Peace Like a River

When I first started with TNT I really wondered how I was going to give up my Friday nights and Saturday mornings. It use to be that I used those Fridays to relax after long weeks by hiding the phone, fixing dinner, and then just sitting down with the TV and a good movie and a bed time that came about whenever I felt like going to sleep. Now that I'm up by 4:30 every Saturday to run, my Friday night routines have been forced to change. Now I actually have to come home, eat well, and get myself into bed by 10, or I'll be dead in the morning. Especially now that we're starting to get into serious distances. What I didn't expect was how peaceful it can be to watch the sunrise over the Red River on saturday mornings. There's something incredibly peaceful and calming knowing its just you, the river, and the sun. I had a very long, very stressful week, but those 2 hours running, with the sun slowly coming up over the river, reminded me how quickly things can change. In the end, it ended up being an enjoyable, peaceful, 14 mile run. Next week we take a short bump down to 12 before we jump up to 16 the following week. It should be fun! :)

Easy 15

This week wasn't nearly as exciting as my last couple of runs. I turned in a nice, easy, 15 miles at race day pace, which was definitely a plus. If I can keep up my 7:45-8:00/mile pace as we keep increasing the distances I should be in fine shape to hit the 3:30:00 mark when I get to Dublin. It'll be nice when the weather finally starts cooling off.
The one interesting side note from this week's run is that we did start a new group of TNTer's. The winter/spring season is upon us already. I can't believe time is moving by so fast. I definitely need to finish up my fundraising! Recommitment time is almost here! It'll be interesting to see how this new group of runners develops. Hopefully they'll match or even surpass us! :)

Chili Dogs and Wardrobe Malfunctions

Okay, so I know it's been a little while since I posted anything on here. I have a valid reason this time though - my internet hasn't been working. So, what have we missed? Our last two Saturday runs have been of the 12 mile variety but next week we step up to 14 miles. As these last two runs have showed me it's time that I actually get serious about my running if I really want to try for a sub-3.5 hour finish.

Saturday, July 31, 2009.
Not my best run by any stretch of the imaginition. With a combination of poor decisions and bad luck I officially had my first run that I really struggled with during this training. Friday night I decided to forgo any sort of decent dinner and just eat chili dogs...just let me tell you, this is not an appropriate food to eat the night before a long run! After my delicious and oh so healthy dinner I had no desire to go to bed at a decent time so I watched a little (or a lot) or T.V. and fell asleep about 1am. Needless to say when my alarm went off at 4:15 I wasn't ready to get up and I thought I hit the snooze button. Unfortunately I discovered at 5:45 that I had actually hit the unplug the alarm clock button! After a mad dash around my apartment I hurried downtown to arrive at our starting point about 30 minutes late. Since the rest of my team had already started their runs, I just took off on my run, abandoning any sort of warm-up/stretching/eating/drinking before leaving for a brisk 12 mile run. Thankfully we do have aid stops along the way because I would never have made it otherwise. I wrapped up with a 1 hour and 42 minute run, about 12 minutes above where I really want to be.

Saturday, August 8, 2009.
Now this run started off much better than my last. I succeeded in eating carbs the night before, drank plenty of water, and although I played some rockband with a couple of friends, I managed to get in bed and asleep before 10:30. I even successfully got to our starting point in time to join my team at the start of our run. I took off thinking this was going to be a pretty good run.

As a soccer player I have no shortage of shorts lying around my room and while some are heavier and some are bigger than others I usually don't try too hard to grab a specific pair of shorts before I run. I do have some specially made "running shorts" but I had been having issues with keeping them tight enough on my waist so I opted for a pair soccer shorts instead. Unfortunately, to chagrin, and my teammates amusement, I did not grab the right pair of shorts. Somewhere around mile 7/8 my shorts had reached their saturation point, not an unusual occurance, even at 6am in Louisiana during the summer. What I failed to realize until that point was that even these shorts were a bit loose around the waist. For the next couple of miles I was pulling my shorts back up every 15-20 steps and by the time I finished mile 10 I was running with a hand attached to my shorts to keep them from falling all the way off. Luckily I managed to catch up with the ladies training for the half marathon and after they all got a good laugh at my shorts falling off repeatedly I decided to finish my 12 miles at an easy run/walk pace to keep my shorts up around my waist.

Next week: 14 miles!

Team-In-Training / Dublin Marathon

Okay, so most of the people reading this blog already know this, but I'm one of those crazy people that enjoys running absurdly long distances for fun. In fact I've run two marathons this year. What you may not know is that this time I've decided to be a little more structured with my training, and while doing that, make my run count for something.

I am training to run the 2009 Adidas Dublin Marathon in Dublin, Ireland on October 26, 2009 to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

An estimated 138,530 people in the United States were diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma in 2008 and they will kill an estimated 52,910 people in the United States this year. In other words, blood cancer will kill one child or adult every ten minutes, or 145 people every day.

LLS is a non-profit organization that has made great strides in understanding blood cancer and the lifesaving drugs and treatments to fight them. Since LLS was created in 1949, it has invested more than $600 million in leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research. It currently underwrites the work of more than 379 active grantees and 116 institutions in the United States and abroad. Five year survival rates have drastically improved in the last 40 years (myeloma has increased 20%; Hodgkin Lymphoma increased 45%; Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma increased 29%; and Leukemia has increased 34%) in large part to efforts of LLS.

LLS offers the most comprehensive array of services to patients and families touched by blood cancers. With over 68 chapters throughout the United States, it conducts life-enhancing programs, including support groups, peer counseling, educational programs and patient financial aid. LLS also hosts numerous teleconferences and Web casts for medical professionals to share the latest research findings.

I have two goals: 1) to finish the marathon (26.2 miles) in under 3.5 hours and 2) to raise $6,500 for LLS. I have been training to run the marathon but I need your help in reaching my fundraising goal!

Please join me in supporting LLS in the fight against blood cancer and make a donation. All contributions are welcome and 75% goes directly to research, patient services, education, advocacy and community service. Plus your donation is 100% tax deductible! Also, if you could help spread the word to your friends and family, it would be greatly appreciated.

You can make a donation online at my webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ms/dublin09/socrrulz02
or email me if you'd like to send a check and I'll give you instructions on how to do that.

Email: andrew.olsen@alumni.lsu.edu

If you would like more information on LLS, their website is www.lls.org

Businesses are also welcome to become a corporate sponsor with packages ranging from $1,000-10,000. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor and having your company name and logo displayed, please send me an email and I will give you the details.

P.S. If you or someone you know has fought a battle with a blood cancer and you would like for me to run "In Memory" or "In Honor" of them on Race Day please send me an email.