The Toledo Chapter of Team in Training at the Ed Dibble Tow Path run on April 3. I have the pink hat on :)

Racing to Save Lives

Well - I'm back at it again!! I'm training to run another marathon with Team in Training, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's fundraising branch. This time I'm training to run the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon.

All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

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!

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an e-mail at coreybethmonarch@gmail.com

Week 15 - May 30

Today was my LAST training run before the big day! Even though my legs were still tired from last weekend I ran all 12 miles that I was scheduled for. I cannot wait until next weekend. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and has supported me this season. I can't wait to tell you about the race in a few short days!

Week 14 - May 22

Today's run was judgment day - it was my 20 mile run day. My 20 mile run is the run that lets me know how well I have done for 14 weeks preparing for my marathon. I am proud to say that I am happy with the results! I ended up doing an extra 1.5 miles by choice and kept a pace I am very happy with considering the weather. I think I might have everything ready to go for the big day in 2 weeks!

Week 13 - May 15

I always think it is funny that at this point in my training, my short-long run is "only" 13 miles. I remember a year and a half ago when I couldn't dream of running 13 miles. I have come a long way! Today's run was difficult because my legs were still fatigued from last week's run but I was able to get all of my miles in. I stayed focused and didn't give up physically or mentally.

Week 12 - May 8

Today was a big run, 18 miles!! I haven't hit an 18 mile run since last year and I was barely able to hit it then. This year was quite the change from last year. I felt strong and finished strong. I was able to keep a solid pace and didn't give up mentally or physically. I'm really excited about how far I have come this season. I have seen some big improvements and have done better than I thought I was capable of. San Diego better watch out!

Week 11 - May 1

We headed out to run the tow path in Waterville for our run today, "only" a 13 miler. We ran most of our run wth a constant drizzle. Not much fun but still able to get the miles in.

Week 10 - April 25

After a week of really rough running, I was very nervous for today because today, was the Glass City 1/2 Marathon. Fortunately my mind and body held itself together pretty well and I was able to better my 1/2 marathon PR by 28 seconds when I finished with a time of 1:50:16. What was even better than my PR was being able to get back out on the course and cheer on the full marathoners as they were finishing their last few miles. Ty, our TNT coordinator, went with me and we found a spot along the University Parks trail to cheer our TNT runners on. It was awesome to see all of their hard work translate to success for many PR's and first marathons.

Week 9 - April 17

Today was a rough run. I was slotted to run 14 miles but hardly made it 10 miles. I ran from my house to UT and then took the University Parks bike trail out to Wildwood and took surface streets back through Ottawa Hills. This means I had to walk a long way after I stopped running to make it back home. Rough runs like this one are discouraging but make my good runs that much better. Hopefully my Glass City 1/2 Marathon goes more smoothly next week than my run this week.

Week 8 - April 10

Well, today was my longest run since my last marathon - a whole 16 miles! Hard to believe how quickly I have been able to work up to my high mileage long runs. I did my run with TEAM out at Oak Openings. We did three 5.5 mile loops. The first loop I ran with my coach, which was really nice. The second loop I somehow kept up with all of the fast guys for more than half of the loop. I was running faster than I do most of my runs! My second loop caught up to me though when it was time for my third loop. However, even though I was tired I finished my third loop strong. I'm happy that I have been able to start my long runs early so that I can get more miles in before race day. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for running the marathon under 4 hours!

Week 7 - April 3

We ran the Ed Dibble Tow Path run this morning for our session. Another change of scenery was much appreciated. I ran my first 14 mile run of the season and felt strong. I also was able to run with one of the TNT triathlon participants who is training for the Glass City Marathon for the first 8 miles. The company on my run was even better than the change of scenery!

This past week I also started some interval training. It was great to get a faster run in and I was pleased that my legs weren't too sore the day after. Next week I'll be adding some more hills so the San Diego course doesn't kick my butt :)

Week 6 - March 27

We switched our run venue today and headed out to Oak Openings. It was wonderful to change the scenery but my legs were TIRED! I "only" ran 11 miles. Isn't it funny how 11 miles falls into the "only" category now?

Week 5 - March 21

Well - I raced the Churchill's 1/2 Marathon today and it felt great! I finished in 1:50!!! This was the first 1/2 marathon I have run in under 2 hours so I was ecstatic. It really makes me excited and confident about my training that I have been putting in.

Week 4 - March 14

Today was the first time I've run 12 miles since my last half marathon in December and it felt GREAT! When I started out I thought it was going to be a rough run because I was jet lagged from flying back from spring break in California and I had a bit of a cold - but by the end of the run I was more than happy that I made it out for my run.

Week 3 - March 7

Well, I was out in California on spring break and we were staying in Santa Rosa, near the Sonoma wineries. Even though I have run in San Diego before and I thought that area was sometimes hilly, I am sure that I have never run more ridiculous hills in my life! Some of the hills I couldn't even run down because they were so steep! Unreal!! It was still great to be able to get out and see northern California though. I found a golf course to run on and on my route I ran into some turkeys! Definitely wouldn't have seen the turkeys if I would have been sleeping :)

Week 2 - February 28

This week was a little rough as my legs have been struggling to get used to a faster pace when training. It was still nice to come out and see the team even though I wasn't able to get in all 10 miles.

Week 1 - February 20

We had our first official TNT session today! Seems like we're going to have a great group of people. Since the Toledo TNT chapter is so small, we are combining the summer and spring season teams together. It is very different not to have everyone new to the TEAM and have a mix of two different seasons.

I ran 10 miles at session and thought that it was wonderful to have people to run with :) I ran with Beth, one the members of the Tri team and her friend John. who came along for moral support. I'm definitely looking forward to running with them more in the coming weeks!