It's been a while, but don't worry!

Hi all, wow, it's been over 2 weeks since I last blogged. I guess that's because it's been over 2 weeks since I last ran! I've had to take some time off from the process in order to heal my achey feet. I've been seeing a chiropractor twice a week and nursing my feet in order to recover. So, a lot of non-running later, and today will be my first longer-distance time out on the road. Tonight I'm going to jog 3 miles! I know, hold your applause, it's quite a task! I've got to start small now that my feet are feeling better! I've also got to invest a few hundred dollars into custom insoles for my running shoes.

In more exciting news, I've made my fundraising minimum! In fact, I've surpassed it at this point! Full focus can be now put forth to training and planning for Vegas!

Thank you SO much to those generous individuals listed below. This means SO much to me and I appreciate everyone who chose to participate. Thank you.

Thank you for your contributions:
$250.00 - Jeff Shariat
$250.00 - The Kilpin Family
$100.00 - Dordaneh Roohani & Family
$100.00 - Jim & Nancy Olich
$100.00 - Mr. & Mrs. Robertson
$100.00 - John Paul Glowacki
$100.00 - Jennifer Munro
$100.00 - William Files
$100.00 - Lisa Paulsen
$100.00 - Nasim Ghaffari
$100.00 - Mei-Hua Gee
$100.00 - Sarah Perry
$100.00 - Bita Edwards
$75.00 - Susan McNary
$75.00 - Katrina & Michael Lappin
$50.00 - Rich McDonald & Family
$50.00 - Dheeraj Dasari
$50.00 - Gigi Camisa
$50.00 - Lily Shariat
$50.00 - Nancy Scott & Family
$50.00 - Rod Gutierrez & Family
$50.00 - Liisa Hale
$50.00 - Karena Gruber
$50.00 - Amy Maddox
$50.00 - The Mitre Family
$50.00 - Dr. Aaron Burke
$50.00 - Janet Quehl
$50.00 - Ryan McAndrew
$40.00 - Mitchell Traver and Lara Hale
$40.00 - Margaret Wedgwood
$40.00 - Justin Counts
$40.00 - Tara Barnes
$30.00 - Rachel
$30.00 - Michele Montana
$26.20 - Danielle Perkel
$26.20 - Jennifer Cambra
$26.00 - Pamela Weiss
$25.00 - Hanna Jeong
$25.00 - George Rivello
$25.00 - Charlie Ng
$25.00 - Alexander McCauley
$25.00 - The Fortis Family
$25.00 - Roberta Martin
$25.00 - Jennifer Moline
$20.00 - Simon Robertson
$20.00 - Allison Walling
$20.00 - Stacey Nordwall
$20.00 - Urs Cipolat
$20.00 - Tim Hainley
$20.00 - Raymond Walker
$10.00 - Becky Pappas
$10.00 - Naomi Sumitani

Further thanks go to:
The Missouri Lounge
The Parkway Theatre

Sluggish...

So, I had the fundraiser on Tuesday and overall the turn-out was extremely underwhelming. There was 1 person I knew who wasn't required to come (ie: not Adam or Josh, the program rep). The rest of the people were essentially strangers to me, and thank goodness they came! I made $66 from ticket sales (33 tickets sold) and an additional $30 or so in cash donations. So, THANK YOU if you were kind enough to come out and support my cause, whether or not it was your intention.

I must admit, I was really disappointed with the turn out and in general am feeling bummed about the amount of support (or lack thereof) that I've been getting from friends... I'm hoping that feeling changes, but for now it's pretty prominent.

Taking this weekend off from running, which is kind of exciting! But at the same time I'm a little sad about it... I was just getting used to running, and I know how much it helps me in the longer runs when I'm able to do my shorter maintenance runs during the week. I've been completely devoid of physical activity this week, mostly because I've just been SO busy, but next week I'm going to start phasing in some activity to get back on the wagon.

Hope you all had a wonderful labor day!

Out of the Loop

Man, I am way late on this post. Sorry all! OK, here it goes...

So, after the 14 miles we ran a few weeks ago I felt really great and really proud. There was, however, that unfortunate foot pain which I was feeling in the run's aftermath... Well that following weekend was 7 miles, and I couldn't complete them all. I stopped at 4.5 miles because my foot was hurting too badly, and I didn't want to exacerbate any injury. So, I didn't run during the week in order to rest up my foot for our forthcoming 16 milers the following weekend. I did, however, go and see Kevin Minney who is a Bowenwork therapist. Bowenwork is basically it's own special brand of chiropractic and incorporates light pressure to reinstate your body into its optimal position. So, Kevin kindly donated a session with him to my cause, and after meeting with him I felt a bit better and more armed for 16 miles. Sunday morning, we started at 7am to avoid as much sunlight as possible, and because we're not big enough masochists. I ran 16 and felt relatively OK for most of it. At mile 10, however, I had a big problem. My right foot was hurting so much so that I began to run exclusively on my right toe, allowing my left foot to compensate. Well, 6 miles of running with lopsided weight distribution was a really dumb move. I went home and had trouble walking at all. I spent the entire day with ice packs wrapped around my feet, but it still was extremeley painful to put any weight on them at all. This past weekend I drove to LA to visit family, and I went to visit my brother's sports medicine doctor, Mike O'Donnel. Well, Mike confirmed my fears. I have two stress fractures in my feet (one on each foot), on the outermost metatarsal. As a result, I've got to lay off the running for a few weeks. He gave me some exercises which should help me strengthen the muscles around those feet, told me to rest, and then to reevaluate how running feels after a few weeks of recouperation.

That's where I stand now. . . Unable to run, but still trying to do what I can for the program. Tonight I'm having a fundraiser at The Parkway Theatre in Oakland. At 9:15pm the 1983 cult classic "Valley Girl" will be shown, with $2 from every ticket sold going directly to my fundraising efforts. If you're around the east bay, please come out tonight. I really need the support!