Week 1 of TNT

We had our first training run yesterday. It was only a little over 2 miles but since I basically haven't run at all in the last 2 months I started out easy. I ran with a group that was doing 5 min of running and 2 min of walking. We got done in about 27 or 28 minutes, which was just fine. Also the weather was PERFECT for a run as far as I'm concerned, it was overcast and about 70 degrees, which I'm sure helped.

My husband really wanted to come along just to do the run but he ended up getting a little too excited and signed up for the fundraising again. I hope he'll actually follow through this time, we shall see. Recommittment is in October so he said if he's at $900 raised by then he'll recommit. For the running aspect, he hasn't run at all in over 2 months, he smoked 3 cigarettes on the way to the run, and he did 4 miles in under 40 minutes. Totally not fair! It would be so awesome if I could somehow magically beat him in the marathon, but I don't see that happening.

If my husband and I both do the fundraising we will be raising $2800 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This will be awesome! And if possible, I want to raise $1000 over my fundraising minimum.

Survived the 20 mile run

We did the 20 mile run this morning. I did surprisingly well, much better than I expected. It was still very hard but I beat my 18 mile time by over 30 seconds per mile, so I was quite proud of myself. My legs absolutely HATE me right now :)

We had the silent auction tonight, which went ok....I'm pretty disappointed. We did make about $500 from it, which is better than nothing but we're still $1500 short :( I have no idea how we're going to make that money in the next week :( Does anyone have any ideas?

I will be doing one more raffle and I still have my marathon finish time pool, which I already know I'll get a little more money from. We can't afford to front $1500. I don't want to say this was a bad idea, because even if we've only raised $2000 for our cause, I know that money will help a lot, but really, we can't afford $1500. Please help with any ideas!

20 mile run tomorrow!

I'm scared out of my mind. I have a really bad chest cold this whole week so I haven't been able to do much running and now I have a 20 mile run tomorrow (I STILL have the chest cold!). I have to be there at 6:15 am and spend about5 4 1/2-5 hours running, doesn't that sound like fun? :)

I'm always so scared and then it goes totally fine, so I know there's nothing to worry about (I hope!). Either way, I will do my best, I will feel great afterwards, and I will feel proud of myself for my accomplishment. Plus, we're having pizza afterwards!

Then, tomorrow night when I can barely walk, am exhausted and probably sunburnt, I get to have my biggest fundraising event - the silent auction. That oughta be interesting (I'm sure it will be a blast).

I got some assorted wrist bands from Oriental Trading Co. and I've been "selling" them at work today. Basically anyone who makes a donation of any size gets to pick one. You would think people would just be cheesy and donate 10 cents or something but I think no minimum was a great idea. I've gotten a $10 donation, a couple $5 donations, a few $2 dollar donations, etc. Yes, I've gotten a couple for less than a dollar but overall it's been quite successful so far. I paid about $14 for 50 of these things and I've sold about 10 of them for about $25 or $30. Not bad... :)

Pray, postulate, hope, etc. etc. that I live tomorrow! :)

Did the famous "train run"

Wow! Today was crazy. We got up at 4:45 am, threw on our running gear, at a quick breakfast and headed out the door. We had to drop our daughter off at the baby sitter, then drive about 30-40 minutes to the train station in Solana Beach. We took the train to Carlsbad.

At that point, our crazy selves ran 18 MILES back to Solana Beach. 18 MILES!!! As usual, it was difficult, but I didn't die. I got a nice sun burn (note to self: sun block was invented for a reason), a blister on my foot (note to self: stick with the socks you always wear, don't try any more new socks), and of course my legs feel like I just ran 18 miles.

All in all, it was pretty fun! I know it's crazy but I'm out there DOING SOMETHING. I'm running to save lives, to help find a cure for cancer. I'm running for those who can't.

Now, fundraising...that's a different story. I'm getting frustrated about it again. I KNOW anyone could donate a couple bucks, but they DON'T! And I don't understand why! Especially my two oldest sisters, who I love dearly, but who have shown NO INTEREST in helping me whatsoever. They act like they don't even know what I'm doing. It was their mom who died, too. Not just my mom. I would think they would be a little more interested in helping out, especially since they are fully able to.

Once I start talking about money it seems like quite a few people act like they don't even know me. I don't understand this, but I probably never will. I just hope it somehow magically starts to go better. I wanted to totally surpass our fundraising goal but at the moment it looks like we won't even achieve our minimum...

I hope it starts to go better.

We just ran over 16 miles!

WOW, I can't believe we did that.

I've been sick for three days now with the flu, just barely beginning to feel better yesterday. Last night my husband and I both slept horribly! The baby was up a good portion of the night. Yet we still got up at 6 this morning, dropped her off at the baby sitter, and went out running along the harbor.

It was a beautiful run. My husband took off ahead of me, as usual. I paced myself well and didn't start to really feel the run until about mile 10. By mile 14 I wasn't sure if I could run anymore, but I did it. I kept going, running all the way through the end. I am so amazed at both my husband and I.

Of course my legs are EXTREMELY sore now and I can hardly walk, but I'm so proud of myself. I just have to realize every time I go run that there are people who CAN'T run. I am so lucky that I can run. I am proud at what I am doing, though I still think it's crazy. I am running and raising money to save lives. How many people can say that?

How many lives are my actions saving exactly? I have no idea. But I plan on doing this year after year, for as long as I can, to contribute as much as I can and save as many lives as possible.

Current update

The art auction went quite well, though I didn't reach my goal. I had wanted to raise about $500 and we raised about $300. Still, not bad all in all.

Next fundraiser is another opportunity drawing, coming up in 1 week. I need to start promoting it more and selling entries to the people at work/friends. I was waiting until the auction was over because it was a bit much promoting both at the same time.

Training is going better. I ran 11.2 miles today and am at a 24.25 miles for the week. I plan on doing another 2 miles or so tomorrow, putting it at about 27 miles for the week. Then I need to figure out how to increase my mileage next week.

The 11.2 mile run today went better than I thought it would. I was able to run a bit over 5 miles without stopping, and that included over 2 miles of hill, hill, hill. That killed me but I did it. I would still like to figure out how to start running faster, and longer, but all in all I think I'm doing fairly well. My husband also did the 11.2 mile run today and he did fantastic, even though he hasn't really been training. He finished it about 15 minutes before I did (totally not fair since I've been working so hard on training and he hasn't!!! But it is what it is). I was quite surprised.

I will keep everyone updated. I'm still looking for more fund raising ideas, so if anyone has any, feel free to pass them along. Thanks guys!