Thank you to everyone who has donated to my cause. I'm amazed at people's support and generousity. Those of you whom have visited this site previously or who have received any of my mailing, will noticed that I changed my goal from $3500 to $2800. I changed this because I changed a couple things that lowered my fundraising minimum.

Please do not let this deter you from donating. I still need to raise funds to meet my goal and if I raise $3500 or more that's incredible.

If I haven't yet thanked you for your donation, I haven't forgotten you. I thank you and I will be sending you a personal message.

Onto week 9 of training. 10 more weeks to go.

Michelle

This is Tim. He's a monkey. But he's not just any monkey, he's a spirit monkey. Every Saturday Tim is given to a Team in Training (TNT) team mate. Tim's job is to help that team mate for the week. He might help the team mate as a reminder to train, or be the mascot for fundraising that week, or get the team mate through some rocky times with their friends and family who are fighting cancer. Every Saturday Tim goes home with someone new. This past Saturday, Tim came home with me.

This Saturday was a great time for me to get Tim. Last week our coaches sent out an email that Seattle Marathoners who run at a 12+ min/mile pace have a Saturday starting time of 7 AM instead of 8 AM. Yes, friends, thats 0700. When I read the email my eyes grew wide. I heard this was coming, but it's different to actually see it written down. 7 AM...so that means, I wake up around 5:45 AM so I can chow down breakfast and be on the road by 6:15/20 AM. Wow...

However, last week I also received an update on my friend, Greg. His bone marrow is producing cancerous cells so they need to harvest his stem cells, kill his marrow, and then give him his stem cells so his body can build bone marrow that produces good cells. Compared to that, getting up early to run is nothing.

So, my Running Wonder Twin, Liana Shanes, and I meet up at 6:20 AM and head out to Saturday's location, Lincoln Park in West Seattle. It's rainy and we're sleepy, but awake. Then we discover that the 7 AM start time is for those running the FULL marathon. Since we're running the 1/2, we could go back to the car and sleep for an hour or run early. We decided to just go ahead and run.

Lincoln Park is a beautiful location with a part of the trail running along the Pacific Ocean. It was rainy and cold and we both had some physical issues, but Liana and were out there for the whole 70 minutes and I went longer than I've ever gone!

To round out the long weekend, on Monday evening, our friend Chris Pirillo hosted us on his live stream and we raised over $1000 through the people in his community. I am in awe of the generousity of people and stunned by how many people in the community were touched by cancer. It brought me back to Saturday's mission moment...Cancer doesn't just touch the person who has cancer, but it touches their family, their friends, their work, their entire lives and the lives of those around them. Thank you so much to Chris' community for sharing their stories and helping us raise money to fight cancer.

I have to admit I think that having Tim the spirit monkey this week helped with the 70 minute run and raising so much. I hope some of his spirit floats down to Greg and helps him with his treatments.

Each week the team member who brings Tim home returns him with a new adornment This week, Tim is going home with a new tattoo.

This is Tim recovering after getting his new heart shaped tattoo.

I had my first official training session this past Saturday, July 31st. I woke up at 6:50 AM, put on my gear, mixed up some Zym, and was out the door by 7:40 AM. When I arrived at Footzone a little before 8 AM, I was surprised to see so many people there. Let me tell you, it's a definite boost to see everyone and the smiling coaches and mentors.

After a few announcements we walked over to Bellevue park and the gravel path. On the way over, I met some new people and heard some inspiring stories. We all have different reasons for taking on this endeavor and are starting at different fitness levels. Encouraging each other during the run has a different impact when you know the story of the person you're cheering.

After the run it was back to Footzone for a shoe clinic, foot assessment, and shoe recommendation. Ginny, the manager, looked at my feet, watched me stand, walk, run and then do it all over again in various shoes. The result? Saucony ProGrid Triumph 7, an experiment since I have a weird combination of low arch and neutral gait. I left feeling pretty good with new shoes in hand.

Update: After a couple of runs, I realized the shoes were not for me. I went back to FootZone and they reassessed me and exchanged my shoes. The final result? Asics Gel Kayano-16s.

This past week has been really good. I still mix walking and running, but I'm feeling stronger. I posted how Wednesday's run was good, Thursday's was tougher, but I'm running, as slow as it might be, up the hills and feeling good about it. The last couple of weeks have just been tough and I began feeling like I was running through sludge, but this week has been full of win. Each run has its tough section, but also great points of accomplishment and I'm recovering better.

This is the first week where I feel like I am really becoming a runner.

Yesterday's run was our 60 minute run where we figure out our pacing. For the first mile, I clocked myselft at 12'06". Though it's not my fastest recorded mile (11'23"), that's pretty good for me. The 2nd mile didn't go as well and I had a major stitch in my side so there was much more walking, but many minutes later, I caught up with my team mate, Liana Shanes, on the way back and challenged her to a sprint at the end. Man that girl is FAST. She beat me by a large margin, but we finished with whoops and cheers from our Team in Training team mates who finished before us.

That is the huge thing about Team in Training (TNT)...besides the great coaching and resources, what really helps are the smiles, the support, the encouragement, and the "Go Team!" cheer shouted by team mates, former TNT team mates, and TNT supporters that I hear as I'm running. The running community gives me so much encouragement. A lady I met while running asked me about my race. I told her which one. Then she asked if it was my first. I told her "Yes" and she responded with a big grin before she ran ahead, "It starts with one. Then you'll do one or two next year. Then you'll think 'It's just easier if I keep running' and next thing you know, you'll do 9 in a year. Good luck!"

9? Hmmm...well, let me just finish this 1/2 Marathon first. Then maybe the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in Phoenix in January...maybe.

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Just a quick reminder,

If your company offers matching contributions when you donate, find out what you need to do so they match this contribution. Most companies match funds and can double your efforts. If you're not sure, check this list.

If you are matching gifts please choose:

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

The Washington/Alaska Chapter

530 Dexter Avenue North

Suite 300

Seattle, WA 98109

Note: Michelle Gamboa, Team in Training - Seattle 1/2 Marathon 2010

The Power of Your Money:

$1000 supports one week's salary for a medical researcher at UCSF, Stanford, or Berkeley who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

$500 provides a blood cancer patient with financial assistance for one year.

$500 allows 10 patients to log on to a webcast and hear the latest information in treatment for their disease.

$200 provides a Family Support Group Program for one year for a patient and their family.

$150 allows 5 patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

$100 provides 3 patients access to an information teleconference.

$75 is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

$50 is the cost of a CT scan

$40 is the cost of sending a comprehensive packet of information for children with cancer.

$35 pays for transportation expenses for a patient living in Northern California's most rural areas to treatment at a comprehensive cancer center.

$25 covers a single prescription co-payment.

$5 is the cost of sending a newly diagnosed patient information about support and their disease.

First of all, thank you to all who have donated to my fundraising page. I am $125 away from my next Team in Training incentive due on Sept 14 and 25% towards my overall goal! Thank you all for your faith and support.

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I was a little worried about how my run would go tonight because I haven't ran for a week. I took some time off to work at Gnomedex and since I spent 2 and a half days walking around Bell Harbor as part of my duties (and around Seattle as part of my social partying), I was tired and felt that at least I was getting exercise.

I met Mentor Cathy at the Redmond Watershed a little after 6 PM. This was my 2nd run through the Watershed. It's a beautiful trail full of inclines and declines and definitely a workout for all the stability muscles in my feet and legs...a very different and more difficult exercise than the flat Sammamish River Trail path that I ran January - July and the one hill of the Kelsey Creek Park.

I am happy to report that I ran the 15 minutes into the trail and most of the 20 minutes back up a lot of the steep inclines. My legs and feet didn't hurt and I'm feeling really good...especially about running all that way.

We'll see how tomorrow's run goes, but I'm very pleased with this one.