It's hard to believe I am less than a month away from my first half marathon! I have come so far since my first training run. It was only 3 miles and I had to walk a lot of it. At that point, the only thought that crossed my mind was that I would never be able to run 13.1 miles! I would look at my training calendar and see the mileage increasing every week and think to myself, there’s no way I can do that! I would wake up every morning with an "I can't" attitude. Slowly but surely, that “I can’t” would turn to “I can!” as I began to finish my long runs.

I have been training hard- running on my own 3-4 times a week and meeting my group on Saturday mornings to do the long runs. Training has been hard!! I have sore knees, blistered toes, and many unmotivated moments. On my longest run to date (10.5 miles!!) the pouring rain soaked me to the bone, and my knees ached, but I thought about how fortunate I am. I am fortunate to be able to feel this pain and to push through it, to be able to run, and to be able to do this for those who can't.

I have logged 172.3 miles while training for my half marathon! It’s hard to believe that I have gone from walking part of my first training run to breezing through a 6.5 mile run before work!

This has been such an incredible journey! The best part of this experience has come in a form that was definitely unexpected. The responses to my fundraising emails are what I have enjoyed the most. People have been so generous with sharing their memories of my grandmother Betty. I have learned so much about her and the impact she had on the people around her. This has brought me so much closer to her in a way I didn’t know was ever possible.

Thank you to all those who donated, who will donate, and who are thinking about donating! Your support means much more to me than just reaching my goal. I’m almost there, and the extra support from you would be just what I need to stay motivated!

Grandma Betty and (great) Uncle Bill as kids

My (great) Uncle Bill, passed away from non-Hodgekins lymphoma in 1999

Helena de Delgado Lerzundy- passed away from leukemia in 2003

I need your support!

Welcome to my fundraising webpage! I am going to run the Rock n Roll San Diego 1/2 Marathon.

To many this may not seem like a huge accomplishment, it seems like everyone is running 1/2 marathons these days. But to me this is HUGE! Up until this year I have never run more than 2 miles (I'm at an all time high of 3 miles now). These long lanky legs of mine are not runner's legs. I am not a runner and never planned on being one. Unlike many people, running a 1/2 or full marathon has never been on my bucket list. I am much more content with a marathon of drinking, eating and football: that is more my speed.

This has all changed since I signed on at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. I have encountered so many inspirational people: cancer patients, survivors, friends and family who have lost someone to cancer and just average people wanting to do their part in finding a cure. I have stood on the sidelines and watched these people complete their endurance events and have seen their overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment.

I have never been content with standing on the sidelines and now I feel that it's my time to make a difference. This is not so much about me taking on a 1/2 marathon as it's about helping find a cure for blood cancers. Lymphoma is the very cancer that robbed me of a life time of memories with my Grandmother Betty.

Please make a donation in support of my run. I am full of doubt that I will be able to run for 3 hours straight (yes it will take me that long), but every dollar you donate is a vote of confidence and will motivate me to train harder and not give up!

Giving up isn't an option.

Thank you for your support, I am more grateful than you know.

Mo

Ps. Check back often to check on my progress!

On Valentine's Day, I held a bake sale in my office to raise money for my half marathon! Thanks to my sisters who helped me all weekend baking and decorating, and my co-workers Jincy and Diana who pitched in on the baking and selling, it was such a success! It was fun to tap into my artisitic side and spread some Valentine's Cheer and raise funds for such an important cause.

Happy Valentine's Day!

xox