Elite 18

Well, who'd a thunk it! I actually completed an 18-mile run this past weekend. Whoa! I was told by the coaches that if we could complete 18 miles we were pretty much set for makin' it through the marathon. Heck, I guess if you can run 18 what's 8 more! So, I'm feelin' pretty darn proud of myself. :-)

The tricky part this weekend was taking on one of those pesky Griffith Park hills at mile 14. Coupled with the heat, it was pretty tough but not impossible. I had to concentrate on just puttin' one foot in front of the other, no matter how vertical the hill felt and how intensely the sun was burnin' my forehead. Once at the summit, then came the sweet victory of the turn around and descent -- pure nirvana. It felt good to get that run out of the way and I feel closer to being ready for Florence.

As for progress on other fronts, my fundraising deadline came and went on September 22nd. I was able to raise $3050 -- a hearty thank you to all for your support!!

I am a bit shy of my $3800 goal, but I will continue collecting until race day. So, if you'd like to donate you may still do so. Just follow the directions in my blog intro.

ALSO, be sure to stop by the way too cool blog of my fellow Grete Waitz teammate, JR (no, not Ewing!), and offer your support: runnerla4119.blogspot.com. Its all about teamwork and she's got some hilarious outtakes and stories on our runs and news on great events in support of APLA! Check it out!

That's all for now folks!

Rochelle :-)

CDC Urges Routine AIDS Testing

Today the Center for Disease Control (CDC) urged that people between the ages of 13 and 64 be routinely tested for AIDS. See link to article below.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/21/cdc.test.ap/index.html

Study On AIDS Deaths in NYC


Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060918/ts_nm/aids_deaths_dc

Summary: "An analysis of 68,669 New York City residents infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, found that of those who died between 1999 and 2004, 26.3 percent died of something other than HIV. Cocktails of drugs that suppress the virus have been credited with allowing HIV patients to lead near-normal lives, and once- or twice-a-day dosing now makes them more manageable. Physicians everywhere must remember that most of their HIV-infected patients will survive to develop the diseases that plague the rest of us."

Easin' On Down The Road

An easy 8 miles this past weekend and no worries. Only the searing pain on the bottom of my feetses as I near the end of the useful life of my trusty ole Asics. I hate to let them go, but its time to switch over to my bright, neon orange Saucony's. The Asics got me through the half-marathon in '04 and halfway through training for this marathon. But, I do not dare use them for the 18 miles we have to run this weekend lest I stumble. Sigh. In memoriam, they will sit atop my office shelf where I will stare at those baby blues fondly.

Yep, 18 miles Saturday. Well, actually Sunday for me as I will be doing Habitat for Humanity on Saturday. A teammate put the distance in perspective this way:

18 miles = 2 roundtrips across the Bay Bridge or 8.75 roundtrips across the Brooklyn Bridge
18 miles = 1-way trip along the 10 from West Covina to Huntington Park
18 miles = 1 roundtrip from Echo Park to Beverly Hills on Sunset Blvd.
18 miles = 6 times around the Rose Bowl (not the just around the Bowl, but around the parking lot, Rose Bowl, and part of the golf course)

A heady task for us all for sure!

Ciao,

Rochelle

A Soldier's Story

Check out this video of a soldier stationed in Kuwait, tackling a marathon. A true hero many times over.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=6dd8b9d4e8fbe9c664c9fb9b91882d3e.683520&fr=yvmtf

CNN AIDS Special

Be sure to watch "Where Have All the Parents Gone" on CNN presents, Saturday, September 23rd @ 8:00 p.m. This program will examine the orphaning of children due to the AIDS epidemic. Its presented by Christiane Amanpour, clearly the best news journalist on television today.

Grete Waitz...

for no one!

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Here we are, in all our splendor, the G-Park Florence Marathoners! Yes, that's me in the rear with the big hair!

My team is one of 16 AIDS Marathon teams training at the park. Our team is named after a famous marathoner.

Here, we are posing after completing our 14 mile run a few weeks ago.

Sweet 16

Whoa, this one was a bear. I guess this is what is meant by the phrase "turning point"! I had to really fight for this one, as my hips and lower back gave me mucho problemos. Lots of burnin' and achin' towards the end of the run, around miles 12 and 13. But I sloughed on through, snacking on ClifShots and Propel to take my mind off the pain. There was also a gang of handsome young men, running shirtless and lapping me repeatedly, who provided a welcome distraction! That's what I get for slacking off on my maintenance runs during the week. Naughty, naughty, bad, bad. Never again!! I'm told I also need to stop running on my heels and push off on the balls of my feetses.

Thankfully, I can pull it back together since we have an 8-mile recovery run this Saturday. There was the sweet feeling of completing the miles, but then came the realization that I have a lot more work to do. Its off to the gym for this speedy marathoner!

Ciao,

Rochelle

Fighting AIDS in India

Attached is a link to an article detailing the AIDS fight in India:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060912/hl_nm/aids_india_state_dc_1

DONATE TODAY!

Only $950 to go to reach my $3800 target!

Fundraising deadline September 22nd!

Help me reach my goal by making your tax-deductible donation today.

Donate in one of two ways:

ONLINE: You can make a donation by visiting the Training Program's website at http://www.aidsmarathon.com. Once on the site, simply click on "Sponsor A Runner." My training site is Los Angeles , so click there, and my runner number is 4606;

OR,

BY MAIL: Submit a pre-printed donor form. I can send the form to you by e-mail or snail mail. Just post a comment to this message by clicking "Comments" and provide your address.

Thanks for your support!

Rochelle

Motorin' Along

All is well on the road to Florence. Another breezy recovery run of 7 miles this past weekend, so no worries. Looking forward to this weekend when we take a leisurely jog of 16 miles. I'll be replacing my shoes tomorrow and switching to a fresh pair of Asics, which I hope to break in somewhat before Saturday. The heat has returned, and unfortunately we're setting out late at 7am from G-Park. :-0 Much water will be needed.

** FUNDRAISING DEADLINE EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 22ND **

Yes, you still have time to stick it to Uncle Sam and make your tax-deductible donation. Thanks to the support of many, I am at $2,200, so only another $1,600 to go! PLEASE, submit your contribution TODAY and help me make it down the home stretch.

Catch ya'll next week. Ciao!

Rochelle