Here we go again!

I had such an amazing experience in San Diego and completing my first marathon, that I am doing it again. On October 19 I will be running in the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. To make it even better my aunt will be joining me for this one. Kathi walked me to the finish line and I would not have been able to finish without her help and encouragement, and now I hope that I can offer that back to her. So I am starting training again and am really excited!

10 Days!

It is coming! I get on a plane in 10 days!
It has been a while since I have posted, but things are going well. I never could have imagined how it would feel to complete a 20 mile run or who tired I would be afterwards... it is amazing.

I got a call about 2 months ago from a friend informing me that her brother was in the hospital and had just begun treatment for stage 3 leukemia (not good). Their family has been so supportive of each other and he has been so strong. The good news is that he is back at home! Please keep Mike in your thoughts and prayers.

Check back in soon.
Kristen, Soon to be marathoner

I ran a 1/2 marathon!

On Saturday morning I woke up and drove dowm to Petaluma to meet the group and start our run. I know that the goal for the day was between 12 and 16 miles with a max time of 2.5 hours. I had also heard rumors that there were HILLS. It turned out that there were some hills that felt like they would get the best of me, but I pushed through and made it. Once we got over the hill, we were over the hill it was beautiful and I could really enjoy the run.
I did realize that I do have a barrior to being a True runner... True runners, when they need to go to the bathroom...they just go. I got the urge on Saturday, but decided to stop and take a break and then continue. Oh well there is still time to face this challenge =) (I am not really imagining that I might one day be able to just pee and keep running)
Either way I was able to complete the training and run 13.1 miles in 2.5 hours. Even better I am able to move around without hurting the day after!
7 weeks til San Diego

Run Run Run

I have decided to try and just run instead of run/walk. So far things have been going well. It would be AMAZING if I could actually run the whole marathon. Keep your fingers crossed for me and think strong thoughts.
If you are around Santa Rosa... I am having a fundraiser at Chevy's on Wednesday. I will be there from 6:00 on. I hope to see you there.

50 miles!

This has been an inspiring week in many ways. It started with my fundraising... This Monday I kicked off some fundraisers at my school. By Friday the staff and students had helped Katy and I raise over $200 for our TNT funds. On top of that my 2nd and 6th grade classes started the "pennies for patients" penny drive to go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They raised $305 in 1 week! What an amazing group of people I am surrounded by everyday.
Then I got an e-mail from my mentor about a woman who has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease (a form of blood cancer) who had decided that she was going to run 200 miles IN A WEEK. She did! That means her average mileage a day was 28.8 miles (yep that is more than a marathon a day for a whole week). If she can do that, what can the rest of us do? A LOT.
The icing on the cake for me this week was a new milestone. I completed my first 50 miles of training! Keep checking on me though because I have set a new goal for myself to help me keep on track. During the week I am going to run double the mileage that I run on Saturday. SO this week I will run 16 miles before Saturday. Keep sending those strong and positive thoughts my way.

10 K

Just a quick note. Things are going well. On Saturday we were running in Napa again (we found the hills) and it was gorgeous. I ran 6 miles which I thought about later on that evening... that is a 10 K run!!!
So keep me in your thoughts and thank you to ALL of you for donating and supporting me in thia adventure.

Taking it easy

So I am doing a lot better now. I went really slow today so that I will be ready for the run this weekend. I will be running 6-7 miles!!! I can't wait.
I am amazed at how far I have come in this short amount of time. A month ago I was concerned about completing 1 mile and now I am looking forward to running 6.
Well I am tired and need to go and get some sleep... check back in soon.

Better luck next time

So I went for our Team run on Saturday and was really excited like always. I got there a little late, but was ready to go. A mile and a half into the run I had to turn around and walk back. My shin were burning so bad I was not sure that I would be able to make it back if I did not turn around. This was disappointing, but I can only do what I can do. So this is a new week. I will have to take it slow this week, so that I can heal, and then we're off again.

Running in the rain

I have found that I LOVE to run in the rain. I know it might seem crazy and cold, but actually it helps you stay cool and keep going. (when you stop though, you do feel kind of soggy, but it is worth it) I know that our moms always tell us not to go outside and play in the rain because we will get sick, but it is always so much fun, and now I have found a new reason to be outside when it is raining. And of course there are always the puddles. If your running partner just happens to be along side of you when you come up to them, you can always help them cool off by splashing them with a little bit of cool water. =)
Just in case you are wondering... no I am not in complete denial. I do have muscle pains and it does hurt, but over all I am having the time of my life! I am surrounded by people who are running for this amazing cause. We might have all come together from different points in our lives and for different reasons, but we all have a common goal, FIND A CURE. Some people have already completed a couple of marathons, some are training for their first one just like me, and yet we are all pushing each other and offering encouragement. There are smiles all around, even when there is sweat dripping from our faces.

WOW

Let me paint you a picture. It is early Saturday morning, the fog is lifting and the birds are chirping. There are hot air balloons just lifting off and you are in the middle of vineyards. How can it get any better?

We showed up this morning and they explained the course that we were going to run and explained how easy and clear the markings were for us to see. There was a 2 mile mark to be able to turn back and complete a 4 mile run (my goal for today) and a 2.5 mark to turn back and complete 5 miles. I found Aliise running at my same pace this morning so we ran together and talked. We were looking out for that 2 mile turning point and found it. Except, I thought that something looked weird about it. Maybe it was because it said 2.5! That's right I ran 5 miles today, and it was all on accident. I guess this is how I can meet and exceed my goals. =) I feel great and am so excited that this is going so well. 2 weeks completed and I can't wait for the next 16.

Day 11

Well my legs are tired. But it is a good thing.
I am really enjoying running. I am trying out different places to run. I do not really like running on a treadmill (good to know). Running on a track is good to really know how far you have gone and be able to count down how much farther. I like running outside in neighborhoods or parks the best though. So far I have been sticking to flat areas. I have a sneaking suspicion that when we run with the Team tomorrow there will be some hills. Either way I am still very excited and tired.

I am running a marathon!

Well many people have been asking me if I am journaling my experience, so here I go.
Thank you to everyone for being so supportive of me with the decision to go for this. I have always wanted to run a marathon, you know, someday. Well I have decided that someday will never come if I do not take action. When I found Team in Training it seemed like it found me. For those of you who do not know, Team in Training is a non-profit organization who fundraises for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (blood cancers). The money that is raised goes to support families and patients as they undergo treatment and directly to doctors who are working on finding a cure for cancer (not just how to remove the cancer from a patient but actually how to cure it all together so that no one else will ever have to battle it again) . Team in Training is training me to be prepaired for a marathon on June 21 in Alaska. I am definitely not a runner right now, but they are helping me get to the level that I need to be at to complete the 26.2 mile run. So I have 5 months to get ready.

Many people have also been asking me why I am so interested in raising money for this group. I want to help as many people in my life as can. Unfortunately I do not usually ave money to help out, so I have looked for other ways of helping. In 2001 I started donating blood at our local blood bank. When I started donating they let me know of another kind of donation called aphaeresis , which is a system where they remove a portion of your blood and seperate the platelets and plasma and then return your blood. It takes about 2 hours but is worth it because it helps patients who need clotting factors after surgery or because their blot takes too long to clot. I did this for 5 years and the blood bank started telling me that I was not able to donate any more, but they could not tell me what was going on. About 2 months later I had a stabbing pain in my back and was hospitalized with a blood clot in my lung. It turns out that I was born with some weird issues with my blood, basically I have too much clotting facto in my blood and not enough dissolving factor, ie. I form blot clots. So for me it was an easy fix. I take blood thinners for the rest of my life, and I should be fine (just have to be careful not to bleed because it takes a long time to stop).
So I still do not have a lot of money to donate (even though I will donate what I can), I cannot give blood anymore(they won't take it), so I have found a new way. I run and raise money for people who wish all they needed to do was run a marathon to be healthy. One of my mentors with the program has reminded me twice that I have a choice, he and the other patients do not. hey wake up each morning and have to work at being strong and healthy. I wake up and am healthy and choose to get out there and run and educate people about why.

If this sounds like something you are interested in... they are still accepting teammates. They will train you for a Triathalon, Centry Ride (100 mile bike ride), or a marathon. Also if you would like, I am looking for donations. You can visit my fundraising page. http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/tntgsfKMowers

Thank you again for all of your support through this process.