Wowza!

I have raised $1,037 so far, and that's just from personal donations! Thank you so much, everyone, for your support!

Clueless on the Countdown

And does anyone know how to set this silly countdown feature?

I have tried to program it a million times, but it always erases my settings. Grrr…

Motivation: Ugh.

When they say running is 90% mental, they’re not lying. And the hardest part is convincing myself to get out the door.

The weather has finally started to cooperate, so I can no longer rely on “it’s too cold!” for my hermit-like behavior. Last week I ran two days (just two!) and for no reason other than the couch seemed more pleasant than the pavement. I think my past running experience may have also played a part. Somehow, my two years on the cross country team in high school (junior varsity) and the 10-mile race I ran in November (back of the pack) have convinced me to believe I could skip several days of the TNT training schedule.

But no more. Now that we’re approaching the 10-mile mark, I’ve realized that I have got to be more consistent in my training – especially if I want to accomplish my goal of completing the marathon without walking. So I dragged myself outside on Tuesday for an incredibly rough 3-mile run. Seriously, one of the worst 3 miles of my life. I’m sure I looked like an old lady shuffling along rather than a vibrant 24-year-old.

So I REALLY wasn’t looking forward to Wednesday’s 6-mile run. I put it off all day until 4:30 when I decided that it was either now or never.

And it was like night and day.

My legs felt strong and powerful as they carried me throughout my small town. The neighborhoods seemed to fly by as one mile quickly turned into two, and two into three. I was disappointed I had to stop to drop Cooper (our family dog) off after 4 miles, and worried that I wouldn’t be able to maintain that same rhythm. But my legs picked up right where they left off. I felt so good, I even managed to “race” a little kid I came upon while walking with his dad. It was a great feeling, and one I hope to experience more often as I continue to train.

But I’m already dreading today’s 4 miles. You’d think I’d have more confidence after yesterday’s run, but alas… If only I shared Thornton Thompson’s feelings about running. This passage was taken from his inspired and beautifully-written blog at thorntonpondcrossing.blogspot.com:

I love to run, but telling people why is the problem. How do you describe the appeal of such a masochistic activity? It is 5-6 miles of discomfort, in weather that is often barely bearable, and completely without any sort of redeeming teleology. My body aches and my lungs burn. 20 years from now, I probably won't be able to walk because my knees will be completely broken.

It is truly an addiction, with all the accompanying side effects, including withdrawal. Three or four days without a run and I get anxious and irritable, hyperactive but lazy. Is it worth it?

...

Have you ever felt elevated above the mundanity of normal-ness? Where excitement, adventure, happiness, all the possibilities of life seem not just accessible but easily so?

When I run, those feelings swell within me like a song's gradual crescendo. Each step I take is another instrument joining the verse; I can feel chorus lifting me, and I soar, miles above the pavement with Adidas wings.

It's a song without words, rhythm, tempo, or melody, but I can hear it nonetheless. It emanates from everything, as if God himself was urging me onward. The little stresses and anxieties of the day become ethereal; ghosts without any power to worry me. But this isn't anesthesia; while my sorrows fade, the joys become brighter and more coherent. The music reminds me how funny that joke was, and how that girl's smile draws my eyes from across hallways.

Though I run towards nowhere in particular, I approach something. The air shimmers, parts, and through it the music shows me past, present, and future happiness. I see all my triumphs and my delights coalesce and join the music, become the music.

I am laughing aloud with jubilation and exhalation and I see the music spreading to everything my eyes touch. I run faster. I thank the music and it your-welcomes me with slight modulations in its toneless tone.

I lied before. My lungs don't burn, they hum with power, an electric generator in my chest. My knees don't hurt. How could they, when I'm running through air? The smiles I get are from the people who hear, just for a second, their own music through me.

...

The sun goes back behind the clouds (did it ever really emerge?). The air becomes opaque again (?)

I am drenched in sweat, chilled to the bone, with knees that will not survive the next 20 years.

But the music, though slowed and steadied, pulses lightly. In the wind I hear its non-existent melody, and in my friend's laugh I feel it's beat-less rhythm. "Come find me," it says- song without words-. "I'll be waiting."

If only…

Letters!

I have FINALLY sent out my fundraising letters today - about time! I went through so many versions trying to find the right words, but I think I'm happy with my final draft. I hope the recipients are too :) I must give a shout-out to Miss Susan Fleming for her great ideas of printing the letters on neon-colored paper and sending them in cute, polka-dot envelopes - they'll definitely catch some people's attention!

And an update on Sonic: they have offered to give me 10% of their sales on my fundraising days - 10%! That's amazing! I was sure the percentage would be closer to 5, so it was quite a pleasant surprise to learn they'd donate so much. I just have to decide on a day, and we'll be in business!