One Done!

Beautiful sunrise over Mt. Magazine

One of the gorgeous, sparkly, dew kissed fields we passed early in the race.

Just going to go lay down over there...cemetery #4 at mile 25.

Almost there...really.

Another medal.

I've shared a lot of finishes with this gal. I love her so.

My very first marathon was a miserable rainy and 50 degrees. My second, an even more miserable 17 degrees. The third time was a charm, I suppose, because my most recent race was a perfectly gorgeous 47 degrees at the start, 60 by the finish. The Arkansas Marathon was small, with less than 50 running the full marathon. I was the only person in my age division, therefore, I came in first...and last in my age group, ha! I ran through three towns, Booneville, Magazine, & Blue Mountain, passing 4 or 5 cemeteries (I always find this mildly amusing during a race). I ran over more roadkill than I have ever seen in my life x2 (it was a there and back course). The road was long and hilly, but the views were stunning. Fellow race participants were supportive. Volunteers were sweet and helpful. I especially loved the little old men manning an aid station in front of the funeral home at mile 24--again, my tired mind thought it all very funny. All in all, it was a great experience.

I had planned to travel to and run this race alone, as my favorite running buddy is still battling a back injury. A week before the race, she called and said, "I'm signed up for the half!" I can't tell you how much better these things are if you can share them with a friend. We didn't even get caught up with our respective stories before her turn around came, but sharing those few miles with her made a huge difference in the rest of my day. She was cheering for me at the finish and drove the whole way home. I owe her big time.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Running this race knowing that more than $6,000 has already been donated to the Gayle Ross Memorial Campership Fund, made the 26.2 long and grueling miles a complete joy. I am humbled, honored by the support I have received from so many. But my goal is far from complete! 17 more days until race #2. 45 days until race #3. I would love to add a few more camperships to this total before race #3!

Please consider sponsoring me as I run for the Gayle Ross Campership Fund at Camp Lutherhoma. If you are moved to do so, send your donation to:

Camp Lutherhoma

PO Box 1672

Tahlequah, OK 74465

Please make sure to write Campership/run on the memo line

or you can donate online by visiting:

http://lutherhoma.com/Support/donationtypes.php

Scroll down to the Gayle Ross Campership Fund section and follow the link to Paypal.

THANK YOU.

Marathon #2: Week 1 Complete!

"Hill from Hell" one of many on the Post Oak Course. Tulsa in the background.

I ran twenty miles this week. Three 4 milers and one, really long 8 miler Sunday morning. This is the most mileage I've been able to log since The Post Oak Challenge doubler I completed in March. I was still very injured at the time and was not even supposed to be pushing a stroller much less running. I ran 28 miles over two days with one of my favorite friends, Kelly, who was also nursing a serious injury. Although the clock did not agree, the miles flew by and we laughed the entire time. It has been my favorite (& toughest) race EVER.

Day 1 13.1 miles!

These positive race experiences fuel my training runs. These are the runs that keep me going when an 8 mile training run seems daunting, and 26.2 miles, impossible.

One time, a neighbor stopped to ask me how I trained for my marathons. I was only kidding a little when I answered, "I put on my running shoes!"

Trophies, medals, and muddy shoes.

Today is day 5 out of 64 days of training for the Route 66. I am starting to get excited as I continue to put on my running shoes. I am so thankful and amazed to be pain free so far.  And best of all? 3 camperships have already been provided by my awesome supporters. Wow! Such a blessing to me and future Camp Lutherhoma campers.

Day 2 -

Day 2: Alarm went off at 6:00am. I turned it off. Sometimes running is the easiest part of marathon training. Finding the energy, desire, and time is what can be tough. Charlotte was up all night, energy & desire were low this morning...very low. Then I got another email from another person generously donating to the Gayle Ross Campership Fund. I did the math. Half-way to my fundraising goal!!! Wow. I guarantee when I lace up the kicks this evening after the sun goes down, there will be a spring in my step that wasn't there this morning. Thank you for supporting me and Camp Lutherhoma!

In other news, David and I celebrated TWELVE years this past weekend. He surprised me with a get-away to Bartlesville to stay at the Price Tower Inn. So thankful for this man.

  This girl is a mess. To say she keeps me on my toes is an understatement. But she is cute and she makes me laugh. The girl didn't utter a word until about a few weeks ago. Yesterday, she said "mama's on the potty." Need I say more.

The big kids are trying to squeeze in as much fun as they can in their final weeks of summer. They both had great weeks at Camp Lutherhoma. Addie didn't want to come home and is already planning her return next summer.

Simba's cabin. Getting ready to hit the pool.

Metta's cabin. Saying goodbye to camp was hard!

School is just a blink away. Summer always goes too fast. I will post soon with training/fundraising updates.

Long Time No Post!

So much of our day to day noteworthy stuff ends up on Facebook these days. So if you are looking for pictures of the kids, or what we are eating for dinner, check there.

I finally became a member of the Half Fanatics-- InSane Asylum #3491! Ha! I also spent the Spring trying to heal from several injuries...bleeck. No fun. I am happy to be slowly working back to long distance running and thrilled to have several races on my calendar. This year I am staying closer to home, only planning to leave the state to run my THIRD Houston 1/2. I begin training for the Route 66 Marathon NEXT week! This will be my second full marathon, and I am so nervous. I am excited to be using this training and race experience to raise money for the Gayle Ross Memorial Campership Fund at my beloved Camp Lutherhoma. If you want to donate, just click the link above, donate via Paypal and then let me know that you did (so I can keep track of my personal fundraising goals). I'll be taking over the blog with training/fundraising updates until November...then I will let the kids back on.

Oh who am I kidding, here's a few pictures from our trip to Destin:

Let me just say, I've been to some fabulous beaches. I wasn't expecting Destin to make it to the #1 spot, but it is by far the most beautiful sand my feet have ever touched. We stayed in a little beach house right on the beach with Poopa, Grandma, & Uncle John. The kids want to go back EVERY year. It was such a great family vacation.

Just Had to Share

Remember my post where I was so excited about hearing
from David & Forrest, authors of the marathon trainer
I used, about my shin splints? After the marathon I
emailed them again to thank them for their help and
let them know that I finished. I shared with them the
story about the looks I got when while standing in the
rain waiting for the race to start I told my David that
it was great weather for the run. Well, this is the
message I received from David Whitsett today:

"Hi Sarah, Congratulations to both you and your husband! And I
absolutely NEVER get tired of hearing stories like yours, so thanks
very much for letting us know. I love the idea of your comment on the
weather at the beginning of the marathon. It is exactly the kind of
thing that we hope will happen with people who use our book. Thanks
so much, Sarah. You ARE a marathoner! David"

Totally made my day.

Marathon Pictures are Up

I love that my neither of my feet appear to be touching the ground in this photo, and David appears to be in disbelief about crossing the finish line.

This was taken about 25 feet from the finish...can you tell how soaked we are?

Go to www.runphotos.com enter our bib numbers (1120 or 1121).

The Run

You guys must love us. Like I said in my last post--we were overwhelmed with your responses to our marathon. Hopefully I answer all your questions in this post!

We got up to St. Louis on Saturday morning and spent the day picking up race materials, eating lunch, and relaxing at the hotel. Sunday I began preparing for the run at 3:30am, and three hours later we were standing in the rain with 25,000 other people on Market St. waiting for the gun to go off. When it did, it took nearly 10 minutes to progress to the start line. The view of the Arch here would have been pretty amazing if it wasn't completely obscured by clouds. Remember that self-talk paragraph from training? I started chanting this pretty early on as the rain poured down. I was so distracted by the rain, crowds, other runners that I found it really hard to focus on the long version so this is what it got shortened to on race day:

I am a marathoner
I feel great*
I love to run in the rain
*this later turned into "good" without me realizing it...probably around mile 20

The crazy thing about this is that it works. After the race David and I were talking about the rain and how it was big irritant to David (I'll let him share his own story), but after the first few miles I honestly didn't think about or notice the rain again. I felt great until mile 10 when I started cramping a bit, probably from the extra potent gatorade & gels on the course. I ran through it and opted for water for a little while. The other miles went by without standing out in my mind. I told myself in training that when I got to the point that I wanted to quit (aka: "hitting the wall") I would run that particular mile for my dear friend Jenny who died of cancer six years ago. Enter mile 17. I was pooped, my hip hurt, and my breathing was a little off. My eyes were focused on the ground about 10 feet ahead of me, but when I looked up and saw that big mile 17 marker I said (probably out loud) "this one's for you, Jen!" Then I got all emotional and was making some unusual noises judging by David's looks at me...I can tell you that it's not efficient on any level to cry & run. I eventually got control of myself, but when I did I definitely felt a renewed sense of strength and focus that got me past "the wall." I felt pretty good again until mile 25--I could almost see the end, but it just seemed SO far still. We picked up our pace around 25.5 and crossed the finish line together. All we could do afterwards was laugh! It felt great to finish and even better to get dry clothes on.

Was it fun? Yes and no. It was so much fun to attain this goal together...but it took a lot of determination and honestly, PAIN to get it done. Will we do it again? Who knows? Not tomorrow, that's for sure! Run again for a better time? Nope. Our goal was to finish. I could probably run 10 marathons with that same goal and be challenged each time to get it done! Did we get our custard? No...we opted for Bananas Foster Pie at D&B! Are we sad or glad it's over? Both really. It feels wierd not to get up to run this week and it will be nice to have our Saturdays back, although we both plan to keep running. Did we run the WHOLE time? We did. We would stop at the water stations because we found out that we were bad at drinking from a cup while in motion. How did I manage it with Diabetes? One of the things I love about running and the marathon in particular is that while I'm running, I'm just like everyone else. No pump, no insulin, and if I plan it right, no low or high blood sugars. I do have to take in as many carbs (ie gatorage, gels, etc) as I can get down while running which can mess with my stomach but since I trained that way, it wasn't a huge deal on race day. Did I leave anything out? I know that I've said this before, but your support really meant so much to both of us, during our training, and especially on race day. Thank You!

There were professional photographers on the course and as soon as those pictures are made available to us, we will post them for you to see.

Yes, we still have kids and will get new pictures of them up soon!

26.2 Miles Later

Wow. We were overwhelmed by all the words of encouragement and support we received via texts, emails, facebook, and phone this weekend in St. Louis! I even had friends posting my race results before I even knew them! This journey would have been much tougher without YOU!

David and I finished the marathon in 5 hours, 4 minutes, and 36 seconds. We are very sore and very tired, but very proud of our accomplishment. For those of you who have asked questions about the race, I'll post a more detailed account of the run...of course we have lots of funny stories after running 5 hours in the RAIN! As soon as race pictures are posted we'll share them with you.

Post Dispatch article from today

At City Hall after the race and after changing into DRY clothes...ahhhhhh! I was sitting on the floor trying to get my toes to bend. :)

Marathon Updates

No more marathon training posts!!! We're basically finished with our tapering and are now just logging three milers to keep us relaxed. I will try to post a few updates on facebook while in St. Louis, so hop over there or wait until Monday for results!

Catching up

Yes, yes. I have new pictures to post. I'll try to get them up here tonight. We've had a busy week filled with sunshine, rain, snow, Easter crafting, and getting ready for our trip to Oma & Opa's. I feel like I've been running non-stop all week...and oh yeah...RUNNING! I had an interesting week on the training front. I started having some significant pain while running after last week's 16 miler. Shin splints. @#*!. Go ahead, google "shin splints"...basically everything I read said DON'T RUN until they are healed (4-6 weeks). The marathon is in THREE weeks. I freaked out. You know what I did? I looked up the authors of my training manual at the university they teach at and I emailed them. Guess what? They emailed back...with very helpful advice that calmed me down and helped to identify the root of my problem, which turned out to be tennis shoes. It was time for fresh sneakers. I spent three days on rest, keeping ice on my shins, and popping Ibuprofen like candy. Guess what? Sunday (Saturday it snowed 6 inches!) I ran EIGHTEEN miles with almost ZERO pain. This was our last double digit run until April 19. From now until race day our runs will range from 5 to 9 miles, which as you can imagine, are cake walks compared to the mileage we conquered on Sunday.

So, how are you?

Third Time's the Charm

Today David and I tackled the third and final SIXTEEN mile run of our training. After last week's tough run I paid particular attention to my carb and water intake all week long. It worked. Today's run was the best of all the long runs for me. I enjoyed every second of it-which probably sounds crazy to some of you. Next week we will run 18 miles.

Get Well!

I'm about to say something that I never would have dreamed of saying 5+ years ago... I've had diabetes for long enough now that I don't think about it often. That being said, it can still be a juggling act to keep everything balanced so that I feel well and stay healthy...and that's without the added stress of marathon training. So far I've had terrific success at keeping a balance between carb intake (crazy high compared to my normal), exercise (ditto), and insulin. Saturday I experienced my first low blood sugar during a run--and it sucked. We carry and drink large quantities of Gatorade on our runs so I was continuously adding carbs, but I guess I didn't get enough carbs in before the run. I finished the run, but I felt super fatigued and spent the rest of the day on the couch with my legs propped up. Talk about discouraging. Jackson showed up from his craft table with this card:

Ha, ha. Better than Advil (I got some of that, too). We ran 34 miles this week. So last week I reported that this week we'd be hitting 18 miles on the long run. Nope. We still have one more long run of 16 miles before we have to face our longest run. Go Team Ross!

Keep on Trucking

We ran THIRTY-ONE miles this week. Saturday's 16 miles were tough from the very beginning. Really tough. Next week will be our last increase on the long run. 18 miles. That will be the longest run we will tackle before the marathon...which is scary because I just don't feel ready to run 26 miles yet! This week I really started working towards occupying my mind, even on the short and mid runs, with concentration games (going to grandma's and I'm taking an Apple, Banana, Cat, etc...), my happy places (camp, the beach, mountains), and other mind games that keep my noggin from thinking about anything negative. I also found closing my eyes helps--I try to see how long I can go before running off the trail. :)

I am amazed by how people respond to my training with: "I could NEVER do that!" Uh...yes you could! Seriously, if I can do it...ANYONE can. Arthritic. Diabetic. Non-runner type. I'm feeling rebellious. I love it.

If you have the itch go check this book out: The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer

My Self-talk Paragraph

Last week, week seven of our training, we ran 26 miles. Just .2 miles short of a marathon...spread out over four days. Saturday we ran 12 miles. It was cold. It was windy. There were lots of hills. Our bodies hurt. We wanted to stop and sit down and do anything but run. But we didn't. We finished. Instead of feeling like I accomplished something after this run, I felt doubtful that I'd ever be able to run twice the distance. My bad attitude continued through the day Saturday as I sat on the couch icing my sore knees and into Sunday. Today I picked up my training book and read the section for last week that I hadn't read yet. It was about creating a "self-talk paragraph" to memorize and play back in your head when you hit hard spots in your run. Here was the example the writers gave:

"I am a marathoner. I love to run and I do it four times a week (I am going to avoid making a certain "The Office" joke here). I am in great shape and I look and feel like it. I never quit before I finish my runs. I always feel strong when I run and I feel terrific after I finish. I can't wait for my next run. I am a marathoner."

So this may sound hokey, but after reading this and creating my own self-talk paragraph (mine had to include a line dedicated to how good I look in my matching running gear...ha!) I already felt better, more confident, and excited to run my four miles tonight...even though I have a cold. I was surprised to get into my run tonight and find that my legs felt stronger and I had very little pain left over from Saturday. So I'm going into week EIGHT (halfway!) with a new & improved attitude.

All Our Bags are Packed

I've had that John Denver song in my head since last night when David and I purchased our plane tickets ($15 thanks to miles!) & hotel for St. Louis in April. Even though our bags aren't really packed, and we definitely are NOT ready to go just yet...I'm starting to get really excited about the marathon. Last night we also opened up the course map...it's going to be like going back in time! We start downtown, will pass the brewery (where I could have been a tour guide, I knew it so well), lap Lyon park (Miriam and I logged many miles here during our lunch breaks at NIMA/NGA--wonder if the giant Ginkgo tree will still be there?!), run down Market St., pass Busch Stadium, run up the beastly hill in Forest Park (the one I hardly could get my bike up--by the dinosaurs), pass Wash U, run down Delmar (hopefully not "RUN!" down Delmar), pass by Buddy's apartment (he and his wife and daughter live in Tulsa now) and our old apartment, run down the path in Forest Park that Gus and I wore out on our walks after work...

When I first got the marathon itch a few years ago I thought it would be so great to go to some exotic place to run my 26.2 miles. I'm not going to deny that running those miles in Hawaii or Napa Valley wouldn't be heavenly, or that we picked St. Louis mostly because we thought it a more "do-able" trip (leaving two kids, two dogs, a bunny, a fish, a job, etc. behind). However, the more I think about it, the more I know that St. Louis is the perfect place. Every mile will be full of memories!

Feeling the Love

David and I were not believers in Valentine's Day...until we had kids. The kids loved receiving ALL their cards & goodies from you, THANK YOU!!! We stayed at home on Saturday and enjoyed a Valentine themed dinner that Jackson and I planned. One of the menu items was sparkling grape juice which, as you know, comes in a wine bottle. I poured each of the kids some in a special glass. Addie exclaimed: "Oh! Beer!" and then when she was finished asked for "more beer, please!" I'm sure that's going to come up at an inconvenient time!!! David and I enjoyed a nice quiet dinner and outing to the book store on Wednesday to avoid the V-Day craze. It was nice and very appreciated.

Also on Saturday David and I ran 11 miles to close up week six of our marathon training. It was an awesome run for me...not because it was easy or even enjoyable, but because I went into the run battling some (three, to be exact) pain issues and had to concentrate on pushing thoughts of quitting out of my mind constantly. "IT DOESN'T MATTER!" And you know what? Around mile five, it didn't matter--I couldn't feel anything! I think it was a good experience for me to have a really challenging run where I felt like quitting, but didn't. On to week SEVEN.

Chocolate frog

waiting patiently for dinner

V-day gift sampling. Frogs seemed to be our theme this year. I made the patchwork frog for Addie (Jack got an OSU one)--she kept saying: "You made this for me, momma?!" Yep...those are GREEN M&Ms!

I feel ya, Gus! Man, I felt like this after our big weekend!!!

Week Five--21 miles

We are 1/4 of the way through our marathon training. Our total mileage this week added up to a whopping 21 miles. Today we tackled our longest distance yet...TEN miles. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed spending this time together. I've said this before, but the long run is the day we look forward to the most each week. We are amazed by our progress and look forward to week SIX!

Gorgeous Day for a Run: Week 4

This has been a strange week. We were not able to get out and run any of our "short" runs this week due to the weather/icy roads...but Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL 64 degrees out and we enjoyed running our EIGHT miles along the Arkansas River in SHORTS. It is a crazy thing for me to think back to only a few months ago when running 3 miles seemed like an unattainable goal.

So part of our training is developing a positive outlook as we run. The instructors suggest that after every negative thing that enters your brain you counter it with "...but it doesn't matter." I'm getting pretty good at doing this while running and yesterday I got tickled as I ran down a particularly rough stretch of our route when I heard this going on in my head:

"ouch, my knee/hip/side hurts...but it doesn't matter." (this one was repeated a couple of times)
"my hair is in my face...but it doesn't matter."
"I'm sweaty...but it doesn't matter."
"A seagull!...but it doesn't matter."

I laughed out loud and startled the guy running in front of me. My brain seems to attach that "doesn't matter" bit to EVERYTHING not just the negative stuff, which probably isn't a bad thing. On to week 5...

A Big Week

Last week was a big week for everyone. David and I ran SEVEN miles on a day so cold that the water in my water bottle froze as I ran. It took awhile for the feeling to return to the skin that had been exposed. It's so funny that we look forward to the long run more than any other day in our training week. Thanks to all of you who have sent words of encouragement, we really do appreciate it!!!

Addie got her first hair cut. I didn't have my camera with me to capture the moment, but she looks much better without her baby-mullet. She also went to the bathroom on the big girl toilet--#1 & #2! No pictures of that either (it's bad enough that I posted the info!)

Jackson has been playing solo in his room this week after I finally got around to hanging all those airplanes from his ceiling. Hanging ten of them wore me out because Jackson was so particular about the height and angle of each airplane. He enjoys identifying all the airplanes with the many airplane encyclopedias he owns. We had a few gorgeous days this week. The kids spent some much needed time playing outside. Addie insisted on the tutu and told her brother that she was a "ballerine."

The haircut. She was not in a posing mood.

Marathon Training Continues: Week 3

I didn't post our week three running journal, but we're still going strong. Tomorrow, our longest run of the week, we will be running SEVEN miles. Mother Nature has welcomed our pending milestone with this forecast. We are getting many opportunities to put our positive thinking strategies to work and so far, amazingly, we've not succumbed to frost bite! I will let you know how the run goes. Our family and friends have been SO supportive and will play a huge role in us finishing our goal in April. Thank you!

Check back soon for a new kid post!!!