$1,000 in the donation bank!!!

It's been awhile, but nothing has really changed. Running more and more and raising more and more! We have donated $1,055!!! which means... i can send into Gap and have them start processing their half of the stuff! so THANK YOU SOOO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED... but please, dont feel like you cant keep giving... if you havent already donated, please feel free to!
I have been having problems with one of my feet, a little case of the tendinitis that made running very painful and set me back a little bit, but I am back to 100% and ready to go!!
I ran 11 miles last weekend on my own with my new fancy running shoes and it was FANTASTIC! I LOVED it. I kept running and running and running.... nothing was stopping me (like the pain was doing previously) so my running spirits are higher then ever and am now confident in saying... "I am going to run a marathon"

i am also SUPER excited about the number of people that will be going to the marathon to support me... so far the people i know for sure that are going to be there..
-Mom
-Mike (mom's boyfriend)
-Dad
-Sue (step-mom)
-Jen (sister)
-Matt (oldest brother)
-Anna (Matt's Girlfriend)
-Andrew (twin brother)
-Michala (twins girlfriend)
-Paul (My boyfriend)

Im so excited that they are all going to be there cheering me on... i should just spread them out every three miles through out the marathon! haha

what else... what else?

OH. i got a babysitting job.. which I LOVE the kids, Kevin and Meagan, Kevin is 6 Meagan is 10 and they are SO much fun to hang out with. We have a ball together, going fishing, to the zoo, for bike rides, doing arts and crafts and all that jazz...

nothing has really changed... just running and working and taking an online summer course... life is good.... I TURN 21 SOON!! woo hoo!


cheers (i've always wanted to end with that)
-Heather

I got lost while running...

Another week has come and gone (where is the summer going?!) and we had yet another team run. We were supposed to be running 9 miles, but as I lagged behind my teammates, with no written directions I found myself lost. I took a right when I should have taken a left and before too long I noticed something wasn't right. I kept running down random side roads trying to find the next road i was suppose to be on but no luck. People on the way tried to help me out, but they had no idea what they were talking about (one guy said the road i was looking for was a 1.5 mile up the road... so i went searching for it, next thing I know, im back to where I started my run haha... so I only ran an adventures 8 - 8.5 miles but it was a good time
Not training this week really kicked my butt. I wanted to take it easy and give my feet a chance to heal up some from the surgery, but next time... they are gonna have to suffer through the pain because I really lagged behind my teammates.
I need to get new running shoes now also which stinks... this running thing is making me even more broke haha. The shoes i have now are Nike Airs (they are supposed to make it feel like you're running barefoot... they are VERY flexible but not supportive at all) my knees are getting beat up on these runs around mile 6 so Im gonna need to get some better running shoes that have some kind of shock resistance or whatever.

a little side note... my mom is AMAZING! you see, my apple lap top is junk, its only a year old but it has already pooped out on me. I had some stuff done on it 3 months ago, it came back with a 90 day warrenty and 92 days after i got it back and went all haywire again... and Im starting an online summer class today and need my laptop for obvious reasons and she just ups and buys me one! so a HUGE thank you goes out to her and her generosity! (I LOVE YOU!)

but thats about it for now...
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and finding time to relax with friends and family!
if you have not yet donated it's not too late! I have recommitment on August 1st and would love to have 1,100 in by then, and then Gap will donate the other 1,000 I need to run... so if everyone who is interested in donating could do there best to get their donations in by July 25th, that would be AMAZING!!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/maine08/hhaley


Thanks!
Heather

a little surgery

so a few weeks have passed since I last made an entry about my training, but all is going well! I had another team run on saturday (8 miles!) and although it was a long, hard 8 miles... it was a run in which i was very disappointed in myself. It was by far the worst run I have had, and hopefully it will stay that way. I was the very last person to finish our run, I wasnt able to keep up with anyone... it was just an off day! I have been having some pains in my hip, which due to my compensating go to my knee which then go to my other knee... its a nice little circle of discomfort I am making. But anywho, as soon as the run was over, I came back to my apartment packed my car, and was off to see my mom!! (not showered or anything). i had a great weekend visiting Maine/New Hampshire, I got to see my mom and see all the work she has done on her house up in Augusta... gosh, she and Mike are doing such an amazing job! and i also got to see my sister and brother-in-law and their little puppy Paton! (super cute Australian Shepard... 10 weeks old and already knows how to sit and lay down, im trying to teach it roll over and see if its a genius dog) I left from their to head down and see my dad stepmom brother grandmother and grandfather (sue had to do some minor surgery to my feet... which is no fun while you're training... haha) But it was great to see them, my grandmother and Marie and Patsy (the owners of May Kellys cottage, where I used to work.

I came back to a week of work and am looking forward to the fourth of July and hoping that this weeks team run (9 miles) will be a little less depressing haha. I havent done any training this week due to the pain in my feet from the healing (you're probably wondering what the surgery was about... so here we go. I have had planters warts for as long as I can remember, and they feel like their are little pebbles in my shoes when I run... sue has taken car of a handful already but they keep popping back up in different places... SUPER frustrating and gross haha. but something that I have to deal with. So i figured i should just take care of these ones (there were only 3 little ones) before they get too big and painful, so i am very grateful she was able to take care of that little situation so it wont affect my really long distances!

Thanks again to everyone who has been supporting this amazing cause. It is official that I am running in Maine (however, all names got earased from the fundraising page when PayCor transfered the funds over... but I will not forget who you all are!)

I hope you all have a happy and exciting fourth of July!

week...?

So I am starting to loose track of where I am in my weeks of training, but I'm not lossing track of how well it's going. Saturday brought another team run, running 6 miles this week... and this was probably the best I have ever felt while running! The girls I ran with noticed a difference in me, I just kept going... and not getting all that tired. Hills are still very difficult for me, but I am working on them. I worked an overnight at Gap that Saturday night (working 7pm-5:30am) I then came home rested my eyes for 20 mins then was back up getting ready to see Pauls dad! I was then up until 9 or 9:30... so yeah, it was a REALLY long 36 hours. It was great to see Pauls dad and spend the day with him.

I am feeling good... fundraising is going AWESOME! (i have decided to do the Maine Marathon, which means I have to raise $2,100 which should be easy enough!)

a HUGE thank you goes to Steve and Carrie (Pauls dad and his girlfriend) for their very generous donation! with the support everyone is showing i hope to go above and beyond the $2,100... after all it's for an amazing cause!

I guess that's about it... so UNTIL NEXT TIME! if you havent already donated... you can visit my fundraising page at : http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/nikesf08/hhaley


have a great week!

5 mile run gone bad

week 4 has now come and gone. I started slipping on my training this week (only having run 2 times out of the 4 days i was supposed to)... Paul is now going to push me to run the days i am supposed to run haha.
We had our team run today, today reaching in the 90's (yeah... it was hot hot hot). We took off thinking we were running 5 miles, but due to a mis-print in our directions our running coach handed out to us, we all turned right when we were supposed to turn around haha. Our 5 mile run turned into 7 miles and... believe or not I did it! I RAN 7 MILES! it was a long, slow 7 miels... but I ran with two girls the whole time, Diane and Christina. They are both a little older then me, but it was great to have those girls to talk to the entire way, this is their first marathon also. They are alot of fun and it's great to be meeting new people on this memorable journey.
So... I have been thinking that I may change which marathon I would like to do. I know I have been telling everyone I will be going San Fransisco, but I am finding as I increase my mileage all I want to do at the end of my long run is call my family and tell them how i am improving. So i was thinking of running the Maine Marathon on October 5th, that way my family, and whoever else would like to come, can support me and be there at the finish line cheering me on, and they will be able to see I actually did it...

I would love to know what people think about this idea, of me changing marathons. Should I pass up this amazing offer to go out to San Fransisco? Or should I stick close to home and have the support of my family right there with me!?! (ps. did I mention I would only have to fundraise $2,100 which $1,000 would be coming from gap?!?!)



Onto week 5... and this week I will do my running everyday... and try to get over my bruised feeling feet and tight as can be leg muscles and awkward placed blister on my foot. Oh but no chaffing, thanks to some sexy spandex shorts i purchased last night!... one less spot to complain about!


thanks again for all the love and support! another $55.00 has come in, so thank you to Barby - pauls grandfather, and to Nina (a friend from Florida Southern College)!

Week two and three

Week two and three of marathon training has come and gone. The mileage is slowly increasing, and I am feeling great.
Last week (week of May 18-24) went pretty well, but I was not able to go for the team run on Saturday because I had previous plans to go to Rhode Island for a WEDDING! Pauls cousin tied the knot, and it was great to be around all of Paul's family (they are soo much fun). Paul and I were seated at the loud rowdy table at the reception which was PERFECT for me and my loudness haha, we sat with all of Pauls cousins who are some funny funny people. After the reception Paul and I went to the Providence Place mall to meet up with Dad, my step-mom Sue, my twin-brother Andrew, and his girlfriend Michala. Dad and Sue left us at the mall and us kids fooled around in Dave and Busters (an adult arcade... it was AWESOME!)
Sunday came around and it was back to training... I was slowly working my mileage up to 4 miles for the up coming team run. Some days were just so hot and humid that it was miserable to be out there... just something I will have to get used to I suppose.
I am trying to get used to running without any music, because once in San Fran. we will not be allowed to run with headphones or ipods, for safety reasons I guess... But when I run without music I find myself giving up easier, because a little voice in my head is saying "it's okay, you can stop running if you think your getting tired, or if your legs hurt a little bit" (this is the devil on my shoulder that I am trying to kill!)
When the team run came around on Saturday I was pumped up and ready for the 4 mile run ahead of me. I was feeling great and I did pretty good (although I know I could have done better). I am finding that I need to start dressing in the appropriate running attire because after the run on Saturday my legs were a little sore from where they were rubbing together (gross... I KNOW!) so my awesome mom gave me some money to buy some running clothes! LOVE HER!
After the run I came home, showered up, went and got some breakfast with the boyfriend and then headed to my aunts house for a BRIDAL SHOWER! (my cousin Toby is getting married to the cutest girl Julie in August... the week after my 21st birthday!!!) The bridal shower was alot of fun, and I was able to see my mom and my sister Jenny! I love hanging out with my Mumzee and Jenny, I get some riled up and can be as goofy as I want and they just laugh...

so all in all.... it has been a fun couple of weeks. I love having this new challenge ahead of me and telling people about it (merely for the reactions they have).

this weeks training schedule:
Monday (2 miles)
Tuesday (2 miles)
Wednesday (cross training for 40 mins - any excerise besides running)
Thursday ( 3 miles fartleck (funny word - just means running fast for 1 minute, jogging for 4 mins running fast for 1 min, jogging for 4 mins until i am done my 3 mile run)
Friday (cross training for 30 mins)
Saturday (5 miles - team run)

Please remember to donate... I have been given some generous donations and wouldn't mind to see a couple more rolling in.

you can visit my fundraising page at:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/nikesf08/hhaley

Week 3