93.25 miles down, 56.75 miles to go, $46.60 in the jar

Maddie took this one! View from the jogging stroller

We live on the edge of suburbia.  To call it a "Suburb of Chicago" is kind of a misnomer.  We live 40 miles northwest of the city.  We may live amid strip malls and cookie cutter houses, but seeing a farm isn't strange and we run amid beauty like this.  Sometimes I miss living in the city or at least closer to the city so everything isn't at least an hour away, but whenever I go to the city, I appreciate my little suburban life even more.  I do miss running along the lake like I did years ago while marathon training, but I have found certain paths that bring me the same kind of tranquility the lake used to bring.  There is something about running near water that soothes the soul.  My path includes little bodies of water, but they do the trick. 

Here's a video!

66.5 miles down, 83.5 to go, $33.25 in the jar

Where is this illustrious "jar" I speak of? On my kitchen counter. I have attached a picture of it to prove I am good for my $.50 a mile.

I am happy to say that if you look at my current donations through FirstGiving.com, I am already up to $170 and that doesn't include the money I am putting in the jar each day.

Yesterday's run was a solo run and it good, but I felt really old. Not so much because of my aching hip and back, but I just felt plain tired. I think it had something to do with lack of sleep, go figure.

And now a word about Bear Necessities...

25 miles down, 125 to go, $12.50 in the jar

I am the first to admit I am crazy. You have to be half-cracked to run 40 miles a week, especially when it involves pushing a double jogger up hills, down hills, in 90 degree heat and humidity. You have to be somewhat mentally unstable to run through the pouring rain (minus stroller!) or when you stayed up too late drinking wine the night before. I recognize this, but it doesn't stop me from running anyway.

So what is the motivation? As I said before, it all started as a way to fit in my jeans, but there is so much more to it than that. I guess the first logical answer is the adrenaline rush I get from running. It makes me feel better, gives me more energy and is one thing I know I can check off my list each day. Running is also great therapy. I can tell you no matter how stressed or down or tired I am before I run, I feel 100% better when I am done.

The second kind of motivation comes from music. I depend on my iPod a great deal for my runs. I have my "fast songs" that help carry me along. A lot of times the songs remind me of different places and times in my life. They conjure up good, bad or even angry emotions. No matter what, they fuel my runs. Along with the music my iPod provides, this new Nike + that plugs into my iPod has me competing against myself every day. The best part is that they have sports celebrities tell you that you've beat a personal best at the end of a workout. Nothing more motivating than having Lance Armstrong tell you you've run your fastest mile yet!

I also love running with the jogging stroller because I get a great deal of encouragement from people driving by or other runners, walkers or bikers. I do get the occasional creepy men honking the horn, but more often I get genuine nods of respect for my insanity. I have two favorite passerby's that I will never forget. The first was a woman driving by who honked and gave me a very enthusiastic thumbs up. The second was a slightly overweight man riding his bike. He looked like a combination of John Belushi from Animal House and the brother-in-law from the hangover. I don't know if I was more surprised by the fact this man was actually out exercising on a Saturday morning or that he shouted "You GO GIRL!" followed by a fist pump. He may have been riding his bike because he lost his driver's license after DUI, but that is neither here nor there.

Now, when I run, I can't help but think of my new motivation for running and that is helping others. Beating personal bests, gaining attention from others and fantasizing about running down the beach to "Chariots of Fire" are all fine and good, but knowing I am running for a greater good gives me a whole different kind of rush.

14 miles down, 136 more to go. $7.00 in the Jar.

Today's run was a solo. This was my second day of running towards my goal of 150 before my "Run For The Bear" on September 26.

I did some speed work and really relied on my music to motivate me. "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine had me running a 5:35 pace....at least for a little while. If I was better at all this technology, I would find a way to play that song on my page for you all to hear. It is one of the songs in the "Eat, Pray, Love" movie trailer.

I kept thinking about how I started running and how far I've come not only in regards to running, but in life. I've always worked out in some way. Even when I was a kid, besides playing softball and riding my bike around the neighborhood, my Grandpa and one of those exercise bikes with the big fan on the front that I used to ride. In junior high I started to notice my body and would compare it to my friends'. I also noticed a difference in my weight during the summer when I was more active and if I didn't notice, my grandma was there to point it out to me.

In high school I did speech and theatre, so my athleticism was limited to gym class and the StairMaster in the workout room. Running in gym class was not something I looked forward to especially when we had to run around the football field while they were mowing it due to allergies. I would look for any excuse I could find to get out of running. Now I am looking for any excuse to run.

College brought a whole new set of weight challenges. I didn't gain the "Freshman 15" I gained the Freshman 25 since I am such an overachiever. By the end of my Freshman year I weighed as much as I did nine months pregnant. Trying to lose it was impossible until I was a junior and started to do a little more running and finally went home for the summer and dropped the extra lbs. When I came back in the Fall I did put back on some of it once put back in the world of fried food, late night pizza and beer.

It was about a year after college that I went to the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago and walked it with some friends. I had been running a little here and there, but didn't think I could run 5 miles! Looking around at all of the runners, I got this incredible sense of inferiority. These "runners" all looked so serious and in shape. I wanted to be them.

After that day I set out to become them. I ran around a track until I couldn't run anymore and slowly I was able to run 3 miles without stopping. That May I signed up to run the Y-Me 5k for Breast Cancer (now known as Breast Cancer Network of Strength). Lucky for me I ran into a friend of mine before the race who was an experienced runner. He was kind of enough to run with me until we hit the last stretch. I may have been new to this whole thing, but I knew he probably had a personal best that I had completely taken away from him since he ran with my slow ass. I let him take off at the end and I looked at that finish line about 100 yards away and wanted to die. I hoofed it to the end and finally finished. I don't recall what my time was, but I would guess it was about 30 minutes.

I remember when I ran my first marathon a year-and-a-half later hitting the 5k mark and chuckling because I felt like I had just started the race and to think at one point I could barely get that far. This past year when I ran a half marathon I got to the point in the race where I only had 5k to go and still felt good despite the fact I had already run 10 miles. I turned to the guy next to me and said, "Just a 5k to go. No problem." Perspective is everything and the number one lesson I have learned is that running is mostly psychological.

So, my advice to anyone just starting out running is to remember
1) You can train your body to anything if you put the time and effort into it.
2) Your mind can carry you further than your legs.

I have been running for over 10 years. When I ran my first 5k, I could barely finish. Now I run almost every day with an average pace of 7 min/mile. I have always strived to improve my fitness level, but true motive, to be honest, was to look my best. I have battled with my weight for almost my whole life, not because I used to be “fat,” but because I have always had a poor body image. Over the years, my obsession with running has evolved and I have become extremely competitive and disciplined. This began with marathon training and when I began improving my times and winning local 5 and 10k races, things really changed for me. My focus shifted a great deal and I started to see myself as a “runner.”

Then I had two kids. I am proud to say that I was able to maintain a consistent exercise regime throughout both pregnancies and started running as soon as I could post-partum. Once again, I was focused on getting my body back and then once again, my running and purpose for running changed. Running became “me time” and a release from the stresses of motherhood. I continued to excel and gained even more confidence in my ability. I also realized I was setting a good example for my children and was proud that I can be a strong role model and improve my health to live a longer and healthier life to be there for them. Fitting into my jeans was just the icing on the cake, which I could also afford to eat based on my exercise!

After all that, I wanted to know “What next?” I was done working on me and while I have done several races for causes, I believed there was more I could do and more others could do to use running for charity. Every time I ran, I wished it could be for a cause. I wanted to turn the idea of running for charity on it's side.

I recently started using Nike + device in my shoes that allows me to track all of my runs, how many miles, calories burned, etc. It is attached to my iPod and when I get home I upload the information on to the Nike Running site and DailyMile.com. From there my miles are posted on Facebook and on this Blog.

I probably annoy a lot of people, but there is a method to my madness. First, it is a good way to hold myself accountable for my running. When I ran my first marathon, I told as many people as I could that I was training because I knew if I did that, I would stick with it. I dreaded having someone ask me a few weeks or months later how my training was going and have to tell them I didn't follow through.

So, here's what I want to do. Every month I am going to pick a different charity, track my miles on this blog and ask people to donate money for each mile I run through FirstGiving.com. You will see my mileage to the right along with a link to my fundraising site.

Give whatever you can and if you can't give right now or this isn't an organization you feel strongly about, then I encourage you to wait and check in next month.

Here is my other goal, I want others to do the same thing. I want people to be inspired and if you are already a runner or walker, start tracking your miles. You can use DailyMile.com even if you don't have a Nike + device and manually enter your miles. Even if you simply put a quarter in a jar every time you run or walk a mile, it is a start. Then, start getting your friends and family involved in your efforts. If you aren't currently running or walking, maybe this is a good motivation for you to start. Help yourself and help others at the same time.

Ultimately, I want to create a community of runners, running for "IT" whatever "IT" is for them. Whether it is Cancer research, fighting homelessness, Haiti, oil spill cleanup, animal rescue...you choose.

This month I am running for Bear Necessities. I will be running a 10K on Sunday, September 26, 2010, but will run 150 miles between August 13, 2010 and the day of the race. You can either donate a flat amount or you can donate 5, 10, 25, 50 Cents per mile (based on 150 miles) or even $1.00 if you are feeling REALLY generous. I will be putting a 50 Cents per mile in a jar and at the end of the month, will send it to Bear Necessities.

When I don't run, I use an eliptical machine I keep in my garage and will manually enter those miles as well.

Please join me in this new adventure and stay tuned for more information on Bear Necessities, video posts and future charities I run for.