Sunday, June 24, 2012

It's officially summer in Chicagoland. I know this not only because the calendar says so, but also because the hot humid air has set in! I feel lucky that it stayed away as long as it did. But the past two Sunday long runs have been hot and HUMID! UGH!

Emily and I ran last week's 9 miles along the Fox River starting in downtown Aurora. 

I'd never run on that section of the Fox River Trail before. We saw lots of chipmunks and squirrels, a bunny, a pair of cardinals, and even a doe! We ran under I-88 and saw some neat houses along the river. Overall a very nice run. We were just a couple miles short of hitting Batavia before we turned around for the second 4.5. How crazy to think that I ran from Aurora almost all the way to Batavia. Soon enough it will be a reality. 

Today was an easy 6 around Yorkville. So fun to say that 6 miles is easy. Any 5K or 10K races this fall after the marathon are going to be a breeze!!!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Eight miles this morning. Easy peasy :)  Well, not easy, but it was a good run!  Sunni and I headed out at 6 a.m. (UGH!) but it was still cool and it is always a good feeling to get a long run done early and have the whole day still ahead to enjoy.

I was really nervous about this run. After a bad long run last weekend and a bad run Friday, I was afraid of something hurting. But all was good!!

I had an interesting cyber encounter a couple of weeks ago. I got some very cool water bottles in the mail--as promised by this stranger, who has a CF connection.



I had been searching for a "dual" water bottle. Something I could put both water and Gatorade in. I'd never seen one, but I figured one MUST exist out there somewhere. I came across the SWIGZ dual hydration system. Exactly what I'd pictured in my head. Even found a couple reviews on a women's fitness magazine site. But when I clicked on the "order" button, it took me to an expired page. So I sent and email to the "contact us" address.

I little while later, I received a response. Unfortunately they were no longer selling the bottles. However, they had some extra stock and if I would send my address, he would be happy to send me one free of charge.

I debated whether it was a good idea to send my address. So I followed some of the links that were in this guy's signature. Chip Yates is a Guinness World Record holder for the fastest electric motorcycle. He is also the founder and CEO of Flight of the Century, which has something to do with all-electric air crafts. Pretty cool! I figured it was safe to send my address.

As you may know, the signature in my email is information about my CFF fundraising. Turns out, this guy's sister-in-law had CF, so seeing that I was fundraising for CF, he told me a little about her. Courtney Allison Yates was his brother's wife. She had a double lung transplant and then finished her degree, got married, and had a baby before she passed away at just 28 years old.

My heart breaks thinking of that little boy or girl growing up without his or her mom. It's not fair.

This is why I am running. Why I was up before 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Because I want to do everything I can to not have any more families grieving over a loved one lost to CF. Because I want to help find a cure for everyone who is living with CF--especially my "little friend Dean" (as my great-aunt put it in her sweet note that accompanied her donation :) )

Sunday, June 3, 2012

18 weeks from today I will have completed the 2012 Chicago Marathon (hopefully!).

Is it bad that just a few weeks into training I was so excited to have an extra rest day this week and so glad that today's long run was just 6 miles? It is going to be a long summer!

Thank goodness today's run was just 6 miles. It was not a good run. I'm battling shin splints on my right leg. I got stretch and strength exercises to do from the trainer during last Thursday's physical therapy session. I'm hoping that will help!  I also had spent the day gardening, so I'm sure I was dehydrated and I know my back was tired from bending over. Lesson learned--early morning runs are best not only for the cool temps (although that wasn't an issue today) but because I haven't had a chance to wear myself out with any other activities.

Last Sunday's run was a lot of fun. 7 miles with a different running buddy! I'm not typically one to chat during a run. But Sunni is my college roommate and we ALWAYS have catching up to do. So we chatted the whole 7 miles and it was fun! It was incredibly hot so it was good to have the miles go by so quickly :)

And I also have some exciting news about my fundraising...I'm over halfway there!!!  Thank you does not even begin to express how grateful I am! The generosity of my friends and family makes my heart fill with pride and love and joy and amazement! The outpouring of support not only for Dean and the CF Foundation, but also for my marathon journey is awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone!

http://www.cff.org/LWC/CandyJohnson