The Marathon Adventure!

I’m back and ready to do damage LOL!!

HELLO everyone and welcome to my Team In Training home page! The proper greeting for some of you is WELCOME BACK!! It’s time to SAVE LIVES again.

On November 7th, I will run the New York City ING Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. WOO HOOO!! I am SUPER EXCITED to compete in this endurance event which will include 26 miles of running. It will be A LOT of hard work, but with your help and support I know I will SUCCEED.

Last year I completed the Westchester Triathlon (a .9 mile swim, a 26 mile cycling portion and a 6.5 mile run ). It was my first endurance event ever and I am proud to say that with that help of many of my friends and family as well as the TNT trainers, I successfully finished it and raised almost $5000.00 dollars.

Before TNT, I was oblivious to how many people are actually affected by blood cancers. Now, not only do I know people that have it, I know people that have survived it, as well as people who sadly, have not. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t think I can mention it enough… This event is MUCH bigger than me! It's about SAVING LIVES and helping hospitals get the resources and research necessary to fight against cancer. I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are currently battling blood cancers and those who we have lost to it. These people are the REAL heroes on our team and they need our support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

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. Remember no amount is too small because every little bit counts.

What $1 Can Do...

Why your fundraising dollars are so important:

• A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.
• A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members.
• A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.
• A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

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

TNT KICK OFF - July 3rd

TNT kick off was awesome!!! It was nice to see everyone get pumped up and hear the real reasons why we are running these races. I can't imagine waking up one day and being told that I have a life threatening disease. Would I even be able to comprehend what that means? How would I re-act? How would the people I love handle that kind of news? Would knowing there is a possiblity that I might not survive give me the strength to go on or would it defeat me? These are questions I hope to never have to answer but at the TNT kick off meeting, I met the brave people who did. People who came face to face with death... people who fully understand how precious life is and faught to hold on to it...people who survived one of the biggest battles they've ever had to face in life. They are why I am choosing to run this race. If they can survive cancer, then I KNOW I can survive the 26 miles that are ahead of me.

WEEK 1

This week was time to meet my coaches, mentors and teammates (all of whom are very cool by the way)!! Saturday was the first weekend group training session (GTS), a 1.7 mile run and Tuesday was the first evening GTS, a 3 mile run. I won't lie, the 1.7 mile run was a little brutal on me (having not run outdoors in a while) and to top it off, the humidity was through the roof! I found myself panting on what was supposed to be a light conversational run and as each foot hit the pavement I thought to myself, "what the heck did I get myself into??". Luckily Tuesday was much better. I finished the 3 miles with no problem and energy to spare. I'm praying that the rest of training goes this way lol. This Saturday's training will be another 3 mile run so lets hope the humidity is where it needs to be.

WEEK 2 & 3

ok so at this point I'm feeling pretty good. Saturday's run (6/19) I completed 4 miles at an 11min/per mile pace. I'm happy to say this pace was very comfortable for me. I was able to have a full conversation without feeling like I wanted to dry heave or die LOL! I actually had could have gone longer and faster on this run but at this point, the coaches don't want us to overdo it. Tuesday's run was an easy 3 mile run. What's the down side you ask? Perhaps it was the torrential rain that soaked me from head to toe! UGH! The good thing is that I got through it. I suspect the rest of this month will go very similarly so i'll wait to update you once the run distance increases. Stay dry folks and check back later on my progress!

WEEK 10

I know I haven't updated in a while, so let me just inform you guys on how training is going. At this point, I am officially running miles in the double digits!!! This weekend (August 7th) I ran my first 10 Miles! WOOOO HOOOOOO!!!! Did you know that a few weekends in the summer, NY closes off E 72nd and Park all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge??! It was an awesome run! I ran from E 52nd st all the way to union square and back, then up to 72nd st and bethesda terrace in cenral park, and then back to E 52nd street! Yes folks, I DID IT!!! The runs will only get longer from here on out, but I think I'm ready. This weekend (August 15th), the team will run the Bronx half marathon. This will be my first 13 mile run and I'm hoping the weather is on my side! Wish me luck....I'll let you know how it goes!