Thanks

I'd like to thank the academy....oops, wait...that's a different speech.  (Clears throat).....First a huge Thank-You to John, for giving me the idea....well, ok, technically I stole John's idea, but it's only because I am so uncreative, and completely incapable of coming up with such a great idea on my own.  Thank you John for not complaining too much about my blatant theft.....and I still expect you to do your own 50/50, and I also expect an account via blogging, on every single mile.

My second huge Thank-You goes out to Kristine....girl, if you hadn't taken me out to dinner that faithful night (the first mile night), I, one, don't know if I would have remembered about this little odyssey I was contemplating.  And two...I don't think I would have had the motivation to get out and do it if I had remembered.  If it weren't for you girl, I doubt that this journey would have ever been started.  Thanks for motivating me that night, and thanks for accompanying me on mile #1.

Thanks to Julie P. for coaching me that first year.  She helped me to see how my attitude got in my way, she also taught me that I could do way more than I thought I could do.

Thanks to Julie H. for getting as excited about this journey as I, and getting others fired up about it too.

Thanks to everyone who asked me "what mile is it today?", and everyone who ran with me, or ahead of me, if I didn't have such a great group to run with (or behind), I wouldn't have the motivation to keep coming out and running.

What to do now......

Mission Accomplished!

Mile #50 Completed,


 AND.......



DRUM ROLL.......

TIME GOAL ACCOMPLISHED!!!

I really didn't think I was going to meet the goal.  I had abandoned it weeks ago, but secretly still wanted to do it.  I tried again yesterday morning, but my mind always gets in the way and defeats me.

But not today!  There was way too much pressure.  Totally squelched the negative thoughts.  Well and there was the whole parade thing....

Too funny, I was smiling like an idiot running this mile.  Julie made everyone run behind me and had to stay behind me.  So the pressure was definitely on. 

Well and the route was super friendly......down hill for almost half a mile (I don't think I could have met the time without it).

Afterwards we partied!  Whoot Whoot!

For now it is late and past my bedtime.....will post more tomorrow.





One To go

Mile #49 completed.

Mile #48 Down, 2 To Go!

Early Saturday morning run today.  Ugh, was tough the first 3 miles....what a struggle.  Got a little easier toward the end....but I was still glad to be done after 5 miles.

Mile #48 completed.

The Road to Glory

This evening on the way home from work I'm thinking I'd just as soon wait an hour or so and run later when it's cooler.  Since I was super hungry I stopped at Panda Express and took home dinner.  Had my dinner and resisted the urge to take a power nap (I can see it now....waking up from my nap at 11:55pm and spoiling it all!). 

So I signed onto FaceBook.  At the time of signing up for FB it seemed like a good idea to lie about my birth date.  I always do on things online.  I just don't care to have my personal information compiled by computer geeks and sold at their whim.  Well, wasn't such a great idea for FB.....cause I guess they send reminders to your friends telling them it's your BD, so I had to clear up that confusion (wouldn't want anyone to think I screwed up with my miles).

As a side note, I have tested Gmail....they scan all outgoing and incoming mail and you'll notice (if you use gmail) that when you open an email oh say it's about running, there will be ads regarding running gear.  Or let's say your personal email is about movies....there will be ads regarding movies.  I've tested this.  Wanted to see what they'd do if an email was about bombs and guns.  No ad for that one.  Test it for yourself.  I'm sure yahoo and hotmail are doing the same thing.  And I'm probably on some list that the secret service or FBI keeps because of that email regarding bombs.

Anyway, saw an old friend on FB and started chatting.  Eeeks!  I need to run.  Late run tonight 9:20pm, was cool when I first started out, but ended up hot after half a mile.  I almost prefer the rain....almost.  At least the threat of pneumonia is gone with this heat.

Mile #47 completed.....ONLY 3 MORE TO GO!!!!!

Oh, and my fortune from my "fortune cracker"  I prefer the term cracker because let's face it, if it doesn't have chocolate chips, sprinkles, icing, or a cream filling....it is not a cookie.  "Your Road To Glory Will Be Fulfilling".  How did those wise folks at Panda know?  They must be in cahoots with gmail ;)  Already at mile #47 I feel fulfilled, this journey has turned into more than I ever thought it would be.  Tamara has asked me a couple of times "what are you going to do after 50".  I don't know....she says I should do another 50 for 50 more years.  I do know that it will be hard to just stop after 50.

Going Too Fast

What is up with the weather?  Raining so hard the gutter looked like a roaring river last week and today the 90's......90's!  I so prefer to run in the cooler temps.  4 1/2 mile run today.  It's been a high mileage week....8.25 miles on Sat., 2.25 on Sun, 1.0 Mon., 5.25 Tues, 1.0 Wed, and 4.5 today for a grand total of......22.25....no wonder I'm so tired!

And today marks mile #46....only 4 miles to go.  Once I got to the halfway point it started to go really fast....then at mile 30 it sped up, at 40 it is racing by....kinda like life, eeks.

Left Brain Right Brain?

Still I struggle to force myself out to run in the morning.  One side says "I don't wanna", the other side says "It won't take long, just get it out of the way".  I know I'm going to run this morning, but that still doesn't stop the dialogue of the lazy little child who doesn't want to do it.  Little Brat. 

The older (almost 50), more intelligent and mature me won.  Mile #45 completed, on a foggy Wednesday morning.

Sunsets, Golf Carts, and Summits Oh my!

Completed Mile #44 tonight with a 5 mile "Summit House" run.  Summit being the operative word here.  First summit crests at State College and Bastanchury....killer hill #1.  Then it's downhill on the trail ....couldn't really enjoy the downhill cause I'm so busy dodging the groves on the trail and so paranoid I'm gonna skid on the gravel and end up a bloody skinless mess.  Even with the hazards it's still a nice run....(if you like hills).

Once we got back on the road (heading towards "The Summit"), the hill is so steep we are running in slow motion.....some guy flys past us....not even breathing hard....while I'm counting the seconds to my next walk break.

Back on the trail (still heading toward "The Summit")....finally, just around the bend, there it is.  Just in time to see a huge orange sun setting to the west....the east is bathed in purples and pinks.  Ahhh, good things do not come easy, had to work for this one.

On the trail heading down from "The Summit", we met a golf cart.  The driver of the cart says, "Oh", and starts backing up.....all the way down the hill.  What the heck?  The trail is big enough for us and the cart...why is he backing all the way down the hill.  The answer is at the bottom.  Turns out this trail closes at sunset.  And golf cart guy had locked the fence.  If we'd have been 30 seconds later we'd have missed that cart and the Helens and I would have either had to slither on our bellys under the fence (there was about a foot and a half clearance) or we would have had to try to climb that 7 foot chain link fence.....or go back the 4 miles we had just come! 

Personally, sliding under that fence would have been my first pick.

Mile #44 summited.

Plans Change

When I woke up this morning (or rather as I was getting in bed last night), I'm thinking...how am I going to pull of my Monday run?  It's so hard to get up early enough in the morning, hence why I was thinking about it as I was getting in bed.....cause it was super late.  I knew I had a meeting at 6pm this evening....and I don't leave work till 5 at the earliest....so how to do it?

I had decided I would just be late to the meeting.....and hopefully not too sweaty by the time I got there after my mile.  But life continually shows me that no matter what I plan it can always change.  I always take the dogs out for a walk around the block first thing in the morning...I mean REALLY THE FIRST THING.  But Gus wasn't feeling so well.........so he didn't want to walk.  I took him back in and decided with just Sammy, I'd go ahead and do the mile with her.  So I have the mile done already, and I won't be late to my meeting tonight.  Ha, plans changed.

And just in case you are wondering......I fed Gussy some scrambled eggs for breakfast....and he seemed to be feeling a little better by the time I left this morning......keeping my fingers crossed.....otherwise.....plans could change again and I could end up at the vets tonight!  He's such a prima donna, and has the most delicate stomach ever....but the crazy thing is he will eat anything he can pick up off the ground.  He's a little neurotic.  Could probably use a few sessions with Cesar Milan.

Mile #43 done.......oh, and Sammy almost tripped me on our run....damn dog.

Habits

I've read that you need to do something everyday for 30 days in order for it to become a habit.  This mile a day thing is starting to become a habit for me.  Leaving this morning I picked up the securely protected by plastic (no rain gonna get in there thank-you whoever you are that delivers my paper every single day without fail on time and dry all year....I'd tell you in person, but you come so early I've never seen you) Sunday paper up off the mat and set it inside without ever even giving it a second thought.

Luckily I managed to get today's run done with only a few little sprinkles.  Did the first mile and then walked a second mile.  Muscles are a little sore from yesterday's 8 mile run, so I thought giving them a little walk would probably help with the stiffness.

The end is so near....mile #42 done....only 8 miles left.  What am I going to do?  How can I just end this "streak" after mile #50?

Single Digits

Mile #41 done.

Only 9 more miles to go.

Unbelievable.

Extra Points

When the alarm sounded at 5:45 am.....I listened (after punching the snooze button), yep, it's pouring.  I'll stay in bed a little longer....till it stops.  Exactly 9 minutes later the alarm woke me up again....yep, it's still pouring....snooze again.  9 minutes later, I wonder who figured 9 minutes was a good length of time, seems so random...why not a full 10 minutes?...anyway, 9 minutes later, it's still pouring.  Finally at 6:22 I figured the rain gods were against me and it was never going to stop and I had to "JUST DO IT (insert swoosh)" (Nike Nazis). 

It was pouring, but I had no other choice.  I thought maybe I could run at lunch time....but afraid to take the risk...what if it's still raining then?  At least if I do it now I have some control over how my hair looks afterwards, thereby giving me a glimmer of hope that it might look decent when I go to the theatre this evening.  So out I go, risking a grave illness....still have the lingering cough.  I can be such a drama queen.  Anyway, I buttoned up and even thought, why not try to run with an umbrella.  I bet I looked so lame, but my head and chest stayed dry.  Except for the sweat....it gets really warm running with a thick jacket on. 

Impossible not to step in puddles.  Feet got soaked.  Cold wet feet, hot sweaty chest, if I survive this without getting pnemonia it will be shear luck.  It was raining so hard, the gutter looked and sounded like a rushing river....honestly....I thought I'd take a picture of the white caps to prove it, but I wouldn't dare take my coveted iphone out in this rain!

Mile #40 done.  Whoot Whoot!

Like putting on an old pair of comfortable shoes.....

Good run tonight!  Got to run one of my old time favorites (now that it's light enough).  Good Times! 

Yeah sure, I'm loving it now....but wait until August, I'll be complaining about climbing those hills in the heat.

Going to see Wicked tomorrow evening........I'll have to force myself out of bed early tomorrow morning and get my mile in first thing.......

Mile #39 done

Buuurrrr!!!

Ever since the time change I've had a hard time getting up in the mornings.  So.....I haven't been running in the mornings....only in the evening.  Last night as I was going to bed I think I figured out why it's so extra hard to get up in the mornings....cause I'm going to bed later than usual.  I sure like the fact that it's light later...but dang the adjustment is so difficult!

Which leads me to.......Oh how I wished I had went to bed earlier last night........so that I would have gotten up earlier this morning.....so that I would have run in the morning........when it wasn't raining.

While I was waiting for a break in the rain this evening, I'm thinking, it's so very cold....what if I end up with pneumonia.  This crazy mission of mine takes all kinds of twists and turns.  Kind of cool though...if it were easy and convenient everyday it wouldn't be a challenge....and it wouldn't be so memorable.

Luckily I found a little window at about 7:45ish when the rain lightened up.  Eeks so cold though.  I actually wore a jacket....I never run in a jacket....of course half way through I was getting warm....

Mile #38 down, it is really going so fast now....

Good Run!

I was afraid that maybe I wasn't well enough yet to try running with the group.  Decided to go ahead and give it a try...heck I can always turn back if it's too hard.  Turned out to be a great run.....even with all the killer hills!  Helen H. paced me, which was probably why I was able to complete the run.  On my own I'd have probably started out running too fast and have a rough time with it. 

Mile #37 done.  Wow, only 13 more miles to go.  It's really going unbelievable fast.  I'm already wondering what I'm gonna do the day after I turn 50....will I not run?  Will I keep up the mile streak?  If I don't will I miss it?

Eeeks! Almost Forgot!

Nah, I didn't forget to run.  But I did forget to post about it!

Ran a little over 2 miles this evening.  Best time since getting sick (although still need to shave a little less than a minute to reach my goal time.  I have 14 more miles to go to try to obtain the goal.

Good run, cold, but good.

36 down, and only 14 to go!

Running in the Rain

I don't mind running in the rain at all....if fact I rather enjoy it.  But I figured it wouldn't be such a good idea today.......because of the lingering illness.....wouldn't want to revive any dying germs.

Yesterday's run felt so good I figured I'd plan on running 3 miles.  Wanted to get it done as soon as I could cause running in the rain in the dark is even worse then just plan running in the dark.  Of course as luck would have it, it started raining half way through.  Serious rain and wind.  Almost blew my cap off......I hope I don't end up paying for this little indiscretion.

Mile #35 done.

PS.  We should enact a "Pedestrian Awareness Law".  All licensed drivers would have to walk (using crosswalks etc) for a month.  The idea here is to make the fuckers a little less self absorbed and a little more aware while driving, asshole.

Late Night Solo Runs

Ok, so maybe they aren't so late night (7ish).  But I'm really starting to like these evening solo runs.  Would really love them if I could get over the fear of being attacked on a dark street corner, or tripping over a raised sidewalk in the dark albiet moonlit night.

Or maybe it's that I'm starting to come back from the land of the ILL.

Tonight I ran (can I really call it that with this 30/30 slow jog), over 30 minutes.  And completed 2.73 miles.  And didn't cough once!  Well, until I got home, let the hacking begin. 

But honestly, I think I am a little better.  I think the pesky little virus is not quite so much in my lungs and bronchial tubes, and is moving up....to my sinuses....and ears (a little dizzy are we?)  Which is fine with me as long as it keeps moving up, till it exits the top of my head forming a golden little halo and then disipates.

Whoot Whoot!  Mile #34 Done!

Would I Have Forgotten?

I have not been doing any solo morning runs this week because of this gawd-forsaken cough (and this gawd-forsaken time change).  It appears to be at it's worse in the morning.  Plus with such a good excuse it makes it all the harder for me to pry myself out of bed so early.

Today after work I came home, kicked off my shoes and attempted to take a little nap. But the powers that be prevented that. Denny wanted to talk, Sammy wanted to walk, Gus would have been happy to take a nap with me.

As I'm walking the dogs thinking about how they seem like they need to run off some energy, it dawns on me, I haven't ran yet! I haven't even thought about running today! If I would have taken that nap, would I have actually forgotten? I think I might have.....and what if I would have remembered at like 10pm? Would I have run then? What if I wouldnt have remembered until tomorrow?

No worry, disaster averted. I ran before I had time to lay down and forget about it again. I'm still doing the 30/30, and sneaking in a minute here and there, but if I try to do more the hacking starts. Even with the occasional hack, it felt good to be out and semi running. Felt so good in fact, I did 2 miles! Come on lungs, heal thy selves!

Mile #33 down (wow, it really seems to be going fast now).

Chicken Pox

In a previous post I said I'm trying to reflect on where I was in my life at the age corresponding to the mile I'm running that day. Well I've been way too sick for that nonsense last few days. But ironically, when I turned 31 I had the chicken pox.

Tamara brought the horrible little virus home from 1st grade. Two weeks later Denny who was 3 and I then got to experience the chicken pox together. I ran a fever of 104 for 7 days. I had more pox on my face than Denny had on his entire little body. I had chicken pox in places you wouldn't dream you could get a pox. They were even in my lungs.

So when I compare this illness to that, this is really very minor.

Mile #32 done, 30/30, Lungs still intact.