Country Music Marathon!!!

Feeling a little lazy right now. Click HERE to read all about it!!!!!

Ready or not, here I come!

I had better be ready, because the 1/2 marathon is Saturday! I made shirts for Audrey and Ben to wear, and put my name on my singlet. Audrey told me she would cheer for me the whole time. She thinks I'm going to win the race.....I'll let her believe that.

I'm the one running, but this is hardly about me at all. It's about those who have cancer, had cancer, or who will get cancer in the future. It's about healing the sick, preventing future occurrences, honoring those who survived, and remembering those who lost their fight.

Glenda Brown is represented on all of this season's race singlets. She told Leukemia to take a hike and has been in remission for many, many years. Glenda is also a dear family friend, and I am proud to be honoring her!

5,011 reasons...

....to say THANK YOU! I made it to my $5,000 goal and could not be more grateful to all of you who donated. You all have been so generous and have made a huge difference in this world by giving to this cause. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will use your donations to directly help families who are struggling and to also fund research to work toward a cure for all blood cancers. I am overwhelmed by the amount of support that has come my way, and by the amount of money that you all helped me raise.

61 different people donated, averaging $82 per donation. I'd say that's quite impressive. I have such generous friends and family and even received donations from people I have not seen in 10 or more years. I can't say thank you enough!

The "big race" is next Saturday and I am ready to rock! It's going to be a blast and I will be wearing my purple with pride! Go TEAM!

All of you are Rockstars in my book!

Sara Mellander
Jessica Digh
Eric Berry
Kristen Holland
Stacey Mercuri
Laura DeBeer
Stefanie Cole
Bill, Julia, William and Patrick McKee
Katy Dudley Wilcox
Sande Jason and Lukas Thompson
Jamie Sexton
Brook Hill
Kristen Heaney
Emily and Shaun Fowler
Carolyn Phillips
Don and Anita Barry
Colleen Marable
Jerra Fortner
The Sparks Family
Robert Bloxom
Keith Hanchett
Courtney Whittaker
Janelle Kjoelen
Jenny Burris
Rebecca, Greg & Macy Fallon
The Carr Family
Mary Elizabeth Schnur
Wyatt and Glenda Brown
Frank & Lindsay LaSala
Marcia Fulton
Polie Parnell
Zach and Kim Johnson
Pop and Yaya
Sandra Coyer
Helen Pahler
Charles Thompson
Jessica Bojic
Glennys Rubin
Kelly Stamey
Sally House
Marjorie Davis
Cindy Plank
PHYLLIS B LUISI
Raymond and Deon Jones
Wallace & Wanda Berry
Sandra & Joseph Sciortino
Winston & Cara Brasor
Martha Charlebois
Vicki Sain
Teresa & Sanjiv Lakhia
john and kelly tritschler
Ernest Pruitt
Patrick Ferguson
Buddy and ME
Dawn Sorrentino
Bryan Pruitt
Shaf and Melinda Holden
Kate and Beau Hutto
Barbara Stein
Kady, Dan, and Maggie Cipriani
Jim House
Connie Rheinecker

Race Fest

It's another 10K under my belt....another challenge, and another practice in hill climbing. Jeff and I ran the 10K Charlotte Race Fest this weekend and had a great time. It's such a different feeling than a huge race like the Cooper River. We got there less than an hour before the start and had plenty of time to pick up our packets and get in place to race. It was fun. My time was within 20 seconds of my Cooper River time, so I guess I can say that I am consistent. The good news about this race is that a) I got a medal, and Audrey thinks I am super cool, and that Daddy and I WON the race, and b) I tried a new energy gel and it was much easier to tolerate than the cement glue-ish version of another brand that I had previously tried, and barfed in the sink! It's only 2 weeks away from the BIG race! I got all my miealge in this weekend by doing 4 today and am looking forward to the real deal.

I'm such a Rockstar!!!!

One of the really cool things about TNT is all the support and cheers you get from your coaches and teammates. A few weeks ago I got a phone call from one of my mentors telling me that I am a Rockstar!!! That means that I was $1,000 over my goal. Today I received a black TNT hat with "Rockstar" embroidered on it. What can I say I always knew I was a Rockstar.....ok, maybe not, but it's nice to be one now. A HUGE thank you goes out to all of you for donating to this worthy cause and making me the Rockstar that I am today! By the way, this girl ran 12 miles again today and it came a lot easier than the last 12 miles I did. That's the way it's supposed to be, and it is nice to feel the improvement. Have a wonderful day and be sure to have a blessed Easter. There is no more exciting day than Easter.

The Breakup

It's not like I was looking for them, they just kind of came to me. That is, if you call all the online shoe stores that send me emails daily, then yes, they found me. The Adidas shoes served me well to get me started running, but these new Mizunos seem to really work for me. Sorry Adidas, it's not you, it's me. I'll still use you for cross-training, but it's me and Mizuno for the big race!

Cooper River Bridge Run

Jeff and I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run this past Saturday and it was COLD! I was hoping for a little something warmer, but we warmed up quickly after we started running. We waited in our "corral" for over an hour and froze. My hands were tingling for the first 3 miles due to the clenched position they were in for the previous hour. It was a great run though and we saw some fun costumes and even some people we knew, not all 40,000 of them though.
Oh, my time....1:04:21.

The view behind us from behind Jeff's altitude.

Cold, but smiling.

Hanging' with the CFA cow after the race. Audrey was MOST impressed with this one!

The lizard that hitched a ride home on our mirror on the way home to CLT. We finally pulled over after an hour or so and set him free.

Why we run

This came from one of my team mates:

The below message in from the family of a beautiful 8 year old named Caroline Sherrill. She is in my daughter's class at Davidson Elementary and she has been suffering from a brain tumor and leukemia. Please say a prayer for her and her family today and keep doing all that you are doing to find a cure.


We're near the end
Posted 43 minutes ago
This update is hard to put out, but I'll try the best I can. Caroline's body has started to shutdown now. The last few days have been very peaceful, but she's stopped eating and drinking a few days ago. At this point, we have hours left rather than days.

Mary and I have both talked to her and told her that's it's OK to let go now. She's been protective of us though all of this and she's fighting to hang on. Yesterday was the last day that she was able to communicate through simple yes and no. The exception to that is during my talk with her. I told her that God must have really loved us, because out of all the little girls he could have given me, he gave me the best one. In classic Caroline style, she was able to get out "I know".

While we know that it's time for her to go back to God, it's so hard to let go. We are now just spending time holding her and being together as a family. Please pray for peace and comfort for our family.

ONE

One month until I am sitting back, relaxing, and thinking about the half marathon I just ran with Team in Training and how I raised over $5,000 for blood cancer research. Oh wait, wake up, Ginger. You are not at $5,000 yet.That means YOU need to help me by donating $5, $20, $100, or anything that you can offer. I am very excited about the upcoming race. I ran 4 on Tuesday with the team and ran faster than I normally do. I am experimenting with "GU." I'll blog about that one later. In preparation for the 1/2 marathon, I am running the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston for the 2nd time. It will be good to get some race experience in before I do the "biggie." I'll be sure to post pictures next week from the Cooper River, and continue to urge you to open your wallet and throw some change my way. Change for change....thanks!!!

12

I did it! I ran 12 miles this morning, and I am still alive and well enough to tell you about it! 7 am came early this morning, but those 12 miles weren't going to run themselves, so I made it out and did it! Miles 9-10 were not the most fun I have ever had, but I always perk up in the last mile or so. Nothing really hurts, I'm just tired, so I call this a successful run! Look out Nashville, here I come. First though, I will be tackling the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston next weekend. I should be able to run that with relative ease, but you never know. It will be fun, nonetheless.

Wow!

I am way more impressed with your generosity than I am with my snowboarding skills! Thank you all for your overwhelming donations thus far. It really blows me away to see how much all of you have pulled together and supported my quest to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!! Today was my last day on the slopes here in Jackson Hole, and that is a good thing. My body is asking me to take a break. I got one heck of a workout this week and had an amazing time. I will be back at the run this weekend with 6 miles. Thanks again for all of your incredible generosity, and keep the money coming so blood cancers can take a long walk off a short pier.

Crosstraining

Where have I been? I apologize for not having posted in a week. I am on vacation in Jackson Hole, WY right now and am doing some serious crosstraining! Crosstraining is a big part of the TNT program so you can build endurance, cardio, and also keep all of your muscles strong to prevent injury. I did run 9 miles the day before I left for vacation and let me tell you, although I am on vacation, I am working my tush off! Ouch! Snowboarding is so much fun, but I am using muscles that I did not know I had. We snowboarded for 7 straight hours yesterrday and that my friends, is a serious workout! Day 2 on the slopes today and everything hurts, but we are having a great time. I am looking forward to getting back into the run next week, but rest assured that I am preparing my body for this half marathong every day!

Seriously??

It's snowing out there. Fast and furious snow. It's like I'm watching Doctor Zhivago or something out of my own window. Needless to say, the team run did not happen tonight. Grrr. So, I went to the Y and did my 4 miles and felt great despite some sort of hip issue that I am having. When I was leaving the Y it was solid white outside. It has been snowing all day, but I was really surprised to see the snow coming down that hard. While it is lovely to watch, and my daughter is thrilled with more snow, I'm more than a little "over" it. However, I realize that anyone who has cancer of any kind is "over" their illness more than I have ever been "over" anything. Just keep running. Please keep giving.

Thou shalt not neglect the Saturday run update....

Yesterday I ran around the rural roads not too far from our house instead of doing the Team run. Jeff is on call this weekend and I needed to be closer to home in case he got called. Let's just say that the team run is a lot more fun. I did manage to squeak out 8 miles, dodge lots of roadkill, cars going over the speed limit, and a lot of dogs not on leashes. My left hip and whatever muscles it involves is also in quite a bit of pain. I am doing my darnedest to stretch it out and see if I can get it back to normal. I did my 3 today with Ridley and am going to relax and watch the USA vs Canada gold medal game. GO Team USA!

Another reason to run

A dear family friend emailed me this week and told me that a friend of their family was just diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She is 28 years old. You never know when or where or who one of these horrible diseases will pop up. If ever I was feeling unmotivated to run, I have yet another reason to get out there, run hard, work hard, pray hard, and keep raising more money for this great cause. Please take a look at Ashley's caring bridge page. pray for her, encourage her, and support her and everyone else who is dealing with a blood cancer.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ashleysullivan1

The Little Things

So, you've started running a lot, and you think about just getting through it. My recent knowledge has enlightened me to the little things.... What about shoes, socks, and who ever would have thunk it...laces. So...I added some amazing socks and some hassle free laces to my routine..... such a difference- who knew! The laces are the bungee type laces that you only have to "set" once. I am totally on board with these, and the only cost around $6!!!! It is such a thrill to find the little things that make running so much easier.

My shoes and my new laces.

2 Months

Two months from now I will have completed the Country Music Half Marathon and will be celebrating a great run with my TEAM. Everything seems to be running smoothly with my training. I'm slightly ahead of schedule on my mileage and nothing aches or hurts too badly. Yay!
If you happen to be in the Birkdale area on Saturday mornings or Tuesday nights and see a bunch of people running around, give us a shout out and root us on!

8 Minute Mile

No, no, it wasn't me running the 8 minute mile. I prefer a 10-ish minute pace, however I had a bit of an unexpected workout with resistance training this afternoon while I took Ridley for a run. Who would have thought that the lazy old dog who lays on the love seat all day and can barely be bothered by anything but food would be such a fast runner? I spent the first 2 miles pulling back on the leash to try to get him to slow down. Those 4 legs can move fast! When he wasn't running at warp speed, he was playing a game of "name that scent," so it was hard to get a good pace going today, but we met our 3 mile goal for the day. Ridley gave me a little break for about a half mile before he decided to ramp it up again. I'm going to have to get in better shape if I want to keep up with my "lazy," old dog!

At least he was tired in the end. He spent about an hour in this position, conveniently located next to the water bowl.

Seven Mile Morning

Ahhh, the sunshine!!! So what if it was still 30 degrees this morning, the sun was shining! I have been out of the game all week due to a lovely stomach bug that kept me couch bound all week, but I went out for the team run this morning and made 7 miles look easy! I guess resting my legs all week really paid off. That, and the fact that there was no snow on the ground. I am very proud of myself as 7 miles is the farthest I have ever gone on foot. It definitely helps that I have met some really cool people through the team, and have some running buddies that enjoy the slow and steady pace that I have. Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of this sunny day and will be back at it tomorrow with 3 easy miles. The challenge: I'm taking Ridley with me tomorrow.

Another snow day.

Seriously, this is North Carolina, not Minnesota! What's with all the snow? Our Saturday morning Team run was canceled due to 4 inches of snow on the ground, but we did have our gear clinic at "Run for Your Life." It was very informative and I did learn a lot. I managed to get my 6 miles in on Sunday with another team mate who lives close by. Today is Zumba for crosstraining and then running tomorrow again. Things are coming along and I am making progress!

Best foot forward

It is official! I DO NOT have 2 left feet. I had my feet analyzed today by a chiropractor that works with Team in Training. He has worked with the TEAM for several years and offers free injury prevention info and free gait analysis. Results: I am likely not to fall apart any time soon.

According to the computer, I am somewhat balanced, more so on the left, and a little wonky on the right. Tell me about it. I carry Ben on my left hip. Tsk, tsk, Mommy.

As it turns out, I am a mega-pronator. Hmmm. I could have sworn that I was a supinator, but either way I need "motion control" shoes. I'll be at "Run For our Life" on Saturday for the Gear Clinic. I think my feet have finally shrunk back down from being pregnant too, so maybe a new pair of shoes is in order? We'll see.

By the way, I did my 3 miles today. I HATE the treadmill. Please, please weather, get warmer. I have to do the treadmill on Thursdays because I am not mean enough ro submit my children to tundra-esque weather and sub zero wind chill. Come on Mr. Golden Sun, please, please shine down on me!

Brrrr.

Wow. This has been the longest, coldest winter I have ever been a part of. Ok, so I'm from Florida, so that is not saying much. However, this is rare for North Carolina as well. What does that mean for my training? It means that I put on a hat, gloves, and a raincoat if necessary, and make it work. This was never my ideal, but I must say it's not so bad. We have not had a day above 35 degrees since I started my training and I admit I am getting used to it. I always remember that doing what I am doing is much easier than chemo. I can do it. I can do it for LLS.

Welcome!

Welcome to my Team in Training blog! I have been training with TNT for 3 weeks now and am going to run the Country Music Half Marathon on April 24, 2010. Having never run such a distance before, and still blaming "baby weight," I was a little nervous taking on this endeavor. No more. I am excited, proud, and ready to run. Sure, I may not, ok, and definitely not the fastest or most graceful runner out there, but I'm passionate about this cause! i am running with experienced runners, couch to marathon programmers, people like myself, AND cancer survivors! It is a great group of people, and an organization I am proud to associate my tired, sweaty self with.