Holiday Update

It’s been a while since my last post; here’s what’s been happening over the past two weeks.

I finally picked up my pack from Appalachian Outfitters. Jonathan, the owner, has been working with me to get a pack that fits just so and has had to order and reorder a few times. He’s been a fantastic help and Appalachian Outfitters will definitely be the first stop for the rest of my equipment needs. Thanks Jonathan!!

Last Sunday I took the pack out for a test drive at Paris Mountain. I dropped a little weight in it and did about 7-miles; mostly hiking but with some running to see how it felt. It was a beautiful day and the pack felt OK. Thanks Steve for showing me around the place.

I received some fantastic music selections from Beth (two full CDs!!!!!!), Richard, Steve, and Jim Cason. I love the variety of choices that everyone has provided and I’ll be thinking about you all as I cross the desert with music in my ears. If anyone else has some suggestions please don’t be shy; I’m crazy open-minded when it comes to music.

No financial donations this update, but I’m hopeful that people will consider that one additional charitable donation before the end of the year to help with taxes! GOTR can always use the help and I encourage you to check out their website to see what it’s all about. www.girlsontherun.org

Thanks again to everyone for your constant support. We are four months and counting.

Donations #2

Holy Smokes, two more very generous donations were submitted to GOTR last week in honor of the Sahara Marathon; one from Richard and another from the Garvins. What a great bunch of friends I have; thank you so much for your financial support of GOTR and your support to me as a friend. Amazing!

Music #2

First let me send out a personal thank you to the Spin-Maestro, Eli Voss for the most excellent compilation of music. I especially love the variations and will think of you as I cross the desert listening to “The Wand” by The Flaming Lips as well as “The Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes. Nice Work and thank you so much for the time and effort you put into the cd. Word on the street is that Beth Culp has some additional music to throw into the mix. I’ve had a sampling of that list and was thrilled with everything I heard thus far.

Of course I’m always looking for more music; please remember that this race will be 7 long days in the desert. The Theme from Shaft is only going to get me so far so please share the musical love.

Training Update #2

I was able to get some very good runs in last week and felt great. The Achilles is doing much better thanks to another visit to “The Healer”. I also followed up on my goal to increase my gym time and made it three times last week. Unfortunately I did not get my extra long run in due to a tennis weekend (a glorious weekend at the beach!), but did have 4 good, strong runs ranging from 6 to 8 miles. No pizza was eaten all week which I think may be a first for me and should be corrected immediately.

This week I am shooting for continuing my gym visits, increasing my run distance, and taking my first hike with the pack on Sunday.

Become a Follower

For those of you who would like to be an official follower I’ve provided some guidance on signing up. It is a little confusing so please use the instructions below:

1. Click on “Follow this Blog”
2. Click on “Forgot your Password”
3. Type in your email address on the “Or, what is your email address”
4. It will ask you to type in the characters you see; do so;
5. The response will be that your username is not found
6. Go to the second section and click on “If your address is correct”
7. Sign up for a Google account.

This will allow you to become a follower and will ultimately make my day. I do appreciate your continued support.

Training Update

It’s been a challenging week; both personally and professionally. These are one of those weeks when you are so very thankful for the ability to run. It is my saving grace; keeps me from jumping in front of a very fast moving train :-)

On a brighter note, I have agreed to “Donate my body to Science”. It’s not as dramatic as all that but several of us doing the race have agreed to be guinea pigs for a physician who will be calculating the true energy cost of competing in this event; looking at what proportion of this cost is derived from stored body fat. Since I have a good bit of that; this should be easily measured. The study requires that you measure and document your body fat, weight, VO2Max, Lactate Threshold, distance run that day, heart rate during that activity, and then any hours you spent cross training. Does eating pizza count as cross training? I’m hoping so.


I have contacted FIRST, the Furman Institute of Running & Scientific Training, to see if they will help support these measurements in some way. The study asks for the measurements to be made weekly but jeez, who has the money to do that. So I proposed to FRIST that I do it monthly and asked them for some support. They are currently considering it, which I take as a positive sign. Not sure if I want to know what my body fat is on a monthly basis let alone on a weekly basis, but I’ll do it for science.

Donations

GOTR received two very generous donations last week in honor of the Marathon de Sables. Thank you so much Ginger and Robert; I do appreciate your support. I’m hoping that y’alls action will open the flood gates!!

For those interested in supporting the cause, please go to the following link if you too would like to donate to GOTR: www.active.com/donate/teamtiara2009/dwillia873

Training

My first week of documented training is completed. I’ve been dealing with some nagging injuries that have kept me in a “repair” stage. I’ve seen a few specialists, Greg Spindler who specializes in Structural Energetic Therapy (SET); and Dr. Sijon, better known as “The Healer”. Between the therapy I’ve received from these gentlemen and some much needed rest (and lots of ice), I do believe I'm rounding the corner. The Achilles is getting stronger, the training is becoming more productive, and my energy level is getting back to normal. There is nothing more depressing than NOT being able to run!!!!!

I logged 32 road miles last week, plus some bike time and one gym workout. The goal for this week is to include at least one more gym workout, a longer bike ride, and increase my long run for Saturday. I put this in print to keep me honest; make me accountable to the training goals.