Texas Marathon Mile 15 Sponsor

Lauren Ratner

What is your hometown? Marlton, NJ

Where do you live now? Las Colinas, TX

What is the farthest distance you've ever run or walked? 7.15 miles

What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday morning? Running with the awesome Couch to Half group, followed by my weekly post-run trip with my boyfriend to Einstein Bros.

What is your favorite workout song or song that gets you up and moving? Rihanna's "Shut up and Drive" or "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

What is the first thing you think of when you think of Texas? Goode Co BBQ in Houston...oh yeah...and COWBOYS!!..NOT the football team. ;)

What is the bravest thing you've ever done? Travel to Europe alone... twice.

What is your favorite candy? I love chocolate and peanut butter, so Reeses Pieces is fantastic! However, I am not a big fan of the peanut butter cups.

What is the biggest goal you're currently working toward? Finding a job in which I can actually use my MPH and/or MABMH.

Where is your next vacation destination? Would you consider going to NJ a vacation?

What movie inspires you the most? Rocky 4

In which state would you like to see Anna run her next marathon (after Texas)? I think she needs to do the Pike's Peak Marathon in Colorado. (hehe) I just happened to be there the day of the marathon. Those people are INSANE!

Why did you choose to sponsor Mile 15? My mom's birthday was February 15th, so I tend to gravitate toward that number.

Why did you want to become a marathon mile sponsor to support the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation? Because it is a FABULOUS CAUSE!

Will all these baby steps be enough?

Walking is out.- My initial comeback plan via run/walking may have changed. In the past two weeks I've learned that (for me anyway) physiologically running and walking are two very different activities. Just because you might be able to run a particular distance (let's say...26.2 miles for example), don't assume you will be able to walk the same distance as easily. I've always admired the DRC Walk Group for lots of reasons- one of which is the immense time dedication it takes to complete the average 15-18 mile training run. Now I have more reason to admire the dedicated walkers. It's really hard to walk those long distances. It's definitely something that requires consistent training over time to get your body used to it. After trying a few 'walking only' workouts of 6-8 miles, I ended up with some very sore hips and knees. Too much too soon to pick up race walking I think.

So, back to running workouts-- in baby steps... My body has been trained for running long distances for about a year now. Hopefully it will remember quickly how to do that. I have a 20 mile run on the schedule for this Saturday. I clearly will not be ready for that. The current goal is to shoot for something between 9 and 11 miles this weekend. But it will still take some work to get there. Here's how I've gotten started this week...

Sunday- 2 miles. - Felt like a kid learning to walk again. Gait felt awkward. Breathing felt off. Knees hurt. Side aches. But felt good afterward.
Monday - 4 miles. - Mile 1 felt awful! Had to stop and walk a few times to work out the side stitches. Mile 2 my knee hurt most of the way. Miles 3-4 started to feel good again. Maybe there was some hope after all.
Tuesday- 5 miles. - Very tough run mentally. Would not have made it without the company of my favorite running buddy. I was checking my watch constantly seeing if it was time to stop. I really wanted to stop but had no good reason to. I wasn't in pain, it just wasn't fun-- this was hard!! But again the last mile started to feel really good. I'm at a very slow pace-- an average of 90 seconds per mile slower than I'd been running pre-H1N1, and it still feels tough. But I'm getting there!!

I can't say it enough-- thank you again to all of my Texas Marathon mile sponsors. You are keeping me going!!!

Dallas White Rock Marathon Video

Who's ready for a comeback?? :)

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Texas Marathon Mile 8 Sponsor

Tamara Adamson


What is your hometown? Hard to say. I grew up all over the U.S. Some of my family is in Louisville, KY, so maybe that's it?!

Where do you live now? Dallas (Garland, TX)

What is the farthest distance you've ever run or walked? 14 miles (Tomorrow will make it 15!) -- (Note--- I think this should now be updated to 18 miles....)

What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday morning? Running with the gang, have breakfast with them or my kids and then relax!

What is your favorite workout song, or song that gets you up and moving? I like the Boss, MJ, Cat Stevens,- too many!

What is the first thing you think of when you think of Texas? BIG

What is the bravest thing you've ever done? Hmm.....Skydiving or having kids, it's a toss up.

What is your favorite candy? More

What is the biggest goal you're currently working toward? Retirement

What is your next vacation destination? Greece (hopefully)

What movie inspires you the most? The Color Purple and/or Finding Nemo and/or Shenandoah

What race would you like to see Anna run for her next marathon (after Texas)? Kentucky Derby Marathon -- we could do it together!!

Why did you choose to sponsor Mile 8? It's a multiple of my favorite number 4, which was already taken.

Why did you choose to become a marathon mile sponsor to support the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation? It's a great and worthy cause.

Note from Anna: How could I possibly describe Tamara's influence on my DRC experience? Tamara is a never ending source of enthusaism and optimism at all times. Tamara was promoted to Vice-President of Marketing for the runner-based Team Sprinkles group quickly after she made connections with the company to sponsor our group, and initiated group shirts which are quickly becomming one of the most popular running-related clothing items in Dallas. Tamara is amazing! With everything she already has on her plate, Tamara is never one to back down from an opportunity to get involved in a good cause and stepping up to help. I will be honored to run for Tamara at Mile 8, and am so excited for her to complete her first marathon in a few weeks. She will be fantastic!

The Slow Comeback

I have at last prevailed over the infamous H1N1. For some reason my fever held on quite a bit longer than average, so I was at home at quarentined for almost longer than I could tolerate. After two weeks I think Lilo (my dog) was so tired of me being at home all day she was ready to put me out on the street.

Fortunately I returned to school and work this week, although not surprisingly my return to running seems to be taking a bit longer. Several days ago I tried to run-walk 6 miles thinking this would be a smart, easy transition back. Wrong! I don't think the distance was so much the problem, but the run-walk plan. I thought run-walking would be making it easier on myself, and this may have been true from a cardio standpoint, but not necessarily a physiological one. After jogging the first mile I tried alternating jogging and walking in quarter mile sections for the remaining five. However once I got home and looked at my time averages, I realized that what I probably did was more of a sprint-walk than a run-walk, and my knees have been paying the price.

There seems to be no shortage of marathon training plans to cover almost every scenerio.... couch potato to marathon finisher, beginning runner to marathon finisher, marathon finisher to Boston qualifer, etc. -- but there seem to be no clear plans for coming back from an illness or injury half-way through marathon training season. (Maybe that's just because the title would be too long).

So I'm still working on my own Comeback Plan. I've considered a variety of options to get myself back to form so I can complete White Rock in December. I've missed several big number runs, and I've accepted that it is very likely that I'm going to be walking more of the marathon come December than not. I've also considered the possibility of foregoing White Rock and taking a few extra months to recover by switching to another Texas Marathon early in 2010. While I'm keeping that open as an option if needed, for now my sites are set on completing White Rock as scheduled-- running, walking, or crawling. :)

My training season had been going really well-- so it is a bit disappointing knowing that I won't be at my physical best. However my primary goal in this 50 Marathon endeavor is to have the experience of completing a marathon in every state, and to raise as much money as I can for Susan's Foundation. The liklihood that I will make it through the next 48 marathon training seasons will no health, injury (or other) interruptions is unlikely. So rather than mourning the running abilities my body had two weeks ago, I've decided to be grateful and go with what it can do today, and use its' capabilities to their fullest. None of us have any guarantees of how many tomorrows we have ahead of us.... so as long as by December I think I'll be able to complete the 26.2 miles of the White Rock Marathon safely -- I'll be happy doing it any way I can, even if it might not be running at the pace I'd hoped for.

Thank you, thank you, thank you again too all of the sponsors for the Texas Marathon!! You keep me going through the good times and bad! I am continually inspired by each one of you!
Just 2 miles to go....

Texas Marathon Mile 14 Sponsor

Serena & Rob Lambiase

What is your hometown? Rob- New Orleans Serena- Dayton

Where do you live now? Richardson, TX

What is the furthest distance you've ever run or walked? Rob/Serena- 20 miles walking Serena- 14 miles running

What is your favorite place to spend a Saturday morning? Rob- sleeping Serena- running or biking or racing

What is your favorite workout song or song that gets you up and moving? Rob- none Serena- I Don't Want to Work by Todd Rundgren

What is the first thing you think of when you think of Texas? Rob- UT-Austin Serena- Big

What is the bravest thing you've ever done? Rob- played bass in front of 75,000 people

Serena- signing up for and completing an Olympic triathalon

What is your favorite candy? Rob- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Serena- Dove Dark Chocolate Bar/Nuggets

What is the biggest goal you're currently working toward? Rob- getting an artist signed to a major record label Serena- improving my half marathon time (while staying healthy)

Where is your next vacation destination? Germany

What movie inspires you the most? Serena- Breaking Away

In which state would you like to see Anna run her next marathon (after Texas)? Hawaii

Why did you choose to sponsor Mile 14? We want to help Anna get over the half-way mark.

Why did you choose to become a marathon mile sponsor for the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation? Several reasons: Susan's story was very touching. This just should not have to happen. We are all affected by cancer, so we need to do something. We want to help find a cure. To raise awareness. To support cancer patients who need financial assistance. To support Anna in her efforts.

Note from Anna: Serena is one of my super-talented triathlete friends. I have no idea how triathletes manage getting in so many workouts to cover each aspect of the sport every week, but it's very impressive-- and Serena is one of the most dedicated people I know. Thanks for your support Rob and Serena!!!

Race Number and Scavenger Hunt

I just found out I was issued my White Rock Marathon race number today.... I'll be running under the number H1N1. (hahaha) Okay, maybe not-- but at the rate this flu is flying around Dallas I wonder how many of the participants will qualify to run under the same number come December 13th.

So the update is I still have the flu and still have yet to run a mile this week. It's definitely getting frustrating-- and I hate to think about how long it's going to take me to trade in this awful sounding cough for my running lungs again. But mentally I still have not given up and I'm looking forward to hitting the running trails again when I'm ready.

When I've finally kicked this flu and am up for long runs again-- I'd like to ask for your help. Now that we're hitting the higher number (close to 20) mile runs on weekends--these runs can get awfully long and at times boring. Sometimes even greater than the physical challenge of these runs is the mental challenge of keeping yourself going.

So for the next long distance run I'm up for-- I'm planning on all my sponsors (current and previous) helping me with planning a scavenger hunt. I'll take my camera with me on the run, and attempt to get pictures of as many requests as I can. Post your scavenger hunt picture challenge as a blog comment to this post and I'll add it to my list. Be as creative as you like- although try not to make it something too impossible. :) I'll post all the picture results on the blog after the run. This should be interesting. lol.

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay healthy! And if you haven't already...get your flu shots! :-)