New 'Special'- looking shoes

Today I used my Amazon coupon for a pair of new running shoes. My Mizuno's are approaching 300 miles, which about the time to replace them. I wanted to try the other pair of shoes I tried on last time, a pair of Brooks Addiction 9's. These were the shoes that looked like orthopedic shoes that downs syndrome children wear. I really don't care what I look like anymore when I'm running. It's better to look stupid now than to totally fuck something up for the rest of my life. Here they are, my 'special' looking shoes:




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It's been a while....

and lots has happened in the past few weeks.  Some highlights are:
1. Longest run == 7.5 miles
2. Second longest run == 7 miles
3. I've moved to a new apartment.
4. I visited a chiropractor for the first time.

With the first highlight, the 7.5 miles were definitely not on purpose.  My run was supposed to be 6 miles total, but I got lost in Laguna Beach....running down a straight road.  Yeah....I totally suck at the navigation.

The 7 mile run was today and I've noticed that running 7 miles is somewhat easier than running 3 miles.  I think it's because about halfway through, my body decides to stop fighting me because it realizes that I'm going to keep on running anyways whether it wants to or not.  OR it could be that I just run until everything is numb and then nothing hurts.

My new apartment is really nice.  It's a 2 bed/2bath with a balcony and hardwood floors, which will be great for fostering even more kitties!!!  It's also going to be excellent for my post-marathon condition because I now have an elevator in the building.  My fiance is now off the hook for carrying me up the stairs to the apartment.

Maybe visiting the chiropractor will be come routine over the next few months.  I went in and told him I was training for a marathon and that the right side of my lower back hurt and I have patellar tendonitis in my left knee.  He immediately told me he knew what was wrong.  Apparently, one of the joints on one side of my hip was stuck (i.e. my hip was all out of alignment making one leg shorter than the other).  Of course when one leg is shorter than the other, more force is put on the longer leg as you're walking or running or whatever leading to some sort of knee injury.  After a 1 hr deep tissue massage, the chiropractor popped everything back into place.  I would like to really say it's a placebo effect, but I really do feel different when running now.  Maybe a little more balanced and loosened up?  Also, my knee no longer hurts from standing and slowly walking for long periods of time.

On a happy note, my cat, Mao, has no other tumors other than the one that was removed last week, which came back as a form of carcinoma.  He now has a large bald spot and a big healing incision on the side on his body.  He looks a little ragged, but seems to be much happier these days.  I still have to take him to a vet oncologist to make sure there's nothing else going on.

Trodding on...

I've been feeling some pain around my left knee since I restarted training, but it only hurts when I'm walking slowly or standing for long periods of time.  It doesn't hurt when I run or walk briskly and especially when I wear my dorky knee strap.  This week I missed my Thursday run in fear of making my knee worse so I went to the doctor and it turns out I have patellar tendonitis aka runner's/jumper's knee.  Soo...weren't my knee straps I've been wearing a preventative for this?  Oh well...at least the straps help now.  The doctor prescribed 2 weeks of anti-inflammatories on top of doing rehab exercises at home and wearing my knee strap all the time.  Oh joy........

Today I somehow did something while running to inflict lower back pain on myself.  I have no idea what happened, but I really feel old.....I should have run this marathon like five years ago...

I'm still training...really...

These past couple of weeks have been kind of dead in terms of training.  I had a pretty terrible time with what I think were shin splits or the beginnings of terrible shin splints.  In addition my left knee was pretty sore.  I tried to ride my bike more to get my aerobic training in, which is actually really great for cross training in my opinion.  My knees and whatever do not hurt when I ride my bike and I'm training other leg muscles while I'm doing it so that my overall running is more balanced.

However, in the past week, I've been pretty terrible with keeping up with my training schedule.  My Ph.D. qualifying exam was this past Wednesday so I kind of skimped on training to prepare for that.  The skimping was justified since I have not passed and am now an official doctoral candidate!!! (FINALLY!)  This means I am in the home stretch (kinda)!  The next step to my program is to finish my research project(s), write up my dissertation, and defend.  I'm aiming to be done next December although any graduation deadline is always +6months according to my advisor... :(

I started up running on Thursday after my exam.  I did 2 miles and today I ran about 3.6 miles.  Unfortunately, with the big pause in training, my Nike + iPod touch is being wonky.  It was out of power on Thursday and today it didn't record my distance.  Maybe my sensor is dead.  I might have to get another one, but they're not that expensive.  My knees so far feel good as does my shins.  Let's hope this keeps up.

Ouch...

Today was the first time I couldn't complete my set distance.  I also skipped yesterday's 3 mile run.  Why?  Well, my calves are in cramps-ville right now.  There's something in my calf on the inside of my leg that's really tight.  At some point, it's just kind of locks up and it really hurts to keep on running so I end up hobbling back to my apartment....and don't get me started on the stairs to my apartment (reoccurring complaint).  The weird thing is that I felt totally fine after my 5 mile run last Saturday and then things progressively got works after my 2 mile run on Tuesday this week.

I think I might have to cancel my weekend run if my calves aren't better.  *sigh*  Why am I encountering so many problems?!  It might have something to do with my approaching qualifying exam.  More stress==more injury?

Longest distance so far

I just completed my long run this week and went for 5 miles.  I felt like I was cheating a little bit though since I hit traffic lights on my route and stop to wait for the light to change.  My balls aren't big enough to try to out run the cars especially on the large streets like Venice Blvd.  Actually big balls probably would get in the way....nvm.  Even with all the short stops, it was still kind of a challenge to go 5 miles.  My calves are still pretty tense. 

Today was also the first day I tried out my heart rate monitor watch I got as a Woot! deal for really cheap compared to what it actually costs.  I have a Mio Energy Pro watch with a heart rate chest strap (see below).  I read online that it's good to have one of these monitors to optimize your training, but I haven't quite figured out exactly how to use it yet.  Supposedly it's best to stay around 80-90% of your maximum heart rate while doing aerobic exercise.  However, it seems like there is no good way to figure out your maximum heart rate except by doing a 'stress test' where you basically go all out for 20 mins and measure your heart rate after that.  All the other ways are sketchy formulas that people don't really trust.  The watch is pretty cool.  I have two options to take my heart rate, either continuously via the chest strap or I can touch the metal ring on the watch so that it takes it at that point in time.  As far as the watch is concerned, I am apparently working too hard during my runs.  I am at about 95%+ of my maximum heart rate as determined by the watch somehow.  I'm not sure that this is totally correct because even though the watch says I'm about to die, I feel fine...like really okay.  This is why I hate all those heart rate monitors attached to the treadmills or ellipticals at the gym.  They all start flashing red and beeping at me when I touch them.  Ah well, one of these days I'll run up a giant hill for a 'stress' test and properly calibrate the watch.

The heat is ON!

Literally in Los Angeles: The heat is on....  It's been heating up into the 90's these past couple of days here.  This means I've been running in heat similar to the Texas summers.  I've also been going out later these days which means I don't get out on the pavement until 8 or 9AM.  By then, the temperature out side is already well in the 80's (86F yesterday morning to be exact).  I forget how terrible it is to run in the heat.  The last time I ran in such uncomfortable heat was over 6 years ago when I was still living in Austin, Texas.  I nearly died during the 3 miles I ran yesterday.  Normally I try to push myself a little bit and run an extra half mile or so, but when my Nike+ program said I hit 3 miles, my body just stopped.

Today was no picnic in the park either.  It was hot and as soon as I stopped running, my calves cramped up causing me to feel a whole new degree of pain that left me sitting in the middle of my living room with tears streaming down my face while pressing ice packs to my pissed off calves.  It's a good thing I'm temporarily holding onto a couple of adorable kittens for a community foster friend of mine.  They're like two little reminders of why I'm putting myself through this kind of physical torture.  Two little reminders that rip through my apartment knocking all the things off the shelves.  At least my cat, Mao, is teaching them how to chill out occasionally:

They're really good and amazingly cute kitties overall and they're ready for adoption.  Tell all your cool friends looking for cats!!!


On a high note, I'm being featured on Team Kitten Rescue's blog today!  You can go take a look at the feature here.  My interview video is here:

The letter 'R'

Today's blog post is brought to you by the letter 'R' as in Rain and Ringworm!  It's pouring in Los Angeles today and after staring at pictures of kittens to motivate me, I actually went out into the rain and ran my 3 miles today.  It actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting.  The rain was just a minor annoyance and I think my left foot really enjoys stepping in puddles because it stepped in EVERY SINGLE PUDDLE on my run.  I think the rain overall cooled me off to the point where 3 miles was a piece of cake.  My pace was about 10 min and 14 sec/mile and yes, my back hurt a bit, but actually it hasn't gotten worse so I take that as a good sign.  This time I ran down Overland, which is a very flat road.  I think I'll run that way from now on.  It gets me to the Ballona Creek bike path which is also relatively flat.  Maybe when my back heals up completely, I'll incorporate some hilly runs into my schedule for variety.

Oh, so for the second word 'Ringworm'.  My kitty with ringworm has gotten worse.  I thought I could try to control it with some topical ointment, but a second scaly spot appeared on her last night.  She's now isolated in a rabbit cage I have so that she doesn't spread anymore ringworm infected hairs around the apartment.  We vacuumed last night and changed the couch cover.  *sigh*....of course we get ringworm now, right around the corner from my qualifying exams.  It's still a giant mystery how the ringworm fungus got in our apartment.  From what I've read, ringworm infections in indoor cats is 'EXTREMELY RARE'....unless you're me, and have super shitty luck.

Resuming training and water bottle contest!

This morning I attempted to resume my marathon training schedule.  Luckily the increases in mileage is very gradual so I can just basically jump back in after missing a week.  I ran what I felt was ridiculously slow and on flat surfaces to not irritate my lower back, but alas, my lower back started hurting about halfway in my 2 mile run.  I finished with minimal pain and a 10 min 41 sec/mile pace.  I stretched especially well after the run and iced my back down, took a hot shower, and iced it down again afterwards.  The pain is mostly gone now a few hours after my run, but I'm a little worried it won't go away. 

October officially kicked off fundraising for our team.  The contest prize today is the first five people to donate EXACTLY $19 will win an official Kitten Rescue Team water bottle!!!!  See below for example of water bottle*:

*foster cat not included!

Here's the link to my fundraising page in case you can't find the link elsewhere:
http://www.crowdrise.com/TeamKittenRescueLAMarathon2012/fundraiser/JoyceKao

Running injuries suck...you know what else sucks? Ringworm.

The back pain in my previous post did not get better.  I ended up going to the doctor last Friday to get it looked at.  He says my lower back hurting is a very common injury that heals by itself.  I just have to take it easy for 7-10 days.  This mean I missed my 3 mile run last Saturday and am going to be missing my training schedule this week as well.  I have a deep tissue massage scheduled for this Wednesday to loosen up my back muscles which seem to cause all sorts of other problems elsewhere in my body.

Aside from my back injury, my cats seemed to develop problems of their own.  On my large fat female, I discovered a flaky spot yesterday and when I tried to clear the flakes, her fur came off as well.  Being the good scientist I am, I looked up how to diagnose ringworm and apparently 50% of the fungal species that cause the condition create this byproduct that fluoresces under black light.  Today, I borrowed a black light from my lab and in a very CSI fashion, investigated this bald spot on my cat in my totally dark bathroom.  She no doubt has ringworm.  Her spot fluoresced a apple green color under the black light.  After driving to two pet stores, I finally got my hands on some ointment for treating ringworm.  I'm using this stuff called Nu-Stock on my fat female.  It has many positive reviews on Amazon except for the smell (I mean, it's sulfur and pine oil so it smells like farting pine sol).  Whatever, as long as the ringworm is gone from my cat.  I guess the bigger question is where she got it from.  Both of my cats are strictly indoors and ringworm is from outdoors.  The best explanation I came up with was that we tracked it into the apartment via our shoes and this fat female in particular loves to hang around and rub on shoes so she must've gotten ringworm from there.  Let's just hope that this ringworm doesn't spread to us humans of the household....or the other cat(s).

Week 4: Training is a pain in the backside...

This week I've learned of a new pain that can come from running.  Enter lower back pain....

It started after Tuesday's run so I thought I'd go get a massage to get it worked out.  The massage seemed to help since the pain was virtually gone afterwards.  This makes me think this is a muscle issue, which is somewhat comforting compared to the alternative of a slipped or herniated disc (eek!).  However, the 3 miles on Wednesday caused me to hobble back to my apartment once again.  I've decided the stairs to my apartment are EVIL and have a new appreciation for elevators.  Unfortunately, my apartment doesn't have an elevator.  Yesterday was only 2 miles so my back was not as bad, but there was still hobbling after my run back to my apartment.  Thankfully today is a rest day.  I am hoping it goes away on it's own like all the other pain I've had from running.  I've been diligently taking hot baths with epsom salt, which seems to be great of all other aches in my body, but I'm not sure it's helping with the lower back pain.  The pain only really starts when I'm walking and its' only on the right side.  It seems to get worse while carrying weight on my back like a backpack.

I am probably going to make an appointment to see someone at the health center on campus.  Maybe it's time to since this pain does not seem to get better on it's own and it's actually interfering with the rest of my day.  If this pain isn't better by tomorrow, I might have to skip my weekend 3 mile run this week. :(

Hot sauce is great on burritos but not during 'runs'

Last Saturday was my long run with my friend, Sudeep.  We went 4 miles and had a pace of 9 min and 48 sec/mile.  I really should learn that spicy food is not a good choice for a meal the night before going running.  I felt like I was going to give birth every mile, but I kept running and even ran faster to get home ASAP.  Maybe I should pack hot sauce packets instead of Gu energy gel packets in my runner's pack for the marathon.  I think my time would be pretty fast rushing from port-o-potty to port-o-potty.

This week my mileage is going down: Tues-2mi, Wed-3mi, Thurs-2mi, and Sat-3mi.  This is what the training schedule tells me.  So super easy, right?!

Week 3 progress report

I am done with my midweek runs (Tue. 2 mi, Wed. 3 mi, Thurs. 1.5 mi). Now is just resting and massaging my legs before Saturday's 4 mile run. Today I also made my best pace at a 9 min and 48 sec mile. This may or may not have something to do with the adrenaline rush I got by mistaking some piping on the side of the road for a snake. Normally I don't get freaked out by snakes, but when it's in my peripheral vision and less than a foot next to my foot, I get 'a little' startled....

I'm beginning to think I have runner's pain empathy. On Tuesday, one of my lab mates complained about hip pain while running and when I went running on Wednesday morning, there was a little pain in my hip. This is after a few weeks ago when another lab mate told me about her knee pain woes and I started feeling soreness in my knees shortly after that.... I think I am going to make a new rule where people are not allowed to tell me about their running injuries/pains.

To cope with after run knee pains I've been wearing these knee straps while running. So far they work great and my knees feel like new after running! I probably don't have to wear them after a while since my legs will probably build up muscle to support everything properly, but I think I'll just keep wearing them for extra support despite that. Better safe than crippled later, right?





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Week 2 complete!!!!!!

My grand total of miles this week comes out to a whopping 11.5 miles (1 of which was not intentional--refer to previous post). That's almost half of the marathon distance!! Oh, I am also blister free on my feet!!! Go, go Mizuno's and new socks!!!

The longest run I have had so far was today. Sudeep, my weekend running buddy, and I did 3.5 miles at 6:30am. Our pace (or maybe MY pace since i am sure Sudeep can run faster) is at about a 10 min and 13 sec mile. Comfort level on the 3.5 miles was pretty shitty the first two miles...maybe even first three, but when I heard my Nike+iPod say I was 500 meters away from the finish I sprinted my pudgy ass as fast as I could to the finale. I guess being almost done with suffering really motivates me. I hope this same enthusiasm kicks in during there race next year when I get to the last few miles...or even better yet, when my advisor says I am almost done with my Ph.D.

My biggest complaint this week are my knees and calves. Hopefully I will shed some weight during training and that'll be nicer on my knees. I ordered some knee support straps to wear while running from Amazon to help with the soreness in the meantime. Also, I am just preemptively wearing my knee braces (yes, plural, BRACES) to help recover my knees between runs. I look ridiculous:



Yes, I am probably being over-paranoid, which might or might not be influenced by the fact that my lab mate, Julia, is currently experiencing knee pain that might or might not have originated from running for a long time. It's kind of looking like I should maybe start training for the wheelchair marathon instead of the running one although I'll probably end up with matching braces on my elbows then....but at least all four of my limbs would match...

The plan for my aching knees and calf muscles tonight, aside from waddling around like a duck because of my braces (I also quack when I walk 'cuz I go 'all the way' for everything I do), is to ice down the achy bits, massage with my foam roller, and take a hot bath.....

Let's hope next week is not so miserable...

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Halfway through week 2...

Week 2 so far has been a little more painful than it should be.  Mostly due to my own stupidity...

Monday (Labor Day, -2 miles)-
My fiance wanted to go to school on Labor Day to work (the whole day not even a half day).  No one was in lab except for one other colleague....who also works on animal behavioral research and runs!  Funny how the people who work with live animals are the only ones in on the weekends and holidays (Actually, it's not funny at all esp. when you're the one who is showing up).  I decided since it was Labor Day, I'd do something 'fun' and bring my shoes to calibrate my Nike+iPod program on the school track.  It really needed to be re-calibrated since the standard settings are not very accurate for me.  I seem to take a shorter step than the average person (go figure...I'm 5' 2") so Nike+iPod was always saying I was running farther than I actually was.  Well, I ran 4 times around the track (4x around the track = 1600m ~ 1 mile).  Unfortunately, I had a 'I-can't-use-modern-technology' moment and lost the workout before I had a chance to calibrate it.....so I did it again (ugh...).  This time there was a creepy shirtless older dude waiting for me to come around the track to run alongside me and give me 'the eye'.  The first time it happened I thought it was fluke, but the second and third and forth?!  Well, the creepiness factor at least improved my time the second 1600m I ran around the track.  By this time it was noon, and it was hot.  Since I was wearing my sub-par running clothes (was expecting only a one mile run), my thighs chafed (b/c I have thunder thighs).  Technically, Monday was supposed to be a rest day...but I ended up running 2 miles.

Tuesday (~1.5 miles)-
1.5 miles should be no big deal by now, right?  I've been running for a bout 4 weeks already.  Yeah, that's not the case when you eat spicy red Korean stew the day before.  I'm lucky I didn't crap myself while running.  On top of all that, my right calf muscle decided to hate me and tense up after my run causing me to limp back to my apartment during my cool off walk.  Apparently this is a newbie 'injury' from working on speed or (oh hey!) running on hills....like in the neighborhood I run in, Cheviot HILLS.  Nothing massaging and a hot bath can't solve...I hope.  My awesome fiance massaged my calf muscle that night.  There's a HUGE knot that kind of hurt when he rolled over it with his arm (I nearly kicked him in the face from flinching from the pain).  It felt good though trying to get the knot out....it didn't come out.  Supposedly, my new foam roller is coming on Thursday or Friday so I can massage this muscle myself and not nearly kick my fiance in the face.

Wednesday (Today, 3 miles)-
This morning was the worst of them all.  I overslept by half an hour and didn't get out to run till 7:10am or so.  There are just too many people out by that time, too many people in the way, and saying 'hi' to me.  I don't like talking when I run; it wastes energy.  I even skip the profanities when cars pull out of their driveways and almost run me over.  Yes, running makes me a more 'forgiving' person.
The people were only a minor annoyance over the fact that my iPod ran out of power a few steps into the run.  Running without music sucks....like really, really sucks.  You know what else sucks?  My right calf.  It was now tense when I was running....especially towards the end of my run.  Ok, I didn't stretch it out as properly as I should have since I was in a rush from oversleeping, but that doesn't change that it sucks.  So in summary, tense calf with no music to distract across 3 miles is REALLY no fun.  By the end I was shuffling back to my apartment during my cool off walk and don't get me started about the stairs to my apartment ( I live on the second floor-3rd if you count the parking garage-and there's no elevator).  I foresee a major problem for after the marathon next year....  I've already informed my fiance he will be carrying me up and down the stairs to our apartment next year and he has not refused (like he has a choice).  Tonight I will be eating bananas (for potassium) and drinking milk (for calcium) while taking a hot bath to relax my calf muscle.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I had NO BLISTERS after the run!!!!  This may have been because of the new Mizuno shoes or the fact that my running was more like a slow shuffling this morning.  Assuming my calf will get better between tomorrow (1.5 mile run) and Friday (rest day!!!!), we'll find out for sure on Saturday which is my next 'long' run.

Week 1 complete!!!

Today marks the day that I completed the first week of marathon training!!! My friend, Sudeep, came running with me this morning on my 3 mile run. We finished just under an 11 minute mile (slow, i know...). Sudeep probably would have gone faster if I hadn't been there. The hills on my run just kill me. I plan on going to the not hilly Creek bike path when I start doing longer weekend runs. I think that will probably be more similar in elevation changes to the actual marathon route.
Towards the end of my run, I noticed that my blisters were back again. :( New shoes and socks didn't help. In fact, the blisters were bigger. After a big waffle breakfast cooked by my awesome fiancé, Sudeep and I headed back over to The Starting Line to exchange my asics gel foundation 9 shoes. The Asics I had just bought had too high of arches. At the store, the saleswoman (I can't remember her name) brought out two shoes that I had tried on the other day, the Brooks Addiction 9 and Mizuno Wave Alchemy 10. They both felt good when I ran on the treadmill. They are both solid stability shoes to correct for my overpronation and had lower arch supports so it was a tough decision...except for the fact that the Brooks shoes looked a little like orthopedic shoes. I love Brooks running shoes (my first pair of running shoes were this brand), but damn, these shoes were ugly. I ended up going with the Mizuno's. They were only a few bucks more and more flexible than the Brooks, which I liked. The Mizuno's also had a cushier feel, but not nearly as cushy as the Asics. In the end I paid only an $8 difference to trade in the Asics. The saleswoman even threw in a pack of wipes that you can rub on your blister prone spots to reduce friction and rubbing!!!
My friend tried on some of those weird looking Vibram Fivefinger shoes and ran on the treadmill in them. They were only $85 at the store, which Were the same price as on Amazon. We both left the store happy with new running swag.

My Mizuno Wave Alchemy 10's (cross your fingers for a blister free run next Tuesday!):




Sudeep's new Vibram Fivefingers:



On a happy endnote, my temporary foster kitten, Grover, and his brother are going to their new (hopefully) forever home today!!! I have been socializing Grover for the past couple of weeks. You can judge from this picture whether or not he's socialized yet:


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Decked out

Yesterday morning I completed my first 3 mile run of the training schedule.  Afterwards, looking at the two little symmetrical blisters on my feet, I decided that I needed new running swag.  According to Yelp, the best store on this side of town (the westside) was The Starting Line in Marina del Rey.  After school, I raced over to the store to get myself the number 1 important equipment for running: shoes, and the number 2: socks.

Yelp did not disappoint.  A guy at the store (Brian?) watched me run on the treadmill in my old Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6 shoes and brought out like 5 or 6 pairs of other running shoes that would improve my running experience.  Turns out I needed more support than my old Brooks were providing me.  In the end after trying on all the shoes, running on the treadmill, then running down the street, I settled on a new pair of ASICS gel foundation 9 running shoes.  They're squishy and soft (probably good the pavement) and I run more stably in them.  Brian also helped me pick out a couple pairs of running socks.
While I was waiting to check out, another guy (who didn't work at the store) named Doug started chatting with me asking me what I was running if I was running with anyone.  He was trying to recruit me for his charity, but alas, I only run for cute furry things.    He has run over 20 something marathons for various charity events.  Doug was super nice and offered advice on marathoning.  He even bought me two pairs of running socks in support of my first marathon!!!  He's running for the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer.  I'm going to go over there and donate a few bucks for his generosity towards me!

The beginning of much pain, but for a good cause...

After going back and forth in my mind, I have decided I am going to run the Honda L.A. Marathon on March 18, 2012.  What tipped me over?  I found out that the animal rescue I volunteer for, Kitten Rescue, is an official charity next year.  Would I ever run a marathon of my own accord?  Probably not, but for kitties, oh yeah!  (You can guess the hierarchy in my household) Their little faces and fuzzy bodies just melt my heart and I am prone to do stupid things in the name of helping cats...like run a marathon.  So....

Please donate money to Team Kitten Rescue. (Hey!  It's tax-deductible!)  You can make a donation on my fundraising page HERE.

Your donation will ensure that Kitten Rescue will continue doing their best to help animals in need!!! 

(Also, I will run 26.2 miles for you....just for you.)

This will be my first ever marathon.  I have never run long distances in my life.  I wouldn't even classify myself as 'athletic'.  My height comes out to a whopping 5' 2" on a good day so you can imagine how short my legs are and what assets I have to carry me across 26.2 miles come next March.


I just started Week 1 of a 30 week marathon training schedule.  I am following the Novice Supreme schedule (sounds like a burrito?!) outlined by famous marathoner, Hal Higdon.  My goal is to survive the marathon and not be last (i.e. run faster than the walkers.  Harder than it sounds, I think).  To kick everything off, my labmate introduced this video to me and I think it is fitting for the task I am about to undertake:

"I am a cat lover and I love to run"-eHarmony cat lady (Actually...I don't LOVE to run, but I'll do it for your donation and for the kitties)