Meet My Inspiration

I got a chance to talk with my hero and my inspiration for those long, hot, cranky miles that I talked about a couple posts ago.

On Sept. 11th, our team held an Honored Teammate picnic and Tyler Cordova and his mom Holly came. I got a chance to get a picture with Tyler, wearing a medal from the Disney marathon and holding an official race badge, given to him by one of our teammates.

Tyler is 8 years old. He was diagnosed in 2007 with non-hodkins Lymphoma. He is an honored teammate for our marathon training team. Jason & I have known Tyler since we joined the team in 2008 and have followed his story. He is pictured here a few years ago with another honored teammate and fellow marathoner, Virginia Garner.

He has had a lot of ups and downs even since we've known him with cancer hitting his central nervous system, then his bone marrow, a stem cell transplant last year, blood clots & infections, and even this last July, thought it might be the end.

But Tyler keeps fighting. His spirit stays high and his outlook stays positive and his dreams of the future are alive and vivid.

Both Tyler & Virginia are living examples of how what I do makes a difference. Their smiles are precious.

Tyler knows that our entire team is raising money to help him and others like him. When we were on the team in Winter 2008, he donated all of his piggy bank money to the team, because he knows that we have fundraising minimums. He encourages and inspires us in so many ways.

Running isn't always fun and training for marathons isn't easy. Thinking of Tyler makes it more fun and less difficult. I think that I need him just as much as he needs me.

8 mile

In the beginning, my pace group was put at 3:1 intervals (3 min. running and 1 min. walking). Our target was 12 min. 30 sec. miles. We are Team Jamen.

Side note: Jamen Amato was the brother of one of our teammates that we have ran with since 2008. Jamen fought lymphoma for two years and passed on Oct. 14th, 2009. I'm honored that my pace group is named for Jamen, but I don't yet know how many of the people in my group are aware of that fact or who he was.

This last Saturday was our second mile run in a row. We bumped up to 4:1 intervals this week and I loved it! I'm used to running 4:1 intervals. I opened my stride a little and came in at an average of just under 12 min. miles.

I love my pace group, but I feel like I'm shuffling my feet and fighting against my momentum sometimes in order to stay with our pacer, who is like a running metronome and keeps an incredibly consistent pace. His Garmin may help.

The heat factor

I have a big issue with running in the heat. I'm not talking about 90 degree weather either. An unshaded 70 degrees can be very problematic for me. And it's really just an attitude issue as I've been well instructed and am well practiced in the art of hydration and whatnot.

To illustrate what I mean, here are my feelings on two separate 6 mile runs that were one week apart:

Hot run: Bonelli Park, San Dimas, CA. 8/21/10.

Approx. start time: 8 am. Approx temp at start: 70 degrees.

Approx finish time: 9:20 am. Approx temp at finish: 77 degrees.

(These are other important factors I realize I should mention:)

Shade: Varied with long stretches of treelessness. Terrain: Some hills.

My feelings during the run: I am so over this! Running is stupid. People are annoying. I don't want to go any further. It's so hot I'm taking my shirt off and rocking the sports bra and I don't care what anyone says.

Cool Run: Dockweiler Beach, Playa Del Rey, CA. 8/28/10.

Approx. start time: 9 am. Approx temp at start: 63 degrees.

Approx finish time: 10:20 am. Approx temp at finish: 63 degrees.

Shade: Overcast so it wasn't an issue. Terrain: Completely flat. It's the beach.

My feelings during the run: I was born to run! I kick butt. I'm going to run 7 marathons next year, piece of cake! I should do this every day. I could keep going for miles. I could do a marathon right now!

You can compare and contrast for yourself the temperature & terrain differences between the two. The point is, the heat factor is a big one for me and my race attitude. I am considering altering my chosen races based on what the weather is likely to be that day.

Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about Phoenix & San Diego (the only two full marathons on the schedule). They're the cheapest for us to do and the most conveniently spaced but unforgivingly hot. My two worst runs look to be my two longest. God help me. God help us all.