Lauren's Fundraising Page

13.1 Miles...in search of a cure

Thank you for visiting my Team In Training home page.

*Scroll down to view my progress journal

As part of the committment to The Leukemia and Lymphomas Society, I have not only pledged to run 13.1 miles in honor of all individuals suffering from various forms of blood cancers, but I have also committed to raising $3,900.00. This may sound like an impossible task for one person to undertake, but when I look to the thousands of cancer survivors out there as well as their families, I feel that this is the least I can do for them.

This is why I need your help. Everyone on Team In Training is raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. Those who have survived such excruciating circumstances are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Any donation that you can spare is greatly appreciated. I will be doing everything in my power to not only cross the finish line in one piece, but to also remember that I never could have done it without your generosity.

If you would like to make a donation, you can either send me a check made out to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or you can click the blue Donate button on the right side of the page where you can use a credit card to donate instantly.

I hope you will visit my site often as I will be providing updates on my individual and group training.

Thank you so much for your support!

*Please note that 100% of your donation is completely tax deductible and if the donation is made online, you can print the receipt immediately after the donation is complete.

Weeks 15 and 16 Training:

Well the 9 mile run 2 Saturdays ago and this past 15 k were like night and day. I had a great time with the 9 miles. It was not easy, but I pushed through with no issues, but this past Saturday, it felt like I was dragging 2 dead weights when we trained in Grapevine. I don't know if it was the heat, the hills, or lack of water stops, but I was definitely hurting by the end. My muscles from head to toe completely tensed up about 3/4 of the way through the path. On a good note, though, I found a great new sweat band, called a Bondi Band, that kept the sweat out of my eyes =).

On a much happier note, it looks like my fundraising has finally come to an end. With my corporate match and volunteer hours pending, I think that I have finally reached my goal, so I can completely concentrate on the training aspect. Recommittment has past and my name is on the list, so I am definitely ready to go!

Week 14 Training:

Whew! Well, okay, now I feel better. I guess last Saturday was just an off day because this past Saturday was another great run. I got to stay with my pace group the whole way through and I'm sure they were not happy that I was done with my 8 miles when they still had an additional 5 to go. I must have worn myself out though because I went home and took a 2 hr nap that afternoon, ahh sleep =).

I'm very excited about going to my Recommittment Meeting this evening. My friend Amanda from the DFW Metro group will be going with me. We're both well on way to meeting our goal, so I'm very excited that we get to go together. We're even going to do our 2 mile run beforehand, so we'll have lots of motivation.

Can't wait to do the 9 mile run this Saturday. Hopefully it will be just as good!!!

Week 13 Training:

Well, I will admit, that the training this past Saturday did not even remotely compare to the previous one =( I don't know what it was, whether it was the humid air, my early morning headache, whether I drank enough water the day before, but I was definitely out of sync on Saturday. That's okay though, we all have our days right?

I have been updating my iPod almost every week with new music, trying to build myself about a 4-5 hr playlist for the race in October. Basically, I carry a post it pad and pen with me everywhere and whenever I hear a song that I think would be fun to run to, I write it down and download it. I think I'm up to about 1.8 hrs, so I've got a little while.

This Saturday is our 8 mile run, so I'm going to be sure to follow all the rules this week, so that I can maximize my energy. Go Team!

Week 12 Training:

Breathe!Breathe!Breathe! I cannot stress this enough. I didn't believe it when many other runners would tell me nor when I half heartedly made the attempt myself. Last Thursday, for some odd reason, I decided to give that whole breathing in 3 steps and out 3 steps a try. And what do you know, it worked!!!!!!!! I noticed that I was not out of breath nearly as often and found myself able to concentrate on my breaths more and less on the fact that I was tired and wanted to go back to bed.

The real test was last Saturday for our 7 mile run. First of all, it was beautiful outside (at 6AM mind you) and I actually found myself able to keep up (and even pass) people that I would normally be struggling to see in the far distance. When I was done I actually thought that I could easily do more miles and never would I have said that at the beginning. One of the best parts was that another friend of mine on a different team is running in the same marathon as I am and I thought that there was no way that we could run together, but I got a text from her when I was finished and she had just finished too. That's when I realized that I would be able to keep up and that felt amazing!! So please when people tell you the way to breathe, DO IT!! And quit complaining that it's too hard or you will never remember.

And I must say that I also worked the El Scorcho midnight marathon this weekend, actually staying up for 24 hrs on Saturday. Those runners are phenomenal to be able to run a 3.2 loop 10xs in the middle of the night. I guess they're also a little crazy too!

Week 11 Training:

Above is the photo of me and Tricia Smith at the Fireworks 5k. Obviously that was before the run, pre sweaty and gross =) This week I did something that was probably not so smart. I filled in as a catcher on one of my friend's softball teams. Normally, I play on a coed league several times during the year, but I have not played since mid April, so having to squat for an hour really did a number on my quads and calves!!! That did not make the 6 miles on Saturday any easier. And even this morning's run was hard. Luckily, I will be going to see a massage thearpist that Coby recommended this afternoon.

Another thing that happened on Saturday was that I began feeling this sharp pain in my right foot towards the end of the run and my first thought was "Oh my gosh, I've got some sort of tendinitis!" When I got home, I took off my shoe and man, I have never been so happy to see a blister in my life. It's just that I have seen several of my teammates get injured over these past weeks and I did not want to go without training, so what a relief.

Weeks 9 and 10 Training:

Wow! I didn't realize that it had been so long since I'd updated my page. So let's see...well the weekend before last I took a trip to the Guadalupe river and unfortunately came back with a very painful sunburn that made running last Monday unbearable =(. However, I aloed up and felt much better the next day, even though I was still on vacation time all last week.

We ran the Fireworks 5k just this past weekend and even at 8AM, the heat absolutely killed me! I could barely do my intervals, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that I finished 5th in my age group (and there were actually more than 5 people in that group). See what all this training has done for me? I also got to volunteeer at a triathlon on Sunday and I must say that these are some true athletes. I can't imagine having to swim, bike, and run in just one race. It was a fantastic experience (and all I did was direct people around the 10k).

We've got our silent auction tomorrow and even though I only got one item (a set of theater tickets), I just know that every little bit helps, so I really hope that it sells. This weekend, we're up to 6 miles, so I will be trying to hydrate all week and will try my best to carb up on Friday evening. Go team!

Week 8 Training:

Wow, it took me a little longer to update my page then I'd like, so sorry about that! Guess what! On the very last day I was going to give my funds a chance to clear, they all finally showed up!!! Whoo Hoo , that's $420.00 worth of peoples' support and I was so relieved to see that everything went through. I still am so surprised at the outpour of people that are willing to donate and it just makes me that much more determined in my training.

Last Saturday, I did my longest mileage ever...5 miles! Can you believe it? And the best part was, it wasn't that bad. Now don't get me wrong, I was still exhausted and had a pounding headache the rest of the day, but it was nice to hear Lance Armstrong's voice on my Nike Plus tell me that that this was the longest mileage to date. I guess even computer generated pats on the back can keep you going. I swear this humidity is about to kill me though. It was already 80 degrees this morning at 4:45AM and it felt like I was just breathing steam the entire time, so I really don't know how the people running in the evenings are doing it.

Oh, and on a different note, I think I've finally found some energy supplements that don't make me want to vomit. #2 Cliff Vanilla Energy Gel has been the only gel so far that does leave a disgusting film in my mouth and has a pretty mild flavor that doesn't mess with my stomach, so kudos for that. And my #1 choice is....THE JELLY BELLY SPORTS BEANS!!! They taste good, they're easy to chew, and provide the much needed sugar. So far I like the Fruit Punch for the non caffeinated variety and the Cherry for the caffeinated variety. So that's just an FYI on the stuff that I've tried. Wish me luck as I will be trying to do my 5 miles tomorrow instead of Saturday since I will be out of town.

Week 7 Training:

Just thought I would explain my photo because at first glance, it does kind of look like I'm holding a dead animal. Those bunches would be the 10 inches of hair I donated to Locks of Love in January. It was the 2nd time I've done that and it's very rewarding to know that just not cutting your hair actually makes a difference in someone's life. I am the ponytail queen, so I was very relieved when I could get my hair into my trusty hair tie once again. I'm letting it grow yet again so that I can chop it off, yet again.

Training has not been my downfall this week, it's been waiting for my funds to clear. I'm so nervous because I sent out a very large amount of donations at the end of May and they have yet to clear. With me being the control freak that I am, I check my page every day to verify and will be sending emails in the next 2 days if I don't receive anything back. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

My miles last week were not bad at all, even with the humidity. I'm nervous about my five mile run this Saturday. Who would have thought the day would come when a 2 mile training would be a breeze!

Week 6 Training:

4 miles down on my Saturday training! Can you believe it? And I did it all without falling, so I hope I made everyone proud. Plus it was a nice discovery that Market Street has homemade buy one get one free breakfast burritos on Saturdays, so I think I've found my new post workout meal. If only I could find an energy product that I liked, my life could be complete. I have now tried 2 PowerBar energy gels an and a Gu (?) gel and they are disgusting!! It's like eating generic, warm, melted pudding, which to me are not good combinations. The Luna chewy things were pretty good and I'm excited to try the Jelly Bellys next. As long as I've got something to look forward to, I'm good. Wish me luck for training in the AM!

Week 5 Training:

So last week I made a very important decision. NO MORE RUNNING IN THE AFTERNOON. That doesn't sound like a big deal though does it? Until you get to the part where I have to drag myself out of bed at 4:30AM to get my training in. It is cooler, but it's to do intervals when you're half asleep. Luckily though, my wonderful boyfriend has agreed to join me 1-2 times per week, so that definitely helps break things up.

Oh and I forgot!!!! To show you all how fabulously graceful I am, I'll let you see the scrapes on my hands and leg. See, that's what happens when you are running really hard and don't pick up your feet properly. I didn't know that I could slide so far on concrete. Somehow, I managed to walk away with very minor injuries and managed to finish my run in one piece.