Racing to save lives...one mile at a time!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Welcome to my Team in Training fundraising page! Thank you so much for taking the time to check it out!!!

Team in Training is providing me with a wonderful opportunity to do something I never thought I'd do...train for and run a marathon (yes...you read that correctly...26.2 miles)!!! Along the way I will be training with and meeting some amazing people, making new friends, and most importantly, raising money and awareness for a very important cause...The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I'm training to participate in the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, California as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. We are all raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. The money we raise goes directly toward blood cancer research. There are over 912,000 people in the United States who are living with, or are in remission from leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, or myeloma. As a new mom, the fact that leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20 really touched my heart and motivated me to participate. 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! Also, every time I go out and run, I am running to give thanks for my healthy son, Lane.

I know how hard this training is going to be, but I also know that it is not nearly as hard as the battle that people living with blood cancers fight every single day. I am 100% committed to meeting my fundraising goal and finishing the race. I know that with your support I will be able to do both!!!

My goal is to raise $3,500!!! I would really appreciate your support in my efforts to achieve this goal. Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. Every dollar counts!!! If I could just get 100 people to donate $35 each I would meet my fundraising goal!!! All donations are tax-deductible.

Training Updates:

5/15

Today was our first day of training. We met all of our coaches and got to meet some of the people we will be training with for the next 5 months. It was really nice to see so many people excited to start training and fundraising! We started our 30 min run at 7am. Right at the beginning of our course is the 17th street bridge here in Fort Lauderdale. The bridge has been given a nickname by the Team In Training alumni here...they call it "the beast!" It definitely lives up to it's nickname! Especially on the way back at the end of our run. Not an easy thing to conquer when you are tired! The coaches told us it would get easier and easier and soon we would be wondering why we ever thought it was so hard to run over! We'll see! At least it's good training for the hilly landscape of San Francisco that we will be running on in October! Anyways, we ran for 30 minutes...for me that was about 2.7 miles. I was so excited! I can't remember the last time I ran that far...if ever! After our run we got to hear from a couple members of our team who are training in honor of their children who are battling leukemia. It was really inspiring and made our purpose for training and fundraising much more real.

Here is a picture of the 17th street bridge (the "beast") that we run over twice every Saturday...it doesn't look as steep from this angle. The bridge is about 1/2 mile long.

5/22

Today was our second day of training as a team. I did manage to run on my own during the week. My goal is to run on my own a couple mornings a week and then train with the team on Saturday. I was actually excited to get up early on Saturday and go run 45 minutes...never thought that would be something I would ever say! It's just so much fun and so motivating to know that there is a whole group of people ready to run with you and get through the training with you. Makes it much easier and much more fun! Plus, this week my friend Katrina was back from vacation. We had a blast running together! I'm so glad she told me about Team in Training and took me to an informational meeting! We are going to have an amazing experience! So we ran 45 minutes this week...4 miles!!! And, I ran all the way over the bridge both ways! It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be!

Here is a picture of Katrina and me after our 4 mile run on 5/22!

5/29

Today was our last timed run. Starting next week we will all be running the same distance no matter how long it takes! We ran for 60 minutes this week and my running buddy Stephanie and I completed 5 miles in that amount of time. I was really impressed with how well we did! I've never run that far before! It is starting to get really hot. I really want to start meeting earlier on Saturdays to get our runs over with before the sun really starts to get hot!

6/5

It is officially summer here in South Florida and it is HOT!!! We sure discovered that this morning during our run. We ran 5.5 miles and we were all pretty much soaked from sweat during the first mile! It is so much fun to get up and run with everyone on Saturday mornings! It's amazing to see so many other people up so early and excited to train! I wish I could run with them during the week too...it would make it so much easier to get out of bed. I'm finding it hard to drag myself out of bed and go running on my own in the mornings...but I'm doing it!

Here are some pics from after our run on 6/5/2010. That is Katrina, our new friend Stephanie, and me after we were cooled off!

6/12

We did it...6 miles!!!

6/19

Wow was it hot today! Today was by far the hardest run yet...7 miles! We keep meeting

earlier and earlier (6 am today) and it still feels hotter and hotter every week...and technically it's not even summer yet! July and August are going to be rough! I can't believe I'm doing this...this is something I never thought I'd do and I'm loving it! Don't get me wrong...it's really, really hard...but fun and rewarding at the same time. I have to decide soon whether I will train for the half marathon or the full...I just can't make up my mind!

6/26

8 miles today. Wasn't easy but it definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. There was an amazing breeze during our entire run which really helped cool us down and it also rained for a bit after we passed the 6 mile mark...that felt really good!

7/3-7/4

So originally we were told we were running 9 miles on our Saturday run but we got good news when they sent us our updated schedule during the week...we only had to run 6! I was definitely excited to hear that considering I was signed up to run a 5k race on the 4th! The 6 mile run was pretty easy. It felt really short compared to our 8 miles last week! Then I got up really early today to run in my first race ever (not first if you count the few 1 mile fun runs I did when I was little). Katrina, her husband, Stephanie and I all completed the Weston 5k race. It was so much fun and I did so much better than I had expected. Since it was my first race I had no idea how I would run and what kind of pace I'd be able to maintain. I wanted to finish it in under 30 minutes and I finished in 26:23!!! I'm glad I got my first race under my belt and I'm already looking forward to the next one in August!

Here's us having some fun before the race... (see the "5k" we made)

...and we were still smiling after the race!!!

7/10 and 7/17

I've had a busy but fun couple of weeks...our families and some friends were in town to help us celebrate Lane's first birthday! We had a wonderful time with everyone and Lane had a blast at his party. We were even able to attend a fun fundraising event in Ft Lauderdale...it included a water taxi ride through all the waterways in and around downtown Ft Lauderdale...it was perfect for all of the out of town guests! My mid-week training sessions suffered due to our busy schedules here at home. I did manage to run a few times on my own and I haven't missed a Saturday training session with the team yet! We ran 9 miles on 7/10 and 10 on 7/17!!! I can't believe we've hit double digits! Next week we get to run a nice easy 8 miles...never thought I'd say "8 mile run" and "easy" in the same sentence, but it will feel much shorter than the 10 we just ran this past Saturday! The last week of July is when the half marathoners and full marathoners split up for training. If I decide to train for the full, I will be running 12 miles on 7/31!!! I think that's what I'm going to do! I'll still have a few weeks after that to decide for sure if that's what I want but after mid-August, I have to know for sure!

Here is a picture taken with some of my new TNT friends at the TNT event we went to on 7/13.

7/24

This week we dropped back to a nice "easy" 8 mile run. It didn't end up being all that easy...it was really windy which made it so much harder to run and really slowed me down a bit. However, the more conditions we face when we train will only better prepare us for race day...who knows what can happen that day! I finally joined a gym this weekend so that will definitely help me become more consistent with my mid-week runs. I can also do some speed work and incline training (to prepare for hilly San Fran) on the treadmill!

7/31

Well this was the first practice where we split into 2 groups for our practice...the people training for the half ran 6 miles and the people training for the full ran 12...and I ran 12!!! It was really hard but I'm so proud of myself for doing it. I figure if I can run 12 miles than I could for sure complete a half marathon...so I might as well just go for the full since I have lots of support and some amazing people to train with! We will continue to increase miles over the next 7-8 weeks until we reach 20 miles...that's the longest we will run before the race. Then we will taper off for the 2-3 weeks before the race. As I'm running and start feeling like I can't finish, or that I need to stop and walk...I think about all of the the people out there battling cancer or who have lost their lives to cancer and I'm able to keep going. Thank you everyone for your support so far...I will need all the support I can get over the next 10 weeks to get me across the finish line and to meet my fundraising goal!

Here's a picture of a few of us recovering from and stretching after the 12 miler on Sat!

8/7-8/21

It's been more than 3 weeks since my last update...

On 8/7 we met up with the Miami team at Aventura to run 9 miles at a park there. It was nice to run in a different location but it was hot and sticky since it wasn't by the water! I prefer our beachfront course! It was still fun to meet the participants and coaches from Miami who are going to be joining us in San Francisco for the race. That afternoon Katrina and I held a jewelry party to raise money for our fundraising efforts. It was a huge success and tons of fun!

Here are some pics from the jewelry party...

our friends and TNT friends browsing the jewelry, Katrina and me with Stephanie, and Katrina and me with our friend Kristin (she and her husband, Tim, opened up their home to us and allowed us to hold our party there! Thank you so much!!!)

On 8/14 I woke up at 3:30 to meet the team by 4:45 to run 14 miles. It was hard but I did it and ran the whole distance! I was really excited! At this point, there's no turning back...I'm in this for the full marathon! We turned in all of our paperwork this week so we are officially entered in the race, plane tickets are purchased and hotel reservations are made! San Francisco here we come!!!

On 8/21 we ran a nice and easy 10 miles. It's crazy to hear myself say that but it did actually feel pretty easy compared to 14 miles! I added a spinning class to my weekly workouts this week and loved it. It felt so great to do something other than running and get a great leg workout in at the same time! Stay tuned...we only have 3 more long runs before the race...16 miles, 18 miles and 20 miles... less than 8 weeks until race day!!!

8/28

This morning my alarm went off at 3:00am...yikes! When it went off I felt like I had just gone to bed. Even though we're getting up really early for these long runs, I would much rather get them out of the way before the sun comes up and it gets really hot out! We ran 16 miles this morning and it actually felt pretty great! I felt so much stronger than I did on the 14 mile run which made me feel better about my decision to run the full marathon. There was a nice breeze along the ocean and the sun didn't come up until I was about 12.5 miles into my run. All in all, it was a great run on a beautiful morning! When I'm running I feel so thankful that I'm able to run...it's hard work and sometimes I feel like giving up but I feel so lucky that I have my health and I'm able to do something like this when so many people aren't able to...so I will keep on running for all of them! We are only 6 weeks from the race! I'm starting to get excited!

9/4

The Team ran 10 miles today... My running buddy, Kelly, and I ran 12. 10 just didn't sound like enough at this point and we both felt like going the extra 2. The sunrise this week was absolutely beautiful! Next week is an 18 miler...wow!!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the sunrise we got to watch while running today!

9/11

Today I think my alarm went off at 2:45am. I don't think I really woke up until about an hour into our run when it started pouring! It felt really good and cooled us off but it caused a few problems. My running buddy, Kelly, noticed her iPhone was getting wet so we stopped under a parking garage so she could wrap it up. We took off running and made it about another mile down the road when she realized her pouch was open and her car key was gone! We turned around and started running back in the direction we came from and a little slower in the hopes that we would be able to see her key...keep in mind it's only 5am at this point and it's still pouring so visibility was not great! I spotted a folded up tissue in a puddle and pointed it out to Kelly because I knew she always ran with one...it was hers. We new the key had to be close by and indeed it was. At that point, our course was all messed up since we had turned around to look for her key. We did some calculating and figured out where we needed to go to make sure we still got all 18 miles in. The rest of the run went fairly well...I was recovering from a cold so I was a little uncomfortable at times but I managed to finish in a pretty decent time...a little slower than I wanted to finish in. My goal for the race is to finish around 4 hours... Since this is my first marathon I'm really not sure if that's possible so I won't be disappointed if I don't finish around that mark but I'm sure going to try!

9/17

Half of our team is training to run in the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon on Oct 2 and this race is actually taking place at night. Because of this, we ran on Friday night this week instead of Saturday morning...to give those racing in the Disney race a chance to feel what it's like to run at night. It definitely felt different to run at night...took a little longer to warm up after being on my feet all day...but it was fun to do something different. We ran a different course and there was a really nice breeze for the whole run. I completed just over 10 miles. After the run, about 18 of us headed to a bar for a late night snack and drink... It was a lot of fun to hang out and talk with everyone...something we don't really get to do as much when we meet so early in the morning...and I have to say, I've never had a Miller Lite that tasted as good as it did on Friday after running 10 miles!!! I really can't believe the race is only 4 weeks away. I'm starting to get really excited...and I'm also in disbelief that our training is almost over. We have our longest training run this coming Saturday...20 miles...and then we will taper off a bit to give our bodies a rest before the race!

9/25

Well...I completed 20 miles!!! I guess that means I'm ready to run the race...or at least I will be in 3 weeks once we've tapered and our bodies are rested. Hard to believe we ran 20 and the day of the race I have to run an additional 6.2 miles...they say you are in good enough shape at this point and your body carries you through the extra miles...I hope so!!! I can't believe this is almost over. It has gone by so fast. We've been training since May 15...20 weeks! We only have 2 more Team practices left before we head out to San Fran for the race. I'm headed to Cleveland for a visit with my parents after next week's practice. I'm really looking forward to running up north in much cooler weather!

10/2

I ran 8 miles with the Team this morning and then hurried home to shower and head to the airport. Lane and I had a great time in Cleveland visiting my parents. We were visited by Lane's other grandparents and his aunts and cousins from Lima. It was a lot of fun to see everyone! I did run one day while I was there...it was 54 degrees and rainy...YUCK!!! But...I ran a lot faster than I normally do...maybe it wasn't a bad idea to train all summer in the heat down here afterall! Unfortunately, I did pick up a cold while I was up north. Better this week than next I suppose!

10/9

This morning was our last practice with the Team before the race. We have been training for 22 weeks...I can't believe it! We were scheduled to run 6 miles today but I added an extra 1.5 miles of hills to that...there are some major hills on the race course in San Francisco! After practice we got our race jerseys and travel packets for next weekend. It all seems so real now...I can't believe it's finally here! We head out to San Fran on Thursday and the race is Sunday morning. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey. Your support has not only helped me stay focused and dedicated but it has also helped the lives of so many people who are fighting cancer... I will be thinking about all of you and your generosity during the race....THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Up Next: 10/17 race day!!!!!

Race countdown: 7 days - WOW!!!

By the way...originally I was planning on training for the half marathon...now I've officially decided to go for the full marathon...26.2 miles!!!

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