WE DID IT! (6/4)

On Sunday, May 31 - me and several thousand of my TNT friends ran the San Diego Rock and Roll Half or Full Marathon! Together we raised over $8.2 Million dollars for LLS - from this race alone! I couldn't have contributed $5,000 without the help of each and everyone of you. Thank you for being so generous and for helping me contribute to such a worthwhile cause.

And now - on to the next race! In October I will be participating in the Nike Women's Marathon - again training with Team in Training, but this time as a Mentor.

For more information about my run and my preparations for 26.2 miles, visit my web page at

http://pages.teamintraining.org/rw/nikesf09/vsteel

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Whoo Hoo! (3/28)

Can you believe it guys?! - Thanks to your amazing support I have raised over $4,000.00 and I have two months to go before my race! I just can't believe it! I am actually speechless, which, as many of you know, is a pretty rare thing!

This week training went pretty well. I went to my first Buddy training - which was great, but we rant the hills at a place called Fountain Grove in Santa Rosa. Let me tell you - these were killer hills. I met a new running friend there - Bob, who is running in memory of his wife - and if it weren't for him I think I would have given up on this run! For those of you who don't know - Buddy Training is a critical element in the Team in Training process. On Tuesdays, our training schedule calls for an hour long run of about 5-6 miles. This is pretty hard to do, in and of itself - let alone, doing it by yourself. So, Buddy Training is a way to make sure you get it done; by joining up with a group of other team members and making it happen!

In addition to Buddy Training, I hit up two yoga classes (one of which seriously kicked my butt), and made it to our team run on Saturday. I clocked 9 miles. After a good 10 mile run last week I decided it was time to back off a bit and let my poor soleus (small leg muscle I've been struggling with) recover a bit.

Next week should be a good week. I'm looking forward to trying the hills on Fountain Grove again and hitting the 10-mile mark for a second time on Saturday. For today though, it is a day of rest. My friend Karen is visiting from out of town and we are all going wine tasting!

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A Quick Update (3/21)

Hi All - I just have two quick things to share about my training this week!

1. Because of all of your gracious efforts I have surpassed my fundraising minimum and have less than $1750 to raise to get to my fundraising goal of $5000. THANK YOU SO MUCH. This would not have been possible without your help and support. I take every running step with each of you in mind and when the hills get big and the road a bit too long I think of all of you and your encouragement helps me keep on moving. I know it might sound a bit sentimental but its true. I know I would not be getting in my weekly runs if I didn't want to make all of you proud!

2. The second point is that I RAN 10 MILES today.... I'm thrilled that I was able to get through that. I was planning on only doing 8 and the last two miles just felt right so I kept on going. With two months of training left I'm thrilled to be able to do 10 miles at this point. It means that now I can work on my speed and picking up the pace a bit!

Thanks again for all your support.

I would like to regonize the following donors for their support:

Claire Taylor

Jane Taylor

Karen & Matt Bleakley

Tracey Riper

Catherine Martin

Karen Shackman

Melissa Baker

Sara Webster

Ben Suhr

Alan, Cathy, Thomas and William

Ken Hart

Nicola Thom

Sandra Taylor

Eric & Judy Vatne

Krista Reimer

Susan Steel

Ken, Angela,Sarah and Katie

Home Care Physical Therapy

Mima and Alan Watson

Joan Farnell

Josie and Ron Gianadda

Isabelle and Ken

Rico Sabulao

Paula Klemens

Mandy Yachmetz

Serge Vindigni

Scott and Becky Ryan

Melissa PHillips

Michael and Robyn Brown

Priscilla Lee

Erin Donovan

The Crowe Family

Kate Schuppe

The Robinson Family

Raymond Vastola and the Travel Planners Family

Jeff Ward

Diane Nordone

Bernie and June Fineman

Making Progress (3/18)

It's been a few weeks since I last posted - and with good reason - it has been busy around here!

Training was going really well until I made a silly mistake and over did it one day three weeks ago. I was behind in my weekly miles so before track practice I ran 3 miles and then got my backside handed to me at the track. Lets just say we did a football fields length of walking lunges. Then, that Saturday I ran 8 miles (yeah!) but I was so sore. I physically cringed when I had to sit down to (ahem) use the toilet! With all this came a small strain to my soleus which is this tiny little muscle on front inside of your leg...it hurt! It's fine now but it slowed me down for sure and reiterated that I needed new shoes! Add to that two weekends of Barrel tasting at work and training took a bit of a pause.

With that said, I have new sneakers and a new watch that does intervals and I'm back on the road. I've logged 9 miles this week and have track practice on Thursday and a run coming up on Saturday, which should log in another 10 to 12 miles for the week so I'm back on schedule!

The other bit of news is that I've changed my race. Originally I was going to run on May 3rd in Humbolt County and run among the Redwood trees. I decided (partly because it gave me more time to train) to change that race and now I'm running the San Diego Rock and Roll Half Marathon, which means I get to go to San Diego, which is a first and I get to run through the San Diego Zoo! The change in race meant that I had to raise a bit more money as my fundraising minimum, but all of my friends and family have pulled through for me, and more importantly the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, in a MAJOR way - and I'm only a few dollars away from my fundraising minimum with two and half months more to go!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

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The Hard Question

I know that donating in these times of utter economic turmoil is tough. It's hard to say to oneself, "sure I'll give money" when you don't know your own financial future on a day to day basis, especially as the markets ebb and flow at a dramatic rate. It's hard too for me to ask people to part with their hard earned money. With that said, the sad truth is that cancer doesn't give a crap about the economy. Cancer comes and traumatizes a persons life and his or her family, regardless of what has happened on the markets that day, regardless if you are a democrat or a republican, regardless of whether or not you favor the stimulus package or any other polarizing point we see covered in the news on a daily basis. By donating, whatever small amount you can, you help Team in Training support families that don't have time to watch the news because they are rushing their small child or frail parent to a chemo treatment or doctors appointment.

I know I sound like a fundraising infomercial, but think about it this way: if the tables were turned and you and your family (god-forbid) were the ones that needed the support and were praying for the research, wouldn't you want someone to help?

I know its hard, and I know donating at a time like this is not at the top of the "musts" for spending, but please consider making a small donation. Your funds will directly impact the lives of patients and families who are battling this awful disease, and that�"s a stimulus that anyone can understand!

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Two Down! (2/16)

This week Wade even joined me for one of my training runs - which was a great treat! The big news is that I did a five mile run this week. It wasn't planned, but it felt pretty good! Its amazing what a motivating factor running with a group is. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have done the last mile on my Saturday run if I hadn't been with the part of the big TNT group. Having others around and coaches yelling "good job" and "keep it up" really made a difference.

I have run into a bit of a roadblock to start week three as I have a bit of a stomach bug that is keeping me closer to home than I'd like. But, I am hopeful that will be over soon and I'll be back to pounding the pavement.

Good news is, my running buddy from New York is coming to visit on Friday, so I'm looking forward to running with her this weekend!

Also - I've been updating my blog with pictures, slideshows, etc. Check it out. www.vickysteel.blogspot.com

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One Down! (2/10)

Well, the first week of training is done and we are on to week two. My body is certainly in shock because I'm working a lot harder than I had been, but in general I feel pretty good and am hoping all the running and yoga will help the pounds start to melt away!

Our first team run was held last Saturday. It was pretty straight forward, which was good as I was nervous about how well I'd hold up! We learned the basics of running form, some stretches for after warm up and completed a two mile run (and a one mile warm up!) I didn't do too poorly and now I'm into the next week of training. By the end of today I will have done 7 miles already!

Wednesday brings our first track training! I'm a little worried about this one as I haven't run track since I was in high-school and Coach Starpoli was chasing us down the side of the track! Anxiety setting in! We'll see how it goes.

Until then - keep on moving forward!

"For all of us, the miracle isn't that we finish, the miracle is that we have the courage to start." - John Bingham

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Race Training Begins!

So I've decided to try to make this page a bit like my blog, with short little training updates posted now and then. This week was the first full week of training and its actually been a bit tough for me. I haven't run with any team members yet, that starts on Saturday, but I've been running on my own.

I botched my way through three miles on the treadmill on Tuesday, which was a pretty awful run - no more running on the treadmill! I did four miles this morning (2/5/09) in the rain. I ran a short loop around my neighborhood and despite the rain and a few necessary walk breaks, I ran the four miles in about 47 minutes, which isn't too bad considering the shape I'm in right now!

We have our first team run in Santa Rosa on Saturday, which I'm looking forward too. I'll let you know how it goes!

I am thinking about switching up my run - I'm not sure I can be ready for 13.1 miles by May 3rd, so I'm looking at running in San Diego or Seattle in June.

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

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Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to participate in an half marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers, but in particular, I am training in honor of my Grandmother, Margaret, who lost her battle with blood cancer in 2008.

My Grandmother, and the people we are running for, are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

This is an extremely important cause which is near and dear to my heart. It would mean a great deal to me if you could please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

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

I would like to regonize the following donors for their support:

Claire Taylor

Jane Taylor

Karen & Matt Bleakley

Tracey Riper

Catherine Martin

Karen Shackman

Melissa Baker

Sara Webster

Ben Suhr

Alan, Cathy, Thomas and William

Ken Hart

Nicola Thom

Sandra Taylor

Eric & Judy Vatne

Krista Reimer

Susan Steel

Ken, Angela,Sarah and Katie

Home Care Physical Therapy

Mima and Alan Watson

Joan Farnell

Josie and Ron Gianadda

Isabelle and Ken

Rico Sabulao

Paula Klemens

Mandy Yachmetz