Milestones

Each week running is another milestone reached.  A week and a half ago I ran twenty miles in one run for the first time.  Talk about rough.  The crazy thing is I have to do again this weekend and I am looking forward to it.  Another thing that makes me feel like a runner now is the fact that I lost my first toenail from running.  I know it's gross, but you should have seen the nail before I had to pull it off.  Anyways, enough about the gross stuff.  We are only three and a half weeks away from the marathon and I am getting excited.  I want to thank everyone who has donated to our fundraising efforts, knowing we have people supporting us in our quest to run the marathon is the extra push we need to get through some of our training runs.  I know the updates have been lagging again, but my schedule is getting busier everyday with school and work and I don't feel like I have any free time to do some of the extra stuff I used to do.  Tonya has been just as busy also.  She spends many extra hours after school preparing for the next day and now she is starting a class this week to get her math endorsement.  So seeing each other, let alone friends and family, is going to be tough.  We will keep you posted on our next few weeks of training and let you all know how classes are going.  

First Week

Well we made it, our first week back at school and both of us made it through the week.  Tonya had a very busy week with students, but said it went fast and was a lot of fun.  That is all the info she gave me, so I can't be more detailed than that about her week.  

I am really looking forward to the classes I have signed up for this semester.  After my first week I have found out I will be reading 5 novels and an assortment of other readings along with writing many journal entries and papers.  I am taking writing intensive courses, so I am sort of expected it, but it is still a little overwhelming.  Already for next week I have three different writing assignments that equal 15 pages of writing.  Now don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to it, it just seems like a lot to me right now.  

Our marathon training is going well.  We only have about 5 weeks left before the big day, so we are starting to log more and more miles.  We get to run 20 miles tomorrow, which will be a big test for the both of us.  Tonya is still being bothered by shin splints that are slowing her down a little, but she continues to push through the pain.  I have been running some of my best runs lately and hope it will continue through the marathon.  I recently ran my best time for 13 miles the other day and it really gave me the confidence boost I needed to feel like I was ready for the marathon.  I actually shaved 30 minutes off my time from when Tonya and I ran the half marathon.  Many of you may have received an email about the charity we are running for, Organization for Autism Research.  There are links to our fundraising pages on the right side of our blog.  If you've already donated...thank you.  We appreciate your generosity and every little bit helps us reach our goal.