Skip Starbucks Day!!!

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training and tagged with Charity, Fundraising, Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, Run for the Cure, Starbucks, TCS NYC Marathon October 12, 2016

There are 25 days left until the NYC Marathon and 2 days left of fundraising. Even though I’ve reached my goal, I’m compelled to want to finish out with a bang! So, I’m officially declaring today SKIP STARBUCKS DAY!!

Donate here-> Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research

I know, I know, that’s asking for a lot–the thought of skipping your pumpkin spice latte…the horror!!! But seriously, consider skipping the drive-thru and donating for a good cause instead 😀

Happy Hump Day friends!!! xoxo

❤ , helly

–Do you need caffeine to function?

–Are you a Starbucks fan? I’m actually not but I thought the cup was cool so I bought one from a friend who makes them. I just fill it with my own coffee 😀

Hanson’s/NYC Marathon Training: Week 10

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training and tagged with Marathon Training, TCS NYC Marathon, Weekly Recap September 12, 2016

It’s crazy that I’m in the double digits of training. Week 10 had a hiccup at the end but I made it through relatively unscathed, lol!

Marathon Goal– 3:50
Marathon Pace/Tempo Runs– 8:45
Easy Runs–9:40-10:40
Long Runs–9:30

Monday, September 5th– 5 Easy Miles, 10:13 avg. pace

Easy miles around my neighborhood. I’ve been listening to music on my easy runs and I put in one of my favorite Spanish rock bands in Pandora. It’s ended up being a great station for my easy runs because I just zone out and run an easy, relaxed pace. I don’t have to to think about it and I never even look at my watch when I run.

Tuesday, September 6th– 0.5 mile WU, 4×1200 @7:30 (w/400R), 0.5 CD

I’ve been doing my speed work in the evening which means battling the heat, but I’ve found that I’ve still been able to hit the paces so it works. The downside is that I’ve neglected my warm ups and cool downs because of the way the route is laid out. As the training plan moves on from speed to strength runs on this day, I’m going to be more strict about getting a full mile in for each even if it means having to figure out a new route.

I wore a new pair of shorts for this run and they were shorter than what I usually wear. You can see from my runner’s tan that it’s a good inch from comfort zone, LOL. Anyway, I hit all the reps except one (but was still close 🙂 )

Wednesday, September 7th–Rest Day

It was a “rest day” but I’m in a Step into September challenge (10k steps a day) so I took the family to my group run’s track day. I had already done my speed work the day before so I just ran around after my kids.

My son ran a 4×400 little workout for his FIRST MILE EVER!!

Lil speedster ❤

And my husband did his own speed workout (800s and 400s) using my watch (because I forgot to pack his). I kinda want to leave his stats in my profile 😀

Thursday, September 8th– 1 mile WU, 8 Tempo miles @8:45, 1 mile CD

This was a CLOUD 9 run. I felt good the entire way and was so happy with my splits. They were beauties.

Friday, September 9th–5 Easy/Hill Miles, 9:44 avg. pace

It was a super early wake up for this run. I had to leave my house at 4 to get to the meet-up spot at 4:30. That meant a 3:30 alarm….oooof. The things we do for running.

When you finish a run BEFORE the sunrise…

Saturday, September 10th–5 Miles @11:10

Things went horrible south with this run. It was an important one as I was running/pacing my good friend Jen on her 20 miler (I was going to do 10 for my long run). But 2 miles in, I stopped abruptly and clutched my stomach. Jen immediately knew something was wrong because I never stop mid run like that.

My stomach was wreaking havoc and there was not a bathroom in sight. It was dark out (we started at 4:30 a.m.) and I thought we were about a quarter of a mile from a nearby park—but we weren’t. It was still about a mile away.

I walked. Tried to run. Walked.

I told Jen and the others (thank goodness she had others with her) to go on without me. They would run for a while and then wait for me to catch up. I felt a little better after I used the restroom but with it being mile 3 of my friend’s longest run of her training, I didn’t want to mess things up for her so I told her I was going to walk home. It was closer than walking back to my car.

So at 5 in the morning, I walked/ran home feeling sick, sad, and defeated. I wanted so badly to be there for my friend.

Sunday, September 11th–11 Long Run Miles, 9:20 avg. pace

After hydrating and getting a really good night’s sleep (finally), I woke up feeling a lot better. My husband got in his long run first and I went immediately after him.

I got in 3 miles solo as I ran to meet up with a friend, got in 6 with her, then I ran 2 miles to a nearby McDonald’s where my family was having breakfast. It was a fun, and thankfully, easy and uneventful run.

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11 for 9/11 ❤

Week 10 brought in 41 miles . I said good-bye to speed workouts and I’ll be welcoming in strength runs this week with my first one tomorrow. Strength runs according to Hanson’s are Race Pace minus 10 seconds….we’ll see how that goes 😀

–How was your running week?

–Have you gotten sick mid-run? I keep telling myself that at least it wasn’t during a race. I hope it DOESN’T happen during a race, lol!

TCS NYC Marathon Lottery Results

Posted by hellyontherun in Basketball, Marathon, Race, Running and tagged with Charity Runner, Jim Valvano, Jimmy V Foundation, Marathon, Never Give Up, New York, Running For Charity, TCS NYC Marathon, Team V March 9, 2016

I didn’t win, but I’m still going.

What do I mean, you ask?

Well, as luck would have it, my husband got in on his first try–just like in Chicago–and I didn’t. If you remember, I ran Chicago through charity raising money for the Ronald McDonald House. I was nervous, scared, and intimidated by having to raise money (and a lot of it) but I had such an amazing experience that it helped me decide to run for charity again, this time for NYC.

I won’t be running for Team RMHC though as I’ve elected to run for the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. Sadly, we do have a connection with cancer, as a close family member is currently fighting; yet, Coach V’s fighting words of “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!” is a motto that so many of us can relate to, whether we have an affiliation with cancer or not.

Source

If you’re not familiar with who Coach Valvano is, he was a NCAA basketball coach for NC State in the 80’s and led his team to a surprising championship win in 1983. They were the underdogs that season and game after game proved their championship worthiness to the very end. They never gave up.

Then in 1992, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In the short time he had left to live, unbeknownst at the time, he did so much to help with cancer research creating the Foundation knowing it probably wouldn’t benefit him, but that didn’t make him lose hope. His hope was that foundation would help others and it has, many, many years after his death. He never gave up.

A couple of years ago, my husband and I saw an ESPN 30 for 30 special on Coach V and his NC State team. It was incredibly moving and my husband and I still watch from time to time. In the documentary is his Arthur Ashe acceptance speech at the first ever ESPY’s. If you have a few extra minutes, please take the time to view it. It really captures Coach V’s spirit.

Running for charity is scary in many ways. First, the New York City Marathon itself is kinda scary–it’s the biggest marathon. It’s huge! I’ve run some big races–Chicago, Marine Corps–but NYC is bigger than both!

Second, the charity amount I have to raise is twice that of Chicago. But I feel like Coach V’s words ring through in so many ways besides fighting a terrible disease like cancer. In so many aspects of life, we have to overcome obstacles or challenge ourselves and never, ever give up. That’s what I plan to do–in training for New York, in raising money to run New York, and in crossing that finish line in New York.

I hope you consider helping me with this important cause. Your donation, of any amount, will help me run a dream marathon, and most importantly, help keep dreams alive for others.

You can donate here:

Helly Runs For Team V

–Have you ever run a race through charity?

–Do you know who Jimmy V is or heard his speech before?

–Have you been to New York? I went when I was 10 and don’t remember a thing, lol! It will be my husband’s first time though 😀