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.