My Fundraising Page

Trying to stay warm in the first few moments before we begin running.

A warm up lap.

Jen, our coach, explaining stretching.

While not in group training we've been running on an indoor track to avoid the winter temperatures. Just how enjoyable the experience of running is had nearly evaporated from my mind. Meanwhile, I find myself looking forward to the next outdoor run and watching the morning fog lift slowly around us.

Still ramping up on the most important part of this adventure, fundraising. Thus far $100 has been raised (thanks Mom). Anything you can spare would be wonderful, you might consider it an alternative to buying me a cup of coffee.

Hope you are enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon.

Group training this morning was amazing! Very cold, but quite enjoyable. The weather was beautiful, foggy, chilly, and overcast. Everyone was in good spiris with a minimum of teath chattering. Have not experienced outdoor training in the cold before so I wore old sweat clothes which was insufficient to block out the wind, but almost enough once we got moving.

During introductions, we learned our team hero prefers to be referred to as our team mascot. Also, two of the ladies running on our team are cancer survivors. One spoke briefly about her experience and said that without the research performed by organizations like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society it is very likely that she would not have survived the experience.

Being young and lucky enough that heathcare has not be a serious concern, but old enough that the the health of loved ones begins to falter when confronted with the reality of the struggles of those around you with disease one is left with all manner of questions like, "If i or a loved one were to contract a disease such as this, what would I do?" Or "How do you begin to wade through the sea of insurance regulations, finding a good physician, reaching the propert diagnosis and treatment?" "Who can you reach out to for support?" It is questions like these which make the existence of the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society very comforting, and I'm proud and grateful to be able to help support it.

While shopping for warmer winter workout clothes at REI this afternoon, I was stopped by a gentleman in his mid-thirties who pointed to the Team in Training shirt I was wearing and asked if there were any local events to participate in and revealed that he was treated for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma when he was very young. It was a very brief interaction, but as we said good bye, exchanged smiles and genuine connfessions of pleasure at our meeting I wandered away feeling touched, connected, and very grateful.

Tomorrow morning we begin group training for Le Marathon de Paris at the CSU track. As members of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training, we run in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. Also, we are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

Below is a photo of Kimberly, our team hero, and myself.

Please donate via this page, if you like, and visit again for photos and further updates.