I moved!

I moved!

I wanted to merge my running and food blog into one place and tie everything all together.

See you there!

Verklempt

I'm still in awe of everyone's amazing-ness! I can't stop looking at my fundraising page and seeing that $4,000 and 100%! I even got a little verklempt :) You guys are absolutely amazing!

This is me today and I'm sure I'll be like this at the finish line

xoxo

Lauri

Thank you!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I could not have done it with out all of you! Just now I met my fundraising goal of $4,000!!!!

Thanksgiving morning I ran the turkey trot with Kuma and let him beat me ;) It was such a great run. I met a mentor from the new season's team, Kristen who ran my pace and we chatted through the whole 3 miles.

I also don't think I mentioned this, but a few weeks ago my hip gave out on a long run. Coach Jen told me there still may be a chance to switch back to the half, and I did. I feel a million times better about this decision. This allowed me to take two full weeks off my feet and rest giving me time to heal well with out falling too behind. I am also MUCH less stressed seeing as I have already run 14 miles and know how I felt about it and that I can do it.

Pushing yourself is always a good thing. However pushing yourself too far to the point of injury, not so good. I plan to sign up for more races through the next year and keep training. I'm also thinking about entering the lottery for the NYC marathon just to see if I get in or not. By then I would be ready for the full after a whole year of running.

I'm still so blown away of what Team in Training has helped me to accomplish so far! I'll be back for another round.

Now to one last month of hardcore training!

14 miles back on my feet

Saturday was my first run back on my feet. 14 miles! For not running in two weeks it was not so bad, although had I ran on schedule I would have had an easier time with it.

We ran in a preserve park trail, which was gorgeous. It was quite a chilly 33 degree morning and everything was covered in frost. Along the trail there are several small wooden bridges and streams that ran along the trail. There was also a fog that sat upon the lake and made me feel like I was in some magical place. I was waiting for gnomes to come out of hiding and hand me drinks.

My first eight miles went strong and I felt great. Mile eight I hit the wall. My foot started bothering me I ran about another mile and a half and then had to walk the rest of the miles.

The whole run took 3:36:18 with a 15:42 pace slow but I walked.

I'm just happy I'm back on my feet.

For the rest of the day I curled up in bed and slept.

Running and the Creative Process

I don't know how the creative process works, but it always seems, as I'm running...that thoughts start coming in; sentences start coming in.

Robert A. Caro, biographer

There could not have been a better quote for me to read today from Runner's World. I find that almost every time I run I have ideas of all sorts spilling out of my head like a boiling pot bubbles over. Something I could never figure out. There have been several instances where I have made notes on my cell phone so I would not forget.

It's a bummer I have not run in over a week now. I've been nervous about my leg and want to give it sufficient time to heal up and I've found myself in a bit of a writers block for all my school work. This semester my papers have been so much better, maybe because running allows my some serious thinking time alone.

Thursday I plan to get back out there after my physical. I hope everything is okay with my leg now as its feeling better. This Saturday I am looking at a lengthy 14 miler in the morning with Emily and Bonnie. We are going to run on our own this week and plan a new route. As much as I love running with the team on Saturdays we keep running in the same park, which I don't think is the best for long runs. There are several shorter routes most of which are about 3 miles so we keep running loops and meeting back in the middle. I find this a little frustrating and easier to want to stop running. So we're going to try something new instead.

I don't know how the creative process works, but it always seems, as I'm running...that thoughts start coming in; sentences start coming in.

Robert A. Caro, biographer

Holy Cow! This was today's RW daily quote and it's so true. Every time I find my head spilling over with all these ideas. I've been texting myself notes while running so I don't forget. How this works I have no clue but I love it.

Down for the count.

Monday when I went out for my run, I has having some weird leg pain, in my shin bone. It didn't feel like shin splints, so I took it slow and kept telling myself just get to there and you can stop. Four slow miles later I was back home. Tuesday I kept feeling like the bone was bruised all over, but there was nothing there. So I rested.

I emailed Coach Jen to see what she thought, and she suggested taking the whole week off. Yikes! I knew that but I feel like I have some issue giving myself permission to not run. I needed someone else's permission. Weird right. But like she said it's hard to let yourself do that mentally.

I get worried that I miss a day I will be destroyed for the race. BUT, if I get injured I won't be running the race. So I'm resting and icing my legs. So I can finish the marathon.

I've been reading Marathon by Hal Higdon and in there he talks about overtraining and says that It's better to be undertrained for the race than to be injured or overtrained and not make it to the starting line.

Back to icing.

Sad News

Many people who sign up for Team in Training do it because they have some connection to blood cancer. But not me. When I initially signed up for Team in Training I was in this for me. I wanted to lose some weight, become more active, run a marathon and most of all I wanted a sense of accomplishment.

At the kick off party we each received a sheet with information of our honored team mates who have been or were living with blood cancer who were there to inspire us through our training. I was sitting at a table by myself reading over the sheet and my heart stopped. I saw my friend Tim's dad, John, on there. I knew that he had been really sick but didn't know too much about it. I decided that I would run for him.

Today John passed away after a long battle with Lymphoma. After hearing the news I was able to make up my mind on the race, I'm doing to full marathon in his memory. Never before have I been so inspired.

The "Oh my god!" moment.

Today was the deadline for recommitment. I confidently filled out my forms and faxed them in, committing myself fully to fundraising and training. As I sat at my desk today (playing with my new desk toys) I saw an email from Rich our coordinator congratulating us for recommitting. and with this in it:

It's Time to Register for the Race!

Attached you will find the official Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Registration Form. Although you've filled out everything for me, Disney does require that you fill out their official registration form (if you have not done so already).

Yikes I thought. Recommitment didn't involve deciding on your race yet. But I need to do so by November 4th and I starting to feel unsure. The longest run I have done so far is 10 miles. I'll be doing 10 again this Saturday with the team. Then the Thursday I will be doing my 12 mile run by myself, since we will be away in New Hampshire on Halloween.

If I do the half marathon I will probably be running by myself and I don't know how I feel about that. I know that Emily and Bonnie are doing the full and I really want to run with them, but I also don't want to start a race that not be able to finish it. I really hate letting myself down, and I know if I don't finish I'm going to be really bummed. Matt said he doesn't want me to hurt myself, or to be disappointed (He knows me all too well.)

After looking at last weeks 10 miler, ignoring splits and going with the overall time it will probably take 6 hours and 49 minutes to finish the full. That is with walking some miles. When I signed up intially for the program I planned to walk the whole race, so I suppose anything is better.

I suppose I will be able to make a better decision after my next long runs.

What do you think?

10 weeks in.

"It is amazing how much you can progress week after week, month after month, year after year if you allow for gradual training increases." Bob Glover

This is today's Runner's world kick in the butt quote and it's is so true. I find it amazing what I am able to do now 10 weeks into training. I went from not walking or running at all to taking down a 10 mile (with out dying!) Had you asked me to do this a year ago I never would have thought I would be able to. The past few weeks have been rough training weeks. It's getting colder, which makes it harder to get out the door. I've been overwhelmed with school. There was a whole week when I was sick, and then my foot was bothering me for a few days both of which took me down. But I just have to remember to not let little set backs get me down. The other day a post popped up in my Google reader from Nicole at The Marathon of Life, it was her post race report of her first marathon. I read this after I was feeling bummed about training and just to read about how awesome her first marathon went after all the hard work of training was such an awesome feeling. It made me feel so much better about getting out there everyday and running. It's going to feel so amazing to cross the finish line!

The end is almost here!

The fundraising end that is! Only $547.61 left and I will be at my goal. If you have donated already thank you so much! If you have not, well this is an awesome time to do so, anything you can send will be greatly appreciated and will bring me one step closer. Once I reach my goal I will be able to focus 100% on my training so please help out! You can donate on line, safely and securely right here on my site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/li/wdw10/SeeLauriRun Thanks a million! Lauri

+58: How it went

Luckily for me today, we ran at the park right near my house. I left at 6:55 and made it on time.

Not only was it chilly today, but it was windy. I wore a pair of yoga leggings under my shorts. A nike shirt with my new Under Armor Zip up over it. Wool fingered mittens and a winter head band and my hood. After two miles I was so hot!

It was a good week! Bonnie came back after getting over a back injury and Emily was there. Just like in the beginning. Team captain Robin and Mentor Carrie ran with us too.

We did 10 miles this morning! This was my first double-digits run. I really was dreading it all week long. As it turned out it was not as bad as I thought.

This week I finally was able to calibrate my Nike+ wristband, so at least today was accurate. There is new feature on Nike+ now also. They give you splits for your run.

Mile 1: 11:44

Mile 2: 11:44

Mile 3: 16:17

Mile 4: 11:44

Mile 5: 11:44

Mile 6: 11:44

Mile 7: 16:17

Mile 8: 11:44

Mile 9: 11:44

Mile 10: 16:15

My overall pace was 15:15, slow yes but this is an increase in miles. I was amazed to see how consistent I am able to keep my pace. The run miles were all done in 3 min run/1 walk intervals

which I am sure helps me to be consistent. There were some points were we just walked a chunk of the mile, bringing up our overall time. Really all in all not bad.

I want to work on getting a little bit faster now. If I we can keep at that 11:44 mile we can finish the whole marathon in 5 hours 7 minutes and 30 seconds.

That 15:15 mile however will take 6 hours and 40 minutes to finish.

Our normal average pace is 13:23 which will take 5 hours and 51 minutes till the end.

I really want to finish this race in 5 hours.

How do I know all this? Cliff has a pace band tool on their site here, where you can go by finish time or pace. Then you can print a wristband to help you stay on track the day of. It even tells you what miles you should be taking shot bloks or gels!

+58: Brr!

It's Saturday and it's 6:15 am and it's freezing cold. It October for Pete's sake! It should be a tad warmer than 40 degrees. I should not have had to look for gloves last night. I really want to go back to bed, but thankfully there will be a team of people waiting for me at the park to run. That sense of obligation makes it a little easier. Hopefully it stays dry, 10 wet miles would longer than 10 dry ones.

Till later.

+52: A little while

Oh it has been a little while hasn't it. It's been quite a hectic two weeks. Where to start...

First we put my dog Sandi down last week. She was 16 and sick. A very tough decision but it was for the better. We will miss our little Puppy Girl.

After running Cow Harbour I came down with either allergies or a cold. I ran that Monday on the treadmill and took a few days off. I stayed home from school and had planned to run eight miles at home since I had to work. When I woke up, it was pouring. Normally I would go out still, but I thought that since being sick I should pass.

Running on Sunday was the plan instead. I hope up with a unhappy stomach waited a bit then went out to run. I was four miles out and uh-oh, I knew what that feeling in my stomach meant and it was not good. I got back home after five miles and that was the end of it.

Monday I picked up back on to the schedule, until Thursday. By Thursday I was so stressed out about the entire week of mid-terms and projects, and my fundraiser which was on Saturday.

Saturday, what a day. Emily was in Arizona so I went to practice with out her. I ran with mentor Carrie and Sheryl the walking coach. I was happy to have them there because I was very cranky and did not want to run eight miles. Especially once I found out that we were doing cardiac hill and snake hill. Cardiac hill sounds too much like cardiac kill. It was also the first time I ran on dirt and sand. My ankles and knee have been killing me all day today.

Then was drinking for a cure. Three hours of open bar, friends, and Royal City Riot! It was fantastic and I am so thankful for everyone who helped out and came. I can't thank you all enough. While we were setting up a guy at the bar donated a 17" Flat screen to raffle off and then Kim's boss stopped by later and gave me a check from one of her customer's for $100! Someone I have never met. The generosity of strangers is amazing!

The fundraising update: $3,308! Yupp, that's correct only $692 left.

+40: Ugh!

What a cruddy day. We put my dog Sandi down today. She was a good girl, but she was sick and pretty sick. It was for the better.

With that was also a cruddy run. I have a break from 11:40 am to 12:50pm, with classes and and starting at those times. So I thought I would get 4 miles in at the gym at school. By the time I got there and what not it was 11:50 am, I though okay I can still make it in time.

This was just poor planning and setting my self up to not do well. I thought that through some magic that the treadmill has I could run 10 minute miles. I know that is not in the cards for me now. But I thought oh this can be speed training, plus I always work well under pressure. Clearly that doesn't translate well to running. I got in 3 miles, wanted to die, washed my self up (since i decided to wear my running clothes to school and not bring something to change into)and went to class thinking about my dog.

Where I went wrong:

-The gym, it was hot and I felt like I was suffocating while I was there.

-Wearing nice plush, fuzzy sweatpants, they stuck to me like leeches.

-Cotton sock, yuck

-Coors Light Promo tank top I got from the bar, also made from cotton, also stuck to me.

-THINKING I could go from running 13 minute miles to 10 minute miles!!!

-Running with a cold.

It wouldn't have been so bad otherwise if It had only been one of these things, but all together= recipe for disaster.

Actually my stuffy nose felt better while running since it was humid in there and my nose tends to run with me (ha!)

Fundraising Update: $1839.00!

+38: Gimme 5!

The Gimme 5 Project

Hey all! So as many of you know from my updates, I'm still training for the Disney FULL marathon, to stomp out cancer and support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I have just about $2,200 left to reach my fundraising goal! To help get me there and beyond, I am instituting a friendly challenge called the Gimme 5 Campaign to all of you Facebook friends out there! 5 minutes, 5 reasons, 5 bucks. That's all it takes.

1. Gimme 5 minutes of your time:go to my website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/li/wdw10/SeeLauriRun, and read about what I'm doing.
2. Gimme 5 bucks - just donate online: five dollars for a great cause - and if you want to donate more, fantastic!
3. Gimme 5 friends - pass the word to five friends and help spread the word!
4. 5 is the number of years that some blood cancer patients have to stay in remission in order to be considered cured.
5. Every 5 minutes someone new is diagnosed with a blood cancer - money for research is desperately needed - so PLEASE donate now.

I'm doing the hard part, running over 20 miles a EVRY WEEK! I saved the easy part for you! Just make a quick painless(much less painless compared to a spinal tap.) $5 donation!

$5 can get you a few lottery tickets, a latte at Starbucks or a beer at the local bar. But to see how $5 makes an impact on cancer patients, check out these cool notes on how every dollar really does count

If 2 people gimme 5....
$10 provides two hours of microscope use to determine if a new medicine will stop a life-threatening lung infection in a bone marrow transplant patient.
4 people....
$20 pays for a bottle of nutrients that will nourish 10 million leukemia cells grown in the laboratory for a week, enabling scientists to test whether a new anti-cancer drug halts their growth.
8 people....
$40 purchases enough razor-sharp blades to prepare bone-marrow biopsy samples from 200 patients, enabling doctors to make accurate cancer diagnoses.
20 people....
$100 pays for the cost of an antibody used to determine the precise characteristics of lymphoma cells, allowing doctors to determine the best treatment for a patient.
50 people....
$250 buys an instrument to measure tiny volumes of liquid, which allows scientists to accurately measure the solutions needed to prepare a patient sample for a diagnostic test.
100 people.....
$500 purchases 10 hours of time on a flow cytometer, a machine that reveals a multitude of characteristics of blood cancer cells that could be developed into effective diagnostic tests.

As I put in the milage, step up and stand up to cancer with me. See the amazing things The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society does with your donation at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Website. Thank you for your support!
Lauri

+37: ~Post

Post race report

I finished in 1:22:33

Not the best time but Saturday is my slow day. Plus I finished!

Good-I woke up on time, early actually. Good-I was not over dressed for running Not so good-I was pretty cold before hand. Good- Didn't get caught up with the excitement of the starting gun by tearing ass across the line. We walked just like we do every run in the beginning. Not so good- We were definitely at the end of the pack, and catching up was not really too much of an option. Good-The James St. hill was not as offensive as I thought, even after driving it the night before and cursing at it. Not so good-I wish I trained on hills more, I was much more shot halfway than if I did 6 miles on flat ground. Good-I had a good idea to put my cell phone in a zip lock bag in the key pocket of my pants. Probably not good- I learned that running up hill and texting is not so hard. Good- Myself, Emily and my friend Kate playing going on a picnic during the painful parts of the run, as a distraction. Not so good- People telling me "You're almost there!" at mile 2, or "It's all down hill from here!" as I start see a hill ahead. Good- People cheering us on, Knuckle bumping with 5 year olds, high fives, words of encouragement, water stops, free tissues, and misting stations to run through. Not so good- Jammed my knee running down hill. Good- The beer truck. This was my first race ever and an eye opener to what's ahead. I need to make sure I keep on my training, look into what the Disney course is like elevation wise and train appropriately. Something interesting: Usually on the Sunday after the Saturday run, I feel fine. Monday however is when I feel the run. This time was different, Sunday I felt terrible (and had developed a cold) and Monday I felt fine (excpet for the cold) Overall- Big win! Glad I did it, and I will do it again next year. My husband even wants to run it next year too!

+37: Pre~

I'm up. Cow Harbor is today and I can't wait! I had a dream last night that I had to run the 6 miles around my kitchen table, number fell off, I forgot my chip and had no sense of time or distance that I had accomplished. Quite scary! I'm sure it will be much better than that today! Time to get ready and pick up Kate. I hope it's not too cold out today.

+36:Pre Race Readiness!!

Tomorrow is my first ever! The Cow Habour 10K which is a fantastic race that people come from all over to run. I am going to be running with 5,000 people tomorrow. I'm quite excited!

Tonight Kate and I went to pick up our numbers and race swag. We got sweet tee-shirts and other goodies. I have everything laid out, now I just need to go to sleep and wake up at 5:45 am. Hooray! I hear there is a beer truck at the end!! Off to bed.

+33: A cranky knee

It happened today. I missed my first run. :( I felt terrible about it all day long. In all fairness though, my knee has been bothering me since Saturday's long run. Four years ago I fell on a concrete floor at work and injured it. I was out from work for a month! It bothers me every now and then, but otherwise it's not bad. I found out at that time also that I have IT band. I think that's what this is, but am not 100% on that. However I ran yesterday, in pain. Took some Motrin last night, and decided this morning to rest an extra day and let my knee have a break. It starting feeling better today, then the pain came back while I was in my 3 hour film class tonight. I think it's the way I sit. The desks have no place to put my feet in front of me, and it bothers my knee when I cross it over, or when I put the other leg on top. So it still hurts. I'm not happy about it either, and I'm not sure what I should do. I think I may go to the doctor, and see if maybe I can go back to physical therapy for it. I hope it feels better for 10k of Cow Harbour on Saturday. Boo!

+28: 4 Weeks!

I can't believe it's been 4 weeks since I started. Eight days since the last time I was here. Things have been busy with school and running. Training is going well. My body is getting used to running. I find that I am better off running after I first wake up. When I go later in the day I'm tired during the run. I ran 5 miles yesterday according to my Nike+ watch, then mapped it at home on line to link to that run. And guess what? The map said it was 6 miles. I'll have to look into that. Maybe I need to re-calibrate the watch. I felt good about that run though. I walked a bunch of it, but I think that was because I went at 5 after a long day.

On the financial front, I'm doing quite well as of today, I have $1,552. This Sunday I am having a pampered chef party to raise some loot. And October 10th is Drinking for a Cure, which is going to be a huge drunken fundraiser. I went out hunting for raffle donations and did well! I'm excited.

Tomorrow, I'm running with Emily by he house, 7 miles. I'll keep you posted.

+20: THE WHOLE ENCHILADA!

Done! I am signed up for the full marathon! Holy crap!! Emily and Bonnie are excited!

I also broke $1,000 in donations this week! Thank you again everyone!!!!

Save the Date!

Drinking for the cure

Saturday October 10 5-8pm

TJ Finley's

Main St.

Bayshore

$40 per person includes 3 hrs of 25+ beer taps, top shelf booze, wine, food, and live music from Royal City Riot!

Email drinking4Acure@gmail.com for tickets!

+17: The whole enchilada?

Yesterday at group run, Emily pointed out how mice it would be if I ran the full with her and Bonnie so we would all have each other through the run, and we can chat and play games--and I'm seriously considering it. It would really be nice to have Emily and Bonnie with me through the 26 miles, and I almost feel like it I'm doing all this I should do the whole thing. Right? I have until recommitment to change my mind, so I will follow the marathon training schedule, and I'll let you know how it goes!

I forgot about this:

The metro station in DC by Derek's, where we stayed, had this poster right when you went up the escalator. I was so excited!

+16: Big Win!

Today was my 2nd Saturday run with the team. At last weeks' Saturday run I walked the entire thing. This week, I ran it, all 4.3 miles of it! I cannot tell you how awesome it feels to accomplish that! I ran with Emily and Bonnie. We ran for 2 minutes and walked for 1 min (repeat.) Emily kept our pace today and was good at letting me know when I wanted to stop that it we would stop soon only 30 or 20 whatever seconds left. I also found that doing the longer run actually made running easier, after 15-20 minutes I realized how much easier it gets with more time in the run. There were some moments where I felt like my legs were going to give out shortly but I made it.

I was rewarded at the end with bagels and Jelly Bellies. And then a nice 2 hour snooze and work.

After today I feel a million times better about doing this and signing up for the Car Harbor 10k this month too.

I need more money everyone, donations have slowed, so it you have been putting it off, now is a good time. It will make me feel better!

+13: Bike Ride

I am so thankful for this beautiful weather that we have been having. When it is 90% humidity I have problems breathing, get bad anxiety and am just miserable. I will take this year round!

Today was a cross training day, which meant any aerobic activity that is not running or walking. I was going to go to the gym after class and use that arm bike, where you pedal with your arms, in hopes to minimize what I like to call my "bat wings" or the flabby parts on my upper arms. Buut it was really too nice out today to be in a smelly gym with people grunting and I had a lunch date with my friend Jen, who is my journalism partner in crime. She found this crepe place on campus that only to find out they keep odd hours such as really early morning and again in the evening. But the lack crepes resulted in a nice walk on hilly grounds. Lunch was veggie burgers and sweet potato fries from our newly revamped cafeteria.

After I came home went out to talk to some bars about my bar night (more to come!!)

I also booked a pamper chef party as a fundraiser, and my letters are going out tomorrow!

Then I went for a really nice bike ride to the beach near here. I love bike riding, that breeze as you roll on! Only problem is my butt hurts bad from the bike seat. I never realized how much I really need to be running and bike riding, since I don't bring my I-pod, I have time to think about anything on my mind or nothing at all. TIme to notice all the little things that would be left unsaid. It's really a beautiful thing.

+11: Firsts

Today was the first day of school and the first day of real running (No, I really mean running not walking.) I woke up earlier before I had to leave for school to do a 25 min run wearing my new sneakers which are great! Today was a 25 min run day, which I did 1.87 Miles today using the walk run method suggested by my coach. I walked rather slow for 2 min, power walked for 3 minutes all as a warm up. Then ran slowly for 2 minutes, and walked from 2-3, then repeated. I varied the length of the walking based on how recovered I felt, it took a little longer in the beginning and a bit easier at the end.

On Saturday I talked to Coach Jen about this method, looking for some advice. She asked me how long I thought I could run for at a time and I told her 1 1/2- 2 min, and she had a good point, make yourself run what you think you can do, even if you feel uncomfortable for a little (for a very short time frame, not long discomfort) it's only a few seconds more. And when you reach a point where you can run 2 minutes with out being uncomfy then run a little more time. There was a point in the middle of the run during a run cycle where I ran for just about 2 minutes with out looking at my watch, which I normally do and tell me self "Okay only 10 more seconds" or whatever the case may be.

Good deal. So tomorrow I will keep that up on my run, and I know it will suck a little less with each day that goes by. As for the shoes, my feet felt great all day. They were not tired feeling at all, which they have been. I also enjoyed wearing my Chucks around for the rest of the day. They are always like a vacation for my feet.

And as for school that was good today too. I had Japanese first, which I forgot almost a whole year's worth of Japanese. (Not good) Had lunch with a bunch of friends, and felt great about eating my lunch from home. Oh! I did roam through the new cafeteria with them and found this tasty red barely with vegetables dish which I got a side dish of. I will figure out that recipe soon! Yum!

+9: Poor Ankles

Today was our team's second Saturday run and my first with them. With the threat of hurricane Danny raining on our parade I received some reassuring emails from my coaches that practice happens no matter what, and that it is to our advantage to run in all conditions because who knows what will happen on race day.

We went to see Inglorious Basterds last night, and did I did not end up going to sleep till 2:30 AM. When the alarm went off this morning I contemplated staying in bed, but I got up ate a banana and went on my way. It was quite drizzly when I left, still unsure of what to wear I wore my long Nike shirt and compression shorts and some new dri-wick socks I bought last night. These socks were sent by the devil. Too low, and I ended up with a bloody ankle from my chaffing sneakers.

It was a nice walk in the rain, with my Co-ordinator Andria, and one of the mentors, Carrie. Im amazed how fast the 40 minutes went with company with me. I got in a little over 2.5 miles and walked the whole thing.

After we went to the Sayville Running Store and they fed us bagels and talked about socks and shoes. I got fitted for some legit running sneakers that will not leave my poor ankles bloody. They have this nifty setup that you stand on and shows where you put pressure on your feet and then they recommend shoes for you. Can't wait till Monday to try them out on the road!

On the fundraising front I'm up to $710 and have $3,290 left. Also Bollinger's Family Restaurant in Farmingdale donated several gift certificates for my upcoming events and there will be a counter jar there also for donations! Go visit them and get yourself a tasty dinner and some homemade icecream!

+7

Day seven, vacation's over. Back to work and running. I had good intentions last night of waking up at 5:45 to be out at 6 am for today's run (and when I say a run I mean a walk), but when the alarm went off, I saw that it was still quite dark out, quickly allowing myself an additional hour of sleep before heading off to work. (Which for the record you know your job is awesome when you and your boss almost knock down the UPS driver to tear into your shipment of larger than life stuffed animals including a giraffe almost as tall as me and a barrel of hobby horses and unicorns which you then proceed to ride around the store!)

So after a day of playing with toys at work I came home went went out for a run. I haven't been running with my I-pod and I really enjoy it. It is nice to be able to focus on what is going on around me and helps me to pay attention better. There are so many little things to be noticed while running outside (non-running things). Various plants, people watching, people driving by and yelling "I love your tattoos!" The best is I found this kick ass vintage buffet side table which someone was getting rid of and I went back later to get it (and it did not fit in my car) and the guy at the house let me put it up further on the lawn to come back later with Matt's car! Score! i never would have found that if I wasn't running. (Or if I went at 6 am!)

I also got to try out my new running clothes I picked up on the way back from D.C. There happened to be a small outlet near a gas pit stop with a Nike in it. I picked up a pair of knee length cool max shorts, two cool max shirts and a hat. I am happy to say I dig these shorts. They do not ride up on me, the are short enough so you can see my tattoos in full view and long enough to avoid my poor thighs from chaffing. And the cool max is lovely because there is no swamp ass involved later.

Oh did I mention that the weather was beautiful running weather today? It was, I hope it is like this in Disney!

+6: Party's over!

We got back from our trip to DC yesterday. It was so nice, and I did TONS of walking there. I also did TONS of eating. Not the good kind the bad kind. Including a trip to Sonic to see what that's all about. (For the record, not so exciting, although the cherry lime-ade is tasty). On a more exciting note, I did get some running clothes on vacation!

Anyway, I did not go out on separate walks while we were in DC, but I did walk all day for several miles. I also missed my walk yesterday since we were driving all day, and today well, today was a lost cause on cross training day. I woke up super cranky and hot. If today was a running day I would have been out there, but today was cross training, and the gym at school/work is closed this week. I really didn't know what I should do for cross training. Really though none of this is an excuse.

Tomorrow I need to be in work at 7:30 am, and I'm debating if I should go out for 25 min. in the morning before I leave for work or go after work. I think I will get up at 6 am and go out.

I'd like to get into a early morning running habit. Okay tomorrow I'll be out at 6am.

+1

Happy Birthday to Matt! (My husband!)

We're leaving on vacation today so I wasn't quite sure when I was going to get my first walk in for the training season. I woke up earlier than planned and went out. It was so hot out already at 8 am. My walk was good, I went easy since I went for a long one yesterday before I knew my training plan.

I did however spend too much time fixing my shorts which kept riding up on me. My new mission is to get a pair of running shorts that are longer, don't ride up and have some kind of magical moisture wicking property so I don't feel so swampy.

Off to DC!

0:Kickoff!

Tonight was kickoff. It was so great to be able to meet all the awesome people that are on my team and working to find a cure for blood cancers. I can't tell you how great it feels to be part of a team where everyone is working together for such a great cause. My coaches and mentor are so sweet too! I'm even more excited about the program now!! Plus I got a sweet tote bag, and about 20 PowerBars. Score!

Training update, I jogged/walked 2 miles today on the treadmill. I decided I don't really like using the treadmill, I find it really boring, just looking around the gym. Now I have my training plan and I am going to be running outside more. Hopefully this humidity lets up.

Matt and I are going to DC tomorrow for a few days, so I will be getting up early on vacation to run run run.

Now I need to go pack!

-2

Wow! What a great donation day today was! I got 7 donations! (Thanks Carrie-Anne, Mike, Doug, Kellie, Caitlin, Krista and Teddie!!) I'm up to $420 and counting. This is so great.

Kick off is in just two days. My Mentor emailed me today to introduce her self, and let me know that she will help me out with fundraising, which was so nice! (Hi Donna!) This is her 8th race with Team in Training, and her fourth time doing Disney! She'll be doing the half with me too!

We also discovered we are neighbors!

I got my hair cut today too, which was well needed. I walked in and told Lorraine to "Chop it!" She didn't though, she knew I'd be unhappy doing that. So she took a few inches off and thinned out out big time. It feels so much better and I can still put it up when I run. She started running too and we are going to run a 5k in October together. I love how I've been finding new bonds with people I know already through running.

Nike is doing the Human Race again, which works well. It's a 10K October 24 all around the world. That's 6 miles which is half of my half marathon at my halfway time frame, so I believe I will be ready for that one. I'm signing up for the one in Brooklyn.

Matt and I are going to DC this weekend for a few days of well earned vacation (FINALLY!!!) Can't wait! This is going to be a bad eating/drinking weekend, but once we're back it's on! Training in full swing. I may do a walk/run to the White House, it's not too far from where we are staying. Hopefully it is not deathly hot, which I have a feeling it will be.

-4: A nice start

It's been three days so far since I started fundraising and my website went up. So far I have been able to raise $195, which is a great start. I have sent out emails to all my contacts (realizing I don't have very many email addresses) bombarded my Facebook friends. It's great to see people willing to help out financially.

Today at Matt's parents house for dinner my mother in law told me she forwarded me email to family and friends. I later checked my account and saw a new donation! (Thanks Derek!!) My MIL was so excited that her email helped.

Kick off is in four days, then fundraising will be full time action. I'm leaving on vacation the next day, but on the road I will be typing letters and addressing envelopes.

If anyone who is planning any parties in the future would be willing to be fundraiser parties please let me know. All you have to do is ask your guests for a $5 or $10 cover charge/donation at the door.

Don't forget to donate!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/li/wdw10/SeeLauriRun

-7: For real

After much debate, thinking, and asking others I finally signed up with the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society's Team in Training Program. This January, less than five months from now, I will be running/walking/crawling 13.1 miles through Disney World. I will be also fundraising $4000 for LLS as part of the program.
This will tell the story of my adventure, all the times I love running, hate running, how I manage to fundraise this all this loot, what I'm eating and of course about my training.

My fundraising site was set up today, so I spent a good portion of the morning making it nice, and then mass emailing it to everyone I know. My Facebook page has been taken over with updates about this and link to my site.

I made a nice breakdown of what I need donation-wise to get to $4000

I would need all of these donations:

10 Donations of $100= $1000

20 Donations of $75= $1500

17 Donations of $50= $850

26 Donations of $25= $650

I've been brainstorming ideas for fundraising, and if anyone has any ideas please let me.

So follow me along and check back frequently. I won't be quiting, my only goal is to get across the finish the race the same day I start it.
Of course please consider making a donation to my goal here
And please bookmark this Amazon.com link which will give a small percentage of your purchases to my goal.

Wish Me Luck!