Big Money!

News just in that my team has raised $356,000 this season. We have funded eight researchers and financial aid for 72 families. What a diffence you have made! Thanks for all your support.

Wouldn't it be great to exceed that with my summer season? You can help with a secure online donation.

The Best Part of Recovery

Good thing I didn't train for this past marathon to lose wieght. But you'd think with running 3x a week I would have shed a few lbs. My legs are firmer and my pants fit differently but the number on the scale didn't change much over the 13 weeks of training.

I'm still enjoying recovery which means I'm not running. I'm letting my muscles heal and riding a stationary bike 2x a week & doing lots of crunches. This morning I got a nice surprise. I lost about three lbs. Since I'm not running I'm not hungry all the time. I'm eating a bit less and it showed on the scale this AM. Hopefully I'll be aware of my appetite during the summer season and use the increased exercise to increase the lbs lost.

A little something for me as I ask a little something from all of you - a small donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Together we can make a difference.

Summary of The Avenue

Alrighty! Here's the summary of my first 1/2 marathon.

We were warned that parking would be limited so we were up at 6AM for 9AM start time. We enjoyed a breakfast of bagels with peanut butter & bananas and a glass of water. The last ditch effort to load out body with good carbs. After several attempts to leave & running back into the room for whatever it is we kept forgetting Melanie & I were on our way to the race.

We arrived, parked & walked the 1/4 mile to the race start and had about 2 hrs to relax, stretch & get nervous. We found some friends and found our teammates. The fog was burning off, the sun shining through the trees. It was going to be a beautiful day.

Coach MamaLisa joined us for a pep talk and our pre-race moments of silence for all our honorees. It was time to head to the starting line. The gun rang and I sent Melanie & Donna on ahead - they run faster than me. The first mile was crowded and full of energy.

At mile 1.5 I saw MamaLisa taping up a teammates leg. We learned that she was pulled from the race due to that injury. I can't imagine the disappointment she must have felt.

The course was beautiful and I enjoyed it most when the pack had thinned out and I could enjoy the light playing through the trees. I felt good.

I was about mile 4 when I saw someone sprinting toward me. The lead runner for the FULL MARATHON was already heading to the finish line (he was actually about 1/3 of the way to his finish line... but still). That was pretty amazing to see.

Mile 5-6 was mostly uphill and I couldn't wait to reach that turnaround. The best part of this section of the race was seeing your friends go past you on the way to the finish. I said hi to Mindy, Melanie, Donna... They informed me I was almost there & that gave me a big boost.

I reached mile 8 and realized I had just passed my longest distance. At mile 9 I still had a smile on my face. I felt great. I was almost to the end.

Then you know what happened? The wall! At mile 11 my legs had reached their limit. My lungs felt good. My mind was sharp. My thighs were burning and wow did my hips want to stop the motion. Now it was mind over matter. Time to talk myself up. Time to remember why I was out there.

My personal honoree - my dad, Bill
My team honorees: Brenda, Cole, Joe, Michael, Vanessa, Adrianna, Kendra
Special requests by friends & family to run in honor of:
Betsy’s sister, Nancy
Kate’s sister, Elizabeth
Sandi’s grandmother, Kinuko
Katie’s grandmother, Ruby
Vicki’s sister, Betsy

I was running for them. My legs had to keep going just 2 more miles.
I hit the 12 mile marker and think I shocked the other guy on the trail when I shouted out an "f-bomb" and I was so sure I was at 13.

Finally mile 13 and the cheers of the TNT team. Gretchen ran a few yards with me to push me to the finish. You have no idea how much I needed that boost right then.

I ran 13.1 miles. I raised $5,400. I did it. I'm off to do it again.

Another Season to Honor Him

That's my dad. I ran the Avenue of the Giants in honor of him, and the many team honorees and for the friends & family given to me by my supporters. I'll get a full list up soon.

Last night I attended an informational meeting where new participants learn about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and sign up to train for an endurance event. There were a lot of people there and it seemed like most of them joined the TEAM. How could you not be inspired after hearing all the speakers.

I'm excited to meet my mentee group. To help them achieve their running goals and to exceed their fundraising minimums. If they have friends as generous as I do they will have no problem.

Last I heard this season's team raised almost $300,000 for cancer research, patient care and advocacy. I hope to help raise more than that with the summer team. Would you like to help? Click on the donation link over to the right and send me on my way to success!

A Second Chance

To all my loyal readers who may not have made a donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society yet... all is not lost. I will join the summer season as a mentor to help others reach their goals (run training & fundraising). I too will have to raise funds for cancer research and patient care. You can support my summer goal to raise another $2,500 with a simple click here

If you made a donation already you can always chip in again! No one is turned away.

Cheers.

Recovering

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the experience to write up a good summary for everyone. Soon... I promise. I'm still a bit achey - been stretching & icing my legs every night. I feel the twinge of shin splints acting up. I need to rest. The recovery calendar suggests running a few miles. I don't think I'm ready yet. All Tuesday night & Wednesday I had horrible stomach cramps. I either ate something bad, caught a bug or maybe I am suffering a bit of dehydration. Tonight my mentor group meets for dinner so those of us who ran can share our experience with those waiting for their event in the next few weeks.

Things I learned:
It is possible to enjoy running 13.1 miles. Ok, it ws fun for the first 11.5 miles.
I'm a little sad my event is over. I've got post race blues.
I will do it again, not for the joy of running but for the joy of supporting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I need to get some work done now. Thanks for checking in.

I did the damn thing!

It took me 3 hr 09 minutes to run 13.1 miles. The course was beautiful. The weather was perfect. I had a blast... until mile 11. You know "the wall"? Well it sure felt like a literal wall to me. I'm too tired to process right now but here are some pictures in summary. YES! My legs are sore sore sore. No! I can't walk well right now. YES I'd do it again - just let me recover first.

Here is my photo gallery

Before: Still happy - before the race.

After:
the face of total exhaustion

The Final Hours

Hi!
I've been resting all week & icing my muscles in preparation for the race on Sunday. Today I will lay out all my stuff to make sure I have what I need. I may need to make one last trip to REI. I get one last adjustment at the chiro this afternoon. I will pack. I will try to get to bed early.

Tomorrow we drive to the redwoods to check in for the race, find our hotel & get our last load of carbs at the pasta party.

Sunday I'll get up early enough to enjoy a PBJ sandwich & head to the start.

When will my nerves begin to act up? When will the adrenaline kick in? When with this even be over? In just a few hours!

I've spent the last 3 months training my body - I've run about 200 miles. I've received amazing support and reached my fundraising goal! I learned that I was the top fundraiser for 1/2 marathons this season. I couldn't have done this without you!

On Monday I get to follow the "recovery calendar". On Tuesday I guess I'll start my new role as mentor for the next season.

Today's post isn't the end of this blog because I joined the next season as mentor training for the Nike Women's Marathon. This new role will bring new challenges and new stories to share. The new season also bring another opportunity for you to help me raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Let's work to find a cure for blood cancers. We can save others from having to go through painful treatments or greive the loss of aloved one. As Coach Al says, "Let's do the damn thing!"

The Countdown

Five days left. On Saturday we'll head up to the redwoods to run The Ave. 13.1 miles through some of the tallest trees in the world.

Want to know what I'll be experiencing:
Read the course description

I'm excited & I guess I'm a bit nervous since I had a horrible time sleeping last night.

Tomorrow night we have a send off party where I'll pick up my race packet & figure out where I'm going this weekend. Saturday night TNT hosts a pasta party to top off our last few days of carb loading. Sunday morning please keep me in mind as I'll be making my way along the beautiful course. Of course I'll have in mind all the honorees who've inspired me during the past few months. With each step I take I'll be thinking of your family & friends who have had to fight a blood cancer.

Stay tuned for a post race report.