I Don't Even Remember September...

Please excuse my absence recently, I know you are all feening for another post about medical school applications and running. Let me catch you up on the madness of the past month...

The Application is Complete

First and foremost, my MCAT score came back and improved by 4 points! It was a huge relief to see that my hard work and loss of social life was worth it. Prior to receiving my score, I shadowed a Pediatric Intensive Care physician and absolutely loved it. While I was putting my application together I noticed the common thread is children, this surprises me and I guess I will see where this takes me. My current concern is getting into school.

My application is complete and here is the list of schools I am applying to (may add more later)

• University of Kansas (MD) - Kansas City
• Creighton University (MD) - Omaha, NE
• Rocky Vista University (DO) - Denver Area
• Midwestern University (DO) - Chicago Area
• Des Moines University (DO) - Des Moines, IA

13.1

Training was really hard to squeeze in while shadowing and working on my app, but I still chose to run the Prairie Fire Half Marathon Sunday October 14th after my longest run being 5.5 miles.

I ran the entire 13.1 miles and finished in 2:41 and it felt great! I could barely walk afterward...but I finished!

I cannot wait until January for the full! 26.2 miles is going to be quite the feat but I now know if I set my mind to it and am willing to deal with the pain, I can do it. Prior to Sunday I was planning to do an interval of walk/running to complete the full but I have decided to run the entire time. My pace was 12:18/mile. I plan to integrate some speed work once a week and hopefully this will allow me to maintain at least an 11-12 minute pace during the marathon to finish in under 5 hours.

November 2nd is my deadline to be at 50% of my fundraising goal! Pass this along to your friends! If all of my Facebook friends donate $1 and pass this along we can be there!

Click Here to donate!

I am also selling Pura Vida Bracelets for $5 each. These bracelets are extremely popular on the west coast and are hard to find in Wichita! They make an awesome gift! Start thinking stocking stuffers!

Donate online then MSG  me how many you want
and color preference!

Thank you to everyone who has already donated! I know we can make it to $3300 to fight blood cancers and help patients!

XOXO 

Yoga + Running

Hello Friends!

Training for the Disney World Marathon (26.2 miles) started on Monday! Luckily they have started us out slow, only 2-3 miles per day and our long run on Saturday is 3 miles, I am hoping to push myself to 4.

Here is the course through the land of magic!

With the ankle fracture it was tough to keep up my cardiovascular strength. I tried biking, still caused pain so I decided to avoid it. I tried "Aqua Jogging" which was incredibly boring; I couldn't force myself to paddle in the water like a fool. I instead chose to dive head first into yoga. One of the best decisions I could have made. I found that yoga is what was missing from my workout regimen. Those who know me, are well aware of my high stress lifestyle. I've made it a habit to stay busy and worry about anything and everything. Over the past year or two I have worked on this issue and improved, but I noticed the largest change when I started yoga regularly in the spring.

For me, yoga is no longer just a really good workout, it is therapeutic. I feel a strong need to practice yoga several times a week. Fall of 2011 I took a yoga course at WSU for fun, I enjoyed it and felt sore but didn't feel the connection with the practice I do now. I have always desired for some sort of spiritual connection but never found it in organized religion as most people do. I now find the spirituality and lessons I have longed for through the practice of yoga. You learn to take yoga into the world with you, look at the world without judgement, have gratitude for your body and the earth we live on.

Ashtanga Yoga is my favorite form of practice. The primary series is a set of asanas done in the same order  every session; it has become a sort of moving meditation. Classes are usually just short of two hours and afterward I feel a strong sense of inner peace. Let me reassure you, I am no contortionist. I have so much room to grow and develop, which is the beauty of this practice.

Luckily I discovered my love of yoga before I intensely started my running career (Yes, I call it a "career" now). It is the perfect compliment to running because they are physically very different and mentally very much the same. Running creates a constant pounding on the joints while building muscle; yoga stretches those over worked muscles giving the bones and joints a chance to recuperate. In each, I am forced to push myself and discover new limits, if I can hold a difficult pose for 5 long breaths, surely I can run that final quarter mile.

September's 30 Day Challenge is well underway at Firefly, as of today I have only attended 6 classes. The week of the MCAT (when I probably needed yoga the most) was tough to squeeze in classes between work and my final full length practice tests. However, I did attend a hot yoga class on the morning of my MCAT; I felt refreshed and my nerves were at ease. I also found it easier to push myself in class because I knew those long breaths were nothing compared to the upcoming 5 hours!

I will cross the finish line of my first marathon in 121 days! Thanks to my friends and family for your continued support through this journey!

19% of my fundraising goal is complete!

Click Here to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for my run on January 13th, 2013!

I will be updating again soon after my first group run with TNT on Saturday!

XOXO

Week 3-ish

So I'm a wee bit late in posting about last week...sorry team!

Oh what to say about good ole week 3...? We'll just say it wasn't the best week in my log book. BUT - I am confident I will get past this "running rut" I have found myself in.

Rather than outline the negative aspects of my running last week (including; fear of recreating a Lifetime TV movie, a faulty GPS app, a bit of ankle pain and pre-run nutritional mistakes) I think it would be best to focus on the positives...

The event I was so excited about this week was Runner's Yoga! Nikki from Firefly held a quick 30 minute clinic at GoRun on some running specific yoga poses; mainly hip openers, hamstring stretches and some relaxation poses. PLUS the 30 Day Yoga Challenge started last weekend and I have made it my goal to go to 30 yoga classes this month!

I picked up a Spi Belt, which makes me feel like I'm sporting the fanciest fanny pack in town, and some KT Tape for my ankle to help stabilize. Hopefully this helps, even if it's just mental.

KT Tape looks nifty & its a much more flexible stabilizer for the ankle

Got tired of the arm band falling off my puny  arms

The Disney World Marathon is approximately 19 weeks away! I am going to start a book called, The Non-Runners Marathon Training, which outlines a highly successful training plan for beginning runners focusing not only on the physical endurance but also mental training.

MCAT is TOMORROW! Ready to have that bad boy over with, and get to working on med school applications!

This is the quote that inspired me to take this test one. more. time.

I have raised a total of $450 for LLS so far and it feels awesome to know I have friends and family supporting not only me for this marathon but also a great organization. Click here if you're interested in donating!

Adios until next week!

Week "Zero"

I got back to running (a little bit) this week and it felt great! I only ran a total of 4 miles but 4 miles is better than no miles! Right?

Monday morning I ran with Audra at Sedgwick County Park, to be honest it was a rough 2 miles. I suffered from the dreaded side cramps and strangely, my ankle itched like crazy! It was the weirdest feeling, I've decided that it must still be in the healing process and the extra impact is causing more osteoblast activity to rebuild some remaining damage to the bone (one vocab word I have memorized for the MCAT). So I have been icing it regularly. I ran 2 miles by my lonesome on Tuesday, it was tough but not as bad as Monday. I began to wonder how I will make it 24.1 more miles...but I suppose I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

My little study/icing setup

The fundraising officially began on Monday and got off to a great start! Already a couple hundred dollars raised! I am so grateful to my friends and family who have offered their support!


I finally had to chance to meet other TNT members on Thursday evening at Oeno! It was great to meet some of the people who will be running with me in Disney World and also see some familiar faces.


Saturday was spent at the Crawl for Cancer, a pub crawl benefiting 3 local charities fighting cancer. We were Team America; basketball, volleyball, wrestling, badmitton, tennis were all represented. I personally chose the rhythmic gymnastics route with a homemade ribbon dancer, glitter hairspray and terrible hula hooping skills.

I am OFFICIALLY released from the doctor on Monday to begin running; this week will be a total of 18 miles. Yikes! I'm nervous but very excited!

Click here for my Fundraising Page! Every little bit counts toward the fight against Leukemia & Lymphoma!

Adios until next week! xoxo

Team in Training

A few months ago a good friend of mine completed his first Triathlon in Maui. He was a part of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in training. I was intrigued by the program and did some research.

TNT is LLS's largest fundraiser, they offer professional training for marathons, cycling, and triathlons for participants. We each raise money for LLS during our training and complete a large race at the end wearing purple proudly! I couldn't pass up this opportunity and signed up in June for:

Walt Disney World Marathon on January 13th(26.2 Miles!)

I ran my first official race (since middle school) on June 2nd at the Wichita River Festival's 2-Mile River Run with a large group of friends. We all trained and I really began to fall in love with the sport. Unfortunately, during that race while dodging strollers and toddlers, I fractured my ankle. Maybe ninja jumping off of curbs during a race is a bad idea...

I was in denial for several weeks and continued training for the Prairie Fire half marathon on October 14th (13.1 Miles). But after my first long group run, 4 miles, my ankle was in terrible shape. I couldn't even go to work that day. I went to the doctor the following Monday, took X-Rays and found out that it was officially a fracture and I would need to be off of my feet for a minimum of 10-12 weeks. Luckily that time is up on August 27th! Right before my TNT training begins!

I have done a couple of power walks/jiggy jogs in the mean time and taken up Yoga consistently to improve my strength in other areas.

You can find more information about TNT and LLS on my fundraising page:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ks/wdw13/ameloccaro

I'll be updating weekly about my training!

First Time Blogger

Two years ago, if someone told me they were going to "blog about it", I laughed at them. Who from Wichita, KS is important enough to blog? Well, here I am, inspired to blog. Much of my desire comes from seeing friends blog, I've also thought it would be a nice way for long distance friends and family to keep up with my life (since I have boycotted Facebook)

With this initial post my intention is to announce to the world, "HERE I AM!" With a busy school schedule, full time job at a hospital, and a semi-active social life my goal is to blog once per month during 2012. If I love it, maybe more. If I dont, maybe I'll be done by April. We will see what happens.

This is me. Welcome to my blog.

Family is the absolute, most important part of my life. Here is Gabbe and I on Christmas Eve 2011. At the tender age of 13, I can already see her growing into a strong independent woman. She is the only person in the world who can make me angry to the point of almost walking out the door, then five minutes later makes me laugh so hard I want to cry. Gabbe is my shoulder to cry on and will always be there for me, no matter what. I am so lucky to have a younger sister like her! My mother never lets anyone take pictures of her, but she's not getting out of this post! My mother raised Gabbe and I on her own, she is one of the strongest women I know. She puts Gab and I first, while not always the best for her own well being, I know she will always be there when I need her. She is going to school to get an education degree. I don't know how she does it all. Working full time, school full time, playing Gabbe's chauffeur, and raising both of us. Because lets admit, at 24 I still depend on my mother a lot emotionally. She is wise in a way I can only hope to be. My mom and Gabbe truly mean the world to me.

These three handsome fellas are my cousins in Omaha. Ayden, the goofy one in the front is 6, and loves showing off. Braxton in the back, is 3 and the wild child of the family with the biggest heart. Baby Greyson is now 2 months old, his brothers take turns feeding him and helping out their parents. My Aunt Marya, we call her Pokee, has always been an important part of my life. My mom thinks I should have been Pokee's child because we are so much alike, which could explain why we butt heads at times. Her husband, Eric, is the perfect addition to our family. He knows all of the Meloccaro Women are a little crazy but he is so patient, the perfect person to talk to during a tough time. Great advice with a lot of laughs.

I am excited to try out this new hobby and I hope the world enjoys it!

xoxo