Dear blog-followers,

 These pictures are from my second race which was in Somerset KY.  This was a hard race!  I had just bought my specialized gloves and had not gotten used to them.  Also, I was not very good at going up hills, and there were a lot of hills (a.k.a. mountains).

Dear Blog-followers,

It's me, Aerelle!

I have a lot of catching up to do, and I want to give you what I learned from each race and different tips and techniques I use so that if you decide to be a wheelchair racer, you'll have somewhere to start. . . but, for now,  here's a basic overview of my journey so far.

• July-August 2012:  Begin to think about racing
• September 2012:  Join Jessamine County Public Library Driveway to 5K running group trying to train with an everyday (slow) wheelchair
• October 2012:  God gives me a racing wheelchair and rollerbar for an affordable price (via Greg Insco!!)
• November 2012:  Learn how to steer the Tuesday before my first race and complete my first 5K (Jessamine County Parks and Rec. Turkey Strut)
• December 2012:  Follow advice from Tatyana McFadden and purchased a pair of harness racing gloves; Find article on proper push technique; Complete 5K in Somerset, KY (where hills are really mountains); Race in Kannapolis, NC where my grandparents get to cheer me on
•  January-February 2013:  Continue to train with my dad/coach while beginning search for a "real" coach
• March 2013:  Race my best time yet at RJ Corman railrunner 5K
• April 2013:  Unexpectedly travel to Greenwood, IN to race in a walk/run for orphans to support the Boaz Project; find out just how many hills Kentucky has (as compared to flat, flat, flat Indiana) and how bad I am at pacing myself without hills to climb and then fly down!
• May 2013:  Learn to pace myself; compete in RJ Corman run for the Chrysallis House along with my dad who decided he needed to be in better shape in order to keep up with me
  

So, there you have it!

I'll write again soon,

Aerelle

Hello, everyone!

Aerelle is finished with (most of) her schooling for the 2012-2013 school year.  I have officially handed off this blog to her.   She has already made some changes to the background and mission statement to better share her vision of what this blog should accomplish.

I have also challenged her to do a better job than me in keeping new pics posted from her races and training.   Her first job is to catch you up on what has been happening while the former blog-poster (that would be me!) was off sleeping or something!  

She also wants to teach you about the things she is learning about wheelchair racing, herself, and her Savior.
Soooooo, stay tuned and see what she comes up with!

Signing off,
Aerelle's mom (otherwise known as Della)