Well I must say the absolute hardest part of my TNT journey has been the fundraising. Its not easy to ask people for money in this economy! I am so excited though that I have FINALLY reached my goal!! Just in the nick of time God truly had an Angel, by the name of Mike Hill help me reach my goal! Let me tell you the story of another one of God's amazing works!

I was about $800 away before I left for a Roller Skating meeting in Sarasota, FL last Saturday. Mr. Hill owns a company called "The Stuff Shop" which is where we purchase all of our skating rink novelties from. I was a little nervous that I was not going to make my goal and Hot Wheels was going to have to pay for the remaining amount. I have been praying that somehow God would help me reach my goal, especially since I feel like God lead me to this journey! Mr. Hill was already very generous in his donation earlier on in my fundraising, but he had told me he was going to try and make sure I reached my goal!

The Stuff Shop was sponsor vendor at the meeting we attended. Well the last day of the meeting each vendor got the chance to go around the room and promote their product and share their upcoming new things. When it was Mr. Hills turn to promote The Stuff Shop he grabbed the mike and began talking about ME! He said the kindest things someone can possibly say about someone else (surely I was not worthy of all the things he said) but in a sheer act of unbelievable kindness He asked for everyone to please donate to help me reach my fundraising goal! In a matter of about 1 min. I had $850 in my hand!! I was speechless.....I could not believe what was happening! I was amazed by not only the donations I was receiving but by the encouragement I was getting from all my fellow rink owners! Most everyone had NO idea that I was participating in such an amazing event, especially while trying to operate a rink and run a family. Mr. Hill never spoke a word about his business, he only spoke of me.

Sitting right next to me was a man named Bill Carlson, he is a highly successful "success coach" and very well respected man in the business industry. He shared his story with me about his wife, Ava, who had died from cancer and how he had ran the NYC marathon in honor of her. It was a very touching story and made me feel very blessed and grateful to be in that room that day!

Along the way I have meet some amazing people and made some new lifelong friends who have made a big impact on my life. People I do not even know have donated to me just because of others. I have learned just how valuable our lives really are and how easily we take our lives for granted. I have learned how important it is to donate to causes that help save the lives of others. Money cannot by time, but by donating to LLS you are helping to find a cure so that one day we will get to spend more time with those who may be diagnosed with cancer. Thanks to everyone who has made this journey possible for me!! Please continue to pray for me and my TNT team as we leave from San Fran next week to meet 30,000 who will end our journey at our marathon!

Well this is my 1st blog on my TNT website and I really have an amazing story to share with you! Let me 1st being by saying...WOW...what an amazing group of people I have met while doing Team in Training! Its so uplifting to have so many people rooting for you as you run! This group really is more than just a team, they are really like family! Everyone is so nice and inviting and they really make you feel like part of something more than just a "running group." Everyone has such good ideas for fundraising and are very encouraging to help reaching goals! I will say that they most difficult part of the journey has been the fundraising! I am getting closer and closer to my goal and hoping to reach it SOON!!

I really wanted to share an amazing testimony that happened this week! In addition to running with my TNT family, I also run with the most amazing group of Christian women in Daphne at least 3 days a week. These women have really made me want to be a better person! Words truly cannot give them justice....they are simply amazing and I LOVE each and every one of them! Over the past few months I have been feeling in a spiritual rut (I guess that’s what you could call it) thinking that I was not fulfilling any type of Glory to God. Its hard to explain, but I will just leave it at that! Anyhow, Thursday evening, my friend Laura text me and asked me about running a "fast" 3 mile run Friday morning at 4:45 am. I excited about doing it and but a little nervous, we usually do "easy" runs in the am with a slower pace, but I was up for the challenge! When I went to bed that night I was looking through my Bible for some encouraging verses to help get me motivated to run the next morning. I came across one of my FAVORITE verses Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When I went to bed that night, I prayed that the Lord would give me the strength and ability to run my 3 miles in 29:11 (my fastest time since 2004 has only been 31:28 and I have really been wanting to complete my 5k's in under 30 mins.).

The next am, my alarm went off at 4:30 am and I jumped out of bed, got dressed and met Laura for our am run in the RAIN! We started off our run in the pitch black and rain and just went for it! We ran for what felt like forever, because I was not able to talk "comfortably" during our run, but when we came to the end Laura stopped her watch and said to me in excitement....."We just ran it in 28:11!" We were both so excited that we didn't really say too much because it was for one STILL RAINING and for two out of breath. When I got home about 15 mins. later, my Bible was still sitting on my night stand with the pages faced down to mark the last place I had read. When I pick up my Bible to straighten it up, I realized that the last verse I had read was Jeremiah 29:11 and I remembered my prayer from before I went to bed....God had spoken to me and DELERIVED...he had given me the ability and STRENGTH to run my run in EXACTLY 1 minute less than what I had asked for!! I was speechless for a few minutes. Tears literally ran down my face as I realized the POWER of what had just happened! For some people it may not seem like a big deal, but for me.....I had just been spoken to and the Lord had just reassured me that HE was still looking over me, even though I had not been very faithful to him over the past few months. I truly feel BLESSED and ReEnergized for my passion in GOD. Who would have thought something so SMALL could be turnout to be so BIG in making a difference! And to top it all off, HE showed me his LOVE for me in my running, which really made me feel I really am right where I am supposed to be.... Can I get an Amen!!

Racing to Save Lives

Hello all my wonderful friends and family and welcome to my Team In Training home page. I am sure most of you are thinking...what is team in training and aren't you already busy enough? Well to answer your questions, let me explain:

Team In Training in a non-profit organization that raises funds to help fund the research to stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I'm training to participate in The San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon on October 17th as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. I am excited to be completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Yes I am very busy, as a mother of 3 SMALL children and a business owner, Hot Wheels Skate Center, I do have a full plate, so why add on more? I feel that God has given me a passion for running and for helping others. I feel lead to use my able body to help raise money and awareness for a wonderful cause. Although I have not been personally affected by one of these dieases, I know there are other mothers out there just like me, who unfortunatley are having to battle these dieases with their loved ones. I cannot imagine what they are going through, but I do want to help! If we all do a little, it can make a big difference!

If you could please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. No amount is too small and any little bit will help!

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress and please forward my page to anyone you know who may want to help!!Thanks for your support!

Love,