Go Office Max!

Thank you to the Office Max on 44th St and Thomas for donating $25 worth of office supplies. That $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.

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Most of the gang, Central Team, Go Central! I'm in th back row next to Coach Bobby

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New running shoes! About to
get some dust on them!


February 20, 2010

I have let this cold get the best of me for the last two weeks. No more, I'm ready to get serious about my marathon training. Today was our 2nd team training, the goal was 3 miles. Off I go...uh oh...lungs burning, left knee twinging, toes feeling numb...I must be close to finishing my three miles!!! Not so fast, I was only a quarter mile in. So I started to pace with the telephone poles, walk to the next pole, jog to the pole after that, walk to the next pole and so on. As I was walking/jogging and trying to ignore the various pains in my body I started to think back to San Francisco 2008 when I was cheering my cousins on for their first marathon. At the time I was really there to just cheer them on. I knew they were running to raise funds for a cure, I knew the emotional ties they had because of Brian's father Rich but I just didn't fully feel connected to the cause even though I was saddened by Rich's condition. I had even forgotten at the time that my own grandmother, Florence "Pete" Gulde had passed away from Leukemia. I've only been with this organization since February but it's hard not to get swept up into the excitement, energy and compassion that every single person who is associated with TNT exudes.

I'd really like to say thank you to those of you who have already donated towards this very worthy cause and shared names of their loved ones who have/are battling blood cancers. I'll think of them, along with Rich and Pete during my trainings, they will spur me on when I don't want to get the next telephone pole.

Please be sure to post comments and past this blog on to your friends and co-workers.

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First Day of Team Training

Yesterday was my first team training. We all gathered at Grenada Park at 7:30 in the morning. All week I've been fighting a cold and wasn't sure how much actual running I was going to be able to do. But I knew I didn't want to miss the first training.

I let the coach and the captains know that I wasn't feeling well, and they all told me to listen to my body and do as much as I can but not to kill myself. Coach Bobby had us do a warm up jog and I was doing okay for about 2 minutes. During the lap, I was talking with one of the captains and I lost steam about half way through. I slowed to a walk and walked the rest of the way in. Fortunately my ego did not get involved and I didn't feel that I needed to prove myself by overdoing it on my first practice, this is a marathon I'm traing for after all. For me it's about crossing the finishing line and raising money to help find a cure, not about how fast I go.

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I must be crazy!

Today is January 26th and it's been almost a week since I signed up for Team in Training to run a half marathon and set a goal to raise $3500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'm nervous, scared, and excited. I worry about my feet, will I be able to cross the finish line, can I raise enough money. I love the idea of challenging myself to something so physically demanding and accomplishing the goal.

October of 2008 I went to San Francisco to cheer on my cousins Jamie and Brian while they ran their first marathon and I walked away from that thinking I can do that! Fast forward to November 2009 and a seed started to formulate in my subconscious..."I should start to think about running that marathon before I turn 40 in 2011". Then the seed grew and it crept into my vocabulary and I found myself saying it aloud. First to a few co-workers, than to my cousin Jamie...I said the same thing...I want to run a marathon before I turn 40. I'm not really sure when it became I want to run...to I am going to run a half marathon this year. But somehow it did.


For those of you who haven't heard about Team In Training (TNT), The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) groundbreaking charity sports training program, has reached a remarkable milestone of raising $1 billion to support blood cancer research and patient services. Jamie and Brian trained for their marathon through this organization and I saw first hand how much support this group provides.

Jamie and Brian first got involved because of Brian's Dad, Rich Moniz. In early 2008 he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell. While Rich is not directly related to me, I've always felt like he was family and was shocked to hear this news. After chemo therapy and a stem cell transplant (I have extremely abbreviated his fight for survival), I am happy to say Rich is in complete remission. I know this would not have been possible if it wasn't for all the money raised through TNT! I unfortunately lost my maternal Grandmother to leukemia in 1990.

While you may not be personally affected or know someone with a blood cancer, the LLS sponsored research has been the catalyst for effective treatments for Hodgkins disease, lymphomas, and other common kinds of cancer, including stomach, breast, and lung cancer.

Not only have I committed to running this half marathon, I have also pledged to raise $3500 for LLS. 75% off of my fundraising goes directly to research and patient services. Anything I raise above $3500 goes 100% to the cause!

I welcome your support and contributions as I fundraise for this amazing cause! Every encouraging word and stories that you share will spur me on to the finish line.

Please come back often as I plan to keep a running blog of my trials and tribulations during my four month training. I must be crazy!!!! Nahhhh just excited to help the cause so more people like Rich can be cured!