Training for a run of a lifetime

I am currently training to run in the Orange County Marathon on Jan.

8 while pushing my daughter, Paige, in an adaptive stroller. Paige is

the younger of my two daughters and has cerebral palsy.

I have two goals for the marathon: One is to raise money and

awareness for United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County, one of the

children’s charities that will benefit from the OC Marathon. I have

been active on the Board of Directors since 2001, and I am very fortunate to have the resources to provide therapy and other

opportunities for my daughter -- but not everyone is so fortunate.

UCP is helping families like mine every day.

My second goal is to give Paige the experience of participating in

a major race. The journey of training together for five months and

completing 26.2 miles will be an experience that neither of us will

ever forget.

It is hard to believe that I have run a total of 116 miles since I officially started training in August, but I still have more than 400

training miles to go.

I would like to say that it is getting easier, but each week, the

distance keeps getting longer. Since Aug. 6, I have been

participating in the marathon training program organized by Corona

del Mar High cross country Coach Bill Sumner and the Cal Coast Track

Club. In addition to running three times during the week, I have been

joining the training group on Saturdays for the longer runs. I have

only done a couple of runs pushing my daughter in her stroller. I

have lost 10 pounds since I began.

On Friday, I just completed a 10-mile run -- my longest to date.

For this run, I met two friends at Prospect Street in Newport Beach.

We ran on the trail along the beach up to Huntington Beach and back.

After 1 hour and 35 minutes, the three of us were absolutely

exhausted.

Rather than running the same course each week, I am picking

different locations and trails to keep things entertaining. Last week

I joined a group of friends for a special running class at a gym

called Fixed Gear in Costa Mesa. Avid marathon runner and trainer

Patsy Howser gave our group a private class.

In a separate room with five treadmills, we ran for 50 minutes

straight with loud music cranking in our ears. I have never sweated

so much in my life. At times, when I feel the fatigue or during long

runs when I sense I can’t go one step further, my mind immediately

turns to thoughts of Paige, who at age 8 would love nothing more than

to be able to run. The fact that she can’t run on her own today gives

me the motivation to do it for her.