10..no wait...11 miles and 11 runners!

Thursday in the space of about 10 minutes, two more Running Backs joined the team. Michelle's great friend, Kirsty is flying over from Brisbane to run with us and Peter, a new friend who just moved to LA with his wife, also signed up. I can't believe we have more than ten runners on the team and I know that there are a few more about to join (you know who you are!)

This project is getting bigger and bigger and more and more fun as more people join in.

Michelle is busy pulling together the support crew and planning the best post-race party ever and we are brainstorming the best ways to support the runners - everything from playlists and snack stations along the route to massages at the after party.

On Saturday morning Synue, Danielle and I ran 11.5 miles together and it was really fun. We chatted as we ran along the beach and then up San Vincente and back. We had only intended to run 10 miles but I didn't exactly calculate the route properly so we accidentally ran 11.5.

The run was so relaxed with great conversation and I have to say, I felt great. We weren't sprinting by any means but we did keep a good pace and we only stopped for traffic lights and to do a double-take when Arnold Schwarzenegger cycled past us.

So we set out for 10 miles and ran 11 and a half. I had been aiming for 10 runners and now we have 11 and a few more possible runners about to join.

This week I learnt not to limit myself.

I'm not going to limit the number of runners on the team, I am not going to limit the amount of money we can raise and I am not going to limit myself in my training. As long as I am having fun and feeling inspired, I am going to keep aiming for more.

Fun is such an important part of this journey for me. I never want to feel trapped by the commitment that I made, I don't want to take this run too seriously. I want to keep positive and enjoy the training (even or especially when it hurts). Whenever I get tired or sore I just remember that I am doing this to support Michelle and enjoy time with my friends - and having fun at every point along the journey is the only way to achieve my aims.

This project is about fun, vitality and contribution and so far we are well on track.

It's a 'Blog - Off!'

Michelle and I have both been having so much fun with our blogs, with designing them, updating them and recording our journeys.

The more we share what we are up to, the more we find out about and connect with friends, family and colleagues around us. It has been great to share about this project, our lives and what we're up to and to support other people in our lives in what's important to them.

So many people I know are taking on big projects at the moment including three fellow runners:

My friend Tina ran a half-marathon last Sunday to raise money for research in to Non-Hodgkin's Follicular Lymphoma. Tina is amazing and has run a bunch of Marathons and has taken Danielle and I under her wing as we embark on our first. To read more about Tina's cause, click here http://www.discoveringforlife.com/.

Our friend Patty has taken on the project of raising money for Michelle's treatment and is chronicling her own journey to the finish line on http://www.gijanebootcamp.blogspot.com/ . I am so incredibly touched by Patty's friendship and commitment to Michelle's health and the support that she always shows to both of us. Patty is a strong, powerful, graceful and sexy woman who is a total inspiration and a very dear friend. Thanks so much Patty and Happy Birthday for today!

Mo, our friend/sister/neighbor/puppy nanny has also announced her own Marathon project where she is raising money for Michelle's treatment and Soccer Outreach LA on http://www.run2presence.blogspot.com/. Mo is always looking for ways to contribute and make a difference and this project is really inspiring as it uses Soccer and Sports to create social programs for young people.

Michelle has also updated her blog with pics of her in her scoliosis traction chair and with an X-Ray of her back when in traction - this X-Ray of her back is the goal that she is working towards. Michelle's blog is http://www.backfactor.blogspot.com/

Patty, Mo and Michelle's blogs can all be accessed from this page and I encourage you to to follow them also.

So there you have it - lots of blogging going on, lots of amazing stories and powerful women taking on big projects.

I couldn't feel more love or more supported than I do right now. Thanks ladies and let the 'Blog Off' continue!

9 miles solo...or not?

Eventhough today is Friday, I did my long run because I am doing a Communications course at Landmark tomorrow so won't be able to train with The Roadrunners at the usual Saturday morning beach session.

I was pretty apprehensive about running for such a long time by myself so I am especially excited to have not only completed the run but completed it at a pretty good pace.

I ran 9.21 miles in 1 hour 37 mins. That's at an average pace of 10.30 mins per mile. That is super fast for me. Last week with the Roadrunners, it took us 1 hr 47 mins to run 8 miles.

When I got home I was bright red, sweaty and totally exhausted but very proud of myself. I called Michelle, my biggest supporter and reported that I was alive and that I wanted to go out to dinner tonight and order up big!

Eventhough I managed to run by myself, I realised that I wasn't alone. I had Michelle inspiring me, I had Clancy waiting for me at home ready to lick my sweaty ankles, I had all of the Roadrunners who have signed up to support this project and all of my friends and family behind me also.

If it wasn't for every one of these people (yes, I include Clancy as a person) I would have stopped ten times during the run. No questions.

If it wasn't for Michelle taking on her treatment with such determination and grace, I wouldn't be sitting here right now, feeling amazing because I had run 9 miles (almost 15kms) for the first time in my life.

There is no going solo in my life anymore. In fact, there never was. I have always had amazing friends and family ready to support me whenever I actually let them.

Speaking of family, my brother Isaac and his girlfriend Laura kicked off the fund-raising for this project last night with a sponsorship for Michelle. Thank you so much - you guys rock!

Ok, off to eat anything I can get a hold of now.

This has been a great week x

How to Donate

Thanks to everyone for all of your support for this project. It feels great to be part of such a caring community.

I have organised a way for people to contribute to the cause financially. All you need to do is click on the ChipIn widget and make a donation through PayPal. It is all secure and accountable. The widget keeps track of the amount of money raised for everyone to see.

We are aiming to raise $20,000 (at least!, actually I really want to raise $30,000 so we can cover at least half of Michelle's expenses) between now and March 20, 2011. All of the money raised will go to scoliosis treatment through the Clear Institute in Minnesota.

Unless specified by each donor, fifty per-cent of the funds that we raise will go to Michelle's treatment and the other fifty per-cent will go towards the creation of a scholarship for treatment at the Clear Institute.

The traction chairs cost around $4,000 each and a two weeks of treatment costs around $5,500. So if we meet our target, we will be able to help out Michelle and purchase some traction chairs or donate an intensive treatment for a scolios patient. Michelle will work with Dr Woggon to work out the details.

If you would like your donation to go exclusively to Michelle or exclusively to the scholarship, just shoot me an email to rebelneary@gmail.com and I will make sure that happens.

The Widget sends money to my Paypal Account and I am going to set up a separate ING account to hold the funds and earn interest between now and Marathon day. After the Marathon, I will present Michelle with one check, made out to The Clear Institute with her name in the notes.

The widget will be up on this blog so you can track our progress. Please let me know if you have any questions about it. I want this to be as transparent as possible.

I will also add a smaller widget to the bottom of every post, that you can click on if you would like to donate.

Every donation, big or small is very important and we are incredibly grateful to everyone, runners and supporters for being part of this project.


x Rebel

p.s. all those Aussie supporters - with the Aussie Dollar doing so well, now is a great time to donate ;)

OMG! Our ninth runner joins The Running Backs

We are one step closer to our goal of ten runners with confirmation coming in from New York this morning that Michelle Gysberts will be joining The Running Backs to run the LA Marathon on March 20, 2011 and help raise money for Michelle's treatment and The Clear Institute.

Thanks so much MG for taking on this project. If you are anything like me, you probably feel like vomiting right about now!

We are so excited to have you on the team representing the East Coast and impressed that you are taking on the training over the Manhattan winter.

I wonder which kiwi will cross the finish-line first, Luke or MG? I feel a wager coming on!

Great to have you on board and hopefully we can reach our target of 10 runners very soon!

Five months to race day!

It has been a big week.

Michelle got back from Minnesota, looking and feeling amazing after her treatment and her scoliosis traction chair arrived and we set up a special work-out area for her to do her three hours of exercises each day.

Michelle's great friend, Skye is visiting from Australia and we have been revisiting lots of the girls' favorite places around LA and the sun has been rising later so morning walks with Clancy have been mostly in the dark.

There is a lot of commotion in our apartment in the morning, vibrating chairs, yawning dogs, Vita-mixes blending superfood smoothies, exercises and stretches. By the time we leave for work, sometimes it feels like we have lived half a day already.

That's one of the amazing benefits of taking on something that is bigger than you imagined you could achieve. It makes you feel alive, you get more done and you live life more. A sense of purpose combined with a little fear seems to be quite motivating!

Adjusting and fitting everything in has definitely been a theme lately and so to continue that on, I have a few announcements to make:

1. The team is now called "The Running Backs" and the name of this blog has been updated to reflect that. This project is now bigger than just me running for Michelle. We have an entire community building around us. We also have the vision that this project will form a template that other scoliosis patients can use to involve their communities in their treatment.

and

2. In addition to raising money for Michelle's treatment, we are also now working to raise money for a scholarship for treatment through The Clear Insitute. Whether this be purchasing a traction chair for someone who can't afford it or assisting with the costs of the intensive on-site treatment is yet to be determined. Michelle is currently to talking to the Clear Institute to work out what would work best.

For me, taking on the challenge of running has grown and grown as I have shared what I am doing and people have come on board and shown their support. I am now not just running for myself, or Michelle or to raise money. I am running for everyone who has shown so much support and given me so much encouragement. Thank you so much.

The feeling of being challenged and stretched is awesome.

With five months to race day, there is more than enough time to get in to great shape and join The Running Backs on March 20, 2011 as we run the LA Marathon.

If you have ever considered that you would like to run or walk a Marathon, please consider joining our team and taking on something bigger than all of us.

We would love to have you on the team.

For more info on the Marathon, visit http://www.lamarathon.com/

I came across a great quote the other day by George Bernard Shaw - I hope you like it:

"I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch, which I have got hold of for the moment, and i want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

One 'Mo' runner for team Running Backs

Yay! Mo is going to run the marathon with The Running Backs. Mo is our great friend and Clancy's Nanny and most recently she became our neighbor when she moved in to our old apartment.

We see Mo every day heading off to soccer, riding her bike, playing with ball with Clancy in the alley behind our house. She's a frequent and great guest at the loft and someone who both Hatchie and I are so lucky to have in our lives.

Mo definitely looked after me over the last two weeks while Michelle was away and is always there to help out with piggy which is awesome.

You know those people who you just know you can count on? whether it be for something important, something serious or something fun? well Mo's definitely someone who is always there for the packet and whether she chose to run or not, she was already a core part of the team for this project. Thanks Moshi! we love you and are excited to have you on the team officially as a runner.

So now we have: Rebel, Cristin, Patty, Luke, Danielle, Naomi, James and Mo all running and a few more working out what they need to work out to get themselves on the team.

Come on everyone - I know we can get to 10 runners!

How to eat an Elephant

Yesterday we jumped up from 6 miles to 8 miles.

We ran for 1 hour and 42 minutes from Venice along the beach, up the Santa Monica Pier, to the end of Palisades Park at San Vincente and back.

It was really long and it hurt. My running partner Synue and I definitely felt it and started to get an idea of what running for 5 hours straight is going to feel like.

Today my knees and my feet are sore. I am also carrying tension in my shoulders but I am feeling ok.

So marathon day is just 3.5 times that long, with hills, all at once. Ok, deep breaths.

I am definitely seeing the advantages of taking one step at a time and not getting overwhelmed by the massive goal.

At an old Management retreat for Tourism Australia, my boss Michael Londregan ran a session where he posed the question "how do you eat an elephant?"

The answer, of course, was "one bite at a time."

Amazing results from St. Cloud!

After two weeks in St. Cloud, Minneapolis, Michelle got her results today: a 60 degree reduction in her curves. This is mind-blowingly amazing.

I am so proud of her, her commitment and dedication and so grateful to Dr Woggon and his team for dedicating themselves to finding a non-surgical treatment for scoliosis.

You are all an inspiration.

To read about Michelle's treatment, visit her blog: http://backfactor.blogspot.com

New Shoes = workability

I went to a running store this week and got fitted for running shoes. It was so great to have the guy test and analyse my feet and my running form (which is still questionable) and then fit me with the best shoes for me.

It also felt great to be related to like a runner. I guess I am a runner now.

When I ran with the new shoes, I was amazed to feel the difference that they made in terms of correcting the way my foot landed and the support that they gave my whole body.

When I am running, I don't usually listen to music because I either have Clancy with me, or I am running on the street or with the group and I want to be able to hear what is going on, so I have a lot of time to think. Lots of random thoughts go through my head and as I was running in my new shoes, I was thinking about how important it is to have the right equipment.

Not just running equipment but equipment for daily life. As someone who is committed to things working around me, I know that I need to have the right 'things' to help that happen. Now this isn't a justification for endless shopping sprees, although that would be nice. But there is something to be said for having things work around you.

I finally have a diary/day-planner that I use everyday. I record every appointment I have and every thing I want to do each day. If it goes in the planner, it happens - and that creates workability.

Clancy has a great leash that I can tie around my waist when I run, that has a holder for his poop-bags and that I can easily tie him up outside a shop with. Simple and it works. It makes life so much easier and allows me to get done what needs to get done.

My aunty Rob bought me some prescription sunglasses when I was last in Australia and they make my life easier everyday.

If there is something that I have now that isn't working, like socks with holes in them, a leaky water bottle, a stained shirt or a pen that is running out of ink - I get rid of it and replace it with something that works and does the job.

Since losing weight, I have downsized my wardrobe considerably. Mainly because none of my clothes fit me anymore and I couldn't afford to replace them all but the freedom that has come with having less stuff and just having great pieces that I like and that work for me is fantastic. Moving house four times in the last year has also helped in getting rid of a lot of stuff that I didn't need and just keeping stuff that I absolutely love, use regularly or need to keep until I can afford to replace it down the track.

So all in all, I love my new shoes. They are going to help me get across the finish line and I love living in amazing apartment where everything works and has its place and having things work around me is helping me achieve what I set out to achieve.

International runners sign up

My greatest friend from high school, Naomi and her boyfriend James are going to come over to LA next March and run the Marathon with me.

I am so excited. Naomi has always been such an inspiration to me with her fitness and dedication to working out and I am so excited that we can do this together. I am also really excited for James to come over so we can spend some extra time together and they can both meet Michelle and Clancy.

March 2011 is looking like it is going to be a big party in Santa Monica. I have also asked my brother and his girlfriend to come over and a few friends from New York are considering flying over and running as well.

It feels so great to be part of a big project with lots of people involved. Even the people that have said that they don't want to run, are thinking of ways to get involved and support me in my run and Michelle in her treatment.

Thanks Nazzy - can't wait to take this journey with you x x

6 miles = 10kms

This week we ran 6.14 miles, which equals 10kms. I absolutely never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever run 10kms and I have to say, it wasn't too hard. All week I had been sick and I didn't do any training so I was worried about whether I was going to be able to make it.

I think the week before I over-trained and didn't get enough sleep, which eventually led to me getting sick. So I have learnt a very important lesson: trust the program and coaches and do what they say. They are the experts and the program is designed to get me to the finish line on marathon day. They always say, do your mid-week runs but don't over-train because that can lead to injury. This week, running on fresh legs, I felt so much better.

I have also learnt the value of sleep and really taking care of myself in terms of diet and stretching and rest. It is making a huge difference and giving my body a chance to rejuvenate after each big run.

Michelle is in Minnesota at the moment, undergoing her two weeks of intensive treatment for her back. She is working really hard and had to go through a similar process of really trusting the doctors and the program that she has signed up to.

I guess you never really know whether something new is going to work. You just get to choose whether you are going to trust it and fully commit to it or not. We both researched what we signed up for, so now is the time to get in there and give it everything that we have, to do what we're told and focus on doing every step as well as we can.