ooh breathe, just breathe

Aaron Thayer Sterling

July 6, 1981 - August 27, 2011

Aaron, I wish I could accurately tell you how much you mean to me. Your passion for life was immeasurable. As much as you didn't want to believe it, you were, and continue to be, an inspiration to so many people. This life isn't fair and someday we are going to find out the answers to why. I know you probably heard me as I talked with you yesterday when we got to the hospital, but you are the reason behind my profession and the compassion I have for what I do. I will never stop fighting to help others like you. I know you'll be watching over all of us and I hope that I can make you proud. I feel comforted knowing you no longer have to fight for your own breath, something that we all take for granted. I want you to be comforted knowing we will be ok, whatever "ok" means. You will never, ever be forgotten. I love you, A-dog.



"They were angels in waiting. Waiting for wings to fly from this world, away from their pain. Treasuring time, til time came to leave, leaving behind sweet memories. Angels in waiting, angels in waiting for wings."

On September 18th, a great fundraising event will take place in Durham, NC through the Lung Transplant Foundation. Please check out Aaron's Lungapalooza 2001 fundraising site HERE. Thank you all for your continued love and support. Someday we will find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis so that no one has to suffer from this disease ever again.

fun fact friday

1. i have major anxiety attacks over flying. i would much rather drive.

2. i seriously dislike chit chat. a lot of times if i see people from afar at places (ie- grocery store, mall) that i know im going to "run into" and have to carry on some sort of fake conversation (oh hi, how are you, what have you been up to despite the fact i already know since i stalk you on facebook but want you to tell me anyway...), ill walk the other way and make sure this chance happening doesnt happen. sorry, its not you, its me.

3. at the doctors office on that little survey you always have to fill out, i find it easier to write in '2 - 3' for the "how many drinks, on average, do you have in a week" question. week, night, whats the difference really?

4. i accidentally on purpose ended up at the animal refuge league today and fell in love with only two kittens. i swear one of them answered to the name ive weve picked out for our future kitten.

5. i have matching vera bradley lunchbox and checkbook cover.

6. i might be the only person in the entire world who still keeps a balanced physical paper checkbook register.

7. while youre reading this im supposed to be out running 20 miles. dear god please let this be happening. and if you so choose, please text me/tweet me (@RTdanielle09) to make sure im out somewhere in the middle of falmouth/cumberland actually doing it.

8. yes, i will text/tweet you back when im running.

9. when i run early early morning (like were talking 3:30am early. yeah.) i dont wear music so i can really focus on my surroundings. for God only knows what reason, i somehow always end up singing "ma ma ma MY sharona". it is not awesome.

10. i cannot wait until the day starbucks starts selling their pumpkin spice latte. one just might not be enough.

11. i own more hooded sweatshirts and pairs of flip flops than anyone really ever should own.

12. im kinda over facebook.

13. i didnt start drinking coffee until after i graduated from college. i dont know how i ever lived without it.

14. i finally convinced ty to take me to gray animal farm so i could see a real live moose. they were so big!

hope everyone on the east coast stays safe this weekend in the threat of hurricane irene! also head on over and check out katies page later on today as she always has fun friday randomness and a list of others who do too!

fun fact friday

1. it drives me up the wall when people dont pronounce their H's (ie: humid --> umid)

2. i barely read 6 books in a year... ive read 10 in the last three months.

3. my coffee intake is on most days almost equal to my water intake.

4. i ate an entire avacado yesterday like it was an apple. this is a common occurance.

5. in the months of july & august i spent more days in a hospital than at my house.

6. even a brand spankin new house still has "projects"

7. i know how to fold a fitted sheet... and now you can too!

8. if i was on this summers big brother season i would absolutely have been the first person kicked off. actually i probably would have asked to go home so i wouldnt have to spend the summer with rachel. shoot me.

9. my brother in law was put on a different ventilator on wednesday. its breathing for him at a rate of 9 breaths per SECOND. thats 540 breaths per minute. dont try that at home.

10. i think people who put ice in their milk are weird. well alright i wont judge. i think the act is weird. you people are probably fairly normal. except for that.

11. two weeks ago i went and switched my piece of shit old/outdated cell phone for an andriod incredible 2. i  had fun with the apps, words with friends, a much nicer touch screen than mine... and i returned it and went back to my old phone. i dont need all that crap. but i do miss the little green guy that waves to me when i call people.

12. when i moved back from phoenix i bought a bike. i never rode it, then sold it to my brother. now i want a bike again. which im sure i wouldnt ride.


now go check out katie, who is my inspiration for starting fun fact friday back up again (i wont copy her and change it to random fact friday, although thats really what these are. but random can be fun.)

beach 2 beacon 10k

ive said it before, but the beach 2 beacon 10k race in cape elizabeth is my all time favorite race. ever. hands down. it was developed by joan benoit samuelson, its in my hometown, its along the ocean, the volunteers/crowd support is amazing... there are just so many things that make this race truly outstanding. im sad it has to be capped at 6000 (up from about 3500 when it first started i think) because a lot of people miss out, but if you are able to get in, you MUST put this on your race bucket list.

ty was out of town for a work golf tournament on thursday and friday, and he didnt get home until about 11:30pm friday night. couple that with his lack of training and someone was not excited when the alarm went off at 5:30am saturday morning. we left our house about 6:15, knowing how bad the traffic has been in the past but had very few issues getting to my parents house, about a mile from the starting line.

my parents neighbor, amanda, walked over and met up with us before my mom drove us to the starting line. it was already in the low 70's and it felt rather humid, so i knew this race was going to be a hot one, although the news said they felt conditions were ideal for a potential course record breaking day. we dropped off our stuff at the baggage bus and met up with some friends, and walked up towards the crowd at the starting line. amanda and i both agreed our nerves were making us feel like we had to pee, so we decided to brave the woods (along with a lot of others not wanting to wait in the line for the bathrooms).

amanda, me, and ty pre race

they coral you in like cattle at the start (see aerial photos below) so it was difficult to get into a good spot, but we found a small opening right around the 8:00pace sign and settled in there. before we knew it the national anthem was being sung, the wheelchair race started, and then the gun went off for the race start. its stop and go for a minute or so, and then we crossed the starting line. weaving in and out of the crowd we settled into a spot and got comfy, running about 7:55s for a few minutes. about a half mile into the race i saw Jen and we chatted for a bit. my goal was to stay around 8s or 8:15s, so i continued on. 

i felt great for the first 3 miles, albeit VERY hot and sweaty. i couldnt even keep my sunglasses on cuz they kept fogging up. i knew a PR was out of my reach by the halfway point so i just enjoyed the scenery, the music and crowd lining the streets, and just kept running. i met up with Terri Ann, a woman i met last year at the first race of 12 in 2010, and chatted with her as we trudged up one of the many hills in the last mile. i told her i felt i needed to walk and she said to me "push through it, just like old times"... and push through it i did. she told me just what i needed to hear at that moment, and i gave it my all.

my finish wasnt my best, but it wasnt my worst either, and i smiled crossing the finish line. 

gun time: 52:23

net time: 51:06 (pace 8:14)

age group place: 90/471

overall place: 1739/5875

splits: 8:01, 8:01, 8:06, 8:09, 8:16, 8:45, 1:48 (yeah, that damn 5th mile bloooows)

                                       

ty made it too 1:06:28

ty and vince, thumbs down to our friend jamie not running with us

me and amanda

a big group of awesome runners

(and i finally met Jen!)

sarah, maddy, brendan, and me

i also "ran" into Hollie at the finish line... she came up to me and introduced herself :) the running community through daily mile and twitter has been so awesome!

the following pics are courtesy of Kevin Morris via helicoptor

starting line

finish line view 1

finish line view 2

hoping to run/walk once more next year, make it my 10th beach 2 beacon race :) care to join me?

its that time again already?!

first of all, where has this year gone?! i cant believe its august already... how have we been married 7 months?! but more importantly (hehe) ITS BEACH TO BEACON 10K TIME!!!!!

i super duper heart this race. its in the town i grew up in (so of course im biased), its a beautiful time of year in maine, its on the ocean... what is there not to love? (according to my husband- "the running part". needless to say he isnt as excited as i am). this will be my 9th year running this race and it still gives me goosebumps and the silly tummy butterflies on race day. this race is just that damn awesome. if youre lucky enough to get in on registration day (in MARCH mind you), give it a try. you wont regret it.

past b2b times:
2002- 1:08:47 (didnt train, still pretty much hated running)
2003- 58:07 (started loving running, trained a lot. to PR a 10k by 10 minutes is kinda sweet)
2004- 55:19 (i think this was the year i went to a bbq the night before... stayed up til almost 3am, smoked and drank a LOT. i still got a 10k PR, but i did not feel well)
2005- 53:02
2006- 52:08
2008- 1:00:29 (i ran with ty for his first b2b... and please note, his time was 1:00:30 hehe)
2009- 47:50 (my current 10k PR... i still have NO idea how i did this. none.)
2010- 49:47

my most recent 10k was on the fourth of july, running 51:31. i think that course is a lot tougher than the b2b so who knows whats gonna happen tomorrow. in no way do i feel like im fast enough this year to go sub 48, but im hoping for atleast 8:15s or even 8's. regardless, im going to have fun cuz this race always seems to go by so fast! (and if I think this race goes by fast... the course record is 27:27 (thats 4:26/mile!) set in 2003 by Gilbert Okari from Kenya. i was a spectator one year, and i think think their feet even touch the ground... im just at the halfway mark when they're done! i.n.s.a.n.e!)

starting line

finish line

portland headlight, cape elizabeth, maine

and after we finish they make us walk up this hill... EVIL!

the shirts are pretty sweet this year...

front

back

and look what i happened to find at the expo!

thanks, bondi band!

and even though this is my 9th year running this race, when my friend amanda asked me on facebook what time our shuttle was leaving for the race in the morning, the following conversation ensued:

amanda: what time is the shuttle leaving Jewett?
me: ooooh i dunno. i figure we will try to leave about 7:15... race starts at 8 right? haha you would think i would know by now. ill check the website.
me: yup, 8am. and ps- this conversation is definitely going in my blog tonight haha. who runs a race and doesnt know what time it starts the night before? especially when its my NINTH time running it! 

yes. this is my life. good luck to all racers this weekend!

alright, time to fess up

confession: i havent been following my marathon training plan quite as accurately as it is printed in this nifty neato little book ive got here.

excuse #1: sometimes the book gets lost in the midst of moving boxes and random crap scattered around the new house
truth: i might sleepwalk and hide it so when my alarm goes off in the morning i dont know where it is and just figure its probably only a 5 miler, easy pace
actual truth: its sitting on my table. with a book mark.

excuse #2: my legs are tired.
truth: i dont stretch as much as i should, i work 12 hour days and its tough to get long miles in, etc.
actual truth: im lazy.

excuse #3: i just dont think i can do it.
truth: i really just dont think i can run this much.
actual truth: im scared.


ive done the maine marathon twice. both times the training has gone out the window for one reason or another. the first year it was ITband isues. and i ran reach the beach two weeks before. i was very injured but i still ran the marathon. in 4 hours 43minutes and 13seconds. not smart. recap here.

last year i nearly got heat stroke and never got a long run in longer than 16 miles. i figured "hey ive done a marathon before, i can do it again". false. you still need to train. this marathon provided a personal worst. recap here. 4:43:30. are you joking me 17 seconds?! damn you elizabeth and your jello shots at mile 25.

i know i can run a marathon faster than that. i did sugarloaf in 4:15:25. i even had a week of training where i logged ZERO miles. (seriously, who does that?! oh yeah, me.)

so here i am. a little over 10 weeks into training, a little over 8 weeks left to go. lets really look at what the hell is going on.

what the book says/what ive actually done:
week 1: 33 miles/18.6
week 2: 36 miles/27.2
week 3: 40 miles/10
week 4: 42 miles/ 22.25
week 5: 45 miles/19.56
week 6: 37 miles/36.12
week 7: 50 miles/4.45
week 8: 54 miles/13.1
week 9: 48 miles/12

total should be: 385 miles
total really is: 163.28 miles
longest run should be: 20 miles
longest run really is: 16 miles

w.t.F. seriously. how are those 50 mile weeks treating me?

i just feel deflated. i guess a 4.45 mile week is better than a 0 mile week, but still. a lot of my runs have gone really really good, and many have gone really bad. i know i have speed, i just lack the endurance to use that speed for 3 hours and 59 minutes.

im not going to quit reaching for this goal. july was the hardest month i think ive ever had. life absolutely threw me curve ball after curve ball. God surely tested me, and i felt knocked down. but im gonna get back up. im not going to quit. will i get my sub 4 hour marathon goal? we'll see. am i upset with the way my training is going? yes. do i hold anyone else accountable except myself? no.

pain is temporary. quit is forever. regardless of what happens ill still know that on october 2nd i will again accomplish something that not everyone can say they've done. and for that i will be grateful.