Week ten was a red letter week; I ran 17 miles today. My longets single run to date. I was actually able to successfuly recover and run almost 40 miles for the week after completing the Sunday 15 mile run.
I ran alone last Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, but was able to hook up with a few friends on Friday afternoon to run 8ish or so miles around Green Lakes.
The Saturday run at the Jamesville Resrvoir was an awesome run for several reasons: 1) I ran with Tony for the first time, 2) I was able to take advantage of several water stops, and 3) still ran for a fair pace considering the hills and the distance.
I don't know how many got out to run this weekend. It seemed like 25 or 30 people although it is Easter weekend. Tony is a fantastic runner; very fast and rarely seems to get tired. He was a good running partner because he chats and is willing to slow down. He grew up along the shore of the reservoir. He told me a few childhood stories about camping out, building little dams, and about the UFO that may have whirred it rotary sounding engines near the Indian Grounds and the old Jamesville Prison. Tony even stopped in to say hello to his mom. He caught right back up to me so I didn't have to climb the big hill alone.
We ran past an old stone school house which is now a home. However, even with all the additions you can still see the stone school house making up the center of the home. It is an historical landmark. Just beyond this home, on Bamerick is a newly built log cabin where Tony had camped years earlier with the Boy Scouts before the cabin was built.
Joel and Missy were running along in front of us and sometimes behind when Tony and I passed them stopping for water. Otherwise, they were on a nice steady pace. There were several other groups running along at varying paces, all finished well and all should be pleased to have accomplished the mileage they set out to defeat.
Again, the water stops are a necessity to make long runs comfortable. Tony and I stopped at waterstops two and three each time around the lake. First time around Gatorade was enpugh to energize our tired legs, but the second time around, it was absolutely necessary to have a protein bar and than a gel pack chased by water. I probably could have done without the protein bar, but I wasn't sure if there would be any gel at my last stop for the home stretch. I ran while chewing the bar. I felt too full by the time I finished it; I ate 3/4 of it.
In the end we were greeted by the volunteers and the previous finishers by cheers, clapping and kind words. Week Eleven is around the corner, and I can't wait to go a little further. Going a little further, going one more step, one more mile, one more day, one more month, or one more year is what it all about. Whether we are running or struggling to overcome a terminal disease. It is the struggle, the opportunity to overcome obstacles that makes each of us stronger. The fight to raise awareness, to gain support for the victims of blood cancer an obstacle we all want to overcome to save a life.
If you are able please visit my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society donatin page and support my mararthon run to overcome blood cancer at http://pages.teamintraining.org/cny/rnr09/wboyd.
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