Dear Friends and Family,

I have set out on a mission to train for my first marathon with Team in Training (TNT) and fundraise $4,200 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). I never thought the day would come when I would actually, and proudly, say that I am a runner but on June 18, 2011 I will proudly make it to finish line of the Mayor’s Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. The training that TNT provides to eager runners is extremely helpful, essential and even fun, and more importantly, the funds we will be raising are life saving.

Before joining the team I struggled with the idea of fundraising because I honestly did not know much about Leukemia or Lymphoma, or personally know any one affected by the diseases. That changed very quickly when my friend Audrey told me she has Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her stories of hospital visits, blood work and transfusions, chronic illnesses caused by treatments - shook me and instantly motivated me to help. Audrey has been involved with TNT for several years and despite the Lymphoma, has completed dozens of endurance events. She is truly an inspiring individual, and I feel honored to be her friend. And knowing that they money I raise for LLS will go towards finding a cure for her, running a marathon seems like the least I can do.

With every dollar raised for LLS, they move closer to the ultimate goal of finding a cure for blood cancer. This year they will focus on these main goals:

• Funding blood cancer research projects that offer the best chance of accelerating development of new, promising treatment therapies.

• Giving more people with blood cancer access to clinical trials.

• Giving all people with blood cancer—at every stage of their journey–access to information and services they need to fight and manage their disease.

I am running this marathon because I am inspired and physically able. Please help me meet my personal fundraising goal of $4,2000 because you are willing and able. I understand that this is a tough time for many of us and would greatly appreciate any contribution you could make.

Your donation will fund further progress in blood-cancer research and support patients like my friend Audrey. You can help save the estimated 1,000 patients who die from blood-related cancers every week. Donations are 100% tax-free (tax ID# 13-5644916). Please feel free to include the names of anyone you would like to honor through my participation; I would be honored to wear their names on my jersey on the day of the marathon.

Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your encouragement and support.

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February 18, 2011

Training Begins

Today, Friday, February 18th marks the first official day of training for my first marathon. Well, perhaps Wednesday should technically be the first, seeing how I'm still sore from the strength & conditioning practice. After being taken out for the past 2 weeks with an upper respiratory infection, my feet finally hit the pavement at 6:17am and it was rough.

The good news is before I got sick, I was able to run 4.5 miles a couple of times and felt great. And 4.5 miles is the furtherest I've ever run, before, period.

Here's to getting over the sickness and running into the sunrise!

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March 2, 2011

New Records

It is somehow already March and the marathon is creeping closer every day. Sunday's practice was the first time I've ever run 5 miles, ever. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but then I got to thinking...from here on out, every additional mile I run will be the first I've run that many miles before. That means I have A LOT of personal records ahead me for which I am extremely excited! Another week, another mile, another step closer towards surviving the marathon!

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March 21, 2011

10 Mile Run

Yesterday, March 20th was a very big day for me - I ran 10 miles! And this was probably the hardest 10 miles I will ever run - running along the beach sounds really nice, until a crazy rain and wind storm hits and then it becomes a battle! It was so windy and cold, at times it was even raining sideways, but I made it, in one piece. As if the elements weren't challenging enough, sharp knee pain slowed me down around the 7 mile mark. Thankfully Mentor Carlos was there to talk me through the pain and keep me motivated to complete my run.

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April 3, 2011

12 Mile Run

Whoa, whoa, whoa - I ran 12 miles this morning. 12 miles! It is truly amazing what my body is able to do these days, and I am extremely thankful for my health and ability to run. At practice we run in pace groups, and the lades of Group 4 have become quite close and it makes running these long distances so much easier. We constantly joke, laugh and even sing, it makes the time fly by! After our run today we all took a stroll to the ocean and soaked our feet, a natural ice bath just waiting for us.

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April 10, 2011

14 Miles of Crazy

Today I ran 14 miles - that more than a half marathon! The ladies of Group 4 are amazing individuals, if it wasn't for them, I probably would have never made it. Started off feeling pretty good. Still trying to figure out what my body wants and needs when I'm expending that much energy. Shot Blocks (potasium, sodium, electroltye gummy things) are magical little things, pop them in and a huge burst of energy kicks in. Had some more knee pain around the 10 mile mark that I still need to get under control, but thankfully I was able to run through it.

Thank you Santa Monica for cool, breezy sunshine today - it was awesome!

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April 24, 2011

16 Miles of Amazing

What an incredible run today. I ran 16 miles and have never been so proud of myself before. I believe in the training, I believe in the process, my body and myself. It is truly amazing what the body is capable of doing. A very special thanks to Mollie, Julie and Alex for keeping strong and positive throughout the entire run. Surprisingly today's run felt easier than the 14 mile run. We ran up some intense hills, luckily there were beautiful homes on them to take my mind off the fact that I was voluntarily running up hills early on a Sunday morning.

This has been a really great week for my training. On Friday I discovered I can run 5 miles in less than 45 minutes! That was an amazing feeling to finish my 5 mile loop and look at my watch to see my finish time. Amazing, I am truly amazed by what I am doing.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support, you are rock stars and I am forever grateful.

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May 2, 2011

Reflection Pool

Yesterday was a very different Sunday, very different. Due to pain and tightness in my IT band (the lovely tendon that travels from your butt through your knee and further down the leg) I resorted to aqua jogging rather than pounding the pavement for 18 miles. If you have ever aqua jogged then you know how tidious it can be - moving an inch a minute while attempting to complete your running stride in water does not bode well for my patience. The idea is low impact running. After a trial session in the Santa Monica community pool on Wednesday, I learned a few things about myself: a) I cannot float with one aqua jogging belt alone, I need two. b) Aqua jogging is only hard if you're doing it correctly. c) It is extremely difficult to run in the deep end of a pool.

While the rest of the marathon team ran 18 miles through Santa Monica, Venice and Marina Del Rey, I was in the pool with 6 other ladies aqua jogging. Apparently 18 miles on the pavement equals 3:40 hours of aqua jogging in the pool. I had to dig deep to understand that like our long slow distance running on Sundays, being in the pool for that long was a about time spent being "on my feet." Thankfully the company was fantastic, funny and motivating.

Anxiously awaiting running again this week....