Every week someone on my Team gets awarded “The Spirit Cape”. A few weeks ago it was given to me. The person who gets the spirit cape has it for a week and has to add something special to the cape and then they present it the following week to the Team and pass it along to the next recipient. Many people have added pictures of loved ones who have battled one of the diseases we are running for, some people have added some encouraging words, others have painted designs on the cape with fabric paint. At this point it is looking pretty cool. It reminds me of a quilt, where each square of the quilt was especially made with love and thought by a different person. I was not sure what to do when it was my turn to add my piece of flare to this thing. It is far along in the season, many people have received it before me and there isn’t much room to add to it without ruining someone else’s work. I was racking my brain to figure out what to do. There’s a little bit of pressure here as I had to stand in front of a group (something I’m not a fan of) and present this thing. I wanted it to be really personal as well. I decided to write a poem and iron it on with some of that iron on transfer paper.

Like running, I really surprised myself with the poem I wrote. If anyone knew me years ago, anytime I had to write a paper I would sit at the computer and cry because I hated writing. I would get so frustrated and start over and over. I was more a math and science kind of person. And now here I am writing poetry. Weird.

So, I presented the cape last weekend in front of not only my Team, but The Central Run Team, and The Walk Team. Remember I said I don’t like speaking in front of a group. I was nervous at the thought of presenting it in front of just my Team, so I was happy to just get the words out when I had to do this in front of what seemed like 100 people. Maybe I didn’t get the words out?! I think I did. Anyways here is the poem, hope you like it:

TNT & Me

It started with an information meeting

I didn’t know what I was in for

My head was filled with doubt

I’ve never run before

I know so many affected

Some have survived and some have died

I told myself I have to give this my all and try, try, try

At my first run I was so nervous

I thought to myself can I really do this?

My friend and I were pleasantly greeted

Little did we know our greeter was being treated

My first run was short and sweet

I couldn’t wait until the next one

Torrey was on the schedule next

That’s my favorite run!

Letters and emails have been sent

Donations are received in return

I love running! Me, the non-runner,

I like to feel the burn!

Once I had a good running base track began

200s, 400s, 800s, again and again

After that comes Mr. Taco

That’s where I was convinced to go for 26.2

I must be a wacko!

I’ve had some minor injuries

But this running stuff, I didn’t know I had in me

I can’t wait for race day

I’m really doing this…YAY!!!

I’m at week seventeen now

Not much more to go

Thank you for sharing this journey with me

How much this has changed my life you’ll never know

I have a little ankle injury and was unable to run today, so my family and I hit the beach and had a little lemonade stand to raise money for LLS. My daugther, who is three years old, poured most of the lemonade herself. She did a great job, so proud of her!

We had a great family day and we raised $103 for LLS! YAY!

So, some of you might be wondering, why in the heck am I doing this? 7/23/10

The picture below is why I chose to run with Team In Training. Meet my friend Molly and her daughter Elle. Molly and I have been friends for a long time. We met at work years ago. Since then we’ve both moved all over the country and have had kids, but we’ve managed to stay in touch through the years.

On October 15, 2007 I got a weird email from Caring Bridge on Molly’s behalf. I was really confused because I hadn’t talked to Molly in awhile and the email informed me that Elle had been diagnosed with ALL. I remember thinking Molly left something out, ALL what? Molly later informed me that ALL is a form of Leukemia. She and Elle had been visiting her parents and Elle had gotten a pretty bad bruise on her leg. Well, the bruise did not go away (there might have been other symptoms, but I don’t recall now). When Molly and Elle got home she took Elle to her pediatrician and was told to take Elle to the cancer hospital. They did further testing and determined that Elle had ALL.

It is now almost three years later and Elle is still here with us. She’s a survivor. She went through chemo and beat this thing. She celebrated her sixth birthday this year. She recently had her chemo port removed and is in good health.

My daughter is close to the same age as Elle was when she got diagnosed with ALL. I can’t imagine being told that my daughter has cancer and that is why I run with Team In Training, for Elle, for my daughter, healthy kiddos, sick kiddos, for everyone, because everyone knows someone affected by these diseases. Team In Training raises funds specifically for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, but when breakthroughs are made the entire cancer community benefits.

Help find a cure for these diseases and donate to save lives!!!

I did it! 7/6/10

I ran my first race and it was AWESOME! I can't wait until I get to run in a race again! Who would a thunk little old me would be a runner?! If you asked me a year ago if I wanted to do this there would be no way. Well, times they are a changin' and I'm lovin' it! I've never been a competitor at all, but as soon as I was in an acutal race I wanted to run as fast as I could and I actually cared about my time. Up until now I've told myself I will be happy no matter how fast I run, I will just be happy to actually complete the half marathon in the fall. I ran the entire 5k without knee pain too, which was great. I finished just under 33 minutes with a 10:26 pace.

Just a Number 6/29/10

I haven't updated recently because I'm having some issues with my knees. I'm working through it though with foam roller exercises and I've been seeing a chiropractor. This upcoming weekend we don't have a team run because of the holiday weekend. Our coaches recommend that we do a trial run and sign up for a 5k, 10k, or 15k (there are a bunch of different runs here in SD this weekend. I decided to sign up for The Independence Day Run in Coronado. I picked up my race packet, bib, and shirt last Sunday and I'm lucky number 843! I'm pretty excited about it. Hopefully my knees will be okay.

Major "Milestone" 6/12/10

I ran 5 miles this morning!!! It actually wasn't too hard. I ran 5/1 intervals instead of 3/2 and it felt great. My knees are really sore now, but I did it!

This is what my run looked like:

I'm Officially Part of a Team !!! 6/10/10

Hi family, friends, and supporters! Here is my training shirt that I was given from Team In Training. I've never actually been on a team before, so this is kind of a big deal to me. Training is going well, but it is tough to juggle the training schedule and my regular stay at home mom life! I'm making it happen though. I've started interval training, running for 3 minutes, walking for 2 minutes and that has been very beneficial for increasing my endurance. This Saturday I will be running 5 miles! Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Happy Running,

Amber

Teaming with Team in Training

I don’t know what has come over me, but I’ve decided to run a half marathon! Crazy, I know…13.1 miles! I’m not a runner and have never actually enjoyed running until recently. This is a huge commitment and challenge for me. As I write this letter, I am recovering from my first of many training runs. Yesterday I ran two miles!

I will be running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon with Team in Training to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I will train with Team in Training over the course of the next five months. They provide me with coaches, mentors, and are going to prepare me to run across the finish line. In exchange for the training, mentorship, and experience I have committed to raising at least $4,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You read that right, $4,000. This is a multi-faceted challenge, running and raising serious money! I think I can! I think I can!

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Research funded by LLS has led to or contributed to many breakthrough cancer treatments. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society receives no federal funding and relies on the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations.

Now here’s where you come in; I’m asking for your support, financially and emotionally. Help me help others! Running 13.1 miles and raising this money is going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but not as hard as going through chemo or watching a loved one battle one of these diseases. I’m going to do everything in my power to reach my fundraising goal. Can you help me get there? With your support, hopefully the mission of LLS can be achieved! No donation is too small; every penny counts!

Thanks for being a part of my life, especially during this significant and personal milestone. Thank you for your support, but most of all, thank you for helping those fighting the real challenge; those battling cancer.

Love,

Amber

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