Sewing for a Super Hero

Mitchell asked me to sew him something. I thought long and hard about what I could make for a boy. So, I whipped up a special cape. He offered his creative input (switching the flames fabric to be the lightning bolt and the oval to the yellow lightning bolt fabric). It took no time at all, and he's hardly taken it off since I finished.

TNT Update

I'm really getting into the groove of running.

This past Saturday, I ran 4 miles in Brackenridge Park, around the zoo, down by the Witte Museum, down Avenue B past Walden Pond and The Acorn then up by the public golf course, turning in front of Joseph's to head past Bombay Bicycle Club and back to the zoo parking lot - and back to the corner and back again to make my last mile.

My pace group ran at a 2:1 pace, which means we'd run for 2 minutes then walk for 1. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

The coaches all say you should be able to run and comfortably carry on a conversation, and that's just what we did. It's so nice to get to know new people!

Afterward, a few of us headed to Joseph's to pick up breakfast. I had the most unbelievable kolache with homestyle sausage and hash browns inside. OH. MY. GOD. I could eat that everyday! I also brought home one with veggies inside - carrots, spinach and cheese - plus a humongous cinnamon roll for the boys to split. (Luckily they just picked off the icing, leaving the good, gooey stuff for Paul and me to pick at!)

I was amazed at how good I felt after the run. I was happily tired but not exhausted. I probably could have run the second leg of the training run, but since I'm training for the half marathon, I got to cut out early and cheer on the other runners and walkers as they finished.

TNT: Day 1

Watch that first step, it’s a duhooooozy. - Stephen Tobolowsky as Ned Ryerson in "Groundhog Day"

Today is my first "official" training day for Team in Training. My little calendar said that I'm to run 1 mile today.

So, before the sun was even up this morning, I was awake, doing some warm-up and stretches.

I filled the water bottles on my fuel belt, grabbed my iPhone and headed upstairs to hit the elliptical.

I did my first mile and am so happy! I focused on keeping pace and being comfortable instead of seeing how fast I could go. It helped that I had some fun music on shuffle keeping me going:

• Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice - Even though it started with "Alright, stop," I kept going.
• Think It Over One Time by Robert Earl Keen - Was there a message there?
• Rebel Yell by Billy Idol - How could you not cry more, more, more???
• Baby Got Back by Sir Mixx A Lot - My theme song, you know
• Mickey by Tony Basil - The beat really keeps you moving

It felt good to accomplish my goal for the day so I gave myself a sticker on my training calendar. (Whatever keeps you going, right?!)

Now, we're headed to Target to pick up some socks (I haven't bought socks in longer than I can remember!) then down to Roger Solers to get some new running shoes (I won't even admit when I bought my current pair!).

BTW: Puxatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. I guess that means six more weeks of fabulous weather!

Run, Girl!

It's official! (Yes, I'm crazy, but we already knew that!)

I'm training for a half marathon with Team in Training, benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I've wanted to be a runner for a while now and have had dreams of running in a marathon. I'll be training for the half leg of the Rock N Roll Marathon, to be held May 31st in San Diego.

Our good friend, Glenn, was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in October. At the TNT information meeting this weekend, I learned that myeloma is one of the cancers that LLS supports with their funds.

So, I'm going to train and run in honor of Glenn and all those other husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and friends who face the C-word.

As I train, I'll post my progress, triumphs and tribulations.

Please consider supporting the cause. You can make donations online by visiting my page. Remember, every penny helps! (And, all donations are tax-deductible.)