We Did It!!!

Early race day morning. Randy was still waking up.

Sarah is ready to run!

Randy is ready too!

Our supporters are ready also!

We are officially Half Marathon Finishers. It was one of the most amazing experiences. As we were getting ready to start, I was sooo nervous, but once we past the starting line, I eased up and off I ran. One of the best parts of the run was looking forward to being cheered on by Grandma Swann and Jolee. They were waiting at just after 3.5 miles into the run for us. Seeing them was better stimulator than any power bar could ever be. After meeting us along the way, Grandma and Jolee drove to the finish line to wait for us. Passing the finish line was very emotional for me. It is hard to put into words the feelings that were running through me, I was thinking about Susan, our supporters and our donors, that I completed a half marathon (something 6 months ago I wasn't sure I could do). I can't believe how much fun it was to run. So many people cheering us along the way. The beautiful views. Having my loving husband at my side. This was truly a great and wonderful experience. I took oodles of pictures on my phone so as soon as I am able to figure out my new phone and how to get the pictures onto the computer I will post those with a more play by play of what was going on throughout all 13.1 miles of fun.

Some Stats for Finishers:

Name:  Sarah Swann

Bib#: 37132

Chip Time: 2:46:57

Overall: 12859/17593

Place by Sex: 8619/12560

Division Place: 1747/2245

Age Grade: 39.4%

Pace: 12:45

5 Km: 36:01

10 Km: 1:16:40

9 Mile: 1:52:59

Name:  Randy Swann

Bib#: 37131

Chip Time: 2:46:57

Overall: 12857/17593 

Place by Sex: 4240/5033

Division Place: 638/708

Age Grade: 35.5%

Pace: 12:45

5 Km: 36:01

10 Km: 1:16:39

9 Mile: 1:52:59

Approaching the finish

Stopped for a quick picture

Crossing the finish line!

The Swann Family post run

Thank-you so much Grandma Swann and Jolee for being there to support us! Thank-you to our amazing donors. You are wonderful! Thank-you to Anna for being our captain/coach/mentor. Thank-you to Susan for being the type of person that inspires people to better themselves and for always thinking of others.

IT STARTS TOMORROW!!!

Here we are right after picking up our race numbers!!!

Jolee is less excited than we are.

Our big day starts nice and early tomorrow. We will start our run at 7 am. To say the least, I am going crazy with excitement! In 12 hours we will be lined up and ready to run our very first half marathon. WOOO HOOO! Yesterday we went to the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up our race packets. Talk about shockingly fun. We ate so many different kinds of power bars. Got free chair massages. Jolee drank a healthy drink and she is going to be on their website because she was SO cute chugging it. I tossed a little ball in a shoe and won a teddy bear for Jolee. Watched a Lizard Man run across liquid. And just had a great time. 

Mom and Jolee getting ready to rock.

Randy showing how it is done. ROCK ON!

Rockin Swanns!

There is still time left for last minute donations to help us meet our fundraising goal! Any amount is VERY appreciated!

Thank YOU

I wanted to give a special thanks to all of you have generously donated to help us raise monies for Susan's Foundation. It has helped keep us motivated  during training and will keep us motivated while running. It helps knowing that we have so much support from people such as yourselves. Please keep the donations rolling in, any dollar amount is greatly appreciated. Thank you, THANK you, THANK YOU!!

Last in Arizona

No. she is not picking, just pointing.

We just got back from our last training run in Arizona. Our next little run will be on a treadmill in a hotel in Seattle. The next run after that will be the SEATTLE ROCK N ROLL HALF MARATHON! Woooo hoooo! I listened again to Hello Seattle by Owl City and I took off like a bullet. Randy even told me that I was running too fast this morning and that he had a hard time keeping up with me. Which is even more impressive given the all out, feels like running in an oven feeling that the heat caused this morning.

Wow, it was HOT! High today for Tucson is 103. It wasn't that hot, but it was at least 80 and it wasn't even 8 am. Anyways, we only ran about 2 1/2 miles this morning. We planned on running 4 or 5, but we slept in a little too late and getting heat stroke days before a race is a bad idea. We are getting so close to race day and so excited. Our bags are packed and we are ready to go. We just need to finish the last of the laundry, last minute house work, and I have 2 more nights of work. So close I can almost taste the salty sea air.

We are looking for inspiration for our big day, please leave any quotes or motivation you can think of that we can use to mentally motivate ourselves as we attempt to conquer the hills of Seattle!

Also, there is still time left to donate. All donation go to the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation, benefitting young adults with cancer. Happily accepting donations of any amount. Feeling tight on cash, but you still want to donate? Donate $1. Every donation makes a difference and will help to encourage us on race day.

Getting Excited... REALLY EXCITED

I can't believe that we are 8 days away from our first half marathon! I remember back in December when we really made the fleeting thought of running a real idea. This is what I sent to Anna to let her know we would be joining...

"As crazy as I think this is. I think Randy and I want to be a part of the team and do a half marathon. Yikes, I actually said it. I am terrified at the thought, but I want to do this. (I am so out of running shape! I walk 3 miles 3-4 times a week). The biggest challenge will be getting enought time off of work. It also depends on when Randy will have to start work. He graduates in May and will hopefully be starting to teach this summer at a year round school. I have been doing research on training and pre-training. I think I will be walking a lot of it. I want to do this to support you and to help raise money for Susan's foundation. I am looking forward to seeing which state it will be. If I survive this, maybe we can do future marathons too. I will definately need some education on how to get myself started. "

I was so nervous at the very idea of running. In fact, I was nearly faint at idea. I am so happy that we made this decision. I am grateful for the support that Anna has provided to us throughout our training... providing us with training material, answer question after question, and providing never ending motivation. We have slowly overcome all of the obstacles that we have faced during training, whether it be lack of sleep, having to face running in the heat or at 3 in the morning, running around my ever changing work schedule, or old injuries. Becoming a runner has been life changing. I really never believed that I could ever run more than 3 miles without stopping. At the beginning my main goal was just to finish within 4 hours, and to be able to run for 3 miles at a time without stopping to rest. My plan was to run 3 miles, walk a mile, run 3, walk 1, run 3, walk 1, run 1.1. With how much I have changed in my abilities, I can now run without stopping to walk at all. I am really looking forward to not being forced to stop by red lights. Most of all, I realized how important having something to run for keeps me going. I wonder if Susan ever looks down and is surprised at how much she has affected the world in her short life. She really changed my life. I am so humbled to be running in her honor and to help raise funds for a foundation set up in her memory. Yesterday, one of my coworkers told me that Susan was her EFY councilor and how much she liked Susan. It is little things like that that keep me wanting to do better. I often think about my life and I wonder if I am doing as much as I could to help improve the lives of those around me. I want to be like Susan and be remembered for being kind and friendly and making the world brighter. 


We are still in need for donations for Susan's foundation, we are getting closer to our goal, but we need a little more help. 8 days and counting left to donate. Once again we appreciate all of the support we have received!


-Sarah

13 miles before 6:45 am

Here we are two weeks from race day. You could say that last night was a sleepless night, but you would be making a HUGE understatement. Poor Jolee is cutting teeth. After being up the great majority of the night, she now has 7 teeth. I got about 2 hours of sleep in half hour spurts and Randy got maybe 3 hours. So with this in mind, the alarm goes off at 3 am. We drag our exhausted bodies out of bed and get dressed to run. With Jolee now happily asleep (of course), we pull her out of bed and get her into the jogging stroller. Thank goodness that she sleeps very well in the stroller. By 3:38 am we arrive at the starting line for our morning run. It is still dark, so I carried a flashlight and Randy wore his super cool light hat. We start our run fairly well. Not to fast, but not too slow. Our goal is to finish our half marathon in 3 hours, so an overall average of 15 minute miles including stopping for water and the occasionally walking rest. Compared to our Monday run (all my muscles were cramping and I had to walk after about 3 miles because of a bruised foot), this was an awesome run. I ran nearly all 13 miles straight. The only times I stopped were to fill up my water bottle which I empty at a remarkably quick rate, for red lights (at least there won't be any of these race day), to down a GU gel, and to wait for Randy near the end. I was a machine today! I just ran and ran and ran without getting too tired. It was very enjoyable. We were about 8-9 miles into our run before the sun came up so I didn't have to deal with overheating. Randy kept up with me almost the entire run. His usually technique is to run and pass me, stop and walk and wait for me to pass him, then run again. He has a difficult time running at my slow 12-13 minute mile pace. This works well for him as long as I don't get too far ahead of him, as was the case today. He stopped to fix his shoe and usually he is so fast that he easily catches up to me (he runs a 8-10 minute mile pace), but today I got too far ahead and he lost some motivation, so I had to stop and wait for him (actually I walked backwards while yelling motivation for Randy). Me stopping for him is not a norm! But anyways, we decided to try some GU gel at mile 7.5 to prepare for the race. There is a GU gel station at 7.5 miles into the race. We bought these last Saturday and we tried one to see how it tastes. I almost gagged. It is like trying to swallow funky tasting glue. Thick and sticky and weird. Well, we learned that the stuff is actually not difficult to get down at all if you have a mouthful of water and squirt it into the water and swallow quickly. I was actually kinda surprised at how much easier it was to swallow. Well, the GU gel actually worked pretty well at giving me a burst of energy to help me get to the finish. We ran 13 miles in 2 hours and 57 minutes. I am sure that Seattle's hills will present a challenge, but I am still fairly confident that within 3 hours we will be crossing that finish line. I can't believe it is only two weeks away. We are now entering the rest and recovery time to prep for the big day. We are so excited! Still plenty of time to donate! Thanks for all of the support. 

-Sarah

Challenges for the Lemonade Makers Team

We have 19 days until Seattle Rock and Roll and in an unfortunate turn of events, our running team of 4 has decreased down to a running team of 2. Randy and I are the only Lemonade Makers that are going to be able to run for Susan's Foundation. As this is the case, we are really hoping to reach our fundraising goal. Only $790 more to go. There is no minimum donation level, even $1 would be very happily accepted. Can't donate, but know someone who can or who might be interested in our cause? Send along the link to our blog. All of the funds raised will help young adult cancer patients. For a first hand look into cancer in young adults, please read Susan's blog. She candidly told of her experience until the end. She was definitely an inspiration to me and is the reason that I am running. As our training continues and we are getting closer and closer to race day, the frequency in which I think about Susan increases. Heres to keeping Susan's kindness and generosity alive. Feel free to email anyone and let them know about this opportunity to make a difference. Also, donations are tax deductible so keep a record of your donations for a write off on next year's taxes.

10 MILES and the Dentist

Can you believe it? We ran 10 miles last night in just over 2 hours. It would have been faster, except for the fact that we were falling apart. Fortunately, we are not like Humpty Dumpty and all we need is definitely time to head over to the chiropractor to get put back together. Only 3 more miles and we will be at the total race distance! WE CAN DO THIS!!!

Jolee had her first dentist appointment yesterday. Although she didn't love it, it went very well. Her favorite part was playing on the scale to get weighed. The entire appointment she squirmed to try to get back tot he scale. Her teeth are looking great. She got her floride treatment and a new toothbrush. The dentist said that it looks like 2 more teeth are on their way. I could've told her that because Jolee has been cranky and teething for a week. After these two, her molars will come in and then hopefully we will get a break from painful mouthitis. We really liked the dentist that she gets to go to. If anyone in Tucson is looking for a pediatric dentist, then Tucson Smiles Pediatric is for you (http://tucsonsmilesaz.com/).

What I Have Learned

Jolee after our run through the hills in Pine.

Sarah post Pine run.

As the race day comes closer and closer, I find myself thinking more and more about running. I eat, sleep, talk, dwell, imagine, ponder, and debate running. Run, run, run, run, run. I have learned so much about running and myself through 1/2 marathon training.

1. Mind over matter. As I push myself to further distances and running during less than pleasant Arizona summer weather, I have realized that when I feel like I can't run any further, I must change my thinking. I find some way to think that I can continue. Like Dori said in Finding Nemo "swimming, swimming, just keep swimming." I think "running, running, just keep running." My mind can completely over power my body and force it to continue to run, even if I think it is impossible. I can keep running!
2. Sunshine, heat, and running are a very bad combination. With the sun getting up way too early in the morning, we have done a complete of runs as it starts to heat up. My ability to run at a nice steady 10-12 minute mile, falls apart with the heat. Sometimes it feels like I am made out of lead. With the heat, if I want my brain to keep functioning, I have to guzzle water constantly. It is only May and I am already looking forward to next winter. Like my grandmother said "you can always put on more clothing if it is cold, but you can only take off so much if it is warm."
3. Runners are mostly if not completely crazy. There is an entire running world that is completely different from the one that "normal" people live in. They have there own social networks. Different rules. Different social norms. They are just a bit competitive (okay maybe more than just a bit). Just read Runner's World magazine and you can see how much people put into being a runner. Whoa dang!
4. Stretching is not nearly as important as I thought it was. I read an article about how stretching just as often causes injury as decreases injury, so I tried skipping my stretch after a run and realized that I am less sore when I skip stretching. In fact, I haven't stretched in months.
5. Running teaches patience. This is especially true when I run a little slower on the long runs. I run, then I run, and then I run some more. Sometimes it feels like I am going to be running FOREVER. But as I patiently run along, I eventually get to the end.
6. A mile is not nearly as long as I used to think it was. For example, on our run this morning, we were planning on running 3 miles. Quick and easy so I could get home, shower, and get to bed (I work tonight). We weren't really thinking about where we were running and we ended up running 4 miles instead of 3 and we didn't realize it until we were about home. During the long runs, the thought "only one mile left" is so wonderful.  It feels like just a tiny bit more and then we are done. Compare this with how we felt at the beginning of training when 1/4 mile was "so long."
7. I hate having dried sweat on my face. I think this is the worst part of running. Oh, the feeling is sooooo awful.
8. Caring chap stick during a run is very important. When my lips get dried out, I feel dehydrated and I will drink more and more water, which leads to a water logged belly and a sloshing run. Talk about making me feel like I am going to puke. By regularly using my chap stick, I drink water more sensibly and my run goes so much more smoothly.
9. Upbeat, fast tempo music is the easiest way to increase running speed. I would put type out my play list, but my MP3 player's batteries died during today's run and I don't have time to get new batteries right now. Any songs by Owl City work great for running. "Hello Seattle" is one of my favorites because it makes me think about race day and I end up getting so excited and then run faster. Go super turbo power!
10. Expensive, good quality running shoes are worth every penny. Less painful, more enjoyable runs all due to  shoes!

I love running and the crazy person than running has turned me into. I am excited to continue to run and see what else I can learn. Signing out for now.

The Swann family after this morning's run.

Still Running and Looking for Donations

Hello readers! As you know, we continue to train for the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon. We have a 10 mile run this week. We are down to 37 days until race day and we are still looking for donation to help us hit our fundraising goal of $1000 toward the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation. Any amount is very welcome (we would even be thrilled with $5). Please share this opportunity to donate with anyone you know who may be interested. All donations go to Susan's Foundation which is dedicated to the support of young adult cancer patients and their families. We would love to have you join the list of donors (if you don't want your name to be shown, anonymous will be placed). Once again, thank-you so much for your support as we train and prepare for race day!

Updates

It seems that we have dropped off the face of the earth. Life has been quite busy with me finishing up school and job hunting. I have done it, that is finished school. Still working the job hunting. I graduated on the seventh of May. Sarah and I spent about a week in Pine enjoying some much needed R and R. It was quite nice to do absolutely nothing. The Monday before we came home we decided to go for a walk/run. We ran as long as we could, being quite hilly we did not run as far as we had planned, then we walked. We went and walked around Camp Lamia and then walked down town and looked through the few stores that were opened on a Monday. We were surprised at how many stores were only opened Tuesday through Saturday. Our final stop was at The Honey Stand. They had so many different types of honey and jams. They had many different flavors of honey and whipped honey. They also had different types of "butters", pumpkin, apple, and even rhubarb strawberry. After trying the different flavors of honey we walked back to the cabin. After driving our most of our route, we decided that we had walked/ran about six miles. We returned to The Honey Stand and bought a pecan honey, pumpkin butter, apple butter, and a peach whipped honey. So far we have tried everything but the apple b utter and have enjoyed them all.

We are continuing to train for our half marathon. We have not been able to follow the training program as closely as we should, but we are able to get at least two runs in a week, one short and one long. Yesterday we ran nine miles in two hours. If we are able to keep that pace when we run thirteen miles we will be able to complete our marathon in about three hours. YEA!! It is getting rather hot here in Arizona so we are having to run either at first sun or at the end of the day as the sun is going down. We have discovered a bike/walking path that leads into downtown tucson and have been using that for our runs. It is more enjoyable to run along that than along the busy streets of Tucson. I am sure that we will eventually be making the complete run into downtown Tucson before our marathon.

More about why we run

Here is a news report on the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation and why it was set up.



http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/Run-to-benefit-89307987.html

To donate, please click on the link on the left side of this page.

Running Along

The past few weeks have been really busy. I have been working (as usual), Randy has been doing his last half of student teaching (graduation is in 6 weeks), we drove to and from Idaho, Jolee has been teething (all four front top teeth at the same time), oh, and we have been running.  I first realized that we are making the transformation into runners when we were in Idaho. We ran 3 of the 4 days we were there. The first day, about a mile into the run, I am wondering why I am starting to get short of breath. My muscles felt fine, but I felt like I couldn't get enough air. We realized that the area we were running in was more than double the elevation of Tucson. Oh my, oh my, does elevation make a huge difference for a runner. When we got home I was quick to look up the elevation for Seattle (about 2000 feet lower than Tucson). I am assuming that lower elevation will be easier to run in, any runners out there know if I am right or not? (please, oh please say that I am). The second day was during a snow storm.

You can't really tell in these pictures, but it is starting to snow. I can't believe Randy wore shorts, crazy guy. It was one of the hardest runs ever! Harder than our first couple of runs even. I think I might have cried a little. I know I whined. We could only do about 2 1/2 miles, there was no way I was going to be able to run 3. I now have a little more of an understanding of what Rachel (our Lemonade Maker team member) is having to train in. Rachel, you are one tough cookie! The stinging snow and freezing wind just about did me in.  The third day was the easiest. First of all, no snow. Second, Sandy, my sister-in-law, drove us 3 miles away and dropped us off so that we couldn't cheat and run less than our scheduled amount. Third, it was a beautiful day. Part of our run was past Napolean Dynamite's house (from the movie). Unfortunately I wasn't in the mood to carry a camera, so no pictures. It looks a lot different now than it did in the movie (no llama, etc.).  We did take pictures at Preston High, Napolean's and Randy's high school. Back to the run. As we were running, a dog was in the road (maybe 4 or 5 cars drove by for all 3 miles). I thought the dog would attack us because we were going by its house, but the opposite happened. The dog thought that we were chasing it and ran away every time we got close. So we ended up "chasing" it for about a mile, before it got off of the road and ran behind a house to hide. Another part of the run was up a very steep hill. We didn't realize how steep until we tried to climb it. It was difficult to even walk up it. I guess it is good training for Seattle.

Jolee snuggled with GrammS while Mom and Dad ran.

I am so glad that we are back in Tucson and training here. Idaho was 2 weeks ago. Last week was our first 4 mile run. For about 2-3 weeks, the couch to half training program has been having us run 3 mile runs. Sneaky. The 4th mile is so much easier than the 2nd and 3rd mile. I actually have been able to sprint the last 1/4th of a mile. From 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 miles is the hardest time for me. Once I get into the groove though, it is like I am flying.  I have learned to love to run!

We just got back from our first 5 mile run. Wow, I am just amazed at the progress that we have made since we first really started training in January. We did the run without walking at all! We are still slow with an average of 12-13 minute mile, but our distance is really improving. Today's run was really pleasant. We left just before dusk and so we got to enjoy the sunset (so beautiful) and we watched the moon come up. My favorite part was the smell of orange blossoms perfuming the air. We are really becoming runners, which I honestly thought was near impossible.