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