Thank you everyone for your support. I reached my fundraising goal and then some! Please don't stop there, because 100% of every penny I raise above my goal goes towards the cause. So, if you haven't done so already, please donate=)

I am please to introduce Kimiyah Sefedi, my best friend, Theresa's second child. Theresa always knew she wanted to be a mother, and one of the factors in deciding to move forward with the chemotherapy during her first pregnancy was because there was a huge risk that after the treatments, she would be no longer be able to have children. But, she overcame that risk twice now, by delivering a healthy baby girl, Naliyah, and having another healthy baby girl, Kimiyah. Congratulations to Theresa and Dar on the beautiful addition to their growing family. I love you guys!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made a donation to LLS. I REACHED MY GOAL!!! When I first told Theresa that I decided to join Team in Training, I told her I was nervous about raising $1000. She told me that I would be suprised about the amount of support I would get from everyone. I had no idea I would be able to raise this money so quickly. Thank you to everyone who made a donation... but don't stop there! Every dollar counts.

I have been keeping up with the training schedule and am now up to 8 miles! I will run 10 miles this Saturday, so I am hoping for cool weather. I have to admit, though, that I feel like I've hit a wall. My pace has dropped somewhat and it is a little discouraging. I keep making excuses, like it's too hot, or I'm so tired, but I hope to get over this hump soon. I try to think of families who have been affect by blood cancers, especially those family members and friends of those in my Team (we share "mission moments" every week) or I try to think of YOU and your support, and it keeps me going.... SLOW, but going!! Please leave encouraging messages!

Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting my page. I wanted to share the story of my best friend and her journey with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Here is her story:

About 3 years ago, Theresa Mejia, my best friend since the age of five, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and four months pregnant with her first daughter, my God-daughter Naliyah.

While pregnant, Theresa decided to undergo chemotherapy treatments. She was at the hospital every week, either for chemotherapy or a prenatal visit. Luckily on December 3, 2008, she delivered a healthy baby girl, Naliyah.

Theresa has been in remission for almost 2 and a half years and is pregnant with her second daughter. Throughout the entire process, Theresa never ceased to surpise me with her courage and perseverance . She even decided to participate in the Women's Nike Marathon in San Francisco last Fall. She is the epitome of strength and is the source of inspiration for me to run the Chicago marathon this Fall. She is why I joined Team in Training.

Team In Training (TNT), The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) leading endurance sports charity training program, has reached a remarkable milestone of raising over $1 billon to support blood cancer research and patient services. Since its inception in 1988, when a team of 38 runners trained together for the New York City Marathon and raised $320,000, TNT has prepared more than 440,000 people—approximately 40,000 participants annually— to achieve their dream of completing a marathon, half marathon, triathlon, 100-mile (century) bicycle ride or hike adventure. The enormous success of this program has helped make possible advances in blood cancer therapies and treatments that have prolonged and enhanced the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients.

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for your support! I am so thankful for the support from friends, family and co-workers for their generous donations! I'm more than half-way there. Now I can focus on training for the Chicago Marathon on October 9, 2011!!!

Team in Training started a couple of weeks ago and I got to meet some really cool people who are also running in honor of their friends and family members. It is such an inspiriation to get out there early every Saturday morning to run with the Team.

I am in Seattle this week, visiting my new niece Jordana Sloane! She is helping me train for the marathon. This is a picture of us at Greenlake Park where she napped while I ran SEVEN miles in just over an hour. She had so much fun... well, by that I mean she didn't cry =) We're getting ready to go over to the Mill Creek Trail so that I can run another 7 miles while Jojo takes another nap.

Jojo zonked after the trip to the Lake

Good morning, Miss Jordana

Krystina, my little sister, is planning on coming to Chicago to watch me run the marathon this Fall! I'm so exicited for her to come and visit. I hope others can come out and support all the runners, especially the Team In Training runners =)

Yay!!! Thank you very much to Sally and Beverly for their donations! They are my dad's co-workers and I really appreciate their support!

Training for the marathon kicks off next week (perfect timing because it happens to be my last week of school!) Check back often as I will be updating my blog to track my progress.

Here are some pictures of me, Theresa, and Naliyah during their visit to Chicago last year. Isn't she the cutest?