12, is the magic number

Tuesday:
I finally ran on my own, finally. I was really holding out, I mean it's been almost 2 full months of training, and I have not run on my own once, until today. Tonight Bonnie and I set out to do a 40 minute run. We knew the run would be short, so we pushed. We ran hills and tried to run hard. It was hard, but fun running with just Bonnie, and we both did pretty good.

Wednesday:
Wednesday night is when we do our endurance workouts. Tonight was fun, we met at a pizza place downtown and ran over the bridges of Portland. If you do not live here, you would be impressed with the bridges. There are about 10 of them heading into Portland, and you can run back on forth over them all day. That was our run tonight: run a mile, and then for 15 minutes, run 30 seconds hard & then 30 seconds light, I loved it. Bon & I ran it together, so yes, I kept up with Bonnie. We take on 12 this Saturday, and I know I feel ready. I like the new challenge of the new longest distance run, bring it.

Saturday was a good day for us, just not an easy day at all. The Portland half marathon is in two weeks, and this course we ran was similar to that. Like I was saying last week, you love the fall back (in distance) runs, but the next week it's hard. We did 10, 10 again, 7 last week and 12 this week. That jump from 7 to 12 is hard. The run went pretty good though, it just took everything I had to finish it, same as Bonnie. I did tell John at around mile 7 that I was going to beat Bonnie on this run, he laughed at me. I ran my 12 miles at 9.3 minute miles, which is pretty good for me. Our Coaches were telling us to pull back on speed because we should run slower on longer runs. But it was funny, John and Bonnie and I started off the run with "the fast kids", and I was determined to try to finish with them. We ran with them for about 11 of the 12 miles, not bad. So we didn't finish with them, but I did beat Bonnie. Granted it was by about 5 steps, but you have to take those small victories when you get them. Just the fact that John & I kept up with Bonnie til the end was impressive.

That's about it, good run, logged 12 more, and ready for more. Thanks for reading.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/rnr10/ssullivugm


Sean

Did you hear that???

In case any of you were wondering what that sound was on Saturday, it was the sound of me Krushing it. And Timmy, you may have heard Bonnie as well, because she krushed it too. What a day to say the least. The stage was set for a couple of small town kids that are trying to do the right thing, to absolutely krush it, and that is what we did.

As you can guess, both Bonnie & I had great runs on Saturday. Weather-wise, it was one of the best days of the year. It was in the low 70's at it's warmest, just stellar running weather. We start our run at 8am, and by 8:45 it was already a perfect temperature. And we ran my favorite route, the good ol' OMSI route, along the trail, for the first time this year. I slap Bon on the butt and said bye to her before we even left the gates, I know whats up. It's funny I usually do not even start with Bon anymore because it lasts for such a short amount of time.

So John & I (picture above) make our way out and we are not even 2 minutes in and he asks me if we want to try to run with Kate today, and I was kinda laughing, til I realized he was serious. Oh yeah John, great idea. Let's attempt to run with Kate; one of the fastest girl we train with, ha. I go "nah Johnny, I am perfectly fine running at my regular pace, but she's right there 20 runners up near Bonnie if YOU feel catching up". We both silently agreed that was a bad idea, but it was kind of funny to hear John even throw that out there. I even remember telling John how, "I don't like to train faster than I normally do bc it could screw up my training". What a wuss statement. Playing it a little too safe sometimes Seanie boy, because you have to step it up once in awhile, don't you?

So John always has his GPS, which is awesome. And on today's menu we are only running 7, sweet. And it's the second to last time we ever pull back on our mileage, everyone loves these days. So John tells me about 3 miles in we are clipping like a 9 minute mile, I say "no shit". And what do you know, we were. That's really good for us snails who normally run 10 min. miles. But then I start wondering if we are running this fast, why don't we see Bonnie? I will tell you that in a bit now.

So it's a 3.5 out and back. So we hit the aid station and our friend Jan is there, and we were running with her for a bit and she runs like a 9.20 mile or so. And Jan says "man you guys were flying". I saw Bon at the station and I realized if I was flying, Bon must have really been flying. So we make our way back and John and I started running a little faster. I remember John saying "you need a nice hill to chill you out". Now keep in mind, John & I are the poster boys of the 10 min. mile guys, we could wear T shirts that said that. So we hit about the 5 mile mark and I am not feeling the affects at all. And I realize that I have the chance to put together a legit run for once, goddamn! I keep pushing it and John is starting to fall off a bit. I really want to finish this run with John, us two slugs don't ever run this fast, except for today.

Coach Karl pulls up out of nowhere and starts running with us on his phone, while possibly finishing up his coffee. It's so funny how effortless running is for Karl, he could juggle and run with us two. So John's a few feet behind me with Karl and I start yelling things to Karl like:

"Dude don't even bother trying to keep up with me today"
and
"Stay on that phone pal, because you don't want none of this today son!"

Karl finishes making a sandwich while running with us and leaves us. I was psyched though that Karl got to see Johnny & I crushing it though. But then I was thinking "he was on the phone, he has no clue how fast we are running, damn it".

So I am at about mile 6 and I decide to go Hulk Hogan on the route; the shirt's coming off for this victory lap in! Hulkamania is going to run wild today! I look behind me and John's tailing off further, and I am bummed, but I can't slow down now. So I keep running at my pace and I turn around about 100 ft from the finish and guess who's pulling up? My man John!!! I am so stoked, and he is flying by the way. I am just laughing right now so hard writing this bc I think my man surprised the hell out of himself, shit he surprised the HELL out of me. I tell John how stoked I am he caught up, and he is as well. I was psyched he wanted to finish this run with me as much as I did with him. So we are about 50 ft from the finish and I say "you know how I like to finish these", which is full on sprinting. And John says "dude, I just sprinted to catch you". I say "come on, let's be famous today" and we both bolted.

We finished the run at 8.38 per mile! Hands down a personal best for John & I. Oh and by the way, Bonnie ran the entire run with that fast girl Kate, and Bonnie ran at 8.15 per mile, wow. Bonnie usually hovers right around a 9 min. mile so this was a personal best for her as well. So it was an amazing day for the TNT crew.

Thanks for reading everyone!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/rnr10/ssullivugm

Sean

10 more fillmore

Today was our second 10 miler, in a row. We knew before our run it was going to be emotional, as there was an incredibly sad loss for TNT this past week: we lost one of our honored teamates, Hunter, and he was 4 years old. Each season for TNT we honor cancer victims, so we run for them, and it is pretty powerful. But can you imagine losing your child at the age of 4? And Hunter fought the fight of fights, but sadly lost in the end. The coaches passed out Hunter's picture and safety pins so we could all run with Hunter on this run. I would need his inspiration later.

So the first 6 miles we just ran 3 miles out and back. So I hit the TNT aid station and took off to run my last 4 miles. Well the first 6 were ok for me, and then it was almost all hills for the last 4. I don't know if it is the bh's or the lack of personal training during the week, but the last four miles were rufffffff. A few times on the last four miles, I couldn't catch my frigging breath at all. And I was running with my friends Kurt & John, which always helps, as running alone blows. My kankle started bothering me again, probably 'cause I've sprained it three or four times. At about mile 8 I am in pain, I can't catch my breath, and I was just struggling. So I rubbed Hunter's picture on my chest and was like "do it for the man". It helped me focus and get my breathing down. It's crazy how hard it is to run in any type of rhythm when you are sucking wind. So John runs with his his GPS, and as we pull in to finish our run, John assures Kurt and I that we only ran 9.7 and that we need to run another .3 to hit 10 miles. I told John he was going in the lake, I was half kidding. But the run did end good for me and of course Bonnie crushed it, even the hills. She is so much cooler than me nowadays...

Now two years ago when we trained together, we were one less in the Sullivan Clan. So when we got home we both could just crash. Now when we get home, we have to take care of Taylor. Normally I don't even take naps, but these post-run naps aren't even an option. Your legs are so tight, and you are physically exhausted. I am walking like Frankenstein already. Bonnie said to me at one point "now begins the lazy Saturdays", and man is she right. Because even after your siesta you are just out of it, and sore as hell. Feeling "screwed up" seems to sum it up nicely I think. So we let our babysitter go home and we both hit the wall. I am so tired I can't even change out of my smelly running clothes, oh and Taylor is sick with conjunctivitis and one hell of a cold. Fun I tell ya for two exhausted parents. So I plead with her to let me nap first, and to be honest I wasn't really even asking. I was going down hard. So I pass out for about an hr and Bon wakes me up for second duty. So we got through it but as these runs get longer and we get home even more exhausted, this is going to get more and more difficult. But we will manage, we always do. Maybe we will keep the sitter sround while we sleep, who knows.

But it's all so worth it, every bit of it. As much as we hurt and struggle as we train, it pales one million percent to what all cancer victims endure, and their families. And so everyone reading knows, I do not plan on always asking people reading this to donate on my blogs, but if you are planning on donating, our recommittment deadline is this Friday. We need to have 25% of our fundraising goal to stay in the TNT trainig, and we are a ways away from that. So if you are planning on donating (thank you!), could you try to donate by Thursday? We will be extremely thankful. And guys a $20 donation will go a long way for us, thanks.

We love you guys and thanks for reading!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/rnr10/ssullivugm

Sean & Bonnie

Jumping right back in with a nice long one...

Saturday was interesting to say the least, but I think a little morning chaos can be good for you. We were told we were going to be running 100 minutes on Saturday, on the steepest street in Portland called Terwilliger. So some basic math here, I run about ten minute miles, so I am looking at running 10 hilly miles. Last week I only ran 5, so I was a little unnerved about running this far, and the route. And a slight piece of history here with this street: This is the street the infamous "Shamrock Run" takes place on, the one I ran 2 years ago the day after getting annilated with my brother Mark on St Patty's. I thought I was going to collapse on that run, It is the run that made me start writing my blog. I was still drunk that year and ran 9 miles. Not a good idea.

So every weekend has been funny for Bonnie & I, as we try to figure out who will watch Taylor for our Saturday long runs. Well, we had no one this weekend, but we got the ok from Coach Karl that we could bring Taylor to the workout. Now Bonnie is a Mentor for our running group, so she was going to skip our group run, and just hang out with Taylor, and maybe work one of the aid stations. We figured when we got home she could run on her own, but that's just no fun.

We arrived right at 8am and at around 8:10 I was off. The route for today is run up this huge hill and down the other side, and then come on back. The run was intimidating for me also because on the way to the car I was carrying Taylor in her car seat, and I feel this tweak in my back. Unreal, right before this long run. The whole ride there I was nervous about how much it was going to affect my run. The good news is it didn't at all. I ended up having an unbelievable run, I was so pumped. And it was one of the nicest days we've had all winter, and my back never bothered me at all.

So I am on my way back down Terwilliger and I see Bonnie running up the hill, and no Taylor. Bonnie did bring our jogging stroller but she wasn't supposed to be running. I guess Bonnie got antzy and got the ok to take Taylor for her run. So Bonnie loads up Taylor and starts running up this insane hill with her. You would laugh if you saw how steep this street is by the way. So Bonnie gets about 40 minutes into her run and Linda, one of the running captains, was on her way down the hill and thought Bonnie was insane pushing Taylor up this mountain of a street, so she took Taylor back to our home base. So I pass Bonnie on my way down and I see her, but no Taylor. Bonnie runs by me and says "Linda has Taylor", and then Bonnie's gone. I say to myself, ok, but who the hell is Linda? I have no clue.

One of the best things about doing our marathon with Team in Training is it really is like one big family. I met Linda at the bottom and she was great. Taylor was in great hands and Bonnie ended up having a kick ass run as well. And knowing that we are raising money for cancer research makes every long run worthwhile. That being said, if everyone reading this could find a way to donate just $20, we would come close to our goal of $2,900 that we need to raise. And if you donate on our website, it's so easy, and your name will scroll by on our website, very cool.

You can copy & paste the website below. Bonnie & I are running the San Diego Rock n Roll marathon for cancer, and we need your help. Thanks everyone!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/rnr10/ssullivugm