Tons of great news!

We did it!! So much has happened since my last post so let me catch you up to speed.


#1 on the list, Ryan finished his last chemo treatment and has been delclared cancer free!!!! He will have to go through radiation just to make extra sure all cancer cells have been eliminated but his chemo is over and what great news to get just before we all headed over to San Diego.


On top of that Ryan and Sarah are now engaged!! He popped the question when they were at Fripp for a weekend in April and she said YES (of course)! I'm so excited for them!!


I'm working on the post to tell you all about the race and San Diego but there is so much to tell so I'll try to have it posted by tommorrow along with some great pics from the race weekend!

Minor setback

Three Sundays ago I did a 12 mile GTS run at the river. It was great- other than the grueling hill up Johnson’s Ferry. I swear it felt like I was running in place up that hill! It felt great to get that 12 miles in and afterwards I felt fine. I took the day off on Monday and then on Tuesday I noticed the top of my left foot was a little sore but I didn't think anything of it. I was in Kentucky for work with no option but to run on the tread mill so I set out to do 4 miles. My foot began hurting a little worse as I ran and then about an hour afterwards there was a little swelling and bruising on the top. I decided not to run Wed. on Thurs. and then when I got back in town on Friday I faxed a Team In Training form to the recommended podiatrist. I got a phone call that same morning and had an appointment set up for the afternoon. I am very impressed with the response time! Anyway, to make a long story short, they took some x-rays and I might have a stress fracture on the 3rd metatarsal :( They gave me a walking cast to wear for two weeks after which I will go back for another round of x-rays to see how the healing is progressing and then I'll either get to stop wearing the cast and start running again or the x-rays could reveal a true fracture and I will not be able to run for a while:( In the meantime I am able to exercise on the stationary bike or swim. I don't have easy access to a lap pool so I've been riding the stationary bike for the past 2 weeks. It is so boring but better than nothing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be running again by this Saturday but we'll see. I’ll report back after my appointment on Friday:)

First 10 miles!!

I'm at home in Albany this weekend to celebrate Easter with the family. My training schedule for this weekend says it is time for my first ten miler so I went to my favorite website for finding running routes this morning, favoriterun.com , and mapped out a 10 route near our farm in Sasser. I knew I wasn't going to be able to do this one alone so I recruited some great supporters, my Dad and Kurt. Kurt rode a bike behind me and my Dad was my mobile water station, driving his truck through the country side stopping about every two miles or so and waiting for me with bottles of water. I couldn't have asked for a better set up! Oh, I almost forgot two other very important supporters, Sweetie (my parent's dog) and their new puppy, Tate. Sweetie ran the whole 10 miles with me, in front, and never got tired. Once we got back to the farm she was wide open running though the fields for another hour. Tate on the other hand, being so young, rode in the back of the truck and watched.

So the first 9 miles were not bad at all but the last one was rough. My dad parked on the side of the road at the end of the 10th mile. When I got there we all jumped in the truck and my Dad, Kurt, Tate, Sweetie and I headed back to the farm. It was a perfect day for running through the country side. A cool 40 degrees, very unusual for this time of year, with beautiful sunny skies and not a cloud in site.



Sweetie and me running, Kurt riding the bike


Tate is pooped after watching me run:)




Happy Easter!:)

8 miles!

Saturday was unexpectedly cold! I guess it was the remnants of winter but with the nice warm weather we had the few days before it was a little bit of a shock. But the river run was great even in the cold:) Much flatter than the usual routes through Atlanta and the scenery along the river and Columns drive was beautiful! I still can't believe I ran 8 miles- the longest run to date. I now see the light at the end of the tunel and it feels great to know I am more than half of the way to my 13.1 mile goal! I sent in my application to the Peachtree Road Race (July 4th)- that will be a month after San Diego so I figure why not put all of this training to good use.

Dedicated to Ryan

Saturday's GTS was dedicated to Ryan. Before the team set out for their morning run Sarah shared Ryan's story with everyone. I'm sad to have missed this one but Sarah said it was amazing:)

No longer in my 20s

Last Thursday was the last day of being in my 20s! To make it memorable I decided to really push myself and ran a little over 6.5 miles on a route through Brookhaven that included some killer hills. When I got back to my apartment I laid down for a second and next thing I new I had been asleep for an hour! I don't think I've ever been that physically exhausted. After that my 4.5 miles run on Sunday felt like nothing. I had to miss the GTS on Saturday for a horse show but I still got some good exercise while riding so I'll consider that my cross training for the week:)

WOW!

I am truly blown away by the generosity of everyone who has made a donation through my Team In Training website!!! Your support and positive words are inspiring! Knowing there are so many people behind the Team In Training Mission makes the daily pounding of the pavement all the more worth it. I'm working diligently to fulfill my part of the bargain and am making progress every day!!

The Silent Mile

Once a season TNT holds an All-Sport GTS(Group Trianing Session). This session is a chance for all TNT participants, bikers, runners, and hikers to come together for training followed by a huge picnic at Piedmont Park. Yesterday was our All-Sport GTS day! It was a great opportunity for everyone to hang out with fellow teammates and meet other TNT participants training for other sports. The weather was gorgeous and it could not have been a more perfect day:).
Everyone met at the Park at 8am where we started our run with a "silent mile" to reflect upon our heroes and those we remember. We continued our run through Piedmont Park, Virgina Highlands, and Emory. Sarah and I ran in the 6 mile group which is our longest run to date! There were several hundred participants in all, running, biking, or walking, it was inspiring!!!

Honored Hero Party

This past Sunday was the honored hero party at Dave and Buster's. It was a great chance to meet our Georgia Chapter honored heros and see who we are running for! Here's a picture of everyone from the San Diego team that was at the party.



and a picture of Sarah and me with our personal honored hero, Ryan:)

Up to 5!

Since my last post I've run a total of 22 miles and I just id my first outside 5 miles this morning- yeah! Sarah and I have started doing the group runs from the Big Peach on Wednesdays. The first one we got a little lost on the Brookhaven course and ended up running a little more than the planned 4 miles to find our way back but we made it home safely:) This morning was the Saturday group training session and we ran from Peachtree Presbyterian Church to Peachtree St.and down Peachtree. I'm so excited that we did 5 miles! It was quite a challenging run as there were a lot of long gradual hills that never seemed to end:) We're making progress!!

Making progress!

Miles run (on purpose) in 2006: <3
Miles run in 2007 since Feb 1st: 33!

We've been in training since Feb 1st and it is going great! Sarah and I attended the GTS (Group Training Session) last Saturday - I missed the first one on Feb. 3rd so this was my first one. Everyone there training for the San Diego race runs together. It was such a great experience. Everyone is so positive and the energy is contagious. We ran 3-4 miles- it was an extremely cold but sunny day. I am looking forward to the next one. It is great to run and talk with other participants!

I'm not going to lie, the first few days of training were VERY hard. I had to push myself to make it to 2 miles, but in the second week things were easier and I'm up to 3-4 miles so I'm right on track. I'm really starting to enjoy running (never thought I'd say that) and it is a great stress reliever!

The night after we signed up! We're all smiles but we hadn't started training yet:)

What have I gotten myself into?

On June 3rd of this year, just a few months after my 30th birthday, I will be running my first ever half-marathon!

What could have inspired me to attempt to turn myself into a half marathon runner? Am I crazy, am I going through an early mid-life crisis as I approach the big 30? I’ve certainly never been a runner or even contemplated running 13+ miles! In fact my exercise program to date has consisted of walking 20 - 30 mins. 2-3 times a week - that is of course if the weather is good. I've never been a big fan of exercising in the cold or running for that matter. So why would I want to commit to running 5-6 times a week often early in the morning and in the cold?

Two dear friends, Sarah Dasher, who has been a great friend of mine since college and Sarah's boyfriend of 6 years, Ryan Watton were the biggest influences on my decision to take this challenge. Ryan was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma right before Thanksgiving last year. Hearing that Ryan had cancer was such a shock and really opened my eyes to the fact that it can and does happen to anyone. When Sarah asked if I’d like to go to an informational meeting about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training I was excited to go see what it was all about. I'll have to admit that in the back of my mind I was thinking that there was no way I was going to sign up to run a half-marathon but I thought I might be able to find another way to contribute. So we attended one of the January meetings where we watched an inspiring video about the program and talked with some very enthusiastic Team In Training staff members and past participants. After hearing stories of the many other "non-runners" who have taken the Team In Training challenge and have completed their marathons, triathlons, etc. I was inspired. The next thing I know Sarah and I were signing up for the San Diego Rock n' Roll half marathon.

We will be running for our honored hero, Ryan, the estimated 785,829 Americans living with blood cancers right now and in memory of those who have lost their battle with a blood cancer. In return for the support and training we'll receive from the Team in Training coaches and staff to reach our goal Sarah and I each pledged to raise at least $4,000 in donations.

I am starting this blog as a way to track my progress, and also to solicit support and feedback from my friends as I pass on the message of hope that The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society promotes. Thank you for supporting this cause with me!