2 Week Countdown

Well it is just 2 weeks away! I have been working out every other day. Now I need to do it eveyday. Evey single day...walking till race day. I am not so sure about mom going. She has not been feeling well. We will see.

I also need to get more sleep. I tend to me an insomniac. More sleep is more energy all the way around. Today all I did was work in the garden. Clearing away all the winter leaves.

In My Dust!

Well, I decided to go through my walk packet today. There are some really good coupons in there. the t-shirt is very nice. The colors are vibrant. I would be walking it alone so I asked my mother to go with me on a whim. It may be a bad idea as she may not be able to make it and if so, then we will be absolutely last. Back in 1994, she and I did the James Island connector walk and I ended up leaving her in my dust. She was the absolutely last walker to cross the finish line. I did not want to be last so I walked at my pace. She got slighly miffed because I left her. I might have to leave her again. I do not want to be last. Is that bad. To leave your 64 yeard old mother in the dust? She cannot keep up. It is a fact but I do not think I should walk her pace just to stay with her. The dilema. I am making her practice walking so that she can build up some stamina over the next few weeks. It is only just a few weeks away.

I really do love the water. When I went to pick up my walk packet and register, the office had moved to the 2nd floor of Fountain Walker Center. It was a brisk wind up there but it felt good. Right off the ocean and next to the water. I could work in that environment next to the water. That woudl be a dream!

Forward and Backwards

Today I went backwards instead of forward. I did not excersize today and I ate 2 chocolate chip cookies and I had a small bowl of icecream after dinner. Lunch and dinner was very healthy...salad for lunch and salmon and steamed green beans for dinner. Let's face it! Salad and green beans will conteract ill effects of ice cream and 2 cookies!

The bridge today steamed forward well on its' way to completion. The last floor panel was placed today. That was all over the news. Check out the official Bridge Project website for all the details.

Sea Turtle

I did 30 minutes of Tae-bo. Wow! My legs have not done that much kicking in a while. I felt like I was as slow as a sea turtle. I made it through the class but felt that i was as slow as a sea turtle. Well. That will improve the more I do it.

In terms of the new Cooper River Bridge, it will also help protect the sea turtles by having dim lighting.

Planners dim lighting on Cooper River bridge

Structure's low glow to guard sea turtles

The Associated Press

CHARLESTON - The $632 million Ravenel Bridge linking Charleston and Mount Pleasant over the Cooper River will be lit at night, but the lights will be dimmer than first planned for sea turtle protection.

Initially, planners of the most expensive bridge in state history planned to lightthe cable-stayed bridge with 117,000 watts of light. Now that figure has been reduced to 37,000 watts.

The original proposal was too much light, said Paula Sisson, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"That number shot up like a giant red flag with us," she said. "A bridge that big and bright would have threatened many species, including turtles and migratory birds."

The state Department of Transportation has agreed to turn off the decorative lighting earlier during the loggerhead sea turtle nesting season.

From May to November, the lights will be turned off at 10 p.m. They will remain on until midnight the rest of the year.

"I told them I wanted the lights turned out, and they said, 'Sure,'" Sisson said. "I was shocked and thrilled that they were taking responsibility for the natural resources."

"We wanted a responsible, aesthetic lighting scheme that would show the bridge off because of the type of structure it is," said Bobby Clair, the state Transportation Department engineer overseeing the project. "I don't think you'll find many cable-stayed bridges in the world that are not flashy and lit up. But ours will be fairly subdued. It is appropriate for the community."

There will be no lights on the bridge's overhead highway signs, which will visible in vehicle headlights. The decorative lights might remain on later during special events such as the Spoleto Festival USA and the Fourth of July, Clair said.

But even the dimmer lights could mean more light pollution and affect stargazing, said Terry Richardson, who teaches physics and astronomy at the College of Charleston.

The city lights wash out the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia on some spring evenings, and Richardson worries more constellations will be lost with the light from the bridge.

Dimming the lights will help protect sea turtles hatchlings who sometimes move toward inland lights, mistaking them for the white line of surf.

"As more and more developments occur, you get this glow around cities," said Sally Murphy, a biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. "We didn't want the bridge to have a glow that would add to the turtle disorientation problem."

If all goes according to plan, the bridge will open next May.

Obstacles..just a few

Well I really have done no training for the race on yesterday or today. I got sidetracked. I had too much work to do and to much to do at home. I did go to the registration site and found out where I needed to go to register. I will do that on tomorrow. I will go downtown and register in person. I hear that because this is the last year on the current bridge only 40, 000 people will be allowed to register and so far about 16,000 have registered. If any of you are interesed in running or walking here is tbe website to register on line or in person. Other infomative things can be found on the website as well. Bridge run registration.

The picture above was taken on high battery. I love the battery and being near the water. This is not on run route. I also have done WalkAmerica for the March of Dimes and the battery is on the route. That is a 5 mile walk also held in April.

Tomorrow is a new day. Training will begin anew!

Why this year?

Well this is finally the year. I have thought about doing this walk/run for the past 6 years. You know how procrastination works. I just never got around to doing it. I have 2 main motivatons this year. One it will be the kick start to my weight loss plan this year and two, it will be the last time it will ever be held on what is currently the Cooper River Bridge. So I suspect that a lot of people who have never done it before will be doing it just to say they did it on the old bridge before it will be town down. Charleston is in the process of getting a brand new bridge built. (More on that a little later)

This year will be the 28th year it will be run. It is a 10k run and a 7k walk. It will be held on April 2nd. In years pastI have watched the run on tv as it is televised each year. I watched it twice last year and it was a sea of people. I have watched it for the past 5 years. Prior to that I would actually go to the Marketplace in down town charleston and watch the runners come in. The Kenyans were always the winners. It was exciting to see the first winners come in. And clapping for them. Let's not forget the clapping.

Well this year, I too must do the run on the old bridge before it is torn down. I have less than a month to get ready so each day I plan to work out to get ready other wise I will not make it. This will be my first big walk/run. I'll be running with the big DAWGS!

Bridges at Sunset

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