Letter

August 30, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Eleven months ago, I ran my first half marathon, about the longest distance I had ever run. I have run a total of five half marathons. Less than fifty days from now, I will be crossing the finish line of the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, New Mexico after having run 26.2 miles in the course of about four and a half to five hours.
I am raising funds for the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation. With my help, the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation will raise thousands of dollars this year.
The New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation was formed in 2002 by the physicians of New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants, Ltd. (NMOHC) to help cancer patients with unmet needs, and to provide patients and medical staff with accurate information about cancer.
The physicians of NMOHC working at New Mexico Cancer Center recognized that many of their patients’ needs are not met by insurance coverage. A diagnosis of cancer often means the loss of a job. Sometimes the spouse must also stop work in order to care for his or her loved one. This poses a significant hardship for cancer patients and their families. Insurance covers some of the medical expenses but co-pays and deductibles often take the family savings very quickly. The physicians of NMOHC have seen many patients having to choose between paying for rent, child care or food, or paying for medications. We have traditionally assisted patients with procuring free chemotherapy medications and other medicines, but we have not ever been able to do anything about their ongoing living expenses such as rent, utilities, child care or transportation.
For that reason, NMOHC physicians established the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation as a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to helping patients meet their other expenses. The Foundation's primary mission is to use the money donated to it to provide financial assistance for New Mexico Cancer Center patients. Funds granted by the Foundation are NOT used for medical expenses, insurance co-payments or account payments at New Mexico Cancer Center/New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants, Ltd.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." In that spirit, I have set a goal of raising $750.00 for the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation. I invite you to join me in this effort by making a 100% tax-deductible contribution to the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation. ANY amount would be appreciated, but please consider contributing $1-5 for every mile I run.

Contact me to donate.

Warmest wishes, and my sincere appreciation,

Michael Nelson

48 days to go!

Well were did the time go lol. I am down to 48 days and counting, but really who's is counting. Oh yeah I am! So with the whole not shaving thing, I have decided that I will not shave till I either make my goal of 750 or the Marathon what ever comes first. Tonight was a good run night, even though I did sleep well last night and was up with a stomach bug most of the night. As long as its not a chest cold I'm running I need to train. Well more to come!

49 days and counting !!!

Well we are down to only 49 days! Wow!! It is hard to believe. Today was a weight day at the gym and then spent the morning cutting and freezing peaches, that my co-worker Sandra was so nice to give me !!!! So I have decided that I will not shave until I have completed my goal and run the marathon we shall see how that works out lol.

50 and counting!

Well 50 more days to go and I feel pretty confident I will get it done. Today was a 2 hour run clocked in 12.3 miles at my marathon pace, feeling good the weather was similar to what it will be in October. I have it all dialed in now, now its just run run run run and run some more lol. On the fund raising part I need 480 more to reach my goal of 750. I really want to help support the New Mexico Cancer Center, and if you want to help me contact me and let me know.

52 days and counting

Tonight was another interval night. 49 minutes total squeezed in 4.7 miles. Enjoying my training looking forward to my long run on Saturday, its a 2:05 min run. Tonight was the first run using the iRenew bracelet, and I was feeling great. More to come!

Weight night

well tonight was an upper body night the gym wasn't to busy, allot more teens then usually. I got my iRenew bracelet today and tried the as seen on TV demos and it worked lol. I am feeling better today looking forward to tomorrows run then dinner Friday!

54 days and counting!

Tonight was once again a interval night. 35 min 3.40 miles a good run. I broke the 40000 calorie mark tonight since I started training in May. Tomorrow night will be a upper body work out so not to bad of a night kind of easy as long as the gym isn't that busy lol.

Monday recovery day

Sorry I did not get to post last night I was having to update and fix my pacer software. Sunday was a nice full body work out, I do enjoy my time in the gym its a good way to just clear the mind. I also had my sports massage on Sunday, that about put me to sleep! Monday was a nice slow recovery run about 5.2 miles an hour I ran 2.6 miles in 30 min. tonight will be another interval run! More to follow.........................

And the beat goes on!

Well were getting there 57 days to go I have the shoes down the insoles down the compresion shorts picked and finnaly made a choice on fueling options. I ran 15.89 miles today at a pace of 10:06 per mile. It was a good day. More to follow!

58 to go

I havent posted in a few days, on Wednesday it was a nice upper body night. I moved Thursdays run to tonight because I felt it was more important to take Cheyenne to the movie set and help her meet the star. Tonight I ran a 30 minute slow recovery run. Now tomorrow I have a 2:45 min run so I am going to try my hardest to keep myself close to the pace I want to run for the marathon and not press to hard and bonk out!

61 to go

Tonight was an interval training run. 35 minutes long not to bad my right leg is sore still today. Looking forward to my massage next Sunday! This coming Saturday will be a 2:45 min run. I hope to keep myself in the "zone" this weekend and get this all figured out!

62 to go

Well I turned 39 today and only 62 days to go till my big run. Tonight was a good run night not to fast ran at my marathon pace. I plan to run the marathon at 10:00 to a 10:17 pace. I hope to finish between 4 and 4:30. I know it will be a cool morning so heat wont be a problem. I think I have the shoe issue worked out and the insoles locked in. I only have one other refueling option to try. I am going to try sports beans this weekend. I have a 2:45 min run on Saturday so we shall see if I can get that locked in.

Rio Grande Half Marathon

Well this fine Sunday morning I woke up at 5 am turned on the TV and watched the weather..... It was 79 degrees at 5 am holy crap. It figures right the one day I need to run an event it its hot before the sun comes up LMAO. Well we get down to the start and I meet up with other member of the Albuquerque Road Runners, we all chat about our hopes for the day and then we move to the start line. The gun goes off and were off running. I am trying Gu Chomps today to work out a fueling strategy for the Marathon. It works rather well which is a good thing lol. I ran a new PR today of 2:01:47 at altitude. Woo Hoo!!!! So 63 more days and counting. Tune in for more later!

66 days and counting

Tonight was a nice run night, another interval night. This weekend will be the Half Marathon looking forward to it....... The weather will be hot but I hope not to hot lol.

Weight day

Nice easy night.... who ever thought I would say that a night of upper body work in the gym would be an easy night lol! After working out I went to the store I needed fresh berries for a cake I am making for work tomorrow. Now I'm just chilaxing watching Through the worm whole on the Science Chanel..............

68

Tonight was an interval training and I switched my Adidas MiCoach from heart rate to Pace based traning. It went much smoother, I have the pace based traning set to where I want to run my marathon pace. We will see how it works Sunday at the half marathon.

69 days and counting

Well tonight was a recovery run...... nice and slow just a way to relax and enjoy a good low tempo. I also got a chance to break in a new pair of shoes which I will use this weekend for the Rio Grande Half Marathon which is in support of New Mexico Special Olympics. Got my sports massage yesterday and felt like a million bucks but didn't want to do a damn thing lol......

70 more days

I took yesterday off from running I wasnt feeling it lol. So I hit the gym hard today full body workout and then road the bike for 30 min hit 7.12 miles. I got my massage and feel wonderful I will hit the training hard this week and I have a half marathon on sunday in support of the special olympics. 70 more days and counting now comes the fun lol. Gonna go out for a walk with the fam later.

73 to go!

Tonight was an easy run night just 30 minutes in the low heart rate zone. Its funny the more I follow the Adidas training program the easy and better my cardio is getting. Tomorrow night going to go out and have some pasta so I can do my long run Saturday, 3:05. Then I get my bi-weekly massage, Sunday, woo hoo!

8-4

Ahhhh took a night off to relax from the daily workout regiment.

75 days to go

Tonight was a interval training run. 35 min run I completed 3.6 mile not to shabby lol. Felt good tonight no problem with my heart rate tonight. Tomorrow night is a weight night but first I will go to the running club meeting. More to follow for those tuning in...........

Last Night

Well I didnt get a chance to post last night. I had a 30 min run last night it was hot and muggy in the gym. My heart rate was up again last night not sure whats going on rt now. I know i have gained a little weight even though my clothes dont fit different. The only thing that I really changed in the last few weeks is adding in a new sup. This new sup is a natural type of ibuprofen. The one other use of this sup is that it aids in digestion and promots more absorbtion of nutrients, so that can be why I have gained a few pounds so I am going to stop taking it and see if the trend reverses itself. 75 more days to go.............

Sunday Sunday Sunday

A nice relaxing sunday? Oh heck no lol. I was up at 4:45 to volunteer at the La Luz Trail Run. This run is 9 miles up the mountian with a gain of 4600 feet of elevation. I was at the start then at the finish handing out shirts and guiding runners to the food and medical personel. Runners World Mag is doing an artical on the toughest trail runs in the US and this one is on it cant wait to read the artical when it comes out. So back to my day lol, after the run I cam home ate lunch then off to the gym for my workout. Now just chilling, tomorrow will be another run day for me, Wooooo Hooooo! 77 more days left but ummm whos counting!