Stacy Needs Your Stem Cells

Stacy is a young Minnesota mother who needs an allogeneic transplant, and the doctors have not yet found a match for her.

For more information, please visit Minnesota Myeloma

Warm Summer Mornings

Saturday, July 30, 2011:

St Croix Valley Runners, meeting every Saturday morning at 7:00 am (prompt) at Northland Tennis Courts in Stillwater. That’s not a sentence, actually, but we ran this morning anyway, the usual five miles but an UNusual route which took us around Lake McKusick. It’s a route that I much prefer. Time 46:47, pace 9:21. I’ll take it.

Friday, July 29, 2011:

Jim and I ran on the grass trails in the park, early in the morning. A lovely day it was, and a very nice run. 4.8 miles in 54:15, for a pace of 11:22 minutes per mile. Not too good, really, but we have plenty of excuses if we need any.

One of those was NOT the right knee with PFS, which was quiet the whole way. I do like running on grass. It’s a masterpiece.

Breakfast after today's run. Two berries, three fruits, oatmeal with a few raisins and cranberries, plus yogurt (not shown):

Tough Run

Sand, gravel, stones, puddles, thistles clutching at bare legs, herbicides, and deer ticks. My run this morning. One of my favorite trails is a little maintenance road alongside the railroad tracks, just two dirt wheel-paths, really. I have hardly used it this year, running in the park instead, but decided to do six miles out and back today.

In prior years, the railroad maintained the road a little better than I found it today. In many places, weeds and thistles crowded the road from both sides, grabbing at legs. Even the center, between the paths, was overgrown. In some places, though, the weeds on the track side of the road were brown and dying, making it easier to run there, until it dawned on me that they had obviously been sprayed with herbicide. Duh.

To top it off, when I got back I found deer ticks on my legs and shoes. Everything went into the washing machine when I got home, especially the shoes and socks. I guess the RR trail isn’t my favorite any more, not now anyway. Maybe next spring.

Six miles, about half running and half walking, I forgot my watch, so no time. It was a learning experience.

Oatmeal (underneath), strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, walnuts, pineapple, yogurt, and dark chocolate. Mostly organic food.

Wonderful Run

All good. 13.7 miles on the Gateway Trail. What a wonderful morning - 63 degrees, cloudy, with just a little wind. I never felt overheated, perfect for July. Jim ran with me for the first five miles, on the dirt trails, and I ran most of that way, walking only a couple of times to take water. But he had run very hard the day before (winning his race), and anticipated another hard run the next day, so he left after five miles.

I switched to the paved trails, to train for running on hard surfaces, and also switched to a run/walk, walking for 30 seconds of every two minutes. The right kneecap behaved almost perfectly, muttering only once or twice on the paved trails. The left hamstrings hurt a little, right at the hip bone, more than usual, but were far from a limiting factor. I took that problem to the doctor months ago and was advised to live with it. OK.

13.7 miles in 2:19:24, pace 10:11. Hey, I’ll take it! It’s a masterpiece.

Bison chili, jicama, guacamole, romaine, butternut squash, mostly organic:

Beautiful Morning

Thursday, July 21, 2011:

After a week of heat index temperatures over 100, today was downright pleasant. In fact, for the first mile or two I actually felt cool. We ran in the park again, this time on the grass trails, which have mostly recovered from last weekend’s cloudburst. The temperature was 75 most of the way, with a reasonable dew point, so I should have been fine, but I did get a little warm in the bright sun and walked now and then, more than I wanted to. No knee pain.

11.2 miles in 2:09:30, for a pace of 11:34, and I worked pretty hard to get that. The grass/dirt trails are always slower than paved trails, of course, but today they were slower yet because the grass was wet and needed mowing.

Nevertheless it was a delightful run in the wild, hardly a soul to be seen along the way. One guy with three dogs, and I ran past my sweeties once. 23 miles this week, hopefully more next week.

Monday, July 18, 2011:

We three went with Jim to the park, 7:00 am, already 80 degrees with a dew point almost that high. No sense waiting for the temperature to go up some more. Jim and I ran 5.8 miles on the paved trails (grass trails still too soggy from 4" of rain) and the girls did their normal loop of 3.6 mi. Engaged in conversation, I forgot to click my watch at the finish, but I think it was about 57 minutes. If so, the pace was just under 10 min/mi. The sun was shining this morning, no rain, but when we finished we were all soaking wet, every bit of clothing.

We walked a few times when I felt my face getting flushed, which I always take as a warning of overheating. But we made a good time, for me anyway, and I enjoyed the run. No knee problems! Huh.

Oatmeal on top this time:

Four Inches of Rain

We got some local flooding last night. Our place is fine, but some of the paved trails in the park were flooded and we had to take short detours. I never considered the grass trails - I’m sure they were very wet and muddy. The girls ran their usual 3.6 miles while I ran 5.8.

The right knee only yelled once, when I briefly slowed to a walk. I walked several times too, governed by breathing. When it rose from one breath per four footfalls to one per three, that meant I was working harder than a tempo run, and I slowed. Finish time 59:40, pace 10:17. Good enough - it was another recovery run.

Breakfast. That's organic kefir, not milk:

A Run in the Park

We three ran in the park today, after the rain let up. The girls ran their usual loop on paved trails, while I ran mostly grass & dirt trails, with the last mile or so on paved trails. 4.8 miles, 55 minutes, pace 11:28.

It’s OK. That last mile was with my sweeties, who don’t go quite as fast. Also, I walked several times, still feeling a bit drained from the marathon and from last night’s 6-mile run.

I love running in the park. It’s a masterpiece!

Yours truly nearing the finish of last Sunday's Missoula Marathon: