Stretching Clinic and Other Good Things

Hi all,

So I haven't done my long run yet and it is 5pm on a Saturday...feels weird but I guess this is what happens when I have to work. The plan is to do the long run (8 miles) tomorrow morning - EARLY! Also, I'll have to figure out where/how I'm going to work some H20 into the run. This is the problem with doing the long runs solo - no built in water stations and I'll have to fend for myself (sigh).

Even though I didn't get to run today, I did go to the stretching clinic this morning at 7:30 am before work with other team members. It was given by a doctor who is actually the national trainer for the Team in Training coaches. She just "happens" to live here in Tyler - go figure! Anyway, she's a sports medicine doc and a marathoner/ultramarathoner who gave us some pretty good advice about running and staying injury free. I think the first thing that I'm going to do is buy some ice packs so that I can do some anticipatory icing.

Fortunately, she told me that the leg tingling (pins and needles sensation that we often get from sitting awkwardly) that I used to get in my legs probably came from shoes that were too tight. Also, she told me that my crackly knees were nothing to worry about, though my lifelong dream to become a CIA covert, special agent (ala Sydney Bristow) has been dashed (big sigh). Anyway, lots of good advice about stretching, range of motion, muscle balance, etc. Wow, somedays I'm really suprised by what I'm doing. Perhaps this whole experience will make me a "runner". I used to run once-upon-a-time, but I do not know if that made me a runner, per se. I just successfully did a regimen of running 3-4 miles, 4-5 times a week for a few months and was able to lose a whole lotta wait (which seems to have crept back on, partially at least).

But I want to be a real runner. I just have this feeling that this is supposed to be me. Now, if I were just running to get into shape, things would be a lot easier. I'd do my little bit, I wouldn't have to raise funds (grrr....) and I'd look like a supermodel (hah! not!). But I'm not just getting in shape, I'm curing cancer. To cure cancer, I have to raise funds (hooray - at $1600!) and I have to run loooooooooong. Doing a marathon is not the most efficient way to lose weight, but it does require my heart and soul, now spread out to all the cancer fighters, survivors, and families (like mine) of those who have lost someone. If my heart and soul become a part of this, well -- maybe that makes me a real runner. I guess we'll see.

Next post - a report on the 8 miler and the March of Dimes