Marathon Mom

One of the girl's I will be running for next weekend has lost her fight Lymphoma ( ALCL ). Tonight at 5:30, McKenna got her angel wings, she has fought a tough battle since age 2 1/2. She had her second bone marrow transplant this past summer and has been in the hospital nearly ever since. McKenna turned 10 on October 29 th , what a fighter she was! I know she will be there next Sunday to watch over all of us along the marathon course and give us the encouragement we may need.

Matt and I decided to start Thanksgiving morning out in downtown Minneapolis along with 10,000 other people in the cold and run a 5K. We stood outside getting cold waiting for the run to started, but it really was the perfect morning for a run. Just as we started the snow began to fall and at about the halfway point as we were running along the river the flakes got bigger and it was gorgeous. I finished 23:xx, not too bad for having to dodge walkers and strollers and dogs for the first mile. No matter how many times the announcement was made to start in the back if you were walking, people just didn't listen I guess they assumed the other 8,000 people behind them must have been walking too. Matt finished 33:xx, not bad for not running since September . When we got home he he told me he wanted to run a marathon, was he serious? He said he'd watched me run enough and it was time for him to get out there. He wanted a Spring race, so we discussed and I think the decision is Grandm...

This week is done, I topped out at almost 65 miles. My body is needing a rest, my right calf, shin and ankle are hurting and I have no clue why. This happened one other time right before Fargo and then just went away, so I'm hoping it does that again. At least at this point I've trained and can cutback runs if needed to rest my leg. I just need to make it to race day healthy and in one piece. I need to knock those few minutes off my time so I can book my Boston hotel before they are completely full. I just keep telling myself "You can do this." What could be better than qualifying for Boston in Hawaii and then spending the rest of then day relaxing on the beach?

Starting with Saturday's Ironman Florida, another day of tracking and watching online video coverage of my teammates and coaches. They all did great, everyone finished with times between 11 hours and 14 hours 30 minutes, what an accomplishment. Someday, I'll do it! Saturday also brought some sad news, during the US men's Olympic trials in New York, Ryan Shay died. He was 28 and a great runner, he just collapsed at the 5 1/2 mile mark. This really makes you think about life and how fragile it is, no matter how well you take care of yourself. This brought an abrupt end to the celebration of the winner's when they heard the news. Sunday was the New York City Marathon, another day of tracking teammates online and everyone finishing. The big news of the race was the women's winner Paula Radcliffe who gave birth to her daughter just 9 months ago. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/sports/othersports/03runner.html?_r=1&ref=sports& oref = slogin Watching the finish...

After this morning's 17 miles I can definitely say that Fall is here in Minnesota. I think the shorts are packed away for at least a few months and the gloves, hats, pants, and jackets are coming out. I am getting better about cold weather running, but am still not the biggest fan, although this is the time of year when I am most proud of myself for getting out of bed in the dark and starting those runs in the cold. It is so nice to come home to that hot cup of coffee and sit in front of the fire! One exciting note, yesterday I met my fundraising minimum for TNT. Now I am just hoping to raise a little more a reach the $5000 mark!