Run for the Red 5K

So, a week later, I finally have the opportunity to write about the Run for the Red 5K. Put on by the American Red Cross in Fayetteville, this course was KILLER! You start off going up a very large hill... then down another... then a steady incline up another hill until you turn around and do it backwards.

Not only was the course pretty hardcore for my first 5K in a while... but the heat was almost unbearable! It was around 80 degrees at 8 am when the race started... and the sun did not let up. The race also had its own iss

ues with check in, cold water, start times, etc., but I am sure that only really bothers people who are in it to win it. It takes a lot to organize something that big, so I applaud the leadership for taking on su

ch a daunting task!

Here is a picture of some of the people I am training with! Valerie is in the middle and Cheryl is on the right. I wish I could have gotten a picture with all the team members that ran, but alas, I did not.

I would have to say the highlight of the event, for me, was the slice of free pizza from one of the local pizza establishments. It was AWESOME!!!!

I forgot to mention. I finished the race in 37:46 which is A LOT slower then my normal pace. Not sure if it was the heat, or the first hill, but this Sunday, I finished 4 miles in 41:33, so i'm definitely finding my marathon pace!

Easy 2 miles

Today was another training run of 2 miles. Nothing major and finished in just under 20 minutes. I supposed to have logged those miles early in the week, but I worked about 14 hours on Monday, 16 hours on Tuesday, and another 8 on Wednesday. Needless to say, I have been a little overwhelmed with the start of school.

Tomorrow is our All -Greek BBQ, something I am bringing to campus to try to gain a little unity. It also helps that there is free food and access to a pool!!! -- So no run for me tomorrow.... but I'll be grilling for 3 hours... Grill Master CeeBee!!!

I missed the TNT meeting on fundraising and apparel tonight... but made up for that by running, I believe. 5K on Saturday... time to get some rest.

First run... 2 miles

So yesterday (Saturday) morning was our first training run. A short 2 miles, but killer nonetheless. The trail we run, Cape Fear River Trail, is the hilliest I have run since moving to North Carolina. Heck, I didn't even know there were hills in NC until you traveled towards the VA border... I was WRONG!

For the first 1/2 mile or so (all flat or downhill), I ran with a group of people, chatting and whatnot, but I eventually broke off from the group with a man and woman (I forget their names) and ran with them until the turn around at the mile marker. From there, it was mostly uphill and KILLER! I broke ahead of them during the first hill as I tackle hills at the same pace I ran the first mile. At the turn around, the woman told us how she liked to tackle hills by keeping her head down and not looking at the hill, because then she will think about how far she has to left, and I said, that's why I run with my head up! So i can see how much I have left! If I know I only have 40 yards, I am going to push and push until i get there. At that point, I looked up and bam... she was 20 yards behind me. I ran the last mile by myself back to the start point.

My friend Cheryl was ahead of me, so she greeted me at the line with people filtering in behind me. I am still not into the whole "GO TEAM" mentality yet. GO TEAM is something that we are supposed to say/yell, depending on when and where you say it, as you see other teammates in your group. I understand the purpose, it is just not something that I feel necessary. Who knows... I better get into it soon -- or I will feel completely left out!!! HAHA

BTW- I forgot to charge my camera, so there are no pictures of the trail but will come within a couple weeks. Next Saturday, I am running the Run for the Red 5K in Fayetteville but on by the Red Cross. Time to work on the training schedule and find my race watch.

Kick Off!!!

Tuesday (8-11) was the official kick-off of our Team in Training (TNT) group. There are officially 22 people in my group. I have only met seven of them... I'm sure more will follow. If not, let's just hope i can keep up with those seven!

When I first walked in to the hotel where the meeting was being held, there were a group of people in the lobby eating pizza. I, of course, migrated

in their direction! I am still not sure if it was the fact that I thought they were members of my TNT group I hadn't met yet, or if it was the pizza. Whatever it was, I was in the wrong place and was quickly corrected. I thought people in the south

were supposed to be nice!

I walked in the correct room, signed in, grabbed my information, and quickly made contact with Cheryl. We walked around the room, filled our bags with lots of goodies (see picture) and proceeded to sit down until the meeting was to start.

In talking with Cheryl, she told us that she was planning on blogging her experience for her friends and families, as well as individuals who donated to her

cause. I decided that since I am now more removed from the happenings of my northern kinfolk, that I too would blog my experience. Thank you Cheryl!!!

Now, this Saturday (8-15) is our first run. An easy 2 miles. However, according to my training schedule, I progress up 1 mile each week for the next 8 weeks. I'm sure these e-mails will become more and more painful, not only in writing, but also in m

uscular distress!! I know this will be an experience of a lifetime, and who knows, maybe Mickey will run with me!

You know the drill,

Chris

The Big Decision...

This blog was primarily an outcome of a person i just met (she is married and has children -- so keep your thoughts to yourself, please!). Her name is Cheryl. I met her at my first Team in Training session.

What is Team in Training? TNT is a direct offspring of the Lukemia and Lymphoma Foundation. They sponsor groups several times throughout the year to run/walk half marathons, marathons, trail races, century rides (100 mile bike races), and triathlons.

I joined TNT for a few reasons (and yes, there are three!) 1) I want(ed) to get back into running. A lot! Like I used to last year where I was finishing about 25-30+ miles a week and it was a part of my day I looked forward to! Since moving, it has taken a back seat to other things. 2) I wanted to run my first marathon. Ever since I finished my first half marathon 2 years ago, I have wanted to run a full 26.2 mile race. And 3) my Uncle Deckard (my mom's brother) died from Lukemia and I know how it affected my family during that time and how it is affecting other families. It also gets me back to my community service roots that have long needed some tending to since moving south.

Team in Training usually happens closer to larger cities (aka - there are none in WV) and since I am close to Fayetteville, NC, I did some searching and BAM... a new session started within 2 weeks of my initial search. I signed up and there you go.

My first meeting was amazing -- that is the only word I know to use. The coaches, mentors, honor buddies, etc. were very encouraging and really put forth the effort to talk to you. It was very much appreciated! I sat in the front row (of course! -- I did learn something from college!) and instantly struck up a conversation with the two people sitting next ti me: Cheryl and Jennifer. Both live in Fayetteville and Cheryl is a teacher while Jennifer works for a law firm. They both decided to run the Kiawah Island Marathon and Half Marathon, respectfully. I on the other hand took a "If you are going to do this... GO BIG" approach and decided to run the Disney Marathon on January 10, 2010.

With the first meeting complete, it was time to veg out and prepare for the kick-off party a week later.

More to follow!

CB

Intro...

Greetings. Hello. Hey. Whassup. Howdy. Good morning. Good evening. How's it going? Hola. Ciao. Bonjour.

Well, now that we have all that out of the way, Hi! If you reading this I am assuming you know me in some facet or another, or perhaps you were searching random names of blogs that have no vowels and that is how you reached me. Either way... WELCOME!

I decided to write this blog for a couple reasons. 1) I have moved away from the great state of WV and rarely make it anywhere out of the hot, desolate enigma that they call North Carolina. 2) My communication to many has also dropped due to several different reasons... more on that later. 3) Well, there really is no three, but good things come in threes, or at least multiples of threes... so there you go.

New and exciting things are happening in my life; as well as old and boring things. I hope you enjoy them both!

The new/exciting will be posted in the next post!

Best,

Chris