My Missing Posts!

**UPDATED 25 February 2016**

I just found this on the Internet Archive! It was only captured once, but I thought all of these posts were gone! For now, I'll leave it as one post, but I may eventually try to separate them into individual posts. These pieces are the updates I posted as dedicated runs to generous donors as I raised funds to benefit the American Red Cross when I ran my first half marathon in 2012.

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Welcome to Jason Coleman's Personal Page

Running for a Reason!
Thanks for taking the time to help me raise money to fight cancer!
Check out my blog to see what the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon means to me.
I'll also be regaling you with my training tales from India, Ireland (Spring Break) and Minnesota on this page, so bookmark it and come back often to see what I'm up to!

Training/Fundraising Progress (Reverse Chronological Order) 

Day 90 
Yeah! I finally got another donation so today's run was for Becky G! It's great to be able to dedicate a run to her, because she first got me fired up to run a half marathon. She ran one last year and I always told her that I wanted to run with her, but I never got around to it. This year, I was happy to run with her more than once! 

The thing about living on a dead-end road, is the fact that there aren't a lot of choices of where to run. As a result, I'm doing a lot of out-and-back routes. It's a good thing that there aren't too many days left of training, because this would eventually make me crazy. Today I ran a four miler down to the railroad tracks and back. I saw deer prints and ducks today. Still no peacocks or monkeys. :) I'm really enjoying running in the clean air and I'm anxiously looking forward to the race. It's just 8 more runs away!

Pacing on the run was good, just 29:22. Although, confession time. MapMyRun is telling me that my distances are just a bit shorter than I think they are.

Anyone else going to donate?

SOUNDTRACK: Public Enemy - Nation of Millions

Day 89

Took a rest day today. Just cuz.

Day 88

Today I ran the same out and back five miler that I ran on Friday. Today it took me a full thirty seconds less to do it! I also ran at 6:30am to prep myself for the coldness that I'll feel on race day. I also ran in the ACS singlet to see if it'd be too cold. Maybe there's an ACS short-sleeve out there for me? Anyone from ACS reading this? I'm used to the heat! The run felt great and I am ready to taper. A few more small runs and maybe a mid-distance run on Saturday or Sunday. 

I can't believe race day is in just 10 days!

As of today, I have run 288 miles in all!!

SOUNDTRACK: The Who - Ultimate Collection

Day 87

What do you think? Rest day for recovery. And yes, I was sore. But not too sore, nor did I suffer from my new shoes! Yay. Check out this post at Determinators.org.

Day 86

Today I ran farther than I ever have in my life. And for now, it's the last time that I'll be saying that. My training has peaked with a 13.1 mile half marathon training run. Now I know that I can do it on race day. It was a great run. I felt really good with the pace and I had set up a 13 mile run that would take me right to the back door of my new summer house. It started around 10am and Kate drove me to the starting point. The funny thing about the distances here is that they seem so much longer because there's not as many twists and turns in the routes and there's a vast difference in what can be seen during the run. In India, there are people everywhere, buildings, animals...On this run, I started with 3 miles down the shoulder of a county highway. During that time, maybe 3 or 4 cars passed me. Then I made the first of four turns on the entire run and started a five mile stretch down a gravel road. Again, there was nobody around. No peacocks, no holy cows, no monkeys. I did see some horses, though and lots of butterflies. The scenery, of course, was gorgeous. The air was cool, crisp and clean and I was feeling good. I made the second turn of the run and saw a deer, it crossed the road in front of me two times, leaping the whole way. It was great. Mile six to mile eight was uphill, which was a fun change of pace and from there, I ran along Fig Lake. A guy was working in his front yard and asked me how I was doing and I had to think about it for a second. I was nine miles in to my run, I knew I had to run along the freeway for .6 miles in a few minutes and then it was about 3 miles to home. So I thought about it and said, "Well, you know." Hopefully he did. No cars at the freeway crossing and no train at the train crossing so it was a full 13.1 miles without stopping once. I did it. And it felt awesome. My time was 1:49:59, which was great. Last week I ran 12 miles in 1:53. Gotta love the MN air! You've also got to love the cold lake, which I jumped right into when I got home. It's just like the cold pool at the spa. :)

I was really hoping to dedicate this run to someone, but the donations have stalled out. There must be someone who has been "meaning to donate, but hasn't." If that matches your description, click the DONATE NOW button! Help a brother out!

SOUNDTRACK: Bob Dylan, of course. His birthplace, Hibbing, is just down the road, so it seemed appropriate. I listened to Blood on the Tracks and the Bootleg Series: Volume 5.

Day 85

My Internet connectivity has been limited, so I'm currently sitting in a Bed Bath and Beyond, using the wi-fi from th Buffalo Wild Wings next door while Kate shops.

Today I ran a quick four miler around the lake to visit my cousin Ben? The run was great and I finished in less than 28 minutes! Crazy pace!

No donations since I've been in America, it sure would be nice if someone sponsored one!

SOUNDTRACK: Lady Sovereign - Public Warning

Day 84

After months of waiting and 85 hot days of training in India, the day to leave for Minnesota for the summer finally arrived! The flight was fine, but it took forever, and we followed 24 hours of travel up with an eight hour drive from Chicago to Duluth. It was excruciating, but we made it and immediately fell asleep when we got to the house after midnight. The weather here is true to the forecasts, chilly by Delhi standards. The nice thing about it is the fact that there is no pressure to agent up early and run! Today I went for my first Minnesota run under much pressure to best my India pace. It was also with a new pair of shoes. If you couldn't guess what I forgot to pack, it was my running shoes! Unbelievable, I know. After all that training I needed new shoes ASAP. I decided on a pair of Nike Free Runs, which are hybrids between traditional running shoes and barefoot running; they call them minimalist running shoes. It may be a risk at this stage of my training, but I still have 2 weeks before the race.

I left in the middle of the afternoon (imagine that!) for my five mile run and it went very well. I ran a simple out and back from the house along gravel road and it only took...drumroll...37 minutes and 56 seconds! That's almost 7.5 minute miles for those who are counting. I'm really happy with the pace considering the jet lag and everything. And the shoes felt good too. I'm anxious to get them on some pavement tomorrow and on a distance run on Sunday to get a better idea of how they'll really stand up.  

Yay for being in MN and for the fact that the race is only two weeks away!

SOUNDTRACK: Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction

Day 83

Today I took a rest day due to the fact that i was traveling half way around the world.

Dear readers, can you guess what I forgot to pack?

Day 82

Last day of training in India! As such, I wanted to make sure the run was special and it was. First of all, I was joined on my run by a friend, which I've mentioned over and over again, makes the run a lot more bearable. Thanks so much Ben for joining me on my run. I also reserved a new route for the run to keep things interesting. It was supposed to be a six mile run that ran past some of Delhi's important sites like the President's Palace and the Parliament. However, it ended up being a seven miler. Thanks again Ben for sticking with it!

The run started innocently enough, with a light jog past the Salt March Statue. No matter how many times I see it, I still feel really lucky and excited to be living in the land of Gandhi. We cruised down Mother Teresa Crescent as we were carrying on good conversation. At one point, I tried to stop and buy a bottle of water, and the Chai Walla (tea salesman) offered up a scoop of water in a tin cup. I politely said, no thank you and carried on. We ran past a great old Cathedral from the early 1900s, The Cathedral Church of the Redemption. The next site was a Sikh Gurudwara.

SOUNDTRACK: Free Energy - Free Energy

Day 12

I had a great run this morning! I went for a quick two miler, right across from the school. There's a private, walled-in community of houses that belong to the Railway Officers and there's a very natural outside-inside loop that's exactly 2 miles long. I'm not sure if this run will become a permanent part of my scheduled runs, because I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed in there, but if I can keep getting away with it, I'll definitely do it again. It was cool this morning(60 degrees) and the Railway Officers Colony had good roads, no traffic and it was a calm place for a morning run. I was thinking how cool it would be if school could somehow buy those houses and we could have a proper neighborhood with houses for the staff. But the government appointed officials in India rule this country and I'm sure that the property value there is off the charts. The houses are nothing special, but the whole set-up is really cool. It's like a small suburb, with houses, yards, garages and a club in the center of the development. No wonder the goal of most upwardly mobile people here is to get a cushy government job so they can be taken care of for life. I was gone for 16 minutes; off pace, but I was sightseeing a bit.

No donations over night, so this run was for me. If you could start crossposting my updates to try to help me reach my goal, I'd appreciate it!

SOUNDTRACK: Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News

Day 11

Well it wasn't too terrible getting back to work after a day off from running. Today I ran the first three mile loop that I ran and there was nothing particularly interesting that happened during the run. I pushed myself to a pretty good pace and finished in 23 minutes. I still have quite a few three mile days, so I'm on the lookout for some new routes. I'm putting them all on the google map linked above, so feel free to take a look to see where I'm running.

Two really big donations came in from Dr. A and Beth B, so I thank them for sponsoring today's run! I'm starting to think that after I reach my $2000 goal, I'll have to think of some good enticements for even bigger donations.

SOUNDTRACK: Manu Chao - Proxima Estacion, Esperanza

Day 10

Finally! Rest day. Back on the streets tomorrow morning!

Day 9

The Day 9 plan was a simple two miler that almost didn't happen. It was the first time since I've started trainng that I didn't really want to run. We had a big fundraising event at school, and I didn't get home until late. The next morning I kept putting off my run until it got warmer and warmer and finally I got off the couch and did the run. It was a decent run, 2 miles in 18 minutes. Off my pace, but not too bad considering my mood and my engagement level. I did find out the run is a little more than 2 miles, so that made me feel better. I took the Pursuit of Higher Education Run and while I was running a young kid flipped me off to see if he could get a rise out of me. He probably didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he knew it was naughty.

The most important thing was two donations that made me get out and do my run. If Gene and Ellen hadn't donated, it would have been easy to shrug off my run. Thanks to those two I was running for a reason!

SOUNDTRACK: Kid CuDi - Man on the Moon: End of Day

Day 8

An early Saturday morning run doesn't seem like a good idea until you're out there doing it. Today I got a later start and I can tell that it's going to be hot soon. It was about 60 degrees at 7:30am when I went for my run today. I did the Statue 3 Miler (see map above) and it incredibly took me about 22 minutes! I could tell that I was moving pretty well, but I didn't realize that I was almost 2 minutes off my pace. One more run tomorrow and then I get a break on Monday.

No new funds were raised so I was running this one just for myself. It made it harder, without a doubt.

SOUNDTRACK: Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die

Day 7

One week down and I'm feeling really good about running almost every day. Today was another three miler designed to help me build strength and discipline to run every day. I did a new route today and was lucky enough to have Jake Hannon join me on my run. I have to say, having a buddy made the 23 minutes go that much more quickly! Yeah, that's right - 23 minutes. Jake pushed me to increase my pace just a bit, and the run was nice. I scoped out a piece of the big 12 miler that I have planned for the future.

I was a little bummed to not see any donations come in over night, but I am happy that I'm at 23% of my fundraising goal after only a week. Hopefully I can dedicate tomorrow's run to a lucky donor!

SOUNDTRACK: The Strokes - Is this it?

Day 6

The interesting thing about planning my runs on Google Maps, is that it gives me the opportunity to plan precisely routed, exact milage runs that can even be themed. Today's run was a quick 2 miler that took me past 2 secondary schools and 2 colleges. I called it the Pursuit of Higher Education 2 Miler. The other fun thing about using Google Maps to plan the runs is the fact that I can plan routes down streets that I've never travelled. In theory, this process is cool. In practice, you can get lost and you get to find out what streets are like on the ground, once you're running.

That was the situation today.

I should have called this run "The Run of Contrasts," or "Why do you build 10 foot walls?" I passed through the gate and 10 foot wall of my well-appointed school where tuiton costs almost $20,000 per student and immediately ran past the jhuggi (think cobbled together shacks, no sewers) across the street where average yearly salary is probably 1-2 THOUSAND dollars per year. The run then continued past the private British School and the impressive embassies of Bulgaria, Palestine, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar and Korea. Then it turned a corner and at the end of the street where I should have seen the manicured sports fields of the Sanskriti School, there was a 10 foot wall. As I ran along the wall, I ran past heaping piles of garbage, open fires keeping people warm on a cool morning and another jhuggi. It's just one of the amazing things about India that isn't publicized in the tourism campaigns. The CONTRASTS that you see on a daily basis are truly, Incredible.

The run itself was fine, it was a two mile discipline run and it took me 17 minutes. I was a little off of my pace, I guess I was too busy sight-seeing, which isn't such a bad thing.

Today's run is dedicated to Marshall, Lizzie and baby Rees for their very generous donation. Thanks for helping me to almost the 25% mark in just my fifth day of fund-raising!

SOUNDTRACK: Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

Day 5

Ran the simple loop this morning and had a very uneventful run. Pacing was great, right on my 24 minute average. It was cold today and a bit hazy. At the point where I was starting to get a little tired, I looked up and saw a Brahminy Kite silhouetted against the moon. I was also thinking about how cool it will be to cross the finish line in Canal Park in June!

Another donation came in from Drew! I'm really happy to see that so many people care about helping raise money for cancer.

SOUNDTRACK: Sleighbells - Treats

Day 4

Today was my first 6am run. I've got to get into the morning habit because things are going to get crazy hot in India very quickly. As when there's any change of routine, I was awake all night long worrying about waking up on time. The up side though, was the fact that I was awake for a killer lightning storm. It's the first rain we've had in a while, so things were cool and clean when I left for my darkness run. I chose the Statue three miler (see google maps above). The pace was right on with my actual three mile run from the other day (24 minutes) and things felt great. Chanakyapuri is almost peaceful at 6am. Looking forward to more good runs in the am!

On the fundraising tip, I've already cruised to 16% of the goal due to some really generous friends. Donations came in from Malaysia and Vasant Vihar, from Lindsay/Aaron and Justin. I suppose I'll collect donations from all over the world...maybe another Google map is in order...

SOUNDTRACK: John Hartford - Steam Powered Aero-Takes

Day 3

Rest day. Slept in and didn't get any work done.

Day 2

Ken came in with the donation over night and Alicia walked in the door and saw me getting ready for my run, which remided her to donate. I was wearing my Colorado t-shirt, so I wore it in honor of the donation that put me past 10% of my fundraising goal in only two days! Thanks so much everyone.

Today's run was meant to be a 3 miler, but I didn't want to repeat yesterday's run so I ventured into the Ridge for the first time. Lessons learned: 1) the Ridge is a little gross. Lots of couples making out in the bushes. 2) Sometimes roads on Google Maps aren't roads in real life. 3) Three miles quickly turns into at least five when you're lost. At least things won't get tougher...yet. Apart from getting lost, the run was great. Not much traffic, lots of monkeys keeping their distance and pretty good pace. 53 minutes for 5+ miles with some breaks for walking. Tomorrow's a rest day, so I might try to bike some of my ideas for future routes to see if they're possible.

SOUNDTRACK: ODB - Return to the 36 Chambers

Day 1

I started the program a week late, because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to participate or not. At first, I was a bit intimidated by the 3 mile run, but it turned out to be no sweat. In fact, I ran a little extra. I've become obsessed with using Google Maps to plan my runs and I'll make the link to my routes public very soon. Good pace in my run, I finished in 23 minutes, so I'm under 8 minute miles. Hopefully I can keep that up!

Thanks to my Aunt Sandy, the Hannons and Lynnea for stepping up to donate after my first run! We can do this! Rewards for all donors will be distributed at Murphy Lake this summer!

SOUNDTRACK: Minor Threat - Complete Discography