More Fundraising!

Today I worked on more fundraising products. I now have tshirts, bags, hats, and keychains. I will make a couple of big orders but I want to get an idea of what people are most interested in and get a decent size order so I can save on shipping. Please click  here to see the products, descriptions, and prices and let me know if you are interested in ordering anything! Contact me by email: connertonjamie@yahoo.com

I also have a fundraising page here that sells magazines and cookie dough. The more I sell the more more profit I get for the marathon.

Pain, stretching, and all that jazz...

Im working hard to keep the mileage up, despite the pain in my left foot. I am a little frustrated that I am not raising funds for the marathon as quickly as I had anticipated. I know it's the holidays and that's probably to blame. Except that my fundraiser started in October, so I dont know what's up. I have plans to ramp up excitement in the new year! In the meantime I am doing my best to stay warm and not freeze my toes off.

I am participating in a study at East Carolina University about runners and how flexibility is effected with static vs. ballistic stretching. It will take 6 weeks and I have stretches I have to do 2x a day and report my progress weekly. Im excited to be part of the study and hope that my participation helps in this highly debated topic in the running world.

That's all for now, I will keep you updated in the days to come and how running survives the holidays!

Race Reflections

My race on Sunday was great... I was definitely tired at the end and knew that I gave all I had to give. My finishing time was 1:49:32 which I was very proud of. The official distance was 10.09 miles. I wish I could hit closer to the ACTUAL distance because Im sure my time would be better! Either way, the Kenya's kicked my butt! The three top finishers were all Kenyan's who train in Chapel Hill. It was amazing to watch them. It's like they were floating.... running effortlessly....

While I was happy with my time, I cant help but feel a little disappointed. Im not comparing my time to Kenyan's because that would just be ridiculous. Im just disappointed that my best effort still puts me finishing at the back of the pack. I know finishing is what's most important and blah blah blah. But I just feel like something needs to click pretty soon or else what the heck am I doing out there? I bought a stationary bike and put it together on Tuesday. My plan is to pedal until my legs and brain get the message that running slow just isn't acceptable. I have been running too long to continue to make subpar times. Now Im just irritated the more I think about it..

Snow!

Last night it started snowing in Greenville. It was beautiful... I guess I have lived in the south a long time because I was VERY excited when I saw flurries. I felt kinda silly :-) We ended up getting about an inch of snow which was more than they predicted. First it started out "We may get snow. No we wont get snow. Ok maybe a little snow. Ok now were not getting anything." I know winter weather is hard to predict so I just dont listen because I know they have no idea. It's now Sunday and I have a race in 3 hours. Snow is still on the ground... The pictures will be beautiful, the race will be very memorable.

Stepping It Up, Again.

I have been thinking about getting a stationary bike for a while to help my training. On Wednesday I walked out to my car and as I drove out of the parking lot I noticed someone put out a stationary bike near the dumpster, but on the "still good I just done want it anymore" side. I thought "Well crap I dont have time to get it up to my apartment so I will cross my fingers and hope it's there when I get home from work." Sure enough it wasn't there. Today I got online and found a decent stationary bike for about $100 on Amazon.com. Walmart had it too but Im anti-walmart so it wasn't an option. The price was the same, so I'm happily sending my hard erned dollars to amazon.com. While I was at it, I also ordered "Marathon Training for Dummies" for a super low price of .39 cents. Thank you amazon.com, I love you more than words could ever express. xoxo

Justus As the GoRun Mascot

Justus has become a regular with my GoRun running team. Tonight we got to practice and Coach Tim said "We're planning to run 4 miles, will he be able to keep up with that?" My first thought was "Can I keep up? I was ready to run 2 miles, but whats another 2, why not?" Well it ended up turning into GoRun not being able to keep up with Justus! It was a semi-slow pace, and for the most part Justus was moving at a pace that mocked "race walking" Im so jealous of his endless endurance. Jack Russell + Siberian Husky = no contest!

Ouch...

So I have been having problems with plantar fascia in my left foot ever since I started running again after my second foot surgery. (Left foot is the one with PF, right one had the surgery). This is incredibly frustrating as it makes running not always enjoyable. I am taping my foot and keeping it stretched in hopes that it will hold up for the weekend but as I sit here typing I can feel a throbbing pain shoot through my foot. It always ends up feeling fine after I run a mile or so but I sometimes wonder the long term effects I will deal with if I dont stop. The thing is, stopping isn't an option. Im told that the only "real" was to cure PF is to rest. Again: Not really an option. Until they find another solution I guess I will just have to deal with it. This is a marathon baby, not a sprint!

Hello Winter

Ben & me at the JDRF walk in Raleigh

I am not particularly impressed by the cold weather we are experiencing. The other day I ran in the cold rain. It was not easy getting out the door but I am reminded that I am running not only for myself but also for Ben. It makes it easier to get out there when I have someone else counting on me. Donations are slow to come in and since the holidays are approaching it is getting even harder to raise funds. I will start another push after the turn of the new year. Either way I am doing my best to stay conditioned. Its so... cold...

New York State of Mind

I put my name in the lottery for the New York City Marathon for November 2011. I dont know if I will get in, but it's the first step. If I get turned down three years in a row I am guarenteed a spot on the 4th try. Wish me luck!!

NYC Marathon

Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon

I ran in the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon (13.1 miles) on October 24th 2010 and finished in 2:29:53. (2:32:07 was gun time, not chip time) I was happy to make my time in under 2:30:00. It was a flat course which was nice! At one point I ran over a bridge that is next to the airport and had a HUGE airplane fly over my head which was amazing because it was flying so low. Running down Ocean Blvd. was a highlight and finishing up on the boardwalk was a nice treat. The medal was insane! I'll be back again next year!

Patriot Run

I ran in the ECU 5 Mile Patriot run on November 20th. I finished in 52:41 and did a cartwheel over the finish line! I was excited to pass people on hills! That's how I know I am getting stronger! Thanks Rod for supporting me and taking lots of great pictures!

Marathon...

So I was talked into running the Shamrock Marathon on March 20th, 2011. I want to now use this blog as a training blog to keep everyone (who cares) updated on how the training is going. While I train I am raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and I am looking for sponsors.

If you would like to help, you can donate at http://jdrfevents.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&eventID=674&participantID=1656 Or go to http://jdrfevents.donordrive.com/ and type in Jamie Connerton as the participant name.

I am working hard to put in the miles and will post pictures from the last couple of races I have completed!

GoRun!!!

Running with my team GoRun (Greenville Organization of Runners)

MS Bike Ride

Last weekend I rode in the MS Bike Tour. I rode a total of 125 miles. On Saturday September 11th I rode 75 miles in 5 hours and 25 minutes. On Sunday I rode 50 miles in 3 hours and 17 minutes. It was very painful and I nearly cried the last 12 miles. I felt every emotion known to man and couldn't be happier to rack up my bike.

Here are some of my Facebook updates during the ride:

September 7 at 12:39pm
MS150 bike ride will be here before I know it. Im counting on my hard headedness and stubbornness to make it over that finish line.

September 9 at 9:50am
Up till 2am, packing my bags. Im finishing homework for the week so that I can be focused. Im already part way into "focus -mode" where I appear to be almost zombie like because I can think of nothing but the race.

September 10 at 12:08amFocused. Finally.

‎

September 11 at 12:22pm50 miles in.

‎September 11 at 1:16pm 20 miles to go for day one!

September 11 at 3:09pm Finished in 5 hours 25 minutes, 74.9 miles.

September 12 at 4:44am Heavy rain in tent city. Wondering about the days ride...

‎September 12 at 8:41am 10 miles in and i have learned something. Men in tight singlets makes me giggle. Trust me you would too if you see what im seeing.

September 12 at 10:49am Im f**king miserable. 12 miles to go and id rather tear my legs off.

September 12 at 11:59am

Finished. That was ridiculous.

September 12 at 6:33pm Icing my knees while driving to greenville. What a day! "a rollercoaster of emotions!"

September 12 at 8:58pm 125 miles - 8 hours, 41 min. What a weekend. Thank you for all your well wishes, motivation, and support. I hit the wall with 12 miles to go and I felt every emotion from anger to sadness to pure agony. Im so glad it's over for me, but we still have so much more work to do to find a cure.

--------------------

Im now focused back on running. I have my half marathon in just a few weeks but in the meantime I am racing every other weekend until December! Hard to beleive I signed myself up for this craziness.

Fall is here and the weather is beautiful. I love the thought of being able to go for a run with the cool wind in the air and a bright pink under armour hoodie on my back :-) I just ordered sleeves (sounds silly, I know) so I will stay warm this fall and winter while I pound the pavement.

Hello Greenville

Greenville has been good to me. I still have not met my next door neighbor who - I heard through the wall - doesnt like dogs. I have been doing a good job at keeping Justus quiet so maybe that will change her mind. Oh well, Im not here to impress her anyway.

Justus and I went to the dog park again tonight which just so happens to be located at the beginning of the South Tar River Greenway. Its only about 2 miles out and back so it is a short, but a good start. We have to run by one house that has at least 3 dogs and two of which look like Great Danes. Lets just say that Justus is not very impressed with their obnoxious behavior. Justus would rather run in the street than on the sidewalk by their fence. I cant really blame him.

So I told Justus that I will buy him a Happy Meal if he can find me a cute guy. Justus has been trying but I have not approved of anyone just yet. On Tuesday we went for a run and then hung out at the dog park. Justus walked up to this super cute guy and the guy didnt even bat an eye at Justus. And let me tell ya, Justus TRIED! He was sniffing the guy and the guy was all acting like he had somewhere else better to be. We got home and I gave Justus a biscuit and told him nice try. It wasnt his fault after all.

Tonight at the park I said hello to a few people as we ran and they said things like "Beautiful dog!" or "Nice animal" and the whole time Im like "Yeah, what about me??" Although I suppose if they said "Beautiful Girl" or "Nice bod" I would yell back something rude. Oh well....

So here I type tonight with my little Justus under my feet at the computer desk. This whole living in the same 400 square feet has made us even better friends, regardless of the man candy that he cant find for me :-)

-Runner Girl

Changes...

So i am finally moved into my apartment in Greenville. I am struggling with finding a place to run. There are plenty of roads, but very few of them I would classify as being safe to run on. Yesterday Justus and I found a dog park which also has a green way. The path is about a mile long so it isnt long enough but it is at least a start. I may travel home to train a bit.

Im living a simple life and enjoying it very much. I have not started classes or work yet so I have lots of time to relax and enjoy life. I just started a fitness program called P90X and boy is it kicking my butt! Im on day 3 of 90 and im in lots of pain already!


I enjoy being able to put a lot of focus on my training. This week I am putting in my application to teach gymnastics at a local training center. Wish me luck!

-Runner Girl

Slacker

So I have been running, but not quite hitting my goals. I am working on packing up my bedroom for the big move which has me a little distracted. Not to mention summer school is coming to a close and with that comes stress!

Yesterday I ran before a big storm hit. It was kinda fun racing the storm. I ran to a neighborhood that got hit with a bad storm over the weekend. There is a house that got hit by a tree... its covered in tarps, but there is still yellow tape around the house. So sad. I got to my driveway just as the rain started to fall. When I walked in the door the sky opened up and I was glad to have not run any further.

OMG, can it get any hotter? It has been 90+ everyday for the last few weeks it seems. Tomorrow will be over 100. Is summer over yet? Wow, its almost August and all I have done on 'summer vacation' is run and race. I have not even been to the beach. What is summer without the ocean?

Today I discovered a guy (Matt Jenkins) who runs a few marathons every week. That amazes me to no end. One time he ran 5 in 5 days!!! Right now he is running across the whole state of North Carolina. I checked his map and he will cover just over 740 miles. I dont think I run that in a YEAR!!! He should be near my part of NC tomorrow night. I bet he has no toenails. Ewww...

-RunnerGirl

I made it to 18!

I am so happy that I made my goal this week. I finished up today's workout and it put me at 18.2 for the week.

My goal for the new week is to run a higher percentage of my total milage. Up until now I have counted my nightly powerwalks with Justus as part of my mileage. This week I want to increase my total mileage to 19 miles, running at least 70% which is 13.3 miles of running. Im pretty sure Justus will not complain! This makes the math on my workouts a little more difficult, but considering that my Tuesday group runs are about 3.5 miles and my Saturday long run will be 6 miles it really seems do-able. Hmm... should I up it to 80%? Lets see how the week goes...

Its 11pm so it is way past my bed time. I look forward to my new goal for the week!!

-RunnerGirl

Almost to 18!

I woke up this morning and was very excited to see it was overcast! Thank you Mr. Sunshine for waking up late today! I hit the road at 7:15am and went out for my 5 mile run. Justus, my dog, was upset that I didnt take him so once I reached 4 miles I picked up Justus and took him out for the last mile. Oh my gosh was it ever humid! Like I mentioned before I am not a fast runner. But I am consistent and that's what REALLY matters. I ran 5 miles in 59 minutes which is way off pace for qualifying for Boston. My qualifying time for Boston at a sanctioned race is 3:40:59. I dont think Boston is in my near future but sometimes it is fun to think about. How cool is it to run in the footprints of the elites? That is something I never had in gymnastics. Although I dont think I could ever love running as much as gymnastics, I can say without a doubt that I get to compete more in running than I ever could in gymnastics. It's also cheaper than gymnastics. All I need for running is a good pair of shoes and a good sports bra! Oh, and PS I love Under Armour.

I am to the point where I dont think much on my runs. It's probably best to not think because it means Im not thinking about the pain in my heel. Sometimes I fear that my heel will end up getting the best of me one day. I dont like to think about not being able to run. When I get home I ice my foot and stretch it a bit and hope that I can walk in the afternoon. I have my eyes on the half marathon in October and then I want to run in the Tarheel 10 Miler in April of 2011. I worked at a triathlon last October and earned a free entry to a race of my choice so I want to use it for that.

My mileage this week so far is 16.4 miles so I KNOW that I will reach my goal of 18 miles this week. I am a bit sore right now so I think it is time to relax. Until the next run...

-RunnerGirl

Power!!!

Im on the road to 18 miles this week. As long as I keep up at least 2 miles each day and run the planned 5 miles on Saturday I should be good. My left heel is hurting pretty bad. That 'Foot Wheel' isn't working the wonders that I was hoping for.
-RunnerGirl

Group Run

Oh how I love my group run! Tonight we ran a trail at Bond Park in Cary, NC. I will miss my group when I move away to school. I was excited to run the whole 5k without stopping. That has become my new goal for every run is to run non-stop. Im not fast by any means, I finished in 34 minutes. To top off the run, we all saw a little bunny hop along the trail. Im sorry, but that is just too cute. When Justus and I ran in the Clemmons State Forest on Sunday we saw 7 white tailed deer. They are so beautiful.

Oh, and tonight on my way to the car I felt my IT Band start to hurt. Now that I am home it is working itself out. Agh, is it my age or am I trying too damn hard?

Tomorrow is supposed to be 102 degrees... nearly 50 degrees warmer than my Saturday morning run. I plan to get home early and maybe get Justus to the park before my online meeting at 8pm. If its too hot I guess we will just go for a walk after the meeting.

Off to bed so I can start another day tomorrow.
-Runner Girl

Busy day!

I was so busy with homework today that I missed the chance to have a long workout. Honestly, I spent the better part of the 3 day weekend relaxing, which I think I deserve. School has been kicking my butt and my job is stressful. Running is my release... it's what gets me from one day to the next.

At about 8pm I realized that I was working on the same homework assignment for over 2 hours when I suddenly thought "Oh crap! I have to take my movies back!" Yes... I rented a movie for the first time in over a year! I get excited when I have time to watch a movie, how silly is that? I rented "Julie and Julia" and the first season of Sex and the City. I have never watched the show before, but as a 20-something single female I thought it was exactly what I needed. And boy was it ever!

So anyway, I got Justus -my dog- in the car and we headed to Blockbuster before closing time. On the way home I got ready to pass by the park when I thought, "Ya know, Justus you deserve the walk I promised you." So we hit the 1/2 mile path in a power walk. I try to be in bed by 10pm and it was already 8:30 so we had to get a move on it! A half mile wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

My goal for this week is to hit 18 miles by Sunday. I bought a new therapy device for my foot. It's a "Foot Wheel" that is supposed to work out the pain caused by plantar fascia. The doctor says the only fix is "R-E-S-T" which is not an option right now.

My half marathon is in 110 days.

Did I mention I am also training for the MS 150? It is a 150 mile bike ride broken up into 2 days. That ride is September 11th-12th.

There is so much to do.... so... very... much.

Lets Go...

I have been running for almost 2 and half years and I am now training for my second half marathon. Running was never easy for me, and I dont dare say that it is easy NOW! I am not blessed with the gift of endurance so I have to work hard every day to earn my place in the running world. From here on out I will post my trainings, feelings, pains, and joys that all come from the wonderful world of being an endurance athlete.