Kelly Went Crazy!

Picture #1 -Kelly pre-race with arm around imaginary Abby
Picture #2 - Kelly approaching finish line at Camp Randall
Picture #3 - Wisconsin State Journal picture to give you an idea of just how "pleasant" the weather was.

Saturday was the Crazylegs Classic 8k (4.97 mi) run in Madison. I (Kelly) ran it solo since Abby (along with our dad, Rob & Casey's wife, Laura) is down in Texas visiting Casey on his final leave before going over to Iraq. It was my first official race experience & it was an adventure! I have never seen so many runners or been outside in so much rain!!

First I had to get my race packet from the Kohl Center. This had my race number and timing chip and my official Crazylegs T-shirt. Can I just tell you how intimidated I was seeing all those "real" runners! Then it was off to the Capitol Square for a lot of rain & waiting. When I signed up for the race I had no idea what my running time would be so I guessed high at 15min/mile - that put me in group "mm". Runners are placed by running time in an alphabetic fashion so "A" would be the fastest group and the slowest group was "nn". Yes, you probably noticed I was nearly at the very end of the line of 18,541 participants!

Well, group "mm" lined up on the complete opposite side of the Capitol from where the start line was so it was about 45 minutes after the race had started that my group finally got our turn to take off. During that never-ending 45 minutes it was a total downpour! About halfway thru the procession to the start line, as water was squishing between my toes with each step, I see people standing under the awning for a Chocolate Shop. It was all I could do to continue standing there in the rain, with my teeth chattering versus run right into that chocolate shop for some "comfort food" & warmth!! I was so frozen & soggy at that point that I really wanted to ditch the whole race but I knew you were all counting on me and supporting me so I held my flooded ground.

At the starting line things were better - I was still wet but not quite as cold because I was actually running! Me! Kelly Crandall - the girl who previously believed that there was never a good reason to run (unless of course being chased by a very bad person). I can't describe to you the feeling of looking at the runners ahead of me going up the hills and seeing so many people - it was exhilarating! Mile one & two came quite quickly. I found that running in this environment was so much easier than my training runs (despite the yucky weather). At mile three, I even sent a text update to my family/friends while I ran! Then it was on to the water station. What a site! Crushed cups from the runners before me covered the road - it was incredible the amount of them. At the four mile marker there was a sound system blasting the Rocky tune (you know the one where he runs up the stairs & puts his arms up). A DJ made us all do the Rocky arms on the count of three. Corny yes, but a helpful boost none-the-less.

Soon I could see Camp Randall! I sent another quick text (while running) to my mom, Cindy, who was waiting near the finish line so she could take my picture. The race ended on the 50 yard line inside the stadium, as I rounded the corner to enter the ramp of the stadium I nearly burst into tears! It was amazing - I just ran nearly 5 miles non-stop! Mind you in February I couldn't run for 10 minutes non-stop. What an accomplishment!!

My results were:

Time: 51.44 min/sec Place in my age group of Females 30-34 = 544, Overall place out of the 18,541 participants = 8,553

I know I have a LONG way & MANY miles to go to prepare for the half-marathon next month & the full marathon in August, but for now I am savoring this small victory ;)

Woo Hoo! Another Mile!!

Yep, we have mile #5 sponsored! Thank you to Tom, Anita, Brittany & Katie for sponsoring this mile in Casey's honor :) For those of you out there who are hesitant in sponsoring a mile because you don't personally know one of the Red Arrow soldiers, you can just make your sponsored mile in honor of ALL of the Red Arrows like Maureen did for mile #4.

Thank you to Julie A. & Meg C. for their generous donations as well. These wonderful gals have been a great help in reaching our goal!

We only have 16 weeks to go until the marathon...yes, you might think 16 weeks is a long time, but that's not so when your current longest run is 5 miles and you know you have to run 26 miles in JUST 16 weeks. We also have ONLY 16 weeks to bump up the fundraiser thermometer from 23% to 100%. We are still working on the details for some fundraising events but I can tell you that they will involve food! Something Abby & I are much more familiar with & are well trained in-tee hee.

Thank you once again to everyone who is supporting us thru donations, thoughts & prayers!!!

Happy Easter! More thanks & another mile sponsored!!

Happy Easter everyone! We hope that you have a great holiday with your family!! Please take a moment to say thanks to our troops who cannot be home with their families for this Easter and to their families for all their efforts in carrying on the festivities at home while they are "down" one member. God bless our troops and the work that they do in order to protect our freedom to celebrate religious holidays such as Easter (and all our other rights).

Thank you to our most recent donors! Danelle B. & Todd R. both generously donated this week, and Maureen A. sponsored mile #4!!! Woo hoo! We are now at $597!! That is about 19% of our $3,200 goal.

If you haven't been able to donate yet, no worries, you have plenty of time. The marathon is not until August 8th and we plan to wrap up the fundraiser by the end of August. So if the budget is tight right now, maybe just throw your pocket change into a jar until August & see what you come up with :) As always, your prayers for our troops are not only free but priceless so please keep on sending those!!!

Thanks again to everyone following this blog, supporting our cause, and supporting our troops! Easter blessings to you :)

We are all geared up!

Abby and I went to Endurance House in Greenway Station in Middleton yesterday & got everything we need to get through our training. Justin at Endurance House conducted a footstrike analysis for each of us. This involved running on a treadmill while our feet were videotaped and then we watched the playback in slow motion to see the exact mechanics of our steps. Justin used this information to determine which shoes would suit us best and prevent injuries. After trying on & running in a few different pairs we both found some that felt the best and kept us properly aligned so that we will remain injury free as we continue on 300+ mile training journey.

This analysis is free of charge and is not just for crazy chics who suddenly decide they are going to run a marathon. So if you are going to be needing new running/training shoes you should check out Endurance House. Their prices are competitive and the service absolutely can't be beat...Justin & the other folks worked with us for about 2 hours to get us the best fitting shoes along with providing running form & nutrition recommendations.

Besides shoes, we also got synthetic socks to wick away the sweat and a hat to protect us once we get going on our outside training. We also each got a Fuel Belt for our hydration needs and a variety of carb/electrolyte substances in goo and chewy forms. These come in all different flavors & textures so we have to try out many to determine which we can tolerate - for those that don't know us, we have "texture" issues...that may cause us some trouble :)

Thank you to all of you who have already sent donations and/or prayers for the Red Arrows. Please continue to spread the word about our mission...we haven't seen any donations come in this week but we have some press release & fundraiser event plans in the works so please keep checking back!!!