Three weeks ago my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Last week, she became a survivor.

In honor of my mom, this Sunday, September 14th, I will be running in my first race, the Komen Foundation’s NYC Race For The Cure. Please consider making a donation, no amount is too small.

Update: The race was an amazing event, possibly the biggest crowd I’ve ever been a part of. It was also incredibly emotional and inspiring.

Thanks to everyone who donated, we raised over $1,600 in less than a week!

Ran the Sunrise Lake loop this morning. Sunrise Lake’s elevation is 1,440 feet above sea level, which, considering that I normally run at sea level, made the hills seem that much more difficult.

Ran the 4.5 mile Hudson River route with Harris. Started out at dusk, which was amazing.

Four miles in 35 minutes on the treadmill.

Three miles in 25 minutes on the treadmill, I started off slow instead of stretching. Various body parts felt good. Followed up with lots of stretching and iced knees.

My left knee was pretty messed up after the five mile run back on August 12th. I saw the sports medicine doctor again a few days after that and she advised taking a few weeks off to let my knees recover. Tonight was the 12th day, things have been feeling pretty good for several days now.

The other thing she pointed out was that my experimenting with off the shelf arch-support insoles (my feet have hurt for a long time) was probably a big part of my knee pain. Legs seem to be very precisely balanced, the hips, knees, ankles and feet all affect one another more than it seems they would. I now have a prescription for orthotics and some medieval looking thing called a night splint. That’s only supposed to be worn for 4-6 weeks, but it would be nice to wake up in the morning and not have the first 15 minutes on my feet be excruciating.

Until I get the Nike+iPod thing, I’m going to post my runs here and just keep bumping it to the top.

Sunday July 29:

4 miles on the treadmill

Tuesday July 31:

4 miles on the west side with Harris and Kai. We went before lunch at around 1pm, it was hot.

August 2:

5.5 Miles in 46 minutes. Personal best by 10 minutes and 1 mile.

August 5:

5 miles in 40 minutes. I was angry about something when I started so I ran the first three miles pretty fast.

August 8:

2.5 miles, sort of fast. Ran after an exhausting day.

August 12:

5 miles up First Ave to 64th and then down Second. Hills kicked my butt, left knee was a bit tight. Route

August 16

3 miles on the treadmill at the Y. My left knee is sore.

August 20

2 miles on the treadmill, after a lot of stretching and 3 miles on a stationary bike. Felt fine and could have kept going, but my knees are still hurting more than they should be.

this post should really be a category with multiple short posts. Adding to to do list…

Two or three months ago I started running. It was something I’d been thinking about for a while but never got around to. Harris deserves a lot of thanks for motivation and nagging. The Cool Running website has also been a terrific resource, especially their Couch-to-5K plan.

Last week I ran somewhere between 16 and 20 miles, spread across four or five runs. Having never done any sort of deliberate distance/endurance exercise before, I find that number personally astonishing. Currently I’m running four miles in about 33 minutes, my next goal is five miles in 40-45 minutes.

I decided to buy one of those Nike+iPod thingies, mostly because I enjoy statistics. Also, I’ve wanted one ever since Cabel Sasser’s Multiplayer Game Of The Year post. However, the iPod is imminently due for a refresh — assuming the rumors are right. According to the MacRumors buying guide, the iPod and iPod nano are coming up on a year since their last refresh. I can wait another week or two.

While I’ve been going to the gym regularly for almost a year now (14th St Y Babysitting FTW), no amount of exercise can produce the levels of sweat running does. I’m absolutely, revoltingly drenched after 30 minutes.

Surprisingly, I’m not completely spent afterwards. After a 30 minute cool down and shower I generally feel great. When I sleep, I sleep better. I’m drinking less coffee. My contribution to the laundry heap has increased. When swimming I can hold my breath much longer than I used to be able to. Overall, I’m really loving it.