Kathleen's Adventures

I'm about two months late writing this report and hope I remember enough of the highlights to still capture the race. Pre Race Thursday and Friday before the race were full of the normal pre-race activities.  The ones that require far more time on your feet and stress than they should.  But they also included lunches and dinners with good friends and an overall good time.  Mrs. Clark (aka my mom #2) came in Thursday afternoon and Kelly flew in Friday afternoon.  We enjoyed a nice dinner at Carrabba's where I ate entirely too much.  My sister's crew got in from San Antonio around 10:30 Friday night.  I knew I wasn't going to go to bed until they got there, so I'm thankful it wasn't any later.  They had had a pretty bad week and I was thankful they made it at all.  Elizabeth, Sean, Molly, Kate, and Bennett all piled into our suite.  It was a 2/2 and actually worked out great.  We made our plans for the morning and I headed to bed arou...

I'm starting to get a little excited - finally able to refocus my mind from moving to Ironman. The big day is almost here! Long it will be, but have no fear. You have put in miles and miles And will finish amidst numerous smiles. The hard work is over and done. Now is the time for nothing but fun. May your spirits be high throughout the day, And may nothing come along to stand in your way. Ironman is as much about the journey as the destination, And you will be rewarded for all of your determination. Hand-in-hand we will all head in, Eagerly treading water as we wait to begin. At 7am the cannon will blast But be sure not to go out too fast. The water will run over your face, As you are now committed to the race. Town Green Park will seem so far away But keep those negative thoughts at bay. 2.4 miles will be over before you know it, And you will start to realize your thoughts of Iron are truly legit. On to the bike, for 112 miles you go, Be sure to give your friends a very loud ...

Six weeks and six days to the big day.  I feel like my training is coming along nicely, but the next four weeks will be the hardest yet.  I'm somewhat banged up, but not necessarily any more than I'd expect to be at this point.  At one point my right shoulder, hip, knee, and foot were all messed up.  That was pretty awesome.  Now I'm about down to two of those bothering me at a time - that is much better than four!  I'm in PT twice a week and have been a while now for my right shoulder/neck/scapula area.  Its messed up from sitting at a desk all day long but it gives me trouble on the bike - big time.  It feels like I have a small child riding around with me stabbing me in the back and twisting the knife around while they are at it.  Its lovely.  I think we are finally making a little progress there though, so that is good. Getting a little loopy at 9:45pm/mile 17 of a Thu night long run My long runs are building back up from m...

On Sunday, September 20, 2009, I woke up to find countless missed calls and text messages on my cell phone. I was in Oklahoma City for a race Saturday and had apparently slept harder than I had in ages. Those calls and texts were from my best friend Mike. His sisters Katie and Kristi had been in a bad car accident in Houston the night before. A drunk driver rear-ended them and Kristi died at the scene. Katie walked away relatively uninjured, but it almost seems silly to say that now, looking back over the past 18 months since Kristi's death. Katie and the rest of their family are anything but "uninjured." They will never be the same. A few days after the accident, feeling more helpless than I ever had before, the idea for a "Race Against Drunk Driving" came into my head. Six weeks later, I crossed the finish line at Ironman Florida having raised over $15,000 for the SE Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Kristi's memory. My donation was by far ...

September 19, 2009.  It is a date I will never forget, and not for good reason.  It has been one year since Kristi was killed by a drunk driver .  I still have many mixed emotions about the events over the past year.  I still have many friends who drink and drive - who think they are okay to drive after they drink.  I think there are even people who were close to Kristi who do this, and I do not get it.  The fact that you do it on a regular basis and have never had a problem doesn't make it okay.  It has been an interesting year  - the high point of it was probably Ironman Florida, the culmination of a six week fundraising push which resulted in raising over $15,000 for MADD.  Another high point was the Gusher in Beaumont - Kelly, her mom, my mom and I did the half marathon and Mike did the 5k.  Little did I know his whole family was going to be there sporting the Team Woodhead/RADD t-shirts.  That was pretty cool.  The low p...

Saturday, May 1 - Beaumont's Inagural Gusher Marathon. The Race Against Drunk Driving round 2 is on.  My mom, Mrs. Clark, Kelly, and I are all doing the half marathon.  Mike and Kathy Schexnaider (the Beaumont MADD representative) are doing the 5k.  Below is an email Kathy sent out earlier today - I'm beyond flattered that I have been able to motivate even just one person to get out there and be active, especially for this cause.  Please consider donating, or evevn volunteering your time if you are in Beaumont. As all of you probably know, I do not exercise. Over the years you can tell I have blossomed into a very well rounded young lady. This past fall, a young lady from Houston who’s best friend’s sister was killed by a drunk driver raise over $15,000.00 in a triathlon in Florida for MADD East Texas-Beaumont. She called recently and told me of the GUSHER RUN here in Beaumont on May 1, 2010. Well, she is running the ½ marathon and I decided it was time for me...

(a little more on my race is here ) If you have read my blog any time over the 7 weeks leading up to Ironman Florida, you know that just a few days after Kristi McCarthy's death on September 19, this race took on an entirely new meaning. I was Racing Against Drunk Driving in her memory and honor. My initial goal was to raise $1,000, then $5,000, then $7,500, then $10,000, then...well, you get the idea. All in all, we ended up raising $15,000. I thought I was the third highest fundraiser when I arrived in Florida, which would have qualified me for an additional $6,000 donation from Janus to MADD . I was crushed on Thursday when I found out I was in fifth at best (qualifies for a $2,000 donation from Janus) because a few people had been raising money entirely offline so the information I had was not complete. That news ruined my day that day. I was completely bummed and felt like I had let a lot of people down. I woke up Friday though and decided it was time to get over it and tha...