"I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I know I can."

— Little Engine That Could

Hello!

My name is Bonnie and I just signed up to do the 2011 LA Marathon. Oh God, what did I get myself into???!!! ^___^

Maybe this is a good time to explain a few things.

I recently ran in and FINISHED the 2010 Disneyland 1/2 marathon. That was one of the most amazing experiences in my life and one of the hardest things I've ever done. I've never run that far before and I'm including the time I was in cross training my senior year of high school. In a way, that race was a test for me.

It tested whether or not I had the perseverence to stick to a training schedule. It also tested my resolve in seeing something this physically grueling through to the very end. I'm happy to say I succeeded on both counts.

This brought me to my next question. If I can do a half marathon, why can't I do a full? I have no idea why I thought this would be easily accomplished since I nearly fell flat on my face after 13.1 miles. As this idea was percolating through my head (along with thoughts of hot dogs, pizza and fried chicken), I started to think about running for charity.

You see, one of the most important things my dad taught me was the concept of volunteering and doing charity work. He would tell me "Bonnie, if you have the money, give freely of it to people who need it. If you don't have the money, then donate your time because you have 24 hours of it, just like everyone else."

The man has a point. While I don't have vaults of cash sitting around for me to donate, I do have my time and I can donate 26.2 miles to those who will benefit from my efforts.

How awesome is that? And that's how I got involved with Team In Training.

I'm training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am 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!

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

Thank you for reading all this. I'm grateful for your time. I'll be updating this page with my progress and thoughts about all things related to the LA Marathon so come again, kick up your feet and catch up with me.

Thanks for your support!

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Jan. 3, 2011

Good news, everyone!!! Thanks to my friends over at Three Drunken Goats in Glendale, CA, I have a great incentive to not only give to a great cause but to nibble on some awesome food!

They have generously donated $25 gift certificates and I am so very thankful.

See my review on yelp!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/three-drunken-goats-montrose#hrid:YxeKxNR7D5h5Tn0kXO9lqw/src:self

They not only have awesome food but really good wine too! Perfect for upcoming VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

I have 10 of these available so if you donate $75, I will mail or hand over in person a gift certificate worth $25 to Three Drunken Goats.

Thank you so much, Three Drunken Goats, for helping a worthy cause!!!!

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Jan. 2, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!!

Wow...it's really 2011. Where did all the time go?!

So yesterday was raining cats and dogs so my plans for running outside were washed away along with the sunshine. Man....that means I had to hamster it up AGAIN!!!! AARRGGGHHH!!!

FOR 10 MILES!!!!

I was hating life for the first 30 minutes because I had only covered 1.5 miles. You know I was doing some math in my head. "....Gah!!!! 8.5 miles to go!!!!"

Yeah...I was not happy. It didn't help matters when I realized after my first cramp that I didn't drink enough water the day before NOR did I eat right. Sadly, as I learned the hard way, champagne and chocolate don't count towards hydration and carbo-loading.

Through some crazy miracle and my innate stubbornness, I finished!!! It helps when I kept maniacally visualizing my wedding dress as I plodded on mile after mile after mile... :D

Total Miles - 53

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Dec. 25, 2010

Yes. That's right. I ran 8 MILES on CHRISTMAS DAY!!! Not only that, but I ran on some pretty insane hills. I suck running on hills. They eat me up and spit me out like yesterday's news. ....I hate hills....

So it's towards the last leg of the epic run. I think we're at about 7 miles. Clyde has charged up HillyNemesis and left me eating his dust. We're in a residential neighborhood and a family of 4 comes out of their house pushing a baby stroller for a brisk, Christmas morning walk.

They see Clyde running like a maniac up the incline and disappear around the corner. About 2 minutes later, they see me red faced, huffing and puffing as I trudge my way up this stupid hill.

Old Grandma : Oh....honey, are you with him? Was that your husband that just passed us?

Me : * huff * puff * wheeze * Yes. That was my husband. * wheeze *

Old Grandma : Oh, dear! Don't give up, sweetie! You can do it! * pat * pat * pat *

Yup.....Merry Christmas to me....BUT I FINISHED!!! * flop *

Total miles = 41

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Dec. 17, 2010

I was looking forward to running 8 miles outside today. The rain had other plans.

This means I had to run 8 miles on a treadmill. I don't know about you but when was the last time you had to run 8 miles on a treadmill?

Let me tell you....it was not fun. However, I did what I had to do. I hamstered it up and finished it in 1 hour 47 minutes.

I wish I could tell what I was thinking about but I honestly have no idea. I think I completely blanked out. ^_^

Oh wait!! I know what I was thinking about towards the end. "Oh, thank GOD I'm almost done!!! No more being a hamster!!!"

Total miles = 33

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Dec. 12, 2010

Can you believe it's December already??!! Where did all the time go?!

We also ran 8 miles today...in the blazing heat....I thought I was going to die before I even hit the half way mark.

Gatorade never tasted so good. I am so thankful for those water stations TNT provides. I am also so very thankful for the run belt Clyde bought me. My fiance ROCKS!!!

Running through Venice is an....uh.....experience. I don't know about you but when I'm doing my best impersonation of the Big Bad Wolf huffing and puffing, the last thing I want to smell is a bunch of incense burning and some other * ahem * stuff burning.

I'm so happy I finished and back at home....waiting for the pizza guy to deliver our lunch. Woo hoo!!! :D

TOTAL MILES RUN - 25 miles (I had a few short runs that I didn't blog about)

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Nov. 28th, 2010

Running after Thanksgiving is hard. I think I could still feel the turkey I ate for the last 3 days sloshing around still. Maybe I also shouldn't have eaten that huge bag of chips last night. ....uuugggghhh....

On the brighter side, I didn't keel over during today's run! It was for 5 miles and I actually did pretty good after the 3rd mile! Miles 1 - 3 saw me huffing and puffing and asking myself why the hell I thought it would be a good idea to run after eating so much during the week.

And then I remembered why I signed up for this madness to begin with. :)

So today was a great day to run! Chilly and sunny!! There was a guy watching our team warm up this morning and he was shouting very encouraging things to us.

"Woo hooo!!!! Girls!!"

"GIRLS! GIRLS!! GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS!!!!"

^_____^

TOTAL MILES - 10.28 + 40 minute brisk walk

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Nov. 14th, 2010

Today was my first ever training session with Team In Training! I was a little nervous because I didn't know anyone. Clyde drove me to the practice and was very supportive.

Clyde : "Don't worry, babe! You'll make new friends!"

Me : "But what if they don't like me? What if they make fun of me because I can't run right now? WHAT IF NO ONE WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND???!!!"

Clyde : "....yeah....You'll be fine! Just go and have fun, babe!"

Dammit, why is he always right about everything? :)

I had a great time! I met new people who are lots of fun and everyone was so very nice. No one laughed at me because I had to be in the walking group due to a small foot injury. I had a blast with the people who were in the walking group with me!

Sure, the faster people passed us and we ate their dust but when we had to turn around at the 20 minute mark, THE WALKERS WERE IN FIRST PLACE!!! HAH!!!! Nevermind that we enjoyed that brief minute of glory for only 5 minutes before the fast people blew past us again.

The point was, WE WERE FIRST AT ONE POINT!! AND WE WEREN'T EVEN SWEATY!!!

I was smiling when I got in the car because the 40 minute brisk walk felt great, my foot felt FANTASTIC AND I got an awesome Team In Training run shirt for practices!

Clyde : "So....how was your first session?"

Me : "It was great!!! Blah blah blah...and then blah blah! And then the end!"

Clyde : "See? The first day of kindergarten wasn't so bad, right?"

Me : "....har har har....yeah, okay. You're right."

:D

Total Miles - 5.28 + 40 minute brisk walk

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November 12th, 2010

Wow...it's been a crazy month. I can't believe so much time has passed! I have to get better at updating this. What's happening so far....I got a new pair of shoes! They're pretty, they're pink and they're Mizuno. I forgot the name of the actual shoe I bought. I'm calling them Pink Panthers. HAA HAA HAA!!!!

I can't wait to take them out for a run this Sunday! It'll be my first ever training session with Team In Training. This will be fun. :D

Thanks to all you guys who have left comments and made donations!! We're at 33%! That's right. I said "WE" because, to me, you guys are now part of Team Bonnie's Gonna Cross The Finish Line! :D

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October 17th, 2010

Clyde and I were planning to go for a 3.1 mile run around my neighborhood. The weather, on the other hand, was not cooperating. Therefore, I ran 3.28 miles on the treadmill.

The good news = I am still averaging a 13'31 minute mile.

The sad news = I was huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf trying to blow down some piggy's house.

* gasp * I DID IT!!! .....* flop *

TOTAL MILES RAN = 5.28

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Oct 15th 2010

You know when adrenaline takes over and you suddenly think you have super powers like Superman? That was me when I signed up with Team In Training.

I wrestled my intro page into submission (I ROCK!!!) and then decided to go for a run. My day looked like this :

Bonnie vs. Setting Up Web Page = Bonnie win!

Bonnie vs. 2 mile run = OMG, what happened to Bonnie?!

I barely managed to keep a 15 minute pace....and this is running and walking. What happened to me?! I ran a 13.+ minute mile in the Disney 1/2 marathon!!! How is it that I got owned by a measly 2 miles in 30 minutes? It doesn't help when your friends gleefully and helpfully remind you that people can WALK a mile in 15 minutes. * sigh *

That's when it dawned on me. I haven't ran since the first week of September. Ooooh....

* heel of hand to forehead *

TOTAL MILES RAN = 2