Christy

Week 4 of training for the San Diego 1/2 Marathon through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training Program is DONE! What an amazing week it was!

First thing first! Thanks to all of my fabulous donors this week!

• My husband, Brian, donated $250. That blew my socks off. Yeah, those knee socks that he loves to hate. Thanks babe, I love you, and happy anniversary tomorrow!
• Steve Lenard donated $100. Steve is my insurance agent, and has been for 15 years. Gotta love that he responded to my email pleas with such a generous donation.
• A & D Lewis donated $75. Thanks so much. MWAH!
• Carolyn Critz donated $50. Carolyn was not only my favorite co-worker, but one of my best friends at work before I became a SAHM. She and I had an amazing connection through difficult circumstances, and she inspired me as she lost over 150 pounds and went on to train and ride in the MS150. Thank you so much, Carolyn.

This week Coach Joe stepped up our training with longer timed and tempo runs. Our long run over the weekend went from 4 miles to 5 miles, and 5 miles is the furthest I’ve ever run.

I started out the week on Monday at the gym doing a 1 miler on the treadmill, weight training for an hour, and then another mile on the treadmill. Going to the gym is getting easier, and I’m finding lots of friendly faces there. It’s not nearly as bad as I feared it would be, and I wasn’t nearly as sore this week.

Tuesday was a rest day, and on Wednesday I took the prescribed 30 minute run which equaled 3 miles. On Thursday I rested again, and on Friday I had a 3.5 mile tempo run. The tempo run is always tough, but this week I was fortunate enough to have someone sit with Mia while I ran, without the added resistance of the jogging stroller made the run feel easier.

Sunday was my long run of 5 miles. The weather was beautiful, but I do think that the Ides of March blew in a day (or week) early. If it was any indication of how March will be, it’s definitely coming in like a lion. Hopefully it will go out like a lamb sooner rather than later!

This week my kids also came to the realization that headbands are really cool. Watching  TV and doing homework is some strenuous stuff, or at least it looks like it in these shots!

As each week passes and I sit down to reflect, I become more and more impressed with my abilities. I honestly never thought I’d be able to run 1 mile, muchless 5 miles, and here I am. As I look forward, it still amazes me that one day very soon I’ll be running 13.1 miles with so many amazing women and one man, as Team Shrinking Jeans. I cannot wait to get to San Diego!

This week’s schedule is identical to last weeks, so I don’t anticipate any problems. We have a conference call scheduled to discuss injuries and how to avoid them, so I’m looking forward to that. And I’ll continue to refresh my email obsessively checking for more donation notification emails!

Donate if you can! I promise to think of you every time my feet pound the pavement, and it will make a difference in the life of someone fighting blood cancer.

• Miles run since I started running on 10/03/09: 109.77
• Miles run since I started training for TNT on 01/31/10: 45
• Miles run this week: 14
• Miles I’ll be running in the next 12 training weeks:  229

Okay, first let me get my weigh-in out of the way, since I didn’t do it on Wednesday. Well, I weighed in, but wasn’t happy, so I didn’t share.

Last week: 137.2 (woooohoooooo)
This week: 139.6 (boooooooooo. hisssssssss)

Being out of town, and not really caring about how much I was eating did it to me. No excuses. I own it.

So back to the Monday Project….

Sad to say I didn’t get run over by a squirrel, or run in freezing cold rain and snow (although it did snow in Texas this week!), but I did add 14 miles to my bank this week. FOURTEEN MILES. That’s a lot of miles. Running miles. I also hit the 100 mile mark since I’ve been running in October of last year. That felt really good.

Each and every run I have adds to the bank, and seeing the miles add up adds to my confidence. I feel like, “wow, I’m actually going to run a 1/2 marathon in a little over 3 months and not suck at it! I might actually be prepared and feel good!” That is such a victory for me.

My son is so excited about the 1/2 marathon. We talk about it almost daily, and he peppers me with questions. He knows that it’s 13.1 miles, and he asked me last night when I was going to run a full marathon because “it’s 26.2 miles, and that would be so cool.” Kid loves math and pushing his mommy to do more. He also asked me if people ran more than 26.2 miles and I explained that there are ultra-runners, but that I didn’t think I really had an interest in that. We ended the conversation discussing the day when we would run a marathon together. The two of us, training and running and doing it together. I’m putting that in my bank, because all of my hard work isn’t just for me, it’s for them, too.

The first thing I want to do this week is thank my generous friends and family for their donations!

• Karena, thank you so much for your donation. It meant the world to me! I am so happy to have met  your through the Sisterhood, and I can’t wait to meet you next January in Florida! I’ll be there!
• My fantastic inlaws, Joyce and Mark, also gave me a generous donation this week!
• My friend Angie, who lost her 18 year old son Wesley to leukemia donated as well. I met Angie years ago when I was part of a nation-wide Light the Night team for LLS. I spent time with them when they were in Houston staying at the Ronald McDonald House while Wesley received treatments at MD Anderson. Lisa and I even helped organize a prom for Wesley since he missed his high school prom due to being in Houston on treatment. It’s definitely a night I will NEVER forget. Music, food, dancing, tuxedos, prom dresses, decorations, friends and family – he had it all. Angie is such a beautiful and amazing woman, and while her son Wesley is no longer with us, his light continues to shine.

Week 3 of my Virtual Team in Training is done with a total of 13 miles logged! The weather was much improved over last week, although is was a bit cold and windy. No rain, though! Molly was back in the saddle and joined me for a couple of my runs, but was still limping afterwards. The medicine the vet prescribed is definitely helping, and I hope the running will help strengthen her hip and knees. It breaks my heart when I have to leave her at home, because she stands at the door and whines to go with me.

On Monday I did the planned 30 minute run, and since Brian was home, I was able to go it alone. Despite the freezing temps, it was an awesome run. Logged 3.15 miles with an average pace of 9:31.

Tuesday was a rest day, and much needed. I spent the day getting my fundraising email and letters together.

Wednesday I hit the gym for the second time armed with my weights training program from Coach Joe. I started out with a mile on the Precor eliptical, and I’m sure I looked hilarious since I’d never been on one before! Felt like I was going to fly off it for the first few minutes, and then finally got my bearings, and cranked out a mile. I moved on to the weights and since I’m not familiar with any of the gym equipment, a trainer took pity on me and took me on a tour of all the machines I needed to use. She made sure I knew how to use all of them before I got started, and also recommended I only do 3 sets of 10 reps as opposed to the 20 reps Coach Joe prescribed (boy was I glad, because I could hardly move the next day!). Finished off my time at the gym with a quick mile on the treadmill.

Thursday was my tempo run, and as usual, the hardest. The purpose of the tempo run is to help build up your endurance as well as improve on your pace, so you alternate with sprints and easy timed intervals for 3.5 miles. The winds were sustained at over 20MPH and the gusts were over 30MPH. Pushing the jogging stroller into the wind made it feel like I was actually moving backwards, but I pushed through (pun intended) and made it in 37 minutes.

Friday I joined in the Shrinking Jeans Olympics and hammered out a quick mile (not part of my training) as part of the team 4-mile relay event. I really wanted to push and see if I could sprint for an entire mile, so I ran hard and fast. I really surprised myself and finished in 8:00. WOW! After the run, I packed up the kiddos and we headed to Austin to hang out with Lisa for some scrapbooking and more running!

Saturday was the scheduled day for our 4-mile long run, but we rested instead. On Sunday Lisa did her run early, and then watched all the kiddos so Amanda and I could do the 4-miler together at a nearby trail. It was fantastic to run with someone who’s on our Virtual Team in Training! We took it easy and talked the entire time, which made the 42:00 minutes seem to fly. Makes me wish I lived closer to some of my team mates so we could get together every weekend for our long runs.

I am so excited about running. When I signed up for VTNT, I was nervous about the mileage we’d have to run each week, but the program is truly amazing. Having a schedule with prescribed runs takes all the guesswork out and is truly comforting. Coach Joe does an amazing job communicating with us, and answering numerous email questions. The conference calls we have really bring us together as a team, since we are all spread out across the nation, and our emails and group message board really help us bond. I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to meet each and every one of my 18 team mates in San Diego on June 6th. It’s going to be a huge Team Shrinking Jeans hug.

One thing that surprised me this week was how I felt as I received notifications of donations to my online account. My heart would literally skip as I opened the page to see who had donated, and my reaction was different each time. It truly warms my heart to know that I have the support of my family and friends in this endeavor. Not just the support for my training, but the support for my fundraising, which will do so much for so many people affected by blood cancers. Thank you again, Karena, Joyce & Mark, and Angie. I truly appreciate your support.

If you would like to make a donation, click here. Anything you can give is so appreciated.

Week 2 of training for the San Diego Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon is DONE, but not without it’s own set of challenges. The weather was craptastic, cold and windy and rainy, rainy, rainy. Despite the weather, I managed to get in all of my run except 1, but I’m totally okay with that!

On Monday, I took a rest day. Tuesday I did a DVD at home, Turbo Jam Cardio Party; on Wednesday I felt like someone had beaten me with a lead pipe, but I still managed to get my Tempo run in; on Thursday I was suppose to do my 25 minute run, but it was rainy so I skipped it; Friday was jam packed, so I took a rest day; and on Saturday I did my 4 mile run.

One exciting thing that happened is I decided to join the gym so I could get in some weight training. This is HUGE for me, as I’ve never joined an actual gym before, and have actually had a gym-phobia for most of my life. I am NOT a public workout person. Plus, the gym is 74 miles from my house. HELLO! So I called to inquire, and found out they have a non-member 5-visit pass I could buy, and all my excuses flew out the window. Since I drive in to town on Mondays and sometimes Wednesdays to grocery shop and run errands, I decided that I would also hit the gym one day a week to use the weight room.

Last Wednesday was the day, and as I sat in the parking lot having a panic attack, I emailed Christie O. and Melissa for a pep talk! They were awesome! I went in, signed up for my pass, oriented myself with the layout, found the locker room, and cringed as I changed clothes while other naked women walked within 10 feet of me. ACK! Aside from the locker room freak show (and I know all that stuff is TOTALLY normal, but it’s not normal for me, and I could go on and on and on, but I don’t want to bore you), it was great! I’m so proud of myself for taking the leap!

One sad thing that happened this week, is my dog Molly, who is my constant running companion, was injured. I took her to the vet on Friday, and found out that her 11 year old hips aren’t in very good shape, and because of that, she’d strained her left knee. The vet prescribed her some doggie Celebrex and told her to take the week off from running. Thankfully she’ll be able to continue running with me, as long as she can handle it! The vet actually encouraged me to take her because it’s good for her to keep moving!

My 4 mile run, on Saturday, was great! The sun was shining, for the first time in days, the temperature was a perfect 55 degrees, and there wasn’t any wind. Total time for 4 miles was 39:39, just under 10 minutes a mile.

Check back in next week for my Week 3 TNT Diary!!

I have week 1 of my Virtual Team in Training under my belt! WOOT!

Miles run: 8.01

We started out with our team conference call on the 30th, where we heard from Coach Joe, Julie (from the LLS), and Shannon (our fundraising mentor). It was an awesome call! I was actually shopping at Walmart with my daughter when I took the call, and there were several times I had to pull my cart over so I could laugh, and I even shed a few tears. I wanted to shout out about how excited I was to be part of something so amazing, but I think people already thought I was a little nuts.

On Sunday (1/31), I began my training with my first official run of 3 miles. Lisa was here visiting, so we took turns watching the kids so we could run alone. That 1st run, without a doubt, was my best run ever. Not just from a physical standpoint, but from a mental standpoint as well. All I could think about was how amazing this journey would be. I thought about Allie, I though about my Paw Paw, who was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia 2 years ago. I thought about everyone diagnosed with blood cancers, and cancer in general, who have to fight and endure chemotherapy, radiation, and the terrible side effects that come with treatment. I thought about Team Shrinking Jeans, all 18 of us, and what we’re doing. It’s HUGE. I thought about all the amazing support we’re receiving from the Sisterhood, and before I knew it, my 3 miles were done, and I wanted to keep running so I could think some more.

Although the weather was bad this past week, with lots of rain, and some flooding, amazingly enough, the sun was shining on the days of my runs. Perfect. The tempo run was the hardest, because you alternate between running at an easy pace, with running all out for 2 minutes at a time. You have to run at a pace you can maintain for the full 2 minutes, and that day I was running with the jogging stroller and Mia, so it was a little tricky, but I did it and felt a huge sense of accomplishment afterwards. I was also very sweaty and gross!

This week I will continue to follow my training schedule, and will even stop by the gym in Kerrville (which is 70 miles away!) to look into buying a pass so I can visit once a week for some weight training. I also plan to finish up my fundraising letter and get it in the mail, because in addition to training, I have to raise $2900 and as a team, we will be raising $51,800 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

New iTunes downloads this week:

• Save the Last Dance – Michael Buble
• Empire State of Mind – Jay Z with Alicia Keys
• Lean on Me – Bill Withers

Songs that gave me what I needed this week:

• Lose Yourself – Eminem <–have you ever listened to the words? It’s a really, really powerful song and the beat keeps my feet moving.

I’m up 1.4. I can’t really say why I’m up, but I am. It’s stupid. I’m over it and ready to move on.

On a very happy note, I started the Team in Training Program to train for the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll 1/2 marathon this week. I am SO excited and pumped up!!

Next week, I know my weight will be back down. I’m sure of it. And I know that I’m going to be that much further along with my training, and hopefully my fundraising!

Wanna be my first official donor? Click here. I’m giving away a $25 gift card to randomly selected donors, and you can read about it here! THANKS!

I rocked my first training run on Sunday!