On Sunday Oct. 16, 2011 I ran 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 10 minute. To date I have personally raised just under $3,000.00 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I owe it all to those of you that supported and encouraged me over the last several months. YES! it was worth it.

San Francisico was fantastic as always and we were blessed with beautiful weather during our stay. On the day of the race it was perfect - mid to high 60's and cloudy. 22,000 people ran that race with me. The streets were packed with volunteers and supporters all along the course. The absolute best part was seeing my family at the cheer stations and all the TNT coaches as well.

This was an amazing experience for a very worthy cause. If you are reading this and feel inspired to help - feel free to donate by clicking on the link on my site. Donations will be accepted until Nov 16, 2011. If you have been inspired to fitness I highly recommend joining your local TNT chapter where you will find amazing coaches, mentors and team captains all there to guide and support you along your journey.

From the bottom of my heart,

Thanks,

Tammy Juco

26.2 miles of running and raising the rest of the money. Which one is more challenging?/ I would definitely have to say raising the money. I find there is nothing more humbling than asking for help particularly in the form of money. Well that's what I am doing now. Last week I ran my longest run - 22 miles (on a treadmill because of bad weather _ thanks again Nisha!); today I ran 14.5 miles. I am FINALLY at the tapering stage and so glad for it. I do still have the full marathon ahead and I feel it's in God's hands now.

The training has been tough, tougher than I expected. Navigating my work and family schedule around the longer runs and the frequency of the training runs was challenging but I did it and I again want to thank all those who have supported me, pushed me and "carried" me along this road.

It is NOT TOO LATE to donate and I have not made my fundraising minimum. So with my proverbial hat in hand and bowed head I ask that if you have (had) been thinking of donating to a wonderful worthy cause you still can - it's quick and easy and on the right hand side of t his webpage.

For those in the Ridgewood area, I am hosting a Fundraising tea with fantastic food and awesome prizes to raffle on. Come by my house wed Oct 5 btw 9-11:30

Sounds a bit like a video game and I have to admit running ourside can be somewhat of an obstacle course lately trying to avoid, downed trees, limbs, branches, piles of debris and maybe the occasional wire or two. Then there's the rain which has thankfully let up the last few days.

With just a little over a month away til the race day my enthusiasm for running is waning somewhat but I have found moments of brightness and inspiration to keep it going. My huge thanks this week goes out to Nisha for letting me invade her space and privacy and run 19 miles on her treadmill because of the weather and thank you too for the company. I also want to thank Karyn and Lorien for keeping me committed and keeping me company. And a great big hug to Christina for her double donation - such a sweet and thoughtful thing to do! and finally to my hubby Jon for "kicking me out the door" when I just didn't feel like going.

Physically I am almost there. Almost at the end of training, got my new runners, booked the hotel room - just need to book flights and that's it.

Financially I am not quite there yet. If you would like to help fight cancer you don't have to run a marathon (I'm the crazy one doing it) but you can donate to the cause. Just click directly on my website. If you are not comfortable with that you can send me a check or money directly and I can fill out the tax deductible forms for you - That's right folks it is ALL tax deductable.

If you are interested in football I will be raffling tickets to an upcoming game in November ( info to come) or you can buy Yankee candles with the proceeds going directly to my campaign.

If you have even thought about helping out a little - now is the time - October 16 is the day of the race and is just around the corner.

Again, thank you all for your help, support and especially the encouraging words which are really coming in handy these days

I'm back in New Jersey. I am also happy to report that my training was strong during my time in Alberta, Canada visiting family and friends. Things worked out very well as the weather was ideal for distance training ( in the low 60's, high 50's) . My last long run I wore a light hoodie the whole time. I also missed the earthquake and Hurricane Irens here in Jersey which I imagine would have made training near impossible with the outdoor conditions terrible and dangerous but also with power outages making gym access also impossible. Overall, I was in the best place I could be!

I also learned some valuable info while in Canada:

1. I need to study my maps better (especially ones I am ot familiar with). I ended up running 21 miles instead of 17 because I got a bit lost . Actually I limped the last few miles back because I also learned:

2. I am going to have to eat something of substance with my long runs now as 1/2 a banana and some sport beans just won't do it.

3. Hydration - until now I was getting buy on 1/3 to 1/2 bottle of water, now I need to have those electrolytes as the cramping I got near the end of those 21 miles proved I was sorely depleted

4. The extreme importance of the mental training for anything physical. Coming up with distractions, mantras, and just positive thoughts. It gets really easy to focus on all the aches and pains and negative thoughts when you are tired and discouraged. It's more important to focus on how far I've gone rather than on how far I've left to go.

5. best of all I learned that all this hard training is paying off because I had a very quick recovery and felt able to run again the next morning.

My HUGE thanks and love to my Mom who rode with me on her bike twice (21 miles week one and 18 miles week 2) She acted as my "support vehicle", carried extra water, distracted me and most importantly encouraged me and kept me going. We won't mention that we always seem to have "adventures" when we get together... I LOVE you Mom!!!

As a note my second long run in Canada was dedicated to Tina Felix - stay strong and positive and bask in the love and delights of your children and Grandchildren.

If you or someone you know has been affected by blood cancer or any cancer for that matter please donate - be a part of the solution and help contribute to finding a cure and caring for those undergoing treatment.

I have had many people tell me that I am inspiring them and that makes me feel wonderful and I must admit that as I struggle along in these last weeks I don't always feel that inspirational but I keep going because I am not only committed to those with cancer but to all of you whom have supported me and this cause and I don't want to let you down.

On that note, with just over a month to go if you have at all considered donating, please do so now, just click on the link on this page. Just $5 can make a difference (the cost of a fancy coffee)

Thank you,

Tammy

It's official: I received my confirmation email and race Bib number yesterday along with this:

By registering for the 2011 Nike Women’s Marathon, you let us know you were serious.

You are up to the challenge of running 26.2 miles.

You can’t wait to hit the streets of San Francisco.

You are fiercely motivated by the thought of 20,000 women doing this together.

You want that Tiffany’s finisher’s necklace so bad you can taste it.

Well it’s time to put your legs where your clicking finger was, because the Goddess of Victory has spoken.

I had a great week of training with my longest run at 16.25 miles. Every time I finish a long run I think "there's no way I can do another 10 miles with the way I feel" and I am discouraged, but I had some good pep talks and race advice from Heather and Kumiko (thanks) and Lorien joined me twice this week (thank you too)!

With all the above I am feeling re-inspired and even though I am off to Alberta, Canada to see family and friends I am determined to stick to the rigid training schedule despite rainy weather predictions and a very busy social schedule.

Thanks as always to all of you for your continuous support and if you know of anyone who would like to donate to finding a cure for blood cancer, please direct them to my website.