a short video.
fun.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
A recap from Terry.
To all my friends and family,
Words cannot express my gratitude for your loving support, donations and inspiration.
It feels really great to be home from this monumental journey.
July 4th, 6am. From the moment I stood on the start line I was scared, a thousand emotions filled my head with the most prominent being fear, fear of failure, fear of letting my son down, injuries, heat, a million things.
Right off the bat my right calf, which had been nagging me days prior, proved to be a problem right away. I had to be taped from the beginning and it continued to be that way throughout the run. The first seventeen miles were pretty uneventful. The heat was only in the low 100's.
After the first checkpoint at Furnace Creek the temperatures really started to rise. We soon found ourselves in the high 120s. At one point it was so hot you could see the pavement melting on the edges. The heat was so intense it caused my feet to literally burn through my shoes. I then suffered with the most severe blisters I've ever had through the next fifty miles. It was some of the most intense pain I've experienced in my entire life but I somehow managed to keep going. My crew did a great job keeping me iced down, hydrated and did the best they could with the blisters that kept getting progressively worse. By the time I reached Panamint at 75 miles I was literally at the end of the line. Luckily we got in contact with the Blister Queen herself, Denise Jones, who agreed to see me at 1am and proceeded to spend the next several hours treating the blisters. With that I was on my way once again, bandages and all, to my next check point at the 100 mile mark. During that first night out I aggravated several scorpions who did not enjoy being poked by my ski pole whatsoever. One even tried to attack me ninja style! Learned my lesson with that one.
Eventually I made it to Lone Pine, tired, cranky, just plain exhausted. I was sleep deprived due to trying to make up lost time from the blisters.
The thirteen miles up the portal road went quick. I then had a couple of hours of much needed rest and then proceeded to climb Mt. Whitney with my daughter, brother and his wife. The climb up Mt. Whitney proved to be one of the highlights of my journey. It was the most incredible, spiritual journey I have ever had. I remember standing at about 14, 000 feet and feeling the most incredible sense of energy and strength that I had felt in a long time. I actually felt the most fit I had all year, even after the 135 miles through the desert. Standing on top of Mt. Whitney with my daughter will forever be one of the biggest moments of my life. The view was spectacular, the sense of achievement was beyond anything I could tell you here. The journey down Whitney was uneventful and long. As I started on my last leg on my return, running out of Lone Pine, I felt such a huge sense of accomplishment and hope that maybe I really could pull this off, really finish this crazy endeavor. I was able to run for several hours through the night. We stopped and slept in the car for two hours. Night turned into another day of jogging and walking. The miles started to feel longer and longer and I really had to concentrate to stay tough mentally just to get through them. I was still always able to eat normal food which I believed helped since there are only so many gels you can take before you're ready to puke. It was right around 170 miles that my right toe started to really swell. I also started to get new blisters! Fun! But still I kept the course. Taryn did a great job in keeping up with the hydration and blister patrol. Around the 200 mile mark, things started to get a little uglier, if that was even possible. Temps started to increase again, my feet were constantly in pain. I probably ingested more Excederin in that short time period than I had all year. I started to feel a sense of apathy in the 200s but I still was able to think of Zack and why I was doing this and what it was for. I hurt constantly but I kept thinking about my son and what he faced everyday and it inspired me to keep going as did my daughter who stuck by me through this journey. Coming down from Towne's Pass is when my dad joined me. By then my running had been reduced to a walk again because my quad was so inflamed. My dad was able to walk along side of me for an hour or so. I then made it to Stovepipe, swam in the pool, ate a little something, slept a couple hours and was once again on my way for what was supposed to be my last day out there. Sometime between Stovepipe and Furnace Creek a major lighting storm hit, some of the roads were washed out and we were reduced to waiting in our car for several hours until it was safe to go back out. It was around 3am that I started on the last leg of this journey. By then I felt in a somewhat comatose state. It was hard to stay awake, No Doz weren't working, I was totally exhausted. It took me several hours to go ten miles. There were bats flying around, spiders everywhere and I was starting to suffer from a severe case of exhaustion. My last morning out on the desert came and with about ten miles left to go I met a man named David Uri who came out of nowhere who talked to me and distracted me from the pain and agony that I was feeling. David was a crew member for another runner named Vito. After David left I was reminded of the severe pain my quad was in. I could barely walk. I started walking backwards, icing all the time, doing anything to get through the last seven miles. Vito and his family pulled up and offered me these pills, I think they were called VO2 Max or something. I took them thinking okay, whatever...but sure enough within twenty minutes I was noticing my quad slowly start to come back to life. The last three miles of this run proved to be the most difficult, mind over matter miles I'd ever run. I honestly didn't think that even with the end so near, I started to seriously doubt my ability to finish. I guess that's when my faith in God and love for my son really proved itself as I did cross that line finally. The feeling of accomplishment, awe and wonder at where the strength to complete this journey came from totally overwhelmed me. It is an experience I will never, ever repeat or forget. I can't express my gratitude to everybody. All my comments that were read to me in tough times inspired me to keep going and I will always be grateful for my crew, my friends and my family and all the love and support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Terry Abrams.
Words cannot express my gratitude for your loving support, donations and inspiration.
It feels really great to be home from this monumental journey.
July 4th, 6am. From the moment I stood on the start line I was scared, a thousand emotions filled my head with the most prominent being fear, fear of failure, fear of letting my son down, injuries, heat, a million things.
Right off the bat my right calf, which had been nagging me days prior, proved to be a problem right away. I had to be taped from the beginning and it continued to be that way throughout the run. The first seventeen miles were pretty uneventful. The heat was only in the low 100's.
After the first checkpoint at Furnace Creek the temperatures really started to rise. We soon found ourselves in the high 120s. At one point it was so hot you could see the pavement melting on the edges. The heat was so intense it caused my feet to literally burn through my shoes. I then suffered with the most severe blisters I've ever had through the next fifty miles. It was some of the most intense pain I've experienced in my entire life but I somehow managed to keep going. My crew did a great job keeping me iced down, hydrated and did the best they could with the blisters that kept getting progressively worse. By the time I reached Panamint at 75 miles I was literally at the end of the line. Luckily we got in contact with the Blister Queen herself, Denise Jones, who agreed to see me at 1am and proceeded to spend the next several hours treating the blisters. With that I was on my way once again, bandages and all, to my next check point at the 100 mile mark. During that first night out I aggravated several scorpions who did not enjoy being poked by my ski pole whatsoever. One even tried to attack me ninja style! Learned my lesson with that one.
Eventually I made it to Lone Pine, tired, cranky, just plain exhausted. I was sleep deprived due to trying to make up lost time from the blisters.
The thirteen miles up the portal road went quick. I then had a couple of hours of much needed rest and then proceeded to climb Mt. Whitney with my daughter, brother and his wife. The climb up Mt. Whitney proved to be one of the highlights of my journey. It was the most incredible, spiritual journey I have ever had. I remember standing at about 14, 000 feet and feeling the most incredible sense of energy and strength that I had felt in a long time. I actually felt the most fit I had all year, even after the 135 miles through the desert. Standing on top of Mt. Whitney with my daughter will forever be one of the biggest moments of my life. The view was spectacular, the sense of achievement was beyond anything I could tell you here. The journey down Whitney was uneventful and long. As I started on my last leg on my return, running out of Lone Pine, I felt such a huge sense of accomplishment and hope that maybe I really could pull this off, really finish this crazy endeavor. I was able to run for several hours through the night. We stopped and slept in the car for two hours. Night turned into another day of jogging and walking. The miles started to feel longer and longer and I really had to concentrate to stay tough mentally just to get through them. I was still always able to eat normal food which I believed helped since there are only so many gels you can take before you're ready to puke. It was right around 170 miles that my right toe started to really swell. I also started to get new blisters! Fun! But still I kept the course. Taryn did a great job in keeping up with the hydration and blister patrol. Around the 200 mile mark, things started to get a little uglier, if that was even possible. Temps started to increase again, my feet were constantly in pain. I probably ingested more Excederin in that short time period than I had all year. I started to feel a sense of apathy in the 200s but I still was able to think of Zack and why I was doing this and what it was for. I hurt constantly but I kept thinking about my son and what he faced everyday and it inspired me to keep going as did my daughter who stuck by me through this journey. Coming down from Towne's Pass is when my dad joined me. By then my running had been reduced to a walk again because my quad was so inflamed. My dad was able to walk along side of me for an hour or so. I then made it to Stovepipe, swam in the pool, ate a little something, slept a couple hours and was once again on my way for what was supposed to be my last day out there. Sometime between Stovepipe and Furnace Creek a major lighting storm hit, some of the roads were washed out and we were reduced to waiting in our car for several hours until it was safe to go back out. It was around 3am that I started on the last leg of this journey. By then I felt in a somewhat comatose state. It was hard to stay awake, No Doz weren't working, I was totally exhausted. It took me several hours to go ten miles. There were bats flying around, spiders everywhere and I was starting to suffer from a severe case of exhaustion. My last morning out on the desert came and with about ten miles left to go I met a man named David Uri who came out of nowhere who talked to me and distracted me from the pain and agony that I was feeling. David was a crew member for another runner named Vito. After David left I was reminded of the severe pain my quad was in. I could barely walk. I started walking backwards, icing all the time, doing anything to get through the last seven miles. Vito and his family pulled up and offered me these pills, I think they were called VO2 Max or something. I took them thinking okay, whatever...but sure enough within twenty minutes I was noticing my quad slowly start to come back to life. The last three miles of this run proved to be the most difficult, mind over matter miles I'd ever run. I honestly didn't think that even with the end so near, I started to seriously doubt my ability to finish. I guess that's when my faith in God and love for my son really proved itself as I did cross that line finally. The feeling of accomplishment, awe and wonder at where the strength to complete this journey came from totally overwhelmed me. It is an experience I will never, ever repeat or forget. I can't express my gratitude to everybody. All my comments that were read to me in tough times inspired me to keep going and I will always be grateful for my crew, my friends and my family and all the love and support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Terry Abrams.
Doin good! Watch the news!
Terry's on the news tomorrow morning on KHQ-6. Woohoo! Not sure when she'll air, she's got to be at the station at 6:30am so watch your morning news!
In other news, she's healing very quickly. The last two years of training really paid off. She just went and ran the 8 mile Liberty Lake trail loop and not too many twinges to report. Yay!
If anyone's still checking she'll be doing a recap later tonight or tomorrow. So stay tuned to hear it from the lady herself!
Thanks again for all your support and donations. It's really meant a lot!
In other news, she's healing very quickly. The last two years of training really paid off. She just went and ran the 8 mile Liberty Lake trail loop and not too many twinges to report. Yay!
If anyone's still checking she'll be doing a recap later tonight or tomorrow. So stay tuned to hear it from the lady herself!
Thanks again for all your support and donations. It's really meant a lot!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
4th Wonder of The World
Terry has just finished her trek across the desert up Mt. Whitney and back again. She is only the 4th woman in the world to complete the 292 mile run. She stayed strong through out her journey and was motivated by your words of encouragement, and her will as a mother. Terry is thankful for all your donations and more information on her finish will be coming soon. She is on her way home and will soon be able to give you a first hand look into her journey by writing her own post as soon as she can. So come on guys lets here it one more time for the 4th woman ever to finish a bad water double Terry!!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
desert storm.
looks like terry might just become a permanent resident of the desert. with only 20 miles left to go, we're trapped in the car waiting out a storm that's acting like it aint ever leaving. the lightning is super scary and dangerous and the wind is really strong. its pretty crazy. plus to add to the fun we dont have a room booked tonight because they've all been booked for ages and we were hoping to be heading out by tonight. woohoo for adventures! anyway, terry's doing good, just super irritated about having to be trapped in the car this close to her finish line. we'll update again soon, let's hope it's with a finish report!
Robo MoM !!
Hey guys here a bit o info about Terry. She is 27 miles from the finish and there isn't anything that is gunna stop her now. Her body is a machine that won't give in even in this 114 degree she is moving though. She keeps on doing what she does best putting one foot in front of the other and feeding off those words of encouragement you guys keep giving her. Congratulations to you for helping meet Terry's 5 thousand dollar goal that is just one of the many motivators you give her to keep pressing on. So keep sending some love because as you can see she is soo close she can taste it and believe me she is one hungry woman!!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
as hard as it can be.
hey all. how bout a report from someone who's living and breathing this dry, hot desert air!
it's me t! terry's daughter!
the past few days have probably been the most taxing of my mom's entire life. despite every horrible thing that has gone on in the desert and every horrible story and rumor being spread a thousand miles away, she continues to run. and run. and run.
im the last official crew member, the others have all gone home. my mom's husband drove down to help out the last couple days and my grandpa will be here tomorrow.
she's strong, so strong. i know most of you have an understanding of this already. i see how you pull inspiration from her and i get overwhelmed by the size of her heart and the fact that its open for anyone.
that same heart is broken now. torn to bits by betrayal and lies. her run is now peppered with burts of sadness. its taxing to say the least, but she's tredging on.
i was fortunate enough to summit mt. whitney with her the other day. it was a memory i will keep with me forever. you would have never guessed she just got done running 135 miles through that tortuous desert.
the next day she ran all day, never stopping until forces beyond her control said enough for tonight. she rests for the tiniest of breaks and moves on, knocking out mile after mile. she has 85 left to go. we're heading out shortly to begin the descent into panamint. im excited to run with her tonight. the experience im sharing with her through this entire journey is priceless.
thank you all for continuing to support her. she's going to get through this, ive never doubted it for a single second. im proud to stand by her side through this entire journey, even if we've had to battle demons we never knew could exist.
and to ben and denise, i hope you feel our appreciation, it is very, very great.
marcia, same to you. thank you for seeking her out and your prayers.
and the folks at panamint springs, thanks so much! that meant a lot!
we've got a few more days out here still, the temps are threatening horrible, horrible things but terry's got business to take care of.
if you're in badwater or know people that would like to see her finish, we're hoping for a saturday finish. keep an eye out for us on the road!
thanks again everyone.
ps. a heath status:
she's in great physical condition considering the circumstances. her feet are bothering her the most but she's dealing with them and says its getting better. her calves and quad threaten her every day but they're being dealth with and have seem to obeyed for now.
she's doing really great. she really is.
it's me t! terry's daughter!
the past few days have probably been the most taxing of my mom's entire life. despite every horrible thing that has gone on in the desert and every horrible story and rumor being spread a thousand miles away, she continues to run. and run. and run.
im the last official crew member, the others have all gone home. my mom's husband drove down to help out the last couple days and my grandpa will be here tomorrow.
she's strong, so strong. i know most of you have an understanding of this already. i see how you pull inspiration from her and i get overwhelmed by the size of her heart and the fact that its open for anyone.
that same heart is broken now. torn to bits by betrayal and lies. her run is now peppered with burts of sadness. its taxing to say the least, but she's tredging on.
i was fortunate enough to summit mt. whitney with her the other day. it was a memory i will keep with me forever. you would have never guessed she just got done running 135 miles through that tortuous desert.
the next day she ran all day, never stopping until forces beyond her control said enough for tonight. she rests for the tiniest of breaks and moves on, knocking out mile after mile. she has 85 left to go. we're heading out shortly to begin the descent into panamint. im excited to run with her tonight. the experience im sharing with her through this entire journey is priceless.
thank you all for continuing to support her. she's going to get through this, ive never doubted it for a single second. im proud to stand by her side through this entire journey, even if we've had to battle demons we never knew could exist.
and to ben and denise, i hope you feel our appreciation, it is very, very great.
marcia, same to you. thank you for seeking her out and your prayers.
and the folks at panamint springs, thanks so much! that meant a lot!
we've got a few more days out here still, the temps are threatening horrible, horrible things but terry's got business to take care of.
if you're in badwater or know people that would like to see her finish, we're hoping for a saturday finish. keep an eye out for us on the road!
thanks again everyone.
ps. a heath status:
she's in great physical condition considering the circumstances. her feet are bothering her the most but she's dealing with them and says its getting better. her calves and quad threaten her every day but they're being dealth with and have seem to obeyed for now.
she's doing really great. she really is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
