Early Bird Winners! Reese's Run

Congratulations!  The early bird winners of Reese's Run have been drawn and the winners were announced first on Marci's blog.  Here are the results!

Keg Gift Certificate - Melanie (2nd Chances)

Running Books - Katie Riley

If you haven't already, please send an email to me at runmommy@rogers.com or Marci and we will mail out your prize.  Way to go!

We have over 40 people so far and we are excited to have a successful virtual run.  If you haven't already, don't forget to sign up for Reese's Run (4 for 4 on the 24th!).

Thanks for all the early bird entries!  Special thanks to all those with the nice comments and words I have received.  We deal with things as they come and although I worry nearly every day, I know Reese is getting great care and as far as she knows, she is a happy and healthy little girl.  I am eternally grateful for all those who support us. :)

REGISTER HERE FOR REESE'S RUN ON APRIL 24TH

Thanks again!

Christy and Marci

Last Day for the Early Bird (Plus new problem)

First, Marci and I just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow is the last day before the early bird draw for Reese's Run - our Virtual event! We have great prizes like running shoes from Online Shoes, gift cards for restaurants, bootcamp classes, running equipment etc... Make sure you can be part of the early bird draw!




CLICK HERE TO REGISTER (DONATE TO THE ARTHRITIS SOCIETY)


Also, I have a speed problem..Now that I am focused on the 1/2 marathon and really working on improving my time, I have really been working hard on speedwork. However, as soon as I increase my speed during regular runs (even a little) or tempo, I struggle with the run, get sore shins, sore hips - overall crappy runs. As soon as I slow down, my runs improve. Every once in a while I have a fantastic run and then I think I am FINALLY making progress but inevitably I struggle with the next one. Am I destined to be never break 2 hour HM???

Reese's Run to New House

What a strange week this has been!  First we launched our Reese's Run event - very excited about that.  Then we did out income taxes thinking we would going to need to eat boxed food to pay our tax bill and discovered we are getting a nice tax return.  Then we set out to see a house that our friend likes only to decide on buying a new house!!  

We have not actually done it yet but after researching all the necessary info such as which school our kids would attend, what we do about day care, how much our current house is worth, checking out other comparable homes on the market etc.. we have finally decided to give it a go.  Lots to happen still, like selling our house!  This gives me mixed feelings.  I LOVE our house.  We bought it before we had our children so it has grown up with us as a family.  We have done a fair amount to make it exactly like we want and now we are going to leave it behind?? Also, we know the community well and all the kids/families on the hockey team, soccer team, Cub Scouts, at school etc.  My son would have to change schools which makes him very unhappy but he is only going into second grade so he'll get over it.  Just a little sad to leave it all after 10 years.  I know every running route around me from a quick 5k to a half marathon!  I would have to start all over! 

However, the new neighbourhood is a little easier for my husbands commute and makes no difference to mine.  The area is surrounded by trees and a creek as well as a bike trail.  The school the kids would attend is only a few years old and has the option of regular stream or full year school (5 terms with 2 week vacations between each term).   The house is beautiful and exactly what we like in a home.  All we have to do is sell our house (*gulp*) and fork over all our money.  Just doing our part to save the economy... :) 

So I have been preoccupied this week but I am still excited about  Reese's Run our Virtual event on (or around) April 24th!  Have you registered yet?  

REGISTER HERE FOR REESE'S RUN

We are drawing for the early bird prizes next week so don't forget to register!  Remember the "registration"  page is simply the donation page for the Arthritis Society so you will receive a receipt email immediately following the pledge.  After the event, you would send us a message with your completed time and we have other prizes!  Thanks all!

Reese's Run

My participation with the Joints in Motion Training Team is not new to most of you but now I can announce that I am officially participating in the Barbados event in December with Marci!  We are really excited to do this and I am extremely humbled that Marci has chosen this event to give back to running.  The fundraising is daunting but having already completed my first marathon, I feel more excited than ever for the event!  

March is Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness month so it fitting that we commence our campaign today.  For most people, arthritis in children is unheard of.  My husband and I didn't even know how to react when we first heard the diagnosis as we had no idea what that meant for a 2 year old who is growing every day.  We have had ups and downs and the future is unknown but as of today, we have a happy, busy little 3 year old thanks to the efforts of her doctors and treatments that didn't exist even a few years ago.  This is why I participant with Joints in Motion because it is all I can do to continue the research and advancements not only for Reese but all the other loved ones who suffer from chronic pain.  

Below is an article posted by the Arthritis Society of Canada:

Affecting about 1 in 1,000 Canadians under the age of 16, juvenile arthritis (JA) is a leading chronic disease among kids in this country. The Arthritis Society uses Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month in March to heighten awareness of this disease and to raise much-needed funds for research that will find better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.

“Arthritis is a crushing reality for many children in Canada; it’s not just their parents or grandparents who are at risk,” says Dr. Brian Feldman, Vice Chair of The Arthritis Society’s Medical Advisory Committee and a paediatric rheumatologist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. “The course of juvenile arthritis is unpredictable. Painful flare-ups may occur without warning and the child has to undergo a rigorous, time-consuming and sometimes unpleasant treatment program.”

Juvenile arthritis is the result of the body’s immune system not working properly. The immune system fails to recognize healthy body tissue and attacks it. Symptoms include excruciating pain and inflammation in the joints. Depending on the severity of the arthritis, some children experience irregular growth or physical disability.

The rest of the article can be found at the following link.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

In order to kick off our fundraising for the marathon, Marci and I are hosting a virtual race to raise money for the Arthritis Society.

Here are the details:

What:  Reese Run:  4 Mile Virtual Race

When:  April 24^th, 2009

Registration:  $10.00 minimum donation (feel free

 to donate more if you can!)

Prizes: Great prizes

Early bird prize (Register before March 24^th)

First male

First female

On April 24th, Reese will turn 4 years old.  She has decided that for her 4th birthday she wants to have a Floor Hockey party!  This makes us very happy as less than 2 years ago she couldn't climb the stairs.  To celebrate this, we are hoping that everyone will participate in the event and pass the banner and link on to others that may want to so as well!  Below is the link for the fundraising page:

REGISTER HERE FOR REESE'S RUN

We hope to have great success with our event and welcome your thoughts.  Thank-you for posting on your blog if you can and we are excited to see the results!   

A Glossary of Terms

Wow!  It has been a full week!  It has been a strange week work wise so I have been a little distracted.  I have been reading all the blogs, just haven't been able to comment. However, back to it!

I have confusion and I hoping that someone has posted a Glossary of Terms to clear up my questions.  In all my reading of various running books, blogs, articles etc..I see different terms and titles for different types of runs.  Just when I think I have it down pat, I read another article and the terminology is different and I am at a loss AGAIN.  

For example, I know was a LSD and I totally understand its purpose and structure.  However, the Continuos Run vrs a Steady Run vrs a Tempo Run vs the ordinary - just run - this is where I get  confused.  Throw in more advanced titles like "Lactate Threshold" and "Pace Intervals" and I am spent.  You'd think an expensive education would have served be better??? 

Therefore, if anyone has posted any such glossary or can confirm for me what things are the same feel free to tell me where to find it.  To further fuel the fire, I am constantly converting between KM's and Miles depending on what article or information I am reading which has turned me into scholastic mush. :)

On a side note, Marci and I are working on something great that we hope to announce soon!  We are very excited about it so we can't wait. 

Return of the MOJO and Extraordinary Runner Award

Wow I am so excited! I got an email today that I won an Extraordinary Running Award from the Runners Lounge! If I had lost my mojo before..I DEFINITELY got it back today! I put a link to my story below.

My Joints Are In Motion

I have won a free pair of shoes and I am also being interviewed for the Open Mic for this Friday! I feel like such a celebrity - at least in running blog land (that's good enough for me). I feel great today and not just because of this but when I reread my story it really reminded me of what drove me to come back to running in the first place. I shouldn't care if my butt is bigger than it used to be or that I don't have time to become a stellar speedster or even that I look like a bag of dodo at the end of a race (insert hottie magazine runner pictures here). I did some speed work this morning and at the end of it I felt fantastic - and a little sick to my stomach so I guess it was a success. A personal success. That's all I need!

This year I am participating in a few other events but I am doing another marathon with the Joints in Motion Training Team in December so I have that to drive me on. This time I am participating with a friend (Marci) and I am just as excited as I was the first time. I needed this reminder to confirm for me that I get my validation from myself. Logging heavy mileage or getting a record time is fantastic and I look forward to getting there once kids are older and life is easier but I can and should be just as easily motivated by the simple fact that I laced up my shoes and got out there.

Anytime I am losing my faith or feel the mojo slipping away, I will reread my story and many others like mine and tell myself that I run because my daughter might not or because so many people would love to run and can't/won't. I will be reminded that the only roadblocks to success are the ones we put up ourselves. I will also remind myself that the definition of success should be as flexible as my commitment to a sugar free diet (imagine crazy fits of laughter at this point).

Next time the big green blog of ectoplasm comes calling, I will sit on him with my "less than Jillian Micheals standard" backside. Then I will lace up and head out.

Thanks for all the great comments from the last post - it helps!

Attack of the Blob

I am in a rut. Marathon Mama refered to herself as Ectoplasm which I thought was hilarious so I am totally stealing it and it will now be a reflection of my mood over the past few days.

Last week we had great weather and now back to cold temps and snow - yuck. I keep begging hubby to get promoted to California or the Carolinas where he goes all the time but so far I am not getting anywhere. Run Girl has decided that sleep is not necessary even after nearly four years of life so I have had one too many pre-school sized conversations at 2:00 in the morning. Futhermore, I have had some work stress and things are not going as I hoped. I don't exactly work in a recession proof industry so I am hitting wall after wall and sometimes, it is better to just fall down.

I was very inspired by my new training plan last week and yet I have not run in four days. Call it time management, call it laziness, call it a sudden addiction to my couch after the kidlets are gone to bed - whatever it is, I am losing myself quickly and turning into that green blob. Perhaps me and Marathon Mama should go out for a gigantic bowl of ice cream to really finish us off. :)

I need some inspiration. I may be opening up the flood gates here but I want to know of a book you have read or a great article or something that really gets your blood pumping. It would be fantastic if it could be about a 30 something working mom of little kids, with a travelling husband, 20 extra pounds to lose and the desire to be a superior runner and elite soccer/tennis player and super mom but alas, this may be asking too much. I accept all entries and welcome thoughts.

It would also be wonderful if something free could just show up at my door like I read about on several blogs. What fairy godmother do I talk to about that? (I am smiling as much my ectoplasm will allow for) :)