RACE DAY!!!

4:57am - Went down to meet the team and get taped at 4:15. IT was awesome. Everyone was excited. Now Michlle and I are leaving to meet my parents for our ride to the start...



GO TEAM!

Marathon weekend - Play by play

3:35pm - Michelle and I made it to Seattle. Woke up a 4:20am this morning, OUCH! So far we have stopped by the EXPO to pick up our bibs, race shirts, etc. Then met up with my parents at Pike Place for lunch. Had some delicious Greek Food... wish I coulda had the baklava... Stopped by a rocery store to stock up on essential liquids for tomorrow that the airplane would not let me carry-on. Now Michelle and I are resting in our luxurious hotel room waiting for the 5:30pm pasta party. I am about to set up all my gear for tomorrow. Will post a picture of me being anal :)

3:51pm - Gear laid out.
3:53pm - View from awesome hotel room

7:48pm - Just got back from the Pasta Party, or as they now are trying to call it "Inspiration Party." Pasta Party sounds way cooler. It was great to see everyone there. My mama and papa came too and everyone is in love with them. The speakers tonight got me super excited about what I am about to accomplice tomorrow and almost started crying. But I will try to save the crying for the finish line so I can get some ooey gooey finishers shots ;) I was having some weird inner knee soreness today, told Mama Lisa and she is meeting me at 4:15am (!!!!!!) tomorrow morning to tape up my leg as a precaution. I only took a couple of photos at dinner, my dad was taking all the good ones. But here are mine...

8:35pm - Lights out.

Just ran 18 miles. Need I say more?

I came, I ran, I conqured

This past Saturday our team was scheduled to run at Lake Chabot. Specifically, I was scheduled to run 12-14 miles there. The thing is... Lake Chabot and I are like water and oil. We just don't mix well. Lake Chabot is a very hilly course around a very pretty lake. Before last weekend, I had 2 failed attempts to "Do the Damn Thing" there which failed. Miserably.

During Spring season last year, we ran there when I was only just getting over a cold. After 3 short miles I almost passed out and had to sit in my car with my head between my legs to keep from fainting.

During Fall season... well... I happened to miss the Lake Chabot run ;)

Then, this season one of our early runs was there. I think I was supposed to run 8-10 miles... but alas, only completed 4, 2 of which I had to walk because I was having bad knee problems.

So, you can imagine I was not to excited to take on Lake Chabot on Saturday. I assumed it was a cursed place that I was never ever meant to try to run again. And to top off the fear of the course, my trusty weather.com told me it was going to be hot on Saturday. BARF.

Hot + Lizzie = BAD
Hills + Lizzie = BAD
Lake Chabot + Lizzie = BAD
Hot + Hills + Lake Chabot + Lizzie = ????

So, thankfully upon arriving to the course bright and early on Saturday, we were notified that because of the impending heat, we should run 10-12 miles instead of 12-14.

Ok, so I knew I had the first 4 miles down. I had done them before. Nothing new to throw me for a loop. The water stop was manned by Rod and Besty, 2 team members who were racing the next day. Their support was AWESOME. Loved the cowbell. So after the 2 miles out, and 2 miles back, I started to run through uncharted territory... IT WAS GORGEOUS! I finally figured out why Mama Lisa always raves about Lake Chabot. The next 2 miles were shaded, there were waterfalls, I saw a banana slug... and again another awesome water stop manned by Lisa, Lupita and Kim!

Then came the extreme hills. OH DAMN. I really did not think we could run any higher and then I turned a corner and more uphill! It was killer, and I won't lie, I walked some of the uphills. Then I came to a fork in the road. Go right if you are running 8 miles, left if you are running 10. I went left. That's when I hit the worst of the trail. It was all these crazy up and down hills. Up. Down. Up. Down. UGH. My mental toughness was wearing on me especially since it was really starting to heat up outside. But of course TNT always comes through just when you need them. I ran into a bunch of the team coming back from the water stop and we all cheered each other on. It was just the boost I needed to get me to the water stop. And Lori was there! YAY! So we chatted a bit. I chugged a bunch of gatorade and ate some pretzels. Then it was back to the run. And those damn hills. I have to say, when I got back to the fork in the road I was wishing I had gone right from the beginning. Because then there was more uphill. At this point I was starting to hate running in general. To top it off, the song that was stuck in my head was "If you seek Amy." UGH.

BUT, finally, FINALLY, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. DOWNHILL! Yes, the last 2 miles was all downhill. It was glorious. Running downhill even created a bit of a fake breeze that helped combat the blaring heat from above. And the views were phenominal. It was at this point that I realized the Seattle Marathon was going to be A-OK. Because 1) it shouldnt be so dang hot there and 2) they recently changed the course at the end so the last 6 miles are flat/downhill, just like these were. SWEET. By the time I got to the end of the run I was ready for it to be over. But, in the back of my head I knew I probably could have gone for a few more miles were it not so hot out.

So, that is right folks. While half of the run was awful and makes me never want to run Lake Chabot again, I still came, I ran, and I did the damn thing. Then I put my feet in the kiddy pool and ate a bunch of Rebecca's ooey gooey PB&J's. Heaven.

UPDATE!

I've been lagging on my blogging. SORRY! So now I shall try to catch you all up. First, I have a long overdue shout out to the following people for being donating rock stars! A huge

to the following people...

Megan Neureuter
Dara Keenan
Robert Keenan
Henry Gordon Rosenblum
Chalotte Ono
Shannon Cleary
Microsoft
Mari Cobb
Katherine Duncan
Jessica Salomon
Rebecca Morgan
Shirley Turnbull
Susan Munn
Rachel Mason
Kristy Siefkin
Starsky Cheng
and everyone who came to my ice cream party!

So, how is the training going? Well, I just came back from a great track workout this evening. Mama Lisa has been attending the evening track workouts and her enthusiasm is def welcome after a long day at work. Today we ran 3 miles at our marathon goal pace. Seeing how every at track tonight was goo-gobs faster than me, I only ran 2.5 miles so they didn't have to wait for me to finish. But I rocked it! I ran about a 12:30 pace when usually I run about 13:20. Holla!

Thus far in training, my longest run was 15 miles. 15 miles! That is insane, right? Basically every weekend from now until race day I will be running well over half marathons. However, it is not going to be easy. While my 15 mile run 3 weeks ago felt pretty good, last weekend I was supposed to run 15-17 miles. My goal was 16. The first 8 miles were great, I was feeling strong... but then around mile 10 it all started to get hard. My left knee was getting stiff. The new gu I was trying wasn't sitting so well. And the song I had stuck in my head, Pussycat Dolls "I Hate This Part," started to get really annoying. So I pushed myself to go 14 miles. The last 2 were a strugle I was not expecting. I had to start making goals along the course. "If I can make it to the tree over there, I can walk for a minute." "If I can run to that water stop, I can stop and take a breather." Then, at the very end Michelle and Devina were cheering me on which got my adrenaline going. THEN, David was at the finish screaming my name and running me into the end with a high five. THAT is why I run with Team in Training. As the support is truly amazing and always seems to be there when you need it the most.

So that is where I am at now. This weekend we are running with the SF and Diablo Valley team in Mill Valley. It will be nice to have a change of scenery. Seattle full runners are only supposed to go 8-10 miles, but I think I will aim for 12 since I was lagging a bit last weekend. Plus, I think I finally got my gu fomula down and am going to stick with Raspberry Hammer Gel. Mmmmm. It tastes like jam.

Thanks again to everyone who has donated and everyone who continues to send their well wishes. You guys rock!

(I make it look easy, don't I?)

Sexy Moves

Ya, that's right... I've got running moves you've never seen before.

I call this one the "Getting ready for take off" move.
Here I am doing the "Sprinkler"move...
And finally the "Stop checkin' out my hot ass!" move.

Running with ducks

While I have had many experiences running in and around goose poop here in the east bay... running with ducks is a whole new experience. Except I am not actually running with ducks, more just duck noises... all the time... let me start from the beginning of the story.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed I was getting a few more aches and pains in my legs than usual. After I got over the initial panic that my body was falling apart, I realized it was actually about time for me to get a new pair of running shoes. So I headed over to La Foot and got fitted with some sexy new sneeks -->
I also improved the shoes with some new inserts and invested in my new favorite running tool, The Stick.

I tried my new shoes out on a short 4 mile run after work and noticed they squeaked a bit. I wasn't too concerned at the time. I thought maybe the inserts just needed to warm up a bit to the shoe and generally I was not bothered by the sound.

Then came a Saturday long run at the Redwood Regional Park. The trail is very much a traily trail in the Redwoods and basically the only sound other than yourself is some birds chirping and the rustle of an animal in the bushes. Immediately all I could hear was my shoes. The sound was something in between a duck squawk and techno base beats. At first it was awful. The noise was extremely annoying. But, when I found I was running alone, I found it to be a friendly noise and I grooved to the rhythm of the music I was creating. This, however, did not last long either. It got annoying once again. All I could think of was ducks. Rabid ducks chasing me at the same pace I was running. If I ran fast, so did the duck noises. It was terrible.

As soon as I got home I google searched sqweeky running shoes. Some people said you just have to deal with it, some people recommended putting papertowels under your inserts, but it wasn't unitl I read a recommendation to put vasoline in your shoe when it hit me. BODY GLIDE! See, if you arent a runner, you probably don't know what body glide is. It is this awesome anti-chaffing bar runners rub on all the potential chaffing areas before a run. See, it hit me, my shoes just had a bad chaffing problem! So, before track last week I tested my idea out. I popped out my inserts. Lubed them up with Body Glide. Put them back in. Put the shoes on and took a couple of steps... SILENCE. IT WORKED!!!!!

The moral of the story is: when in doubt, body glide it.

Totally unrelated

I think someone should buy me a penguin when I finish my marathon. I will need it to do chores during my recovery :)

Dinner?

Ever wonder what an endurance athlete eats for dinner?

Last night I had pecan and hazelnut crusted salmon from TJ's, some sauteed chard with garlic, and some orzo pasta. Mmmmm.

A reality check today

My team manager, Jen, sent the following message to the team today from our honoree Maddie's mom, Christine.

“Maddie went in on Friday night to the emergency room with a very high fever. She was let out once the temp started going down at4:30am. Saturday morning at 7:30am she was back up at the hospital and is still up at Kaiser. They admitted her, and they are trying to figure out if she has a viral or bacterial infection. So far none of the tests are showing what is going on with her. Her fever is very high, and at this time she is in isolation to try and avoid any further infection. Chrissy asked that I contact you to send out an email to the team, and ask for everyone to pray and send positive energy to Maddie right now."

Maddie and Christine have both been such a huge part of Team Heart and I hope you all can take a moment and send the some positive energy this week so we can see them both soon, happy and healthy, at our runs. This email reminded me of why I am out there training and fundraising for this amazing cause.

GO TEAM! and GO MADDIE!

Sunshine, Sundaes, and Bowling, OH MY!

I just finished a fun-filled TNT weekend. Here is a wee re-cap:

Saturday Morning - Met the team at Lake Merritt for a 6-8 mile run. The run was... OK. I just felt ill afterwards and had to stop after 2 laps of the lake (6.3 miles). Firstly, it was hot out. Hot+sun+running=Bad for Lizzie. Secondly, the first lap around the lake I ran with someone who runs faster than me and I ran with her, not at my own speed. Lastly, I didn't take any electrolytes with me on the run. So, basically it was my bad. Twas sad because a group from the team went out to breakfast after the run and I was too ill to join them. Thankfully, a bottle of gatorade and a cold shower later I was feeling much better and ready to host my SUNDAES FUNDRAISER PARTY!!!

Saturday Night - I combined my new move with a fundraiser and held a housewarming/sundaes/fundraising/costume party. Yes, I said costumes. The theme was... ME! People had to come dressed as me, or any other Lizzie, Elizabeth, or Keenan. The grande prize winner was Sarah who came as Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I think the iron on image of Elizabeth City's doplar radar of their weather was the ticket for her.
Some other top contenders were Jessica as me at Emily's wedding last weekend. See the resemblance?
And Megan who came as me back in the day when I played soccer and was known as "Killer."
And yes, I dressed up too... as my favorite Elizabeth... Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. As you can see, I kept Mr. Darcy close at all times :)
Sunday Night - Michelle and I planned a team bowling night for Team Heart in hopes to get the team to take some time off of training and relax and get to know each other. While it ended up being a rather small turnout, it was still tons of fun and by game 2, I finally bowled over 100! YAY!

Crosstraining?

Do you think following along to this video would be considered adequate crosstraining?

Letter to myself...

Dear Lizzie,

This is a formal request that you please stop slamming your right knee into hard objects such as short tables, desks, and fire hydrants.

Respectfully Yours,
Your right knee

Did I shamROCK it? You betcha I did!

I actually ran a half marathon last weekend. CRAZAY. I used the half marathon as part of my marathon training. I wanted to prove to myself that I could run a half without feeling like death at the end. AND I DID IT! Don't get me wrong, there were some aches and pains, but nothing like my other 2 halves. Plus, a day after I was barely sore at all! Hallelujah!!! The race was fun. My mom and Rachel ran it as a relay, so I had them to buddy up with along the course. The weather was fantastic for running and the scenery... well it wasn't the best of what Sacramento has to offer, but it wasn't bad.

I think the worst part of run was the water they were serving. BLECH. It was straight up hose water. Thankfully I had planned on mixing my own gatorade on the course, so by the time I had to fill up on gross hose water, I was just about ready to turn it into gatorade.

Wait, I was wrong, that was the 2nd worst thing about the race. The worst thing was getting to the finish line, realizing I had beated my fasted 1/2 time, ready to grab my victory medal and instead was greeted by some lame guy who on his megaphone said in a monotone voice, "Good job Lizzie, and the person running with Lizzie (Rachel). There are no medals for you. We ran out. We will mail you one."

WHAT???????????????

So obviously I replied, "ARE YOU SERIOUS??????" "Yes" he said. Needless to say, I was fuming. I was not only angry I didn't get a medal, but all of the runners/walkers behind me who had worked hard at training for this event didn't get one. That is just not right. BTW, I have still not received my medal in the mail. I am sending Fleet Feet and angry email about this.

Anyways... in Lizzie form, I made a video about the race so you can feel like you were then along with me. ENJOY!

Over the river and through the woods...

Saturday's long team run was at the Berkeley Marina. There was a great turnout from Team Heart. We have a lot of dedicated people on our team this season... YAY!

Marathoners were supposed to run 7-9 miles but since I had been off of running for a bit because of my butt muscle woes, I opted for just 8 miles. And it was AWESOME! Truthfully, I was rather shocked. I haven't run 8 miles since the Nike Half Marathon last year and assumed the last mile or 2 would be rough. Not the case. I even ran faster than my average pace. Go me, go me.

The best part about the run was at the very end. I was pretty sure I was among the last runners coming in, if not the last, since most of the team was running around 5-6 miles. So, I assumed most people would have headed home by the time I came to the finish line. Not the case! I would say at least 90% of the runners were at the end cheering me in! What rock stars! It was an awesome site at I rounded the last corner of the run.

Now, with all the good news, there was one bad part of the run. After my running buddy Michelle turned around and I was left running on my own, I got a song stuck in my head...

"Over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we go..."

Over and over again it went. And those are basically the only lyrics in the song I know, so you can imagine how repetitive and awful it was. I tried thinking of other songs, but it was like there was an evil block on my music knowledge and I could only think of grandmas house.

I took some photos and videos from the Saturday run that I will hopefully get posted tonight.

On another note, the Shamrock'n Half Marathon is this weekend. I just received an email with my bib pick-up info. I am super excited. The weather should be nice and cool. As long as I can get my mom and Rachel to take the run super slow and easy, I am going to try to run the whole thing even though I haven't quite trained enough for it yet. Otherwise, my goal will be to run 10 miles and walk the last 3, then run the last .1 mile because the race ends in the baseball stadium... FUN! I met up with Felix and Burke last night and Felix is also running the half on Sunday. He ran 12 miles yesterday and is def up for completing the whole race. Shout out to Felix!

Over and out,
Lizzie

R.I.C.E.

Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

Last week, whilst packing up for my recent move, I tweaked a lil some-something in my butt/hamstring area. I didn't think much of it until the next day when I went for a run and only got about .25 miles out and realized I was in pain. So... with a little R.I.C.E for a week I successfully started back running on Tuesday this week. Yay!

Tomorrow's run will be a doozy. I am supposed to do 6-9 miles. I am thinking I'll go for 8... unless I am feeling really good. I am still signed up to run the Shamrock'n half marathon next weekend... EEP! Not sure how that will go down. I don't want to push me or my butt muscles too far so I might walk part of it. We shall see.

Cajones!

Ya that's right. I have cajones! Last weekend I ventured out to the Berkeley Marina on a wet and wild sunday morning. When I left my apartment it was only sprinkling, so I thought the run would not be that bad... I was planning to do 8 miles. But, as I pulled into the Seabreeze parking lot where I like to start my runs... the rain picked up. BUT, I had the cajones to get out of the car and do that damn thing.

(view from car pre-run)

The run started OK. I got used to the rain and fogged up glasses. A bonus to running in the rain is that it seems only hot young men and me run in the rain! Holler! I ran past 4-5 guys along the trail, all of whom waved and said hi to me with big smiles on their faces. All I could think about was "I am so running in the rain all the time now!" So the run was going great. I was feeling good and even going at a faster pace than usual. I think when its cold and rainy out it helps cool down my body and my biggest enemy has always been overheating. So I ran a 4 mile loop which took me back to my car to fill up on water and have a gu. At this point the sprinkling was getting a little heavier... but nothing I couldn't handle. So after filling up my liquids I headed off in the other direction, towards Golden Gate Fields.

This is when things got tricky. At about a mile and a half out the moderate rain turned to POURING rain! Instantly I was drenched to bone. Seriously... think wet underwear. Gross. So I quickly turned around and headed back to my car. This is when the wind started to pick up. So not only was a soaked... I was running against the current. It's my cajones that got me back to the car in lickety split time. Thankfully I had a towel in the car to put on my seat so I didnt get it totally soaked when I got inside. Please note. Water resistance is useless in a downpour.

Seattle Rock n Roll Course has been posted...

AND THERE ARE HILLS!!!!! Noone told me Seattle has hills! I compared the Nike elevation to Seattle and its really not that different. OH GAWD!!!

Anyways, here is the course:

Here is the elevation chart... *shudder*:

Quick Update + VIDEO!

1) Went to Marathon University this weekend. It was an informative as ever. Plus, this season we had the bonus addition of a really hot trainer. Look at those arm muscles!

2) Ran around the track with Aderra and we practiced our flying...
3) Ran 6 miles on Monday and followed it up with some stretching and a tall glass of chocolate milk... mmmmmm

4) I made a video of some of Coach Al's memorable sayings/words of wisdom. Check it out here:

Chocolate Milk = Recovery Drink?

This is the greatest news I've heard all day... Chocolate Milk works just as well as a recovery drink after a long run or bike ride. I can not wait to try out this theory :)

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-302--11411-0,00.html

Donation Shout Outs!!!

I wanted to send out some special shout outs to some awesome family and friends who have already donated to to find a cure for cancer. They are:

• Mom and Dad
• Katie
  
• Becky
• Robert
• Charlotte
• Grace
• Patzelt's

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO TEAM HEART!!!

The Spring 2009 TNT season has officially kicked off! Coach decided to name us Team Heart. At a recent event one of the Bay Area honorees got up and spoke about his experiences with fighting Leukemia and training with the team. In a recent emergency visit to the hospital his doctor told him that if his heart wasn't as strong as it was, he would not have lasted through the night. He told the doctor he survived because he had a TNT heart.

Thursday we had our first track workout. That would be the 5:50am workout. Ouch. It was as hard as I remembered it to be, to get up that early. But, once I got to the track, was pumped up by a Coach Al speech, and started running, my frown turned upside down. It is still dark out at 6 in the morning and the view of Berkeley from the track is def waking up early in the mornings for.

Saturday morning was our first team run. IT WAS AWESOME! We have a great team this season and I am so looking forward to all of the fun we are going to have. Michelle and I debuted our oober cool spirit awards before the run. Wacky tacky visors!(Michelle and I doing our Spirit Captain duties)

I think they were winners as the 3 runners who got them totally wore them all morning. YAY!

(2 of the Spirit Award winners!!!)

The run was at the San Leandro Marina. I only ran 1.5 miles so I could get back early to cheer the team in. Saturdays run was a first for many of our "of the couch" runners and I wanted to make them feel good about their first team run.

Some more photos from Saturdays run...

(Running the trail)

(view from the trail)

(3 of our honorees, Louie, Maddie, and Matt. Louie, Maddie's mom, and Matt are training with the team this season!!!)

Since I am training for the Shamrock'n Half Marathon in March, I knew I needed to up my milleage from the Teams training schedule so after San Leandro, I ran another 1.5 miles in Berkeley. Then, on Sunday I ran 4 miles. So far so good. Tomorrow buddy runs start, then more track, Saturday runs, gu's, etc. etc. I couldn't be more excited! GO TEAM!

Evil Cold

A haiku...

Evil cold. Yucky.
Go away so I can run.
My legs are antsy.

Baby Steps

I ran 3 miles on Sunday. It wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. I did make the mistake of running in Berkeley which meant the 1st half was a gradual downhill, and the 2nd half was all uphill. Oi! But it did feel good to run again and I could feel my legs tingle with happiness later in the day. I found a run on Mapmyrun.com that I had not done yet and it took me to neighborhoods of Berkeley I had not seen before. It was awesome! Plus, since it was gorgeous out on Sunday, everyone and there dog was out and about on the streets which meant really good people watching. I even happened upon a sword wielding tai chi kind of class. Sweet.

I tried to get myself to pack my gym bag this morning to go to 24 hour fitness after work, but totally failed. So, instead I will try to be good and do a little run after work. This means running in the dark, aka running with my headlamp on. Hot, I know.

Hello Seattle!

Decision made! That's right ladies and gents, Lizzie Keenan is going to train for a full 26.2 mile marathon. Can I get a "what-what!"

I have signed up for my 3rd season with Team in Training. This time last year I could not finish one mile without feeling like I was going to pass out. Since I have completed 2 half marathons, some 5k's and participated in a couple marathon relay teams. Can we say, addicted much?

This season, along with my TNT buddy Michelle, I will be a Community Captain aka team cheerleader. And this season, I will be training for the inaugural Seattle Rock 'n Roll Marathon. Yippee!!!


The marathon is at the end of June so a little over 5 months to do the damn thing. After volunteering at 2 TNT info meetings this week I am really starting to get pumped up. The season does not officially start till the end of January, but being part of the staff means it starts now. So it probably means its time for me to get my running legs back. They took a nice holiday vacation :)

And, with another season of Team in Training means more blogging, more videos, and more FUNdraising!

Stay tuned...

P.S. Here are some photos from my last couple of races...

Above: Team 3 Brunettes and a Wannabe (not to be confused with Team Keenans and a Wannabe) after the California International Marathon Relay

Above: Fighting our way through the crowds at the Sacramento Run to Feed the Hungry

If a 90 year old woman can do it... so can I!

Here is an inspiring story about a 90 year old woman who will be participating in the Honolulu Marathon in a couple of weeks. WOWIE!!!

http://www.kitv.com/cnn-news/18048676/detail.html

If she can do it, then why can't I? I am in the middle of deciding if I should do the Spring Season of TNT next year and if so, do I want to train for another half marathon... or up the anti and try for a FULL!?!

2nd Half Marathon down, who knows how many to go!

First off, major apologies for not keeping up with my running blog. But, not to fear, that does not mean I haven't been running, because I have! And a whole lot of it! Running is kinda like Pringles, once you pop, you can't stop!So, to make a long running story short, I completed the Nike Women's half marathon last weekend with 20,000 runners. 5,000 of them were TNT runners from around the US. How cool is that? It was, for many reasons, a totally different experience than the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon. At Nike there were a bazillion supporters along the whole course which def helped keep up my spirits, especially during the 1.5 mile section of ALL UPHILL running! Some of those supporters included my AWESOME parents, Justin (Jessica's boyfriend), and the twirly flag thing!


And, I had the oh-so-fabulous Jessica to run with!!! I was to grateful to run this event with Jessica because it was her very first half marathon and first season with TNT and I was the one who convinced her to sign up for it. SHE ROCKED!

I had this strange goal in my head the this half marathon would be easier than Avenue since I had "been around the block" before. Boy was I wrong. The hills were killer. The last 2 miles all I wanted to do was walk, but Jessica and I persevered and kicked the courses ass and ran with smiling faces all the way to the finish. Mainly we were smiling because it was over, but also because we DID THE DAMN THING!

And the piece de la resistance? A SEXAY Tiffany's necklace as a finishers medal passed out by a SEXAY SF fireman in a TUX!!!! Hummena Hummena.

Overall it was an awesome weekend spent with my best bud Jessica, my parents, and my Fall TNT TEAM FIRED UP! It was great to share this event with my fellow teammates and can't wait for more in the future.

My TNT season is not over yet so I promise I will be better about updating this thing.
If you are interested in more sexay footage of me in spandex, here are some links to photos from the race!

http://bobbyk.smugmug.com/gallery/6325663_LHJSE//398883209_cssdy

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizzie.keenan/NikeHalfMarathon#

Team Fired Up!

A new season, a new team name. Team Fired Up had it's first team run this morning and it was awesome! We ran along the Alameda coast, the same place we started last season. Except this time I ran 3 miles. Last time I ran/walked 2. That's not to say that 3 miles wasn't a little tough. I am def not in as good of shape now as I was when I ran the half marathon in May, but I am pretty sure I will get there a lot faster than last time.

The team was really pumped up and everyone ran really well. Thankfully we had 2 awesome things at the end of the run. 1) PB&J's and 2) Cameron, one of the team's honorees, was at the run to cheer us at the finish line.

After the run a bunch of us met up at a cafe in Alameda for HaHa's and fundraising talk.

Coach Al and Cameron

Cameron

Team Fired Up

Me and my mentee Heather

Yes... those are bunny ears :)

Over and out,
Lizzie

Hitting the pavement again...

That's right friends, one half marathon was not enough for Lizzie... If you haven't heard already, I have signed up to participate in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societies Team in Training Program again to train for the San Francisco Nike Women's Half Marathon in October! Don't worry, I won't be hounding you for money again, instead of fundraising for the season, I will be mentoring 6-8 mentees and help them reach both their fundraising and training goals.

So, expect more stories of injuries from me, more photos, and hopefully more videos!!!

Over and Out,
Lizzie aka creator of Lizorade :)

Finally! Race Day!

I finally finished my race day video. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks again to everyone who gave their support to me during my training and support to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

It's coming!

I swear, a complete rundown of my race with a photo montage and video footage is coming soon! I've been busy busy busy this past week but promise to focus on it tonight!

Stay tuned!

GO TEAM!!!

I did it! I am still alive! And I am injury free!

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was such an awesome weekend and I want to send a special thanks to my parents, sister, and Aaron for coming out and cheering me on and to my roomies for creating a welcome home table for me including funfetti cake :)

I am still pretty tired from all the excitement, running, and driving so you will have to wait another day for the full run down with photos and videos.

All I can really say at this point is... I can't wait for my next half marathon in October :)

Oh, and I decided full marathons are stupid and I really don't feel the need to do one. HaHa!

1 day 11 hours and 39 minutes!!!!

I can't believe this is it already! After 2 1/2 months of training I am finally here, packing for my race on Sunday! Earlier today I was filled with nerves but now I have calmed down and hopefully can stay calm up until Sunday morning. I have gone through my list twice now and have everything I could possibly need. NO I DONT! Shoot, almost forgot my pre-race warm clothes...

There, now I am packed!

The plan for tomorrow is to carpool with my TNT buddies Charlotte and Jessica to the race area near Humboldt Park. We will pick up our bibs and timing chips. BTW, I got a really cool bib number. Wait for it.... 3663! Doesn't it just look sexy? Though I have this strange feeling it is the numbers of the devil, or is that 9's? Anyways, after race pickup we will check into our hotel which is 40 miles from the race! Ugh. Then off to the oh-so-famous pasta party where I will meet up with my parents in their "East Bay Rocks" shirts and we will enjoy one last carbo load. Then I will attempt to sleep. Then I will run 13.1 miles. Holy Bajessus.

What I love so much about this event and running is that it is nothing like swim team. It's true. It is great because while it is a race, the only person I am racing against is myself and that is hellsa easy ;) In swim team I remember always getting super nervous about a race and freaking out before, during, and after, and always feeling defeated when I never got 1st place. But on Sunday, I get the fancy medal no matter how fast I go! What a deal!

Alright, that is all you will get for now. Think of my on Sunday morning around 10:30 and send me some happy vibes... that is when I will start hurting. Mile 7-8 are the hardest because that is when I tend to get bored listening to myself in my head. Maybe on Sunday I will start talking to the redwoods. I am sure they have some great stories... Ok, now its really time for bed.

Ciao Ciao,
Lizzie

The Ice Bath...

So after the 10 mile run a week and a half ago, it was recommended that we take ice baths to help heal our muscles faster. I thought this would be a video worthy event and enlisted my handy camera woman Burke to help record the event. This is what went down...

10 Miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes my friends, tis true, I ran 10 miles on Saturday. And with a smile on my face! DOUBLE DIGITS!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Ok, enough with the screaming. It was a pretty awesome feeling though, especially coming off of my knee issues. I took things really slow the first 2 miles and could still feel my knee a bit. But, after a good stretch at the 2 mile water stop my knee felt great and on I went for the next 8 miles!

13.1 miles doesn't seems as daunting anymore.

I want to send a shout out to Terri Dean for running with me most of the way. THANKS! There is definitely a benefit to have someone to talk to when running... otherwise you start to get lost in your own head and my head gets bored sometimes :)

This is a post-run, post-pb&j smile :)

T-Minus 10 days till the race! Oi! Oi! Oi!

$2700!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU LINDSAY !!!

I just wanted to send a HUGE shout out to my old roomie/England buddy/Clay Aiken fan Lindsay Feller for getting me to my fundraising goal of $2700 to find a cure for cancer!!! YOU ROCK!

Brenda Donato Rainbow Run

On Sunday my parents drove up to Walnut Creek to meet me for the 1st Annual Brenda Donato Rainbow 5k Fun run/walk. Brenda Donato is one of our honorees on the East Bay Team who we lost a year ago to a battle with Leukemia.

Brenda was diagnosed in February 2005 with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She spent 3 months in the hospital before receiving an autologous stem-cell transplant (with her own stem-cells). After leaving the hospital, she became very active with Team In Training and completed the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in October 2005, the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon in January 2006 and the Wildflower Olympic Distance Triathlon in May 2006. Still feeling healthy, she began to train for the June 2006 Alaska half marathon.

On June 9, 2006, she found out that her cancer had returned. After using her own stem cells for a transplant in 2005 she would require a foreign donor's cells for another stem-cell transplant. Most fortunately, a 9 out of 10 match was found and Brenda had that transplant on September 20 2006.

While recovering, Brenda faced many physical and mental challenges. 110 days after her transplant, Brenda developed graft vs. host disease of the lungs. She bravely battled this new obstacle that reduced her lung capacity to 20% of normal. She passed away on April 14, 2007, surrounded by her loving family and friends.

Just 2 days before she passed away, she posted this final message:

Through these years I have absolutely NO regrets. I worked hard and played even harder.

I never said a swear word, always went to school on time, and won the PE award in high school. In fact, 3 days ago I just crawled up the stairs.

And now, I'm back in bed still hooked up, still using a commode, and wearing a purple t-shirt that says (in orange writing) "freakishly strong" while covered with a wonderful TNT blanket that was knitted for me just weeks ago. Now I peacefully await and end the battle that has attacked my 36-year-old body surrounded by my most beautiful family and friends. Surreal, but true, this is really happening.

We all wait. Me, my family and friends that are here now, and all of you. Even though you're not here with me physically (it would simply be impossible for all of you to fit in this room), I want you to know I feel you and know you're here. I love all of you.

Thank you for loving and supporting me. Please continue to pour it out on my three boys.

Brenda has a lot of history with the East Bay team and I was honored to take part in the celebration of her life on Sunday with my fellow teammates and parents.

Even though I was fresh off my knee boo-boo, I decided my knee felt strong enough to walk the 5k with my parents. We even had supportive hecklers behind us the whole way. Thanks Tori, Aiden, and Sarah!