One Week To Go!!

One week from right now I will be running the Nike Marathon in San Francisco.  I am getting NERVOUS!!  I'm mostly concerned that I won't get to mile 18 3/4 by noon, and will be directed to head to the finish line.  Yes - I did find out the inside information - everyone gets to finish, which means no matter what I will get that Tiffany's necklace - I just don't want to finish with an asterisk. *Finished, but didn't really complete 26.2.  That would suck.  So...I am going to ask my chiro for a doctor's note so I can do the early start at 5:30 am if I decide I need more time.  My knee has been okay, but I had some twinges when I did my 8 miles yesterday.  My left knee has been hurting a little too because I think I've been overcompensating.  I probably need to get a brace for that one too!

Tomorrow I'm running in the Tufts 10K with some friends from TNT.  It's supposed to be a beautiful day.  Then I have 3 more days of hell at the office before heading to San Francisco.  ShelleyS and I are planning on getting together for dinner one night while I'm in the Bay Area.  I can't wait to see her again!

I have also registered for the Tulsa World Route 66 half marathon on Nov. 16th - the flight price went down by $75 so I decided to book it.  That means I get to meet Bridget1961!

I also booked what I like to call a "pilgrimmage" to Ohio in December to visit my mom.  I actually haven't seen her in a little over 4 years.  Back in 2004 I went home about 8 times - a lot of drama was happening - she sold the house and needed help moving, one of my sister's got into legal trouble, etc. so I was back and forth quite a bit.  Then I started at my current job, and just didn't have the time or the energy to go for a visit, plus I was so overweight I didn't want my mom to see me.  Anyway, I figured with all the recent losses we've had, I need to go home and see my mom. 

I think I've caught you all up on what's been going on!  Hope you've all had a great weekend!!

A Meme - All About Jerel

Found this on Michelley's blog and thought it was fun.  If you have a hubby or SO, try it and let me know!

1.  He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? CNBC in hi def

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Honey mustard

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Peanut butter

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Maker’s Manhattan straight up extra sweet

5. Where did he go to high school? Millis High School

6. What size shoe does he wear? 9

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Dogs

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Eggplant or Portobello mushroom

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Baked penne

10. What is his favorite cereal?  He doesn’t really eat cereal

19. Did he play sports in high school?  I think he played soccer, but not sure if it was an official school sport or not.

20. What could he spend hours doing? Playing games on his iPhone or laptop

Sad News

Jerel just called...his wonderful grandmother Sylvia passed away this morning.  We knew she had a taken a turn for the worse - she had stopped eating and gone from 113 lbs to 103 lbs.  She was 91, and I really loved her. 

When I first met Jerel's family, she was really the only one who welcomed me, and over the years was the person we spent the most time with.

So...it's not really been a good few weeks, has it?  It can only get better.

Guess Who I Met Today??

That's right...I met Jay Kruger, from "The Biggest Loser" Season 5!!  He was waiting for people at the finish line of the BWS 5K I ran this morning, and I couldn't help but take the opportunity to meet him, get a photo, and I even got a hug when I told him I'd lost 100 lbs!!

It was an AWESOME race.  Mostly flat, one good hill, one fantastic downhill.  Official times haven't been posted yet, but I ran under the clock at 37:45, which isn't a PR, but I did do something I've never done in a race before.  I. Did. Not. Walk. One. Step.  That's right, I ran the entire race.  Do you have any idea how FABULOUS I feel?!!

TGIF!!!

I am SO glad it's Friday!!  Only 8.5 working days until I fly off to San Francisco!!

I am happy to report that my chiropractic appointment went very well.  He actually started out using the Graston Technique on my knee, which basically helps to break down scar tissue, of which I have plenty after 2 knee surgeries.  Then we also did some Active Release Therapy.  He also showed me some different stretches to do.  I immediately felt relief in my knee, and was able to run about 6 miles yesterday morning.  I'm going to see him again a couple more times before the big marathon.

They also have someone who does Kinesio taping - if you watched any of the volleyball matches during the Olympics with Kerri Walsh she had her shoulder taped.  I may go see him too.  I will do whatever it takes to finish that darn marathon!!

Hope everyone has had a great week, and have a wonderful weekend!

Rocktober 2008!!!

Another new month is here, ushering in the last quarter of 2008!  This year has flown by!  We are approaching my favorite time of the year though – cooler days and nights, the leaves changing color, the holiday season.  Ahhhhh.  Most importantly, the Nike Marathon is a mere 18 days away!

Training has been long and hard, and I am so looking forward to having my Saturday mornings free again.  I am still planning on running, but for maybe 6 -8 miles, not 16 – 18!

Tonight is my ART appointment.  I hope it’s as good as everyone says it is, and I hope it helps my knee pain.  I did see my nurse practitioner at the gym yesterday morning, and she said she would send me for an MRI and give me a referral to see my orthopedic surgeon if this doesn’t help.  I don’t think I mentioned I never went to see him a couple of weeks ago because she was on vacation and no one in her office would give me a referral without seeing a doctor first.  Of course, since I was chained to my desk because of the Lehman situation that wasn’t possible.

I have a 5K this weekend down in New Bedford.  It’s the one that Jay from last season’s Biggest Loser talked about doing for his daughter, who suffers from Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome.  Maybe I can get a picture with him and Mark!

Hope everyone is having a great week – I apologize again for being a horrible blog friend and not commenting.  I promise to try and do better!

**Edited to add pretty orange color a la Shelley!!

Final Push for Donations!!

I haven't mentioned it in awhile...but I am raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in order to run the Nike Marathon. 

The Nike Marathon is now just 20 days away!!  I’ve been training hard over the last several weeks in order to accomplish my goal of completing the race, as well as raise money on behalf of my honored heroes:

Allen Novick

Barbara Cloude Turner

Joe Mulholland

With your help, I am now the #2 fundraiser for the Boston City Team!!

However, I am still trying to reach my personal goal of raising $8,000.  Any amount you donate will help:

$25 pays for a patient’s chemotherapy prescription copay.

$50 registers a person to become a bone marrow donor.

$75 pays for bone marrow typing for a potential donor.

$100 covers a patients’ travel cost to a cancer treatment center.

$1000 will help fund a researcher who will help LLS find a cure.

712,000 Americans who would have died are surviving because of research funded by LLS.

Even better, since I have raised the minimum amount needed to participate in the Nike Marathon, 100% of your donation will go to the Society!!

Please visit my fundraising page:  http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/nikesf08/andrean

Please consider donating to this worthy cause!!

When Will It End?

As my boss said last week in a group meeting – what is going on in the financial markets is “unprecedented”.  It’s hard to believe this current upheaval has been going on for almost 3 weeks.  I am so tired of it – it truly is exhausting.

The situation has definitely cut into my marathon training, and I really hope I’m going to be able to finish the race.  On Saturday I had my 20 mile run scheduled, but ended up only running 16.  I just could not muster the energy and felt completely lousy for the last 8 miles or so of the run.  I tried some new insoles (Superfeet) in my shoes that left my feet and arches aching.  I was going to switch them over to the regular insoles because Jerel was helping out with water support, but he didn’t end up being with the car where I thought he would be.  The insoles did, however, take the pressure off of my big toes, so I guess that’s one good thing!  Hopefully my feet will get used to them in the next few weeks.

I think I mentioned that my right knee has been aching, and I’m almost 100% sure it’s IT band related.  It’s not getting any better, so I have an appointment on Wednesday to see a chiropractor about Active Release Therapy (ART).  It’s supposed to be fantastic, and I’m hoping it will solve my problem.

Like Tatum'sMom, I'm having trouble on some blogs with the security code not loading properly.  Using a different browser isn't an option for me though, because my company doesn't give me administrative rights in order to download anything.  I sent the issue into EP, so hopefully they will get it taken care of.

Doing Okay

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support.  I truly appreciate it.

The service was yesterday (which means I did get to run the half on Sunday – race report to come).  In a way, it was very odd.  Her temple doesn’t allow funeral services – something about the scrolls and the sanctuary (Jerel tried to explain it, but obviously I wasn’t listening) – so the whole thing happened graveside.  The rabbi rambled on and on about how close Brenda and Seth (Jerel’s brother) were – they did have a strangely close relationship – which sort of made it seem like Jerel was the odd man out, which is basically true.  Anyway.  He kept talking about how much Brenda did for the temple, and how she would do anything for you if you asked.  Well, okay.  Maybe she would do anything for you, but trust me – she wouldn’t let you forget that she had done it!  I know, shouldn’t speak badly of the dead.

After the service we went back to the house for a couple of hours.  Ladies from Hadassah (a Jewish women’s group) had food set up and were taking care of things.  Had a little something to eat, and just talked to relatives for a couple of hours.  I lost track of the number of times I was asked if we had any kids, which they followed by “oh, not yet”.  Um…not ever, thanks very much!  That was just weird, because we’re never asked that question – probably because we don’t really get together with family!

Back to the office today, where things seem a little calmer than they did last week, but not by much.  I really need to get to the gym tonight – I haven’t done any strength training in 2 weeks.  Tara is really going to po’d about that.

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to read some blogs today!

30 - Oops - 29 Days and Counting

Yesterday I had a grand blog ready to go in my mind about how the marathon was only a mere 30 days away, but the ability to post it was shattered by the newly announced SEC restriction on short-selling financial stocks for the next 2 weeks.  For those of you who don't know, my department is Securities Lending...where most of our business is loaning out stock to cover shorts.  So...another crappy day at the office.  I think I put in 54 hours this week.  Yay for OT, sad for my running.

Then, another shocker last night.  Got a call around 9 that my mother-in-law had passed away.  Definitely not expected.  My hubby is doing okay, but it's going to be a long few days.  He's out right now with his brother and aunt making the arrangements.  The service will probably be on Monday, although his aunt is pushing for tomorrow, which would mean no Maine Coast Half for me. 

Not that it would be a bad thing - I finally got out to run for the first time since last Saturday this morning, and my knee is hurting.  I'm almost 100% sure it's IT related, so I'm going to need to foam roll like a mad woman the next 4 weeks, because I sure don't want to walk 26.2 miles.  I also think I'm going to get one of those Cho-Pat straps to help keep my knee aligned.

Anyway, I'm glad this week is almost over - now to just get through this weekend, and what I'm sure will be family drama almost crazy enough to air on Jerry Springer.