Marathon photos, professional and amateur.

This week, I received two packages of photos from the marathon. The first was from my mom, who is terrified of computers and still uses disposable cameras (take that, environment!). The second was from MarathonFoto, one of the companies that takes professional photos at big races and then charges runners an arm and a leg for those photos. In both cases, I only have prints. Fortunately, I spend my entire work day sitting next to a flatbed scanner. So, here you go!

Val and I, somewhere between miles 10 and 12, I think.

I think this is somwhere around mile 17 or 18. I'm pretty sure
that the half-person on the right is my roommate, Steve.

I'm not sure where this is, but I know its close to the end
because I have switched from my own lemon-lime Gatorade
to the race-supplied fruit punch Powerade.

My mom took this at the finish line. I'm toward the back.

Here I come!

The official finish photo. Its not very good,
but the photo people only sell packs of 2 or 4 (not 3).

FAQ's

Hello again! Things are slowly returning to semi-normal, so I have a few minutes to share some further thoughts on my marathon experience. Here are the questions I have heard most frequently over the past few days:

1. How are you feeling?

Good! Physically, I was super-sore and tired the afternoon/evening of the marathon. I went to bed around 7:30pm, which took care of the tiredness, but not the soreness. Monday morning, I got up with my usual 5:30am alarm to go to Group Power (my weightlifting class), but quickly realized there was no way I could do squats or lunges and went back to bed. When I got up again (which took a good 10 minutes), I took some Advil and went for a sports massage. That helped immensely. Tuesday morning, I woke up feeling much better and went to Group Power, where I had some kind of adrenaline surge and actually added weight. That class seemed to work the rest of the stiffness out. I did GP again Wednesday along with a 1-mile walk, and I went to my boot camp class this morning. So, all in all, my physical recovery has been quite easy. 

Mentally, I'll admit that I had mixed feelings the day of the marathon. When I started training, I had really hoped to run the whole thing. I think I was on track to do that before I got appendicitis and went back to school. The appendicitis knocked me out for two really important long run weeks, and returning to school cut my weekday training time in half. Even with those setbacks, I had hoped to walk less than I did. So, on the day of the race, I was a little dissapointed, as I always am when I have to walk in a race. By the next morning, though, I was pretty much over it. Even with all of the training, there was really no way I could have known what a marathon would be like until I did one. Now that I have, I have a much better idea of what I'll need to do to prepare for the next one. Which brings us to the next question...

2. Will you run another marathon?

Yes, I think I will. I would like to actually run one start to finish, and there are a couple "destination" races I would love to do when I no longer have a full-time job and a full-time course schedule. No concrete plans yet, though, which brings us to...

3. What are you going to do now? 

A few things. I have 3 or 4 shorter races left in 2010 (including one this coming Saturday). In 2011, I'll probably run many of the same races I did in 2010. These include the Striders' Champ Series. I'll also be joining the Striders' half-marathon training group in January for my second year. I do not know whether I will do a second year with the marathon training group; that all depends on what my work situation is next summer.   

The really exciting news is that I am doing at least two triathlons in the coming year! The first will be a run-bike-canoe triathlon that my crazy ultra-running friends have incorporated into their wedding in April. Seriously. My friend Pat and I will be doing this as a 2-person team with me on the run, him on the bike, and both of us in the canoe. We will be joined by other wedding teams, including the bride with the groom and the bride's father with the minister. I am also DJ'ing the wedding, which means that I have to finish this race at all costs! 

The second triathlon will be the Columbia IronGirl event in  August. This is a regular swim-bike-run sprint distance event. Should be an adventure. As a kid, I was a really strong swimmer and good on a bike, but I haven't done either (aside from spin class) in years. At this point, I don't even own most of the equipment I need, so I'm slowly buying one thing at a time. Right now, I have a swimsuit, goggles, and a helmet. There is a lot left to obtain- most importantly, a decent bike.

4. What did you learn from this?

So many things, but there are two big ones: 

First, that I have amazing people in my life. Throughout this whole process, I have been amazed and overwhelmed at how many people have taken an interest in my training, fundraising, and race. For the last 6 months, it has felt like everyone in every little corner of my life has known and cared about this. I truly did not expect that, and I will never forget it.  

Second, that I have more courage and more determination than I realized. Throughout my life, I have always been a bit of a risk-taker and I have always been pretty dogged in pursuing the things I decide to do. At the same time, I tend to play to my strengths. For example, it was a risk applying to Yale. Still, academics is where I excel, so I knew I had a decent chance of success.

For me, deciding to run a marathon was a much bigger risk than applying to Yale. Athletics is not my area of strength. As a kid, I consistently missed straight A's because I got B's in gym. A year ago, I had never run more than 3 miles and I had only done that a few times. Every step in the build-up to this race- joining the gym, joining the Striders, signing up for progressively longer races- was a leap of faith. I honestly did not know if I would be able to do this, and failure terrifies me (I'm an overachiever to the core). So, I'm proud of myself for even giving this a shot, and I think this is going to help me be even more courageous in other areas of my life.

As far as determination goes, I think everyone has seen some of that. Obviously, I had some major setbacks in the process of training for this race (hello, appendix!). I am proud of myself for pushing through those, but I'm more proud about the smaller acts of focus and discipline I had to do on a daily basis. I have a very, very busy life and I have often used that as an excuse to neglect my physical health. A little over a year ago, I finally let that excuse go, and started doing what I needed to do to be healthy. If you had told me 18 months ago that I would be working out at 6am 4-5 times a week, and that I would often put in another hour in the evenings, I would have laughed in your face. But that's what I've done, and the payoffs have been unbelievable. This training has definitely reminded me that nothing is impossible if you just put your mind to it and do the work.

All in all, this has been an unforgettable experience and I know that its just the beginning of more amazing things to come!

Returning to the scene of the crime.

I saw this video posted on my friend's Facebook page a few days ago, but I didn't watch it until just now. I'm very grateful that my co-workers are at lunch because, even with my loathing for cheesy inspirational music, it totally made me cry. It was like re-living the whole experience, with three notable exceptions:

-The opening festivities. I neither heard nor saw any of that. Keep in mind that this video shows maybe the front third of 30,000+ runners. I was in the back third. I heard nothing but the starting gun and I didn't even see the start line until 30 minutes after the gun fired.

-The monuments. As I watch the beginning and end of this video (ie: the parts when I was doing well), I can remember every little detail of the scenery. In the middle, which happens to be both the most scenic part and the part where I was struggling, I don't remember a thing. I was so completely focused on just putting one foot in front of the other that I totally missed all of the sights. Unfortunately, I didn't recover enough to tune back into my surroundings until we hit the overpass over 395.

-The lines of Marines. These didn't make it into the video, but there were long lines of cheering Marines at both the start and finish lines. Its too bad you don't see it here, because it was a nice way to bookend the race.

Enjoy!

The race is over...

...but the Kelly Murray Scholarship Fund is still accepting donations!

Greetings from recovery. Physically, I am feeling fine- a bit sore Monday, but I was back to the gym yesterday and this morning. Emotionally, I am a little overwhlemed trying to catch up on everything that got pushed aside in the run-up to the big day. I have lots more to write about the marathon, but I need to take care of a few things (like laundry and the job I actually get paid for) before I do that.

I do want to take a moment, though, to announce the final fundraising total: $3376! Hooray! Honestly, its more than I had hoped for and it will make such a difference in the lives of the students who are given the Kelly Murray scholarships. I can not say thank you enough to everyone who donated!

If you would still like to make a donation, it is never too late! The online fundraising pages are coming down, but you can always write a check to "Loyola University" and send it to:

Annual Giving
Loyola University Maryland
4501 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21210

Be sure to write "Kelly Murray Scholarship Fund" on the memo line of your check!

Also, if you have been inspired to do some fundraising of your own- in honor of Dr. Murray or for another cause- here is how Katie and I did it:

-We created accounts on Active.com (http://www.active.com/). Once we had accounts, we used the fundraising tabs in the "My Active" menu to set up our campaigns. We gave Active the contact info of our charity, they verified that it is legit, and we were good to go! Active processed all of the credit card donations, deducted a service charge, and mailed monthly checks to Loyola. For a small charity, it was a great system.

-We created our blogs on http://www.blogger.com/.

-We set up training logs on Daily Mile (http://www.dailymile.com/). With Daily Mile, we logged our miles (Katie entered hers manually; I synced my Nike+), and then used a widget from the site to send the running total to our blogs.

-We used the "share" functions on Active and Blogger to post our campaign updates and blog posts to Facebook. This was probably the most effective tool for getting the word out. We also did more traditional fundraising: emailing friends and family, putting up flyers at Loyola, speaking to our classes and churches, etc.

That's it! I won't say that it was easy, but it was manageable and totally worth it (much like running a marathon!). So don't be afraid potential marathoners and fundraisers. If we can do it, you can too!

The quick and dirty race recap.

Its OVER!!! I am so relieved and so tired. I don't have the alertness or mental faculties to give all of my thoughts now, but here's the quick rundown:

Starting line: Zoo. It was a good 30 minutes after the gun fired before I even saw the starting line, and another 10 before I crossed. I think a wave start would be a better system. I did appreciate the Marines lining the streets to give us high fives.

Miles 1-10: Awesome. Pace was no trouble, scenery was beautiful, saw my friends Kim and Matt with their adorable baby in Georgetown. Loved it.

Miles 11-13: A little challenging, but still doable. Very excited to hit the halfway mark.

Mile 14: Wall. Pretty much came out of nowhere. I wasn't breathing heavy or dehydrated, but my legs just stiffened up and I felt like my right knee was going to give out. Tried to keep running, but had to walk a bit.

Miles 15-20: Agony. I started a 5 minute running/5 minute walking game with myself just to keep going. When I ran, my knee hurt. When I walked, my hip hurt. There were plenty of moments when I was not sure I would finish. This was when I literally thought of every person who supported me in this and every prayer I knew was being said for me. So, if you are reading this, you had a very real part in me getting to the finish. I saw my roommate Steve somewhere in here and was both touched that he came and happy that he caught me when I was actually running.

Mile 20: I "beat the bridge," meaning that I got to the 20 mark ahead of the SAG wagon and knew I would be allowed to finish. Still in pain, but certainly relieved. At this point, almost everyone around me was walking and I saw a few start sobbing when they realized they were going to make it.

Miles 21-22: Better. I was able to switch to a 10 minute running/5 minute walking ratio. At mile 22, I saw our coaches Bob and Susan who gave me some encouragement and some Advil. The encouragement kept me running to 23, which is when the Advil kicked in...

Miles 23-25: Back to awesome. I felt a million times better, got back to my goal pace, and knew I was going go finish the thing running.

Miles 25-26.2: Emotional. At 25, I started fighting back tears. I was so happy and relieved, but I really didn't want to cry because I wanted nothing interfering with the groove I had re-established. This was made much more difficult at mile 26 when I came around a corner and saw my friend of 16 years, Pat. He actually ran alongside me in the spectator area to the finish.

Finish: Grateful! I told the person next to me that I wanted to kiss the ground but wasn't sure I would ever get back up if I did. I found Pat, my mom, my sister, my friend Scott (pictured above) and some other Striders and celebrated for a bit, then headed back home for some much-needed food and a bath.

So, now I'm home, getting ready to lie down and hoping that I'll be able to move in the morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting me throughout this process! Thanks especially to those who donated- the total as of now is well over $3300!

Good luck charms.

With less than 24 hours to go (!), I'm making all of the final arrangements and packing up my stuff for the big race. This includes the all-important good luck charms, pictured above. In the first picture, we have the "walk it off" bracelet (which has come to symbolize everything Katie, Erin, Val and I went through to get to this day), a "courage" coin that I received as part of my grief counseling experience, a "footprints" coin (an inside joke from Katie), and most important- a note from one of the Murray girls. I had the opportunity to meet three of Dr. Murray's amazing daughters this summer and I've had this note on my refrigerator for inspiration ever since. In the second picture, you can see the reverse of the note, which is a picture of all the Murray girls. The one in the top right is Sloane, who died along with Dr. Murray. This photo is the most important thing I'll have with me tomorrow because it reminds me of why I put myself through this in the first place!

Speaking of Dr. Murray, the fundraising grand total stands at $3301 right now. Tomorrow, the fundraising sites will close and we would love to have at least $3500 when they do. If you want to donate, do it now and do it on Katie's page (since I met my personal goal already): http://www.active.com/donate/marathonformurray2. Thanks as always for your support!

Counting down...

As hard as it is to believe (at least for me), the race is less than two days away! My friend Scott joined me at the race expo today, where I picked up my number and got my picture taken with one of the marathon's more illustrious finishers. Good times. I'll post more pre-race photos tomorrow!

Papers, panic, pasta and prayers.

Hello, friends! I am writing this from my current location under a pile of books and papers. As I may have mentioned before, the week before my marathon of running just happens to include a marathon of homework, church meetings, family stuff and a variety of other distractions. All of this is leaving little time for panic (except about schoolwork) or blogging (boo!).

My toughest assignment is due at 4:15pm today, so I am down to the wire, but I do want to take a minute to say a big thank you to the Noodles and Company in Columbia, MD.  Katie and I had hoped to hold a fundraiser there this week, but all of our work got the better of us and we were not able to pull it together. We were worried that the Noodles people would be angry, but instead they offered us free pasta for our carb-loading week! So, tonight, after Katie and I both turn in this *&%$*# paper, we will be off to Katie's for a pasta party with our awesome running buddies. I can't wait.

While I have nothing else original to offer on the blog today, I had the opportunity yesterday to give a short reflection on my training/fundraising experience before one of my classes. Most of this material is recycled from other blog posts, but I thought I would post it anyway:

Marathon for Murray reflection, 10/27/10

Kelly and Sloane died on a Friday. I didn’t find out about it for a couple of days because I was busy writing a sermon about Mark 5: 21-43.This is the story where Jesus heals a woman who has been suffering hemorrhages for 12 years and also revives Jairus’ young daughter, who has just died. I really struggled with this sermon. Personally, I find the miracle stories difficult because they make me wonder why we don’t see more miracles, and why we see so many good, faithful people suffer and die.


To find a way to talk about the text, I thought about what we mean when we say the word, “miracle,” and I decided that we usually think of miracles as instant, wonderful solutions to our worst problems. Then, I looked back at the Bible story, and I realized that these healings were not instant, wonderful solutions. The people in the stories had to work hard and suffer a long time before their problems were solved. Even then, the solutions they received were quite different than what they originally hoped for.

Ultimately, I wrote:

“I think that the good news of today’s text is that miracles aren’t always simple or immediate, but they do happen. The people in today’s stories have to make long and difficult journeys in order to receive healing, and it might not happen exactly as they want or expect it to. Given a choice, I’m sure that the woman with hemorrhages would not have endured 12 years of sickness and lost everything she had before finding a cure. I’m sure that Jairus would have chosen for his daughter not to get sick and die in the first place. When that moment of healing comes, though, none of that matters. When these people finally feel the healing touch of Jesus, they forget all the struggle and pain, and simply feel awe and gratitude for the miracle they’ve received.”

That Sunday morning, I was getting ready to go and preach this sermon when I turned on the TV and learned that Kelly and Sloane had died. I drove to the church sobbing and I had no idea how I was going to stand behind the pulpit and talk about healing and resurrection. The one thing that got me through it was something that one of my preaching professors in seminary told me. He said that we should always preach the message we most need to hear. The morning that I gave that sermon was the truest expression of that lesson I can imagine. I needed more than anything to believe that healing from the kind of pain so many were experiencing that day could be possible, no matter how long or what form it took.

In the days after Kelly and Sloane died, I thought a lot about what I needed to learn from those losses. I kept coming back to how much Kelly had experienced and accomplished in only 40 years. I was 30 at that time, and I thought about what I would want to do if I knew I only had 10 more years. I decided that I needed to stop holding myself back and push myself to try new things and be as excellent as I knew I could be.

On the anniversary of Kelly and Sloane’s accident, I went to a memorial mass in their honor. Kelly’s husband Sean spoke about how he and his daughters are coping. He admits that they are still struggling, but he said that the thing that gives them hope is learning about all of the ways Kelly and Sloane have impacted and inspired others. I knew exactly what he meant. When I made my resolution to push myself, I was thinking about my personal and professional lives. Running was the furthest thing from my mind. But, as I learned from the Bible story, healing often comes in unexpected ways. I don’t have adequate time or words to explain the blessings that have come into my life since I decided to run this marathon in honor of Kelly. I can only say that it has been transformative, and I don’t know that I would have done it without Kelly and Sloane’s inspiration.

So, I want to leave you with the conclusion of that sermon I gave a little over a year ago. I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t sure I believed it at the time. But I believe it now:

“As we sit here [today], I’m sure that each of us is need of some form of healing, whether from physical disease, mental illness, emotional pain, spiritual emptiness, or any number of other hurts. I’m also sure that, at one time or another, we’ve all wished for a miracle. The good news of this text is that it might not happen immediately or exactly how we want it, but if we persevere, believe, and support one another, our own miraculous moments of healing will come. Sooner or later, our faith will make us well. Amen.”

Don't trip!

I have a co-worker who will be serving as maid of honor in her sister's wedding in early November. The other day, she told me that she is taking mega-doses of vitamin C every day until the big day because she is afraid of getting sick. I totally get that. I have only 10 days to go before the marathon, and the closer it gets, the more paranoid I become about illness and injury. I thought that having my appendix out during the heart of training gave me some karmic insurance against further problems, but the cold I had a couple weeks ago killed that theory. So, now I see potential hazards everywhere.

Recently, I saw a Facebook post about a girl who had to back out of her marathon when she hurt herself falling off a Bosu (see above). Guess what we use in our boot camp class every week? That's right, the Bosu. Guess who holds her breath every time she jumps up onto the Bosu? Of course, the Bosu is only one hazard among many. This morning, I survived the Bosu portion of the class and then tripped doing drills on a step. I don't know whose heart was beating faster at that moment- mine, or my boot camp instructor's. She has been super-supportive throughout my training and I know she does not want me hurting myself on her watch. I may just strap on some padding and a helmet for the next week and a half.

On a more positive note, the donations are pouring in! I am only $685 away from my personal goal of $2500. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has donated! If you are still planning to contribute, you have until 10/31 to do it online. If you can't remember whether or not you already donated (a few people has asked about that) let me know and I can look it up.

November 1st.

Lately, Katie C. and I have been discussing our plans for November 1st, aka: the day after the marathon. This momentous day will mark the end of six months of preparation, training, and fundraising, as well as the end of our heaviest month in terms of school work. Apparently, our professors don't realize that we are supposed to be tapering right now because the readings, papers, and presentations just keep coming. We have both coined lovely terms for this month, but this is a family blog, so I will not be writing them here.

On November 2nd (after I vote of course), I will have to turn my attention to everything I have neglected over the course of training. November 1st, though, is just for me. Katie has her own plans, conceived during her last long run, which involve a gong, a bottle of champagne, a shetland pony, and a pinata. Mine are not quite that exciting, but here you go:

November 1st

5:30am Wake up smiling. Immediately down some Advil. Put multiple ice packs back in refrigerator.

5:45am Go to gym for Group Power. This sounds crazy, but I'm dead serious. I have gone to this class the morning after just about every big race I've run, and I swear it makes me feel better. I lighten the weights big-time and it gives me a chance to stretch and move every muscle that is screaming at me. Also, people in the class are always very congratulatory.

7:00am Eat a light breakfast- something like steak and eggs. And maybe some homefries.

7:30am Nap. 

9:00am Snack. Maybe a grilled cheese sandwich. I'll be starving by this point.

9:30am Sports massage. If you have never had one of these, they are amazing. Basically, someone stretches you out for an hour. Its exactly what you want after a long run- someone to just grab your leg and pull until it feels better.

11:00am Go to the mall and buy a piece of clothing that is not moisture-wicking.  While there, stop at Chipotle for another snack.

12:30pm Write triumphant blog entry. It may be nothing but several screens full of the words "I DID IT!"

1:00pm-5:30pm Loaf. Order a pizza (or two) and sit on the couch catching up on DVR'd TV and napping.

5:30pm Go to DC for dinner with some of my favorite former colleagues. Order obscene amount of food and eat it in 10 minutes. Attempt to distract friends so that I can sneak additional bites off their plates.

8:30pm Hit McDonald's drive-thru on way home from dinner for a milkshake and maybe some fries.

9:30pm Head to bed with my two best friends: ice pack and Advil. Go to sleep smiling.

Counting down the days...

I just sent the following message to all my friends and family. The big day is fast approaching- please help in any way you can!

Dear friends-

Its hard to believe, but the Marine Corps Marathon is a mere 13 days away (gulp)! The bulk of my training is done and my practice races are run. All that remains now is two more weeks of "taper" training, the race itself, and one last fundraising push.

I do not have adequate words to explain how much your support has meant to me over the course of my training. There have been some low moments (fatigue, illness, the removal of a minor organ) and the
thought of all of you cheering me on has definitely kept me going.

I am writing one last time to ask for your support in two ways:

1. If you have not already done so, please consider making a donation to the Kelly Murray Scholarship Fund at Loyola. To date, I have raised $1490 toward my goal of $2500, and Katie and I have raised a combined $1940 toward our goal of $5000. This money is going to make a huge difference in the lives of students in the PhD program, which was a real passion of Dr. Murray's.

Through October 31st, you can make a secure online donation at http://www.active.com/donate/marathonformurray. Or, you can send a check made out to Loyola University to:

Annual Giving
Loyola University Maryland
4501 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21210

If you donate by check, be sure to write "Kelly Murray Scholarship Fund" on the memo line, and let me know about it so I can add your donation to my total.

2. If you live in or near DC, come to the race! Spectator info is available at http://www.marinemarathon.com/race_info/spectators.htm. The race starts at 8am, and I expect to finish somewhere between 1 and 1:45pm. My bib number is 20398. After the race, I will be meeting family in the "B" family meetup area at the Finish Festival, so that's a good place to look for me. If you are planning to come, let me know so I can look for you, though I may leave my memory and abilty to think clearly on the race course!

Once again, I can't thank you enough for all of your love and support!

Take care,
Alicia

20398

That's the bib number I just downloaded from the MCM website. It will be my number on race day. I hope its a lucky one!

I'm in the middle of a pretty crazy week right now. I'm about to enter my busiest time of the year at work, school just started up again, and I'm gradually resuming the training schedule I was on before my surgery. My life is basically gym, work, school, eat, sleep, repeat. I do have a couple updates worth noting:

At this point, I feel pretty much healed. I don't have any pain in my incision sites any more. I am having some shortness of breath, but I think that's more about having missed 2 1/2 weeks than about the surgery. I'm back to my regular weights in Group Power and I even added a bit this week. I went back to boot camp this morning, which was super-hard, but again, I think that was more about the training break. My training group is doing 20 miles this Saturday, and I'm going to get as close to that as possible. Our schedule for the next four Saturdays is 20, 18, 20, 18. I may have to do 18, 20, 20, 18, but I think that's okay.

On Tuesday, I finally got around to uploading the Nike+ data from my race on Sunday, and I was a little surprised. As you may recall, I forgot my watch, so I had no way to gauge how fast I was going throughout the race. I felt like I went slow for miles 1-6, much faster for 7-10, and then slowest for 11-13. According to the Nike+, I ran a pretty consistent pace throughout. Miles 7-10 were about 10 seconds/mile faster than 1-6 and 11-13, which were all about the same. I suppose that this says good things about my ability to stick to a pace, even if my ability to gauge that pace myself is a little weak.  

This may be a good time to say how I feel about the Nike+ system, which I've been using since 2007. Nike+ involves a sensor that you put in your Nike+ shoe (or on the laces of your non-Nike shoe, using an unlicensed adapter). The sensor connects wirelessly to a receiver which is pre-installed in IPod Touch or IPhone. If you don't have an IPod Touch or IPhone (I don't), you can buy a receiver for an IPod Nano or one that comes in a wristwatch. I have both of the latter options. However you set it up, the functions of the Nike+ system are very basic: it tracks time, distance, pace, and calories. If you use it with an IPod, you can choose to have a voice update your progress throughout your run and you can download special workouts and playlists from ITunes. When you upload it, all of your data gets sent to a website, where you can look at graphs and stats from your runs and do some social networking. If you want, you can connect to sites like Facebook, Twitter, and DailyMile (that's how I get the ticker updating my mileage on this blog).

For me, the biggest selling point of Nike+ is the price tag. If you go with the wristband option, it will only cost you $59 plus the cost of the shoes. Even if you have to buy an Ipod and shoes, you'll spend less than you would for some of the mid-priced Garmin models. This is important for people like me who have a tendency to break small electronic gadgets (I'm on Nano #4 and wristband #2). The biggest drawbacks are the limited functions and the accuracy. Nike and IPod claim that the system will be perfectly calibrated for 95% of runners straight out of the box. I do not find that to be true at all. I have calibrated and re-calibrated numerous times and its still not always accurate. If you're just looking for basic data and don't mind a margin of error, Nike+ is probably a good fit for you.   

Okay, back to work and then off to class!

Finishing for Kelly

This is Dr. Kelly Murray, one of my favorite professors in the Pastoral Counseling department at Loyola University, MD. She died on June 26, 2009 when a sudden summer storm caused a tree to fall on the minivan she was driving. Her 7 year-old daughter Sloane died as well. Kelly left behind a husband, five other daughters, and an amazing personal and professional legacy.

I met Kelly for the first time on the first day of my first class at Loyola, Helping Relationship, in Fall 2007. Kelly walked into the room and I was instantly impressed by her energy, confidence, humor, and great style. When she told us about her professional background, I was even more impressed. At that point, Kelly was only in her late 30's and she had already taught at the Naval Academy and received tenure at Loyola. She was also maintaining a private practice, writing books, and working as a consultant for groups that ranged from the White House crisis unit to Lifetime TV. When Kelly mentioned that she had a husband and 5 (at that time) daughters under the age of 12, I went from impressed to amazed. I clearly remember thinking "I don't know what this woman can teach me about counseling, but she can certainly teach me something about life."

I was lucky enough to have Kelly twice that year, moving from Helping Relationship in the Fall to Psychopathology in the Spring. I quickly learned that Kelly had a lot to teach me about counseling and about life. Not only could Kelly juggle being a professional, a wife, and a mother, she could also juggle different roles as a teacher and a therapist. She was tough, but fair. Serious, but fun. Innovative, but grounded in traditional practices. Exceptional, but always down to earth.

Kelly had a joy and an enthusiasm that could not be contained. At the beginning of the Spring semester, she announced that she was pregnant with her 6th child. She and her husband had decided not to learn the baby's sex, but Kelly was always confident that baby #6 would be a girl. As she explained it, "That's what my husband and I do. We have girls." I imagine that most people would be a bit daunted by the thought of adding another member to a family of 7, but Kelly never seemed anything other than thrilled about it. She often shared stories of her girls in class, which made me realize that she had so many kids because she simply loved being a mom. She loved being a mom, she loved being a wife, she loved being a therapist, and she loved being a teacher. Kelly was able to be excellent in everything she did because she only did things that she loved.

As if Kelly didn't have enough to occupy her time, she was also an avid runner. She ran on her own and she also incorporated running into some of her counseling work. I learned at one of Kelly's memorial services that she had planned to run a marathon, but had to stop training when she got pregnant with her youngest daughter. So, in honor of Kelly, one of my PC classmates and I are attempting to finish her marathon for her. On October 31, Katie Cashin and I will run the Marine Corps Marathon. Katie and I are both first-time marathoners and we are hoping to use our training to raise money for the Kelly Murray Scholarship Fund, which will support doctoral students at Loyola. We hope you will follow along as we train and help in any way you are able!

More to come on how to support our efforts.