Less than 24 hours to go....

This past Saturday, I set out running north on the Hudson River Greenway from somewhere in the mid 80s all the way up to the George Washington Bridge. While the climb from the river up to the bridge was steep enough that it slowed me down to a walk, it was all going well until a torrential downpour started just as I was getting up there. I was pretty bummed, since I was really excited to run across the bridge.

But only about five minutes later, the sky cleared and I made my way up and across the bridge. I hit the 11-mile mark as I was jogging back over to the New York side, and that completes my LONGEST run ever.

The best part was, as I came home and came up the elevator, a nice old lady asked me whether I had been caught in the "tornado" that supposedly hit New York -- and everybody, including my parents, knew about -- that morning. Oops. Guess it wasn't just a "little bit of rain." And guess my Adidas iPhone armband (which I had just purchased for some $40-odd) ain't just water-proof, it's tornado-proof.

Only three weeks to go!

Now that we're just over a month away from the big day, I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far, and a "what are you waiting for?!" for those who haven't. The generosity, words of encouragement and the putting up with my incessant talk about Goos and Gels is what is going to get us to the finish line -- not only at the Hamptons, but also towards a survival rate of 100% for kids diagnosed with blood cancer.

For those of you who want to see where exactly your generous donations are going, check out this video about the research that LLS helps fund, and how it helps to develop treatment and medicines for those afflicted with leukemia and lymphoma.

-- No embed option, sorry! --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UGePSwGFFU

GO TEAM!!!!

(I couldn't help but stop in the middle of my run during Summer Streets and snap this amazing picture of a car-free Park Avenue.)

... and all I got was this terrible picture from Brightroom. Which I totally screen-capped and stole. Anyway, four miles in disgusting humidity on a route I know and love, and run multiple times a week, so not too bad.

Also, my dad, who is visiting from Singapore, came to the Park with me and after all the runners went off, decided he would jump in and run the course as well. The folks at NYRR encouraged anybody standing at the sidelines to start running, so while he couldn't actually cross the finish line, at least he experienced a New York race, which is great.

Here's what your donation could do:

$100: Pays for the cost of four patients' chemotherapy drug prescription co-payments.

$300: Trains 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed

patients.

$1000: Allows patients to meet with health care specialists to design and discuss their disease, treatment plan, and prepare them with the info they will need during the treatment process.

And of course, any amount -- whether $20 or $2,000 -- will help in changing someone's life. So pack your lunch for a couple of days and instead, donate what you would have spent on those measly deli sandwiches!

BIG thanks to my supporters so far. Your encouragement is going to add one more mile to my run tomorrow!