It is the final countdown to marathon day! Two weeks from now, I should have finished my race and be enjoying a flamenco show with my Team in Training friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has encouraged me along this journey! I am so very appreciative of the friends and family that surround me and help me believe that I CAN accomplish big goals like running a marathon while raising over $6000 to fund critical research that will someday cure cancer.

I don't think I have shared this before, but I will be dedicating portions of my race to the many patients and survivors that inspire me to keep working towards a cure. I am running in thanks for the health of Hans, Yanni, Melissa, Janell, Shane, Darren, and Steven. These names just barely scratch the surface of the survivors that I have met, but it inspires me to see each of them thriving despite a blood cancer diagnosis.

I also want to honor the sacrifices made by those lost to cancer, including Cathy, Nick, and Tyler. Each of them was lost far too young, which greatly increases the pain of their loss.

Finally, I am dedicating some of my energy to the caregivers for the patients above. Spouses and siblings and parents that make sacrifices during treatment and learn to live with the big C fight a very different battle, but it is a valiant battle all of the same. To each of my fellow caregivers, I salute you and the many ways that you demonstrate your love and support!

I'll try to post some photos from the race (assuming my mother can actually find me in the midst of all the other runners) so that you can see how much "fun" I am having over there.

Thanks again for the gift of encouragement and the generous financial support that you have provided along the way for the last 6 months!

Madrid -- Here I come!!

I accomplished an unexpected goal this weekend, as I completed my first half marathon. Though it may be surprising to hear, I never had a goal to run a marathon. I prefer the shorter races, as my lifelong training in soccer is much more conducive to sprints. It was the LLS's Team in Training program that convinced me to do it. I originally was planning to complete a triathlon through the program, but figured that wasn't a big enough goal as I have already completed triathlons. I decided instead to go big and train for the marathon.

As we begin to approach the big day, my coaches suggested that those of us who have never run a marathon should enter a half marathon race to help us develop a race strategy and learn what the full marathon might be like. It turns out that a lot of thought goes into running for multiple hours. I have to figure out what and when to eat or drink, the day before and during the race and after the race. Most likely I will be running for 5-6 hours in Madrid, so I have to think about when to let my body take a break and walk.

The half marathon definitely helped with all of that. I think I started out running a little bit too fast, so I will have to be more careful in Madrid. But, even though I walked more than I wanted to in the 2nd half of the marathon, I FINISHED! I was only about 10 minutes behind my goal time which gives me hope that I will be able to complete the Madrid race within the time limit after learning more about racing for a long time.

It was much harder than I imagined it would be, but it was also my longest run to date. Up until this point, my longest run had been 10.5 miles. I bested that by a good amount with 13.1 miles logged today. My run tracker tells me that I burned over 1500 calories during the run. Can you believe that? It might explain why I am always ravenous these days. :)

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me along the way today! It was such a great treat to have Facebook posts giving me strength before the race and helping to celebrate my accomplishment when all was said and done.

Six weeks until race day!

(Pictures are available on my blog: bledsoebattle.blogspot.com)

On Saturday, March 10th, I will be participating in my very first half marathon (and breaking me current running distance record of 10.5 miles) running up the east side of Lake Sammamish from Issaquah to Redmond. I'm getting excited for the race, but am especially thankful that my friend Carrie is running with me (along with several other Team in Training runners).

Thanks to everyone who has generously donated to my fundraising efforts. It feels so good to make a difference!

See you all on the other side of my half marathon!

I bought my plane tickets to Madrid this week, so I am feeling like this marathon thing is actually real now. Here's looking at you, Madrid!

Of course, I booked a few "recovery days" in Spain after the race, so I am going to make the most of that time. I can't wait!!

I'm very excited for my "easy week" this week. Out long run on Saturday is only 90 minutes long, so it is a "short" one. What universe do I live in now that running for an hour and a half is a short run? It blows my mind!

But... If you compare to last week's 2 hour run (with the same anticipated for the couple weeks after this one), this Saturday will be a comparatively easy one for me. I'm looking forward to actually being able to run strong throughout the long run.

Check out http://bledsoebattle.blogspot.com for a picture of us after our 2 hour run last weekend. Isn't great to have so many teammates to cheer you on each week?