Drumroll please...

Oh my gosh! I just totaled my donations so far (both online and through the mail) and I am so pleasantly shocked that I just can't get over it. So far, I have raised a total of $1,105.00!!! This is amazing, and I am so thankful to all of you who have donated to my cause.

I think one of the best things about this whole experience is learning about other's experiences. So many people have been touched by Leukemia or Lymphoma, and some have even participated with Team in Training before. It has been so cool and encouraging to hear about it all.

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing support system behind me. I'm a little nervous about my training in September, but knowing how many people I have cheering for me and believing in me, I feel so much better about it.

Thank you for believing in my cause and helping me!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Take a look...

Hello! Sorry it has been so long, I was on vacation (still running, I promise). Things are going really well with training- this past Saturday we ran 5 miles, and we just got together last night for some pacing drills. I took some pictures at the run on Saturday of the team....

The picture to the left is of some of my teammates, trickling in early on Saturday morning. We didn't run our usual route, instead we were at a Greenway trail in Charlotte. It was a lot of fun to be running through the (flat) woods, but the humidity more than made up for it!




So I know these are really blurry (we didn't stop running to take them), but you can see both the trails we were running on, and my running partners, Wendy and Linda. I have so much fun running with these ladies. They completely make up for the fact that I am without an ipod on these long runs :) Really though, I think that has been the best part so far, meeting people and getting to know about them while we run together.

And these guys are two of my five coaches. They were waiting at the finish to cheer us on. Now, to their credit, this is the first Saturday that they haven't ran with us. So even though they're eating bagels and drinking coffee in this picture, that usually only happens when we're all done running.

The coaches have been really helpful, not just because they make all the running routes and stuff, but they've been really encouraging with all the fundraising and questions we may have. And, next week is a nutrition clinic that I'm really looking forward to... a nutritionist is going to tell us what we should be eating, when we should be eating, and all the ins and outs of training. Yay!

As some of you are reading this, you're probably thinking to yourselves, "Allison, how come you are only running 5 miles for your long run when you have to run 26.2 miles in December?" Well, have no fear, my training schedule for September will change your mind. Saturdays in September go as follows: 6..8..10..12... yikes! I'm excited though, because I feel like I'm finally getting out of my comfort zone and really starting to work hard.

And finally, I want to thank everyone who has donated to my cause. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to check my mailbox, or my inbox, and see that someone has donated. I feel like I have such incredible support surrounding me and helping me through my runs.... thank you all!!!

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Martin Luther King Jr.

More to come

So training on Tuesday night wasn't bad at all. We did Indian runs, but in groups of five or six, so I was able to get to know some people a little bit better. I ran with a woman training for the Disney half marathon and we successfully distracted one another from the 90's heat. Yuck.

I ran somewhere around three miles today, which isn't bad at all. I don't think training will really get tough for me until next month, when we start running distances that I don't normally do on my own (i.e., anything above five or six). On Saturday morning, we're meeting in front of the coffee shop at 7am to run three miles, and then all the ladies have a women's clinic afterward. It should be interesting to hear about training from the perspective of a female coach.

I'm going to try to take some pictures on Saturday morning so I can post them up here. I thought it may be cool for everyone to take a look at the Team and all the people I've been hanging out with. As you'll be able to see, none of us look like your typical marathoner, but so far everyone has been able to finish every run, which I think is pretty impressive. At the kick-off meeting last week, they said that no one involved with Team in Training is usually out to win the race.... or even really finish with a great time. No one is trying to qualify for New York or Boston. The key is to go out, raise money for a very important cause, support one another, and finish the race you signed up for. Should be fun!

Okay, so look forward to the pictures, I'll probably put them up on Sunday!

Take care.

Gel packs and jelly beans

Happy Tuesday!

For all of my readers (currently 3 I think, no worries), I hope you are having a great day thus far.

Yesterday was a gear clinic with Team. I learned about a lot of great stuff that I am sure will be used in the next few weeks. I think my least favorite would have to be the gel packs. I'll have to use something, whether it's gel, energy jelly beans, or chews, to keep my sugars and energy up during the run. It was funny, one of my coaches was telling me that I'll probably need to use one per hour when I'm running my race. I hadn't really thought about the fact that I'll be running for hours... just focusing on the happy thoughts I guess. Ha.

Tonight we have our second group training, a workout at the YMCA. I think we'll be focusing on core strength and maybe doing some pacing to see how fast we should be running our miles. Even though it's disgustingly hot outside, I'm excited about tonight. I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how welcoming and genuinely nice everyone is. I haven't focused on all the miles I'll be running throughout my training (hundreds, I'm told), but instead on meeting all these wonderful people and getting to know them more each week. I'm so excited!

So, think of me tonight, I'll probably sweat half my body weight... Yay! Hope everyone has a great day!

Best.

The beginning

So if you know me at all, you're probably aware that creating a blog is completely against my nature. I never thought I would make one, mainly because I never had anything entirely pressing, or anything important, to talk about. I also never thought I would actually run a marathon, it was more of a, "maybe some day..." so I suppose I'm full of surprises. Let me explain:

As many of my friends and family already know, my Dad was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) about a year ago. My family was shocked, and we felt completely helpless in the situation. I had heard about Team in Training (TNT), a program that is run through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). I have agreed to raise money for LLS, to fight blood cancers, and in turn they have agreed to give me coaches, a team, and fully train me for a marathon on December 12, at Kiawah Island, SC.

The deciding factor for me was definitely the fundraising. I saw this marathon as my chance to do something about the situation- I can raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and that money will be used for any patient that needs help. LLS funds blood cancer research, and provides education and countless services for both patients and their families. If you would like to learn more about LLS, pleas visit their website: www.lls.org

My Dad is doing very well, he's actually training with TNT too, for the Kiawah half-marathon (and if you know my Dad, you realize how monumental this is. I don't think I have ever witnessed my Dad running in my entire life!). It's going to be a really great experience and I wanted to share it with all my donors, friends and family! So please check back, I'll be posting often and filling you in on my training and all the really amazing people I'm meeting through TNT. Go Team!