Welcome to my Team In Training website.

I'm training for the Chicago Marathon in October with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. I'm thrilled to be a part of this organization. I like having a team to train with, and I am excited to have a way to raise money for the LLS.

Each Team has an Honored Teammate, and ours is Melissa, a woman here in West Lafayette. At age 21, she was diagnosed with leukemia, and she has now been in remission for 21 years! This year, she joined the Team in Training and completed the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon.

In addition to Melissa, I'm also running in honor of Ellen Taylor, the four-year-old daughter of a friend of a friend. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma shortly before her 4th birthday, and she has just begun 2 1/2-3 years of chemotherapy. She is a tough little girl, and her story has inspired me. If you'd like to see how she's doing, you can check her website. (Since I'm a protective parent myself, it might make you feel better to know that I cleared it with her parents to have a link to Ellen's website here.)

My goal is to raise $3,750 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and we're off to a great start already. (See my list of donors off to the left.) Anything you can give WILL make a difference. Do not feel embarassed to make a "small" donation, but also be my guest to make a big one. Thanks, Jon and Gerri!!

Thank you for your support and encouragement. I can assure you that I will think of you often during my training, and definitely during the HOURS that I'll be running the marathon on October 12.

In addition to you generous people, I'm very grateful to Bob, who is totally supporting me in this project, making sure that he's home in time for me to run before dinner, and telling his friends about it. It makes a big difference that this is as much a priority for him as it is for me.

Go Team in Training!

Annie

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

Check back to see how I'm doing from time to time.

06/30/2008 Yesterday was the perfect day for running, so (since I had not made it to Group Training Saturday morning) I did my 7.5 mile run in the afternoon. It was breezy, sunny, mid-70's-- ideal running conditions. Perfect. I felt great. I love being able to run longer distances again. I do realize that 7.5 will feel rather short in another month or two, though...

07/07/2008 Saturday, I ran 8.2 miles. I've gotten tired of running in the neighborhood right around my house, so I ran over the pedestrian bridge into West Lafayette, and I explored my favorite neighborhood over there. (I could look at houses all day, which is not such a great thing while driving, but works while running.) I need to drink more water, and I know that will make a difference when I run, but overall, I'm feeling good. Except for this: I do not like hills. Ever since Sam Cox made us run "Big Bertha" in high school, I do not like hills. And I ran several on Saturday. They really slow me down.

07/14/08 Our group training run got cancelled on Saturday morning, since it was raining, along with some lightning and thunder thrown in for good measure. I ran on Sunday before church (what a great time for some quiet and solitude!). I continue to feel more in shape and more confident about this looming marathon. Ok, so it's not looming yet, but it's certainly on MY radar screen...

07/22/2008 I'm down in Tennessee, escaping the plaster and drywall dust that is flying in our old house. Bob's still in Indiana, working and trying to find a drywaller who can fit us into his schedule. So the girls and I are killing time down here. My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bob have been watching Caroline and Lucy when I run; I'm awfully thankful, and the girls are having a FANTASTIC time. What would I do without family? The only downside is the HEAT. I ran on Sunday when it was 95, and I didn't make it the whole way, which was really frustrating. By comparison, yesterday's 88 degrees felt practically cool. Bob and I continue to have a double baby jogger debate: do we need one? Would I use it? Hmm.

07/27/2007 I ran 10 miles yesterday morning, and I felt surprisingly good. The weather was perfect, and I ran on Murfreesboro's Greenway trails-- shaded, by the river, well-traveled-- a pleasure. I also ran by a Civil War battle site, which was fun. I drove home, got out of the car, and immediately felt tired and sore... So I've been stretching and trying not to let myself get tight.

08/06/2008 I'm back in Lafayette, after three weeks out of town, and it's good to be home! Most recently, I was in Pennsylvania visiting my sister and her family (husband EJ and daughter Emily Grace), and it was great to see them. On Saturday, I asked EJ for some tips on where to run 11 miles, maximizing safety, shade, and relative flatness. His recommendation was Kooser State Park. It was gorgeous! I ran a 1-ish mile loop around a small lake, and it was a cool morning, and most of the loop was shaded with only some dappled sunlight. There were two small bridges, and then a slight uphill followed by an unmistakeable [read STEEP] uphill that I HATED. I finally decided to look at it as a hill workout, with a 1-mile recovery run. That worked for me. I ended up doing about 12 loops, since I didn't want to skimp on the full 11 miles. About five miles into it, I started feeling invincible. It feels good. I haven't felt like that since my first half-marathon, which was probably in the mid-to-late 90's.

08/18/08 I was supposed to run 12 miles yesterday, so the whole family drove over to a park in West Lafayette, where I started running on a trail. We had agreed to meet around the six mile mark so Bob could supply me with some Gatorade and a granola bar. Bob and the girls arrived just minutes before I did, having stopped to admire one of the fountains that Purdue has to offer. I refueled and headed back out. I was concerned, based on my time, that my planned route wasn't a full 12 miles, so I tacked some on at the end, and it ended up being 13.02 (but who's counting??). I only have two more long runs before the big day: a 15-miler and a 20-miler. Though I'm not looking forward to the long training runs, I do feel good about the actual marathon. Chicago, here I come!

09/16/08 I ran 17 miles on Saturday, and it about "did me in." Still, I ran 17 miles. I feel good about that. Three days later, I'm still sore all over, though it's lessening. For some reason, I thought I'd feel energetic & chipper after that run, but that could not be further from the truth. Note to self: eat before running such a long distance. And drink more. And maybe plan the run so it's not 87+ degrees out.