Nario Tribal Council

Hello Everyone,

Today I trained for what was supposed to be an easy 6-7 mile run. I decided to go for the gusto and do 7. What the heck.. I did 6 last week, 1 additional mile can’t be that bad. At the beginning of every run we have a sign in sheet and we sign out when we are done. That way the trainers know if they have to come search for us. We wear shoe tags in case of an emergency. (a shoe tag is a nifty little tag that clips on your shoes and has an emergency contact info and lists any meds or health conditions one may have)

It started off pretty good. I was keeping pace with the group. They are experienced marathoners so eventually I had to slow my pace. That’s where the fun begins, I got separated from everyone. I had never run this park so I had no clue where the turn around point was or which direction to head. I am Regino-directionally challenged. In other words… I was screwed. I got lost. I was trailing a group of ladies who I thought were part of my team, but I eventually realized they were not my group. I found some lady who was also looking for her group, that was not my group, so we started running together. She found her clan and I kept on in my direction.

After running what seemed like forever, with nothing familiar in sight, I notice a huge dog charging in my direction. He passes a group of runners in front of me and heads straight towards me. I could see his owner in the distance and he didn’t look concerned so I figured he must be friendly. Plus, it looked like it could be a lab mix, so how dangerous could this crazy charging dog be?? Well the dog, who was probably about 100lbs charged into me, jumps on me, nearly knocks me over and starts nawing on my hand. This dog was nuts. It was grabbing my shirt, my arms, free hands, anything it could get his teeth on. Luckily it wasn’t an aggressive gesture, more playful, but rough none the less. Meanwhile… the owner is casually strolling towards me as I try to fend off this crazy dog. I’m trying to keep the dog from jumping and pet him to keep him down. The owner finally reaches me and says “it’s a good thing you like dogs (I’m thinking.. um, really?) You look like the lady who abandoned him when he was a baby”. Now I know this guy is nuts. How the heck would he know what the person who abandoned this dog looked like?? He grabs his nutty dog and I keep on trecking. Now my white training jersey has dirt and paw prints all over it. I looked like I got trampled.

My hamstrings start to hurt. My quads are aching. My feet are blistering. I’m no longer enjoying the scenery and start to get desperate to see somehting familiar. Oh no. Breakfast isn’t sitting well. I need to find a bathroom asap or I’m in trouble. Ahhh… I see people. As I get closer I realize people are setting up the San Genaro Festival. Translation? there must be a porta potty somewhere. I run in and ask. They are looking at me, with my dirty, paw print shirt and are plain afraid to say no. The let me use their bathroom and I head back on my way.

1 hr 30 minutes later, of running, I see a familiar landmark. According to me guestimate, I am about 10 minutes away from square one. I find my way back and everyone is standing around. That was the longest 10 minutes ever. When they see me they all look relieved. They were about to send the search party out for me. I had 1 more minute to arrive before the search team was launched. They all were asking what the heck happened? Noone saw me on the trail, I came in much later than everyone else AND i looked like I was rolling in dirt. According to their calcualtions of all the random things I passed I did about 9 miles.

Wow! 9 miles? I had no clue I had that in me. I feel accomplished. I am achy, but some stretching will help that. If I hadn’t gotten off course I wouldn’t know this soon I need new running shoes. That’s a plus. And, I eventually made it back. And I found 2 more parks I never knew about.

Next week? I’m packing a map and I’ll have on new shoes.
Thanks for listening!
Amanda

Racing to Save Lives

Please visit my Team In Training home page. (http://pages.teamintraining.org/sun/rnr09/AmandaBasse)

I’m training to participate in The San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon (that’s 26.2 miles, my friends!!!!!) as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor Justin Gomez, my cousin, and all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line – a cure!

Because of programs like these Justin was able to survive Leukemia and now lives a normal teenage life. See his picture.. he is so handsome!! Check back for updates on Justin.

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS’s mission. Every donation brings me a step closer to my goal. Please forward this website on everyone you know. We never know who has been affected by leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma. Please give them the opportunity to not only support me, but to support this worthy cause.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress.

If you are interested in hosting a fundraiser on my behalf that would be fabulous. I need you and everyone you know out there rooting for me. Corporate sponserships are also available. You get to have your company logo on my entire team’s jersy for 3 races! Isn’t that cool!

Thanks for your support!

Lots of Love,

Amanda