Carol is my running mentor and inspiration. She turns 73 on Thursday and she still runs races. She was so happy with her performance this past Saturday in the Garcon Point Bridge run. I think she did the 4.8 miles in just over an hour, which is pretty fast for her. She was an inspiration for me to start running. A few weeks ago she gave me a birthday present, a pale blue technical running shirt. She wanted me to have something other than pink (since I complained that all the gear I found so far was all pink). I wanted to get her something nice for her birthday, since she has been so supportive and inspiring to me.
I found a company called One More Mile. I saw a shirt on someone at a race that said on the back, "Please God, let there be someone behind me reading this". I asked the lady where she found it and she told me she got it at an expo in Virginia, but I could find it at onemoremile.net. I looked at the site and found the perfect item for her. I got her a marathon cap that says "will run for beer"! At my first 5k, the NFCU one this past May, they didn't have beer at the after-party. Carol walked back to her car and grabbed a beer from a cooler she had brought. She loves the post-race beer. So I thought that hat was perfect. She loved it!
So I thanked her for being an inspiration and coach and mentor. I told her that I would need her support as I embarked on a new training program. The official title of this program is "Holy Cr*p! What Was I Thinking?" I said I'm running the Disney Half Marathon in January. She is so excited for me. Everyone at the table was surprised. Carol asked if I had told Bill and I laughed and said that I had. She asked what his reaction was and I said he just laughed and said he wasn't surprised. I laughed and said that was exactly the reaction I expected!
I still think I am nuts to do this, especially when I see the 10-12 mile runs on the calendar. But I am going to do it and I'm going to have fun!
... break break ...
In other news, Rava has been doing beautifully. Her gait has improved incredibly. To the point where my friend Angela commented on it as we left the shop tonight. She is walking like normal! She is a little slow, but doing great. I'm trying to take it easy on her, by making her use the ramp to get in the shop rather than the stairs. She climbed up onto the Kuranda beds in the living room tonight on her own and didn't seem to be in any additional pain. I am thinking about stopping the pain meds, but I don't want her to be in pain. She is on them only for another day or so.
The dog crate in the living room has proven to be a great cat playground. The cats go in there, burrow under the fleece pad and the one who is not under the pad attacks the one who is. They are having a great time in it! I may just leave it up for a few more days to give them some entertainment.
I had t-shirts made for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk coming up this Saturday. Carol and I had a talk and she wanted to pay for half of the shirts. Yarnside paid for the other half. There are eight walkers on the team and we have raised over $2200 so far, which is pretty darn good!
The shirts are a light heathered grey and look like this on the back. They are plain on the front:
I'm pleased with mine. I wore it all day at the shop. Then I spilled a little dinner on it. Into the laundry it goes. As long as it is ready for Saturday, who cares? I'll take a picture of the whole team in them Saturday. I'll need it for the shop web site too.
Angela made a comment that just made me smile tonight. She said that we had to go jeans shopping because these jeans are just too big. I wore my skinny jeans last week and they were a little big. Wow! I haven't lost a ton of weight, but I have lost some inches. The skinny jeans were a size 6. I am almost at a weight that I don't think I've seen since middle school.
And it is not just the weight loss and the clothes. I feel good! I don't get winded walking to places. I have energy. I'm happy with the changes in my body. I hope that I will be able to maintain an enjoyment for running for a while. I don't want to run a marathon, but I don't want the half marathon to be the last goal. OK, I ran it, I don't have to run any more. I hope I'll be able to figure out a way to keep the running fresh and enjoyable.
Thanks for reading this; I know it's been long.
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