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!