My Fundraising Page

Saving Lives One Mile at a Time!!!

This will be my third season training for an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team in Training. And my second season as a mentor for Team in Training. As a mentor I have the privilege of helping other participants reach their goals.

This year I am not only running in memory of my Mom and all of those who are or have been affected by cancer, I am running extra hard for our honored teammate, Micah. Instead of doing just one marathon, this year I have chosen to complete two in honor of Micah. Because what I have learned is that my hardest day of training could never compare to his easiest day going through treatment.

I had the privilege of training with his Mom last year. She shared with me the fear she felt when she first heard that Micah had Leukemia at age 3. She shared with me his strength through the process as well as the day he told her "I don't want to have cancer anymore."

As a parent I can only imagine what his parents have gone through, or continue to go through. But I do know that they are not just sitting around waiting, they are being very proactive in helping to find a cure. This year his Dad will complete his first event in support of finding a cure.

Since my first year I have learned so much and met so many people who have been affected by cancer in one way or another. Whether it is themselves, a loved one or a friend.

I've also learned that Leukemia is the #1 killer of children under the age of 20. 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 help advance LLS's mission. Remember that every donation counts no matter what the dollar amount. And every penny of your donation is tax deductible.

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

February 21, 2009

Today was our third week of training, today we logged in four miles. We were fortunate enough not to have any rain today. Micah put in some miles with us today, he was much faster than half of us out there. I can't speak for others but he sure made me step up my pace.

Next Saturday's training will be emotional, but yet another motivating day for me. It will be six years ago that day my Mom lost her battle with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

February 28, 2009

Today was a great day... we did our first 6 mile day of training and all survived .... not only was I motivated by the memory of my Mom but one of our new participants was celebrating her 10th year of being in remission from Lymphoma. She spoke a few minutes about her reason for participating, saying she was doing it to celebrate 10 years of being in remission. But since training with us she has met so many people and learned of so many people she knows that have been affected by cancer in one way or another. So her motivations have changed for doing her marathon and she has gotten stronger each week. It's awesome!!!!

March 7, 2009

This was our first 8 mile day of training .... the team finished strong!!! I had an opportunity this past week to see a close friend who's daughter was suddenly diagnosed with a medulablastoma during my very first training season with TNT. I'm happy to report that she is nearing the end of her chemo and is looking forward to starting her senior year with hair. What a trooper she is!!! She is an AMAZING young lady and probably one of the strongest teenagers I have ever met.

Her and her Mom were recently included in the new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book. I highly recommend reading it if you get a chance.

March 14, 2009

Today I trained in San Felipe, Mexico on the beach, 8 miles is much harder in the sand than on the asphalt. Sadly I was without my teammates but it was nice to be away from the cold weather we have had this year. I'm looking forward to being back with the team next week.

March 21, 2009

Well, when training for a marathon it makes one feel like they are Super Woman. I was such a Super Woman this last week that I decided to flip all of the mattresses in my house while spring cleaning. I flipped one two many mattresses and threw my back out so I didn't get to make it to our 10 mile training day today ... big bummer. I'm hoping to be back in the swing of things by next Saturday though for our next 10 mile day.

March 28, 2009

Well today was our first 12 mile training day .... WOW .... it was one of those "Are we there yet?" days, for me at least. What kept me moving along is April; she is a 10 year Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor. She was a 1/4 mile ahead of me all the way. Little did she know she kept me focused through the heat today!!!

April 2, 2009

I love this training day ... this is what we call our All Team Practice where we get together with all the teams connected to our chapter. It gives all the participants the opportunity to be out there on the course with people they have not met before. It is almost like a trial run for the actual event day. You learn to converse with everyone out there; it helps you through your toughest marathon moments. And believe me there are many of them out there.

THANK YOU for all of your support.... keep checking back on our progress.