Palm Sunday

I really miss being able to go to mass on these special holy days.  But at least I will be home for Easter. 

I just did another short 3 mile run today.  Seems I am in a bit of a lazy rut the last few days. I would like to do at least one more long run before I leave Deadhorse on Wednesday.  Once I get home, I should be able to run outdoors again, but I am really going to be busy then.  I am flying to London on April 6th, then to Ireland for the Connemara Marathon.  So, I will be scrambling to get packed and catch up on all the things that need to be done at home after being gone for a month here at work. Somehow I always find enough time.

Just Another Short Run Today

I was pretty busy shuttling the company car to the shop, and taking care of business so just did a 3 mile treadmill run today.  I think I am still recovering from my 100 miles in 10 days challenge.  My legs are a little stiff. 

I did a little drive around Deadhorse to photograph some of our spectacular architecture today.

Short Run on the Treadmill

I took yesterday off from working out and today just did a short 3 mile run on the treadmill. Then 5 miles on the stationary bike.  I didn't have a whole lot of ambition today but wanted to do something so I didn't just slip into lethargy!

It's just another sunny/foggy/windy day here at -8 degrees.  In less than I week I will be back home where it is warmer and I can actually run outdoors.  Then off to Ireland for the Connemara Marathon.

10 Days, 100 Miles!

Well, I did it, I ran 10 miles a day for 10 days for a full 100 miles.  Today was the 10th day.  I ran for one of my Team In Training honorees each day.  Today was special because I ran for my dad.  He died of cancer, not a blood cancer, but still cancer.  I believe that if the cure for any type of cancer is found, it will pave the way to a cure for all cancer. 

I think I will take a small break from running tomorrow.  I will plan to concentrate on the stationary bike for the next few days and give my running muscles a little rest.

I miss my dad - Marius Natale della Cioppa

Help me fight cancer

Day 9 of my 10 mi/day for 10 days

My 9th day of my 10 miles a day for 10 days challenge for my Team In Training honorees.  90 miles in 9 days, I wondered if I could really do it.  I guess I am good for one more day.

I ran today for friend and co-worker, Loren Marshall who died of cancer a couple of years ago.  Another life taken far too early by cancer. 

My day was kind of stressful today but the 10 mile run seemed to get rid of the stress.  Running seems to be the answer to stress, at least for me.

I did take a little drive over to the Prudhoe Bay Post Office to send my caribou photo off to the gal who bought it.  I hope I sell more photos.  But it seems to be a very slow process.

Day 8 of my 10 mi/day for 10 days

Today I ran another 10 miles of my 10 miles/day challenge for 10 days.  What am I going to do with myself when my 10 days are up!!!  Run another marathon?

Today I ran for another of my Team In Training honorees, Michael Tambornino, who is currently fighting with all of his strength against lymphoma.  His battle has been long and hard and I keep him and his family in my prayers every single day.  I hope and pray he wins the fight.  Such a terrible disease.

I got another order for one of my photos so I am busy packing it up to mail off to the woman who ordered it. I donated the $30 purchase price to my current Team In Training fund.  I love when my photography can be used for this purpose.  Here is the photo I sold, the Caribou in the Fog.

Day 7 of my 10 mi/day for 10 days

Still hanging in there, with running 10 miles a day for 10 days.  So far, 7 days and 70 miles. I didn't know I had it in me.  My legs do get sore, but they seem to feel the best right after the long run.  You would think that would NOT be the case.  I hope they are getting stronger and not getting ready to crumble and fall right off my body!  I just love running.  I love the natural high that it gives me when I am facing stressful situations in my life.  It's like being a drug addict without the drugs. Running sends me to a better place while I am running, and the feeling stays with me for many hours afterwards.  Am I addicted to endorphins?

I am addicted to Team In Training and the idea that the things I do might bring health and happiness to others.  It is really more blessed to give than to receive.  I couldn't imagine a life lived only for myself.  Today I ran my 10 miles for Stephanie Hill who works up here in Deadhorse.  She is doing well after her battle with lymphoma.  I hope it is banished from her life forever.  Now to just banish it from the world forever.  That's my goal!

GO TEAM!

Day 6 of my 10 mi/day for 10 days

Today I ran 10 miles for Lu Fetchenhier our Mat-SU Valley's honored teammate.  I was pretty lazy today and almost slept too long to get in the 10 miles before I had to go to work.  But I made it!  I think I might be starting to get hooked on a daily 10 mile run.  I wonder if I am going to be able to take a day off when day 11 rolls around!

I got a donation today in the mail. Raising money for this important cause is why I run and why I will ride my bicycle home from work in July.

I have a new domain name now for my Team In Training website:  www.prudhoetopalmer.org

Go Team!

Day 5 of my 10 mi/day for 10 days

I felt great today on my 10 mile treadmill run.  Sure wish I could have been running outdoors in that bright sunshine, but that howling wind and blowing snow and wind chill of -20 discourage outdoor running!  Even walking the short distance home from work this morning was a challenge against that wind.

Today I ran 10 miles for honored teammate Bill Gill.  He is battling leukemia.  I sure hope he wins the battle.  His struggle makes my little 10 mile runs seem like absolutely nothing.  They are just pleasure runs.  His battle is more like running from Alaska to Argentina, non-stop!

I've run 56 miles this week so far.  I feel great.  I like stepping up the weekly miles like this. 

Here is what it looked like last night walking to work at sunset.  An unusual looking place, Deadhorse, Alaska.

$1 a mile for just one day - Please. That's only $10!

Day 4 of my 10 mi/day for 10 days

Wow, I'm doing it.  Running 10 miles every day and feeling good. I'm honoring one of my blood cancer honorees each day.  Today's run was in honor of Jesus David Melenez who died at a much too young age of both leukemia and lymphoma.  Terrible diseases!  I notice I have been sleeping a little longer since I started running this much.  I think it is making me a little tired.  But I also think I am losing a little weight and building up some muscle.  It's gotta be good!

But no matter what, it's for the cause.  That's what matters.

Please make a donation to help me fight cancer

Day 3 of my 10 mi/day for 10 days

I had a great 10 mile treadmill run today, day 3 of my pledge to run 10 miles a day for 10 days in honor of one of my Team In Training honorees each day.  Each day, it seems a bit tougher without a rest day in between, but I seem to be getting stronger.  It feels good inside when I think of how much more difficult it has been for my honorees, who suffered through various blood cancers.  My legs might ache but my heart feels good!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

GO TEAM!

10 in 10 Day 2

Today I did my second 10 miles of my 10 miles a day for 10 days.  I ran on the treadmill in honor of Patricia Hunter, my friend Jeni's mother who died of lymphoma a few years ago.  Such a terrible disease, ending lives prematurely.  I thought of her the whole 10 miles.

I have gotten several donations in the last two days.  I so appreciate those who are generous and take the time to give me a little donation towards this very important cause.  Every little bit helps. 

I felt good after my run, but a little more tired than usual.  I generally don't run 10 miles day after day.  I have been on a program that alternates between a short run then a long run.  So this is a real challenge for me.  But I think it will end up making me stronger in the long run. 

Help me fight Cancer!

Day 1

I ran my first 10 miles of my 10 miles/day for 10 days.  It felt absolutely great!  Each day I will run in honor of one of my Team In Training honorees.  Today I ran for Lowell Simpson who lost his battle to lymphoma.  It was Lowell's diagnosis of lymphoma that first inspired me to join Team In Training back in 2007 when I did my first Team In Training event, the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco.  Sadly, Lowell left this world about a week after I completed the event.  But I have not forgotten him.  It is my dream that one day, no one will have to suffer from lymphoma or any other form of cancer.  That day will come, it is only a matter of time.  I just love Team In Training!

GO TEAM!

10 in 10

I seem to be making absolutely no progress at fundraising.  I have posted and posted and posted on Facebook and Twitter and My Space, sent E-mails to hundreds of people and am now writing letters to everyone I can think of.  But the only donation I have received is $40 from the sale of two of my photos at a much reduced price at our silent auction. So I have set up a new challenge for myself.  I am going to run 10 miles every day for the next 10 days.  I've asked everyone to simply donate just $1/mile, for just one of the days.  That's only $10.  I'm hoping some of my friends can afford that small amount.  It might be just a small amount, but a small amount from a whole lot of people adds up to a large amount, and that is what is needed to find a cure for diseases as deadly as blood cancers.  I may have to run until I drop, but I'll be back later today to record my first 10 miles of this new challenge. 

Beautiful Sunny Day

It was just a gorgeous day here in Deadhorse today.  Too bad it is -25 and the wind chill is -50!  I did drive around a bit.  I was disappointed because the Prudhoe Bay General Store that has been offering my Prudhoe Bay Photos for sale, as a fundraiser for my Team In Training fund, just told me that they are no longer allowed to do it.  Some red tape from accounting.  So, back to just selling them through my website.

I ran about one hour, 6 miles on the treadmill.  I seem to be picking up my speed and endurance a bit and my leg pains are gone now.  I am sure happy about that.

Some lovely Deadhorse scenery:

Lazy Day

I only ran 3 miles today even though I had planned to be a bit more ambitious.  I work nights and sleep days.  Frequently my phone rings and wakes me up after only a couple hours of sleep.   When that happens, I never get a good day's sleep.  That happened today so I ended up getting up later than usual.  But I gave myself a push and at least made it down to the treadmill to do a short run.  I always feel so much better after a run, no matter how tired I may have thought I was.

Like I always say during my marathons - it's not as painful as chemo!

GO TEAM!

Another 10 Miles on the Treadmill

I had the greatest 10 mile run on the treadmill today.  It was really hot in the exercise room though, so hot that twice during my run, I paused the treadmill and stuck my head out the door and cooled off in the 20 below zero air.  That worked quite well!  My legs seem a bit tired now.  But I feel great.

Still no new donations to my newest Team In Training website.  I need to spread the word more.

Go Team!

3 Mile Sprint!

Today was one of those days that was so stressful that I grabbed some cookies, then did the fastest 3 miles ever on the treadmill.  That was about all I had time for because I was too busy dealing with stressful E-mails and stressful phone calls.  But it was a really great run!  A good run definitely helps with stress.

I'm hoping to get the word out soon about my latest Team In Training events.  Looking forward to that nice long bike ride all alone, with no cell phone, no E-mail, only the musk ox, caribou, bears, birds, and about 550 million mosquitoes to keep me company!

5 Miles

Wow, I finally got my new Team In Training fundraising page set up.  Please click here and donate to help me cure cancer.  I'll be running another 26.2 mile marathon plus my more ambitious endurance event of the 830 mile mountain bike ride down the Dalton Highway then all the way to Palmer, Alaska from the Deadhorse Airport here in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.  I've run 9 marathons so far and they are always a challenge for me.  But I want to do something more unusual to show people that I really mean business - I WANT TO CURE CANCER!  You are the ones who can help me with this.  Even the smallest amount will help.  If 1000 people donated one dollar - I would have raised $1000.  My initial goal for these events is $5000 and I really hope I can raise that.

Today (actually since it's after midnight, yesterday) I ran 5 miles on the treadmill then rode a couple more miles on the stationary bike.  I'm trying to train some on each every day.

3 & 3

Today was almost a rest day.  Yesterday's longer run must have worn me out because I woke up really late today.  I considered just taking an actual rest day, but decided I should at least do a short run.  So, I ran the treadmill for 3 miles, then just 3 more miles on the bike.  It felt pretty good and at least woke me up!!!

I'm hoping that sometime tomorrow I can finally get my new Team In Training website set up.  I'm just dying to get started.  I have had a couple of requests for photo orders.  All of the price of any of the photos that I sell will go directly to my new Team In Training fund.

Check out my photos on my website:  

 Habataku  

10 Miles Yea!

I felt so great today.  Hoped to run 10 miles on the treadmill and had no trouble at all.  My legs were really swollen this morning but when I woke up, they were fine and didn't hurt at all.  Now I have to see if they swell up tonight while I am at work.  It seems like they always swell at night when I am working up here in Prudhoe Bay.  I'm trying to be sure that I am drinking enough water because it is really easy to become dehydrated up here.  It's kind of an Arctic desert of sorts.

I rode another 5 miles on the stationary bike.  Trying to get my biking muscles in shape along with my running muscles.  It really feels good to have a hard workout.  It sounds like I should have my Team In Training website set up early next week.  I sure hope so!

Short Run Today

I am actually a little late with this post, since it is now after midnight.  I ran earlier my 3 miles, so it was actually yesterday not today.  Just 3 miles on the treadmill and another 30 minutes on the bike.  My legs are quite swollen, but they don't hurt, so I'm not too worried about it.  I felt much better with this run than I did the day before.  I do look forward to that day when once again I can run outdoors.  But that won't be until April when I get back home for a few days.  Then on April 6th I will be off to Ireland to run the marathon there.  That will be a beautiful run through the countryside.  A nice change after a month of the treadmill at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel!

No Pain, No Gain?

When I woke up this afternoon my legs were really hurting.  Swollen too, so naturally I decided to take another rest day.  I even went back to bed.  But after a few minutes lying there staring at the ceiling, I decided I just couldn't do it.  I HAD TO RUN! 

So, I went down to the treadmill and ran as slowly and gently as I could, for 5 miles.  It actually didn't hurt very much at all.  After that I did a good stretching routine, then another 5 miles on the stationary bike.  My legs actually feel better now. 

Up here in the Arctic they say it is easy to get dehydrated.  I suspect that could be my problem, so I am making sure I drink lots of extra water.  I drank an entire liter of water on my 5 mile 50 minute run.  I hope I am back on track with my training now.

Rest Day!!!

I'm just staying off my feet today, so that my shin splints, muscle aches, knee complaints, and general tiredness can all take a day off!

I'm still waiting to set up my new Team In Training website, but with so many terrible problems in the world, I decided to add another cause to my "Race to Save Lives!"  The earthquakes in Haiti and Chile just wrench my soul.  Especially the children, who are the most innocent and helpless victims.  I found that I could become a volunteer for UNICEF and create my own fundraising page.  So, I think I will make my ride from Prudhoe Bay to Palmer a fundraiser for both Team In Training and UNICEF.  Here is my UNICEF page.  All donations will help the children of the world.

http://inside.unicefusa.org/goto/Caren

Balancing Act

That's what my workouts have become, a delicate balancing act of trying to exercise enough to get strong, but not be too tired to function.  Eating enough to have sufficient energy, but not so much that I gain weight.  Getting enough calcium, electrolytes, salt, and water without messing up my body's natural balance. 

Where does "No Pain No Gain" end and too much pain begin?  I've been having lower leg pain that doesn't seem to stop even if I take a week off of running.  But if I don't run, then I just get slower and out of shape. 

Oh well, I decided to just stick to a 3 mile, 30 minute run for a couple of days, and again did 30 minutes on the bike after my 3 mile treadmill run today.  I will probably hold off on the long runs for the rest of the week.  I've got to increase the bike riding time anyway, and it doesn't seem to cause the annoying lower leg pains.

Ran & Rode

oday was a little disappointing.  I had hoped to run 10 miles or so but by the time I reached the 3 mile point, I was starting to stumble.  I guess my legs were still tired from yesterday's 8 miles, so I basically had pushed my calf muscles to failure.  But then I rode the Lifecycle for 5 miles so at least I got a good 1 hour workout.  I need to bike as much or more than I need to run right now considering the long bike ride I have planned, 830 miles from Prudhoe to Palmer in July.  It's still snowing and blowing and -20 here so I'm doing everything indoors on our high tech exercise equipment.  It sure is nice that we have those things!

Team In Training is having some technical difficulties that are holding up the setting up of my website, so I am trying to be patient.  It should be up in a couple of days though.

-44!

I arrived in Deadhorse yesterday morning.  It was 44 below zero when I stepped off the plane.  Not much chance of me choosing to run outdoors around here right now.  I had my usual unpacking and organizing to do, then since I had been up all night long at the Anchorage airport waiting for my flight, I went to sleep at 11 am and didn't wake up until after 4 pm.  I was in no mood to run or do anything at all.  But according to my Nike+ marathon training schedule, I was supposed to run 8 miles.  I didn't figure there was much chance of that, but decided I should not blow off my workout.  So, I stumbled downstairs to the Prudhoe Bay Hotel treadmill, set my iPod for 6 miles, and figured I would quit after 3 miles.  But at 3 miles when the iPod Nike+ voice said "Halfway Point" I decided to go for the whole 6 miles.  When I reached 6 miles, I was feeling pretty good and the annoying pain in my legs had finally stopped, so I forced myself to go the last two miles and actually completed the entire 8 miles.  Probably I was somewhat inspired by the closing ceremonies of the winter Olympics and the little excerpts they kept showing of our gold medalists as they performed their most amazing feats.  I kept thinking to myself - they wouldn't be giving up before reaching 8 miles.  So, I made it.  I actually felt great considering how tired I was before I started.  I really have no excuse to not workout while I am up here all month.  It's not like I really have a whole lot of other things that I need to do.  I'm hoping to really reach my training goals this month. 

I can't wait to get my new Team In Training website set up.  I'm ready to start the push for fundraising for these next two events - Humpy's Marathon and the Dalton Highway bike ride.