I Made My Goal!!

I Exceeded My Goal--Thanks to You!

Wow, I can't believe I'm over my $1,800 goal for Team In Training fundraising.

Thanks to all who donated==listed to the right==and an extra special thanks to Whitney Pollack and her mom, fundraisers extraordinaire, without whom I would not have made my goal by the April 17 deadline. And more special thanks to Alyse Stone, walking mentor and wonderful friend, who encouraged and reassured me every step of the way. I'm so excited that the race is so soon, that we've exceeded expectations for fundraising, and that with your help the Eugene team has raised over $65,000 to fight cancer.

The Eugene marathon is May 3, and I'm so excited! I will be posting photos from the event, and I'm looking forward to documenting the event with my Team In Training pals.

If you would still like to give, of course I won't turn you away==but donate to my friend Melissa Overton, whose page can be found at http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/nikesf09/moverton . She's far from her goal and could use the support.

Once again, thank you all for your support, both financial and moral. GO TEAM!!!

__________________________

Because of people like you, dedicated to raising funds and helping to fight blood cancers, the following has happened within the last year:

⬢-80,000 people contacted our Information Resource Center and received critical information about blood cancers, therapy options and issues surrounding treatment and survival.

⬢-8,500 patients were able to afford drug co-pays and health insurance premiums essential to their healthcare.

⬢-540,000 patients, family members and healthcare providers heard from leading experts about new therapies, treatments and issues critical to cancer survivorship, through LLS teleconferences and Webcasts.

⬢-19,000 people battling their cancers were able to receive treatments because LLS helped pay for their transportation, lodging and other expenses.

⬢-20,000 patients and family members found comfort and hope through LLS's First Connection and Family Support Group programs.

⬢-New therapies and treatments are being developed by LLS funded researchers===more than 400 around the world. Exciting and potentially ground-breaking research areas include: Immunotherapies such as cancer vaccines and immune cell-based procedures; radioimmunotherapies that bind specifically to cancer cells, sparing normal tissue; and novel Stem Cell Transplantation Procedures such as mini-transplants that use less toxic pre-transplant treatments.

==Training Journal==

==March 7: 6:45 am comes so, so very early on a Saturday. Especially when it's 37 degrees outside and you know you're going to be working hard in the cold weather for two hours! This week's training walk was 7 miles, and I am now recommitting not only to TNT, but to being disciplined about my training during the week. Today's walk was hard work! And it's only going to get harder. Le sigh... Time to recommit to Team In Training, which means signing the paperwork that pledges that I will raise $1,800 by hook or by crook. That means whatever amount less than $1,800 I raise comes straight out of my pocket! Yikes! Help me avoid breaking my bank by giving a few dollars from yours. If you'd rather support us in another way, there are a number of fundraising events coming up, including a spa day on Sunday, March 15, a craft sale (featuring my knitted items) on Saturday, March 28, and a fabulous silent auction on Friday, April 3. Please email me at lennis@uoregon.edu if you're interested in hearing more about the fundraising events.

I've raised $440 thanks to the individuals to the right, and my Oscar party was a huge part of that. I'm hoping the craft sale will be successful, but nothing brings up that amount like a straight-up donation. Thank you for donating.

If you'd like to donate via check rather than online, please email me at lennis@uoregon.edu and I'll send you my home address.

==March 3: Training today was a track workout featuring speed work==amping up to my maximum speed, alternating fast with average pacing==at Churchill High School. Of course, never having been to Churchill HS, I spent a good ten minutes circling the block trying to figure out where I was meeting my team for our training. I eventually found Coach Nina on the track, and commenced a 45-minute workout that really tested my shins! Backstory: after work yesterday, I decided to go for a walk/jog with Cordel==a dog wog. It felt awesome! Today, my shins were not so awesome. I'm going to have to learn how to dial it back, because I tend to be gung-ho about training and what I need to focus on is reasonable pacing. I'll be doing 13 miles, after all! I hope the donations come flowing in after sending a big email tonight.

==February 21: Well, we're on week 3 of our training, and today was brutal! I made the (huge) mistake of taking Cordel, my retired racing greyhound, on a really long walk all over town yesterday. However, Fridays are supposed to be rest days because we need to build a reserve for our long training walks on Saturdays. While I had no trouble finishing the 5.5 miles, I didn't have the energy I wanted; in fact, I came close to "bonking" at one point! Thank goodness for some vanilla-flavored goo I'd squirreled away for just such an event. So this is a learning experience: from now on, Cordel will have to satisfy himself with a very brief walk on Fridays. And it reminds me just how far I have to go to be in shape for the 13.1 miles I'll be doing on May 3!

Speaking of how far I've got to go, I've raised $155 thanks to the list of folks you see to the right. I want to thank my friends and co-workers who have donated so far. You guys rock!

I am completing the Eugene Half Marathon in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. My team's Honored Teammate is James Duhaime, and I got to meet him this weekend when he joined us on our training walk! That was really cool, and James is a nice and funny guy. I'm looking forward to learning more about his experience fighting Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma throughout the training season. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!