Monica's saving lives...one mile at a time! Make a donation to Team in Training & Stomp out Blood Cancers!

I'm Racing to Save Lives...One Mile at A Time!

Just recently, I made a commitment to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in their fight against this cancer by joining their “Team In Training”. I am training to run 13.1 miles in the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon & Half-Marathon in November to raise funds to help the 100,000+ American men, women, and children who are struck by Leukemia—the leading killer of children in the United States.

You may be thinking—“Hey, I know her. She’s not exactly an athlete—and she’s going to run 13.1 miles? Good luck (you’re going to need it).” No, I’m not suddenly crazy, and yes, I am going to run 13.1 miles. I made this commitment for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to run the half-marathon as a personal goal, but I wanted my efforts to count for more than just me crossing a finish line. Second, I'm a beginning runner and needed coaching, along with motivation to accomplish this goal. Team in Training does both. They provide me with months of personalized fitness training by certified coaches; clinics on nutrition, injury prevention, equipment, and race techniques; and a supportive group of teammates!

Most importantly, I want to help sponsor cancer treatment research. The research that the Society has sponsored has been the catalyst for revolutionary treatments for Hodgkin’s disease, Lymphoma, and other cancers, including breast and lung cancer. The research is working: In forty years the survival rate for children with Leukemia has gone from 4 percent to 85 percent—a phenomenal difference.

I am training in honor of Madison. Madison was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) when she was just two years old. ALL is a cancer of the white blood cells, the cells in the body that normally fight infections. Madison is now four, in remission, and undergoing chemotherapy. She likes Hip Hop music, Cinderella, and Cat in the Hat. Her treatment would not have been possible without the support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thinking of Madison helps me get up at 4:30 a. m. on Saturday mornings for my weekly 2, 4 and 6-mile running practices.

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

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

Training Log

• 06.10.08: 1st Tuesday Practice - I'm really excited about this. Not sure if I am ready, but I will keep you posted on how it goes. ;)
• 06.11.08: Went to practice and ran some drills. Well, to be honest, I walked half the time. However, I did learn a lot from the coaches - posture, cadence, foot placement, etc. It was great! It actually helps to motivate me. Oh, for continued motivation, I will be running a 15k race in Dallas in July. So I have 1 month to get ready for that!
• 06.12.08: I'm making a plea to all those people who visit my website...I need your help! Any little contribution will help TnT! So please make a donation on my website and help me raise the "money meter!"
• 06.14.08: 1st Saturday Practice - I ran 3 miles in 47 minutes. Not great, but decent for my first real run/jog. There were a couple of hills that kicked my butt, but I felt great afterwards. I'm going to have to up my mileage during the week in preparation for the 15k too. I can only get faster and more efficient from here. :)
• 06.17.08: Leaving for Vacation - missing 2nd Saturday practice. :(
• 06.22.08: Return from Vacation - Okay, so I didn't get a chance to run while on vacation. That just means I have to make up for it this week. I have to get some serious miles in this week. I only have 27 days before the 15k in July! Eek.
• 06.23.08: 2nd Tuesday Practice - Making Hills Our Friends! Tonight's practice was all about the hills. Total craziness. We did hill sprints - running up a steep hill as fast as we could for 20 seconds, then walking back...5 times! Then we had to run about 2.5 miles. So a grand total of 4 miles tonight! I feel pretty good, but I'm sure I'll be hurting tomorrow. :) Oh, and I got my first donation tonight from my son, Gabe. Wooohooo!
• 06.28.08: 3rd Saturday Practice - Whew! Those hills can be tough. I meant to only run 2.5 miles because that was on the schedule for the 1/2 marathoners. Nope. I ran 5 miles, what the full marathoners were training for, thanks to the encouragement of my interval group. We averaged 11.37 minutes per mile. Not too bad. I just have to maintain that pace during the week to build up for next Saturday's run.
• 07.05.08: 4th Saturday Practice - The day after the 4th. Today's run was only 4 miles. The coaches gave us a break since it was a holiday weekend. Again, I trained with the full marathoners. The coaches and my teammates are encouraging me to go ahead and do the full 26.2 miles. Yeah, I'm not buying it yet. I'm just happy that I am running well and have found a pace that suits me. :)
• 07.12.08: 5th Saturday Practice - "You just ran 6 miles. That's a quarter of a marathon." That's what everyone on my team keeps telling me. "Just do the full." Again, I'm not buying it yet, but I did have a great run. Next weekend is the 15k in Dallas and I am so excited!
• 07.23.08: This weekend was the Too Hot to Handle 5k! I ran a 44:68, which was a little under 15 minutes a mile. This 5k was really special though, so time really didn't matter to me. I ran/walked with my son, Gabe. We had fun "chasing" one another through the course. I'm now looking to do another just to keep me motivated for the half-marathon in November. :)
• 09.04.08: Whew! It certainly has been a while. The son has returned to school and joined football. That turned my world upside and left me with hardly any time to get online to update my website. I'm back in the saddle and looking for more donations. Back on August 13th, I recommitted to Team in Training and have reached 25% of my personal goal. Now, I just need to collect 75% more. :) I have been doing great with my training too! I've made most of the Saturday practices and finishing in good time. This weekend will be another 6 mile run which is almost half of the half marathon. Whoohoo!
• 09.13.08: Alrighty, people! I've been doing my miles. Made it up to 7 today in 1 hour, 38 minutes. Not too bad. That's about a 14 minute mile. I want to be a bit faster, but even at that pace, I should be able to finish the half-marathon in about 3 hours. :) Amazing, huh? I felt really good after the run and just a bit sore on Sunday. It feels really good to be able to accomplish such a thing. Now you as my visitors can help me accomplish something big and make a donation! We can save lives together.
• 09.27.08: I did 8 miles in 1 hour, 49 minutes. It was awesome! We ran through Brackenridge Park, then through parts of downtown. Just 5.1 miles to go before it's a half-marathon. :)
• 10.5.08: I didn't make it to practice yesterday. Luckily, it was a roll-back practice ... only 6 miles. I'll do my best to get my miles in this week for this upcoming Saturday. I'm working hard on getting more funds. This past week, I raised $100 from some truly generous friends. Just $1269 to go! Come on people, let's find a cure!
• 10.11.08: I would like to thank all those who have contributed to "raising the meter." Without you, blood cancer research and support would not be available to those who truly need it. This past Saturday I ran 9 miles! That's the most I have ever run in my life. It wasn't my best time but 2 hours and 17 minutes isn't something to be sad about. Just 4.1 more miles to reach my half-marathon distance. Waking up at 4:45 a.m. on Saturday mornings to train has, at times, been difficult...yet, thinking about 4-year-old Madison and other children who have a blood cancer disease definitely give me the motivation to run.