So Close yet, so far away

In six weeks I will be the day before my marathon. Thinking about that today I cannot believe what an incredible journey this has been for me and I only have six weeks left to prepare. When I started this journey my only thoughts were I need to get in shape and this is an amazing cause. Never in a million years did I think I would meet so many amazing people including my coaches, mentor, honorees, and fellow teammates, get to have a true understanding what mental and physical strength is and never ever did I think I could actually run even close to a marathon EVER!

Last week we ran our longest run of the season, 18 miles. I cannot tell you how nervous I was. I didn't sleep well the night before it was all I could think about the days up to Saturday. I was so nervous that before leaving my house I grabbed two right shoes instead of a right and a left. I didn't realize this until we were at our meeting spot. My mentor Anita was amazing as always and let me borrow her shoes. It gave me a whole new perspective on walking/running in someone elses shoes. I can't tell you how proud I am of my self not only did I finish the run but I did it in shoes half a size to small. There were so many times I wanted to either quit or cry. Neither I did. It was a great lesson for me in being mentally strong and how important it is to believe in your self. I am not going to lie I am terrified for our run next week which is 20 miles, but I am looking forward to the challenge!!!

As always thank you so much for all the love and support I have received. I have to say I have the best friends and family a girl could have.

Go TEAM!!

xoxoxo
Ashley

Milestones

My Geese Friends!

My feet after my run. My shoes were new on Tuesday. Oh well guess they are broken in now.

My Dog friend that followed for about a mile. It is hard to see him. But he is the white blur in the picture.

The beginning of the levy that I ran on Saturday. One side was water the other was corn fields.

The water as I began my run. Made me kind of want to Wake board instead of run.
It was fun to see the wake boarders throughout the run!

This weekend has been a weekend of milestones. I ran my longest run EVER 10 miles. I am not going to lie it was tough. I always seem to struggle through the first 3 miles and then I think my body gives up. I was only a quarter mile away from being a done when a puppy chocolate lab decided to jump on me and lick my face. It scared the crap out of me first and foremost because I wasn't expecting it and then it also made me have to stop which was not a good thing to do when you only have a quarter mile left to run. I did finish and survived the puppy invasion.

Another Milestone I reached was knowing how much I need my Team In Training Team, Coaches and mentors. Unfortunately I wasn't able to run with my team because of some personal things I needed to do. Running the longest run of the season without my team made me realize how much I rely on them to get me through my run each week. I did have some help on my run a couple geese and the farmers dog. As fun as there were to have a long the way it wasn't the same as the friendly voices yelling "Go Team, You Can Do It, Only 1 more mile you can power through it!" Also there was no one at the end to congratulate me on a good run!! Team In Training is definitely what is going to get me to the finish line in October.

I took my first Ice Bath this weekend. I think the ice bath has terrified me almost as much as the running. Who in their right mind voluntarily puts their body in a bathtub full of ice and cold water. Well I did!!! There was a lot of swearing at first by myself and a lot of laughing by my kids. I eventually adapted to it and I have to say it helped with the soar muscles. I can check ice bath off my list of things I have never done before.

My finale milestone I am trying to reach is that of fundraising. I am only $360 away from reaching $1200 which was the goal I set for myself to have by July 21st. I know I can reach this as people have been amazing and supportive already!!

Go Team!!

xoxox, Ashley

Hill Sprint Are the Best........seriously I am joking

Tuesday's workout was hill sprints. Again many of these things are new to me and this is one of them. I have to say I am a wimp when it comes to hills and Tuesday was no different. I know they will make me a better runner especially since the Nike Woman's marathon has so many hills, but I really hate hill sprints. I need to have turbo power shoes to help me get up the hill!!!

xoxoxox,
Ashley

8 Miles - For Monica

Monica is in the black jacket & her sister Jolene in the red shirt

The past couples weeks have included going out of town, fourth of July and some heartbreak. I found out a couple weeks ago my very first boss, I ever had, Monica, passed away from Cancer. To say I was devastated and shocked doesn't even begin to explain how I felt.

It has been years since I have seen or talked to her, but in my heart knew she played an important roll in me wanting to own my own business and knowing that it is important to balance family and work. She was an amazing person with an amazing family!! Her sister is a good friend and did my nails for years when we lived in Salt Lake City. Her oldest daughter watched our brand new puppies, that were terrors, when Brian and I went on our honeymoon years ago in Salt Lake City.

This Saturday we were tasked with running 8-10 miles. As I was driving to pickup my friend and teammate my mind kept wondering to Monica and her family and how her family was handling her loss. I knew this run was hard, but knew as hard as my run was for me this week it was nothing close as to hard as the heartbreak and pain her family and friends are currently experiencing and will for a lifetime. I decide that I was running for Monica and her family this week.

I picked up my friend and teammate at 6:45 in the morning and the first thing we said to each other was I am terrified for today's run. The most we had ever run was 6 miles. My teammate and I started together and finished together which was kind of cool. We talked in places and in were silent in others. We encouraged each other and when we finished both wanted to cry because we actually finished 8 miles!!! It was a great run and milestone in my training and was done for an amazing woman who I will be thinking about when I finish my marathon in October!!

Here is to you Monica, thank you for the quite inspiration you gave me without even knowing it!!

xoxoxox Ashley

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

I just want to say thank you to everyone that has donated, for all the wonderful emails I have gotten and all of the support I have already received from my friends and family. So far (I am only five weeks into it) this has been an amazing journey. I am excited to continue to share with you my training experience and definitely my marathon experience. Big Hugs and Kisses all the way around!!

xoxoxox
Ashley

One of My Personal Honorees-- Uncle Blaine

When I was a senior in college my Uncle Blaine was diagnosed with Cancer. Within six months he lost his battle. That was the first time EVER I had known someone with Cancer and the first time I had EVER experienced death.

My whole family (mom, dad, brother and I) were very close to My Uncle Blaine's family. We did family vacations together, we went down to Texas every summer so "Us City folks could get a taste of the country" and we spent almost every Thanksgiving together at my grandparents cabin in New Mexico.

My Uncle Blaine was the most caring and loving person you could know. He had a heart of gold, a laugh as big as Texas and a sense of humor that could out wit anyone.

My memories of him are amazing. They are of him laughing and joking with me. Calling out "Oh Ashley, Oh Ashley darling" and me running to give him a hug and a kiss. To this day if I need to brighten my day or get out of a bad mood I think about my Uncle Blaine.

With every negative comes a positive. Although my Uncle's loss was devastating to my family and each and everyone of us have a piece of our heart missing I do know that it has made us stronger and more durable. It is also the reason why I have chosen Cancer Research no matter what kind of Cancer it is as my personal philanthropy. It is near and dear to my heart. The day that there is no cancer in the world and there are no more cancer fundraisers like Team In Training is the day that I am sure we are all looking forward to. Until then I will continue with my quest and helping out any way I can.

Before every team workout we have shout outs where we can shout out the people that are our personal Honorees. I always say my Uncle's name. When we have our moment of silence after the shout out I always say a quick prayer for my cousins and my aunt. When I cross the finish line in October I know that I will have done it because of the strength I get from thinking about why I am running and thinking about my Uncle.

Love and Miss you Everyday Uncle Blaine!!!


xoxoxo
Ashley

I did it!! I ran 6 miles!! Woo Hoo

I never in my life thought I could run 6 miles. But this weekend I did it. Here is a pic of me after about 3 miles. Yes that is a semi smile on my face. Go Team Epic!

I have also included some pictures of where we ran. We ran at Lake Chabot and it was gorgeous. Hilly but gorgeous. Afterwords was the honoree picnic. It was so inspiring to listen to their stories and hear how they have been living and conquering their cancer. The other thing was really amazing to learn about was that the money LLS is raising has helped everyone of them through their research. Everyone had a drug or treatment that was funded and researched by LLS. WHAT WE ARE DOING IS MAKING A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

xoxox
Ashley