Fund raising and Training Update 01/27/10-

I've been meaning to update for a while but I've been pretty busy with training, fund raising, and physical therapy.

Fund Raising-

First I want to give a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who has donated so far!

Fund raising has been going pretty well. I'm at about 36% of my goal. I'm really hoping that I will be able to reach my goal by my re-commitment date in February so I can focus on my training. I'm working on a sports themed fund raiser which will hopefully be all set up and ready to go soon. I just have a few things I need to get ready before I post the details.

I've also sent in a proposal for a casual day fund raiser at work, I'm just waiting to hear back from HR on that. Hopefully I'll know more on that soon, keep your fingers crossed for me!

But right now while I'm getting those other fund raisers set up I'm having another one on my Etsy shop. For every item purchased from my shop at www.tamisha.etsy.com 75% of proceeds will go towards my fundraising goal! I've created a new line of jewelry called Beautiful Awareness specifically for this fund raiser. So please check it out at www.tamisha.etsy.com and pass the link on to everyone! :)

Training-

I'm not gonna lie, training has gotten a lot tougher lately. I have an old injury that's been causing some knee pain as well as some new knee and foot injuries. I've been in physical therapy for a couple of weeks now so it's starting to get better but I also had to lay off regular training for a while. I'm back to the point where I'm able to walk the same distance as I should be running so that's good. In fact last Saturday I walked 8 miles! Who would have thought I'd ever walk EIGHT miles lol. But I do it because it's important and it's something I can do to help a great cause. I made a couple of video blog updates after some runs (including the 8 mile walk) and you can see them and future ones here-

http://www.youtube.com/user/TamishaSewell

I'll be doing another video update after my run this Saturday too. :) You can also see pictures I've posted from fund raisers and runs at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tamishadesign/sets/72157622833795297

Well, I hope that wasn't to boring to read :p. Thanks again to those who have helped and thanks in advance to those who will! Please feel free to pass the link to this page or any of my others to anyone you know!

Finally, a Fundraising and Training Update!

It's been about a month now since I started training and fundraising. Things have been going pretty well so far, a few little hiccups here and there but good over all.

Fund Raising-

I started my fund raising right away with my donation page. It's been pretty effective so far, as of right now I've raised $210 online so it's definitely been my best fundraiser so far. I think part of the reason it has been succesfull is that during the month of November I ran a contest for a piece of jewelry handmade by me and gave out custom buttons for donations. It was also successfull because it was very easy for people to forward the donation page link on to friends and family. I also made it even easier by setting up www.teamtamisha.com which is easier to remember than my original link and forwards directly to this page. So if you haven't already, please pass on the link www.teamtamisha.com to anyone who might be interested in helping! :)

I also held a couple of other small fundraisers. On black Friday Ross and I went down to Wal-Mart and sold Coffee, Coco, and Cookies. Unfortunately we couldn't pick up the coffee until about 5:30 that morning and they started letting people make their purchases at 5:00 so the line was gone when we got there. We only made $12 in 2 hours but hey it's $12 we didn't have before that. I took in the left overs to work and took donations for them there. We made about $20 total on that one. Then at work I had a drawing where you could purchase cookies and you would also get chances to win a stocking full of relaxing items like a mini spa pack, chocolates, and a scentted candle. I made right around $20 on that one too. I recently recieved a donation of 4 tickets from The Grizzlies (local hockey team) and I'm waiting on replies to similar donation requests from other sports teams in the area. I'm planning a big sports themed fund raiser so more on that soon!

Training-

My first run went pretty well. It was only about 2 miles and I had been doing about 3 to 4 before that but I walked most of those. I ran off and on for that run. Pretty good since I just quit smoking a few days before then. I've had a little trouble stayin on track with my training because of my hectic work schedule and school schedule but the semester is almost over and I'll e taking the next semester off to take a break from school and so I can focus on my training and fund raising.

Last Saturday was a bit of a challenge for me. I thought I was having allergy problems but it turns out I have bronchitis yet again. Between that and my asthma I had quite a bit of trouble on Saturdays run but once we got back to the running store and I sat down for a while I started feeling a little better. I think I'll do much better this week since I'm back on a controller medicine for my asthma and allergies. I also got my new running shoes at the clinic we had after the run Saturday so no more blisters for me! Ok, I might still get blisters but I should get fewer now that I have shoes that fit properly.

I've got a 4 mile run next Saturday. It'll be the fathest I've run so far but I know I can do it! Go Team!

Oh and you can check out photos from team runs and fund raisers at http://flickr.com/gp/tamishadesign/UZX00b (There's not a lot up yet but I'll be adding more soon!)

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome

to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to

participate in a half marathon as a member of The Leukemia &

Lymphoma Society's (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! The special patient I am honoring is Austin, he is an amazing 4 year old who is fighting "The Monster". You can learn more about him at www.spidermanfightscancer.com .

I'm also doing this half marathon in memory of my mother Loretta LaForte who has inspired me in so many ways. She fought even at the end and I know she's happy somewhere knowing that I'm doing something so good in her memory. If I can help keep even one family from going through the suffering created by cancer then my time and hard work will be completely worth it.

**From now until the end of November anyone who makes a $10 donation will recieve a free 2 1/4" custom button and anyone who makes a donation of $25 will recieve 2 custom buttons and be entered to win a free custom jewelry piece hand made by me! If you make a larger donation you will recieve more chances to win. $50 will get you 3 chances to win, $75 will give you 4 chances to win, $100 will give you 5 chances to win, and $200 will give you 10 chances to win!**

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!