that little sisters can be pretty good at these things, too. So I wanted to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to Lauren, who has not only carried me on piggy-back around the house (and brought me drinks, done my share of the chores, loaned me her Emory parking pass) but has also continued to run the miles for both of us! While I am hobbling around making my morning coffee, she is out logging 10 MILE RUNS all by herself. And while I must admit feeling a bit jealous each time she straps on her running shoes, I am mostly proud of the hard work she is doing. Lauren is definitely carrying this team in more ways than one, and I hope you will all come out to cheer her (and hopefully me) on during the race on March 29th!

Plan F... (Lindsey)

I would like to amend Lauren's previous post by adding Plan F, which was devised after a visit to see the medical experts yesterday regarding this so-called IT band tear/pull/injury. See, while doctors would have me believe that crutches, rest, ice and elevation are all key to the long-term healing process, I am tempted to speed things up a bit -- and despite some evidence to the contrary, I remain quite confident that this story will have a happy ending. So, here is my plan.

Plan F - Lindsey gets a few shots of cortizone, runs the race pain-free, heroically crosses the finish line in record time, and celebrates with a good cup of her favorite coffee and perhaps an ice cream sundae!

I admit, It may not be as hilariously photogenic as the piggy-back plans -- but doesn't everyone prefer the happily-ever-after Hollywood ending? So keep your fingers crossed for us, and let me know if you have any medical tips (conventional or otherwise).

You might be training for a Team in Training marathon if... (Lauren)

10. You run 5 miles the day after battling the stomach flu, because you just can’t miss another day of training
9. You worry you might get carpal tunnel from writing thank you notes to so many amazing friends and family members
8. You find yourself digging through your running clothes, wishing you had more purple… Go team!
7. You carry an emergency kit in your car—running shoes, a pair of leggings, and a sports bra!
6. If you walk toward the door of the house, the dog comes running, expecting an outing.
5. You feel pretty awesome when you slip on your neon orange reflective vest… Safety first!
4. You have sworn off cotton.
3. You have a new appreciation for the meaning of $13
2. Two months ago you might have been jealous of your sister who pulled a muscle and has a great excuse not to run… but now you just feel sorry for her, and anxious to get her back on the trail with you!
1. You find yourself constantly in awe of the incredible generosity of your friends and family members, and totally at a loss for words to describe how much it means!

This week is a really exciting moment for us, because we have passed the $3000 mark in our fundraising, and passed it with flying colors. There is still more to be raised, but we are absolutely humbled by the generosity we have seen from both expected and unexpected places.

Unfortunately, all that excitement has been tempered by Lindsey’s pulled muscle, which has put her on crutches and out of training for a week now. Rest assured, though, that we have devised several alternative plans, in case she can’t run the half marathon.

Plan A: Lindsey runs
Plan B: Dad runs, and carries Lindsey piggy-back
Plan C: Lauren runs, and carries Lindsey piggy-back
Plan D: Cooper runs, and carries Lindsey side-saddle
Plan E: We drop out of the race and enter the wheelchair division instead.

So have no fear, the race will go on. Thank you all so much for helping us cross this major marker in our fundraising! We really do feel like we are all together going to make a huge difference in the fight against blood cancers, and we couldn’t do it without all of you.

Remember there is still time to join in the $13 in 13 days challenge! Go to the website and check it out ☺

My Beverage of Choice (Lindsey)

So I have been thinking a lot about beverages lately.

Maybe that's a bad thing - some indication of Christmas festivities taken too far - but I just can't seem to get drinking off my mind. And it's not just wine or beer or Mom's hot buttered rum that I've been contemplating (in fact, between grad school and running and teaching on Saturdays, I rarely have space in my life for even a half glass of wine). Mostly I think about tea and coffee, Diet Coke and lemonade, pomegranate, orange, apple, carrot and grapefruit juice. I think about milk, too - soy or regular, skim or 1%. Sometimes, I even think about plain water.

And I guess the recurring theme as I ponder these beverages is overwhelming bewilderment at the power of a simple glass of ____(fill-in-the-blank)____ to have such an impact on my training. I know this should not surprise me as much as it does. After all, common theory suggests that we are what we eat. And if this is true, I suppose we might also possibly be some form of what we drink.

But for some reason, I am blown away at the power a small glass of orange juice holds - the power to kick-start a 6-mile run, the power of instant hydration and a perfectly subtle sugar high. I am also amazed at the power of that half glass of wine to add a good 2 minutes to my run time (that is, if I manage not to snooze through my three alarm clocks first).

As I contemplate my drinking habits, I begin to wonder what my perfect marathon training beverage might be. According to Runner's World magazine, everyone's is different. Some people swear by Gatorade, or Powerade, or just plain water. Others won't start a run without the antioxidizing power of POM. There are also those crazy marathoners who manage to down a six-pack of their favorite beer during a race - one every 4 miles or so. There are the milk drinkers, the juice-lovers and those who abstain from hydration (perhaps wishing for an excuse to drop out early).

And then there are the coffee addicts. These are runners who appreciate the power of caffeine in the early morning, who perhaps need that extra jolt to get them started. These are runners who take the longer course because it leads them past a Starbucks, where they can order their perfectly blended tall nonfat latte to-go (and continue running). These are runners who credit their bodies with the ability to do powerful things, but aren't above asking for a little help to put themselves in overdrive. These are runners who understand that teamwork is the best way to cross the finish line - that me plus coffee is much more effective than me alone. And these are the runners who have that crazed and overstimulated look in their eyes, even at the 5:00am starting line.

So which is my perfect marathon training beverage? Well, my conscience might urge me to choose water for its pure hydrating quality and natural cleansing ability. And I am sure you might respect me more if I said Gatorade, Powerade, Muscle Milk or another "real" runners' beverage. But really, what's the harm in asking for a little help before hitting the pavement? I am all for appreciating the value of teamwork. And so, after taste testing and much deliberation, I say... bring on the buzz!