Who Needs Date Night?

After a minimul amount of coaxing my wife gracefully agreed to ride bike along side me while I completed my 17 mile run on Saturday.  Slushy streets made it difficult for her to keep up but as the spring progresses it will be easier for her to come with.  Who needs dinner and a movie when you can spend quality time in the great outdoors, it's alot cheaper too.  The 17 mile run this weekend went ten times better than the 15 mile run two weeks ago.  I am guessing it was the weather.....  oops, I mean the company, that made it go better.  Convincing our son to ride along with, well that is another issue.  His comment when I complain about blisters is, "that's what you get for being crazy".  I know he means crazy in the most supportive sense of the word.  Needless to say he won't be joining in on the long runs, but short runs aren't out of the question. 

I would like to take this time to thank everyone for the great support.  Already, we are at 26% of our goal for our Relay for Life team and we have until June to reach our goal.  The support is great and should remind us all that people do still have good intentions.  Please take time for a moment of silence for our friends and loved ones that have been lost to this terrible disease. 

46 parents will be told that their child has cancer today. 

 

Keep up the Fight

As I look ahead I see a long week of training in front of me.  4 miles on Monday 8 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles on Wednesday, 8 miles on Thursday, and 17 miles on Saturday. Training for a marathon is definitly a time commitment, but it is actually a good release for built up energy and aggression. Not only that, if I want to finish and be satisified with myself the miles are absolutely necessary.  I also think about all the cancer patients that can't just take a day off from cancer.  If I were to take a day off just because I don't feel like it I would be defeating the whole purpose of my message.  Together we can help make huge advances in treatments, cures, care giving, etc.  The list of ways to help is endless it just takes a little time to find out what you can do.  I would like to thank all of you who have followed along thus far for taking the time to read and help spread awareness.  Every little bit really does help. 

As a parent that has lost a child there is one comment that you hear very often.  That comment is "I can't imagine how terrible it would be to watch your child pass away".  Might I add in our case it happened on the living room sofa that we sit on every day.  It is an absolutely indescribable pain that teaches you to either press on or let the sorrow consume your life.  For the most part the days are good, but there are days that fighting off the urge bust someone upside the head is extremely difficult.  For those of you in similar shoes take this time to pat yourself on the back.  You have been down a long road and you know how to fight and endure pain just as well as those great fighters that have battled cancer. 

Friends Keep You Going

15 miles on Saturday was challenging to say the least.  The timing of a friend's offer to run with me on Saturday couldn't have been better.  Having a partner to run with really helps, espescially when the wind is a sustained 20mph.  The miles are very important here so not training because of bad weather just isn't an option.  Remember I am always looking for offers for people to train with so just let me know.  Your body was made to move, so instead of spending that hour on the couch spend 45 to 120 minutes with me on the pavement (chasing me with a car is not acceptable but bicyles are ok).

As you follow along please keep in mind all the reasons why I am doing this.  Attention is what I seek.  Attention for all the little kids walking around the children's hospital with 10 IV's stuck into them with a pole of chemo drugs and a terrified parent following behind.  Attention for all the families that have to watch, completely helplessly, as their loved ones take their final breaths.  Attention for emotional scars that never heel but help remind us that life is truly a gift.

37 miles this week!

The Long Runs Have Begun

It's been a pretty good week of training, 4 miles Monday, 7 miles Tuesday, 4 miles Wednesday, 7 miles Friday and 14 miles Saturday.  Mother nature still refuses to make it easy but treating the inclement weather like a challenge seems to make it a litlle more tolerable.  Good friends with gym memberships and treadmills in their basements tends to ease the frustration too.  Saturday was a good day for a run 5 degrees and a slight 6MPH wind.  I don't know what it was about that wind but every time I turned into it it was like a shock to my system for the first 15 steps or so.  I felt like a little baby experiencing the wind for the first time.  Most of us have seen that look on a baby's face.  That look of wide eyed uncertainty about whether or not it is ok to breathe this awful frigid substance into their system.  I hope no one saw me.  The fourteen miles went well Saturday, the nerves of finishing a marathon with my dignity in tact are starting to subside a little bit.

Please mark May 7, 2011 on the calendar.  The second annual Running for the Ribbons 5K run/walk in Kindred will be on that day.  If you would like to register, e-mail me at kolling0401@yahoo.com and I will send you a form.  Anyone willing to train with me can just let me know, you don't have to run with me for the whole distance.  Just a few miles is a great motivator for all parties invovled.