"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. 

Spread the Word!

The weeks just fly by sometimes with all these to do lists I have created!  Friday has snuck up and I was hoping I’d had another blog post on here J

I’ve got lots of info to share, so prepare yourself!

Team Spangler Shirts are designed and ready to be printed, so get your order in by August 8th for our first order submission (don't worry if you can't yet...we'll have more)  We need to get the first order in by the 8th so we can have them ready by the Parkersburg Half Marathon comign up and all the Team Spangler runners/walkers who watn them to wear for the big day!

Back Up Close...  "We Run for those who can no longer Run Themselves"
Inside the letters are motivational words dad has encouraged us with through the years

You can order them by E-mailing me at MissySpangler22@yahoo.com , we have order forms at the Ritchei County fair too.  Each Shirt is $15 with all proceeds going towards our fundraising campaign! Also...if we need to mail the shirts...we may need to add $5 to help with shipping...I can cram several in there for that price :) Also..make checks out to "Team Spangler/Missy Spangler" and you can mail them to  Missy Spangler/ Team Spangler P.O. Box 403 Ripley, WV 25271

We’ve had a big week of planning activites for raising money.  Last night, today and tomorrow we have a tent set up at the Ritchie County Fair to spread the word about Team Spangler for Team Fox, we have items of information, donation sheets, T-shirt order forms, cupcakes, Team Fox color Mardi Gras beads, light bracelets, and MORE!  So Stop on by and see us…. 

Don’t forget to sign Dad’s Card for us to take back to him too so we can show him how big Team Spangler is!

As far as the training goes... well I’ve been running J 

Tuesday- Ran around 45 minutes on the road…to the dairy barn and back J

Wednesday- It was a fun run day!  I headed out to Ritchie County and ran with the high school cross country team on the Rails to Trails.  I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve been there!  It seemed in high school we lived on it! J  I didn’t get to the “speed workout” aspect of the workout on Tuesday so I tried to sneak some of it into today and do 6 200’s “faster than usual”.  I won’t call it sprinting because I don’t think my pace was much of a sprint J

Thursday- Got a little run of about 20 minutes snuck in with a little core workout.  My training is a little off of schedule this week, but getting it all in.  My long run will probably have to be on Sunday instead of Saturday as it’s a 2 hour run.

I’m off to the fair this evening and tomorrow, so if anyone is up for doing laps around the 4-H grounds with me let me know! J

Gold Medal....

Gold Medal…

Yes I know it’s time for the Olympic hopefuls of gold medalsJ, but I’m referring to Gold Medal Cross Country Camp that comes around this time of the year at Cal PA (California University of PA).  For those of you confused, yes we have camps for running in the woods, LOTS of running! J  I’ve been thinking of this camp since my last blog post in reference to me being an over-packer and prepared.

                One year in high school a group of us were heading off to camp and I was riding up with Vearl and Diane Summers (saving my parents a trip to Pennsylvania as group of us went together), I’m assuming I had 2 or 3 bags all packed full of the what if’s.  Upon arrival of camp and the process of checking in, I no longer had the key to my dorm room for the week and here comes dad driving up the street and parked (I’m sure he had just missed me already).  Apparently of all my ‘bags’ I had packed the one I forgot at home in the pile of things was the bag full of my running clothes and shoes; you know, the important stuff. J I actually don’t even know if I remember dad being mad, I think he just wasn’t even surprised.  I hate to admit this story as well because it’s obvious we didn’t have cell phones like today to just call and say turn around J   Hopefully dad enjoyed the scenery of the trip because it was a long one for a single bag J

                There are so many sore memories of Gold Medal Camp J I can remember sliding down hand rails as opposed to actually stepping down the steps so that is wasn’t as painful  There wasn’t a mile we didn’t run at that camp (running 70-80 miles or so).  I remember being overwhelmed at the understanding of training at that level because at that age, we just hopped on the rails to trails and got our run in, all these other details and specifics were completely new to us. It consisted of morning runs, afternoon trainings, evening runs..a half marathon midway through the week….at that age a half marathon almost seemed like a trip around the world!  It was after that camp we realized just how limitless the opportunities of running could be and what it took to be good, self discipline was a whole new level at that point.

                I can remember another year, dad coming to pick Holli and I up at camp, we were talking non-stop about all the stories etc for 10 minutes straight ….dad always said at 10 minutes we must have hit a brick wall.  We crashed into a sleep that I’m almost certain lasted for 48 straight hours J  They always had a 5K race at the end of the week that was an “Open Race” and dad always jumped right in.  Even though he was my dad, I know from others, having a coach that did what he preached and participated within the sport as well made his involvement and ability to get the most out of his athletes so much more.  

Dad Running the Open Race at the end of Gold Medal Camp

I suppose in regards to the training updates.  On Friday we were suppose to take the day off (schedules orders). The excitement of the weekend was I got to go to Glade Springs for a work event for Brock…so while he was in a meeting I got to allow myself to get lost for 1 hour 45 minutes J  It was such a beautiful day for a long run, temperature, and scenery. 

Yesterday I ran the typical route (about 45 minutes), and to my surprise upon my little stop to catch up with my neighbor I got a bag of tomatoes J  Perfect timing on my part! J

We hope to see everyone at the Ritchie County Fair!  There will be one of us working the “Team Spangler” tent there….we are hosting a ring toss games and lots of fun.  Don’t forget to swing by to get some information and sign the poster we’ll take back for dad! 

Stop By and Show your Support for Team Spangler at the Ritchie County Fair!

Nerves...100 days...

If anyone knows me…they know I always panic to be prepared, prepare more, and overly prepared for about anything I do.  (That’s probably why in cross country dad got us team bags big enough to fit clothes for a month in, however my argument is you NEVER know what to expect at a cross country meet!)  I realized today we have snuck upon the 100 days till the marathon and I won’t lie, it makes me nervous!  I mean 100 days seems like a lot to some…but I have 26.2 miles to run here!  Fast isn’t my concern at this point J  (Fast was a goal 10 years ago…)  I’m as motivational as can me, but I’m a nervous mess when it comes to myself!

You’ve heard me tell the stories about hives before races and basketball games, while dad had to convince me of everything I can do at the moment before I’d have a nervous breakdown.  When giving a speech at the West Virginia Awards banquet I remember Jim Butta teasing me about the speech notes I had prepared and had organized throughout the page.   When I started my insurance agency in OH, they wanted a 1 page business plan (I didn’t realize at the time they meant 1 page)…so 12 pages later I submitted my analysis of the market and my plan.  So I suppose this process is normal …but….100 days! Ahhhh

Me probably wanting to throw up before the state meet in this picture...dad being side tracked talking (of course) to the Scott High School Coach I believe :) 

We are in the midst of planning a fundraiser for Team Spangler at the Ritchie County Fair…it’s definitely going to be a fun tent so be sure to come out and look for us! We’ll be decorated out with Team Fox colors, mardi gras beads, prizes, while hosting a game! 

We also will have a big poster for everyone to sign for us to take back to dad!

I suppose your wandering about my running….

Monday evening I ran about 30 minutes on the road then came back home to run another 10 with the dog.  He’s been running off lately so we’ve had to keep him tied up more, so I was hoping I’d wear him out a little bit more by running him around.  I think the only person who got tired was me.

Tuesday evening I had enough guilt to consume me as I didn’t have time in the schedule to run….  I did get to see dad however and visit for a short bit while going to meet mom to work on a rental house project o(f course)

Last night I went out for about a 40 minute run…which I had to finish in the dark because the evening somehow snuck away from me by the time I was able to get my run in.

So I suppose I better get off here and realize my triple digit days are gone and tomorrow begins 99 days till the big day J 

100 days     16h     10m     30s

TILL RACE TIME

Just Being Lost in the Moment

Ryan Hall, on running a marathon: "I don't think about the miles that are coming down the road, I don't think about the mile I'm on right now, I don't think about the miles I've already covered. I think about what I'm doing right now, just being lost in the moment."

What do you do when you’re at a turn-around point with your watching displaying 48 minutes?...Well...you run 48 minutes back...  (ok actually 44 minutes back) No I didn’t really pick up the speed much; I just got lucky that all my up hills turned to down hills J

I almost forgot how accomplished the long run days can make a person feel.  After my 92 minute run on Saturday I felt a little bit closer to the marathon.  I still have moments where I almost get nervous and overwhelmed already at the thought of it...and today we are still 103 days away.  During the run it can easily consume you with what seems to be a slowly ticking watch....I felt great at the point where I turned around last week knowing I was going further this week, even so not having a clue where the road was going to take me.  At times it can seem overwhelming with what lies ahead of me with a long run, but when I saw this quote above; being lost in the moment is one of the greatest things about a run.  

Reflection of goals, aspirations, dreams, fears, memories can consume me and when my legs start to burn a little bit at the start of a hill I realize my reason for running is so different then it was 10 years ago.  When I ran in high school and college I ran for my team, for the name that was imprinted on a jersey, you never wanted to let your teammates down as we depended on each other to perform well to allow the team to finish even better.  I run now because of the pain of someone else. 

This journey is a remedy of something I’m not so sure on an emotional level is capable of being fully recovered from, but it’s a start.  I run to deal with thoughts I’m not certain how else to deal with, thoughts I’m not certain even if I put into words for someone else that it would even make sense or tell the actual story when the words try to flow together.  I run for the moments I’ll never have again running next to my dad literally wanting to walk but knowing I was stronger than the actual reason to start walking...so much of it was in my head, and as I’ve discussed before...that is why I believe that if you truly believe in something, anything is possible.  People always ask me why I’m so optimistic or how I am the way I am when approaching things.....I’ve realized through this...the smallest things that use to consume me because they weren’t perfect...it wasn’t about being perfect, perfect isn’t a necessity.. things in life it could always be worse than not actually being perfect....so find a reason to be optimistic..Because even on your worst day, someone else has it worse.

I know in regards to the training side of things, I left you on Thursday.

Thursday I ran 35 minutes...followed by Friday I ran 20 minutes, (we were suppose to take the day off however I feel like my week was switched around a bit I wanted to do an easy 20 just to feel like I did something).  Saturday was the long run I spoke about earlier, and then yesterday was a recovery run (to say the least) where I ran an EASY 38 minutes.  I will be utilizing some ice this evening forcertain. J

Thanks for listening today, as you can see the longer runs sometimes brings a little bit more of a personal touch to things....  Now...as dad would say...get over it and let’s get going....

Megan...please know we are thinking of you and your family....and your cross country family will always be here for you and thinking of you....  Whenever you need to smile just think about Dad screaming your name creamed out loud with the background music of the Price is Right :)  We are always here to make you smile!

"Change the World" **Charity Miles**

Today I wanted to just send a little note and update on a program I have discovered through this adventure of mine.  The more I have read about the creator and program of Charity Miles the more I love this concept!  (That isn’t just because they sent me a free t-shirt either) J

For those of you who want to “get involved” here is a little way to get out and bike/run/walk and make a difference.  As much as I would love to say Choose Team Fox, this gives you the options to pick something as dear to your heart as Team Fox Is to Mine.  I have mentioned this app before in the blog, but here is a video which helps explain this program much better than my “wordiness” of words.  (Plus we all pay more attention to pictures) J …it’s a proven marketing fact.

Check out the video here:

Charity Miles Video

Also their website is: http://www.charitymiles.org for more direct information

The sponsored Charities represented are:

·         Achilles International

·         Autism Speaks

·         Feeding America

·         The Global Fund

·         Habitat For Humanity

·         The Michael J Fox Foundation

·         The Nature Conservancy

·         Pencils of Promise

·         The World Food Programme
(More to Come) 

Now…my next mission is to get an IPhone (Android works as well), so I can jump in on this madness of lovin’ this program and start practicing what I preach, but in the meantime I’ll feel better if a few others jump in too.  I think the concept of incorporating fitness into fundraising is wonderful (Also truly appropriate for dad’s career as a coach, Health & Gym teacher) J…  He always use to do the project where you could “Run Around WV”…he knew how far each lap around the gym was and then turned the laps into distances so kids could keep track of their travels. Now with GPS options on phones, you don't even have to do any of the calculating...you just have to run/walk/bike!

I would love to hear from you if this program worked for you and keep me updated on the progress J   As the creator Gene Gurkoff mentions, together we can “Change the World”.

As for yesterdays run…yes I ran and didn’t bike for cross training….please don’t tell on me…..  I attempted to defeat mother nature and sneak a run in between storms…I should have known she’d only teach me a lesson by sneaking another storm in on me while I was about a mile away from home, apparently it appears a monsoon was her inspiration.  Needless to say it turned into a great 35 minute run, finishing with a torrential downpour J  Can’t say it was the first time nor will it probably be the last J

If you don't want to listen to me telling you to get out and do this....I'm sure dad is here :)


**Team Spangler**