Any idiot can run...

Well, the countdown continues. 40 days.

That is how long Noah spent on the ark when God destroyed the world. And the same amount of time that Jesus trekked around the desert with nothing but enough water to stay alive. And I'm sure a million other biblical references I can't think of. While I hesitate to compare myself to these biblical figures who endured all sorts of crazy shenanigans, I am really freaking hoping and praying that my legs can make it that long.
(I just keep reminding myself that Noah and Jesus did it with hair longer than mine...
and they didn't even have Clif Shots or Gatorade!)

Sarah and I ran our longest run last night, at 15 miles. Let me tell you, it really freaking hurt. But alas, when you have learned the art of procrastinating such as we have, you also learn to appreciate the few rest days between one long run and the next. Because just on the horizon, this coming Saturday, Sarah and I will head out around 5 am to complete our 18-mile run with our training group!

Well, I say training group. Except that we don't really train with them. They like to run too much, and talk too much, and there is just a general air of too much excitement over the sick thought of running for 4 hours straight. The whole idea of running 26.2 miles is really sick, when you think about it. 

This shirt, which I happened to notice at another race a few weeks ago, really says it all:

That's not the only lesson we've had to learn, though. If you ever decide to venture out for a 3+ hour run, 

here are a few other things you might want to know:

1. If the sun is out, don't do it. Just don't. What would otherwise be a beautiful, sunny day with 80 degree temperatures turns into a fiery furnace of nausea and impending doom.

2. If your calf muscle is feeling a little tight in the first half mile, you are likely to spend the next 14.5 miles running weird on that leg, and the next day walking like an idiot 

because your hip feels like it's going to detach itself.

3. Toenails are not nearly as secure as you think they are. And as someone who hates feet, I'm going to need counseling after this. (These first three are from Sarah, by the way.) And if you need more disgusting information, most of which we're both experiencing to some degree, this is a fun read: http://www.more.com/health/fitness/yuck-marathon-trainings-10-grossest-things

4. Every energy drink/chew/gu/tablet/bean/potion tastes the same: GROSS.

Like someone threw sugar, lime rind, and poison berry juice together, then mixed in 

varying amounts of pectin in order to realize a prescribed texture somewhere between rubber band and clay consistency. Just ask Sarah how she really feels about this.

5.  It is a real and true fact. Everything that could possibly seem weird or off will. That app for

your sweet jams will force close. The GPS will tell you that you ran to Wisconsin. The Droid X

will shut off completely. And inevitably, you will get stuck 30 feet up on the wrong side of the 

Chicago River, hoping and praying that Lake Shore Drive decides to magically fuse itself

back together sometime before midnight.

 

 Be honest now, don't you have a new appreciation for the fact that all we're asking you to do is donate? :-)

We sold our souls, but you can buy our bodies!

TRUE CONFESSIONS:

Sarah has been writing all our blog posts.

It's true, she's always been the better, funnier, wittier sister.

The Glo Run post from June that has my name on it? She wrote it. I know, I know... I tried. I started it. I wrote about two sentences, then left it to sit for weeks. Sarah finally logged in under my name and just finished the darn thing. Anyway, there is something decidedly less compelling about my style of writing, so I let her do the work. I let her do most of the running these day, too.

But it is my understanding that a blog post concerning our fundraising endeavors has been promised.

So with no further ado, good friends, I present you... a good-natured appeal for monetary donations!

Here's the deal. Sarah and I have pretty much sold our souls and livelihood to the Chicago Marathon. 

Our cute summer tans, our Saturday morning sleep, our pride (we joined Women's Workout World in desperate need of a treadmill after many consecutive days of 90 degree temperatures, but we had to trade in our fitted Mizuno running shirts for 80s spandex and headbands that the rainbow vomited all over), our tendencies to give in to iced coffee cravings. All gone in an effort to get our bodies in some sort of shape to run 26 miles.

But after much discussion, we decided... why stop there?

We may as well sell our bodies, too!

(And maybe even get some money for it?)

So here it is, friends.

Your chance to purchase body parts and our dignity.

Our chance to look ridiculous and be encouraged for all 26.2 miles.

Will you help us out?

Below are is a list of our body parts, all priced at quite reasonable costs.

LEGS (4): $50 each

ARMS (4): $35 each

CHEEKS (4): $20 each

FOREHEADS (2): $20 each

HANDS (4): $10 each

TOTAL: $500

That's right, folks. We are selling our bodies for a total of $500.

But we want to share the wealth, and we want many of you to be involved!

It doesn't stop there.

As with any major transaction, there are certain terms and conditions for this purchase. As a buyer you receive unique perks, and there are guidelines and procedures in place to make your shopping experience top notch.

Read through the fine print below, and follow the instructions to make your purchase!

FINE PRINT:

Buyer, in making a purchase, will not receive actual body part. Purchase of a body part is a contractual agreement in which the seller(s) agree to paint, write on, or otherwise alter the appearance of the body part in accordance with the buyer's wishes. This visible alteration of the body part may include the drawing or writing on of inspirational quotes, personalized notes, motivational pictures, or otherwise encouraging visual content. These alterations will be donned on the morning of October 7, 2012, and will remain printed on the sellers' bodies for the duration of the Chicago Marathon.

PURCHASING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To purchase a body part, head over to our fundraising page.

2. Click the green "Donate" button under our picture.

3. In the "Amount" section, type in the price of the body part you wish to purchase.

4. Type your name in the "Display Name" box (so we know who donated!)

5. Head to the box that reads "Leave a comment with your donation"... this is important!

6. In the comment box, type the name and body part of the person you would like to purchase from (i.e. Becky leg).
7. Following the name of the person whose body part you have purchased, type a message, quotation, or other description of what you would like to appear on the purchased body part during the marathon.

8. Complete the"Your Info" and "Payment Details" sections.

9. Click "SUBMIT!"

10. Wait for a confirmation email and relax in knowing that the body part you purchased will serve to encourage us on the day of the race and remind us of your amazing support.

As always, thank you for loving us and humoring us as we endeavor to do the impossible.

48 days and counting!

Are we worse at blogging or running?

Ugghhh. I obviously need to apologize for letting you all down; I know that when we started this blog you probably checked back every day in hopes that there would be another witty update. As days turned into weeks without updates you may have begun to feel hopeless, betrayed, and a little saddened by the fact that we straight up lied to you about all the blog posts we were going to make. Believe me, we feel just as sad as you. 

This is how we feel about our lack of updates. I can't even show my face. So ashamed.
(Special appearances by my lovely cousin Bethany, and my other cousin's girlfriend Andi- betcha can't tell which one is related to us!)

It's been quite a summer; after graduating college in May I immediately started a full time job, which has been awesome but a huge adjustment. I also moved about a month ago and am still attempting to get settled in and back to some normalcy. Becky has had an equally busy summer with work and roommate changes at her apartment. It's a terrible excuse, and I'm well aware that there are people training for the marathon who have way better reasons to slack off on training and fundraising, and yet they don't. But the fact is that here we are seven weeks away from the marathon and neither Becky nor I are feeling super psyched about running 26.2 miles very soon. So part of the reason for this post is some accountability. I really hope a couple people will read this and have the heart to kick us in the butt for being losers at this marathon thing. 

But enough self-shaming. In 49 days Becky and I are going to go for a nice little jog, and we've got a lot of work to do before then. A lot that work involves buckling down on training and really taking advantage of the physical health that we're so blessed to have-- AKA get our butts off the couch and going running. A lot. 

I know that I also have some mental work to do before the race. I committed to running for Special Olympics, and I am working to understand what my physical effort is going to mean for the people who participate in Special Olympics. That part is actually pretty simple. I just think of my brother's face after he makes a sweet shot in a basketball game, or bowls a strike in bowling. If you've never seen David truly excited, you're missing out. He loves Special Olympics, and is fortunate to go to school in a place where it's accessible to him. Becky and I are running to raise money for the program in Chicago, where there are a lot of people who deserve to get just as excited about making a shot in basketball as David does -- even when they miss the shot, as David seems to do without fail (he's still by far the best athlete in the family though).

The other thing we have to do to prepare: actually raise the money to allow people to get super excited about playing basketball, bowling, and even bocce ball-ing. And let's be real, everyone deserves to have the chance to get stoked about bocce ball. It's awesome. Ok, so we need to raise some money. But  Becky and I have some fun ideas to give you a little incentive to donate-- if you really need more incentive than people playing bocce ball (I promise there's more sports in Special Olympics than bocce ball, I just think it's really cool). So I swear and promise that a post on that is coming in the next 24 hours. Please please give us another chance and check back; I don't want to overwhelm you with it right now but I figured you all deserved an apology for our lameness.

The shirt makes it all so real!