I finished!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a great time running today, especially through Central Park! My time was around 5:30. I didn't do the time that I had wanted, but at around mile 15, I had a team mate that had hamstring problems. I thought it was more important to run with a friend than to run for time. This team is like family, we only have about 30 members. There's always next year to shoot for that time! Yes, as crazy as it sounds and if Team McGraw is accepted into the NYC Marathon Charity program, I'll be running again! I kept thinking that the race is where you learn what you are made of .

This is what I have learned from others today:

• Forget the time, it's a major achievement to participate and then to even finish!

• It is the journey not the destination that is important.

• Time is not nearly as important as the effort and the espirit de corps you have with your team.

I am really blessed to know some very smart people.

I got this from Jeff McMahon's blog on "Keepin' On" and I love it. I want to share it with you.

"Endurance. Perseverance. "Keepin' On." Sometimes, simply finishing is a win. "Endurance." In my trusty laptop thesaurus, there are a lot of synonyms. "Forbearance." SAT word. "Grit." Yeah, I like that one. "Patience." It's a virtue, they say. In life, there are times you don't want to have to draw that sword. I'd rather not have to go through this; I don't want to have to push through that. Can't it just be easy this one time Endurance training = life training. Keepin' on."

Thanks Jeff!

Kevin Leathers, the Team McGraw coach says that the "Course is where we learn what we are made of."

I learned from Jimmy Fang to "live my best life." His finance is one of the most generous people that I've ever had the priviledge of meeting.

On this journey, I have learned so much from others it's incredible. I know so many inspiring people.

Jeff and Kevin, thank you for putting this team together and for allowing me to be part of something that is so much bigger than all of us. It's a priviledge to be part of Team McGraw!

Today I read about one of my heros and she's always a hero to me! Jen McDevitt had to do a long run and have a chemo treatment today. So she ran to the hospital to get her run in and had chemo. She is one of the most inspirational people I know.

I had a 20 mile run last Thursday which put my knee out for a few days. I broke down and went out and bought a knee brace. It helps tremendously! I was so sore after that run. I had a great time, 3 hours and 30 min. I can't understand why I was sore after the 20 miler and after the 18 miler the week before I didn't feel anything. Must be age!!! hahaha I didn't run at all after the 20 miler until yesterday. I walked a litlle more than mile and felt ok, so then I ran 2 easy miles. David ran with me for my 2 miler! It was a lot of fun to run with him. I felt ok last night and after talking with our TMG coach, Kevin I ran 5 miles this morning. I feel good, so later this week, I'm going to see if I can do a 12 mile run. I have next week mapped out also. Hopefully everything will come together and I'll be able to complete all my runs. Then I can taper.

I ran today with an ipod. I have never done that before. I liked hearing the music, but I found that it's hard to focus on other things. I usually think about other people when I run and I found that hard to do with the ipod on. It's hard to hear the cars if they come up behind you and you're not running on a sidewalk. Just something to watch for. I'm going to use the ipod when I run NYC after about mile 15 or 18 somewhere in there. When your legs and feet are screaming, it will help to give me a distraction and something else to focus on. It will definitely be a new experience.

I have to travel next week to Raleigh and am looking forward to seeing Cindy Bohlin from the 2007 NYC team. We're going to do a 5-7 mile run. I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope everyone is well and I continue to pray for you all.

Chris had his 3rd resection today. I hope that he's feeling better and in a few days that his right eye starts to become strong again.

Stay healthy and run smart.

Here we come Philly! Team McGraw will be running through the City of Brotherly Love on Sunday, Sept 21, 2008. I'm really looking forward to it!

I had a great run yesterday! I completed 15 miles and was very happy with my run!

When I was running on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday I was thinking about the all the people that are affected by this disease. Here are some of my thoughts:

I hope that David always is stable and the tumor does not grow

Happy Anniversary to Jen McDevitt - she's a 5 year GBM survivor! F I G H T Fight Jenny Fight!

I hope that MaryBeth can get outside today becuase it's so beautiful. I also hope that she has the strength to get a little walk in and build up her strength.

I hope that Craig has a great runs this week and that he can get in a couple of extra miles. I hope that his legs heals well.

I hope that Greg is always stable

I know that Lazaro is with watching over Tania and that she feels his prescence and finds peace

I wish Rupert peace and comfort

I hope that Elana and her family have comfort

I pray that Chris is able to stay strong

I pray that Bo has a great anniversary trip in October

I pray that Phil will continue his fight

I hope that Debbie has peace and comfort

I hope that Mona and Matt stay well

I hope that Burt and Nancy have strength

I hope that Steve and Uncle Steve continue to get check ups

Run Jimmy Run!

Run Tommy Run!

On Sunday, it was my daughter's birthday and I was hoping that she was going to have a great day. Happy Birthday Sarah!

I hope that with every step I take that I make it better for someone else!

Have a great day and I hope to see you all in Philly!

Hey, how is everyone doing? I just finished my 2nd 10 mile run! I'm sweaty and in desperate need of a shower, but I finished. The week of July 27th, I did 2 8.5 mile runs and the follwoing week I did one 8.5 and one 10 mile run. So we're getting there. Slowly but surely! The next couple of weeks, I'm going to stay at 10 miles and if my anckle don't stiffen up to much, then around the 20th, I'm going to go for 13 miles!

Jen is doing great! She had her surgery and looks great! Better than Joan Rivers curtsey of this lovely GBM. She's running again and the Joggin for the Noggin in Chicago is this coming Sunday, Aug 17th. For those of you who are in the area, stop by and say to hi to Jen or better yet, tie your sneakers and go for a quick 5K run! She'ld love to run with all of you! Proceeds go to benefit the Tug McGraw Foundation.

Chris is home now and is doing better, but the side-effects from the meds are making it difficult to take the drugs.

My stepmom, Marty came through her surgery this past week with flying colors! She came home yesterday.

Lots and lots of prayers go out when I run, especially on the longer runs, like 10 miles!

Stay well and love the running!

Yup, I'm back!!!!

I know - I wasn't sure if I was going to run in 08, but here we are and YES, as crazy as it sounds I'm going to run again! I'm running again for the Tug McGraw Foundation. Thier goal is to improve the quality of life for adults and children diagnosed with brain tumors. They do a lot of work with Duke University. David's last MRI was stable, which is great! Not only am I running for David, but I'm running in memory of Jimmy Fang. His fiance, Debbie Persaud is also running. We plan to cross the finish line together and in less than 5 hours. That was Jimmy's goal. He was supposed to run last year and his goal was to finish in under 5 hours.

I'm coming off an injury. I fell on Main Street with about 1/2 mile to go before I finished my run! Talk about stopping traffic! I was really embarrassed, and after a few hours of watching my foot swell up after being elevated and iced, decided that it was a good idea to get it checked out. I had a sprain, which put in a cast and crutches for a couple of weeks, physical therapy for a month, and was finally cleared to run about 2 weeks ago. So, now I'm running 5 days a week again and up to 5.2 miles a day. This Sunday, I'm going to increase my distance to 6.5 miles. I'm hoping that by the end of this month, I'll be up to 10 miles and by mid-Aug to be running 10-13 miles twice a week with a long run of 15 miles. Sept and Oct my long runs will consist of 18, 20, and 23 miles. No more sleeping in on the weekends for a few months!

I love my 5.2 runs! I didn't want to have to start at the beginning again this year, but here we go! I'm adding a mile a week again!

Here's my support page for anyone that's want to support my efforts to running to wipe out brain cancer!

http://www.active.com/donate/teammcgrawnyc08/tugnycDBier

Let the running begin!!!!