It has been well over a month since I have posted, though I assure you, it has only minorly been because of laziness. Due to the nature of my job I have been on the road 5 of the last 6 weeks. Tampa, Charlotte and Philadelphia- Three surprisingly runner friendly cities. While I was in Tampa and Charlotte, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the National Conventions. While I was not able to get nearly as many as weekly runs in, I did get lucky enough to spend my time running with some amazing TNT local chapters and got to know the cities well.

The Majority of my time was spent in Charlotte- 3 wonderful weeks. The hours were long and the hours of sleep were few and far between, but the amazing people of the TNT Charlotte Chapter was absolutely amazing. My 14 mile run, I had to do 5 on my own, early in the morning even before the chapter met at 7 am. I ran along Stonewall street and was able to view the city before sunrise, a truly remarkable sight (not truly able to be captured by my cell phone).

I was on my feet quite a lot, and shockingly, I was not able to run at our first hotel as it did not have a treadmill (that's right, you read that correctly). I did my best to even keep up with my Physical Therapy, though really if I can get an extra hour of sleep, most nights I took it. Even still, I tried to do my best to make sure that I would not fall behind. It wasn't all work and no play, as it isn't often you are given the opportunity to be a part of a National Convention!

Outside of missing the 16 mile run, overall I feel as though I've been doing a much better job than this point last year. I've lost some of my endurance, and with only one month (YIKES) until the marathon, it will be somewhat difficult to build up to that level again but over all I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to be able to run this marathon for all of those who can't.

I had my first run back with the wonderful women of my group- a solid 12 miles. We are gearing up for the dreaded 20 mile run. Though I will say, as was true in 2011, the 18 mile run was SO much harder for me than I thought it would be. Perhaps this year the 20 miler will once again be easy- hopefully not snowing....

We are getting so close to the race- I'm finally starting to think about my outfit for the race, my checklist of what to bring, practicing packing (yeah, I do that) and just mentally preparing. I am also trying to do more with Team in Training in general. In the first weeks of October, I'll be participating in italian night dinner- making and serving dinner for patients at NIH and their families. No matter how many miles I run, nothing will be more valuable than the time and money devoted to finding a cure for cancer. I am SO very close to my goal. With the checks in hand I am a mere $38 away from my $1,500 goal. Perhaps my next post will be the announcement of exceeding the goal.....

The craziness of life has kept me from document my progress as often as I would like, but it has truly been an incredible experience thus far. The weather has been, well, insane. If we weren’t running in 90+ degree weather, then we were running in the rain, through storms and humidity. Our 10 mile run was fantastic. This rain soaked morning we decided to go into our interval training- running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute. With our walking breaks included, we averaged a 11:35 minute mile. That was my second fastest 10 mile time (1 hour 54 minutes) ever, which is extremely exciting. I feel myself getting stronger every week and can only hope that I can build this momentum into my month long work trip. I've recommitted to TNT and am so excited to finish out this season with such an amazing and inspiring group of people.

Two weeks ago I had my weakest run to date. We had a great opportunity to run through “2.5 states” (Starting in Virginia, running through the District of Columbia and over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Maryland)- a heat fueled 12 mile run. One lesson that I have learned- always eat breakfast before a long run. My typical toast, Peanut butter and banana was not in the cards and I had the worst run of my life. Thanks to the heat and complete lack of shade, I was dizzy, nauseous and only able to complete 10 of the 12 prescribed miles. Normally I would have pushed through, but looking at my hands, which were twice their normal size, I decided my best move was to drink more water and sit in the shade. My coaches agreed and I have now learned an extremely valuable lesson.

It is naïve to think that you would not sustain any injury while you are training, especially for a marathon. I’ve been doing a great job of trying to stretch, take my time and not push myself too hard and have even been making adjustments to my diet to try to be healthier. Unfortunately, I’ve been hindered with an IT band injury- not fun. After some great advice from my coaches, I’m currently going to Physical Therapy (shout out to come later when I can get the website) and learning a lot about how my body works and how knee pain is very rarely caused by an issue with your knee. I’ve got 3 sessions this week, and 1 next week before the real test begins- 3.5 weeks on the road with nothing but a treadmill to keep me company. Should be fun.

After what can only be described as an extremely long, busy week, I joined two of my friends for a very hot 8 mile run. Both Carolyn and Dan will be running the Marine Corps Marathon as well. Carolyn, who is raising money for Alex’s Lemonade stand in memory of her amazing and inspiring nephew, is the person that convinced me to do the MCM with her and suggested I go with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We ran around the lake near Carolyn’s father’s house and despite the heat, I think that we all did a great job. There is such a feeling of accomplishment after runs like that, where at some points, every step is exhausting. But as I have said time and time again, a few miles for me does not even compare to what the people I am raising money for have to go through, what their families sacrifice.

The heat continues to linger throughout the week, welcoming in the official feeling of summer. I am exactly 1 month away from leaving for a month long work trip where I will be forced to do my short midweek (and perhaps some of my long runs) on a treadmill. Oh the treadmill- it is a 4 letter word in my book. The idea of running in one spot for hours at a time is so troubling, but if I am going to train properly, it is something that I will just have to accept. Wish me luck!

On an absolutely wonderful note, I have almost reached 50% of my fundraising goal. I want to say thank you to all of those who have helped me so far. Your generosity is overwhelming and I appreciate it more than words. We still have a long way to go and would encourage those that can to spread the word about my efforts to please do so. In the meantime, I’m off to drink another bottle of water for my 9-miler tomorrow-

For almost every race that I have done, I have trained alone. It is very different experience being a part of a group of people running, especially as a slower runner. I always have a fear in every race that I have done that I would come in last. Some nights before the race I'd find myself waking up from the nightmare of being picked up from the slow bus. I am well aware that the chances of coming in last and being picked up by the bus are unlikely but I still live in fear of hearing that engine behind me.

My mid-week training has been going well. I've been running with my mentor group as well as the Pacers group in Clarendon. These fabulous (and fast) people are great cheerleaders and offer a very challenging, hilly course that is 4.3 miles in total. The first week I joined my "buddy run" group it was one of the hotest days this year- humid as all hell. I struggled up the hills and even struggled down the hills and for certain, this was one of my more challenging runs. I was the second to last to come in out of this group of 20+, but I've never been more happy about it. My pace is picking up and I am able to run for the entire 4.3 miles without stopping. That isn't to say that I don't want to stop, but everytime I do I think about all of the people I'm raising money to help. All that they are going through- chemo treatment and the struggles- by comparison running a few miles is nothing.

The previous saturday we ran along a very hot Mount Vernon Trail. I paced myself with a visiting runner from LA who was running her first half marathon. Connie was pushing herself, running 7 miles for the first time ever. I was also able to push myself a bit- and at the end of the run was greeted by my wonderful boyfriend with large iced coffee in hand! Each and every long run I am amazed at how strong my TEAM members are throughout the duration of the run. I've also learned that I am very willing to run 5+miles if there are M&Ms at the turn around.

Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of running with Coach Jack, one of the DC Central coaches. He joined our group and helped me push my pace. I was able to talk and still run but really felt the effects after. He's absolutely wonderful and really does make me believe that I can completely dominate the 26.2 miles. Despite not recognizing me that night without my signature pink hat- week in and week out he's been a great cheerleader! Each and every week I am feeling stronger and stronger and I can only hope that I will be able to continue to raise awareness about the wonderful organziation for which I am working to raise money.

Happy Push the Button Day everyone! If you are here for the first time or a frequent visitor, I encourage you to donate to help me reach my fundraising goal. I'll be having several events over the next few months but every little bit helps so please consider donating today!

Though it should surprise absolutely no one reading this, I was a little late to the Team in Training "game". My first week was the considered to be the third week of training. It was quite an adventure, and for a less social person than myself, it might have been intimidating. The people that are participating in this program are an amazing group of individuals, many of whom have a very personally connection to the mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Before every Saturday morning run we have our mission moment, where someone shares for whom they are running in honor/memory. The stories and connections are very moving and really gives me the motivation to not give up on my runs. In the last three weeks, I have been able to run my best 4 miles (39:52) and keep up on my training.

One of the best things about these trainings is having other people who understand your passion and who are just crazy enough to be willing to run the 10k, 13.1 or 26.2 right alongside you. This past Saturday, we were able to have a presenter come in and talk about injury prevention. I was finally able to learn ways to strengthen my muscles and joints without too much trouble.

Most exciting was the actual run this past Saturday. First, I must thank Alexis, who was kind enough to give me a ride to the location after my bike chain popped. For the actual run, I was lucky enough to run with a lovely girl named Alicia. She and I were at about the same pace and talked throughout a good portion of our 6 mile run. I can proudly say that outside of the 2 water stops, we did not stop. The run itself was hilly at times, but a really great time. At what I thought was around mile 4 I was starting to get tired, but we pushed through. When we finally get to the finish line we discovered that we actually ran 7 miles due to a miscalculation in our turn around. Most of the coaches kept thinking that we would be upset but honestly most people were extremely excited. Many Team in Training Members have never run that far before. It was really great to see how dedicated and excited people were at the end of the run. The M & Ms and nutella certainly helped as well.