Miracle fruit is a berry that originally comes from bushes found in Africa. The berry contains a very dense protein that temporarily binds with some of your taste buds. For about an hour it will make sour foods taste very sweet. So, for instance, lemon tastes like lemon candy.

It’s a really fun sensation and worth a shot, if you’ve never tried it.

If you work in my office, you have a chance to try it out for yourself. Please RSVP by Friday, June 10th for a Miracle Fruit Party on Friday, June 17th at 1:30 PM.

You provide $20 to support families dealing with blood cancers. You can donate here, give me cash, or give me a check made out to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

We’ll provide the miracle fruit as well as a selection of sour foods to try including: lemons, limes, and grapefruit. We’ll also have some strawberries and other surprises.

Also, did you know that many patients on chemotherapy use miracle fruit? It can help get rid of the metallic taste that can be a side-effect of the treatment.

Learn more about miracle fruit on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum

Mmmmm. Delicious lemon candy.

On Friday Marie and I made a trip to the local running store. The first time you go to a running store, there's a process they go through to identify the right shoes for you based on your foot and running mechanics. They use a computer program to look at how you distribute your weight over your feet and camera mounted low on a treadmill to see how your ankle pronates as you step when running. The whole thing is pretty involved, but the idea is to come out of there with shoes that not only won't injure you but will actually help prevent injuries.

Sometimes, as you run more and more you become a more efficient runner and your requirements in shoes change. Within the 5 month span since the marathon, I've had two running injuy setbacks. I had a shin split problem and lately an achilles tendonitis problem. So I thought it might be time to get my feet checked out again.

So it turns out that yes, my running form has become a bit more efficient and yes I do distribute my weight over my feet more evenly. However, none of those items meant that I needed a new kind of shoe. It was a bigger surprise than that. Well, actually you might say it was a smaller surprise.

It turns out my feed actually shrank by at least a 1/2 size. So some of these problems might actually have been due to my shoe slipping around on my foot too much, especially during hill work.

So I'm now the proud owner of a pair of Nike Triax Structure 14s. Pretty much the same at the shoes I finished my first marathon in, but slightly updated and slightly smaller.

Here's hoping I can put these nagging pains away so I can focus on the more important mission at hand.

With luck, these shoes will carry us to the finish line along with our hopes of a world where blood cancers have been beat.

You may be wondering why I've chosen to join with Team In Training for this race.

As you may know, in January I completed my first every marathon (26.2) at the Walt Disney World Marathon. I'm a big fan of the Disney parks and it's a really good, flat beginner's course with lots of entertainment. It made a lot of sense to run there.

You may not know, however, that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was the beneficiary for the Walt Disney World Marathon. That's when I first saw the Team In Training folks out in force. Purple shirts everywhere!

And while, yes, I do like the color purple, it's not really one of my favorite colors. So, no, I didn't pick them for the jersey color.

I actually realized how important this cause is while running the race. Among the throngs of supporter cheering us on and helping us tick off the miles were people, children and families, impacted by blood cancer. They were out to support those supporting them.

Several times I passed by a families with a child in a stroller, up on their parent's shoulders, or in a wheelchair and yelling "This is why you're running!" I still get a little choked up thinking about it.

That's when I really got it. These folks are fighting harder for their families and children everyday than I was trying to get through 26.2 miles. After looking these folks in the eye, that's when I really knew I had to help too.

They are why I'm running.

Quite the auspicious start.

I've been training to run the Peachtree Road Race which is a 10K though the streets of Atlanta. To that end, I did a solid 5 mile run on Saturday the 14th that felt great. Then, I decided to go on a 5 mile hike with my wife.

Yeah, that last 5 miles was a mistake. I started having some foot pain before the end of it that I now believe to be achilles tendonitis. So I haven't run a step since then.

So here I am starting out my half marathon training not by running; by cross-training on the bike and elliptical. Fortunately the heel pain seems to improving a little bit day by day. So I'm hopeful that, by this weekend, I'll be out on the road again even for just a short 2 miler.

I've got to get better. Thousands of lives and families are depending on it!

You've found it. This is the next great challenge for me as an "adult onset athlete": helping fight blood cancers!

Come this fall I'll be participating with Team in Training to run the 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon in Anaheim, CA. It'll be my 3rd half marathon, but the first time doing it for such an important cause.

If you've received one of my donation letters or come here from one of my links, you already know how important I believe the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to be. It's a mission that works!

Their outreach and support impacts thousands of individuals and families today. Their research is funding treatments and cures likely to impact millions more!

Your gift of $50.00 will go a long way towards making that goal a reality. Anything you can give will help and is tax-deductible.

To sweeten the deal, when I meet my fundraising goal, I'll be dying my hair blue for the race. And I'll keep it that way for a few weeks after. You don't want to miss that!

(Running my first 5k)