Excuses, excuses (Lauren)

This week, there is some good news and some bad news… which do you want to hear first?

Let’s be serious. It’s always the bad news first. So here goes.

This week we have fought some seriously epic battles to keep our training alive. For Lindsey, it was the hair-modeling gig, which left her with strict orders not to shower for at least 3 days (a story all its own… please feel free to ask Lindsey for details). Of course, for the good of the family, no showers meant no running for Linds.

For me, it was the arrival of Denton, who is home for the holidays. Don’t get me wrong here. Denton is a great supporter of my training… unfortunately, he’s also a great excuse to skip it, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to using that one a time or two.

And for both of us, it has been the extra study-demands of finals week at Emory, and the approach of my January MCAT date. Sometimes, between studying and sleeping, it seems to be hard to find time for much else.

Ahhh, the power of excuses. Luckily for us, though, the power of a running buddy is usually significantly stronger, and just the guilt I feel when I have to admit to Lindsey that I skipped a run is enough to get my running shoes on my feet and my behind out the door.

And that is the good news.

We are now one month into our training schedule, and we have each run over 50 miles already! It’s amazing how quickly the miles add up.

And maybe the best news of all is that we can feel it! Our very hilly two-mile course, which used to leave me gasping for breath, now feels comfortable. And I was relieved (... although maybe a little perturbed) when Lindsey informed me yesterday that the "perfect 3-mile course" she charted for us, and that we have run for the last several weeks, is, in fact, a 3.6 mile course. Sure, the first thing that went through my mind was a list of ways she could repay me for all the extra pain and suffering... but after that, I realized that we had accidentally jump-started our training, and that felt great!

So, the bottom line is that we are still trucking! One chilly winter morning run at a time, we are making steps toward our goal. Even our fundraising is off to a really promising start. However, we still need the help of all our amazing friends and family. Fundraising letters have made it out the door, so please take time to read them, and consider donating! It really is a great cause, and every little bit counts!

Meet Cooper...our favorite training partner and team mascot

Growing old (Lindsey)

November 27, 2008: Thanksgiving day and my 26th birthday. I set my alarm for 5:00am to allow time for a quick cup of coffee before my 5:30 interview with an environmental group in the Philippines. The alarm went off and I rolled over, cursing my decision to work in global health, wishing I could enjoy Thanksgiving morning like a normal person in my own time zone. I wanted to snooze – but the day wasn’t going to wait – so I rolled over and tried to sit up.

As I lifted my head off the pillow, I felt a sharp pain running from my neck all the way down my left shoulder and arm. I screamed, grabbed my shoulder, lay back down and began to roll around dramatically on the bed (which clearly proved pointless as nobody in the entire city of Atlanta was awake to sympathize). After a few moments of heightened agony, I tried to sit up again, winced as the pain returned – then began to curse my birthday.

My dad was right; I was over the hill, closer to 30 than 20. I have neck pain and probably a few gray hairs as of this morning. How in the world do I think I am going to run 13.1 miles in March? I haven’t run any miles since college. I have spent my early 20’s on a flat coral atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A taxi driver ran over my foot and broke it last April – I was on crutches for a good part of the spring, and my legs have just now started to look like they might be the same size again. What am I thinking? Why did I even consider marathon running in the first place?

After a few minutes of serious self-doubt, I decided to stop whining and get myself out of bed. I remembered my interview and realized I had approximately 7 minutes to get a cup of coffee, collect myself, and sign onto Skype. I also remembered that Dad and Lauren would be coming to pick me up for our family “turkey trot” at 9:00am. And 26 or not, I wasn’t about to let my dad or my baby sister show me up. So I got dressed, double-knotted, took a few Advil with my morning coffee and prepared to run.

(I am not sure the end of this story is particularly relevant. I don’t feel the need to confess that, in fact, my neck pain seemed to indicate some sort of minor disk problem – clearly brought on by this significant birthday – and it was enough to keep me from participating in the turkey trotting. I’m not sure you need to hear about my new found difficulty with heavy lifting either, or my inability to sit up without bending slightly to the right.)

What is really important is that I had an epiphany today. An epiphany about turkeys and trotting and 26 and neck pain. I had an epiphany that helped me to realize that I am, in fact, significantly handicapped and disadvantaged due to my old age. And now I don’t feel so bad about dragging my “somewhat-lazy, not-into-being-outdoors-in-the-cold” sister into this marathon thing. After all, she may be the self-proclaimed crybaby of the family, but she also has 3 years and 2 days less aches, pains, wrinkles and stiff joints to worry about. So Lauren, consider yourself blessed with a pair of youthful legs – and be prepared to help carry me on piggyback across the finish line in March!

Inspiration from elephants (Lauren)

So anyone who knows me is probably wondering how in the world a medium-fitness, somewhat-lazy, not-into-being-outdoors-in-the-cold person could possibly be planning to run a half-marathon in March. The good news is, you're not alone. I think about that pretty much every day now, when I look at my training schedule and the endless rows of 2's and 3's that eventually turn in to 7's and 8's. It's a daunting goal.

So let me explain. It all started in Asia. Well sort-of. See, Lindsey and I spent 3 weeks this summer traveling together in Southeast Asia. We visited Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, and had an absolute blast. We did a lot of things that I would have never thought I could do, including riding elephants bareback, trekking for three days in the mountains of Thailand, biking through the temples at Angkor in Cambodia, and eating some strange noodle-and-cabbage concoction from a street vendor in Laos in the middle of the night... there are lots of stories there, but that's not really the point.

There are two points: bonding and doing things we never thought we could.

So, after our summer of surprises and challenging experiences, Lindsey and I faced the most daunting challenge yet--moving home. Yes, we have BOTH moved back in with Mom and Dad.

The first few weeks were rough. With everyone still in summer mode, spending a little too much time around the house, there were some tense moments. Some tears on my part (the crybaby of the family), and a lot of general "adjustments." But, now that life has picked up pace, everyone is extremely busy, and it feels sometimes like we hardly see each other, except in passing at breakfast and sometimes on weekends. So once again, the question arises--what are we thinking? The last thing we need, it seems, is a commitment to run every day.

But, when Lindsey heard about Team in Training through Emory, and we went to the information session to learn more about it, we both decided we had to participate. What an incredible opportunity to take on one more challenge--to make a real, meaningful contribution to the fight against blood cancers, while also improving our own health, and spending time with each other!

Team in training will reach this year the $1 Billion mark, for total money raised since its beginnings for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We are so excited to be a part of that, and we hope that all our friends and family will be a part of it too, by contributing to our fundraising campaign. Please come back and check on our training blog, and visit our Team in Training website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/Georgia09/lhorton to check on our fundraising progress.

Thanks for all your support!