Over Half Way There!

This weekend marked our half way point in training miles. Both Dave and I finished a 13 mile run this weekend. On race day that will get us through EPCOT and Magic Kingdom and half way to Animal Kingdom. Dave did his run on Saturday with the TNT group in Forest Park and I ran Monday morning at Cliff Cave Park. Cliff Cave flooded this year and you could still see mounds of dirt on the side of the trail where it had been plowed clear.This weekend was the first time this year that Dave and I had to wear gloves, so we know fall is here for sure. The big news for the week: I used my first gel! It was strawberry-banana flavor with the consistency of yellow snot. You really cannot even allow the sensation to register-just take a quick swig of water and choke it down. It did give me a nice boost around mile 9.

I didn't get a chance to post last week, but I know Mark and my other fans missed hearing about our run. Last Saturday, Dave and I ran together. We did a route near our house to try to keep the babysitting fee as low as possible. We linked together a short 5 miler I used to do afterschool with part of one of Dave's long routes to make for 12 miles. The temp and conditions were just about perfect. I struggled during the last mile and Dave motivated me with the reminder that on race day we wouldn't even be half done yet (thanks Dave!). We powered on and were better off for having done it. During that run we tried Sharkies Organic Fruit Chews. Verdict: OK but not as yummy as Sport Beans by Jelly Belly.

My parents were in town to visit over the Columbus Day weekend. We spent some time getting fired up for the big trip to Disney. They are coming with as our support team and babysitters. We researched possible viewing sites and strated to plan our other days at WDW. Dave said that this is the time in training when " the runs just get unbearably long", but the closer we get the more excited I am! We are also getting very close to our goal of $5000. Less than 85 days away...

Good Luck to my marathon buddies who are running their first 5K this weekend! You can do it! You can do it!

Recommitment to Team in Training

This week was a big deadline in the Team in Training program. Everyone was asked to recommit to the team and ensure that each will raise the fundraising minimum. Dave was right on board and will send in his recommitment papers this week. He was recognized at the training meeting last weekend as the first one in his group to reach the fundraising minimum. That is thanks to all of you! We are still hoping to reach Dave's personal goal of $5000 by the end of November. Our last batch of letters are starting to see results and the teachers at the kids' school were very generous. We hope to talk about TNT at a few churches over the next few weeks, including Dave's Dad's church. We have been eating all the orange and black M&Ms out of the Halloween bags so we can use the green and purple ones to make cookies with the Team colors.

Dave did his long training run on Saturday with the TNT group. He finished a quick 11 and beat us to Lucas' soccer game. We had a pretty packed weekend, so I did my long run Monday morning. I was out on Grant's Trail for my 11. I got a chance to do the other end of the trail that I normally don't run. It's daunting to think that in a few weeks I'll be running the entire trail, beginning to end, 16 miles (yikes!). The other big running news in our lives is the Read, Right and Run Marathon. I'm heading up the team for the kids' school. They and their classmates will be running 26 miles, reading 26 books and doing 26 good deeds over the next six months. I'm going to be helping organize and offering coaching for training runs after school and community service projects at the school. The official start date is Oct. 15th, so I'll let you know the status of their building mileage as well.

We hit a huge milestone this week: less than 100 days until the race!!!