Pictures !!!

Arriving in Greece !

Team "Alberta"
Guest speaker Jeff Galloway ... very helpful info he gave us !!
Bus Ride to Start line of Marathon at 6:00am !!

At the start line!

Waiting to start !
Lighting the torch to start the race !

Over 13,000 people in the marathon !!

Enroute !

Very happy to see the 21k half way mark !!

Yay !! Half way mark !!

KM 37 ... wow !!

View of the stadium and Finish line !

Crossing the finish line !!

Thank you Domitrice and Jo for staying with me to the finish line !

My team mate and roomie Heather !


Marathon Completed !!

6weeks since race day !!1

I can't believe it's been 6 weeks since the marathon. My feet still look like they were in a marathon ...lol !!! A few toenails missing but at least I can wear shoes again. I'm back at the gym and have decided that maybe I will do another marathon next year. I still have some weight to lose and I think having a goal of a marathon will help with the last half of the weight loss. My expectation for this one might be a bit higher this time, like finishing in under 8 hours ..lol !!!

Thank you to everyone that has followed and supported my journey. I thought once I did the marathon in Greece it would be the end of my journey but it seems like it is only the begining. Supporting the Arthritis society is very important to me as well as maintaining my own health and having goals to work towards, so what a better way to do that then for me to be a supporter for the Joints in Motion program and continue to be an inspiration to others that suffer with Arthritis. I encourage others to join me next year and together we can do a marathon !!! I want to have my own team within the Joints in Motion Team !!! :-) "Go Team Jordan" ...LOL !!!

Can't wait to hear who wants to join me !!!!

The Big Day !!!

Sorry I wasn't able to blog while I was in Greece, I couldn't figure out how to get the computer to type english on the blogsite ..lol !!! I arrived home on Saturday and I am really trying to get back to routine with the time difference. I think this part is harder than the marathon was ..lol


Well it was an experience for sure. The day started at 4:45am. We boarded the buses and took the one hour drive to the start line in Marathon. Our race started at 9:20 am. Over 12,000 people lined up to start the marathon, we started in blocks, so the elite runners started right 9:00, I'm sure they were finished before I even hit the 10k mark..lol After listening to people that have run this course in previous years I decided to take their advice and not go hard and fast (well as fast as I go anyway..lol) off the start, so I maintained a good even pace through the first half. In the begining people were passing me both walking and running, so by the 10th km where the hills started there were probably only about 20 people behind me. Once we hit the hills, it was a great feeling,cause I passed a lot of people, because I was doing a slower pace at the begining and I was able to maintain going up the hills while others struggled and some actually were falling out of the race. Don't get me wrong, there were some BIG hills but I didn't do to bad. I enjoyed all the spectators handing out olive branches for good luck and the little kids yelling out "bravo bravo" They loved when you stopped to give them highfive. I really did enjoy the first half of the race. At the 21st km I needed to stop and have my feet retaped cause I could feel that they might be blistering through the tape that I had put on before the race. That was a mistake because they used crappy tape and taped them too tight. Another km up the road I had to stop again and readjust the tape. So at the almost 23km a car pulled up beside me and asks "do you speak English".. I said yes .. and they said " you are out of the race". My heart sank into my stomach and I asked why. They said it was because my half mark time was over the limited time that would get me to the finish under 8 hours. I asked by how much and I was off by 10 minutes. So we had a quick discussion with them telling me I had to leave the course and I said I need to finish. I knew I wasn't that far behind the last qualifiers so after the car pulled away, I started to run thinking I could make up the time ..lol I think back and it was pretty funny. (Just wondering why all my running friends didn't tell me I had to have a certain time at the half point...lol) Anyway, I felt great and new that I could continue, so I continued on the course "at my own risk". At this point the mental game started, I was "officially" out but wanted to finish. On the course by myself, being the very last person was harder then the physical walking of it. One of the coordinators from group were following the last person from our group on the course (which happened to be from about the 15thkm) and so they stopped and asked what was going on. I told them and told them I wanted to continue and so they continued with me km by km. The water stations were all being packed up as I got to them so I was taking water off the trucks and the streets were all being opened block by block behind me. I think that running the marathon is enough of a physcological game but knowing you are out of the race and out there by yourself, I really wanted to quit time and time again. But thanks to all the kind words and support from family, friends and even strangers on the course my heart wanted to finish. I wasn't able to walk on the road of the course, I had to walk on the on even sidewalks and up and down off the curbs so it wasn't even a nice smooth finish ..lol The other bonus to being "officially" of the race is you don't have to use the porta potties (which are really gross when you follow 10,000 other runners that have had runners diarrehea..lol) instead I found gas stations that felt sorry for me and let me use theirs..lol. So 45 minutes after the last person came in I walked into the pretty much empty stadium (but my teammates were there cheering me on and that was awesome) and crossed the finish line with the supervisor of the people that made sure I was safe on the course for the last 21km. The trainers that were with our team didn't even realize that I was the last one on the course, I guess that's what you get when they send trainers that you haven't trained with the entire time, they don't know who you are, so thankfully I was depending on them. Crossing and getting my medal was an awesome feeling. Listening to other people and the awesome feeling of running into a stadium full of spectators that they felt kinda makes me sad that I missed that part. But I am just glad that I stuck to the reason why I came here and that was to finish the marathon and I did that. So it didn't turn out the way I thought it would but it was an adventure and part of an entire journey that didn't go as I expected, but I look at it this way... I at least have something to work for next time I do a marthon... finishing "officially" ;-) The support from everyone is overwhelming and awesome !!!! And thank you to those that are donating to my website for finishing .. that is sooo awesome !!! Thank you !!!

I will post pictures.
.

Boarding the Plane !!

Wow, I can't believe after everything I've been through on this journey that in less then 24hours I will be boarding a plane destination .. Athens Greece !!! It's going to be a long couple of days getting there and hopefully my hip holds up with all the sitting on the plane. I have a flood of emotions to deal with today, the marathon, the flight, leaving my family ... and the list goes on and on !! I'm pretty much packed, and holy crap who knew that a 20lb pack could feel so heavy ...lol !! I was thinking to myself as I packed around the 20lb on my back and it felt heavy, that a year ago when I was packing over double that around how in the world did I do it !!
I will be arriving in Athens Thurs night around 6pm which will be about 9:00am your time.
Race day is Oct 31 (Greece time) so when you are settling into bed for the night around 11pm I will at the start line ready to walk a marathon. I seriously get butterflies and sick to my stomach when I think about it ..lol !!! I will go and do my best, do as much as I can. I am prepared to walk the full 8 hours and if that takes me across the finish line, I will be extremely happy !!! If I get the chance to get on to the blog before the race I will post my bib number and you may be able to view the results on the website I previously posted.
It's going to be an adventure and I can't wait to let everyone know how I do !!

I am truly blessed to have such an amazing support system through this entire journey and I couldn't have gotten this far without all of you. :-)

Donations can still be made to my fundraising page if you have family and friends that would like to donate. I have met my goal but I would like to continue fundraising for the Arthritis Society and raise awareness. I want to be the success story that people donate to !!! :-)

Well off to do some last minute things so stay tuned for the big day !!!! :-)

Thanks everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last long one!!!

So this past Sunday was my last long walk at 18k. Time to give my body a chance to rest and prepare for the big day. The most I will be doing will be 10k. I was thinking back to a time when I was trying to log 30k in a week, now I do that in 2 days. Who would have thought.

Time to start gathering things up for the trip so I don't forget anything. I can't believe I leave in 8 days !!!!!!!!!

The marathon is Oct 31 at 7:00 am but that will be Sat Oct 30 @ 10:00 pm your time. I have 8 hours to finsih so when you get up at 6:00 the next morning hopefully I will be finished and celebrating at the finish line..lol !!!



Today is a rest day and tomorrow I will do 5k. That should feel like a breeze ..lol

Marathon Link

Here is a link to the marathon and it's countdown timer. :-)
http://www.athensclassicmarathon.gr/Marathon/StaticPage2.aspx?pagenb=21712

Less then 2 weeks until I leave and it appears the last of my training has to be outside in the SNOW !!! ughhhhh !!! But then it is Calgary, the snow could be melted by tomorrow ..lol !!!

Enjoy the weekend !!!

Countdown !!!

Wow, it's only 15 days until I leave for athens and 19 days until the marathon.
My chiropractor has given me a hip brace/belt to wear at night to help with my hip pain and it seems to be helping a bit.
I did 10k walks last week with one day of hills. I did do a bit of running one day and it didn't feel too bad butI decided to save the running for Athens. I did my long walk Monday instead of Sunday cause a friend (thanks Kelsy) was able to join me and we did 20km. I really would have liked to have at least one long walk in of 30k before heading to Athens but it isn't going to happen. We have to start tapering off our distances so I'm just going to go and do the best that I can. At this point I need to conserve what I have left so that I can at least participate.
Sitting on the plane for so many hours could ultimately decide whether I am able to even try the full marathon or have to switch to the 10k.
It is a bit frustrating after all this time and effort that I might not be able to do what I set out to do but I promise I will do the best that I can.
I want nothing more than to complete the 42k and that's where my heart is, I just hope my body is in the same place ..lol
It has a been a roller coaster of a journey this far and expect that isn't about to change now, so I'm holding on tight for the rest of the ride. :-)

Thanks again to everyone who follows my blog and supports me in so many ways. It means the world to me.

Let's start the countdown together.

16km today.

So I found a new path today. I left my house and headed over to McKenzie Lake and then down into fishcreek park and walked the trails along the bow river. What a beautiful morning for sure. It made me think that walking in Greece might not be so bad cause I will be so occupied checking out the surroundings I won't even have realized I just walked 42k ...hahahaha !!!
I was alittle disappointed that the route was only 16km but it was good. My hip is pretty sore so I will be off to see the chiropractor again tomorrow. I was there a couple of times last week, as well to see the sacrial cranial therapist. So hopefully a couple of visits this week will make it feel good again.
I wrapped up my feet in tape this morning to see if it would help with the burning and prevent blisters on the bottoms of my feet. All was good so as long as I don't forget my tape I should be good. I can't believe the race is 4 weeks today and I leave for Athens in 3 weeks and 3 days.
Complete craziness. Since our training isn't supposed to increase the distance we are walking/running now I guess I go into the marathon as 21k being the maximum I have a walked. I plan to do 10k 3 days this week and then do my 16k route on Sunday again.
I have to say the adrenal is already starting to kick in so I can't imagine what it's going to be like once I get over there. I just really wish I wasn't having hip issues this close to leaving.
But as I said before, it is what it is and I will go and do the best that I can. :-)
Thanks again everyone for the support and keeping up with blog (even when I'm not so good at keeping up with it...lol)

Have a great week everyone !!

only 4 weeks !! :-s

Oh my goodness ... only 4 weeks to go !!!! Being sick for the past 3 weeks has taken toll on my training. I've only been able to do light workouts and no long walks. Today wasn't the longest I've done in 3 weeks and that was 10km. It turns out I've been fighting a chest and sinus infection for 3 weeks so no wonder I've felt so horrible. I was glad I could do 10k today but I really was hoping for more. Now that I am on antibiotics I'm hoping this week of training will be
better.
Thankfully my chiropractor lives across the street so I got to have a house call for my hip today after my 10k, cause along with everything else I am dealing with, that has been giving me grief too. I'm starting to think my body is trying to tell me something ... something like "what are you thinking doing 42k..lol"

Onwards we go for the next 4 weeks!!! Ughhh I really feel sick to my stomach thinking about it only being that far away ..lol !!

Let the countdown begin !!! :-)

tick tock ....

And the clock is ticking... I can't believe it's only 6 weeks to go. I have to say I am freaking out a bit. I've just been hit with a nasty cold which has once again slowed me down a bit. Still not doing bootcamp, just focusing on some core exercises and my walking, walking and more walking.
I was thinking that I probably need to go and buy a new pair shoes to alternate with the ones I have now so they are ready to carry me across the finish line ..lol (I really wish someone was going to be there to carry me across ... lol)
We got some bad news that our trainer that is working with us right now isn't going to be going to Greece with us, so that's kind of a bummer. It would have been nice to have someone there that's done this journey with us and knows our strengths and weaknesses. I really hope we get to meet the trainer that's going to be there before we go.

Well we will see how my cold is on Sunday that will determine how far my long walk will be. I forsure think I can do at 10k even feeling like crap .. :-S I will let you know how that goes.

Have a great weekend everyone and once again your support is awesome !!!!

No Bootcamp !!!

Well it appears that I won't be incorporating bootcamp into my training. The constant impact on my foot is too much. We are going to come up with a plan for core training that doesn't involve my feet ..lol
I can't believe it's only 2 months away .. yikes !!! We will see how my next 6 weeks go and then decide if I will be able to finish the marathon walking it only or if I will have to give in to the 10k . My heart is still set on the Marathon so I'm relying on my positivity to pull it all together as planned.
Some encouraging words from a friend today in an email she sent :
So shitty about your foot :( you have worked so hard towards this. Regardless, you have done fantastic and completely transformed yourself, so remember that there still has been some huge payoffs! Every little set back you have is just "the old you" trying to win you back and take you down. Don't let it win.

Thanks ... it meant alot !!!Thanks to everyone for your continued support !!!

First 1/2 marathon

Wow ... I can't believe I just did my first 1/2 marathon walk. My cousin registered and did the walk with me. We started at 6:30 am this morning and finished in 3 hours 27 minutes. We crossed the finish line together with the exact same times placing us 1st out of 127 women , 1st in our age category 30-39 and 2nd overall in the event !!!! I am so excited with the accomplishment, it is a huge milestone for me.
Although I am happy with what I did today, I am having reservations about the full marathon in 2 months. I'm glad that I decided to do the 21km because it's definietly put a few things into perspective. I will continue to train for the 42km focusing on walking it. I will let the Dr and the trainer decide when the time comes if I do the 42k or 10k. My heart is set on the 42k but I have to listen to my body. So far after the 21k today I don't feel too bad. A couple of big blisters on the bottoms of my feet and alittle bit of pain from the injury but not too bad. I will see how things play out over the next couple of days and evaluate. I'm hoping these horrible blisters won't keep me down for too long, I was just getting back into a training groove after my injury.


The support from everyone today was awesome and I am so thankful for everyone that continues to support me through email, facebook and running these races with me.

Cheers to a successful day !!!!

Re-evaluation !!!

So I've had to do some re-evaluating of what this upcoming marathon is going to look like for me. Up until June when I suffered the injury I was focused on doing a run/walk to complete the marathon and so I was focused to try and complete it in a resonable time. But since the injury and coming to the realization that body is not meant for running I have decided to refocus my energy into walking the complete course. I needed to take a step back and remember why I started this whole journey in the first place and it wasn't to become some super athlete running a marathon. I was doing it because I suffer from arthritis and I wanted to be an inspiration to other people, raise money for an amazing cause and reach some personal physical goals. I feel like I got so wrapped up in the training and the athletic part of the journey I forgot about the rest. I remember saying at the begining of this journey that if it took me 8 hours to finish the marathon so be it but somewhere along the line I started to focus on time and my body has since reminded me that I need to re-evaluate. I have spent the last month revamping my training so that it involves walking only. All my hill training , long and short training are all involve walking and I am more consistent now. I have determined that I walk pretty darn fast, almost as fast as my slow run and my body is much happier. I don't think my foot is going to be completely happy until all the training and the marathon is done but hopefully with the orthodics, splinting and lots of ice it will hold out for a couple more months. So it might take me alittle longer to finish my upcoming races but I think that focusing my training on walking them only, I will have a better chance at actually being able to finish them.
It's been kinda cool doing my training while on vacation, new places to walk and new things to see. Definietly gets rid of the boredom factor..lol (sorry about the slowing blogging, we don't always have internet access so I will update when I can.)
Something has to be said for power walking on the transcanada highway with cars whizzing by and watching for things like bears in the thick bush on the other side..lol

I'm back in a better space now with the training after a bit of discouragement with the injury and although I still have pain, it's not quite as bad as when I'm trying to run.
Less than 2 weeks until the half marathon I will be doing in Edmonton, that will be a test as to where I am and what things will look like for Oct.

Stay tuned and thanks again for all your support. :-)

still struggling and not happy ! :-(

So frustration has consumed my every thought about what is going to happen with this event. My injury to my foot is in a very slow recovery mode. The cast is gone and the orthodics and foot splint are in place but I am frustrated with the amount I can (or can't do) however you wanna look at it. I celebrate the fact that my fundraising goal has been met thanks to all my great supporters and I could then focus on the training more ... then "wham"
I'm hit with an injury. With less than 4 months to train and I am frustrated beyond believe. I started this journey for so many reasons and set so many goals for myself and I'm afraid of failing. Some will call it a "type A" personality but I so want to be able to complete this marathon and not have to live with an injury afterwards. If don't stay focused on training for the marathon I won't be able to reach my goals. (which are already getting further and further away from being attainable). I have people telling me to focus on doing the 10k rather the full marathon, but my heart just wouldn't be in the same away. I'm sorry that this entry to my blog is turning out to be a frustration vent, but right now this is what it is and it's a huge challenge for me right now. This is the reason I haven't been able to blog, because I didn't want to have such negativity come through as I struggled but it was time to let you know what was going on. I have never wanted something so bad and felt like it was slipping away. I guess so much of this is coming from the fact that I tried to do a run tonight and it didn't go well at all. :-( I was so excited because I thought the new runners, the orthodics and splint would put me back on track, but it didn't in fact it did just the opposite.

We just received our online training schedules from the running room and that added yet more discouragement when I typed in Marathon in Oct. I even put that I was going to walk the entire thing in 6.5 hours and the results were not encouraging.
So many things going through my head, do I do the marathon and walk as much as I can and not worry about finishing or do I focus and do the 10k and be able to finish and feel successful? Do opt into another event a couple months down the road after I'm able to fully recover from the injury. I hate to feel defeat and I know not participating in the marathon would make me feel like that. The thought of not going to Athens with the group that I've been training with would be sad, we've all become such good friends and shared our stories.

Well these are my thoughts from the last couple of weeks and I truly hope that I can find the answers I need soon. Thanks for listening and I will keep you posted. :-) Thank you to everyone for your continued support !!!

Plugging Along :-(

It's been a very frustrating month to say the least. After months of training and getting into a groove, it can all come to a grinding all so quickly. It's been 2 months now since I first started having pain in my foot and almost a month now in a cast and on limited workouts.
And the most frustrating part is it's only 4 months until the marathon. :-( I saw the Dr. yesterday and he was so kind to point out that soft tissue injuries can take a very long time to recover from. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, although I kinda already new that in the back of my mind.
I did see a podorthist as well and she has fitted me to have some orthodics and a splint for inside my shoe. They won't be ready until mid July but I'm crossing my fingers they will help with the road to recovery.
The biggest let down for me is not being able to reach my personal goals that I had set for myself by October, a big part of the reason why I took on this journey. I'm trying to stay to focused and positive but this injury has put me in a bad place right now and I am extremely frustrated. Not only feeling like I let myself down but all of my supporters too. :-(
I haven't given up on doing the marathon and until the Dr. says "absolutely not" (although not sure that I would even listen if he did..lol ) I will continue to plug along and do what I can.

So send your happy positive thoughts !!! :-) And I will keep you posted !!!

Enjoy the summertime sun !!!

Thanks again everyone for your much needed support.

2 weeks instead of 6 !!!!

Xrays and bone scan done on my foot and thankfully there is no stress fracture. The injury appears to be soft tissue so hopefully that only means 2 weeks of being off of it instead of 6.
I see physio on Tues so they can help me to determine when I can start back on my running program. I've still managed to do water workouts (not my favorite but I do what I have to do) and bootcamp doing only arms and core.
My thinking is it's already been 2 weeks of no weight bearing exercise while having it in the aircast so I am hopeful that with a few visits to physio things will be much in improved. The difficulty is that my arthritis is soft tissue so it could take the healing process a bit longer but I'm really crossing my fingers that's not the case.
I did get new runners as per the Dr's request but when I went back to see him last Friday he still insisted they weren't the right shoe...grrrr !! So I will see what physio thinks on Tues and perhaps give foot solutions a visit next week.

I have reached my fundraising goal which I am very excited about, in fact I have exceeded my goal and I thank everyone for their generosity in making that happen. I will continue to raise money for the Arthritis Society Joints in Motion program so please feel free to continue to invite your family and friends to donate to my page.

Our fundraising event treasure island was a success, I will be able to add about additional $1200 to my personal fundraising goal. Thanks again everyone that supported that event.

I'm thinking I should set a new goal of $10,000, what an accomplishment that would be to raise that much money for an amazing cause !!! :-)

http://arthritis.akaraisin.com/pledge/Participant/Home.aspx?seid=2150&mid=9&Lang=en-CA&pid=125270

Event Pictures

Thank you to one of the participants we have some awesome pictures of the event. http://flickr.com/gp/ericzchu/0713L9
Here is a sneak peek with the winner of the west jet tickets. Congrats Dee !!!
We still don't have all the numbers in but it looks like after all our expenses as a group we raised about $9500 for the Arthritis Society's Joints in Motion Program. Thank you again to everyone that donated items, bought tickets, attended the event and supported our silent auction, as well as those people that volunteered their time to work the event with us. Again it wouldn't have been a success without you.





An update on my training, well it's pool bound for running for at least 2 weeks. I go for a bone scan on Wed and that will determine how long I am in this air cast for. Thankfully I can still do core and arm work out of the pool and everyone assures me that running in the pool is just as effective so I'm not too worried about the training part. I just hope my foot heals sooner rather than later.

Great news with my fundraising ... I am now at 95% so that is so awesome, I am so excited !!! I have a couple of other donations coming in so I should be completed by July 1 and have my name entered in for the companion tickets to Greece !!!! (I'm thinking I should just enter my sister's name instead of mine cause she's the lucky one..lol)

The Good and the Bad !!!

Wow .. what a great time !!! The "Treasure Island" fundraising event was a great time !! We didn't have as many guests as we were hoping but none the less the people that were there had a fabulous time. The food and entertainment were amazing. We don't have all the accounting done yet but I'm hoping that I will be able to say that my fundraising is done once it's finished.
Thank you to everyone that bought tickets and supported the event. I'm hoping to have some pictures up soon. Congrats to Deanna Kowalski!!! Yes my sister drove 2 hours to attend the event and she won the westjet tickets for 2. Thankfully I didn't draw the winning ticket cause that would have looked alittle funny...lol !!! I was very excited for her !!!

Stay tuned for pictures and the amount we raised for the Arthritis Society !!!!

As far as training, well lets just say I've suffered another set back. All the pain I've been having in foot has come to a head and I had to go for an xray. Have to wait to hear if we are dealing with a stress fracture in the top of my foot or some serious inflammation in the tendons. Either way I am off all weight bearing exercises !!!
So it's off to the pool for workouts and running. Who knew you could do a running program in the pool !!! I'm sure my body will be much happier but holy man, I thought running outside was boring???? this has that beat for boredom.. lol !! But I will do what ever I have to do to get my training in .

As luck would have it, I just registered for a 1/2 marathon in Aug in Edmonton. I figured I should tackle a 1/2 marathon before the full in Oct !!! So cross your fingers and toes for me that this injury is shorted lived !!!

Thanks again everyone for all your support !!!!

Frustrating couple of weeks !!

The past 2 weeks have been very frustrating for me !!! I took a couple of days off after the mother's day run and then did 2 days of bootcamp. I didn't think it was possible to get any sicker but I did and now I had to take all of last week off. :-( Along with the cold, I ended up with a flare up of arthritis in my right foot. It always turns into a vicious circle when I can't take my meds because I am sick and then I end up with a flare up. :-(
My cold is finally getting better after another round of antibiotics for a sinus infection, so hopefully after getting back on my meds this weekend my foot will get better.
My plan is to return to training on Tues. :-)

It's also going to be a busy week getting ready for the Treasure Island fundraising event on Saturday. We haven't sold as many tickets as we would have liked so if you or any of your friends want a fun night out, we really need your support. :-)
Myself and Heather (one of the other participants) did another interview with Global Morning News so we are hoping that will generate a few more ticket sales.
We have so many great items like a hockey stick used in the olympics and signed by the entire womens hockey team, a washer and dryer set, westjet tickets anywhere westjet flies and tons more.
Only 1 week to spread the word and get your tickets. :-) Thanks to everyone that has already purchased tickets, can't wait to see you at the event.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend !!

Mother's Day 10km Run/Walk !

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms !!!! Today was the Mother's Day Run in Calgary. Wow there were like 3400 people in the race, it was a crazy amount of people !!! The morning started out with some rain and some snow to get us started. I was registered for the 10km, I haven't done a 10k since I walked the one last Oct so I thought it was going to be a whole lot easier this time around. Well I have been battling this nasty cold for almost 2 weeks so my 10k today was a pretty rough one. The last 2 or 3 k are somewhat of a blur as my head was a complete fog and I was really having a hard time breathing and seeing black spots. :-( I seriously don't remember crossing the finish line but my team mates assure me I did ... they insist on the fact that I crossed the finished line flashing everyone ... I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case..lol They did say I finished in about an hour and 33 minutes. My goal was an hour and half so I'm okay with what I did, being it was a struggle most of the way. My trainer's significant other was doing the run with me and I'm so glad she stuck with me the whole the time. Thanks Jo !!! Thank you to my trainer Kev, Jo and my team mates for taking care of me after the race when I needed to be taken to the first aid tent. I knew I was in trouble when I finally came back to reality and that's where I was. :-( Everyone there was awesome though and after about an hour and a half I was able to go home. After a very long hot shower to warm up cause I was absolutely freezing and an afternoon nap I don't feel too bad. Dam cold definietly got the best of me today. So now my trainer wants me to take a couple of days off and get some rest. I understand why but none the less it's very frustrating.
On the bright side, knowing I can finish in an hour and half sick, I can't wait to do a 10k when I'm feeling my best and can beat that time !!!
How ironic that it wasn't even my arthritis that caused me all the grief today at this race !!!

Only 3 weeks until our big fundraising event...very exciting !! We still need to sell some tickets so ask your family and friends to join you for an evening of fun and great prizes. (2 westjet tickets anywhere westjet flies). Thanks for your support !!! :-)

What a day !!!!

Today was a tough day for sure !!! I got hit with a nasty cold on Thursday and it's run me down pretty good. None the less I still worked out Thursday night and today I did my 5km City Run with hubby and his work team. I walked the first km with hubby and the kids and then did my run/walk for the rest of the 5km. Even though I could hardly breath cause my head and sinuses are completely stuffed up, I still managed to finish with my best time yet ! :-) I only wonder how much better I would have done had I felt better ... my new best time is 45.50. 3 minutes faster then the last race I did. Not huge but I'm happy everytime it gets better !
After the race I proceeded to our Saturday morning bootcamp with Kevin and the team. I wasn't sure I was going to make it through but I did. Totally couldn't focus on the exercises we were doing had to keep asking "what are we doing"...sorry Kev !!! Total head fog for sure.

I really need to kick this cold cause I am doing the 10km next sunday in the Mother's Day Run/Walk !!!

Have a good week everyone !!!

Cheers

Wow !!!!

Really that is all I can say is ... WOW!!! I finally hit one of my mini goal weights and it is such an awesome feeling!!! I can't believe that I have lost a total of 40lbs since I started this journey, 20 of that being just since January. Although I still have a long way to go, having a 1 in front of my weight instead of a 2 is the best feeling ever !! This milestone has boosted my motivation to a new level.
Bootcamp 4-5 times a week and doing a 5km run/walk in the mornings is very busy but I'm very excited to see the weight coming off and getting stronger.

I did my personal best on the 5km yesterday morning at 46 min and 28sec. I am doing a 5km race with hubby and his work team this Saturday so I really want to beat that time. :-) And next weekend is the Mother's Day Run with Kevin and the Body Be Fit teams, that one I am supposed to be doing the 10km. I have to say I am pretty nervous about that one.

Our fundraising event is only a month away and we need to sell tickets. So please drop me a line and I can deliver or send you your tickets. Please invite your family and friends to the event as well, it really is going to be a lot of fun. You don't want to miss the chance to win 2 westjet tickets anywhere westjet flies and some of our great silent and live auctions, including a signed Hockey Stick by the Womens Olympic Gold Team.

Thanks everyone for your continued support !! Can't wait to see you at the event!

Cheers

I never thought I could do this much !!!

Oh my what a week !!!! Thank goodness tomorrow is a rest day...lol cause I'm going to need it for sure !!! Bootcamps Tues and Wed and tonight I did 2 hours in back to back classes. Not sure it wasn't the smartest thing I've done but hopefully after a rest day, Saturday training won't feel so bad. :-S
I'm alittle frustrated with my weight, although everyone keeps telling me I'm looking awesome the scale hasn't moved for 2 weeks ...grrrrr !!! I know stay off the scale but I can't, I'm so close to reaching a huge milestone, a weight that I haven't weighed for over 10 years.
Tonight at bootcamp Global was there to interview our group and take one of our training sessions so it looks like I might get my 5 minutes of fame..lol !! I have to say though, I totally suck at TV interviews, I was so nervous I honestly didn't even know how to answer her questions...lol !!! I had just finished one hour of bootcamp and was getting ready for the second hour so I was this big sweaty mess...lol Tomorrow night at 5:00pm should be interesting..lol !!! YIKES !! Please no comments..lol (Just kidding)

Great news about our "Treasure Island" event... we managed to get 2 westjet tickets for anywhere westjet flies as one of our doorprizes ... so get your tickets for the event it's going to be awesome !!!

Well, I am completely exhausted and alittle sore (hopefully the advil kicks in soon) but needed to share the day !!!

Cheers

A great workout week !!!

Wow ... I think I might actually be starting to get that addicted feeling..lol !! Bootcamp 3x this week plus (2) 6km run/walks and a workout with my personal trainer at the gym. Today was actually with my gym trainer from 9-10am and then bootcamp from 10:30 -11:30am. I was definetly tired by the end of bootcamp. It was kinda cool though, I took my kids with me and they were pretty excited to see what Mommy does when I say I'm going to workout or go to bootcamp. My oldest loved doing all the exercises along side the group. And my dear 4 year old daughter just wants to know why I was the fattest one at bootcamp (her words)..LOL !!
It was a beautiful morning and our Joints in Motion trainer is really awesome. I think it's fantastic he is taking so much of his own time to get us in shape. Thanks Kev !!!
My fundraising is now at 82% which is soo awesome !!! Thanks everyone !!! :-) Well I've been told I can have a rest day on Sunday cause I did so well this week so I'm definietly going to do that.

Tickets are now available for the May 29th fundraiser, it's going to be a great time and would love to see you there !!!

What the heck ....

So bootcamp evaluations were last Thurs and it was alittle tough but not too bad. So I'm alittle shocked on Friday when I can't move my arms and my body is as stiff as a 2x4..lol Could be my lack of workouts while on holidays set me back to sore muscles after a workout??? Was not happy about that all..lol So I decide on Saturday to push myself through the soreness and do a 5km walk/run. It was brutal, my body was not happy at all but I was able to complete it in 49 min (2 minutes slower than my personal best..grrr). So the rest of Sat was a bit of a tough day, not moving around so good. Thankfully Sunday was alittle better, after taking my weekly injection of meds Saturday night and getting a bit of rest. I decided to take Sunday as a rest day since Monday night is bootcamp and I really need to be able to do well.

The upcoming "Treasure Island" event is May 29th. It's going to be a fanatastic evening. Tickets will be available by the end of this week. $60.00 a person for an evening of live Reggae music, some awesome Caribbean tastings (the menu is awesome, stayed tune and I'll give you a sneak peek), and your very own treasure chest to win a door prize. There will be silent and live auctions, as well you can try your luck at the "big treasure chest" ! And don't forget to mingle with the Pirates and show your skill at the limbo contest :-) Only 230 tickets available and 9 Joints in Motion Participants selling tickets so don't miss out !!!

Have a great day and thanks again for all your support !!!

Whew ... I'm Back !!!

Did you miss me..lol !! Almost a month since I blogged...sorry !!! I decided to accompany hubby on a business trip to Paris for 2 weeks, so that was fun. After walking for hours and hours each day checking out the city, I was begining to think that doing a marathon would be a breeze ....hahaha. Training is going well, the weight is coming off so I'm happy about that. It's about a 15lb loss since January, although not as fast as I would like, I'm still okay that at least there is progress. We had to make our decision as to whether we doing the 10km or the marathon in Athens. I was hoping I didn't have to decide until closer to the date but I had to decide now. I'm sticking with my original goal of completely the full marathon. The competive part of my brain is "go big or go home"...lol !! So with only 7months to go it's time to step it up yet another notch. I am also working on our Big fundraising event ... so mark May 29th on your calendars!!! It's going to be an awesome night!!!! More details to follow. I am looking for some awesome auction items so if you are able to contribute anything or know someone that would like to please let me know. We are able to provide a tax receipt for retail value of merchandise donated. :-)

Some disappointing news... my partner Pat is not going to be going to Athens with me now. :-( She is going to continue on the Joints in Motion journey to support the Arthritis Society but she will be doing the event in Vancouver. I wish we could continue this journey together but sometimes life throws us a curve ball.

So stay tuned for event details .... :-)

Run Day !!!!

Today was the St.Paddy's Day run and very chilly I might add. Our Joints in Motion trainer Kevin gathered a team and we all wore "Golden Shamrocks" t-shirts. There were a few Joints in Motion participants which was fun to get to know them as well. I was able to do a run/walk for the entire 5k and finished in 47 minutes. I was pretty happy since the fastest I have been able to do 5k so far was 56 minutes. Kelsy started the race with me and she was able to complete it in 33 minutes (on a bummed knee, I hope she's going to be okay) ...woohoo wtg Kelsy !! I promise next time I will finish with you..lol
Thanks to a complete stranger that made me run last 1/4 km (when I seriously just wanted to walk it..lol) I was able to beat my previous times. I definetly felt better after this 5 k then I did in Oct after the 10k walk so I'm hoping that means I'm getting stronger. :-) I have to say I'm pretty freaked out about the marathon but I will keep my ambitious goal and push forward.
I am going to do more runs outside rather than the treadmill cause the treadmill makes it seem pretty easy...lol
I scheduled a massage after this run cause I was afraid of feeling the way I did in Oct but I have to say..holy crap a Thai massage hurt worse then running the 5k ...lol !! It's all good, all in all I feel pretty good, alittle tired but pretty good.
I am pretty excited about the next race which in May 1, I am running a 5k with hubby in the "Calgary Big Run" and then May 9th in the "Mother's Day run" with Kevin's team again. Except on my 9th, I plan to do a 10km run!! (okay a run/walk but I am going to do the 10k and beat my time from Oct) !!

Our big fundraising event is almost confirmed so stay tuned for that!! :-)

Successful Day !!!

So for a week I have been doing alot on the treadmill following the beginner running program from Kevin. I started from the begining to see where in the program I was cause I knew that I was past week 1. Last Thurs, Fri and yesterday I was doing about 2.5km jogging 2 minutes walking 1 minute for 30 minutes. Today I moved up to week 4 of the training program and think it's a good place to stay and continue with week 5 next week.
Today was a great day ... I wanted to see if I could do 5km. (since I am registered to do 5km March 13) So I started with my 10 minute warm up walking at 3.5 kph and then jogged at 7.0kph for 3 minutes, walked for 1 min at 4.0 kph for 5 sets !!! Then did a 5min walk at 4.5 kph and then started the jog for 3 min, walk for 1 min for another 3 sets. (I really wanted to do another 5 sets but it wasn't going to happen..lol) So then I just finished off with a walk at 5.5kph to complete ...
5 km in 56 min !!!! I really want to be able to do the 5km on March 13 in 45 minutes so I'm on a mission !!!! Wish me luck !!! :-)
I completed my workout today with 40 regular crunches, 20 ball exchange crunches and 20 lower leg crunches. ( I seriously couldn't do another thing with my legs after the 5km ..lol)

Thanks Kelsy for joining the Golden Shamrocks !!! I love that you are always there to join me !! It means alot !!! :-)

Thanks everyone for your continued support of reading and posting on my blog!

False sense ....

Wow that was a bit of an eye opener..lol !!! I decide to use my treadmill at home today instead of going to the gym cause I have a few other things to get done. Well apparently my treadmill is older and you actually have to work alittle harder then you do on the NEW ones at the gym..lol
I tried to do my walk 2min and run 5min on my treadmill ... hahaha ya not so much. So I decided to do as I was told and start with the walk 1 run 1. I happy that I could do that for a full 30 minutes rather than just the 6 sets I was supposed to. So as much as I would like to think I am at the run 5min point in the 10 week running program, if it's outside or on my older treadmill I'm pretty sure that's not the case..lol

I really hate starting at the begining when I feel like I have been doing this forever. Just have to keep focused and do as I'm told..lol (I'm so not a good rule follower..lol)

I am still looking for donations to my fundraising goal so please invite your family and friends to sponsor my journey. There is a contest out right now for the participants and it's whoever can complete their fundraising by July 1 gets entered into a draw for a free ticket to Athens. That means a friend or family could win that free trip if my name is drawn. ...And just maybe you will be the lucky one that I pick :-)

Eat Think and Act like an athlete

Those are the words of our head Joints in Motion Trainer. It's kinda weird for me since I feel like I have been at this forever now. For everything that I have been doing for the last 10 months and really feels like nothing compared to what I am going to be doing now until Oct.

I am registered for a 5km run in March as a part of the Golden Shamrocks and then my husband and I are registered for another one May 1st with a team from his work. Should be fun !!!
I will now be meeting with a nutritionalist next week so hopefully that will help with the weight loss end of things.

It was a good workout this morning, I am supposed to be starting a "beginner" run program which is run 1 minute and walk 1 minute but since I have already been doing this for awhile I was happy when I could do run for 5 min and walk for 2 min for 4 sets. Almost 3km in total.
I was able to run at 6.5 km an hour comfortably. I then did some arms and core workout, my new found love for the exercise ball ...lol

Have a great week !!!

Slow at Blogging

Oops sorry for the delay in blogging. It has been busy for sure. So much to write about.
First of all we have 2 pools for our survivor fundraiser ...wahooo !! Thanks everyone !!!! The game is 2 weeks in so we've lost a couple of castaways already. :-( Sorry Guys !!

I got to meet with Kevin , the head trainer for the Joints in Motion Training Team. I did an evaluation and he made a few recommendations. First was to see the nutrionalist and keep a food journal, so I'm working on that. I also started taking an iron supplement in hopes that it will
help from the extreme tiredness I feel. mmmm floradix ... :-P lol !!! He is going to start a group training, I think on Monday nights, as well he would like us to do some extra training with him.
He is will do mini groups to help keep the cost down so if anyone is interested in joining me once a week for some "personal" training let me know. Kevin really is fantastic and a wealth of knowledge. Drop me an email if you are interested jomickey@shaw.ca

I did manage to get things straightened out with my trainer at the gym as well, so I will continue with sessions with her as well, since I was already committed to those before Kevin was brought on board. So it looks like my weeks are about to get busier, 2x a week with Kevin (group and mini group training), once a week with my gym trainer, my Sunday swim class and 2 days of training on my own.
And only 8 months to go ....yikes !!! That completely freaks me out !!! :-S

Have a great day !!!!

Good Work Out Week !!

It was a busy week. I worked out everyday except for Thurs. Today was
especially a crazy day, I did swimming in the morning which involved 21 laps (so that's what Pat told me cause I seriously lost count..lol) and then a deep water work out.
And then I met up with Kelsy (she's another great work out friend, one of the one's I can't keep up with..lol)at the gym for an hour and half work out. My body is a bit tired ..okay who am I kidding.. lol it's very tired. :-S Tomorrow might have to be a rest day but we will see how I feel in the morning.

Our meeting for Joints in Motion was good. I think we will have a few people on board to do an awesome fundraising event, hopefully in early May. We also met the guy (Kevin Smith) who is going to be our head trainer for Joints in Motion now. The great part is, he is going to Athens too. He is going to provide group training once a week in his studio http://www.bodybefit.com for all the Joints in Motion participants. It was a great turnout at the meeting and there are alot of people interested in supporting the Arthritis Society so that is great news !!!! There was a guest speaker there that was telling her story as a previous Joints in Motion Participant and she says that it completely changes your life to hear everyone's stories, make new friendships and support and amazing cause. I'm so excited to be a part of it. Anyone else wanna join me ?!? :-)

Have a great week !!!!

http://arthritis.akaraisin.com/p/jodyjordan.aspx

Longer workout !!

So I finally did it !! I met with my trainer this morning for an hour and then I continued my workout on the elipitical trainer for an additional 45 minutes. I did 5km on the eliptical today and I did 8km on it yesterday ! :-)

A few more people needed for our survivor pool fundraisier !!!

We get to meet some of the other participants going to Athens tomorrow night so that should be fun. Hopefully get some people on board to pull off an amazing fundraiser. :-)

My husband has signed us up for a 5km run (only cause that's as far as HE can go..lol ) through his office at the begining of May. And I'm still trying to decide if I will tackle the 10km in Vancouver the weekend after.

Cheers and have a great week !!!

Holy Treadmill

So Wednesday I met with my trainer and she decided to test my running skills !!! So the most I've ever done on the treadmill is 5 laps around the 400m virtual track. Today I was on the treadmill for my full hour of training, running for 3 minutes walking for 1 minute gradually increasing my speed from 4.5mph to 5.0 mph. It was a total of 12 laps and 5.0 km. It was tough but it was a great feeling when I was done. I wish that I could push myself to that point everyday :-( I'm still not convinced that I should be running until I get off a bit more of the weight but if my trainer says it's okay I guess it is. I guess starting now rather than later is probably for the best.

My "survivor" pool is doing great. We have one pool filled up and number 2 has 3 members !!! It's going to be alot of fun. Even if you don't watch survivor it's still a chance to win $12o and support my journey of course. :-) Send me an email if you you'd like to join or if you are on facebook follow this link to the group .... http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=303505833416&ref=mf

Enjoy the rest of the week !!

"Survivor" Fundraiser !!!

So I have started the "Survivor" Fundraising Pool. You can check it out on the facebook events page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=303505833416 .

If you don't have a facebook account and you still want to participate you can !!!!
Here is how it will work ....
Each person (or couple) puts in $20.00 and the first 20 people that have committed (if you don't have a facebook account I will add your name manually so just send me an email to jomickey@shaw.ca if you would like to participate) AND paid will be allowed to play. We would really like to have 40 people so we can do 2 pools !! one for Pat and one for me !! :-)
So, here's how the money will be divided up! It'll be like a 50/50 split, 50% will go towards my Joints In Motion Fundraiser and you can feel absolutely GREAT for supporting me!!
Here's how you can win the other 50%:
1ST PRIZE: Very first survivor voted off/kicked off/asked to leave the island gets the booby prize of $20.00 (If there are more than one, it will be whichever one Jeff names first to leave)
2ND PRIZE: Winner of Survivor gets $120.00 (Easiest $100 you can make, and your odds of winning are great!)
3RD PRIZE: OUR favorite contestant will get $60.00 (triple your investment!)(All players will cast your vote on the event page after the finale of Survivor and the person who's Survivor Castaway gets the most votes wins! This is not America deciding, it is US! So even if you are voted out of the game early you will still have a chance to win this prize!!!) YOU CANNOT VOTE FOR YOUR OWN SURVIVOR!Note: This is all based on that there will be 20 Castaways this season! If for some reason there are not, this will be revised accordingly to accommodate the number of players and prizes. (Last I heard, there are 20!)So please help support The Arthritis Society and add a little extra excitement to this season of Survivor! It's always more interesting to watch when you are actually 'in' the game and watch your friends get voted off!!!!
The order in which you RSVP will determine the order in which you get to pick your survivor. Once I have received all the money I will email you and get your selection. I need to have all the money in by Feb. 4th so that we can pick our survivors before the season starts.I will post a list of names of the survivors for you to ponder :-)Feel free to come on after each episode and vent your frustrations or to cheer and gloat!You can mail a cheque for $20 to Jody Jorday (email me and I can give you my address) or we can make arrangements for me to pick it up if you are nearby! You can also do an email transfer to supportmyjourney@shaw.ca.Can't wait to see everyone on Survivor Night !!!!!
http://heroesvsvillains.survivor.com/heroes-vs-villains-cast


Thanks everyone !!! It's going to be a Hoot !!! So email to RSVP and get your spot or RSVP on the facebook events page !!!

Things to Think about ????

So there is a 10km run in Vancouver in May which I'm thinking I might register for. I need
a small goal to work towards cause the big goal in October is overwhelming me a bit and kinda
freaking me out ! :-S My husband has also informed me that the runners in his office want him and I to register for either a 5km ,10km or 1/2 marathon run as well, here in Calgary.
My Athens partner, Pat attended a webinar about the Athens marathon and was informed that the course is only going to be open for 6 hours. (I think that's when I got alittle freaked out..lol)
Everyday I am at the gym either doing stuff on my own, attending a class or with my trainer but
I just don't feel like it's enough. Most times I am only doing an hour workout but I would like to push myself to do longer. But the truth is... it is sooo boring !! lol !!! I can't get into the zone where I just don't want to stop.... HELP !!!

I am attending a meeting next week, we are going to discuss some fundraising ideas. I will be posting a small fundraiser online in a couple of days so stay tuned !!! It's going to be our "survivor" fundraiser !!!

Enjoy your day !!!

http://arthritis.akaraisin.com/p/jodyjordan.aspx

Yoga Class !!!

Wow, that was an enlightening experience. My very first yoga class. I left the house at 6:15pm, my plan was to take the hour yoga class from 6:45 to 7:45 and then do the aqua fit class from 8:00 to 9:00 ! hahaha ... yoga is way harder than I expected to it to be and thankfully the aqua class didn't have enough people so I didn't have to go. I honestly don't know that I could have done both classes back to back. Besides that my body is still alittle sore from my trainer work out on Friday, I was completely exhausted after yoga.
I really didn't think it was possible to break a sweat doing yoga..hahaha I was wrong..LOL !! So granted it was "hot" yoga but still, it was hard work. None the less I think I might actually like yoga !

A busy week ahead with work, meeting with my trainer and keeping up with my workouts !!! :-)

Cheers

Kicked My Butt !!!

Holy man, after my workout with my trainer yesterday (Friday), one would think I hadn't stepped foot in a gym in my entire life..lol ! I don't know how it's possible to be so sore !!!! :-S
I saw her today at the gym and told her she kicked my butt and my body hurt and she says "Good"..lol !!! I can hardly wait for Wed when I meet with her again...yikes !!!

Tomorrow is my last sleep in Sunday. Next Sunday I start my early morning water work outs !!!
Sunday mornings @ 8:30am... at least I won't be going alone, cause my marathon partner Pat has signed up too !!! :-)

Enjoy the rest of the weekend !!!

Cheers !

http://arthritis.akaraisin.com/p/jodyjordan.aspx

Success !!!

Yay !! My weigh in yesterday was awesome, 3lbs since last Tuesday !!! Wohoo I finally broke the cycle of 1 pound a month..LOL !!! I guess working out at the gym is doing what it's supposed to! :-)

I am very excited that my marathon partner has just received her first online donation, I remember what a great feeling that was !!! Her website is up, our facebook group is updated and we are pumped to do some fundraising. We have a couple of great ideas and can't wait to share them ... stay tuned !!!!

Thanks again for your continued support and it's going to be an exciting 9 months !!!

Cheers !

Loving the Gym !

I have to say I'm really liking the gym ! So ya I had to sign a 3 year contract to get the reduced monthly rate, but I think that after training for my marathon I might be addicted to exercise ! LOL ! How funny is that..me addicted to exercise, I can't say that I'm there yet though ! LOL !!
I convinced hubby to join so today was his first day. It was kinda cool to work out together and have the extra support ! Since I work for the gym now, the kids get to go to the daycare for free while we work out !! It's been a week with lots of cardio, the treadmill, the bike, the eliptical and this funky machine called the wave. It works the heck out of your thighs and butt !!
Monday I meet with my trainer, it's an hour in the pool for her aqua fit class then an hour of gym work out !!! :-S

So I need some fundraising ideas.. anyone have some creative ones ???? 47% to go !!!!
Check out the countdown to the marathon at the bottom of the blog page !!!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend ! Check with ya in a few days !!!

Cheers !

Oct 31 is the Big Day !!!

So I received an interesting email about the marathon in Athens in Oct. This is what it read :

Next October the Athens Classic Marathon will commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the original marathon run. This will be a signature event in The Arthritis Society’s 2010 Joints in Motion program. Whether you participate in the 10k or the marathon, this could be the run of your life. Make it a 2010 New Year's resolution.
The marathon began with the fabled run of Greek soldier Pheidippides, who served as a messenger from the Battle of Marathon. The hero of our story apparently ran the marathon distance from the battlefield to Athens non-stop (and without aid stations), burst into the Assembly exclaiming "We have won!" – and died on the spot.
Following roughly the same course as that extraordinary event, the Athens Classic covers the same ground as the first modern marathon – part of the first international Olympic Games, in 1896.

Not only are we participating and raising money for the Arthritis Society but now we are about to become part of history !!! And the counter on the website freaked me out...LOL !! 298 days 3 hours and 36 minutes until the Marathon !!!!
Here is the info I found out about the Marathon Course !!! I was most excited about the end being flat and downhill..LOL !!!!

The first 200m of the course are sloping, leading to the exit of the Marathon Start Venue. The first 4 kilometers go downhill. The runners run along the Marathonos Avenue up to the 4thkm, when they turn right and enter the Marathonomachon Street and the Marathon Tomb, which they follow for the next 2.2km. The course follows a rather circular route around the War Memorial for those that fought during the Marathon Battle (Marathon Tomb). The course is becoming flat from the 6th to the 10thkm. From the 11th to the 17thkm the course goes uphill at certain parts. Then, and before the Rafina Junction, the runners meet a steep descent. Starting from the Rafina Junction, the course goes uphill again, while the most difficult part is until the 20thkm. As the runners pass along the town Pikermi, they run through some, more or less, uphill parts of the course up to the 25thkm. The passage through the city of Pallini (27th - 28thkm) is also rising. The last and most difficult part of the course starts from Gerakas and goes up to Agia Paraskevi (30th – 31stkm). A steep ascent at the Stavros Junction is followed by a steep descent leading to the Agia Paraskevi Square. Then, the runners follow the Mesogeion Avenue, going through the districts of Chalandri and Cholargos, meeting flat and downhill parts of the course up to the finish. The most characteristic downhill part is the one that starts form the Ministry of National Defense and finishes at the Katechaki Junction (37.5km). Right after the Erricos Dynnan Hospital (38th km), the runners continue left on Michalakopoulou St. until the traffic lights of Michalakopoulou and Fidipidou Street crossroad. Following that point, they continue running on Fidipidou Street until the crossroad of Kiffisia & Alexandras Avenue. The latter crossroad highlights the 39th km, while the runners continue left on Vas. Sofias Avenue. On Vas. Sofias Avenule, the runners pass by the American Embassy, the Athens Music Hall and the Park of Freedom (Parko Eleftherias). As they reach the Hilton Hotel, they slightly turn right heading towards the Syntagma Square, passing by the Evaggelismos Hospital and Army Museum. At the last part of the course and having turned on the Hrodou Attikou Street, the runners have eye contact with the Panathinaikon Stadium. Only a few meters remain in order for the runners to enter the Stadium and run the last 170 meters inside it, before reach the finish line.

Wow...all this info is overwhelming and giving me the urge to head to the gym AGAIN today...LOL !!

Cheers !!!

Happy New Year !!!

Holy Moly... it's actually 2010 and this is the year I am going to participate in my first marathon in Athens Greece in Oct !!! Only 10 months to complete my fundraising and training !!!

There is no sign of Christmas in our house, everything packed away for another year and I am proud to say, no sign of Christmas on my waistline..lol !! It has been great working out at the gym over the holidays, checking out the group fitness programs and getting into the groove. I love the eliptical ... I progressed from 10 laps around the 400 m track in 40 minutes to 10 laps in 30 minutes !!! And of course the pool, the reason why I joined the gym is awesome too !! Most times I have the pool all to myself, so no one to laugh at my swimming technique..lol
Today was my first official workout with my trainer, can't wait to see what she has in store for next week..lol !!! It's going to be a busy week, the kids' activities starting back up, starting my new job at the gym and getting into a weekly routine of workouts !! Piece of cake right?!?

Thanks again to all my blog readers and supporters !!! Only 47% left to fundraise, so I encourage you to invite your family and friends to follow my journey and support an amazing cause !!

http://arthritis.akaraisin.com/p/jodyjordan.aspx