Birthday Cake tonight and lots and lots of Ice Cream...

Hello World!

There is a birthday in our house today and there is not much better than a home made birthday cake made with love.  Okay, so I know that that sounds really goofy but if you ask me what I really want for my birthday, that is it...  a home made birthday cake and for someone else to make the bed.  As you can see from the Pillsbury icing container on the chopping block, I've relented on the actual using of home made icing today... we usually do that too... and since I'm admitting so much, this is a Funfetti cake from a box.  The kids reject, okay not reject, but really prefer box cakes and icing and since it is a kid birthday today, I decided to be flexible.  Surprising, I know, but I can sometimes be flexible!

I spent the morning organizing the troops, sandwiching some runs together to get 10 miles, and talking up the RunningBrooke Fund up with some great ladies at Pacers running store.  I met up with Sandy -- fearless leader of the Beginner and Re-Beginner Group -- and BethAnn Telford -- who has raised over $50,000.00 for the Brain Tumor Society!  These ladies are awesome and are a great inspiration to me.    I hope that I can inspire some of their lady runners to partner with me, combining our passions of running with -- hopefully -- donating to/raising money for RunningBrooke.

Running wise, this week has been a lot like the last few where the humidity is getting me down.  I just can't breathe during my tempos.  Feel great for the first two miles or so and then just nose dive.  The numbers aren't there and it's frustrating!  I know that I'll come out okay on the other end once the weather turns but it's hard on the fragile ego  :)  Hot yoga rocks but it is a little disgusting the amount of liquid that comes dripping out of your body; won't go any further there...

More later!

Cheers and it really was a beautiful day for a run...

RunningBrooke

Another week, 7 days of running, GONE...

Hello World-

Another week has bitten the dust -- It is hard to believe -- and I've come to realize something, I'm not invincible!  The heat and humidity are kicking my b___, and I now recognize that if you can't breath, you can't run.  My interval workouts have been fine -- I can usually gut a mile or an 800 out -- and my long runs have been fine, it is the tempos that I start an uncontrollable wheezing at about mile 3 and then it is over.  My inhaler doesn't help...

Since last week, I've been to Cape May, NJ -- took the ferry over from Lewes, DE, tons of fun --and had a great time celebrating Mother-In-Law's 75th birthday.  Most of the clan was there and there was a lot of eating, being on the beach and in the surf.  Got the workouts in running along the historic Victorian manses. I think running on the beach is over rated...  The photo is outside of the gym where I did the track workout: 4X1000, 4X400.  Tough.  Can one trust the calibration on those things?!  It seamed way harder than it should...

Tried something new yesterday, hot yoga!  Running friend Sharon and I went for our second full body drench, the first was our tempo run, to Down Dog Yoga studio in Georgetown.  I didn't realize that it was possible for so much liquid to come out of me, really.  It was a lot of fun; great, hard workout with both strength and stretching elements in a 95+ degree room.  I noticed a big difference in the openness of my upper back today during this morning's long run.  We went out for 18 from Roosevelt Island at 6:30 and wound our way through Georgetown, up Rock Creek to recesses of the city where I have no idea where I was.  I'm just a follower on these ones through the city.  Rock creek was so swollen from last night's rains that it looked like an angry river raging through the city, also had a live deer spotting, not road kill like the week before.  Exciting stuff I know; sorry about the rambling...

Update on the fundraising: over $15,000.00 raised!  Thanks friends :)

Cheers and it was a beautiful - NOT - day for a run!  Still, I'd do it all over again.

RunningBrooke

One Run at a Time

Hello World!

So I look pretty happy after this run but this was not the case for last Friday's tempo!  I had planned to run 6 miles starting at 6:50ish and coming down to 6:30ish but it didn't happen.  Everything shut down at about mile 3 and I had to quit.  Difficult on the psyche!  The running confidence dipped to new lows and I couldn't understand why I couldn't gut it out, quitting is for losers...  Luckily coach talked me through it and he's right, somedays its just not your day and at that point, its better to throw in the towel and just get the miles in and not worry about the pace and not worry about the run because marathon training is all about building on many workouts and one bad one doesn't mean you're not fit.  It is all about getting to the finish line -- marathon day -- in one piece.

Today we had a GREAT long run (20 miles) starting at Fletcher's Boat House, winding up and through Rock Creek Park, through the zoo, up into Silver Spring and then over into and through Bethesda.  We then picked up the Crescent Trail and headed pack down to Fletcher's.  Because it was so hot and humid, coach wanted us to only run 16 as we have time for more 20s.

A renegade group of us didn't listen to his advice and I hope we don't pay the price...  He's usually right...

Cheers and it was a beautiful day for a run!

RunningBrooke

Track short?

Hello World!

I've been running in the Blue Ridge Mountains recently and the hills have been killing me.  I thought that my legs were going to be totally shot for this track workout because of the hills or maybe because I've been hauling canoes up and down river banks for the past two days, but the legs came through for me.  In fact was the track short or the mountain air so good?

This is the result....  5x1000 in 3:39, 3:35, 3:32, 3:31 and 3:26 with 2x400 in 81 and 80 seconds...  I had convinced myself that the track had to be a little short until the 400's when I was running pretty much as fast as I could and the numbers came out just like at home....

Finished the morning with a core workout in the shade of this sign and ended up talking with the Zion Baptist? minister and his wife newly transferred from Alabama -- very, very, very friendly...  Spent the rest of the day poolside helping parents around the house and garden... deer 150 peaches, papa, 20.  Let's hope that new netting helps.

Cheers and it's, or it will be -- I'm just about to head out -- a beautiful day for a run!

RunningBrooke

Canoeing on the James river

Hello World!

This image says it all...  gentle rapids, small mouth bass, splashing around when there are no fish to be caught and a picnic, riverside.

Cheers and it is a great day for a run (or a paddle), actually both!

RunningBrooke

Another week and 68 miles later!

Hello World!

Another week and 65 miles later and feeling great!  This photo was taken this morning after a five mile tempo run.   Got to the track this morning at 6:05 and I wasn't the first one there... fast Mike beat me through the gates and across the finish line too.  I'll keep up with you someday Mike  :)

I'm thinking about changing my tempo's to being longer efforts at around marathon pace so today I tried that out, subconsciously?,  and ran the miles in 7:00 to 6:40.  Negative splitted and felt decent; made me feel like I should have run 6 miles, coach?...  thoughts?...

Navigated 66 and 81 South today and am now in Fincastle, VA for a little mountainous running.  Beautiful!  Mom says dinner is ready and when someone else is making dinner and calls me to the table, I'm there!  I'll write more later as I have lots more to update...

My father wanted me to make it clear that the RunningBrooke party was possible last weekend because he and my mother took over the parental duties and visited the kids at camp last weekend for Parent's Weekend.  Thanks Dad  :)  I'm sure Draper's cafe at the Greenbrier are thankful that you were there too!  Ha ha....

Cheers and it was a beautiful day for a run.

Success!

Hello World!

The RunningBrooke kick off party was a success!  The last thunderstorm passed through Alexandria about 5 and it poured and poured until 5:30 then, we could see sudden blue skies.  So we dried everything off, brought the patio cushions back out and set up the bar.  Ready by 6!

65+ friends and neighbors came over and RunningBrooke now seems official with the party behind me and even more money raised.  I'll update my website when I get the next fundraising total from Alexandria Community Trust(ACT).  But I know the numbers are growing; with 2 recent $1000.00 checks and many more of other generous amounts!

For those of you weren't able to make the party and for those of your who loved my speech so much that you want to read it this time  :)  here it is...

RunningBrooke Speech

Hi Everybody!  I'd like to make a few remarks.  First, I'm so pleased that you are all here and so excited about the RunningBrooke fund.  As you know, I've tried to transform my passion for running into a fundraising effort to benefit charities in Alexandria.  So far, it's gone very well, with over $10,000 raised.  Thanks for your support.  I appreciate it very much.  Let me give you a little background.

Basically, I've committed to running a marathon on every continent, each of the 50 states and the 5 marathon majors, all to raise money for needy Alexandrians and to bring awareness to what each of us could be doing to help.  I'm so excited to be putting my passion to good use.  But let me back up a bit...  I started running because, at the time, I had three little kids at home and I just had to get out of the house and go somewhere no could follow me!  Sometime later, a friend -- who knew running a marathon was on my life list -- go me into the the Marine Corps Marathon.  I remember my initial goal was just to finish without hurting myself!  And I remember finishing that marathon with 'gas in the tank' and a desire to do it better and faster the next time...  Then the goal was qualifying for Boston and when that became not such a big deal, I began to look for a new reason to run; and that was where the idea for RunningBrooke came from.  Since 2002, I've run the Marine Corps Marathon twice, Boston four times, Chicago, New York and Richmond, VA marathons and now with the inception of RunningBrooke, two international ones, Berlin, Germany and Easter Island, Chile -- where I was the female winner and 5th overall!  These were some of the best experiences, ever.  Next on the calendar is the Steamtown, PA marathon in October, the JFK 50 miler in November, the Goofy Challenge at Disney in January -- it is a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday, and if you register and complete both, you'll get 3 medals.  I'll go anywhere to get 3 medals in one weekend!  And finally, the London marathon in April.  I haven't planned any further out than that, but the London marathon will complete the 5 marathon category:  London, Berlin, Boston, New York and Chicago.

Essentially, I am asking supporters to  match my commitment to running with their own commitment to charity.  All the money I raise goes to Alexandria Community Trust called ACT.  I pay all of my own expenses.  A board member of ACT is here.  Jean, would you mind saying a few words about ACT?

Thanks Jean and thank you everybody for being here and supporting my program.  I have some additional RunningBrooke materials here if you are curious.  Now it is time for a little food and drink.  Cheers and it is a beautiful day for a run!

The group all ran hard today  (20 miler)  along the C & O canal through high humidity, drizzle then downpour.  We got 'er in though!  Cheers and it was a beautiful day for a run!

RunningBrooke