How crazy is that?! I can't believe it's only 3 weeks away!

I haven't updated much lately, sorry for that! Life has been crazy busy but don't you worry--I've been running :)

I did my 18 miler last Sunday by myself, and it was seriously the HARDEST mental and physical challenge I've even gotten through in my life. I mean, I wanted to stop after like 12 miles! haha...I hadn't really been able to keep track of my nutrition and hydration the couple days prior to that, so I think that had to do with part of why it was so miserable. Next weekend we have our 20 mile group run, and I can't wait to run that distance with my TNT people--I know that it will be so much easier to have buddies to run with and not be all alone. They say if you can run 20 then you can run 26.2--how exciting!!

Tomorrow I'm running in the Hermes Cleveland 10-Miler, so hopefully I can keep a good pace like I did for the half marathon! Cross your fingers for me :)

Check back in a few days to see how I did, and remember that I'm running to cure cancer so if you are able to spare even just $5 every little bit helps!!!

Hi, Friends!

In case you didn't know already, I'm training to participate in the 2011 Cleveland Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood and other cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

I read a really great quote today:

“service is the only rent we pay for the space we occupy on this earth”

It's so true! I am proud to be serving the LLS by training and fundraising with Team in Training :)

Help me by donating to my cause! Every bit helps--like sacrificing the $5 you'd spend on your iced mocha or happy hour drink today!!!

This weekend I traveled down to run the Athens, OH half marathon--I finished in 2hrs 9mins and some seconds!!! To clue you all in, that's about 20 minutes faster than the time I thought I was going to finsh at!

I was fortunate to have a friend from my days at OU also running the race with me--she did the full marathon, so we ran together up until my turnaround point. I HAD SO MUCH FUN!! I seriously love races, and now I'm SO looking forward to the 10-miler coming up on 4/23 and MY MARATHON on 5/15 :) It was so inspiring watching my friend Samma cross the finish line after 26.2 miles!

If you guys want to see some of the race photos, follow this link (if it doesn't work, you can find me by bib #451):

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/Images.aspx#

Have a great week--the weather is warming up, great reason to get out for a RUN! ;)

Without my ITBS pain kicking in at all!

That's almost half of a marathon!! :)

But I will never have another Strawberry-Kiwi flavored gel pack!! haha

I had a lovely 8 mile run last evening and figured I'd try a gel for the first time since it was a decently long run, and I was just not impressed. I have to say that my stomach handled it well and the consistency didn't bother me so overall it was a good experience. I have been trying different flavors of the Sports Beans jelly beans as well as some of the Clif Shots (I LOVE THE STRAWBERRY!) on my 5+ mile runs just to see how they all react with my stomach, and so far everything has been fine in that my tummy seems to like them all :)

As I was eating that unappetizing gel I kept thinking about how much I wished it was the Double Espresso Clif brand gel that I had at home, so now I'm all excited to try that one. I do love my daily coffee (as most of you already know!) so that's what I'm looking forward to on this weekend's run. I haven't tried any products with caffeine yet so we'll see how it goes! I've pretty much decided that I'd rather be comfortable and don't mind carrying this stuff on me during the race instead of waiting for the gel stops on the course. Actually, I'm looking forward to whenever it is my fuel belt will decide to arrive on my doorstep from Amazon.com--soon I hope!

Have a good weekend, and don't forget to support me and the LLS buy BUYING YOUR TICKETS TO WIN AN IPAD as soon as you can!!! I have more tickets for the drawing on April 6th, but you don't have much time left to get them! You can donate online in the amounts of:

$10 for 1 ticket

$20 for 3 tickets

(larger amounts get multiples of those, for example $40 gets you 6 tickets)

Donate now and I will send you your tickets! Thanks to everyone for your continued support!!

Hi, friends! Here is my latest marathon training update! Thanks again for supporting me and donating to my cause--I am training to beat cancer and having a blast doing it!

A few of us volunteered this morning to man a TNT water stop at the St. Malachi 5 mile race, and it was so much fun! Even when I'm not running, the energy in any race atmosphere just makes me smile--even in the Cleveland cold! Thinking about that energy just gets me more excited in anticipation of the starting line :)

After I thawed out my fingers and toes, I headed to Fleet Feet and picked up my early birthday present from my parents:

I've wanted this watch for quite some time (it's compatible with my mac, and it's pink!). I'm excited to put it to good use for the next 2 months to help with my training. It will be SO NICE to have the distance function!

I also picked up a fun BRIGHT yellow dri-fit tee to test out--if I like it I'm planning to wear it when I run the Athens Half in April so Mike can see me from a mile away (haha).

Since we were volunteering this morning and missed the group run, a few of us are making it up and running tomorrow morning. I'm excited to use my new toy :) I'll keep you posted on how much I love it...until then, have a great rest of the weekend!

What a rollercoaster of a month!

My last post was a while ago--after dealing with my knee pain on that run, I decided to take it easy for a few days and continue to ice it regularly. Unfortunately, my body decided that it wasn't done and somehow I picked up the flu as well! I was down for almost 10 full days and missed almost an entire week of work. Not so good for my training!

I've been back for a week now, and feeling great thanks to a good weekend of training. Last Friday I went to an amazing yoga workshop, followed by a 6.25 mile run with the group on Saturday that was both challenging and inspiring. I love my TNT teammates and staff--they really are the best, and I couldn't do this without them :)

Yesterday I ran the easiest 5 miles of my life! It was awesome because after being sick I've been really nervous about how it may have affected my training. Even on Saturday on our run I was seriously doubting everything. My run yesterday seemed to put everything into perspective, and helped to push all my negative thoughts out the door. It's amazing when you notice the changes in your body and fitness level that start to happen with a training program like this!

Now that I'm back to training hard, I'm ready to kick my fundraising up a notch. I'll update soon, check back for details! 8 miles tomorrow!

Hi, Friends!

In case you didn't know already, I'm training to participate in the 2011 Cleveland Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. 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!!

This page is my blog as well, I hope you will visit it often to track my progress!.Thanks for your support!

This past weekend, I did 8 miles!! Towards the end I was doing a run/walk, and then I had to walk due to some devilish knee pain, but the plain and simple fact is that I made a personal distance PR :)

I have been nursing my knee with ice and advil over the past few days, and am crossing my fingers that my light run tomorrow goes well--PLEASE cross your fingers for me, too!!

On the bright side, I'm still totally in love with my new running shoes :)

I'll update again this weekend, have a good rest of the week!!

Hi, friends! My apologies, the holidays got away from me and I haven't updated since I started so I'll make sure this post is a good one :)

I am getting SO EXCITED about everything! I met my mentor, and was able to go to my first group run this past weekend--so fun! I learned a lot about training outside (which I haven't been doing much of, and need to start), my body and eating/drinking before my runs, and I met some really great people! I can't wait to get to know them better on this journey :)

We ran a quick, cold, wet, and snowy 4 miles, and then headed off to our shoe clinic at Fleet Feet Sports to get some shoes. I LOVE MY NEW SHOES! The staff was so helpful in the fitting process, and I learned a lot. I got some beautiful new Asics that I've only run with once, but I already love them! Let's hope they still love me as I break them in--cross your fingers, no blisters! haha...Here they are:

I'm already excited for this Saturday's run! I was only able to run 3 yesterday in between work and class because time didn't allow any more. I keep having this gut feeling that I'm behind in my training, but everyone seemed to say I was doing fine last week so I'll have to try and squash that weird feeling. I'll be fine :)

I've been able to make it to yoga class 3 out of the last 6 days, and I can already tell how wonderful it's going to be throughout my training. I've felt stretched out, and my hips actually haven't been sore after my runs. Thank goodness, because I've been doing plenty of hip-opening poses to help decrease my soreness in the hips--yay, it's working!

I'm very excited for our run this Saturday, and to continue to dive deeper into the world of marathoning. I'm 98% sure I'll be going to the Athens, OH Half Marathon on April 3rd to run a practice half. My marathoner friends tell me this is a great idea, and that it would help me get the feel of the whole race so it will be less overwhelming in May. It's actually timed perfectly with my training, I'll see a few old college friends, registration is cheap, and the online reviews I've read of the scenic race are great--basically I'm already convinced and just have to sign up! I'm excited to hit the bricks of Athens again :)

More to come! Have a great week!

A short two weeks ago on 10.23.10, I ran my second 5k at 28:55. That was only the second time I had run that far in my life, with the last being my very first 5k in June (which was more fun than run). That day I was pretty proud of my 9 minute 4 second mile average, and confident that I would be able to resume the running habit I had tried to pick up earlier in the summer.

The next week on 10.28.10 I attended the LLS "Team in Training" meeting here in Willoughby fully intending to sign up for an easy 6 months of half marathon training. In a blur of personal excitement, ambition, and spontaneity I signed my name on the line

...and checked the box next to FULL MARATHON.

For those of you who know me, this may make perfect sense. I am a hopeful, excited, ambitious and stubborn dreamer who tends to jam as many things into her schedule as humanly possible. I'm either a time management genius, or crazy...after 24 years of life I still can't figure out which. Regardless, I have some training to do--I'm running a marathon!

I hope you will all support me over the next 6 months as I push myself mind, body, and soul for the mighty 26.2 miles, and raise the $2,500 I have committed to collect for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission of eradicating blood cancers. I will see you at the finish line in Downtown Cleveland on May 15th...until then, it's time to time to train!!

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

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.

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