Week Fourteen

On Sunday I finished week fourteen of my marathon training course. I’m a little more than half way through.

The week ended with an 8 mile run. Which felt great! The start of the week was a little tougher, still recovering from the 17 miles last Saturday.

I opted to go run on the river trails in Eugene and managed to avoid getting rained on. It was again pretty good running weather, although I was pretty cold until I got warmed up. I didn’t see anything odd this time. Just smelled some cigarette smoke when I couldn’t see the smoker. That’s always a slightly uncomfortable feeling.

This coming weekend I run my first 2010 half marathon. Race for the Roses in Portland. I’m hoping to cut 20 minutes off of my previous best time. I’m struggling with how to train this week. Go easy, so my legs are fresh for Sunday. Or continue on the same path, because the marathon is the ultimate goal. I’m hoping for at least the same luck I had this past Saturday with the weather, if not a little warmer.

My mental hang up is like my normal OCD stuff. If I don’t do exactly what the book says, I feel like I’m letting myself down. This is where a living, breathing trainer would be a really good idea. They could tell me what to do, and if I didn’t, I would be letting them down.

March numbers look pretty good. I’m still on a downhill trend from a great January, but am ahead of the monthly average I need to be to get to 1600 miles this year. Cross training days put a real dent in the daily average.

In other news –

We had some good news regarding Richard’s lung tumor. The current treatment has resulted in a 25% shrinkage in the tumor and nothing new has appeared. Please continue with good thought and prayers for his continued healing.

Unfortunately we also learned the Betty has thyroid cancer and will now be heading into her own treatment. Testing is underway to see if it has spread to the lymph nodes. Please pray that this has been caught early and that treatment will be successful.

Finally, my Aunt Peg is headed up to OHSU this Thursday for some major surgery to repair some issues she is having with her neck. This is not a simple procedure and again – all the good thoughts and prayers you can muster for her are greatly welcomed.

Upcoming –


Three day girl scout trip to the coast with horseback riding, sea lion caves, and other fun stuff. We have nearly as many adults going as girls, so hopefully Kelli and I can keep everyone entertained. Good weather would be great too!

Running and walking truly is a savior. It is the one thing I do for myself that allows me to de-stress. With so much going on, sometimes it’s nice to just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.