Marathon is finished! I could not have done it with out all of the support and donations. a HUGE thank you to everyone who has had a part in this journey for the past 5 months. Such an amazing feeling crossing that finish line. I will continue running, I'll do a couple of 1/2 marathons before my next full. I plan on attempting the Austin Full in Feb. which I heard is a pretty tough course!

Thanks again to everyone.

xoxo

Reesa

I really feel beyond blessed through this entire experience, for many reasons.

1. Blessed to have the mental and physical ability to even attempt to finish a full marathon. I know there are many people out there who would love to be in my shoes racing in 10 days but simply can't for reasons beyond their reach.

2. Blessed to have amazing coaches who answer everyone of my millions of emails the past 5 months about every single detail and every ache and pain. I know sweet Colin and Steph will miss my emails, don't say you won't.

3. Blessed to have an amazing team that always cheers each other on. I really couldn't have picked a better group of people if I tried.

4. Blessed to have such great parents who have supported me and believed in me. Great parents who are flying out to San Diego just to see me cross the finish line.

5. Blessed to have an oh so sweet and paient boyfriend who has been my back bone through out this whole experience. Poor sweet boyfriend who has delt with the tears of joy and pain the past 5 months. And not to forget the bratty days.

6. Beyond Blessed to have SUPER family and friends who have donated their money, in this tough economic time, to support me and my cause for LLS. Thank you so much to everyone who has had even the littlest part in getting me here. I would not have even made it this far with out each of you.

10 days till race day!!!!!

More exciting then I would have thought, just got an email congratulating me on achieving my fundraising goal! Now all that is left is the actual race...yikes!

Thank you again to EVERYONE who donated and who will donate! You can still donate all the money you would like. I would love to have hundreds of names on my wall.

Also another thank you to Kelly who is running with me. It was her idea to sign up in the first place and there is no way I could do this with out her. She has beena great friend for years and now my ultimate running buddy. She motivates me when I need that extra push, and we have been cheering for each other through out this experience. Love you Kell!!

Anyway keep the donations coming. There will always be a need until we find a cure. Just because I reached my goal doesn't mean you don't have to donate still.

I may be jumping the gun here because I still have $37.13 to raise, BUUUUUUUUUUT I think it's safe to say I reached my fundraising goal! I'm so excited and so proud of myself. There were a few stressful times these past 5 months where I didn't think I could raise it all. A lot of emailing, mailing, messaging, posting, tweeting, and so on. Sorry to anyone who was getting slightly annoyed by the constant reminder to donate, but it worked!

I can remember fundraising when I was younger and it was not this difficult. When I signed up for this I thought "oh this will be easy, I know so many people who will love to donate to a great cause". I jumped the gun on that one. Times are tough right now for a lot of people and a lot of my friends are in entry level jobs, living pay check to pay check. Gas prices are high and sometimes people just straight up forget. I think everyone wants to donate and help they just maybe can't at the time.

I would never go back and not do this though. The marathon is so close and I couldn't be more nervous and excited at the same time. I have really changed a lot in the past 5 months. I went from never going to the gym to going 5 days a week. I went from smoking and drinking on the weekends to staying home and eating veggies. I love how my life has changed for the better, it was hard though. Training like this and running so much can be very tolling on your body both physically and emotionally. I've been through both.

Training for my next marathon will be easier and less stressful (hopefully) because my body will be better adapted to the changes. I went from 0-60 that first week and never stopped. I'm planning on doing a 1/2 marathon in San Antonio in November and the full in Austin in February. I'll be taking a short break from fundraising and traveling. I want to continue to train and fundraise with Team in Training, maybe just one race a year though. It gets a little much begging people for money year round. I'm sure I would run out of people to ask.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED

AND SUPPORTED ME THROUGH THIS!

I could not have done it with out you. Especially Jeffy who has listened to me gripe and complain through out this process. He truly has helped me through this more than I can ever explain. The end result, crossing that finish line after 26.2, will be REMARKABLE!

I can't believe in 30 days I will be running a marathon.

I'll be leaving Texas just a normal person and coming back a marathon finisher!

STOKED!

It's crunch time now ladies and gents.

NO sweets or alcohol till after the race.

My new address will be LifetimeFitness.

Foam rolling till my roller is flat!

So excited, nervous, scared, anxious, all kinds of emotions running through my body right now.

$2500 raise and only $400 left! It's not to late to donate so please help out and donate any amount and help the fight against blood cancers!

Thank you to everyone for all of your support and donations through this process.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it's so close!

xoxo

Reesa