Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to run the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon - my first full marathon - 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 Josh Snyder, a close family friend who battled blood cancer. 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.

If you would rather mail cash or a check, please send to:

Eric Orvieto

145 N. Almont Dr. Apt. 109

West Hollywood, CA 90048

Make checks payable to the The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and I will send the cash or check in your name to LLS and it will show on this Web site.

I hope you will visit my Web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!

OTHER LINKS:

http://www.knowcancer.com/

Visit Josh's great site for cancer information and a great support community!

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UPDATES

***We are at our recommitment date, and I filled out all the paperwork for it. Thank you all who have donated. We are close to the minimum, but I would love to go way past the $2,500, so if you could all pass this site along for donations, that would be great!***

March 8: Eight-mile group run. I was a little nervous for this run, because I only got in one of my mid-week runs. I wasn't sure I would be able to complete it. We took a field trip to Marina Del Rey for this run. As our pace group (still No. 2) took off, my legs actually felt good, so I was optimistic. The course was split evenly in 4 miles to a guardhouse, then back to our meeting place. The run was beautiful, right on the beach of the South Bay (north part), but the last quarter mile or so of the first half was straight uphill (moreso than last week's hill). We were all breathing hard, but made it to the top and got the treat of a quarter-mile downhill. I ran with Sabine for most of it, and we were going at a pretty good pace. We usually stick to about a 10:10-10:30 per mile pace, but we finished the 8-mile run in just under 80 minutes (79:30), which is just under a 10-minute/mile pace. It felt great. What didn't feel great was getting back to my car to find my battery was on its last legs. I got a jump from one of my teammates, but I didn't make it to our post-run breakfast because of the car troubles. Oh well, next week.

March 1: Seven-mile group run. This run felt good. My sister, Andrea, and her boyfriend, Yaakov, were in town visiting, so I dropped them off at the Santa Monica Pier before our team run. I was at the meeting place a bit early, but luckily it wasn't as cold as it had been in the mornings. We ran north of the Pier and up San Vicente. As we were running up the 1.5-2-mile stretch on San Vicente, I started to get out of breath and my legs became sore. I had no idea why, because it had only been about 3.5 miles, which is usually no problem. As we made the turn to head back towards the Pier, it became a little easier, and I overheard someone in my pace group say "Wow, that was a tough hill." I looked ahead, and you could see we were going downhill now. Even though it wasn't very steep, running gradually uphill for 2 miles definitely takes its toll. But we finished the run, and I spent the day with Andy and Yaakov. We walked another 2 or so miles around Venice Beach, so I definitely got a good workout today.

Feb. 22: Five-mile group run. Today's run was interesting. I had hurt my leg early last week, but still managed to get in two of my three 30-minute mid-week runs in. But since I missed one, I wasn't sure I would be able to go to the entire 5 miles. We broke off into our pace groups (I am still in pace group 2, averaging about a 10:30 mile for the first two weeks) and started running. The first half of the run (2.5 miles) was pretty easy. When we got to our water stop, though, my right heel and shin were hurting. It was the same leg that gave me problems earlier in the week, so I was questioning if I would be able to do the last 2.5 miles. I stretched it out for a minute, and then went off. Of course, about 2 minutes into the second half, my right foot fell asleep! This had happened to me on a mid-week run, but I had no idea why. I told one of the coaches and he immediately said my shoes were tied too tight. So after running with it for about another 15 minutes, I stopped for a quick second, untied my shoe and started running again. It made a world of difference, and by the time we finished the 5 miles (at a 10:10 pace), I felt like I could keep going (though I didn't). Next week we jump up to 7 miles, so I know I need to get in all my runs and workouts this week, but knowing how fresh I felt after the 5-miler, I think I will do fine with 2 more miles.

Feb. 15: Four-mile group run. For our second group run, everyone was split up into pace groups, based on our times from last week. I was put into pace group No. 2, and they sent us off in descending order (walkers first, then pace group No. 6, and so on), so we were the second-to-last group to begin. Our group == one of the smallest == had seven people (me, Jose, Traci, Maia, Lauree, Seth and Sabine) and because we were one of the final groups, the coaches changed our intervals from 4-1 to 5-1. The 5-1 interval was actually great, and you don't feel tired at all.

While last week we ran directly on the beach heading south, this week we began at the Santa Monica Pier and ran north. It was a great day for running, though before we began it was freezing, about 45 degrees. Luckily once we started, it warmed up and felt great. Our pace group talked throughout the entire run, and we finished the 4-miler in just over 40 minutes. It was nice to have the group to run with, because we all pushed each other. After the run, about 30 of us from the team went to breakfast at the Firehouse, a restaurant in Santa Monica. It was great to sit down and talk with the teammates, meet everyone outside of running. Next week we run 5 miles with the group, so I know I have to up my three weekly runs. I'm going to try to do a 6-1 interval on my runs, and eventually get to 10-1.

Feb. 8: Three-mile group run. Today was our first group run with the Team, and it was better than I could have imagined! I got to Santa Monica at 7:30 a.m., and waited with Mary and Sabine, teammates I had previously met, until the coaches called us together at 8:15. They explained everything we'd be doing, and got us excited for it. We walked to Santa Monica beach and stretched before heading off for our 3-mile run. We did it in 4 minute-1 minute intervals (though I definitely think I missed a few 1-minute walks). As we hit our pace, I was running with a guy named Jose. We talked the whole time, and finished together, at 31:29. It was great to have someone to talk to throughout the run, and I'm sure it'll help when we get to the 10 to 20 milers. After the run, the Team had a spread of bagels and juice set up for us, and talked to us about the fundraising (that all of you are helping with...Thanks again!). I am so excited for this season, and cannot wait for the next group run on Sunday.

Feb. 5: My first group run is on Sunday at 8 a.m. in Santa Monica. After meeting some of the coaches and other participants at an event earlier this week, I cannot wait to actually begin the group training. I have been running on my own to prepare myself for the 3-mile run we'll do on Sunday. My sister, Andrea, who did TNT for the Disney World Marathon, has told me how fun the group runs are. I will update how the first one goes!