Well - with your help I've officially done it!!

05.18.10 As of today with all of your help I have officially raised the money that I promised to raise. My Cousins Kelly and Brett helped me out by throwing a Poker tournament and pushing me above my goal - woo hoo!!

Talk about cutting it close though - lol - I've got about 19 days left until I will be completing (yes - I said it COMPLETING) my 26.2 miles at the San Diego Rock -n- Roll marathon. Last weekend my training included a run/walk of 19.4 miles, which I completed in 4 1/2 hours - which averages to about a 15 minute mile. I know I can improve on that since I was dragging for the last 4 miles and probably did more like 20 minute miles.

And then since I'm a glutton for punishment I did the bay to breakers for the first time on Sunday - that's another 7.4 miles. woo wee!

This weekend will be my final training and I'll be doing 22 miles - so it should give me a really good idea how long it will take me all told. I'm hoping for more like a 5 hour marathon (because Big Bad voodoo Daddy is playing from 10:45-12:15 and if it takes me 6 hours I'll miss them completely - sad for me) but realistically I'll be happy to have my first marathon under my belt. :)

So how's my training going?

03.23.10 I'm getting excited about actually doing a marathon for reals! I did a 9 mile walk (with a bit of running) on Saturday at training in 2 hours and 6 minutes. That's more than 10k, which means the Bay to Breakers should be a breeze in 2 months. :)

I'm starting to seriously buckle down by walking every day and I'm going to start my core training workouts, since inevitebly it is my back that starts hurting at the end of the long distances not my knees or feet or whatever.

I was very proud that I finished the 9 miles strong and without a walking buddy to push me. This was my first time doing a walk without a "buddy". I had to leave early because I had a softball playoff game at 10:15 am (which I made it to on time). Although I gotta say it feels great to say you've walked 9 miles before 10 am, it's not so fun to catch a game after walking that far. ;)

Second Charity poker tournament on Saturday March 20th.

Second of two tournaments to Benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Yay - for using poker to raise money! It was a fun tournament with a great crowd. There was a very exciting 4 handed all in with only 5 players left that gave Bill R the stack he needed to ultimately win the tournament. Congrats Bill!

Also props to our second place winner Sean B. who very generously donated his winnings to the LLS.

This second tournament got me almost to 50% of my fundraising goal. Thanks to Dave K for the loan of the chips and tables and to Leslie and Tim for bringing the cards. :)

First Charity poker tournament on Thursday March 4th

It was a success - Thank you so much to Andrew and Lexi for allowing me to use their poker night and their space and supplies for the tournament. Congratulations to Dave K for winning!

The first tournament got me just over 25% towards my fundraising goal and was a ton of fun. Thanks for everyone who played.

Racing to Save Lives (or what the heck did I get myself into?)

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Societys (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. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

First I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read this note. I know you are going to see this and cringe about donating money during this economy so I want to explain what I am doing, why I'm doing it and how I came to my decision to do something different.

I have always thought it would be cool to complete a marathon but in the past years I have been getting further and further out of shape and that idea has faded into the distance. Then between Christmas and New Years I was working alone in my office and kept hearing ads for Team in Training. I had heard of it before, I am sure most of us have, but had never looked into it further. Well I suppose I was a bit brainwashed by all the commercials I heard over that week so I decided to look it up on the web and then to attend an information meeting. I was intrigued after the meeting but a little intimidated and unsure if a marathon (even a half) was something I could really do.

And then the Monday after my information meeting a friend of mine suddenly passed away. I did not know what had happened – he seemed fine the last time I had seen him, about a month or two previously so it was a hard thing to wrap my head about. I found out that he had an advanced stage of a rare cancer. It kick started my initiative and desire to do something for someone else while doing something for myself. So I decided to join Team in Training for their spring season. I will be training to run/walk a half marathon in San Diego on June 6th called the Rock-n-Roll Marathon.

So in addition to getting all kinds of great support from the coaches, mentors and peers that are part of Team in Training I will also be raising money for a good cause. Part of what I have to do to get all these great benefits is to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). As many (if not all of you) know I have a very personal connection to blood cancers. My cousin Kelly was diagnosed with a form of Leukemia the Thanksgiving before last. She has spent the last year going through chemotherapy and working hard to Kick Cancers Ass. Facebook allowed me to receive (mostly) daily updates of her, and her familys, struggle to persevere through all the difficulties and hardships that come with Leukemia and it’s treatment. After 4 rounds of chemo she is currently in remission and she has, knock wood, Kicked Cancers Ass. Her focus these days is just working on getting her life back on track. I have asked Kelly to be my honoree and I am happy to say that she has accepted. Kelly and others like her are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line , a cure!

So now I come to the hard part, the asking for money bit. Yeah , you knew it was coming and hopefully you will be moved by your connection either to me or to someone else you may know who has either had to fight this disease or has had to deal with the devastating effect of losing a loved one to it. So instead of sitting on my (and your!) derriere and whining that life is unfair we can do something constructive about it. I'm asking you to help by making a donation to my fund raising campaign.

I know it's a bad economy and we are all hurting for money right now, but if you just skip one of those little luxuries, like those drinks while watching the games over the weekend, or that martini after work on Friday or (god forbid) your fancy morning coffee for one little week you can afford to donate $25 or even MORE! Come on! You caaaaannn dooooo iiiiiiiit!!!!

And heck you get to feel good about yourself in the meantime ! It is a great way to kick off your New Year, helping others fight the good fight! The money you donate will benefit research and patient services for those affected by leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma. Please make a donation to help me reach my fund-raising goal of $5000 by May 15.

You can donate by clicking the button on this profile page It is easy to donate online quickly and securely plus you wil get to learn more about my progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation. Also please don't forget to ask your employer about matching gifts.

Remember, all donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are 100% tax deductible! More than 823,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support. Thank you in advance for your support not only of me but the entire Team In Training organization. If you have any questions please email me at Bridget.s@gmail.com . Each donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support. I greatly appreciate your generosity.

Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your

support!

Thanks so much!

Bridget