Parkersburg Half Marathon Race Day :)

What a weekend!  Apparently I needed an extra day of recovery to update the blog J 

What a successful and fun Team Spangler Event.  I underestimated how helpful the shirts would be!  Not only for awareness of Team Spangler but also finding each other in the mass of 1000’s of people on race day between the 2 mile and half marathon activities. 

Tara Got This Picture at the Starting Line for the 2 Miler and Half Marathon

I have joked but I’d really like to find the person who built that brick wall right in the middle of the course route around mile 9, because I ran straight into it J  I was so happy to see Holli and Melanie with their blue shirts waiting on me to run a little bit with me.    It was so nice to see the smiles and such effort from everyone.  I really wanted to weave over and give Carter and Sophie a high 5 by Tara’s house but at the time it almost seemed so far away on the other side of the road J  I finished in 1 hour and 47 minutes…I was really hoping to be in the lower 1:40’s as a mental goal…but it a was a great first back to it race to get back into the running race pace and see what I need to do from here. (Which is more miles and better adjusting my approach and race strategies).  I won’t admit out loud what I thought to myself after crossing the finish line knowing in the NYC Marathon I’ll have to do that “race” again since it was a ½ marathon….but let’s just say I’ll depend a lot on ‘heart’ that day of the race, because my legs won’t be agreeing. J 

 I teased Sophie she was NOT allowed to walk in the 2 mile (that is what papaw would tell her) J….and she didn’t and she ran a pretty impressive time, don’t tell her mom and dad but we may have to steal her and her long legs and make her a runner.  We ran into Tracie prior to the race who made our shirts and was sporting them with her friend J 

Sophie in the 2 Mile with Troy running with her...along with Tracie and her friend sporting Team Spangler Shirts :) 

We then easily found the Stavrakis clan with their shirts and was able to catch up a bit before the start. 

Us with Some of the Stavrakis Clan before the Race :)  Thanks Lora for taking the picture :)

Johnny Hogue finished 4^th overall in the 2 mile race, he’s one of the XC runners for Ritchie County this season and we are looking forward to a big season for him.  (No Pressure Johnny) J  “Coach Holli” even rounded out 3^rd place in her age group for the 2 mile (Apparently they went by birthday registered and not appearance, I like to admit we were asked several times what high school we went to) J  We had the Stavrakis clan in the 2 mile, mom, Tara, Bob Nelson, Drew Nelson, Sophie, Troy, along with Tracie and her Friend.   We had several spectators (Kathy) too sporting our shirts to help us along the way.

The half marathon went GREAT!   John was our strong man to finish for us.  Sharon Headley ran her best half marathon time!   She told me at the finish she had to run fast so there were people behind her to read her shirt J  Loved all the cheering for “Team Spangler”  We were so excited to have Betsy finish her first half marathon and hopefully more to come (Also Note…we love your competitive spirit of not allowing the girl to pass you)!  Aunt Becki was our true inspiration of not giving up for the day.  She was the highlight to my day of not giving up when the going got tough, and her motivation was for Dad and Team Spangler.  No matter the blisters and the ups and downs of the race she crossed that finish line running.  Becki, you are such an inspirational person and see the positive in so much, please know how much we all love you!

I took Sunday off from running but went for a walk with mom and smokes for maybe almost 3 miles.  Yesterday I was still walking rather funny so tried to stay in hiding at work.   When I got home I went for a 45 minute “shake out run” to try and get the soreness out a bit, plus it was a BEAUTIFUL evening to run and what a perfect temperature, too nice to not run!  I’m not wishing time away, but I sure do love the fall!  Today is a little bit better so looking forward to hopefully a normal run again J  Going to look into a few more possible races to sneak in before the marathon.

Just remember….

“We run for those who can no longer run themselves”

Thursday Team Spangler Highlight :)

Let's be honest (from a marketing standpoint)...Cute Kids Sell T-Shirts :) Ok..actually I'm a little biased here :) Meet my Niece (Sophie) and Nephew (Carter) sporting our New “Team Spangler” T-shirts last night.  We had them try them on for Saturday.  Sophie is going to be running the 2 mile race and Carter (if all goes well) may be pushed in a stroller for Team Spangler (However...I think he should be running it...the kid has some energy to spare) J  They have learned a lot from their papaw and are both excited for this!

**A BIG thank you to Tracie with PDQ Print Shop for help with the shirts and helping for our cause!  If you need shirts I def reccomend her (AND I force her to run) :)  Email her at: tracie@pdqprintshop.biz

Carter's Reaction to "SMILE" :)

Team Spangler Wednesday Highlight

Be on the lookout for Sharon Headley running the Half Marathon for Team Spangler on Saturday too! :)  We are so excited to have you :)  I remember Melanie always letting me tag along as a little kid with her when she was in high school :) 

Team Spangler Runner Tuesday Highlight :)

It's official, our Aunt Becki has signed up to run/walk the half marathon :)  We'll be sneaking her a Team Spangler T-shirt to wear.  Be sure to be on the lookout and cheer a little louder for our folks! :) We are excited for them!  If you ever need positive thoughts, look this lady up!  She is always smiling!  Good Luck Aunt Becki!

Aunt Becki in the Half Marathon in 2010 (I think) :)

"Learn to run when feeling the pain: then push harder." William Sigei

I’m choosing to be positive today because being grumpy about my foot won’t do any of us any good :) It has felt A LOT better today so maybe we are onto something…  I’m just NOT good at this “give it a rest” crap they tell me.  (Yes…it’s crap in my book because I need to be logging some miles not dealing with this stupid pain in my foot)…

Now that I got that off my chest (blogging is funny…I question if any of you really care about my inner thoughts such as that at times) :)

Now Bring on the week of the Parkersburg Homecoming Running Festivities: Parkersburg 2 Miler and Half Marathon!!!



Dad Running the Parkersburg Half Marathon in 1999.....Yes I went on record to admit he beat me :)



I can’t thank Jim Butta enough for his article he wrote in yesterday’s paper in the Parkersburg News highlighting Team Spangler…I have to say Jim has always been one of the Spangler’s biggest supporters….and I owe a lot to him, but I’ll work on that blog post someday soon…I’m not sure how to write in words about a man who has given so much help to all us Spangler girls in the form of media and try to put into words something that writing in words comes so naturally to him.  He won’t be surprised to know I’ll have to prepare for it; he’s been teasing me about being over-prepared for years now.

http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/564025/Spangler-running-in-Half-Marathon-for-a-cause.html?nav=5063#.UCj9HXgZa8U.facebook

Be sure to check it out…..also be sure to cheer for all the Team Spangler T-shirt wearing and supporters in the 2 mile and Half Marathon Race on Saturday!   Together we will make a difference in finding a cure and doing so as a team is only perfect for all of us.

I’ve been emailed a few times asking for the donation link again…so just in case here it is: http://www2.michaeljfox.org/goto/missyspangler

And if you still want a T-shirt, please don’t worry…I ordered extras and will do my best to get it to you before the race if you still need one….. and if you just need a T-shirt… we’ll continue to put orders in so feel free to email me and let me know what you need J  Email: missyspangler22@yahoo.com

I’ve been saving this picture for awhile to highlight the right moment (and slight embarrassment I hope) for our cousin Betsy.  Betsy has been training for this half marathon and she told me several months back she was doing this…and I’m so proud of her for it!  Even if I have given her a little hard time teasing her with her training soreness J    So… Betsy…from the Country Roads Kids Race to the Parkersburg Half Marathon Race….Thank you for helping us with Team Spangler! :)

That's actually Kelly and Betsy (last 2 on the far right) at the Starting Line of the Country Roads Kids Race                         (no idea what year)

Betsy Finishing Strong with some Help :)

"Running is like mouthwash; if you can feel the burn, it's working." **Brian Tackett

So…I’m sitting here partly consumed by my foot….  It’s nothing major I’ve assured myself, but the slight bit of panic that consumed me 2 days ago as I finally realized, “wow this hurts” than seeing the swelling after I took my shoe off just scared me a bit (ok I won’t lie I thought/feared the worst).  I had to do what seems so hard to do at times….take 2 days back to back off..and I’m already almost anxious out of my mind.  I’ve went through the vicious cycle in my head…Great now I won’t be ready to run this marathon; I’m going to die at mile 20 and be a failure at this.    (I know drama right…)  I’m just not certain I’ve wanted anything else more then to prove this journey.

You know they always say don’t “Google” injuries (or sicknesses for that matter), it might sound like a good idea at the time but you’ll have yourself convinced the worst in about 3 seconds.  Do they put the worst case scenario results at the top of a search engine for their own laughs?  To be honest, I think it’s a mild cause of tendentious…  I should have seen it coming just because of the mileage increases from not running for so long.  It’s probably a little reminder I need another pair of shoes too.  I should have gotten 2 pairs to alternate anyway in the beginning. 

So…I may try to run just a tiny bit tonight just to ease my mind, and then determine the best route for the long run this weekend.  Then next weekend we have the Parkersburg Half Marathon, but… don’t forget about the 2 miler.  (That’s what mom tells me every time I bring up the Half Marathon) J 

If anyone is running the half marathon be sure to drop me a note so we can do a little “notice” about it with some of the “Team Spangler” runners.  A few of you better be careful as I have my own little thing already planned up J  I hope to get a little blog spotlight done every day next week just to change it up a bit.

I’ve been a little consumed by the T-shirt orders and REALLY excited at the response.  Some may be confused so just in case, the August 8^th deadline wasn’t a “DEADLINE” for orders…it was just our goal to make sure we got them before the Parkersburg Homecoming activities for those who wanted them for that.  I’ve ordered several extras and will continue to be putting orders in, so don’t fear if you were afraid you missed ordering, just let me know! 

We got a few donations this week, and mailed some in that’s helping us creep back up on the Team Fox NYC Marathon chart!  I’ve been working on getting some specifics finalized too for a coupe other fundraisers including the Happy Hours/After Hours Event to be hosted in Parkersburg, as well as the Scrapbooking crop to be held in Charleston.  I’ve already gotten some really great promising silent auction items so stayed tuned for more details J 

As far as the running earlier this week…I ran about 35 minutes on Monday….then followed by Tuesday running 33 minutes at a pretty good pace (I suppose I’ll call it my tempo run)….darkness does wanders for making you run faster J  I did however take Wednesday and last evening off to ice and try to make sure this foot thing isn’t to serious.  I’ve convinced my foot I don’t have time for this J  I still feel like I should be sneaking more miles in somehow…so I need to focus on that.

I wanted to share this with you today as my sister Kelly sent it to me.  All of us out there running for a cause, a specific reason…..this explains the “pain” so much.

Now….it’s a beautiful evening…and it’s FRIDAY…. Get out there and do something J

Weekend at the Fair...

What a great weekend…between the Ritchie County Fair and another long run in the books it was a weekend highlights of why we’re on this journey.

It was so nice to be back “home”.  There were so many people I hadn’t seen for a long time at the fair and it was a nice opportunity to get the chance to catch up.  We hosted a ring toss game to help us raise money and highlight our project for Team Fox in running the NYC marathon.   We had many people who didn’t know about it and it was such a great chance to just spread the word about what we are doing. Everyone won a prize (don’t tell dad)…so it was fun to just interact with the kids. (Oh..and the adults of course too) J

I think mom was most popular at the tent….I kept hearing “Mrs. Spangler!” exclamations…or after she left asking where she was.  (Apparently 3^rd grade teachers are popular in the summertime) J  Mom was especially touched by one younger boy (who didn’t know dad..he was too young to have ever had him in school) as he asked mom why her husband couldn’t be there when she asked him to sign the poster. Mom mentioned to him that he was really sick and had to stay at home and the little boy without hesitation told mom…”well I’m really sorry…I’m going to keep him in my prayers for you”.  Kindness goes a long way.

We had MANY people stop by to ask questions and it always turned into sharing stories of dad, and them highlighting memories they had about dad.  Hearing that from people we were even too young to remember really spoke for itself as to why we are doing this.  THANK YOU to all that dropped off donations and played the game, and know how much it means to us all.  Just hearing people share stories about dad and the awareness of making a difference for the future with this was our biggest goal for the experience.  Dad loves our community so much, and there isn’t anything else I’m sure he’d rather us be doing then pulling people together for a common goal.

When we got home on Saturday night a little after 11pm he was still a little bit awake….we surprised him with his poster to show him everyone who signed it and stopped to check up on him.  He couldn’t stop smiling and I told him I’d leave it by his side so he could look a little closer tomorrow.  Mom said he’s turned the poster around several times reading closely the notes and names…so thank you everyone!  Keeping dad’s spirits up is the most important thing we want to do. 

As far as the running goes..I was a bit aggravated at myself for not sneaking in a few runs….Friday I was at the fair till late right after work, and Saturday I was mad at myself all day for not getting up early and running before we had to leave.  Excuses….Excuses….  However I was going to run laps around the Fair if Brian Morton ran with me, but I couldn’t get him to do it with me J

As for Sunday I swapped long run days, and took to the road for my 1 hour 55 minute run.  It had looked stormy all morning, so to avoid guilt any longer I took off saying if it starts to storm come and get me.  The humidity almost seemed like it was ready to burst just waiting on the storm to hit.  Of course it never did till AFTER I was home J  I had to laugh as I had to run 2 laps around the house to add the additional minute onto the run so I didn’t cheat myself.  I suppose that’s a life of a runner J  I’ve ran many “mini circles” to finish out the clock.