April 18th 2009
We were to run around Alameda Shoreline. This track is close to Oakland Airport and to be honest my impression of the Oakland airport area is not very good, but when I started running around this trail, I changed my mind. The trail is beautiful, along the bay and the houses lining the trail are even more beautiful. Most houses have floor to ceiling windows overlooking the bay. How beautiful. Neways, I started the run and for the first time ever, the temperature was above 65. And I was not ready for that.
All these days when I was running in the cold, i wished for warmer weather and when the weather was warm, I wished I could take my words back. I wanted to run 8 miles again, though the recommended mileage for 1/2 marathoners was 5-7 miles this week. But after reaching the 3.25 mile mark, I simply didnt feel like I had the energy in me to go further. I didnt have a buddy and the weather was very warm. So I did about 6.5 miles, which is not bad at all. I also tried GU (which is basically an energy gel), during this run. When you are running for this amount of time, your body basically needs food after about 1/2 hour to carry on, so runners usually carry some kind of energy gel to get some instant energy. I did not quite like the taste of GU. It tasted too artificial. Like Slimfast but in gel form. I need to look for some other energy gel.
We also had Marathon University after the run which is where TNT invites local chiropractors, personal trainers etc to advice us on how to take care of our injuries etc. They had really great advice. We got great advice on taping before the race which could give support to your heels, knee etc.
I dont know if I mentioned this on my blog before. TNT (atleast our group) gives away Spirit Awards at each coached run. They select 3 team mates who are recognized for showing great spirit either motivating their teammates by showing a positive attitude or being putting in extra effort into fundraising or something unique. The Thursday of this week, during coached training, it was raining. There have been times during our training before where it has rained and most people in the team still show up and run, but this Thursday it was just coach Rudy and me at the track workout. That's how I got the Spirit Award. Though the reason was silly, I was excited to get the award :D:D:D
BTW, Maddie is back from the hospital and gave us a short visit. I did see her mom Chrissy running for a very short while. But it was nice to know that Maddie was finally back home. Jere also provides updates every 2 weeks or so and looks like she is doing good as well and hanging in there. She will get over this. She is a very very strong woman. LIVE STRONG Jere.
Fundraising update:
This weekend I finally got to selling the books that were donated to me in February. I was hoping to go to a local Farmer's market and sell my books there, since Rod said that he was able to do his fundraising that way, but none of the Farmer's market I spoke to allowed that. So I decided to sell my books in my front yard. So I basically made a flyer and invited people in my neighborhood for the sale. I also asked them to donate any spare change or buy some raffle tickets (For the Devina and Jennifer organized group fundraiser). I was able to get 4 prizes donated for the group raffle and apparantly, its just me and Rod doing this fundraising. Neways, my husband and me went to 175 houses in our neighborhood and distributed the flyers.
I had the sale on Saturday and Sunday. I tried selling the books on Craigslist for $5 each but noone showed any interest. So I reduced the price to $2 each, in the hope that people will buy cause of the reduced price. And I was right. Though I sold only 3 raffle tickets, I was able to sell most of my books. One guy who stopped over went mad looking at the collection. He was basically about to buy most of these books on Amazon. He gave me $50 for 16 books. I also had another neighbor stop by and give me a $50 check. His son passed away cause of leukemia when he was 7. He had run a full marathon through TNT a few years ago. I also learnt that another neighbor had done the Death Ride (the most difficult bike ride in the US I think). Yet another neighbor told me that he had just run the Santa Cruz full marathon that morning. It was great to meet so many of my neighbors. My husband also sat with me and gave me company. So now I am very very close to my goal.
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