Sunday, September 23, 2012

I'm so OVA cancer!!

Our fundraising efforts have really taken off!  I hope we can keep up this momentum, because we are already SO close to reaching 20% of the $5,000 goal!!  Please help keep this effort moving forward and make a donation today at my Team Hope fundraising page http://tinyurl.com/ccdzmf9 !  

Did you know September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month? As some of the ad campaigns for ovarian cancer advise, "Ovarian cancer whispers.  Listen." Here are some of the most common symptoms of ovarian cancer: 

-feeling bloated
-prolonged indigestion
-abdominal pain or constipation
-a feeling of fullness even when you haven't eaten a lot
- back pain

These symptoms can be signs of other problems, but if you suspect that something is not right, get yourself checked out and be your own advocate!

The official color of Ovarian Cancer awareness is teal, so I'm already on the hunt for some awesome teal-colored running gear :).  The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund's Team Hope has some pretty nice looking running tops, and I found some awesome vegan teal nail polish from Color Club for $8 a bottle.  That's a really reasonable price and the BEST PART is that 50% of the proceeds of the sale go directly to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund!  Here's the link if you'd like to order some with me:  https://www.shopcolorclub.com/Color-Club-Polish/Nail-Polish

Now for a running update:  

I saw a picture online that had this saying on it:  It's not sweat...it's liquid awesomeness!

I think this will definitely need to be my new running motto!  Yesterday was the first of my "long" runs, and I headed out to the start of the American Tobacco Trail in Apex, NC to find a nice flat running surface.  My friend from college, Kristin, offered to run with me, and I gladly accepted!  It's SO much better to have a running partner to chat with along the way.  It makes the miles fly by and you realize that yes, you can actually hold a conversation without tripping and/or passing out from lack of oxygen :).  

We met bright and early at 8 AM and Kristin brought along her gorgeous 11 month old daughter, Madeline. I'm so mad I forgot to take pictures, because this little munchkin was absolutely adorable in her running stroller!  She was such a good running buddy, too, and sang to us as we made our way down the trail.  I like to think people were smiling and waving at all three of us as we ran past, but I'm pretty sure it was just for Madeline :).  I was definitely a hot sweaty beast for most of the way!

We finished our run, and I headed home to stretch, foam roll, and ice.  I've had some major problems in the past with my IT band, and it almost took me completely out of my last half-marathon, so I'm determined to train smart this time around.  I did find out yesterday, much to my disappointment, that foam rolling your IT band really does nothing to help it stretch out.  I guess that makes sense since it's a tendon and will stretch about as much as a "truck tire" according to this source.  Oh well- I'll roll every other muscle in my body and ice the heck out of it anyway!

Today was cross training day, so I did some work on the elliptical and bike, and worked on some hip strengthening exercises (to help my IT band).  Tomorrow will be a glorious day of rest, which is actually pretty essential to training for distance races (both for your muscles AND for your mind!).  

My weekly plan looks something like this:  

Sunday:  Cross train      Monday:  REST    Tuesday:  Run    Wednesday: Pace Run (run your marathon pace)   Thursday:  Run     Friday: REST   Saturday:  Long Run

I'm not doing a lot of speed work, because well, I'm honestly just trying to finish :).  I'll work it in here and there during my weekly runs, but I don't want to over do it and mess with the IT band of doom!

I heard that our dear friend Lizbeth had a good Friday and Saturday, which makes me SO happy to hear!  It's such motivation to think of her while I'm running, and I know that as the miles get longer, her bravery and strength will be the reason I will not give up.  

Thanks for checking in, and have a great week ahead!

Peace and love, 
Emily

No comments:

Post a Comment