I ran the 1/2 Sauer – 1/2 Kraut Half-Marathon on Sunday. I wrote a little about it here. Here’s a more detailed recap. First … Justine if you read this (I hope, I hope!) how are you? It was great meeting you at the race – good job on your…
Welcome – you might be here because you were at this full/half marathon and met me or saw this … In a nutshell, my leg story is that I received severe injuries in an horrific accident in May, 2004. It nearly took my life and my leg. I am now writing a…
I have a second name for this site now. And I have a new skort for tomorrow’s half marathon with the name stitched on. So if people see my leg at a race and wonder what the heck happened, they know where to go to find out more information. Ready to do 13…
I spent most of 2005 and 2006 in a hurricane. Yes, it was one of the longest hurricanes in history – ask any meteorologist. I dubbed it Hurricane Reality, because I had to deal with an unwanted reality following a horrific accident. I had too much pain and too many…
It’s National Running Day – so whether you are a runner or not, it’s a good day to go for a run. We all know how good exercise is for us – everything from our muscles to our organs to our brain works better if we exercise. Yes, it really does…
On Saturday by 7AM, hundreds of cars were rolling into New Holland, PA. The line into Garden Spot Village was slow, but organized and we were soon parked. The staff and volunteers at the race were wonderful – hats off to the race director Scott Miller and his team! For the start,…
Life can be tough and if you are in the middle of something hard right now, I’m so sorry. Pain of any kind sucks! Sometimes it’s hard to have any hope and it seems impossible to think of brighter days. I’ve been there – felt that. Accident in California on…
Garden Spot Village Marathon WebCam Click here for a live feed On Saturday at 8AM about 1,000 people will be at this spot to begin running a full marathon, a half marathon or be part of a relay team. I will be here cheering, but my run doesn’t start until about…
I have a stubborn foot. It has limited flexibility – it is stiff. From the front of my ankle to my toes – it is almost as straight as a board and it’s mostly numb. This is a left over issue from injuries I received in an accident. Post-accident, I…
I’m thinking about my health goals for 2010, as the soup for tonight’s meal at the Hope Rescue Mission simmers. Check back tomorrow for a report about our evening serving dinner to some people without homes in Reading, PA (pronounced redding) Along with too many holiday meals, I gave myself…
In January, I started to run and I’ve been running 2 to 3 miles a few times a week since then. It’s been nice to feel my body get stronger slowly, but surely. I have to balance my runs and the rest of life carefully – if I’m on my…
Whether it is a friend, family member, the neighbor down the street, or our own personal experience, unfortunately we have all been touched by cancer in some way. That is why the running club I’m a part of – Running … Because I Can has chosen to join our community…
Wonderful spring honeysuckle along the trail. Running is feeling better and better – yippee! At first, I walked more than ran, but now it’s reversed. Today Jerry and I ran on the Thun Trail, starting at the parking lot at Ridgewood Soils (Take Exit for Route 724 off of 176,…
Great run tonight at running club. Love these temps and my knee is feeling better! Most times, I have done more walking than running at club, because every week something hurt, but tonight the planets finally lined up and I went to club feeling great and was happy to do…
Union Canal Towpath Trail This body of mine defiantly feels better after running on a trail surface versus on a road. So I’ve been scoping out all the trails I can find near my house. Wow, I live in a great area for trails – I didn’t know there were…
The muscle behind my knee feels good until I run about a mile, then I feel pain again. So I walk most days and every few days run until the point of pain, then I stop and walk home again. Hopefully doing this will strengthen that muscle to the place…
It was windy today.Wind, wind and more wind!As Pooh would say … “It’s a blustery day.”Jerry’s assessment – the wind felt like a tornado without a funnel.So windy you could sail from New Jersey to England in about 30 minutes.When you used a porta pot – you made sure someone…
Had a great run on Sunday with Jerry. We ran on the Exeter Scenic River Trail – it’s a soft packed gravel/dirt surface and my legs feel so much better after running there than on a road. My knee felt good, but slightly sore after running up and down a…
Linda Wingard, Loretta Parson, Carolyn Stoltzfus, Deborah Kurtz, Bev Shantz, Joseph and I were at Garden Spot Village to be interview and filmed while running on Friday morning with Jere Gish and Rick the photographer from WGAL. At the time, it was fun and seemed to go well, but we…
Yesterday I got a phone call from Scott Miller, the director for the Garden Spot Village Marathon. He said a reporter from WGAL is coming to interview him about the marathon and they want some runners there training for pictures. Scott wondered if a few of us could come up…
On Sunday – 10 of us did a training run on the marathon course. We met at Garden Spot Village and then dropped cars off at the end of the 3 sections that we had people planning to run. The groups for each section started together and I gave everyone…
Today was a day with weather beautiful enough to make me say, “Okay I’ll live in PA the rest of my life.” The sun was bright and temps were in the low 60’s and I walked for about 10 minutes along the Wyomissing Creek which runs through the gardens of…
I was interviewed a few weeks ago by Dan Kelly from Reading Eagle. The article is in today – story and picture are on the inside of the front cover.
I love living in this day and age – a short 2 1/2 hour flight and I’m transported to the sun and warm temps of Orlando, Fl. I arrived here three days ago for the Synergy Conference. It’s been a weekend of meeting new friends – I’m a people person,…
Finally, we are having warmer temps in southeast PA. Today was sunny, beautiful and about 50 degrees. When a day is like that, it pulls me outdoors. I ran on the Union Canal Trail from Gring’s Mill to the Red Bridge and back. It was a good day. I am…
I walked half a mile and ran a mile and a half on my treadmill today – further than I have since February 9th. The muscle beside my knee is feeling so-so. I wore this brace on it today and it felt a lot better than it has been. But…
YES – YES – YES!!! I just ran about 3/4 mile! Three weeks of no running – but lots of ice, walking, ice, exercises and stretching – did I say ice? I hardly felt any pain from it the last two or three days, so I felt safe trying to…
I walked about two miles yesterday and I’m feeling good!! I plan to walk 2 to 3 miles today. The pain of the strained muscle is almost a memory – I only feel it slightly every now and then. I am tempted to run today, but my dear husband is…
My strained muscle is feeling much better – and therefore I am feeling optimistic again 🙂 Through a neighbor, I met Monica, a massage therapist, last fall. I connected with her instantly – you can’t help but like her sweet personality and feel her love for everyone. Plus there’s some…
No running yet – I stretch and ice the muscle on the inside of my right knee a few times a day. Yesterday I thought it was feeling better – today I’m not sure. I ran a few errands this morning and was in and out of the car a…
A strained muscle on the inside of my knee – ugh. According to my chiropractor that’s what is going on with my right knee. As he was telling me the care for it – my memory slowly came alive and I remembered that I dealt with an injury like this…
Today was a mixture of odd emotions. I am happy and scared that my story might bring hope to others through an article in Reading Eagle sometime in the next few weeks. I had been interviewed by the reporter by phone on Tuesday. Then today I had pictures taken of…
Loving our February weather right now! Over the weekend, we’ve had temps near or in the 50’s both days! On Saturday I ran around the Berks County Heritage Center. The trail along the river was still too slushy/muddy, so I ran loops through this bridge, the parking lot and the…
Jerry and I flew home from CA on July 1, 2004 – 6 weeks after our accident. My parents picked us up at the airport in a wheel-chair accessible van. When we got off at the Morgantown exit of the PA turnpike, I saw a police officer in his car…
I ran outside on Sunday afternoon with two friends – it was cold, and we ran longer and further than I’ve done before, ran 4 minutes, walked 1 minute – 6 times. Everything hurt, but the accomplished feeling at the end was good! Then Monday night I ran with the…
This is where I like to run this time of year –inside where it is between65 and 70 degrees.I don’t mind the heatand the sweat!The lights are on andI can see what I’m doing! But last night I ran outside – in the dark with temps in the low 20’s.Why…
What a difference the correct information can make! After the miserable run on Monday, part of me was ready to quit this idea of running again – who’s great idea was this anyhow?! But there was also part of me that knew I wanted to continue. I also ‘sensed’ that…
Running for me now (post-accident) involves different issues than it used to, but I found out on Monday night one thing that hasn’t changed is the exercise-induced asthma I’ve dealt with since the day I started running in 1994.I’ve been running indoors on my treadmill the past few weeks, but…
Running on treadmill – thinking of the marathon relay …(hey, no noticeable leg issues) Okay, there’s scars on the upper legs – but not that bad.Now, the big question – do I really want to show the lower half? Yea … if it wasn’t my own, I won’t believe it…
My friend Linda and I are starting a Running Club for Beginners.(Linda’s really the energy behind this club – I’m thrilled she’s pulling the details together and that she has a hot tub at her house 🙂 When: Monday nights at Linda’s house* at 7 PM starting January 12th Why:…
January – 1996My girlfriend Sharon and I enjoyed a few days of vacationand I ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) in Bermuda. (as soon as I get a pic – you’ll see what these legs look like now and then you can pray with me that they can run 4.6…
I love surprises like this – on a sidewalk in Reading this morning I bumped into one of the docs that helped save my leg in Reading Hospital 4 years ago. It started out as a normal Saturday morning of errands and as I walked out of a store, I…
I am running – on my own two feet! I can run! My thoughts were much more than the excited thoughts of a couch potato getting off her duff and putting one foot in front of the other. Words from doctors were swirling in my mind; “Your leg might need…