This is me giving Coach Stacy a big hug around mile 11. Kate, I am sure, was so sick of hearing me say "Where is Stacy? Where is Stacy?" by then. Thank goodness for her, she truly fullfilled her coach role by providing me with salt packets, or what I like to refer to as "manna from heaven." No, but seriously, it was great to see her and to top it off, she ran with us for about a mile! What a coach! I will miss her and her hill drills for sure!

Wow, what an amazing day that was. The weather could not have been better! What an extremely humbling experience. I was so grateful for the opportunity to do this and to be able to support such a great cause and friend Sarah Furlano. I was able to raise over $2500 for LLS! Thank you to all who have supported me all along the way. As I crossed the finish line, I had one of those flashback moments, I thought about the last few months of this journey and all the people I was doing this for and all the people who had supported me. I got very emotional, had tears in my eyes, which I tried to hold back, remembering past participants reminding me to "look great" at the finish for that photo op! Cole and I thanked each other, kissed, and held hands as we crossed the finish. So cliche, I know, but so what?

As I look back on that day today, I am still trying to come down from my "race high". I am officially hooked. I have the race bug. I am looking forward to my next half marathon, Tinkerbell. Yup, Rachel and Amy, you can't get rid of me that easily! Cole and I are already planning ahead for the next one after that, the Santa Cruz Half Marathon. And then who knows after that?

Thanks again for following me on this journey. Thanks for all the support during these past few months. And lastly, thanks for listening and reading my many posts! Here's to staying healthy and to many more races to come!

GO TEAM!!!

Charissa

Thank you to those who came and showed their support! The fundraiser was a success as you can see from my fundraising bar to the right! We had a blast, lots of zumba-ing, great raffle prizes were given away and lots of chiropractic adjustments going on thanks to Dr. Deena Riggins. Rowe Hoffer put on a show and this woman has mad skills! If you are in the bay area, make sure to look her up, she does lots of Zumba Classes and her hubby Miche Hoffer is not bad either. He is only a Swedish National Athlete Champion (how many times can one say you actually KNOW a Swedish National Athlete Champion) and is a pretty awesome personal trainer. He holds these circuit classes that will get your booty in great shape. You can check them out at www.michrofit.com. Thanks Rowe and Miche for your support!

My deadline is officially Friday September 30, so if you are still planning on gettting that last minute tax deductible donation, now is your last chance! As you can see I don't have far to go so every little bit counts. It's amazing to see how far our team has come. As of today, we have raised over $72,000! You can be part of a cure too. For those who have donated, many many thanks! Looking forward to finishing out the rest of the season focusing on my upcoming race. Just a little over two weeks left!

Charissa

Our last track meeting this Thursday, we did new time trials. My pace when I first started training was about a 12 minute mile. And this time...a little more than 9! Woo hoo! I ran that mile pretty fast mind you, and would not be my race pace. I am looking at somewhere between 10-11 minute miles for my race pace. I felt pretty good about it, the training has definitely been helping, running hills, doing intervals and fartleks.

A few of us ran this morning at the beach, 6 miles. We ran up that Rio Del Mar hill for a warm up and did the rest of the beach so it was nice and flat. Great run this morning, very misty but after a while nice and cool. I feel so lucky to be able to run in such a beautiful place and to be able to enjoy life as I know it. Running has been such a grounding thing, helping to put things in perspective for me these last few days especially. It's helped me enjoy what I have and to never take things for granted. I have TNT to thank for that too and all our honorees for showing me how precious life is. I am happy to be able to help in this way and don't forget you can too! Thanks for checking out my site and if you have just donated, thanks for that too!

Charissa

PS. I have a Zumba Fundraiser coming up! Come for some fun and dancing with none other than Rowe Hoffer of MichRoFit! http://www.michrofit.com/biography.asp. She is one amazing woman herself and she will be leading us for some fabulous Zumba moves. Details are below. This is a great way to help support the cause!

Date: September 24

Time: 3:30 to 5:00 (actual class time is from 3:45 to 5:00. Come early to sign waivers and to get a good spot!)

Location: Vintage Faith Church Gymnasium

350 Mission Street

Santa Cruz, CA 95060-3733

Cost: $10 suggested donation

If you donate $15 and above, you get to take home a commemorative bracelet designed by Mystic Fish. She will also be showcasing some jewelry, up for sale with 60% going towards TNT! So come, dance and shop too!

New Updates!

I have also added some raffle prizes! Lots of items donated by Forget Me Not clothing store will be available! Make sure to buy raffle tickets at the event.

Just added some items from Mad Molecule, Miss Stephanie's Potions and Seascape Foods for the raffle!

Dr. Deena Riggins will be offering Chiropractic Adjustments at the event. Ever since I started training, she has been adjusting me regularly and it has made an amazing difference in how I feel and has helped me stay healthy! Even my allergies have subsided since I started. Not only is she my chiropractor but she is also a good friend and is kind enough to donate her services. All we ask is that you make a donation.

Please pass the word around, the more the merrier! Hope to see you there!

Rowe Hoffer and me. She is my technically my Aunt but really, she is my sister. She has helped me be who I am today.

The countdown is on! Nike Women's Half Marathon is less than a month away and I am just about ready! I just got done running 10 miles last weekend and I am still standing believe it or not.

You all received an email from me not that long ago when I first started this journey and to those who have donated, thank you! To those who have not yet, it's not too late! $5, $10, $20, whatever you decide, it will make a difference! I am running this race in honor of Sarah Furlano (see our photo below during our Seacliff 10 mile run). You can read her latest blog entry at the following address.

www.sarahfulopfurlano.blogspot.com

She is an amazing woman, mom, survivor and friend.

You can still donate! Don't forget, it's all tax deductible. Help me reach my goal! I am almost there and every little bit counts.

Thanks again and maybe I will see some of you at the finish line!

What a beautiful run this morning. This was a new place for me to run, and despite the early start (actually later than usual for TNT) I was ready and rarin' to go. Great company on this run, these women on the team never cease to amaze me and I am proud to be running alongside them. The first two miles went by pretty fast and the next two were more challenging. Some hills, dirt bike path, and a rocky trail. Saw some really cute bunnies and lots of horse poop. Finally got to the turnaround point and downed my Gu (yes, I am now finally used to it and Gu and I get along real well nowadays). It was awesome to see Coach Stacy at the half way point, she is so encouraging and we just found out that she is an official coach for the Nike Women's Marathon! Way to go! So, we finished up and took off to finish the next half. It was a great next half! 4 miles went by pretty quickly except for a slight detour to the bathrooms. I swear I thought Coach Doug was pulling our legs just to make us run up another small hill to get to the bathrooms. After much relief, we headed back to Natural Bridges and finished the last half mile while pushing it. Felt so good and we were rewarded with homemade banana bread. Thank you! And yes, Sarah and I did take a trip to Safeway for multiple bags of ice for our much anticipated ice baths. Very cold this time due to the 2 bag amount. But after a day of working on my feet, I was grateful for the effects of the ice bath. All worth it. Btw, Ava enjoys the ice bath more than me. She thinks its funny watching me get in.

So thanks for checking out my site yet again, thanks for donating as well. If you haven't yet, now's your chance! I am 56% there and just need to raise a little less than half! My deadline is the end of September so there is still time. And did I mention your donation is tax deductible? Thanks again for your support and our honorees thank you as well!Charissa

Photo below is of our team at track.

Photos below are from our Silent Auction Fundraiser. Great turnout!