wrung out...

a weekend away to catch up with old friends can be just what the doctors order... a chance to reconnect and recharge.

as an expat, those special occasional weekends back "home" are essential to my mental health... but they can be pretty hard on my physical health.

there's the too much to eat and drink factor, the not much sleep factor, and the almost missing my flight due to heavy traffic super stress factor... all of which wreck havoc on my wonky immune system.

an excess of stress and fatigue has lead to sores in my nasal passages, sores on my gums, swollen and painful joints, foggy thinking and difficulty concentrating.... and an all encompassing tiredness. i'm scheduled to run 5 miles this evening, but it's just going to have to wait til tomorrow.


on another note... I'd like to send a big thank you to my dentist, Dr Ryan Reeves for his generous donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and helping me reach my fundraising goals.


you can help too, just click here... and make a donation on my website.

we be jammin!

so, i've been making a lot of jam lately... it's peach season, how can i resist?!!

however, no matter how many jars of jam i am capable of making, i am only capable of eating so many...

for everyone who makes a donation of $10 or more to my fundraising website , i will send you a jar of homemade jam.

current options are as follows:

• low sugar peach jam
• low sugar peach and ginger jam
• low sugar peach and basil jam
• low sugar peach and geranium jam
• peach and habanero jam
• strawberry and jalapeno jam
• meyer lemon and ginger marmalade

 leave a note on the website letting me know what flavour you'd prefer :-)

it's been a good week for running... and other things.

I am not usually terribly social during the week... not that I'm anti-social, just busy with work and life and dogs... and then there's a few evening runs to squeeze in, so there isn't much time for going out...

Last week was an exception. Thursday night I skipped the run and went to an outdoor concert, drank sangria and stayed out way past my bedtime. Friday night I went out to another concert, danced my butt off, and didn't get home until 1am... and Saturday morning, as usual, I got up at 5:30 to go meet the team for our long run.

This week I was scheduled to run 16 miles.  Given that we have teammates that are training for different races, and different distances, not everyone was running that far. In fact, it was only me and one other person... and he runs faster than me on my best days.

So I told myself that I would just get out there and see how it went. I knew I would have company for the first 8 miles. (4 miles west on the W&OD trail, and then back to the start... followed by 4 miles east, and back)... at the midway point, I would evaluate how I was doing and decide whether or not to break up my weekend miles into two shorter runs.

But at the midway point, I was feeling great... In fact, feeling better, stronger, smoother, more comfortable than I had been all season. One of my teammates decided to add a couple extra miles to his run, and kept me company for 2 of my second 8.  And then one of my coaches rode his bike out to meet me and kept me company for the final 3.  I finished strong and feeling good... really tired and really hungry, but good. Best run of the season!

Sunday morning it was raining... and I decided to see if I could coax Remsen out for a run on the trail along 234. We have not been successful in the past. The first time I took him out on the trail he didn't last 5 minutes until the noise of the trucks caused him to absolutely panic. The second time I couldn't get him out of the car. But he's come a long way in the past year, so I decided to give it a try. He did great! Unfazed by the rain, unfazed by the traffic... we went about 3.5 miles in total, and he promptly put himself back to bed when we got home. 

This evening we went out again, and ran a little over 4 miles. There was a lot more traffic, and it was hot... and there were cyclists on the trail. But he handled it all like a champ. 

some runs are good, and some runs just aren't....

i was scheduled to run for 50 minutes last night. for me, that means approximately 5 miles, depending on a number of factors... you know, the usual things like: how hot and humid is it? will i be running hills or not? am i well rested and hydrated? has it been a stressful week at work? have i been eating well, and how are the planets currently aligned...?

well, last night all factors were against me... it was hot and very humid, i started my run at the bottom of a hill, it's been a stressful week and i've not been sleeping well... and i struggled for all but the last two miles. my legs were cramping, sweat & sunscreen were dripping in my eyes and stinging, i felt nauseous... i slowed down, and then i slowed down to a walk. i stopped and tried to stretch out my calves... i drank more water and walked some more.... eventually, i decided i'd had enough and turned around for home.

then miraculously the temperatures dropped and it started to rain lightly, my stomach settled, my legs loosened up, and i was able to run.


and there were cute little bunnies...

not a completely terrible run then after all.

it's all about the numbers

So... since I started training for this marathon (having not run at all in about 7 months), I have run a little more than 200 miles.

By the time race day comes, and I hit the finish line... I will have run more than 450 miles.

I need to raise another $1700 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by race day.

Race day is just 64 days away.

A marathon is 26.2 miles.

If I raise $26.2 per day between now and race day, I'll just about make my fundraising goal.



If you want to help me reach my fundraising goal, you can help by donating here:  and by asking your friends and family if they would like to donate too.

Progress in research to find a cure for blood cancers can only be made if we help to make it happen.

how did the month slip by already?

it's been a very hectic month... turmoil at work, mostly.  so i've been coming home knackered, walking with the dogs, tending to my gardens, and trying to get my mid-week runs in once the temperatures have dropped a little in the evenings. this means i've been running at dusk, with the bats and cicadas for company...

this morning was the usual Saturday morning run with the team. now that the miles are getting up there, it will be more and more important to make it to the team runs. we had a cool and drizzly 14 miles along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, starting at Fletcher's Boathouse...

i struggled a bit for the first 8 miles, but then i found my stride, and the last 6 was great.... i like running there. it's pretty shaded, slow and steady incline on the way out means a slow and steady decline on the way back, which allows for a fast finish :-)  always good for the spirits!