On A Mission

The race...

2010-05-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

It was finally here. Five months of training (more training that I have done for anything since my softball days), fundraising (just over $3,000 raised) and a great group of friends to help me get through the longest run of my life.

I got up early (how could I not) and headed out via shuttle with my ladies to the starting line. Bibs on, timing chips attached, ready to go. And then Megan says, "Wow, those clouds look like they are going to open up on us." And then they did. It rained, and rained and rained. But we didn't give Megan a hard time at all!

And off we went. All five of us. Megan, Stefanie, Gabriella, Elaina and myself. Worrying we wouldn't have conversation to get us through 13.1 miles of running (3 hours) we set out planning to each share a story/memory from each grade. We started in Kindergarten. It was fun. Along the way we saw a lot of kilometer signs, no mile signs and were often doing the math to figure out how far we had gone in miles. This passed some time : )

(Running by the water stop-first purple jersey on the left!)

At kilometer 6 (so, just over 4 miles), we came to a water stop. I looked over and there was Jackson and Rick! Jackson shot up in his stroller, gave me a half hearted confused wave and expression and by the time I had burned his little face in my memory, we had passed them. This is Rick's shot of us running by, I am the first purple shirt from the left (ha, good luck!).

This was the easy part of the run. The rain had mostly been a drizzle. The terrain was flat. But then the rain really started. And my stomach weakened. But we pressed on. The hardest part of the run we had trained for, the hill, "Prospect Point," any hill that is named, is going to be tough. We were okay walking it, but we kept a steady pace going up, and the rained lessen the stress of the hill (in my opinion) and we made it.

At mile 10, there was an actual mile marker. Then Megan looked at me and said, "this is as far as we have ever run! " The marker was a great feeling, 3.1 miles is nothing when you have already ran 10! And it was seemingly all flat or downhill from there. Once the kilometer signs were under a 5K, it was a great feeling (mentally) but wow, my body was killing me! Every step. But it was worth it. At about the 4K mark we saw Coach Lisa (she had ran with us many times on Saturdays), and it was great to see a familiar face on the course! She ensured us we were almost there, and then ran backwards looking for more of our team. Right as she was leaving us, we saw Ali (a training friend who ran the Big Sur Marathon the weekend before, spraining her ankle at mile 17 and still finishing all 26 miles) taking photos and cheering us on!

With 1K left, we saw Megan's family! Andrew, Luca were there to take photos and cheer us on, although we received word at the finish that Luca was very upset that his mommy did not stop to snuggle him. So cute. Luca is only 20 months.

(Megan and I in the home stretch- Megan is the first purple jersey from the left and I am the second)

At this point we entered the final stretch, the home stretch once might say, and I looked over and there was Rick and Jackson. It was really crowded at the finish line, and I am amazed we actually saw them! Shortly thereafter, we crossed the finish line! Were wrapped in blue plastic blankets and handed our finisher medals.

(All of the finishers congregating in the finisher area)

(Four of the five, we are missing Stefanie, all finished!)

(Family photo, all finished, all wet, ready for the next one!)

Everything was great. I'm not going to lie. I was in a fair amount of pain for the rest of the day and the following day as well. But it all comes back to what we ran for and what we hope to change by spreading awareness.

Thank you so much for following my journey. Especially to Rick and Jackson, who were tugged along and were overly supportive!

I couldn't just walk away after crossing the finish line and have since signed up to be a mentor for the Fall Season and plan to mentor a team of five for the Portland Half Marathon on Oct. 10, 2010. I am really exciting to be continuing and hope to be able to provide the support to my mentees that mine did for me.

More to come! Promise!

Pre-race preparation...

2010-05-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

(My first attempt at making a stop-motion video, this is our trip from Portland to Vancouver)

Our road to Vancouver, BC, started out a bit differently than we had originally (back in October) had expected, geez, the trip to Vancouver is less than two hours a way for us, it was a great plan. Shortly thereafter one of our good friends sent great news that he was getting married April 30th, in Portland. We obviously could not miss the wedding, so, we set out to conquer our long weekend in the car. Three hours to Portland on Thursday afternoon, three hours back to Seattle on Saturday morning and then the final two hour leg to Vancouver Saturday afternoon. We made it. Jackson and Rick both in good spirits.

(My gear)

Once we got into Vancouver, we had to race to the expo to get my race bib and timing chip. We cut it close! They were seemingly very organized so it wasn't as tedious of a process as I thought it would be. Once we got back, I did what the coaches had recommended. I laid out all of my gear. As you can see above, this included my Team in Training journey that garnered the names of many people who had truly inspired me and or kept me moving along the way. All of whom have had, fought, and/or lost their battle with cancer. Torgi, Doreen, Norma, Ashley, and little Ryan.

After getting everything all set, I parted way with my boys, and headed to our "Inspiration Dinner." One of the local Honored Teammates gave an incredible speech about his journey with cancer. His ability to use humor to help us all understand his ordeal was amazing. One thing from his speech still resonates deeply. He said: "There are a few things you never want to say to your mother. (he listed a few, all of which got the audience laughing) Mom, I have cancer." His ability to share insight that we could all relate to was perfect. His speech was truly inspirational and his closing message to us was that through the research that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has done with the money we have raised, he was given chemo, and a new medication that has eradicated the cancer cells from his body. The cancer he had went from a very small survival rate to 90%. He is in remission and successfully ran a Marathon the following day.

(All inspired and ready to go, the fives are for our run five, walk five)

At the end of dinner, I was handed a card with ribbons attached to it. The note said: I have recently relapsed with NHL (Non-Hodkins Lymphoma), and am here today running for my six wonderful kids. Thank you for your help, Doreen. Then on six ribbons, where her six kids' names. Let me start the rest of this memory with, Doreen is amazing. She was a member of our Spring Training team from day one. She is fast. She is in shape. You would never look at her and think, she has cancer. And in fact, she didn't when we started. She had been in remission for several years. However, she came to practice two weeks prior our race, and gave us the heart wrenching news. It was back. She started chemo the week prior to our race (dropping nearly 10 pounds because of her inability to keep any food down). But she looked amazing. Her family right at her side she came to Vancouver and ran the half-marathon in 2 hours and 20 minutes. I told you, Amazing. Oh yah, out of the nearly 300 people there with Team in Training, Doreen raised over $10,000, taking the fifth most raised in the whole group.

After a quick team meeting for one last pep talk and logistics check, we walked back to our hotel and headed to bed early. 5 am was coming quick!

More to come, thanks for following,
Stephanie

What an amazing jouney...

2010-05-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile, as I suspected, work sucked me in for way too long and for way too much time. But, I still made it and am proud to say I have completed the Vancouver, BC Half Marathon in honor of so many people I have met along the way.

So, I will take some tiem here in the next few posts to chronicle the past few weeks of my journey and what I have in the near future.

Thanks for following,
Stephanie

Longest run...

2010-04-16T23:12:00.001-07:00

Is done. Well, until race day.

We have officially entered our tappering part of training and are nearly ready for our race. We ran for two hours two weeks ago and it felt amazing.

Can Seattle do it...

2010-04-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

(Megan, showing off her "Bunco" win with the Bunco glasses! She was one of our big winners!)

After a very successful Bunco fundraiser in Portland, I arranged a second event up here in Seattle to see if I could rally my local friends and raise more than the Portlanders.

I had tons, and tons of prizes (tons of Brooks gear, AquaSox tickets, Girl Scout Cookies, wine!), and four days before I only had three people committed (my local TNT girls), so I was nervous. But I rallied and got my event out around work, day care, my fellow Gymboree moms!

I was able to hold this event at the Brooks Corporate office in the cafeteria. It was perfect; plenty of tables, chairs, space for snacks and easy clean up! And, at the end of the night I had 13 people come to play!

And the drum roll, did they beat the Portlanders???
This is a tough questions because I changed up some of the stuff for this event. In Portland, the buy in was $10, in Seattle it was $15. In Seattle, if you brought a friend, you got an additional raffle ticket. In Portland, I sold extra raffle tickets for $5. Needless to say, Portland still beat them in total, but per person, Seattle won! Let's face it, everyone was really a winner her, it all went to a great cause!

Thanks to everyone who came out to play! It was a blast!

Run With Abe 2.0

2010-04-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

(Run with Abe 2.0 Group Photo)

So, I have been a bit busy at work, so I have a bit of catching up to do! No worries though, while my blogging has subsided, my fundraising and training has not!

On March 28th, my mentor, Megan and several other TNT Mentors organized and held the 2nd Annual Run with Abe (last year they did it on President's day in honor of Abe Lincoln's birthday—this year, they held it a bit later!).

About a month prior to the race, they asked me to recruit runners for the race and in return they would help me with my fundraising goal. I was able to get several donations from Brooks for prizes, Rick came out and volunteered on the course and Jackson and I walked the 5k race!

They got an estimated 200 runners to come out and join in. All in Abe Lincoln costumes! It was a great success! It even made the local community blog: http://fremont.komonews.com/content/celebratin-abe-early-morning-5k

Thanks to all of those who came out and ran, organized and donated to Run with Abe 2.0!

BUNCO CURES CANCER (PDX)

2010-03-21T19:50:00.001-07:00

(The Bunco QUEEN—Sara, she won most Buncos with 4!)

What a SUCCESS!!!

This past Friday, I gathered a group of 22 people to join in a large Bunco game! We had very generous donations (Brooks Sports gift certificate, Girl Scout Cookies, DiStefano Wine, Lone Pine Cellars Wine) that we used for raffle prizes, for top prizes! We held the event at the THPRD Nature Interpretive Center in Beaverton, which was great! Buy in was $10, which got you into the game and one raffle ticket. Then for each additional $5 you received another raffle ticket! It worked out great! And since all of the prizes were donated I was able to use all of the buy in money towards my fundraising goal!

(Jeff sporting the BUNCO glasses!)

We drew four names for raffle prizes and awarded prizes to most wins, most losses and most BUNCOS!

Special, special thanks to: Brooks Sports gift certificate, Girl Scout Cookies (The Munsell's), DiStefano Wine, Lone Pine Cellars Wine (The Munsell's)

(Sallee sporting the BUNCO glasses!)

This was so successful, I am holding another one in two weeks here in Washington! Brooks Sports is letting me use their cafeteria to hold the event and I have already gathered several prizes: Brooks Sports, DiStefano, Rising Moon Massage, Everett AquaSox. If you are in the area, please, please come!!

Thanks for following, and thanks to everyone who came out to the Portland BUNCO game!

Stephanie

St. Patty's Day Dash

2010-03-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well, after taking two years off from the St. Patty's Day Dash, I scrambled down to Seattle Center on March 14th for a "nearly four mile jaunt through Seattle." I had planned to run the entire race, and came close to running all of it, but the whole first half is up-hill! Despite walking for maybe 1/2 a mile, I still finished all 3.82 miles in just under 40 minutes! That's not to shabby!

I did learn that it is best to be in the back of the pack so you aren't tempted to keep pace with faster runners, good to know when race day comes!

Very proud of myself!

Thanks for following!

Stephanie

Bunco Cures Cancer!

2010-03-12T19:58:00.001-08:00

I have yet another fundraising event right around the corner! I was inspired by my Mom's Facebook post about her Bunco group last week and thought what a great way to raise some money!

So, next Friday in Portland, I have planned a large Bunco party! I have collected several prizes for a raffle and for most Buncos! We will have finger foods and beverages! We are gathering at the Robin's Nest in Beaverton, from 7-9:30pm. The suggested donation is $10.

If you are interested in coming let me know and I will put your name on the RSVP list! Bring as many friends as you would like! The more the merrier! More info can be found on my Facebook event page: BUNCO CURES CANCER

Please, please come! All of the proceeds go directly to my fundraising!
Thanks for following,

Stephanie

Can't get much easier!

2010-03-12T19:49:00.001-08:00

(Beautiful, flat Florida terrain)

Off to Florida we went this past week! I was dead set on keeping my training right on track, and I knew it would be hard. But once I was there, it wasn't that bad! The terrain was flat, the temperatures were mild in the mornings and I had very few distractions!

Saturday I went out for a 90 minute run on my own! Typically I run 5, walk 5, for the entire time. This time I wanted to change it up and ran a mile, walked a half of a mile, ran a mile, etc. I really wanted to know what my average mile time would be! I had no problem completing my planned run! And every mile I ran was under 10 minutes! This is a huge improvement!

(My water stop)

My husband and brother in law were nice enough to keep my water glass full so I could grab a drink each time around the two mile loop! They hid it in the mailbox.

Looking forward to next week and being back with my team!

Thanks for following!
Stephanie

Thanks to Skip...

2010-03-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, we ran in honor of Skip, who unfortunately, I will never get to meet.

For the past several years, Skip has hosted an annual breakfast for all of the participants to join in! I imagine, he attended many practices and was their praising and encouraging those who were out there running. All while battling Leukemia. Sadly, Skip lost his battle this past year.

After our run, we gathered for the Annual Skip breakfast, this year put on by his daughter in his honor. While sitting around the picnic tables, those of us who had never met Skip were told about his warmth and positive spirit all while battling such a huge fight himself.

So, Skip, I know you were there with us in spirit, and I know your daughter did you proud!

Thanks for following!
Stephanie

Over half way, with lots of progress!

2010-03-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

Everything here is going full steam ahead! Training hard, searching for fundraising ideas, and keeping what's most important on the top of my mind (the cause!).

Last week on our long run on Saturday, we ran half of a half marathon, and I did it with a smile on my face. I am beginning to push myself a bit harder, run a bit faster and for longer lengths of time. 13 miles is a long ways, but I know I will complete it! My goal is to finish in under three hours and at my current pace, that should be no problem!

Fundraising is going well! I have just about $1,475 in my bank! I need $2,900, so I have a ways to go, but I have a few fun ideas coming up! Let me know if you need any design work done (wedding invitations, logos, you name it, I am doing them for donations!). Most of you will soon be hearing from me about "Bunco Cures Cancer," and I am really looking forward to it!

And the best news yet! Our honored Team Mate, Ryan, is out of isolation! And Natalie, who's video was featured in my last post, has found a match! That is the best news, and one that really keeps the mission in mind.

Go team!
Thanks for following!
Stephanie

Hope for Natalie...

2010-02-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

Hope For Natalie Nakatani from Patrick Biesemans on Vimeo.

There are lots of little fighters out there any anything you can give is greatly appreciated.

Yoga Cures Cancer

2010-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

(Flexible Katie...crazy!)

Well, my Yoga Fundraiser was a success!

Thursday, I gathered about 12 people to join the Yoga Class offered at Brooks by Bothell Yoga & Fitness! They typically have 4 "students" so there was a good group of people for class!

It turns out, runners are inherently inflexible. Granted there were several people who were able to do crazy poses, but for the most part, we were all in the same boat!

Everyone thought it was fun, and most complained about being sore the next day!

I was able to raise about $150 and there should be a few folks straggling in (at least I hope!).

Thanks to all of those who came out!

Stephanie

A note from our Honored Team Mate...

2010-02-10T23:16:00.000-08:00

Things To Do In The Hospital When You're 2
by Ryan Peterson

1. Sleep well at night and take good naps.

2. Flirt with the nurses.

3. Learn how to examine yourself so you blend in with the doctors.

4. Peruse equipment carts for fun toys. Continually try to steal the blood transfusion kits.

5. Learn how to disable your IV pumps, so they have to be sent back to be reprogrammed.

6. Take your own blood pressure and temperature.

7. Lick the floor when you have no immune system (makes mom scream out loud).

8. Chase big brother around, be chased by big brother, ride cars and bikes with big brother.

9. Make friends with the cute siblings of other patients. Make friends with other cute patients.

10. Cheer up other parents when they're sad or just have been here too long.

11. Help the cleaning lady wash down your room.

12. Try to poke things into your central line when no one is looking.

13. Hoard pen lights, empty saline syringes and paper products from the night nurses.

14. Obsessively measure your own height using the measuring stick on the wall; cry and kick when someone else tries to do it for you.

15. Ignore patient privacy rules and try to thumb through other patients' charts whenever possible.

16. Whenever you see two or more nurses talking, regardless of what they're talking about, run up and join the conversation.

17. Test mom or dad's reflexes: burp loudly, pretending your tummy is upset. Pretend you might barf. See how fast mom or dad can reach for the barf pan. Sit back happily after they break the world speed record trying to get the pan near you, but don't ever actually throw up.

18. Dance on the bed.

19. Pull down people's shirts and look in. If you're only 2, you can be forgiven. After that, who knows.

20. Take in all the love every day, and focus on getting better!!!

These are all things Ryan does practically on a daily basis. Fortunately, he spends most of his time on #20. :)

Our Saturday Adventures...

2010-02-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

So, what do we do on Saturday mornings while most folks are still snuggled in their beds? Well, we run. We get up, we meet the team, and we run. This Saturday we ran the Kirkland Marina and it made me want to move there. It was gorgeous! Here is a synopsis of our journey!

(This is the half way waterstop that was just beyond the hill that we scaled! Volunteers keep the Gaterade and water flowing!)

(Coaches and Captains getting us all up to speed on where we are running to—oh yah, and how to get up the very steep hill along the way!)

(Overlooking where we started running from!)

Many more runs to come! Woo Hoo! We ran half of a half marathon last weekend! 6.59 miles...

Saturday Runs...

2010-01-26T22:23:00.000-08:00

Running is great. It is invigorating. It gets me motivated and moving so much earlier than I used to. It has been amazing. Add in the team members that show up every week, and the fun factor increases significantly.

Today however, I thought I would share with you our Honored Team Mate. Every week, we have a mission moment, where someone shares why they are with the team, typically sharing a story that honors a victim or a survivor of Leukemia or Lymphoma. It reminds us why we are there doing what we are doing. About every other week, we get a check-up with our Honored Team Mate, this past week, was one of those weeks.

Our Honored Team Mate is two years old. He went to the doctor with what seemed to be a chronic ear infection, but with his parents persistence, the doctors performed more tests in which it was discovered that he was suffering from Leukemia. He was checked into Seattle's Children's Hospital where is was admitted for 6 months of care, including 6 rounds of chemotherapy. We have received letters from his parents that describe a day in the life of their son and what he has gone through to eradicate the cancer from his body. As a mother of a one year old, I cannot even begin to imagine the stress and strain on this family (who also have a 6 year old).

This past Saturday, our team mate's Dad was hoping to join us, however, they were sent to the hospital with a temperature of 106 degrees, so he was unable to join us. He did however send us a note to update us on our littlest team mates progress. They were told that an infection had sprouted in his central line (which is surprisingly, better news than anticipated), so he was set up on 4 different antibiotics to treat the infection and his central line was replaced. On a positive note, on his last scan, there was no sign of cancer in his blood. He is getting ready to start his fourth round of chemo and we are all hoping that his scans continue to be clear. Please, pray, think positive, whatever you do, to keep this little guy feeling good and clean and clear of cancer in his blood.

This is why we are all out there on Saturday morning. Forget how I feel afterward. Forget that I have made new friends. Forget that I am physically surpassing goals on my runs. The fact is that, the money we raise, goes directly to funding research so our Honored Team Mate continues to recover from this disease, and so other kiddos never have to suffer through what many of us can't even imagine.

Thank you to all who have donated to my goal, and who continue to follow my progress. I am blessed to have a happy and healthy family, but knowing that organizations like this exist to ensure that when and if something ever did strike close to home, makes me work even harder to raise money for more research, and treatment options.

Thanks again,
Stephanie

$1000 Mark

2010-01-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I am happy to report that I have reached $1,000 ($1,005.53 to be exact). I still have a ways to go, but I am feeling better about the $1,900 I have left to raise because of a few exciting things I am putting together!

Here's what I got! I am still working on posters and what not to go with my events, but I am REALLY excited. Here are my small marketing ideas for each event.

***ONE***
YOGA CURES CANCER
(well, not really, but it sure could help)

Here's how—
Please join us in previewing the Bothell Yoga & Fitness class offered at Brooks!
Participate in class, meet the teacher, see what Brooks + Bothell Yoga & Fitness have to offer us.
All proceeds go towards supporting Stephanie's fundraising goal with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training

Join us: Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 1:00-2:00 in the Moving Comfort Empty Space
Suggested Donation: $15
Please sign-up in the Beastro (please indicate whether or not you will be bringing your own mat or if you would like to borrow from the Yoga Studio)
Please email Stephanie with any questions!

***TWO***
AQUASOX TNT CELEBRATION NIGHT
Join us Friday, June 25, 2010 at 7:05 for an end of the year celebration!

Tickets: $10 ($3 of every ticket sold goes directly to Stephanie's Team in Training Goal!)
Enjoy an Upper Box Ticket to watch the Everett AquaSox take on the Yakima Bears with post-game fireworks.

For tickets, please fill out the ticket voucher and return to Stephanie D.

***THREE***
All I have to say is, design for donations!

That's what I've got!
Hopefully it will get me some good results! I am really hoping to hit my 50% mark before February 16th (my recommitment date) and of course, I would love to hit my total goal and keep progressing forward!

Thanks for the support! And thanks to the AquaSox an the Bothell Yoga & Fitness!

Stephanie

Fundraising...

2010-01-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

So, recommittment is in a month (February 16). My goal all along was to be over 50% before then (that is $1450), so, I have some work to do! But I have some good ideas to get me rolling. Let me know if you have anything to add or any suggestions! I hope to get this first one (well, really my second event) up and running towards the beginning of February!

YOGA TRIAL DAY (in development):
We have a Yoga trainer that visits Brooks once a week and teaches a class. I have often considered joining the class myself, but I never really know what I would be getting myself into. And therefore, I assume there are others out there who feel the same. The class usually gets about 4 people, and we have 100+ employees. So, I emailed the teacher and asked her if she would be willing to volunteer her time to do a demo/trial class. I figure if I can get some folks to sign up for $10 for the trial class (the class is usually $13), I will yield some good results, and in return maybe a few more people will sign up for the regular class! The teacher responded that she was very interested, had to have it approved by her boss but we are scheduled to meet to chat about it next Thursday! Exciting! Anybody who is even considering donating their time gets a plug too! Here is a link to the studio! Bothell Yoga & Wellness

That's a good start I hope! I have a couple of other things like this to check out, and am hoping I get some good results! So, look for ideas on Garlic Jim's Pizza, Massage Therapy, Qdoba, and much more!

I am still collecting donations! I know it is hard to choose who and what to donate to in light of all of the terrible news out of Haiti, but even the smallest donation helps, even if it is in the form of encouragement!

Speaking of Haiti, a blog that I follow (Pioneer Woman) has offered up an amazing give-a-way this week. All you have to do is comment on her post about Haiti, and she will donate 10 cents for every comment (she usually gets over 2,000). On Friday she plans to randomly select 2 people who responded and give then $500 to donate to a charity related to Haiti of their choice. Please respond!

Thanks for following!
Stephanie

Did I Make it?

2010-01-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

Well, come that particular Saturday morning, I chose to walk! But it was a good walk. And I believe it was that added rest on my lungs that has allowed me to get going so well this week!

This week has been great. Some how I have managed to find the only dry times (except for today) to head out! Today the weather was perfect, great temperature, and just a little bit of rain (not enough to soak through my non-water proof sleeves). I had been starting to get a bid bored of my typical loop at work, so, I decided to switch it up today and ran the opposite direction! It was great, the oh so big hill that I usually run up, was a wonderful down hill coast! Who knew all you had to do was run the opposite direction? Ha!

As I ran today, I assessed how far I have come since I started Team in Training. As an asthmatic, running has never been something that I have been able to do well, at least not without needing my inhaler regularly. As I was running—a bit quicker than usual I might add, I noticed how well my lungs felt and how clear they were. No inhaler. This is a wonderful reward.

Thus, the training continues!

Will I Make It?

2010-01-08T20:59:00.001-08:00

I have had a rough couple of weeks. Vacation + A Nasty Cold = Not a lot of Time to Run. I have been walking as often as I can, but this week with a really bad case of bronchitis, it was tough to do anything. But, I am ready to get back on the band wagon. Last week was fun walking with some gals at practice, but I miss being able to knock out a good run!

So, tomorrow, I am back on the wagon. For 70 minutes I plan to alternate walking five minutes, running five minutes, hopefully with someone(s) who will be in a similar position to mine.

Will my lungs survive? I hope so! I know my legs will. I know my feet will. But, I'm not so sure about my lungs! I will let you all know how it goes!

Wish me luck!

I am still looking for donations! I am brainstorming ideas for fundraising, so if you have any ideas, let me know!

Thanks for following!

Stephanie

New Years Resolutions

2009-12-31T09:01:00.001-08:00

1. Keep Running/Fundraising
2. Eat dinner at the table as a family more often
3. Look on the brighter side of things

Should be easy : )

Bringing Family Together...

2009-12-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

(Madison and I getting ready to head out for our 60 minute run)

Last Saturday, the day after Christmas, I jokingly asked my 12 year old sister is she would be interested in heading out for my 60 minute run with me. Shockingly, she said, "Sure."

I was a little worried that I would have to go slow for her, or listen to her complain the whole way, but all-in-all, she did great.

When we started she told me, "Wow, you run slow." I simply assured her that in 30 minutes it would feel as if we were blazing the trails. She shrugged not believing me, but as I suspected, at about the 25 minute time mark, she was beat, complaining of a cramp in her side, but she stopped to walk, and would sprint to catch up to me. As we passed the house at about 45 minutes she bailed on me. I was still pretty impressed that she hung with me that long. I think she ran 3.75 miles, I was able to go on and finish in 4.44 miles. Not too shabby.

It was fun having someone to run with, I am looking forward to meeting with the team again this Saturday.

Go Team!
Stephanie

Incentives...

2009-12-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

So, like I said a couple of weeks ago, we have an incentive (a free TnT Hoodie) if we could hit $1,000 prior to December 21. Unfortunately, I was a wee bit short. But oh, so close! (I missed it by about $100) There were only a handful of people who hit the incentive, but I hope to hit the next incentive with ease. I believe it is being more than half way to your goal by re-commitment (that is in February), I hope to be way further than 50% of my goal by then since I am already at 30%.

I have some great ideas for the first of the year! If you are still looking for tax deductible organizations to donate to before the end of the year, I (and all of the TnT members) would be greatly appreciative. You can donate by simply going to my TnT Donation page or by mailing me a check to me!

I have had a ton of amazing donations this year, and can't even begin to express my gratitude, this has been such a great experience so far and the continued support from my family and friends helps keep me going! Thank you to all of you who have contributed and to all of those who are considering it!

More fund raising news in the New Year!

Stephanie

Making steady progress!

2009-12-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

We have reached week 8 and as you can see from the above photo, I am still out there running! And some of you may notice a light thinning of my face, how nice! My Glee soundtrack is still keeping me going, I need to get the rest of the tracks! I am sure people see me and laugh because I definitely sing out loud as I am running (it helps keep me moving at a conversational pace, rather than running faster than I can manage—this is what our coaches have told us to aim for).

I have missed our group practices this last week and will miss it again this Saturday due to the Holidays, but I think it has been good for me to push myself to get out on my own. I am however looking forward to meeting with them on January 2nd, for what I am sure is set to be our longest run yet! This week will top in at a whopping 60 minutes (my goal is to make it 5 miles). I think it will be fun to head out on Saturday in Beaverton, hopefully to run on some of my old stomping grounds (I just haven't figured out where yet!).

That's all for now! Thanks for following!

Love,
Steph

Seriously Frozen...

2009-12-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

(26 degrees and not a cloud in the sky)

So, today as I set off for my run, the temperature gauge said it was 26 degrees outside. This is absurd! It is so freaking cold. We are all just waiting for our 45 degree rain to come back!

Despite the cold, it was a great run!

I think is is time to give a shout out to the company I work for! I wouldn't be as successful without my great gear! For the first time I understand why they go to such great lengths to make "running" apparel for all climates and people. I was properly dressed in my fabulous new pants (Moving Comfort's Cold Weather Tight), they have fleece on the inside and aren't as fitted as most "tights." I love them. Seriously, my legs were not cold! At all.

I was also wearing my Brooks VaporDry 3D Hoodie and Brooks LSD Thermal Vest. Both of which are awesome! I have to work extra hard to keep my core warm becuase of my asthma, and these two items seem to be doing the trick! The Hoodie has little "flip wrist cuffs" that keep your hands warm! With an Equilibrium LS underneath and a fabulous Moving Comfort Sports Bra (never going back to any other brand, ever!) I was set. Oh yeah, my shoes are great too! The Ravenna's, I adore them. And they are pretty. They are super light too, they don't feel like I am carrying a ton of bricks a long with my every step! They seem to be holding up nicley too, I hate when I get new shoes and you go for a run in the rain and you are afraid to get them dirty, the color on these shoes seem to be weathering those days nicely.

I have been rocking out to the Glee Soundtrack on my runs! I love this show and the music is great! I am sure when I run past people they look at me oddly becuase I am sure I am singing out loud and don't realize it!

I got an email from my mentor (Megan) this week reminding me that there are incentives in place for those who hit fundraising goals! I am $200 off from my first incentive. If I can reach $1000 by Dec. 21st, then I get a TnT Hoodie. You all know how much I LOVE sweatshirts! Any donations, of any size/kind would be extreamly appreciated!

Anyhoo! Thanks to all of you for keeping up with my journey! I am doing great and am working hard!

Stephanie

A Successful Fundraising Event!

2009-11-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

(Yes, these cookie dough filled, homemade fudge topped cupcakes are amazing! Care of Mrs. Kohn!)

While in recovery mode, it gave me some extra time to focus on my fundraiser that I held last week at work! I buddied up with a friend at work who is also in Team in Training but training for the triathlon (Tiffany). We spent about two weeks planning lunch and a bake sale for my office (I knew both would be a hit in a crowd of a bunch of runners!) for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving! It was a success!

(Our sign, donation jar and cookies care of Liz W.)

(Elaina—one of our team captains, who also works at Brooks, is showing how to fill up a goodie bag!)

We started by asking around for people to volunteer the baking skills! We had so many people bring in goodies! We must have filled a table that was 10ft by 3.5ft. Cookies, Cupcakes, pies, you name it we had it arrive.

(Scalloped Potatoes with Ham a la Stephanie—the final bites!)

(Salads a la Tiffany)

For lunch, I served up Scalloped Potatoes with Ham and Tiffany brought a variety of Salads! We probably could have made more! We asked for everyone to sign up by the end of Monday, but as I am sure you all guessed we figured about 6 people signed up after the fact! No biggie!

I got lots of great comments about my lunch, which was nice since I tend to get picked on for burning food! The bake sale was such a hit we set it out again the next day for folks to peruse some more! And when I left mid day we were still gathering funds!

So, my fundraising tally has began to move! I have had some great donations from family and friends (way more than I was ever anticipating!) and am looking forward to planning more events at work, the lunch seemed to be a great idea!

Thanks to all who came to support us!

WANT THE DETAILS?
Bake sale:
1. We sent out flyers in co-workers mailboxes asking for them to donate their cooking expertise!
2. We allowed folks to donate at their own discretion, however, we did provide small paper bags and suggested a $5 donation for a filled bag.
3. We made lunch that day to give people more reason to come into the cafeteria where the bake sale was happening (everyone eats lunch and most can't resist the baked goods!)

Lunch:
1. Do a sign up sheet so you bring enough for everyone
2. Consider a vegetarian option
3. Set a recommended donation, we set it at $5
4. We sent out an email and posted signs around our office the week prior! Note, you should probably check with the folks in charge to make sure this is okay, we got a small slap on the wrist!

A Small Set-Back...

2009-11-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

Well, about two weeks ago now, I did some damage to my knees. I was ordered to rest, and walk rather than run. I am now back in the game and picking up the running pace again!

Phew!

Nearly 2 Weeks In!

2009-11-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

(Before the run!)

So, I have been waiting for a milestone to make my second post. Everyday I went out for a run I would think, "That felt better than yesterday...I should post." But then I would convince myself to wait and see what the next day brought. Well, today, I couldn't wait any longer!

On my first run nearly two weeks ago, I took it slow, not knowing what status my body was actually in. I ran for two minutes and then walked for three for 30 minutes total. I left practice thinking, "I could have pushed it harder." The next day, is supposed to be a recovery day (an easy or light run), still not knowing what I was capable of, I pushed it a little. I felt good and like I was told, I took Monday off.

I wasn't sure how my weekday runs would go. I planned to do them on my lunch (very typical at Brooks, lucky me!), and as Tuesday came, I packed my bag in the morning and set aside 40 minutes. It was great. I ran 5, walked 5, ran 5, walked 5 for thirty minutes. I felt great. I did the same on Wednesday. And then because of a stressful day at work, on Thursday, I walked the majority (but I still got out).

I was so excited for our team run on Saturday morning! It was nice to leave Jackson at home tucked in bed with Rick and take off for two hours of "me" time. The members of the team are great. So friendly, all involved for different reasons, but many of us have so much in common! I kept up my run 5/walk 5 routine and was successful despite the weather being horrible! This was the first day I tracked my run! It was 3.13 miles. That is awesome! Sunday, I went out for a light run/walk (just about 2 miles).

Then I hit disaster. On Monday morning I was putting Jackson in his car seat. As I hoisted him in, I twisted wrong and heard my back snap. I almost cried right there. I couldn't breathe. Wow. It hurt. It still does. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Good thing it was a rest day!

On Tuesday, my back still hurt. But, I told myself the run might actually help. So, I went and changed. Nothing was going right. My new pants (freebies from Moving Comfort the day before) were WAY too big! But, I tried to make it work and pulled my support tank over them to keep them put. Once out on my run my tank slid up, my pants fell down and I put my shirt on backwards, so it was cutting into my neck. What a wreck. And to top it off, I got a cramp in my leg 5 minuted in. Ugh. I did my 30 minutes and scampered back into the office. At least I went out!

(I run along this path—it is one of my favorites!)

Today however, I started over. I had my good outfit. My back was still bothering me, but the weather was perfect! So I went out again hoping my run would help my back, and that eventually my leg cramp would go away (yes, it lingered!). Here it is. The exciting part!

(Post run!)

Today, I walked for 5 minutes, then I ran for 7 (two more minutes than ever before!), then I walked for another 5, then I ran for 15 more minutes, straight. No stopping! And I felt great! No asthma, no cramps, back was good, so I just kept running.

Very proud of myself today!

I have also received a few donations! I am planning a big event at work that should bring in some donations! So, look for new posts on that coming soon!

Thanks for following my journey!
Stephanie

What's this all about?

2009-11-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

(First morning of practice—after we ran, hence the rosy cheeks and messy hair)

I have officially been a member of "The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training" for four days. I have sat several times at my computer screen trying to come up with the perfect words to personalize my website. And they haven't come. So, here I am, telling my story, which compared to many involved in this amazing Team is seemingly "nothing."

As my busy season at work started to spiral to an end, I started to realize that I needed something for me. I needed some time to take care of myself. One could say I did a quick round of soul searching and realized that I was getting sucked into a routine of work, work work and very little play. I love Rick and Jackson to pieces, but I think everyone can understand that a mom needs a break to get out, get some space and come home a refreshed mom and wife. So I set out, looking for something. My goal was large. Find something that allows me to get out, meet some new local people with similar interests and heck, it would be nice if somewhere in there I could get some exercise!

I thought for a while about what this could be, I chatted with a few friends and was very quickly directed to "Team in Training." What is Team in Training you ask? I won't be able to even begin to do this description justice, but in a nutshell, they provide training for athletic races, in return for you raising money for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (much, much more information is available here). This team is by far one of the most amazing team's I have ever seen. Coaches volunteer their time, mentors hold your hand while raising funds themselves all to ultimately race together in an end of the season event. But the team isn't just coaches and mentors, they also have Honored Teammates who are either actively fighting Leukemia/Lymphoma or have survived it (with great help from the LLS).

I am lucky. I haven't been directly effected by Leukemia or Lymphoma. I pray I never am. While many of my team mates run in memory or in honor of someone else, I run for those I meet along the way, and in hope of a cure. Yesterday, we learned about one of our three honored team mates. She is three and is currently a patient at Seattle's Children's Hospital under going treatment. I can't help looking at Jackson and wondering what it would be like if something as difficult struck at home. It would be unbearable. So, if all I have to do is run, I can run.

This was it for me, I knew it right away. I get to be on a team. As a team sport athlete through my entire childhood, I knew that I would be able to hold myself accountable to get to practice whenever, wherever, knowing that I can't let my team down. I would meet a ton of new people. I would have something at home to call my own.

I did of course have some concerns. Fundraising. This was my biggest fear. But after being consoled by several friends my worries were put to ease.

I signed up on Thursday to participate in the BMO Vancouver, BC Half-Marathon as a member of the Seattle-Alaska Team. The race is on May 2, 2010. That is a little over 5 months to train for a great event and raise some funds to help those who are fighting with Leukemia and/or Lymphoma.

My goal is large. I have committed to raising $2,900 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. From that $2,900, 75% goes directly to both research for a cure, and helping those fighting with medical bills and support. 25% of it goes towards my travel to the event. Once I hit my goal, 100% of my funds raised go to the cause. I already have some great ideas on how to raise the money and am looking forward to the opportunity to bring more friends together to socialize all in the name of a great cause.

That being said, I am looking for any help reaching my goal. Whether it be financially or emotionally. I have already been to one group practice and have made it out on my own, so I am off to a great start. I plan to keep my progress updated here on my blog and would love any notes of encouragement.

Here is a link to my personal fundraising page through the society: http://tinyurl.com/yddas7s

There are many other ways to donate, so if you are able and willing, but aren't comfortable donating online, please shoot me a message!

Please, please ask me how this is going! I am very excited about it and can't way to have a larger story! Thank you for being a part of my journey.

Stephanie