Just did it

Thank you Team Tuason*!
I appreciate the emotional and monetary support. Your contributions helped me get through the last few miles of the race and so much more. I am very grateful for all of your donations (I raised more than $1,000)! Thanks, again!

The aftermath of 26.2 miles:
- No runner's trots
- No IT Band issues
- Chafing on my lower back from the garter on my shorts (yes, there was blood on my shorts)
- Two large painful blisters on my toes
- Extremely sore thighs and knee joints
- One gorgeous Tiffany's necklace!

Am I addicted? Yes. What's next? SF Half Marathon on July 25, 2010 http://www.runsfm.com/#

*Team Tuason: Sean, Amanda, Steven, Prelita, Linda, Sephanie, Danielle, Chris, Monique, Rick, Helen, Birgit, Ali, Genevieve, Daniel, Justin, Duer, Ricardo, Laline, Bhoumik, Elaine, Jon, Sylvia, Kathy, Amy P., Maura, Greg, Alex, Maria T., Maria M., Diane, Tarek, Jessica, Tina, Mike, Omar, Nicole, Marc, Ray, Bryan, and Kim D.

four hours, eleven minutes, twelve seconds

This post is dedicated to Prelita.

Mile 0: ::tickling in my stomach - not butterflies...I'm vegetarian :) ::

Mile 1: "8:10! Awesome! I got this"

Mile 2: "Run happy" ::smiling::

Mile 5: ::see the hill ahead of me:: "Shit, that is one steep hill. I have to climb that for one mile!?"

Mile 6: ::climb 300 feet over the next mile...not much thinking going on at this point::

Mile 6.1: ::cheers from Sean, Amanda, and Steven when I need it most"GO JACKIE GO!"::

Mile 7: "Up and OVER!! Wow, this view is breathtaking!"

Mile 8: "Another hill?!"

Mile 10: ::downhill:: "Weeeeeeee"

Mile 11: "This whole hill thing is getting old."

Mile 12: "I gave up sleeping in on weekends"

Mile 13: "Oh please, please please no runner's trots"

Mile 14: "If I'm running at this pace and there are 12.2 miles left, then..." ::to take my mind off the pain, I try to do math when I run::

Mile 16: "I can do this! I can finish in 4 hours!!"

Mile 16.5: ::greeted by Sean, Amanda and Steven with posters and cameras::

My right knee

Photographed by Sean

Mile 18: ::coming downhill:: "Fuck, my right knee hurts. What is this!? Just slow down and it'll go away"

Mile 19: "First Aid Station! Should I take ibuprofen? But I don't have anything in my stomach...ugh, just push through"

Mile 20: "I trained four months for this day"

Mile 22: "Every step after this mile is the farthest I have every ran in my life" "Whoa"

Mile 23: "I guess I'll be enduring this pain for the rest of the run"

Mile 24 to Mile 25: "This is the LONGEST mile ever!"

Mile 26: "Ibuprofen is just on the other side! KICK IT!"

I crossed the finish line onto red carpet, a fireman dressed in a tuxedo holding a silver platter with Tiffany boxes neatly stacked on top, smiles at me and hands me my Finisher's medal.

Two minutes after I cross the finish line: ::Prelita calls Sean, "How's Jackie doing?"::

His 1st Time

My brother, Chris, ran his first marathon yesterday at the 25th Long Beach International Marathon. He completed the course in 4:03 - way to go, brother!
I had a little dilemma on the day of his marathon. I wanted to be there to cheer him on, but I also needed to do my training run for that day (12 miles). Then I realized that Long Beach also had a half marathon. So three days before the race, I signed up for the Long Beach Half-Marathon. This worked out great - I tested the gear I plan on wearing the day of my marathon, what to eat the night before and the morning of, and what snacks to eat during the run.

I ran the first 10 miles with Chris and his buddy, Lito. At mile 8 we were greeted with our friends (Jay, Sean, and Gilbert) holding these signs:

"Your feet are hurting because you are kicking so much ass"

"Finishing is your only fucking option"

"We are proud of you, Chris & Lito...take a dump in your pants if you need to"

The split was at mile 11. As I ran the last two miles by myself, I started to realize that 26.2 miles is a very long distance. I'm both excited and anxious about the marathon next Sunday. Excited to cross the finish line and anxious about getting runner's trots during the race.

By the way, I finished the race :30 seconds per mile faster than my last half-marathon!

11 days to go

The Nike Women's Marathon is just around the corner! Over the past four months, I've ran a total of 456 miles and raised $418 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I'm still short of my fundraising goal and I'm hoping, with your help, I can raise the remaining amount over the next 11 days! The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. Please join me in the fight to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Donate $.25 - $1.00 for every mile I run until race day. Here is the breakdown as of today (10/7):

Donation per mile:
$0.25 - $115
$0.50 - $230
$0.75 - $340
$1.00 - $456
*as of 10/7, I've ran 456 miles

Your contribution is 100% tax deductible!

Please visit http://mch.nikewm.llsevent.org/TeamTuason to make your monetary donation.

"YOUR MESSAGE HERE"

I will be one of 20,000 participants in the Nike Women's Marathon. How will I stand out?

After reading a Runner's World article, "Your Message Here," I'm motivated to create a personalized shirt to wear on a race day. But what should my shirt say?

Here's what I've come up with...
"First and Last"
"Eat your veggies!"
"Throw like a girl. Run like a girl. Win like a girl."
"Runners just do it - they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first"
"My first time!"

I invite you to comment on the sayings above or post your own. I may just wear your message!

One month to go

I've been lagging on the blogging these past couple of weeks, so here's a quick update.

Last week, I ran my fastest mile: 8:31 for 8 miles.

On Sunday, I ran the farthest distance: 20 miles. During this run, I was delirious; the most random thought came to my head "I DON'T WANT TO BE VEGETARIAN ANYMORE!" That thought lasted for a very brief moment (No need to worry, Patrick!)

I bought a water belt; it has four 10oz bottles (like the one shown below). I tried to avoid buying one, but I was annoyed with carrying a water bottle during my long runs. I figure, buy it now so by the time race day arrives the belt will feel natural. But as of today, I still haven't used it and after talking with Sean, I don't think I will. It looks pretty ridiculous. Do marathoners wear water belts during the race?

Today, runner's trots: the aftermath of 8 miles.

I haven't reached my fundraising goal ($1,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society). Only 36% raised. Just in case you forgot the link --> http://mch.nikewm.llsevent.org/pledge/index.cfm?mid=TEAMTUASON

Your monetary donation is 100% tax deductible!

To don a water belt or not

Do marathoners use water belts on race day?