Today I went into the city to pick up my race number att New York Road Runners. Exciting! Only two more days now until the actual race! 

I had plans for a run on Monday or Tuesday this week, but the weather was against me, all week. Rain and rain and rain. And also my son has decided to wake me up a few times a night and I have honestly been exhausted. I have had to take naps during the day to be able to stay focused. Nothing to do about it now. Come Saturday I will be rested and ready for the run. I can't wait to see the other moms at Central Park and to run with so many other women for this great cause.

Please consider donating a few dollars towards my findraising. It is greatly appreciated!

Djelena

Yesterday was the last training with the moms! It feels like we just started! I am of course, running next week as well at some point, but this time on my own. It has been two great months with the group and the coaches. I have really challenged myself and I believe that, because of the group training, I have come much further than I would have on my own. 

For the last training we ran the trail for 3.1 miles. It was beautiful and very serene. It almost didn't feel like we were running that far. However, at the end I actually fell! I tripped over something and just fell on the ground. Does this mean I will win the race on Saturday? Wishful thinking! It was a bit embarrassing to fall like that and it did hurt like a...

I scraped my knees and my palms. My knees were worse than I first thought and I had to put on some bandaids. Just in time for shorts season! Perfect. I haven't had scraped knees like this in years. I also need to get some new running pants since they broke after the fall.

Well, well. Blood, sweat and tears! Mostly sweat, but now also some blood. After Saturday there might be some tears as well. Who knows?

I am looking forward to the race on Saturday. I will write here afterwards and give you a full report!

Djelena

I am excited to announce that Aventyrkids, who sells handmade organic and eco friendly children's clothes, has offered to donate 20% of every purchase of 30 dollars or more at her store if you enter the code "LLS", until June 10th! You can find her store at etsy.com: https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/AventyrKids

or www.aventyrkids.com

Just add the code "LLS" at check out in the box "Note to seller" (and NOT in discount box. It won't allow the entered code) and she will donate 20% to the fundraising. I will also match every dollar up to 150 dollars!

From her store: ORGANIC and ECO-friendly UNISEX children's clothing. Comfortable, yet stylish, sure to make your little one stand out of the crowd. All fabric prints are ÄVENTYR Kidswear ORIGINAL DESIGNS. 

**YOU WON'T FIND THESE PRINTS /FABRIC ANYWHERE ELSE!**

She would also want you to know that she will get more sizes of most clothes later this week AND she is adding blankets to her collection as well! Please go in and take a look, it is for a great cause! (She ships all over the world.)

https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/AventyrKids

http://www.aventyrkids.com

In 2010 my family visited my mother-in-law, Paulina, here in New York for our yearly visit from Sweden. While we were here, Paulina was diagnosed with cancer. We were devastated but we also had hope of beating this together. Three years of hard struggle against the disease followed. Just as we thought the battle was won, we found out that the cancer had spread yet again. This time, the struggle was over before it even began. Paulina passed away last year in March of 2013.

My mother-in-law was one of the kindest people I ever met. She always had an encouraging word for everyone. She was a dedicated teacher who did everything for her students, working with children with special needs in poor areas, even tutoring the children in her spare time. Most of all she was the best grandmother my daughter could ever have. I am saddened that my daughter will be the only grandchild to remember her, her cousin was only 2 months old when she passed and her brother was still just a little bud in my belly. I am sure their grandmother is watching over them, cheering on every sweet success and lifting spirits during inevitable defeats. That was the person she was in life.

I am fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and running a 10K in June in the memory of my mother-in-law Paulina, my aunt Britta, My uncle Leif, my grandmothers Edith and Maj-Lis, my best friend’s mother Eva, as well as the people I know who are still battling the disease. Together we can eradicate cancer!

Please help me take a stand against cancer by donating to this page. No donation is too small and every dollar counts!

“Individually we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean”. Quote by Ryunsuke Satoro.

Thank you for your support!

Djelena Blair

Friday morning, after raining all night, and the clouds were still threatening to let go of a few more gazillion gallons of rain, I wasn't really excited to go out and run. Not at all. At that point I also heard thunder. It was loud and scary and I told my husband that it probably wouldn't be a Moms in Training at 9 am that morning. Who is crazy enough to go out and run when it's lightning and thunder? Well, it turned out that this group is! I logged on to Facebook and our coaches proclaimed they were ready to rock and roll at 9 am. However, after one (my team mates say they heard two) round of lightning and thunder, the "thunderstorm" was over and it was of course safe to train outside. The rain kept away as well and four brave moms and one even braver trainer met up at Van Cortlandt to run 3.5 miles. We did 1 mile easy run, 0.5 mile hard run, 1 mile easy, 0.5 mile hard and then another 0.5 easy. And afterwards it felt GREAT! We did some planks and squats and travelling lunges and I will tell you, I prefer to run 3.5 miles than to do those planks and lunges! All day long. 

I am the mom in red. Coach Bette took this photo. Those planks are hard!

Talk to you soon,

D