Another Week Begins...

I couldn't make the team run this Saturday, but Brant went and ran 7 miles. By the time I was done with my meeting that I had that morning - it was raining and continued to rain all day. And then on Sunday I just didn't go. So today I woke up and ran my six miles!

I was a little scared about the run as I had never run that far before, so I think I was going a little slower than I needed to, but I finished the run in 1 hour and 7 minues, so I'm not disappointed. Next time I'll do it in an hour - now that I know I really can run that far!

Training for this week is 20 minutes easy tonight, and then 30 minutes easy on Tuesday and Thursday. Then on Saturday we will do 6 miles again, and have a clinic on nutrition. This looks like it's the last week with any 20 minute runs. Next week we even start adding in some 40 minute runs during the week.

Thanks again to everyone who has made donations so far! We're over $1000 now - but we still have a long way to go!

WooHoo!!

We are now only $25 shy of our first thousand dollars raised! I am so excited. Not only does that mean we're almost a tenth of the way to our goal - but that means we're going to be able to help so many people!

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far - you really are helping a great cause. Together, we will help find cures for Leukemia, Lymphoma and other cancers.

Let's keep it going! Tell your friends how great you feel knowing that you're helping such a great cause.

Remember, every little bit counts and together we can help a lot of people!

Week 3 Begins...

On Saturday we ran 4.1 miles. Well, actually Brant apparently ran about 7 miles, but I'll wait until that's on our training schedule! The 4 miles went okay - I've found I have a harder time running first thing in the morning - so I am going to try various ways to get some food in me before running without putting in so much food that I feel sick. I just feel like I need to have some sort of energy for these runs! But I did run the whole 4 miles, and I felt okay.

One really cool thing about Saturday was our stretching clinic. Some people from Luke's Locker, a local running specialty store came to give us the clinic. The neat thing about Luke's Locker is that everyone there has actually participated in endurance events like marathons. Anyway, so we had a little stretching clinic (nothing particularly new learned - stretching after running is good - runners need to stretch their hamstrings, calfs, quads and ITbands...) but the cool thing is that after the clinic, they asked a few questions - and one was for a free pair of shoes and Brant got it!

So on Sunday we went to go pick out his free pair of shoes. And so we're big fans of Luke's Locker now. I will go there in a few months when it's time for a new pair of shoes for me. They look at your old shoes to see if they still have life in them, they watch you walk so they can try and get the best shoe for you - all in all I was pretty impressed while we were in the store - and not just because we were getting a pair of free shoes.

The other thing we did on Saturday was this group of core exercises that depressed me completely. Not actually during the exercises. There weren't that many - they weren't that hard...but now here I am, three days later and still sore!! So apparently I need to work on my core muscles! Which I guess is good to know...

Anyway, training for this week - 20 minutes easy, then two nights of 30 minutes easy. Then on Saturday 4-6 miles. Apparently the range is there for us to decide - we can either run 4 or 6. I'm going to try to stick to the high end of the range so that by the time we get to say the 18 mile run I am ready for it. I figure if I always stick to the low end then somewhere along the line I'll be making a huge jump in mileage! So I will be running six miles. I am a little nervous - as that will be the farthest I have ever run, but I'm sure I can do this.

Last night Brant and I both ran about three miles. I ran for 30 minutes, and he ran for about 25 or so. He wanted to take it easy to break in his new shoes. I did intervals - 2 minutes running hard and 2 minutes running easier. However, in the middle there I think it was more like running normal and then barely jogging. I picked it back up for the last few intervals though. It felt pretty good. I was pretty tired.

Tonight Brant is going to try to make it to the Tuesday night workout. He didn't make it last week because he had to work late. So hopefully we'll be able to tell you what the Tuesday night optional team workouts are like. I will be at a networking meeting, so I'll try to get in another run some other time.

The donations are starting to come in - I just hope they keep coming! Thanks to everyone who has already donated!

New Clothes for Running

At the apparel clinic, we were told to go for wicking fabrics - so Brant and I decided to try out a local Texas brand, KAOS. Brant got a couple shirts, and I got some shorts, sports bra, sportsbra tank, regular tank, sleeveless shirt, and a T-shirt. So yesterday we tried them out.

Neither one of us made it out on Tuesday night, so we got our 30 minute runs in yesterday, though at different times. For my run I wore my new bright yellow sports bra and bright yellow tank. I'll have to try the rest of my gear on other runs. Anyway, I definitely liked the clothes - it really was much better than cotton! I felt pretty cool on the whole run - despite the 70+ weather.

My run went okay - I was under 30 minutes for my three miles, but just barely (so I finished out those last few seconds to get my full 30 minutes...). I was pretty tired that day though, so that's my excuse. :)

Brant went running later and said he really liked his shirt too. I figure that's pretty amazing since he really didn't see the point in not getting cotton.

Tonight we're going to a happy hour with a bunch of other people from Team in Training just to say hi and get to know others who are training in different areas. Should be a good time!

Fundraising

Well, we've officially started our fundraising campain with emails and letters - some of you will get both - we just wanted to make sure we covered all of our bases. Anyway, so far it's working - we have gotten 5 additional donations and have raised $450 so far, which is a great start. But don't be afraid to help us get that number even higher!

We're hoping to get a few corporate sponsorships as well - so if you're interested - let us know!!

Training Schedule

I forgot to mention that besides the 20 min on Monday and Thursday and the 30 minutes on Tuesday, this Saturday we will be running 3-4 miles. I don't really know what the range is for - I will let you know as soon as I do.

Last night Brant and I went running - he ran a bit over 4 miles and I ran 3. But I ran my 3 in under 30 minutes, so I was happy - I haven't had times like that since before Thanksgiving. (From Thanksgiving - January I didn't run at all!) So I'm happy that I am getting back to the shape I was in before I stopped running. It was also a good run just because I felt great the whole time, and like I could have kept running. I even felt good afterwards - not tired or anything - just energized and good. So it was a good day.

Tonight Brant is going to the second team workout where they are going to work on speed. I have a writing group so I won't be able to make it, but we'll make sure to let you know what it's like.

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!

Corporate Sponsorships

Is your company looking for a great way to get its name out while helping out a great cause? Through its Team in Training program, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will train an estimated 30,000 endurance athletes for marathons, half marathons, century rides or triathlons.

Team in Training trains year-round, offering continuous promotional opportunities. For as little as $1500, your company could be a "General Team Partner" Corporate Sponsor of the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. As a General Team Partner, your corporate logo is displayed on all apparel for Team members, coaching staff and Team in Training Staff. This includes training and race day singlets, event T-Shirts, and cycling jerseys. Your company will also be acknowledged in Team in Training's monthly newsletter and in the Chapter quarterly newsletter and have the opportunity to attend Team in Training functions for further recognition. Your company will also receive an engraved Team in Training Partner Award.

If your desire to help out exceeds the $1500 General Team Partner sponsorship level, there are several other opportunities for you. For $2500 you can be a "Teammate Sponsor." This level of Corporate Sponsorship receives everything a General Team Partner does, as well as having your corporate logo displayed on a Team banner that is displayed at all Group Training sessions and Team in Training functions.

There are also even higher levels of Corporate Sponsorship, including "Patient 'Hero' Program Sponsor," "Health, Fitness and Coaching Partner," and "Title Partnership." These levels have additional benefits to thank you for your support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter.

For more information about becoming a Corporate Sponsor, please contact us!

Week 2

We had our first training session on Saturday. We ran or walked three miles. Brant and I both ran. We're meeting at Terry Hershey park - a nice park nearby with running and biking trails next to a river - or bayou as they call it here. The run was nice - nothing worse than what Brant and I have already been doing - though soon those Saturday runs are going to be getting much longer!

After the run we had a clinic on apparel. Apparently stretching will be covered next week. They recommended getting a good pair of shoes - and that we'll probably need another pair before the marathon. They also recommended wearing wicking fabric instead of cotton. I'm sure that will be a bigger deal once we hit warmer weather!

This week our training schedule is 20 min easy on Monday and Thursday nights, with a 30 minute easy run on Tuesday night. Brant and I will probably just keep doing our normal runs this week - which means about 30-40 minutes.

We also started our letter campaign! So hopefully a lot more people will be checking out this page over the next few days - and of course going to our donation pages at http://www.active.com/donate/tnttxgc/hanako and http://www.active.com/donate/tnttxgc/brant.

Week 1

Training doesn't officially start until next Saturday, but we went to the kickoff party this past Saturday and met our honored patient, Joey Sehn. He's 3 yrs old and has two older sisters. He was diagnosed with infant acute lymphocytic leukemia and has been in remission for 2 years. He has one more year to go before he's considered a long-term survivor.

On Saturday, Brant also signed up for the marathon. Which means that between the two of us, our goal is to raise $10,400! We've got a long way to go, but I'm sure we can make it.

For this first week, the training schedule is to run 20 minutes on Mon, Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday and Friday are rest days, and then on Saturday we run 3 miles. That three miles is the official beginning of training - we will meet with the team and also have a clinic on stretching. I'll let you know if I learn anything really cool.

Last night Brant and I went running - we went over the training amount though. I ran for 35 minutes. It felt pretty good - and I got to wear my new dry-fit Team in Training T-Shirt. I'm really excited that all this is finally getting started! It's going to be a hard journey, but I'm so excited for it!

Getting Closer...

I got my second donation! Yea!! I'm now 5% of the way to my goal - which means I still have a long way to go. But after this Saturday, when I meed my honored patient, I will start my fundraising campaign in earnest. And then I'm sure I will get donations faster than I can keep up with.

It's been raining for the past two days here, but hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get out and do some running. Training officially starts on the 12th - but I figure I need all the extra practice I can get!

I've had at least one person say that they would walk the training with me, so as soon as I know what my training schedule is, I will post it for anyone who wants to keep track.