Elaine's Fundraising Page

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to participate in the Nike Women's (Half) Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. As part of Team In Training, I am 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 this cause is much more personal for me because one of my twin daughters, Madeline, was diagnosed with leukemia on October 14, 2005 when she was only 14 months old. She has undergone 2.5 years of chemotherapy and radiation, and we are blessed to have her in remission today. It is through Madeline's strength and courage to have endured so much at such a young age that fuels my conviction to support LLS in this cause.

Madeline and others inflicted by a blood cancer are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission to save lives, like Madeline's, who battle blood cancers everyday.

I invite you to visit my website to view my progess as I train for this race. Thank you for your generous donation and support.

========= MY TRAINING DIARY ==========

Week 1 (8/4 – 8/10)

I was professionally fitted for my first pair of real running shoes! (Who knew there was a whole process behind buying a pair of running shoes!?) Ran my first mile and then some…I’m excited about my commitment! My fundraising has really taken off, and I’m moved by the huge response from so many people. Thank you to everyone’s supportive words and fundraising donations!

Week 2 (8/11 – 8/17)

my first painful lesson learned in hydration. On Tuesday, I didn’t drink enough before my run and could hardly have the muscle strength and flexibility to move. I made sure to hydrate after that, and had a good 2 mile run on Thursday. By Saturday, I overdid it and strained my right knee. Thank goodness for my great coaches who pulled me off the trail after noticing my limp. (I probably would have kept going with my ‘no pain, no gain’ gung-ho spirit.) I saw an orthopedic doctor who informed me that I’m not physically built to be a runner because my knee-caps point outward, which results in heavy pressure on my inner knee tendons. I am not a happy camper.

Week 3 (8/18 – 8/24)

Right knee still hurting –advil is my best friend; I hate the coldness of icing the knee. Bad timing for a job interview – being on an airplane for 5-hour flights each way definitely did not help the knee. By the end of the week, my other leg began to hurt. Coaches direct me to stay off the knee. I decided to try acupuncture, which amazed me. I couldn’t believe that two little needles on my toes somehow connected to my knees?

Week 4 (8/25 – 8/31)

Knees are still not recovered, but I'm getting endurance training in by aqua jogging . This is a great way to keep training while minimizing any pressure to my knees. Awesome workout 3 times a week. I have never waken up regularly at 5am, much less to jump into a swimming pool to exercise!

Sidenote: I was blessed to have a few job opportunities, and accepted a new job with a start-up web security company! I start on 9/15...

Week 5 (9/1 – 9/7)

Keeping up aqua jogging and acupuncture pays off. I’m back on the track Thursday for some easy jogging. Saturday, coaches work with me on stretching appropriately. I discovered the wonderful use of a foam roller to stretch out those tight muscles. A successful run this week – ran 2 miles successfully, although I had to ice the knees a little to keep the swelling down.

Week 6 (9/8 – 9/14)

Aqua jogging continues. Took it easy on the training this week and went on our final family summer vacation to Disneyland before the new job starts next week. Walking around the amusement park and pushing the stroller was not a bad workout.

Week 7 (9/15 – 9/21)

Started my new job and still going strong with my 5am cross training , added cardio machines + aqua jogging. Accomplished 3 miles on Thursday night track, and another 4 miles for our weekend run along the Los Gatos/Vasona trail. I’m feeling good about the progressive development on my mileage – slow and steady! Keeping my training pace at 2 minute runs with a 2 minute walk recovery…seems to keep the knees happy.

Week 8 (9/22 – 9/28)

Built up to 6 miles this week! Continuing my aqua jogging every other morning.

Week 9 (9/29 – 10/5)

Thursday’s track workout included a “Burrito Relay” where we partnered up and handed off a 6 mile run. I had both Madeline & Marisa with me at our weekly track workout. They had a blast running with me off and on. Saturday was the big preview Nike run up in SF. Coaches wanted me to run only 8-9 miles; however, I didn’t know when to stop so I just kept going, slow and steady. I amazingly accomplished 11-12 miles with hills. I felt good after the run, but after an hour of sitting, my muscles were spazzing out. I'm so proud of myself for getting to this point!

Week 10 (10/6 – 10/12)

I’m still recooperating from my zealous run last Saturday; I kept on track with a 2 mile workout, and a 6 mile weekend run. I did a bit more walking this week because I was just having a hard time moving. I decided to try a massage Saturday night – turns out that I was having problems with mobility because my lower back and neck was totally tense. I had the best massage ever. The masseuse was able to work out a ton of deep kinks; and I now I am a whole new person.

Week 11 (10/13 – 10/19)

This is my final training week! I'm keeping up with the morning aqua jogging, and planning on keeping it light on Friday/Saturday….wish me luck!!!!

========== RACE DAY DIARY ==========

Saturday, October 18th – The Pasta Party

The night before the run, TNT hosts a Pasta Party dinner to get people prepped for the big day. As we walked into Moscone Center, there were hundreds of captains, coaches, and team mates lined up cheering participants on as they walked down the stairwell to the dinner hall. The energy was overwhelming to say the least. As we entered the dinner hall, we came across 5000+ people and hundreds of tables. It took us a few minutes to find my team, but when we settled in, we were able to have dinner and look overhead to see a slideshow that portrayed an endless photobook of the survivors and memories of honorees who gave connections to the blood cancer cause. The evening ended with a few guest speakers, but one in particular that touched me to tears. A mother of two who has battled Hodgekins disease for years told her story of how she is surviving relapse after relapse, and how she somehow found the strength in-between to accomplish 2 marathons. She talked about her last relapse early this year - she was no longer able to eat, and thought she was at the end of her rope. She told us how she had to check into a hospital out of state and tell her young children goodbye, not knowing whether she would survive another round of chemo. She survived, yet again, and stood before us that night to share her story to remind everyone what they are running for. (AMAZING!)

When you have your own personal reason for running, it is easy to lose sight of the reality that millions of others have encountered similar challenges, some in tragedies. Participating in TNT reminded me that there are so many others affected by blood cancers. You hear the numbers, but it's a different personalization when you experience it by seeing , meeting, and hearing the stories from their loved one.

Sunday, October 19th (The Big Day!)

4:15 am - My alarm goes off, and I'm up. Put together my banana & peanut butter breakfast and stretched out on my foam roller. Then, I'm off to meet the team in the lobby by 5:00am.

5:00 am - lobby is filled with our TNT members as we await the bus to charter us to Union Square, the start line. When we get to Union Square, we meet up with the 20,000 runners and everyone on the team went on their way. I stayed with a teammate of mine, Teresa. We were amazed and impressed that there was so much organization in a crowd that big. We found our way to the start line and stayed cozy.

7:00 am - the buzzer goes off, and the race officially begins. Teresa and I were stuck in a pack for the first 10 minutes walking. As space begins to build up, and we picked up the speed. After building a pace, Teresa and I eventually went our own ways. For the rest of the run, I enjoyed the run/walking. There was so much to see - runners had personalized shirts, photos, tags, ribbons, etc that highlighted their cause to run. I was reminded of the magnitude of affected families and loved ones.

9:30-ish/Mile 7 - I couldn't believe it...I was at the midway point. I didn't feel too bad, but I knew that Abe would be on his way to the finish line with the girls and my brother. I began to get my second wind and picked up the pace a bit.

Mile 9 - I'm feeling even better, probably because we were at the Cliffhouse and going downhill. I could see the beach at the distance and the finish line tents. I knew the path would take me into the Golden Gate Park for a few more miles, but seeing the tent and knowing that my family would be there to greet me gave me even more energy. Though the bottom of my feet started to get tired, I picked up the pace and kept running.

Mile 11 - I'm in Golden Gate Park...needed a walk break, so I took the pace down a tad to recover. As I was walking, I finally met up with a few TNT teammates. A few paces ahead, I ran in to someone I didn't expect - it was our family's social worker, Anna-Lisa, from the hospital...I have not seen her for awhile, especially since we're now in remission and in the hospitals on a monthly (versus daily/weekly) basis. But, Anna-Lisa was a very important part of the patient services that LLS supports. She was there with me since the beginning and helped get me in contact with information on leukemia, connected me to the LLS, and introduced me to other families that had children survivors of leukemia. Seeing her was another reminder of why I was running this half marathon. I picked up my speed again...Afterall, I heard someone cheer us on as we hit Mile 12 - "ladies, this is the mile we call 'Chocolate Run'. Apparantly, Ghirardelli was handing out chocolate snacks on this mile. I say apparantly, because as I started to see wrappers on the floor, I'd hear sighs from other ladies ahead of me because we realized that they just ran out of chocolates. (Darn! not because of the chocolates, but because that must mean that I'm lagging behind...the competitive side of me comes out...I remind myself that this is the last mile and my last chance to give it my all. I pick up my pace.)

Mile 13 - As I round the final bend out of the park, I know I'm close because I see more families with signs and the cheering has gotten louder...and, I know that the beach is closeby. Adrenaline starts pumping, and I am pumped...I speed up and begin to jog even faster. I'm picking up speed and passing up a ton of people who are worn out and walking to the finish line. Not me - I'm going to run to that finish line and be proud. As I get to the final steps, there's pink carpet, people cheering all around, and the finish line....

At The Finish Line

I see the timer, and I cross the pink finish line. I DID IT! WooHoo! But wait, it's not over. Seconds after I cross the finish, I'm greeted by San Francisco Firemen dressed in tuxedos. They are carrying trays with blue Tiffany boxes stacked up, and I'm greeted with a "Congrats" and one of them hands over my gift box. (Yes, ladies, Firemen - like a dozen of them...It's like a dream isn't it? Tiffany box and firemen?!?) At this point, I'm just walking forward because I've still got this momentum built up, kind of like when you come off a treadmill. Someone puts a foil wrap around me and congratulates me again. Then, I encounter more volunteers handing me more things - banana, water bottle, jamba juice...it was quite overwhelming. Up ahead, I see the signs of alphabetized letters - that was the family meeting place, so I looked ahead under "C"...There they were, my family! Abe and my brother (Matt) had Madeline & Marisa on their shoulders. I called over and was greeting by hugs and congrats by my family. I looked at my girls and gave them kisses and told them "I Love You - Mommy just ran 13.1 miles for YOU!"

My Final Stats

I completed 13.1 miles at 3hrs: 14min:06 sec.

My overall pace at 14:49/mile.

My Rank: #8210 out of 11,533 half marathoners

Slow and steady - not bad for my first ever half-marathon...question is: will I beat this time next year? Do I have what it takes to keep on training to take on a full marathon next year? Stay tuned.

See pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BbuWjJm0buWA

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR SUPPORTING ME IN THIS CAUSE!