Glittery bling and purple butterflies.... Virtual medal earned!

I had written a little about the virtual I had signed up for HERE.  It was a virtual to help raise money for research and to help raise awareness for the Dravet Syndrome Foundation.  And I joined to help a very special little girl named Anna.  

Well, yesterday I received the beautiful medal in the mail!  According to the Dravet Run for Research facebook page, just over $10,599 has been raised for research on this rare form of epilepsy.  

I am proud to have been a part of this project!  

It is not too late to help contribute in some way to the cause and help them find treatment options to manage this difficult syndrome and hopefully one day to find a cure for it.  

Have you ever ran in honor of someone?  Do you do virtual races?

Running for someone besides myself...

I had never heard of Dravet Syndrome before a running buddy mentioned to me that she had a family member with it and that there was a virtual race/fundraiser happening to help raise awareness and raise funds for research for this rare form of epilepsy.  

Would I like to do it?
Sure!  Why not!? 

Well, I haven't raised as much money as I had hoped to do on my own personal campaign for the fundraiser, but as of Sept. 5th there was a total of $10,000 raised for this small cause and small race.

Well, as with any virtual, the rules are relaxed and you can run the half marathon all at once or run 13.1 miles broken up over several runs within a certain time period.  My goal is not to get a PR with some outstanding time to cover the distance but to help raise awareness.

So today, I printed out my bib and dedicated a short (but long!  It's hot out...) run to my little friend who I haven't met in the hopes to brighten her day and in hopes to raise money for research, awareness and hope for medication to manage this awful form of epilepsy. 

I've somehow forgotten the "foundation" on the website for the Dravet Foundation... so I promise that the shirt has been edited in real life to reflect the proper website.  Oops.  I feel like a heel on the "raise awareness" part.  Maybe I should redo the 4 miles from this morning.

There!  Now it is complete!

 Tomorrow is a color themed race with the kiddos, so I'll rock this shirt tomorrow at the race (with the full web page URL).... and it won't be white anymore!  The kids are excited to wear purple butterfly wings.  (A purple butterfly is often the symbol used with Dravet Syndrome.)

4 miles done this afternoon and 10 more on my schedule for tomorrow.
 

The shirt before I added a plethora of puff paint, the sorta finished design and my virtual race bib.

Do you do virtual races?  What draws you to them?  Causes?  Cool medals?  Just a need for a new challenge? 

It's here! It's here! ...my Doctor Who virtual medal.

In case you missed my post about my ringing in the New Year with a virtual half marathon (plus a couple more miles), you can catch it here (with the cool photo of my ice bath... brrrr.)  I also link on that post the amazing group who hosted the "Doctor Who" themed virtual race.

Well, today after getting home with Bugaboo from our "Kids' Zumba class", we went out to check the mail...

"It's here!  It's here!"

A befuddled husband and Squeakers came outside to greet us at the mailbox and I fought the urge to tear my envelope open and quickly display the goods.  

I couldn't help but do a geeky pose... 

 My sweet husband humored me with a hundred pictures of me wearing the bling from the race... and He'll have to humor me as I wear it all day tomorrow.  Heck, I earned it!  I think I should at least get to wear it for the same amount of time it took me to "cross the finish line".  ;-)

Pretty cool, right?  The detail is amazing and if you signed up for the half marathon distance, your ribbon will be blue.  That is the only reason I volunteered myself for the half.  I'd like to say I planned it all as the "big finish" to my holiday streak and to kick of the new year... but the truth is, it didn't look right with a green ribbon.  :)

Bugaboo doesn't watch a whole lot of T.V., but it's hard not to pick up on the things mommy and daddy might like.  So, despite catching up on the early episodes from the 1960's during the kids' nap or after bedtime...  Bugaboo still picks these things up.

"Where's MY Tardis necklace, Mama?"
Uh-oh.

Can she earn a medal with zumba?  ...Well, she is pretty good at running a mile.  Maybe she'll get a green ribbon.  ;-)

And on that note, I end it with this adorable thought... a room full of kids strutting their stuff in a zumba class.

 

Do you do virtual races?  (I don't do many... it's not as fun as a race can be.  But sometimes the bling is worth the solo run and lack of festive environment with other runners.)

Starting off the New Year... Doctor Who, Holiday Streak done and the most miles ever.

To kick off the New Year and set the mood for a year of completing any running goals set, I met with some members from my Moms RUN This Town chapter in the afternoon to do some laps around a pretty park.

All of us have different paces and had different goals for distance planned for today, but we all met together and ran with each other for awhile, before we started to spread out and set into our goals.  I think we covered every distance from 5K to just a smidgen more than a half marathon.  What am I saying?  Every step taken after 13 miles is a step taken deliberately and with a lot of determination.

My goal was to end my Holiday Streak (day 52) with 15.2 miles.  This is the most miles I have ever completed.  My sweet husband also gave me an entry into the Doctor Who virtual race for Christmas. 

If you are interested in this virtual race, you can join the Facebook Group "Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Virtual fun run/walk".  Contact the admins to possibly sign up for this race because registration is officially closed, but they are taking a limited number of extra registrations.  

The bib number is the same for everyone, so I "doctored" my bib to be the code for "the vortex manipulator" in the show... or an even cooler double meaning: the time and date that the first episode ever aired (17:16 23rd Nov '63).

I'm disappointed that once again my "Charity Miles" app didn't work again.  If on the "feeding America" campaign, one mile feeds 2 people, I could have fed 30 people on my long run today.  :(  I hope they fix whatever problems they are having with this app. It is so frustrating to end a run and see that no miles were picked up by it. The app constantly updates every time I open it... so I don't understand what the problem is.  If you have a secret to it, please share it.

That aside, I've made it home with my miles well tracked (thank you garmin) and my body feeling it.  I've taken my ice bath, slathered my aching legs with arnica gel and probably going to sleep in my 110% juggler knickers.

As you can see from my garmin above, it took forever to complete the task of 15 miles... but it is done.

2014 will be a year of determination and maybe "slow and steady" will win the race.  :)  It helped to see familiar faces of my sole sisters as we passed each other in the park and I listened to some of the Doctor Who radio dramas featuring "the 8th Doctor".  I was geeking out a bit.  :)  I also wore my "I believe in the blerch" shirt since I didn't have a doctor who tech shirt.  You can totally take that as a hint to get me one, if you want.  ;-)

Happy New Year and happy running!  The year is surely going to be full of lots of adventures.  I hope it is an injury free year for you and would love to hear about some of your goals.  :)  I enjoyed reading your goals on my facebook page.

It takes a (running) community to get me on my feet



Who doesn't have a crazy life? It might be pretty peaceful and full of great people, fond memories and every other warm and fuzzy thought... but it can get crazy. How the heck to balance it all?

A general recap of last week would include hubby's birthday, a killer long run and planning a course for my local chapter's Moms RUN This Town virtual race. I'll leave out the recap on laundry and tough stains.  

 

The Mario and Princess figurines were not made of fondant, but that cute 1up mushroom is!

 

Starting out with something sweet, Bug-a-boo helped me whip up a cake for the guy who does it all.  With out hubby's unwavering support,  I can tell you I would have quit running by now.   So for his birthday, we whipped up a toasted butter pecan cake with cream cheese frosting and then covered with marshmallow fondant.  For my first cake with fondant, I was pretty happy with it... and it didn't taste icky (like typical fondant does).  [Recipes linked in the text above.]   

This week has had me reflecting a lot on my running and how I got here.  There's that proverb that "it takes a village" to raise a child, but it takes a village to make me a runner! 

Last Sunday, I left the house in the cool of the morning to get in a long run of 6 miles.  I hate out-and-back running and wore out looping the neighborhood, so it seemed like a good idea to leave squeakers (the baby) with hubby and hit the course with Bug-a-boo in the jogging stroller and meet up with them at the end of the 6 miles... have a little picnic, rehydrate and get a ride back home to the air conditioning.  Well... some plans are better in thought than in action. 

I left the house way later than I had hoped (around 9am) and the heat had already set in.  On top of that misery, I was just completely unprepared.  I had no idea hubby had packed snacks for me and Bug-a-boo in the bottom of the stroller and I had completely forgot to put sunblock on myself.  After 2 1/2 miles, I realized I planned my course to go by a friend's house.  I called her to "borrow" some sun block, a sweat towel and a refill on water...  stopping long enough to fuel up, it became apparent that I had better just call it quits.  I had the shakes, chills and was not thinking clearly.  I got three miles in and felt like I was cooking.  My back looks like it too! 

Stay hydrated people! 

Without a friend willing to help me out that day, I get nervous speculating if I could have gotten heat exhaustion or really compromised myself and my daughter out there. 

Lesson learned and I am so grateful for good friends... and that they live so close!

I picked up the remaining three miles that evening and then June left and July started!  With July, it had been my goal to run 13.1 miles in the month.  The WHOLE month to get that distance down.  That was my goal in April when I first learned of Moms RUN This Town and signed up for the virtual race.  After some encouragement from friends and a pretty good response to others wanting to do the virtual race with me, I started a local chapter.  Now it's time to start racing and logging miles for the virtual.   

I had some serious doubts in April about my stamina and if I could accomplish the 13.1 miles in time.  I wasn't sure I could handle more than a 5k once a week!  After reviewing training guides, I latched onto Hal Higdon and went for it.  So that I couldn't back out of the commitment, I signed up for a half this October ("Run Like Hell").  It will be the 10th anniversary of this race and it's the 2 year anniversary of my first race ever. (Which happens to be the 5k "Run Like Hell" in 2011.)  I'm pretty jazzed about it.  I try not to interject that "I'm running a half this October." into every conversation, blog post and facebook status update. 

Anyway....  I've been working on a course loop for my gals who signed up to do this with me, and with training in general... I completed my miles in 7 days!  This morning I finished up the final mile and hubs was there with the medal to reward my hard work.  Seriously, this guy needs a medal for being super dad and most supportive cheerleader. 

This morning a friend sent me an email saying simply "I need to know how you started running."  Already I've been wandering down nostalgia lane with my running shoes in tow, so it turned into a long email that I won't bore you with too.  Suffice it to say, I wouldn't be here without cheerleaders, awesome friends backing me up and running partners willing to slow their pace but challenge me to pick up mine.  It has been an emotional couple of weeks... discouragement from the heat, relief in friends and running mates, leaning on my wonderful husband and completely bewildered at how far I've come these last few months and my accomplishments with training. 

Thank you everyone.  I hope you all know who you are and that you have helped me tremendously. 

     Who or what is your running community?  What helps keep you going when things get tough?