Blind Marathon Runner - Inspiration!

Captain Castro, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. finished the Air Force Marathon an unofficial time of 4:16:52. Running alongside him every step of the way was Fred Dummar, an Army lieutenant colonel who commands the Special Operations Recruiting Unit at Fort Bragg. Captain Castro said this was his first Air Force Marathon, but it definitely will not be his last.

The Solider has made running long-distance races a key part of his therapy after a mortar round exploded next to him in Iraq on Sept. 2, 2006, leaving him, among other serious injuries, totally blind. He decided to travel to Wright-Patterson AFB with his wife, Evelyn Galvis, and run in the Air Force Marathon in part because he does most of his training at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., adjacent to Fort Bragg. He thought it would also provide a good baseline pace time for his next big race, the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 26 in Arlington, Va. "I know the Pope Gym like the back of my hand," Captain Castro said. "The Airmen there are fantastic."

He acknowledged another reason he was honored to run in the Air Force Marathon was Airmen were always there with "top cover" close-air support for coalition ground forces "whenever we needed them." "This is a team fight. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for everyone who helped put me back together. I'm very grateful," he said. Captain Castro's wife said she hopes his running will inspire other servicemembers with debilitating combat injuries to find the inner strength to adapt and overcome them."I want them to know if Ivan can do it, so can they," she said.

His training partner, Colonel Dummar, said Captain Castro's optimism and strength in the face of adversity are infectious. "It's an honor to run with him," Colonel Dummar said. "I think I get a lot more out of this than he does."

TAKEN FROM:
http://www.marathonguide.com/news/newsviewer.cfm?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elive2run%2Ecom%2FMarathonGuide%2Fnews%2Fstories%2FAir%5F080923%5F1%2Ehtml

NY Marathon 2008

Congrats to my brother for finishing the NY marathon in 3:16.

Really? If you watch my kids for the next 8 months, I'll train that hard too!

Columbus Marathon 2008

I am waiting for pictures to come in, but the news on the Columbus Marathon is great!

Mike trained. Mike ran. Mike finished! He finished in 2 hours and 13 minutes. Preliminary numbers show that we raised $500 for Kaitrin's Klub. Since we are going into the RSV season, where most families with preemies need help, $500 will go a long way to help pay for medications.

Thanks to everyone who donated (even the ones that were betting against Mike).

(oh, I finished in 2 hours and 3 minutes)

Team Kaitrin's Klub

13.1 miles

26.2 miles

Soreness

Pain

Beer, lots of beer

All Kind Of Hurt!

I was debating - between mile 18 and 22 - what to name this entry: All Kind of Hurt or Human Salt Lick. Both seemed to be totally true at the time, but hurt won out.

Everyone did a fabulous job on their marathon runs. Mom finished the half marathon. Dad finished the half marathon in great time. And Michael finished the full marathon under 4 hours. And now we are all sore, but it was for a great cause. I believe that we raised $1,500 for Kaitrin's Klub. With RSV season just around the corner, this money will go to great use for medicine to protect preemies...which is our main cause!

Bad Dog, My Butt

It seems like everytime I go out on a long run, something happens. Whether it starts to rain, it gets dark early, I have to pee, or I go into a coughing fit...something always happens. As a more than perfect example, on Sunday I left for a 10 mile run when 3 miles into it - something happened. The house at the end of the street has a dog. The dog is on an electric fence collar. Every other day that I run by this dog (some sort of Lab) he barks and follows me and then runs back to the house when I have passed. This time, well this time he didn't have the collar on. This time he came over the once safe barrier and right to me. Hating big dogs, I stayed calm...until he bit my butt! What on earth! He continued toward my other cheek as I yelled for help, owners came running, I'm in shock, and the dogs continues to wag his tail. Fabulous.

After a few "I'm okay's", I walk directly home to find four bleeding teeth marks. My wonderful husband - who is worried, but just dying to laugh - drives to see if the dog has had it's shots.

To save everyone the horror, I promise not to post a picture, but assure you that my rear end is not the most aesthetically pleasing. I always thought that the color purple was supposed to be soothing...

Sittin' on Frozen Peas

Man - I guess I just don't remember the pain of the last training session! I ran over 9 miles on Sunday and I am still hurting. Hopefully this week will go better and the peas will get used just a little less.