my return to the bloggosphere

it might only be temporary.

i think my last post was in june! crazy. needless to say a lot has happened, and i have been a busy girl.

first of all, it was a HOT a$$ summer!!! i started my training for the marine corp marathon in july amid morning temps at 5 a.m. of 85 degrees, with a heat index of 95. we were baking and sweating buckets. training in that SUCKED, but we perservered.

second, i decided to go back to school to work on my master's degree. i graduated with my undergraduate degree 15 years ago, so it was quite a decision and an adjustment. i work at the university so i am lucky to be able to attend for free, two classes per semester. one semester is almost down, and we'll see about the next 4! oh yeah, master's in public relations, since that's kinda what i do.

third, and maybe the biggest, i was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. probably in august, when my long runs were getting up into the 16-18 range, with a 20 looming, i really began struggling with breathing issues after about 12 miles. my chest would feel tight, i'd have trouble taking in more than a little bit of air, i'd get lightheaded, sometimes nautious, and after a few miles of running til i got this way and walking til it eased, i'd get super fatigued. my run would be shot at that point, and i'd end up having to walk the rest in. what running i did, up until that point, would be in 1/4 to 1/2 mile increments, and even those were a struggle. with the new burden of school on top of all the other stress, i thought at first it was anxiety attacks because i'd leave my run almost in tears, but it didn't add up. running was the one thing i felt ok about at that point. i don't know why it took me so long, but after a couple of months of dealing with this, i finally went to the doctor. we talked through it, and he said, i think you are dealing with exercise induced asthma, which is what i had concluded prior to going. i'm glad he agreed. we decided not to run tests since the result would most likely be the same, just at a much higher cost. so he prescribed an inhaler which i would use 15 minutes before my run, mainly my long ones. the results were instantanious, and i was relieved! the bad part was my training for MCM was coming to an end, and i only had 2 or 3 more long runs left. those all went well, but i knew i wasn't strong enough to do what i wanted in the marathon. i had sacrificed some of my hilly long run routes so i could actually have a better shot at finishing it on flat roads. i had a successful 22 and 20 miler, a good shorter run in between, and my taper was great, but anything prior was junk for the most part.

i went into the race knowing this, had a great experience, which maybe i'll blog about later, and came away motivated to run stronger for my next one. it's been a busy few months, and now the holidays are approaching. changes are on the horizon in my career and keeping fingers crossed for continued good luck. fortunately, my semester of classes is coming to an end, and i'll have a much needed break from reading, writing papers, and studying. looking forward to the holidays, resting, and running!

glad to be back.

Running for a Reason

You all know that years ago, I became a runner. Many of you know what a difference running has made in my life both physically and mentally. This fall, I will be running my 10th marathon in Washington DC, the Marine Corp Marathon.

I decided to run this marathon with a purpose and give back using the sport that has given so much to me. I am going to add Push America to the Marine Corps Marathon and create my Push America Challenge 2010!

Push America is continuing to spread a message of acceptance and understanding for people with disabilities across the nation. It’s called the Push America Challenge and it’s open to anyone who wants to challenge themselves in endurance events while raising funds and awareness for the programs of Push America.

For this 26.2 mile run I have committed to raise a minimum of $1,500 for Push America by October 1st. Currently, I have raised 10% of my goal, which is great, but I’m not there yet! I sent you this e-mail because I need YOU to help me reach the finish line. Just think – that’s only 13 people giving $100! Your entire donation is tax-deductible and guaranteed to go the distance by positively touching the lives of some very special people – of course any amount will be greatly appreciated, but don’t be scared to go for it along with me! Giving is easy. Just follow this link http://secure.pushamerica.org/dawnsmith to check out my team member profile, get more details, and point, click and give today! It will take 5 minutes, and it couldn’t be easier to donate online. Just be sure to click on the link in the top right hand corner that says “Click Here to Sponsor Dawn”. I truly thank you for your friendship and support! I encourage you to help me out even more by forwarding this message to someone who you know will join the fundraising effort!

To see how lives have been touched by Push America follow this link http://www.youtube.com/pushamerica#p/u/8/mLhSBb_KH-4

Finishing all 26.2 miles of this marathon will be a memory that I will never forget. Not only will it be an intense physical accomplishment, but the true value lies in the lives of people with disabilities that will be touched by your generosity.

Run with me in DC!!!

summer has arrived

it's been almost two months since i last posted! wow! there hasn't been a lot to post, and things have been pretty busy. work has been good, running has been good, and life in general has been pretty good!

i do know one thing for sure, summer is HERE! i think i mentioned in a previous post about taking to the mornings to run. well since then, the heat has gotten much worse and the humidity even higher, if that is even possible. so yeah, i'm still running in the morning. i'm even waking up a couple mornings before 5 to run before i teach my 6 a.m. spin class. so guess what, my internal alarm clock is at 5 a.m. now! no sleeping in comfortably for me on the rare one day i get to. it's worth it.

life has been fun as well as busy. my window replacement project in my house is finished, for the most part. and i'm loving my new energy efficient windows. this gaping hole was how i saw my house when i left for work one morning. i was glad i was leaving!for our university's centennial commencement, i helped host our commencement speaker. my co-worker and i were able to sneak a quick photo before he headed back to nyc.

i get to travel sometimes with my job, and i get to do some cool things. like the college world series last year, and the mississippi picnic in central park this year. the mississippi society in nyc hosts a picnic every summer in central park, and different cities and universities from the state host tents and booths for the natives who now live in nyc. this was the 31st year of the picnic and it was as successful as ever, complete with friend catfish and sweet tea. here's a pic of the southern miss crew. smttt!i'm about 3 weeks away from beginning my marathon training for marine corp. i'm excited and ready to get going. i've completed my schedule, and now focusing on getting myself prepared mentally and physically for the upcoming 16 weeks. now that commencement, nyc, and the window project are behind me, i can look forward to the rest of my summer training and recovering by the pool.

it's good to be back!

what have i been up to?

i know it's been a while since i've posted, but i've been a bit busy! work mostly, with running, baseball, and a construction project at my house!

first, the running has been so much better. why? i've been running in the morning!!! late spring in south mississippi means rising temps and humidity. lately, we've been topping out anywhere from 85-90 degrees with more to come! the highly humid 70 degree mornings are much more tolerable! i'm so lucky to have a sucker for a running friend. one that will get up at 4:30, drive 30 minutes into town to meet me at 5:30. i am having to drive 15 minutes, so she's not doing all the work to get there. while we hate waking up so early, we've really learned to love the mornings again. we're consistently running 2-3 mornings a week, on top of my other two mornings of teaching. the temps are so much cooler and there is nothing like the feel of the morning and running! plus, we get to see sites like this sunrise.

second, i've been really enjoying southern miss baseball. after a stunning year last year, ending at the college world series in omaha (yes i went!), this year has been a bit of a downer. i didn't expect a repeat, but i had hoped for more than we were doing. but bam, out of the blue, we're on an 11 game winning streak, with 3 conference sweeps in a ROW! it's been a lot of fun again, and i'm proud to be a golden eagle baseball fan! the team, with a lot of youngsters, has really found the fun in playing again, kinda like what you have to do with running sometimes. they have all started growing mustaches and have started some mid-game dances in the dugout. keeping it light! below is one of the keys to our success, a promising freshman hitting .410!

third, i've been following the oil spoil in the gulf. living only 70 miles north of gulfport, ms and the gulf of mexico, it's something that we are all focused on around here. only 5 short years after katrina made a direct hit on our beloved mississippi coast, leaving it in pieces and devestated, we find ourselves asking why this now? whether the spill effects mississippi or louisiana, we are all watching closely and worried for our neighbor. the gulf supplies at least 30% of our seafood industry, and many could lose jobs. not only that, but so much wildlife in the louisiana wetlands is in danger. defintely something to be concerned about! lastly, on top of several weekends in a row of work, i find myself going home to a dirty house! i live in an older house, probably 60-70 years old, and while it wasn't a fixer-upper (that was already done), i have had to do some normal things like a new roof and painting the outside. currently, the biggest and dirtiest project yet, i am having the windows replaced. the house still had the original wooden windows. while i LOVE those windows, they had to go. many of them has suffered too much water damage and were not getting the job done. so my dad, the 'can do anything' dad, is midway through the replacement process. he's 74 and handling most of the work on his own. and they are looking great! i go home each night and clean up the mess that has been made, but no biggie - i'm having major work done much cheaper! this has to be one of the messiest jobs ever, but the pain will be worth the gain! i'll post pictures when it's all done, soon i hope!

dead legs, tired legs, heavy legs - same difference

i haven't posted in a while cause i haven't had much to post about! hip issue returned, but i'm handling it. but the worst is the dead, heavy, fatigued, tired legs - all the time. i don't know if it's related to the warmth in the air, or if it's all in my head. either way, i'm still running.

i'm trying to deal with it so instead of doing 3 days back to back to back of running and cross training combined, i'm doing 2 days running with some cross training thrown in and then just a day of cross training or even a complete day off. it's definitely frustrating because i am motivated and really want to run.

my hip isn't as bad, and it's getting better. i think i did some damage to it running some hills a couple of weeks ago. i had a session yesterday morning with my friend / also a nurse after 30 minutes on the bike in spin class (she was the only one who showed). she does tremendous good to my IT band and periformis. it already feels MUCH looser today, but sore from where she worked on it. soreness is ok, looseness is GREAT!

tomorrow, i will run a longer run of 8-10 miles so today, after feeling lots of fatigue while going up and down the stairs at work and a good bit physical activity at work, i opted for a complete rest day. i'm sitting on my porching typing this feeling the ache in my legs.

i am confident that this too shall pass.

on a lighter note, i enjoyed an afternoon with my kayak last sunday. i also took molly to let her enjoy the lake and some swimming. we had a blast, and i love the upper body workout kayaking gives while providing some rest for my legs. it's going to be a great summer!

a new hobby

say hello to my newest hobby. i'm a PROUD new owner of a pelican apex 100 sit on top kayak. i've been wanting a kayak for years, and now i have one!

my friend from work and i headed out sunday to make our purchases. it ended up being an all day trip as the store we went to in gulfport only had one! that was a problem cause we both decided on the same kayak. so, we headed to mobile. melissa's boyfriend was also with us and decided he wanted the same one as well. so, after thinking and stopping at a few other stores, we made it to mobile. a little while later, we were loading our brand new kayaks on the back of the truck. after an 8 hour day, our mission was complete. i also purchased some necessary accessories: life vest, water proof bag, some tie downs for my car, and a paddle! i must admit, i felt a little geeky getting excited about all that gear, but it looks so cool on top of my xterra! at 10 ft long and 40 lbs, i have a load on my hands, but i can handle it!

tomorrow, i'll be getting up bright and early to get my run in so that i can take the kayak out for its maiden voyage after work. i'm pretty excited! this summer, i hope to log lots of miles on my feet, my bike, and now my kayak. definitely looking forward to a new way to cross train while resting my legs!

and the winner is....

I signed up today for the 2010 marine corp marathon. i will be running / virtual training with a former student, now friend. i will also be fundraising for push american, a philanthropy for american's with disabilities. i'm very excited!!!!! but nervous about this fundraising thing. :)

mcm 2010!!!!