Getting ready for the Mountainback

I've been away from the blog for a while, though I don't really have a good excuse for that... perhaps after such a busy, adventurous summer, I am afraid that the everyday aspects of life may not be as exciting to read about.  I've read through some other 'mommy blogs' the last few weeks and am finding that the most popular ones seem to rant, swear, and complain about something - kids, work, spouse, celebrities, you name it.  And even though I could probably find a list of things to complain about myself, I prefer to focus on the positive things in life.  If I thought too much about the other stuff, I doubt I would get out of bed.

The biggest 'negative' in my life right now is unemployment.  But even that, in many ways, is a blessing.  One thing that has been really nice about all this extra time that I have (the time that I am not looking for a job, caring for the kids, volunteering, etc.) is that I am out running again.  A lot.  Between my Warrior Wound back in June and a busy schedule with the kids, I don't think I logged more than 50 miles all summer.  But in September, I logged 65 (you can check out my running progress via RunKeeper).  Not a record by any stretch, but it sure is nice to get my running groove back again!

I try to schedule a handful of running events throughout the year so I have something to motivate me in my training; right now, the goal is the Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile Relay and Ultramarathon.  Now before you start thinking I have completely lost my mind over the last nine months, I am NOT running all 50 miles myself.  But, I will be doing 10.4 of them... and I am really excited about this race.  I've had friends run this race before and I've heard many good things about the experience.  I almost entered last year with a group from work, but we somehow never got our act together in time.  I am glad things worked out this year (though with a different group of people) as the event benefits one of my favorite local charities - the Bob Perks Fund.

The Fund was established in memory of (surprise) Bob Perks back in 2005... Bob was just 42 years old when he lost a three-year battle with cancer.  I worked with Bob for years and his death hit me hard, not just because he was young, but because he had such young children.  As a mother, I grieved for what his two sons lost.  And even now, I will sometimes think about how lucky I am to be here with my kids, to watch them grow, to create memories with them.

Bob was very active with Penn State's chapter of Coaches vs. Cancer and always wanted a way to make an impact locally, but he was never really able to do that.  His wife, Doreen, started the fund to provide financial assistance to local families struggling to make ends meet while in the midst of their own fight with cancer.  The organization provides money for basic necessities - things like rent, utilities, groceries, gas, etc. that patients often cannot afford because their treatment has taken them away from work or depleted their savings.  Last year, they allocated more than $130,000 to roughly 130 families.  If you are a resident of State College or the surrounding area, I encourage you to check out the charity, donate your time or your money (or maybe even both) to this worthwhile cause.

This year's run will be on October 23... just two weeks from today.  I am excited for this, but I am intimidated as hell too.  The first of the two legs I am scheduled to run is considered "difficult".  It is 6.2 miles long and includes a roughly 600 foot rise in elevation, most of it over a brutal one-mile stretch.  I ran this as part of the Discovery Series about a month ago and thought that I was going to die right there on the side of the mountain.  I've spent much of the last few weeks attempting to train for the run, though I am not really sure how much better off I am now than I was a month ago.  A friend suggested I could probably power-walk the hill as fast as I could run it, and he's probably right.  But I will give it my best shot.  If nothing else, I figure I have a leg up now on training for the Nittany Valley Half Marathon (which features a mile-long climb starting just short of the 12-mile mark).

My second leg, the final leg of the Mountainback is "easy"... 4.2 miles, mostly downhill.  With eight of us running an expected average pace of 10 minutes per mile, I just hope I reach the finish line before dark.  Every day is shorter than the one before it, so if we don't get one of the early start times, that's a legitimate worry.  Of course, it may also help me turn in the fastest 4.2 mile run of my life... the last thing I want is to be alone in the woods in the dark, no matter how good a cause I am running for.