The start of a great Winter season!

I am so excited to start running with Team in Training again!!! I missed it. I really felt out of the loop a bit. There is just something magical that occurs at 6:30am on Saturday. A group of strangers come together, they enter into a commitment together with one sole uniting purpose...to raise money for cancer! They are never strangers for long, a family of purple people come together and do some amazing feats. This will be my third season with Team in Training and there is a reason that I keep coming back! It is truly spellbinding to see the dedication, heart and soul in people that want to do something good in the world. When it's 105 degrees outside, we train. When it's 14 degrees outside, we train. What we are doing REALLY does make a difference in the lives of patients with blood cancers. One of the honored heroes that spoke at kickoff said her oncologist told her that there would be a cure in her lifetime! How much more encouragement to run can you get than that?!!! That is why I get up at 5:30 every Saturday for 4 months of my life...so I will hear one day that cancer has been eradicated, blasted, eliminated, expelled, CURED! Why do I run? Because cancer SUCKS!

Check out the group of strangers that will be one big family in a few shorts weeks!

GO TEAM!!!

Oh no, I hated the shoes! Really?!

I know it's hard to believe after my last post. I had a brief love affair that ended after 2 miles and one rather large, annoying blister on my little toe! I guess you never really know a shoe until you run in it! That is why you should try them out on your treadmill before you commit. I promptly took them back to Run On after I slid them on and was going to take a second run in them. My feet were like, hell no, get those off me. My toe immediately began to scream at me, hello, you have a blister the size of Montana over here! I didn't realize it until I put them on. Alas, back to the Asics for that run. No pain at all.

So I got the other shoes that I was waffling back and forth about, the Brooks Ravenna 2. I have heard so many great things about Brooks and I am test running these now. I think I like them, I just ran a quick 2 in them and they felt GREAT! We shall see!

Oh how I love the smell of new running shoes!

There is one magically thing about running season...NEW RUNNING SHOES. You go into to the sports logo illuminated running store and breathe in the smell of rubber and synthetic nylon. There is something about all that that makes your head swirl, in a good way! It's magic when you try on that one running shoe that makes your foot squeal with delight! I found a shoe today that I think fit all that I wanted and needed in a shoe. It's the Saucony Progrid Guide 4. They hugged my feet when I put them on and it was love at first step. I went in to the store in hopes that I would fall in love with the Brooks shoe, but after trying them on, I wasn't smitten by them...I just wasn't feeling it all. I have many runner friends that swear by them...but your foot knows best...right?! I am giving this glowing review, maybe prematurely, as I have yet to run a mile in them. But, I do think I know a good thing when I find it ;)

The Winter Season is upon us (you wouldn't know it)

I took a little time off from my running to renew and rejuvenate myself. I swam, I biked, did lots of classes and just gave my legs a rest from running for a little while. Now I am raring to go again. I have charted out my race season and am stepping out of my comfort zone, a lot, I plan on signing up for a half Ironman that will be in April! Holy smokes, I can't believe I just wrote that. I am going to delve in the triathlon circuit, hopefully it doesn't kill me ;)

I am taking on the challenge again of raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training this winter. This is a cause that has become near and dear to my heart. I haven't personally been affected by blood cancer, but I have lost both my grandparents and countless friends to other forms of cancer. If they can find a cure for blood cancers, it will help to fight all types of cancer!

I have become a stronger, healthier, more fit than I have ever been in my life. I owe my renewed rejuvenation for good health and wellness, solely to TNT. Had I not gone to that first info meeting, I would surely still be sporting the baby weight from 2 kids. Now apart from physical fitness, I have a renewed faith in humanity. I know that people will be there to support me in my cause. I know that I have a new passion to do something that helps others and makes me truly happy in the process. Who doesn't want that?! I have fuzzy good feelings all the time, just knowing what I am doing will enrich someones life immensely!

You would hardly know that it's the winter team when it's 110 degrees outside, but, it actually is. I am so excited training will kick off August 20th. I will be a mentor again, so I can teach people everything I know and help them along their journey as well. I am going to run the 26.2 mile White Rock MARATHON this time. I have only run half marathons for TNT thus far. I know everyone KNOWS I can run a half, but I want to prove I can run another full AND shave off 43 minutes of my time. That's my "goal" anyway ;)

I successfully raised, with the help of a lot of people, $4,352.47 in the two seasons that I have been a participant. I intend to raise $1,500 more this season, with some more help!

If you want to donate to my cause, I will give you a few reasons why you may want to:

1. 100% of every dollar goes to LLS; this helps finds cures and better treatment options for Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma.

2. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20.

3. There are an estimated 957,902 people in the United States that are living with or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myleoma.

4. Every 4 minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies.

Check out my fundraising page...
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntxok/Whiterck11/cponderhdp