Getting better...:)

Well, Saturday I ran my long run:)  My friend Erin met me at my house and she ran the first six miles with me - how awesome!!  We both did very well, I LOVE having someone to run with, it makes the time go so much faster!  We struggled a little when we came to the bridge street hill...but other than that we did really well:)  At mile six we passed my street so she turned down to go back to her car and I continued on for another 8 miles.  It was an awesome day for running and it felt great!  It got kind of bad towards the end, running through the slush and snow for 14 miles gets tiring!

Today I took the morning off running, that felt nice:)  Tomorrow is boot camp in the morning, and then in the evening I am meeting my Uncle Brian and we are going to The Venue, a local bar in Standale, to talk about the Euchre Tournament, so hopefully I will have some final dates and information for you on that soon:)

This weekend we received $75 in donations!!  Thank you to all of the supporters!  I am just so happy this is going well and I can't wait to have some fundraising events:)  Thanks for reading!

Busy week...

Hello all!   This week has been pretty busy:)  I like it that way!  Tuesday morning was boot camp, it was pretty nice outside so we did a 2 mile tempo run down Monroe.  We headed up to the carpeted area after that for some chest and abs.  It was a nice start to the day!  Wednesday morning I ran 4 miles on the treadmill while watching Biggest Loser - I was bummed it was only an hour long this week:(  I will have to wait and see next week how everyone does with their weight loss! 

This morning was boot camp again, but I missed it!  My alarm was set for 4:50am and at 5:15am Weston woke me up and said, honey, why are you still sleeping?  I usually leave my house at 5:20am so I did not have time to get ready, but I still got up and ran 3.5miles outside, it was another nice morning:)

The plans for a Euchre tournament and the walkathon are still on...I will keep everyone posted! 

This week Saturday I am scheduled to run 14miles.  I'm pretty excited, a good friend of mine, Erin, is going to run the first 6 miles with me!!  Yay!  I ran with her this summer a little while she was training for her first half marathon, it's so nice to run with someone!  She just called this week and told me she wants to do the Riverbank Run this year:)  I think she has the "bug":)  So now I am totally looking forward to this Saturday, I think it will be an awesome day!

Also, my sister-in-law, Betsey, just txted me last night and said she would like to train for her first half marathon this fall!!  Soooo excited!!!  I can't wait until she gets back here to Michigan (she lives in Alaska), so we can start running together:)

I hope every one's weeks are going well, it's almost the weekend already!  Let me know if you have any questions, or if you want to ever join me in a run or two:)  I always love company!  Thanks for reading!

Lazy Bum!

So this weekend was a mess for running!  I was such a lazy bum!  On Saturday I scheduled to run 13 miles.  I decided that since we were babysitting our niece and nephew, I would postpone it until Sunday.  We planned on doing a lot of sledding and active activities, so I didn't want to be tired out!  Well, Sunday morning I woke up at 6:00am and it was -10 degrees out!!!  I have never run in that cold of weather and I didn't dare do it!  I have a treadmill but it is really loud and I did not want to wake up the kids, so I went back to bed.  I told myself I would run Sunday evening...but by the time we got home it was almost 6:00pm and I was whooped!  So I did not do my long run at all this weekend!! 

Last year when I was training for my first marathon, I did my long runs on Saturdays no matter what.  This year I thought I would try to be more flexible and do Saturdays OR Sundays.  I guess that does not work too well for me!  I will stick to just Saturdays from now on!  I am still pretty upset with myself though.  Weston said it just perfect, he said it's a minor setback, but I still have 4 months and I will still be running the marathon!  So I shouldn't beat myself up over it.  Thanks honey!  This morning I woke up and it was 14 degrees outside, what a difference!  I went out and ran 5.5miles today, and it was great!  Perfect weather:)

Well, Randy Morris, the Grandville HS principal called me this weekend and said that April 23 works to use the track for the Run/Walkathon - but he made a good point - that is Easter weekend!  So I asked him to look into April 30th instead.  So I am still waiting to hear back from him, but I am thinking it will be held on April 30, 2011 - so mark your calenders!!

Also, Weston and I went to eat this weekend at The Venue, a sports bar on Lake Michigan Drive in Standale, we asked the owner if she would be okay with me organizing a Euchre Tournament at her bar sometime, she said No Problem!!  So my Uncle Brian has offered to help me organize it and I will let you know that exact date and information.  I'm thinking the end of Feb or beginning of March.

We received $170 of donations in the mail this weekend, thank you to everyone who has donated so far!! We really appreciate it!  Thanks for reading!

Hill blasts and abs...

Sorry I have not blogged since Tuesday!  What a busy week!  Tuesday night, my friend Sarah called me and she had a bunch of cans/bottles from her parents that she wanted to donate, so I picked her and the cans up and we were off to Meijer.  The total came to $25 even!  Thanks sooo much to Sarah and her parents!  I really appreciate it!

Wednesday I decided to work out after work so I could watch Biggest Loser at the same time:)  I ended up doing 45 min on the elliptical and a couple miles on the treadmill.  What an inspiring show!

Thursday morning was boot camp, Don Kern was the leader - that always means a HARD workout!  We went to a parking ramp that has some steep inclines and ran all the way to the top and then back to the bottom.  We then proceeded to do 10 12-15 sec sprints, uphill.  The 11th was a bonus round, we had to sprint uphill until the slowest person was done with two levels, whew!  That was hard!  After that we went to the "round carpeted area" in the sky walk and did some abs and upper arms and chest.  Once again we did 2.5min of planks!  I think that is one of my favorite things to do, it is extremely hard and I always feel it a few hours later.

This weekend Weston and I are babysitting our niece and nephew - we are really looking forward to it!  We will not have time to do any pop can drives or anything, but we are always accepting donations!  Just send a check or money order made out to Of One Heart to PO Box 150862, Grand Rapids, MI 49515.

I am still planning the run/walk-athon, and some other events, so I will keep everyone posted on the dates and times.  Thanks for reading!

I'm going to need your help:)

Hello!  So I have some wonderful news!!!  Grandville HS has agreed to let me use their track and facilities to organize a run/walk athon!  I am still waiting to hear the exact date, but probably sometime in late April, on a Saturday.  They have given us permission to use their bathrooms, their track, they have water, ice, and very big water jugs we can use.  I just have to provide the cups.  Also, they suggested I turn one of their locker rooms into the "aid station".  They also have an AED on site that will be there in case we need it - hopefully not!  So I have a lot of planning to do!!  I am going to need some volunteers to help me, I will keep you updated on everything and the areas I need help.  I am hoping to have a food station as well.  The track has 8 lanes, there will be separate lanes designated for running or walking.  The goal is to have the runners/walkers raise money before the big day - they can get donations from friends/family members; such as a monetary donation, or they can donate per lap, or per mile, whichever the walker/runner feels they would like to do.  I am hoping to have the event last for about 4 hours.  I think it would be fine if people would like to get a relay team together as well.  I am pretty open so far for ideas and I do not know exactly how it will all work yet!

I am hoping for a late April day because it will be a few weeks before the Riverbank Run.  I think it would be a great opportunity for runners training for the Riverbank to come and do their last or close to last long run on the track!

Well, yesterday was a day off after my long run on Sunday.  This morning was boot camp again, luckily inside, out of the sleet and slush!  We did mile repeats again, 3 sets of them.  That is a great workout and it's really nice to see how you improve week to week.  This week I was about 10 sec faster than last week:)  On Thursday we are set up to do a hill workout - I will let you know how that goes!  Don will be leading us on Thursday and he is usually a little tough:)  (which we like!)

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any advice, comments, or questions about the run/walkathon!  I would really appreciate it!

Dear God...Thank you for not letting it snow again today!

So this weekend was a little crazy for running.  On Saturday I woke up and hit the road at 7:30am.  We had gotton a lot of snow the night before, but that usually does not bother me; except for that day!  It was ankle deep and kind of heavy, and none of the roads were plowed!  It was pretty hard to run through, kind of like running through mud - but the weather was nice - 30 degrees - so I just kept going.  About a mile into it I had to stop and breathe - it was harder than I thought to run through the snow!  I was on Covell and I thought if I could just get to Leonard, that would probably be plowed.  When I got to Leonard and turned the corner, I realized my hopes were shattered.  Leonard was a mess, the road had not been plowed and people were sliding all over the place - so running on the shoulder was not an option.  The sidewalks were definitely not shoveled yet either.  I had to make a decision to keep going and risk hurting myself or turn around.  I decided to turn around.  By the time I got home I had run 4 miles and my ankles were very sore from the uneven ground.  I made the right decision!

Later that day I met my mom and we went out for the second pop can drive.  This time we were going to friends and family.  It was really nice, it just took a little longer because of the driving time, and of course the talking when we got to their houses.  But it was a good way to get the information out there about what I am doing.  We raised $50.30!  We were very happy with the outcome!

This morning I woke up late, I slept in:)  I was sooo happy to see it did not snow last night and the sky looked clear!  But I still did NOT feel like running.  I expressed my feelings to Weston - my husband - and he told me I definitely NEED to do my 12 mile run - if I do not I will be mad at myself.  Even though that is NOT what I wanted to hear, he was right!  He knows me so well!  So, at noon I went out to do my 12 miles.  It was great!!!  I was running really good, averaging a 9:50 mile - which is a good pace for me on a long run.  About mile seven I started getting stomach cramps, they kept getting worse.  I finally called Weston, he came and picked me up.  I finished the 12 miles on the treadmill.  It was probably the hardest time I have ever had on the treadmill, but i was happy I finished it! Thanks to my wonderful husband!! While running, I remembered the one and only time I had to call Weston last year to pick me up - it just so happened to be my 12mile run then too!  I guess the 12 mile training run is just hard for me, if it goes the same as last year, everything will get easier from now on. 

Let me know if you have any questions, or if you would like to help with the fundraising progress. Thanks for reading!

Ouch!

I'm sorry I was not able to write the past couple of days...I have been really busy!  Wednesday was my day off...I thought about running a few miles...but I knew Thursday boot camp was going to be hard...so I thought it was better to rest.  I was right!  Boot camp was great!  We started by doing some ab workouts...Don chose to do 2.5 min of planks!  OUCH!  Along with some bicycles and push ups.  After that we went over to our "underground" parking ramp.  Once there we did 2 20 sec sprints at 75% of our speed.  Then we proceeded to do 10 20 second sprints at about 100% of our speed.  This may not sound very hard...but 20 sec is a long time to be sprinting!  Usually on Thursdays I do a couple of easy miles when I get home, but yesterday by the time I got home, my abs were burning and my legs were pretty stiff.  So I just hopped in the shower and went on with my day. 

I am so thankful for all the support I have gotton for the fundraiser...I have a lot of plans I am trying to work out right now...and I will keep you updated!

I think this weekend I will do another pop can drive - only this time I will be visiting family and friends...so if you are reading this...I may stop by tomorrow!  Beware!  Thanks for reading!

Mile repeats...

Well, today was bootcamp again!  We went to the parking garage across the street from the DeVos Place, their lower level is great for running, kind of like a track.  We warmed up by jogging there, then we did three 1 mile repeats.  That is running at an up tempo pace for a mile, then a lap of walking/jogging; then back to one mile up tempo, etc...  It was very nice! 

For fundraising...I'm in the process of contacting some people/places.  One of them is Hudsonville Winery, I heard they do fundraisers there and I love wine!  What a fun idea!  Also, I am kind of working on putting together some sort of run/walk.  I am waiting to hear back from Grandville to see if I can use their track...I will keep everyone updated on this process!  Thanks for reading!

Monday, Monday....

Oh Monday....the hardest day of all to work out.  I always have to set my alarm 10 minutes earlier on Mondays because it takes me that much longer to get up and go.  But I did...today I ran on the treadmill, I had enough of the cold weather on Saturday.  I decided to do a ladder drill on the treadmill, this makes the time go so much faster!  What you do is run one lap at a slow pace, then one lap at a fast pace.  Then one lap at a slow pace and 2 laps at a fast pace, then one slow, 4 fast, one slow, 2 fast, one slow, one fast, one slow and your done!  It equals 4 miles.  It breaks up the time and instead of thinking...I have to run 4 miles, you can think I have to run one lap...then I get to slow down, etc. 

Yesterday was my rest day, it was very nice.  I went to my parents house and picked up some pop cans, and then my sister said she had a few so I went over there.  A few was an understatement!  We ended up with $15.80!  So I will add that to the other pop can money:) 

I am working on some other fundraising ideas, and when I get them set I will let you all know!  Thanks for reading!

Pop can drive a success!!!

Whew!  What a day!  This morning I woke up at 7:30am and ran 11 miles. It started out being 10 degrees...brrr!  It warmed up as the sun came out though!  It was an interesting run, my halfway point was my dad's company Ranger Tool and Die, so I stopped in there to say hi.  The guys in there were telling me about a radio station that does a "Pay It Forward" program where they interview people who are doing things such as running a marathon to raise money for a non-profit organization.  I will look into that a little more, they could not remember the radio station - so if anyone knows which one it is, let me know:)

On my way back, I ran into a group of 3 runners; they had some water stations set up so I stopped by to talk with them.  They said they were a part of the Mars Hill running group, 2 of them were training for their first marathon.  How cool!  They are planning on doing the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City - that was my first marathon last year.  It is really fun and exciting to meet people who are doing the same thing you did, I know how they feel!

When I got home I quickly showered and then went back to my dad's shop - he just happened to have a whole bunch of cans for me to start out my can drive.  I think the total from his shop was about $30 - thank you Ranger Die!!!  I picked up my friend Sarah and off we went.  We did the old Fulton Street, Oswego Street, and Burrit Street.  It took a couple of hours and we had a couple of truckloads!  We were able to meet a lot of really nice people (and dogs!), we were actually offered a couple of dogs at some houses, lol!  I dropped Sarah off and my husband and I went to Meijer to start the returning process....we came out with $91.10 total!  Thank you again to anyone who helped with our pop can drive!  We can't wait to do another one.

I am still working on doing other fundraisers, if you have any ideas, feel free to share them:)  Thanks for reading and talk to you soon!

A Skip, A Hop, and A Jump...

Yesterday morning was bootcamp again.  We started with a 1/2 mile or so warm up, then we worked on our abs and arms.  We jogged to our favorite hallway where we did some special running drills.  These are exercises that help build up the muscles in your legs and feet - muscles you do not use very often but work well as supporting muscles for the muscles you do use.  We did some high skipping, a lot of backwards running, some butt kicks, shuffling, and probably more that I can not think of right now.  This all may sound kind of easy - but trust me - it is not!

Today is my rest day, I will hopefully do 11 or 12 miles tomorrow morning, I will have to tell you how that goes:)

Tomorrow my husband has agreed to help me do a pop can drive.  I understand a pop can drive does not usually generate a lot of funds; but we will go through our neighborhood and hand out fliers for my fundraiser as well - so maybe some people will be able to help a little more.  We shall have to wait and see:)  I have also heard of a couple of other companies that do fundraisers as well...so I will look into them and whenever I have an "event" - I will post it on here.  Thanks for reading!

I'm a lottery winner!

okay, just kidding:)  But I got you to read this didn't I?  Today I woke up and ran 3 miles on the treadmill, it was nice - halfway through Weston (my husband) came downstairs and told me I won $3 of the mega millions!!!  Wooohoo!  That's the closest I have ever come (I've only played it 3 times!).  I might just have to re-invest that $3 in a few more tickets for this friday:)

Later today I went to visit the chiropractor...he put my hip back into place...feels good!  When I got home I realized a new episode of Biggest Loser taped last night!  That is one of my favorite shows...it's very motivating...especially when the contestants run a marathon.  That is one of the reasons I chose to run my first marathon.

I think I will try to go out this weekend and do a fundraiser for Of One Heart...I'm thinking about doing a pop can drive in my neighborhood.  Let me know if you want to help:)

Bootcamp:)

So this morning I had bootcamp.  For anyone who does not know what that is, it is a training group that I have been running with for about a year now.  We meet on tuesday and thursday mornings, from 5:30-6:30 downtown and do different running drills.  The leaders of this group are Jim Patch - a personal trainer at the YMCA, Don Kern, the race director for the Grand Rapids Marathon, and Craig Vaughn - he is the business guy and also an expierienced runner. 

This morning we were going to do mile repeats in an enclosed parking ramp, but since it was nice out, Jim decided we should do a 2 mile tempo run outside.  We ran down Monroe, starting at Pearl street, down to where Monroe does a 90 degree turn, then turned around and ran back.  I think it was just a little bit over 2 miles.  It was very nice...my legs were a little sore after the long run on Sunday, but that didn't bother me too much.  After the tempo run we went back inside (we use the skywalk for some of our workouts), and we did some abs and upper arm workouts.  If you ever see us out there working out, give us a honk and wave...we are always having fun:)

Yesterday was my rest day, I usually take a rest day on Sundays because I usually do my long runs on Saturdays.  So this week is a little off for me.  Tomorrow is usually my mid-week rest day, but since I took yesterday off, I think I will run tomorrow.

Feel free to ask any questions about the Of One Heart organization or about how the fundraising is going, I am always here to answer questions:) Thanks for your support!

I'm an Aunt again!

Well, today was an exciting day.  I set out to run 10 miles in this lovely weather and about 20 minutes into it I got a call from my brother - his wife had just delivered their fourth child!  Very exciting!  His name is Linkin Isaiah, he is 8lbs 14oz:)  Mom and baby are doing great!

So I was successful with the ten mile run, it was actually a really nice day out!  Not very windy, a little snow, not icy.  I actually tried to run the 10 miles yesterday, but the wind was so bad I thought I would wait until today.  I am very glad I did - my breathing was right, my legs did not get sore, and it was just an awesome run.  My time was 1 hour 45 min. and 53 sec - this is not very good for me, I was hoping for less than 1:40...but that time does include the phone call from my brother - which I walked through - and a phone call to tell my husband the good news:)  I'm looking forward to getting into my training a little better now that the holidays are over - the extra cookies, cheesecake, wine, and homemade food does not help my time (or waistline) either!

Hello!

Hello, My name is Jill Gorby and if you are visiting my blog you have probably met me or heard about what I am doing.  If not, I will fill you in.  I am training for my second marathon and have decided to raise money for a non-profit organization called Of One Heart.  This organization was set up to help local families who have children born with different maxillofacial deformities, such as cleft lips and palates.  I have chosen this organization because I was also born with a cleft lip and palate.  I was lucky enough to have parents who could afford to give me twelve plastic surgeries, years of speech therapy, and five years of major orthodontics.  Because of them and Dr. Mann, the founder of Of One Heart, I live a very normal life.  I would like to help other children do the same. 

My fundraising goal is $10,000!  I will need all the help I can get to raise that amount of money.  I am training for the Minneapolis Marathon on June 5, 2011.  Here are some facts and information about Of One Heart:

Mission Statement:  Dedicated to Children's health needs that otherwise fall through the cracks of our health programs on a child by child basis, through the generous support of the communities of West Michigan who care for their neighbors as if Of One Heart.

Of One Heart is a non-profit corporation comprised of local doctors and professionals.  It has been operating informally for years as doctors giving their time to work with needy children whose health needs fall through the insurance and federal and state health program cracks.

Of One Heart was formed on a formal basis in order to bring it to a higher level as the number of needy children inquiring help has grown.

Of One Heart helps children with hearing and speech disabilities, facial deformities (including cleft palate), and other medical issues.  In early 1998, Of One Heart designed a summer speech therapy school in association with DeVos Children's Hospital.

Of One Heart is committed to operating in an environment free of red tape and making decisions based on common sense and the needs of children.  With this commitment, the organization can most effectively turn heartaches into smiles.

In 2010, Of One Heart has contributed over $14,000 toward treatment for their Oral Cleft Clinic patient population that included orthodontia, oral surgery, counseling services and speech therapy.

If you have any questions about this organization, you can contact Dr. Mann's office at 616-486-5885.