Training Season Has OFFICIALLY Begun

So here we are on Monday, my first "official" day of training at home. Saturday marked the start of Team Challenge Las Vegas! We had our first group Saturday run at Mission Bay. I got there around 8:30am at the temperature was already at 85˚!!! What is with this global warming?! Seriously. I'm ready for some cooler weather.

There was a good turn out on Saturday. And there was actually a good balance of guys and girls. Mostly girls, but there were a handful of guys. I think we only had like 5 guys when I did the run last year in Napa.

I'm liking the coaches so far. They seem very attentive to everyone and I think they will be an excellent support system. There were quite a few runners, actually mostly runners at this group session. There was one walker. Jess has officially asked me to be the walking mentor. There is one other guy, Jake, who will be mentoring with me. He did the Napa race this past July. He seems cool. Jess texted me the other day to tell me that there are a handful of other walkers and she'll be matching me up with them. Maybe I'll get to meet some of them on Wed for the mid-week group training session.

I did a 30 minute walk/run today with Zoe. I feel really good after it, too. I was really only planning on walking the entire time, but there was a downhill on the way home and I figured I'd take advantage of it and run a little. I really do love running, I just have my issues. BUT, on a positive note, I ran for 5 minutes straight! Twice. No stopping. A little downhill, to flat land, to half way up a hill. AND I didn't take my inhaler. I haven't taken them in a long time. I'm trying to not use them and naturally get my lungs to take in more air. I need to go back to the acupuncturist and see if she can help too. I had to stop since it started to get too expensive, but my mom has informed me that I have a $100 credit with her from referrals my mom sent and Dr Wang is planning on giving me a discount since she really wants to help me. So how can I pass that up?

And one more thing before I go.

Happy 1 year anniversary to my most awesome boyfriend who brought me flowers last night at midnight! We won't be able to see each other tonight since he works til after midnight, so he stopped by on his way home last night and surprised me with roses. He's so sweet! I think I'll keep him.

Snail Mail

So I found out that my mom had another flare up a while ago. I guess it's passed, but if I remember the conversation correctly, the doctor is concerned and wants to do some tests - I think that's right. But in any case, she's doing well otherwise. My mom is also on her 3rd week of the 4th and last round of chemo. Yay! Though she does look beautiful bald, my mom can't wait for her hair to grow back. Once it does, she says she's going blonde! My mom a blonde. I never would have thought, but the wig that she has that is blonde actually looks really good on her. *sigh*

I could never go blonde, not that I want to. I love my dark hair and blue eyes. I just play around with highlights. I love the dark with red highlights. My hairdresser, Marcy, is awesome. I haven't been disappointed with a hair color yet. I'm thinking for race weekend that I'm going to re-do my highlights with BLUE and ORANGE so that I totally sport my Team Challenge spirit! I think it'll be awesome. Unless...I could always to just blue and orange hair! Ha! What do you think? Should I do highlights or actually color all the hair? I'm open for suggestions. I have til December anyways.

I started sending out all my emails for donations. So far I've got $211. That's just 4% of my goal. I finally finished the letter I'm actually sending out via "snail mail." I have 100 copies and 100 stamps. Gavin at the UPS store in Mira Mesa totally was able to fix the issue with one of the PDFs I have for the donation form. He worked his magic with Corel. He's awesome. Now I have to start addressing envelopes and stuff. That should take a day or two, but that was where I was able to raise the most money. People don't normally get snail mail anymore. I always love it, especially when it's not junk mail or bills. It makes me feel special. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that feels that way. If you have an address of someone that you think would donate and help me reach $5000, please shoot me an email with their info and I'll send them a letter via the US Postal Service.

And one more thing. It's really friggin HOT!

Quick Sniff

Today I did just a quick 30 min walk with Zoe. A different route than she's used to so there were LOTS of new smells for her. Her wanting to sniff everything does hinder the walk a bit, but she's getting better and doing the quick sniff to keep the pace moving. A major improvement from last year when it was difficult to take the dogs out because it was snifftastic for the dogs on a regular basis and they hadn't been used to the pace. Zoe's getting the hang of it. If we run, she's learned that everything has to be fast - sniffing, peeing, whatever. And when we walk, she has a little more time to do everything. But she keeps up, which is good.

Yesterday's run was good, but totally made the start of my day suck. Zoe and I were heading home as we were crossing the street, this bitch in a white car decided she didn't want to wait for us. She almost hit my dog! as she swerved around us. SERIOUSLY??!! She could have waited like 10 more seconds and we would have been passed her car. Friggin' Mira Mesa drivers. Same thing happened last year with a truck. I don't want to get all racist or anything, but asian drivers in Mira Mesa should not be behind a wheel. They are totally inconsiderate of pedestrians, drive too slow, or whatever. Now I'm not saying ALL asian drivers are bad, but living in Mira Mesa practically my entire life, I've only had bad experiences with them.

So anyways, enough of that.

Saturday is our first offical group run. Looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Back in Cali - Getting In The Groove Again

Hey everyone! I'm back in Cali!

My trip to Canada was spectacular. It rained. And rained. And rained. And then we sped through the mid-west of the USA - North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, and finally Arizona. Didn't really get to see much, but it was fun. Though the days were really long in the car. It's a good thing that Lea and I get along so well! :) Her dog and cat are great travelers. Mine is the same. Zoe, she likes to lay down in the back of my car on her dog bed. Things are gonna change with her though. I bought her a dog seat belt thing. Lea uses it for her puppy. It'll be safer for Zoe and she have non-stop access to the open window.

So I went for a run/walk today. More walking than running. I really haven't done any exercising in 2 weeks! Yikes! I definitely felt it today. I'm all gross and sweaty and exhausted. But it felt really good to get out again. Team Challenge had it's kick-off party Saturday to officially start the training season for Vegas...and I wasn't there. Boo! But Saturday is our first offical group training where we will find out what pace everyone is at and I'll get matched up with my mentees. Should be exciting! My goal this year is to be more diligent about getting out EVERYDAY and doing at least 30 minutes of training. There actually is a training schedule for each week that we are to follow. So as long as I have that posted somewhere on the wall where I can see it, I can follow it. I know myself, and there are days when I'll just get lazy and not want to run and instead I'll jump on the elliptical. Which I guess is okay too. It's something. But I'm definitely looking forward to this season. I'll try to be more on top of my blog writing. A few times a week, if not a chance to write every day how things are going. Last year I seemed to only have a few every month. So I'm going to change that! Yes I am!

Alright. I hope everyone is having a good week so far. Don't forget to donate!! And please pass my fundraising website on to all your friends and family. I really want to reach my $5000 goal this year!

Luv Ya!

Hello From Canada!

Today I pretty much spent on a plane to Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba to be exact. Why? you ask. One of my best friends, Lea, has spent the summer out here running a day camp and she needed someone to drive back to the USofA with her. I gladly accepted. I've never been to Canada and I've been itching to travel again. So this was nice. I've been looking forward to this for a few months.
Lea had told me to expect cold weather, and I've got to say, it is anything but cold here. It's hot and muggy, just like NYC! Though I am totally loving the lightening tonight! I can see it as I stare out the window. It's awesome. I haven't done much today. Rode on 2 planes, went to the Winnipeg Zoo briefly to see the statue of Winnie The Pooh (though we didn't get a chance to see anything else). Went shopping at the ROOTS outlet (it's the clothing company that did all the Olympic gear for years). I had dinner with some of Lea's family and on the way to Lea's cabin at the lake, we stopped for a shake. It was really good, but super sweet. I mixed 3 flavors - chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow. It tasted like a Fluffernutter with chocolate. It was oh so very yummy for my tummy. Though I have to admit, I did not eat the whole thing. I put the rest in the freezer to have later. It was just too much sweetness.

The time difference is about 2 hours ahead of California. I'm tired but I'm not. It's very peaceful here tonight. As I stare out the window I can see the moonlight reflecting off the lake. Very calming. Looking forward to seeing the land in the morning. I'll take pictures.
Lea works at a camp about a half mile down the road. I plan on doing some walking tomorrow to check out the area and meet her for lunch. And I'll get my workout done. How convenient. :)

I hope this posting finds you well. I have just received 2 donations so far! Shout out to Sara Turner and Sal Pecoraro! Thanks so much!! Sal has become my first $100 donation. Way to go SAL! You are first on my list of dedicated miles. I hope there are more $100 donations to come from all of you. I am 3% closer to my goal of $5000!

OMG! I just heard some THUNDER! Awesome!

Help Me Reach My Goal!

I have finally set up my fundraising page!
Last year my goal was to raise $3500 to go to Napa and you all helped me reach that and MORE. I raised $5300 last year! WOW! I hope to do that again. But of course, I can't without your help. So donate today! It's 100% tax deductible and if your company matches what you donate, that's even better!

I want to try something different this year. An incentive if you will. I got this idea from a participant this last season in Kona. For anyone that donates $100 or more, I will dedicate a mile to you. There are 13.1 miles, so there's plenty of room for everyone. If I get an overwhelming amount, I will just have to double you all up! I've also been thinking about writing names on my jersey for those who donate in the $100+. I will definitely let you know if that works out. If I can get enough $100+ donations to fill up the shirt, that would be awesome!

So here goes...

Click here to donate. And pass the information on to everyone you know! Seriously. Do it!

Let the fundraising begin!!

The Mentor Challenge

So after much consideration and deliberation with friends, it's been decided that I WILL be a mentor. I know in my last entry it seems to go down the opposite direction, but my friends (who are awesome) have made me realize that this really is something I would be really good at. I think the whole situation with my mom has effected me more that I care to realize or admit (until now). I've been on this emotional rollercoaster. Doubting myself and my abilities and whatnot. I think now that I've acknowledged it, things will be easier to manage.

Yesterday I attended my second info meeting at the Carmel Mountain Ranch library. There were a lot of mentors, but I think we had more guests which is really exciting to see. I'm hoping most, if not all of them will sign up and join our team. It's going to be a lot of fun. The more I go to these things, it just confirms how much this organization has touched me. I really do want to help and find a cure for all those living/surviving/suffering quietly with the diseases. Until I found out about CCFA, I did everything for the American Cancer Society, and though there is nothing wrong with that, I just feel that there are other organizations out there that need help and funds to do the research to find the cure. This doesn't mean I will stop with my ACS involvement. I will still do the Relay For Life next year in May. I have to. My mom is a survivor of breast cancer (diagnosed in Feb) and I have to help. Now I just have to find an event to do for MS since it also affects a VIP in my family.

But anyways, I'm getting off track. I'm really looking forward to the first training day and meeting everyone. I'm sad I won't be at the kickoff party next week, but I'll be there in spirit.

I'm going to leave you with one last thing. At all the info meetings, we have been showing this video about CCFA and Team Challenge. Everytime I watch it, it makes me all teary-eyed. I thought I'd share it with you and give you a better glimpse into what Team Challenge is.

Undecided

So I've been thinking lately about this whole mentor program for Team Challenge. Thinking that maybe it's not something I want to do completely. It's not that I don't want to be a mentor, it's that I've just become undecided. Pretty much all of the people Jess has asked to be mentors have just finished their race in Napa or Kona. They're super pumped off that high you get after running a race, they are still in running shape, and they all know each other. Not that I have a problem not knowing people because I'm good at making friends, but somehow I feel out of place. And I don't know why. Plus, I'm definitely not in racing shape.

I've been doing a little over 2 miles a day and I'm beat. Seriously. I think it's mostly because the sun is beating down on me and I can't take it anymore - and it's only 9:30am!! I've been getting up earlier and earlier to try and beat the heat from the sun. It's just not working. Today I was out of the house by 8:30 and though at the beginning there was a nice breeze and a little overcast, as I continued on my route, the sun peaked out and blasted it's rays down on me. Ugh! Stupid heat. I even checked the weather before I left and it said, 65˚. PERFECT! But about 20 minutes into my run, the sun got me. I had no chance. I think it's been 80˚ since.

So let me get back to my original point. Mentoring. I heard Jess say she has about 19 mentors. Wow! Things have definitely changed since I ran with TC last year. We didn't have one single mentor, and now there's 19. Wow. That's all I can say.

I think that's great for Jess. She's made the program such a success that all these runners and walkers want to come back and do it again and help out. I want to help out, but at the same time I'm not sure. Maybe there's a way to be like a mentor's helper? I can have all the same responsibilities of keeping people motivated and help when needed, but without the "mentees." I don't know. I think I just need to sit down and talk to Jess about it. I'll have to remember to do that on Monday before the next Info Meeting.

Speaking of which, I went to the first one up in Carlsbad at Lululemon Athletica. The store has some nice clothes, just a little to pricey for me. :) Anyways, the info meeting seemed to go well. There were a lot of mentors-to-be there as well as quite a few people interested in joining the team. There's only one more meeting that I can go to before my Canada trip next week. So Monday, before my soccer game, I'll be up in Carmel Mountain trying to recruit some new people.

I was kind of hoping that maybe one of my local friends would want to do this with me, but no one has stepped up. They sound interested and like the idea of it, but just not quite ready to take that leap and just do it! Oh well. I just hope that I can get a group of friends to come up and cheer me on. That's what I was missing last year. There really wasn't a cheering squad besides Jess. I mean, there were LOTS of people cheering as we went by, but it just makes it that much better when your friends/family are there. My parents were going to come last year, but it was too far in the end. BUT, they will be there this year which I am super excited about.

Though I have to say that Caitlyn, who ran the race with me, was there when April and I crossed that finish line. It was a great feeling.

Vegas is not far. Everyone loves Vegas! So really there's no excuse this time. :0)

Getting In Gear

So I'm getting ready for the season. I just got some new running shoes and they are really comfortable so far. The nice thing about getting shoes at Road Runner Sports is that I can try them out for like 60 days and if they give me any issues, I can return them and try another pair. It's awesome. But I have a feeling that these shoes will work out.

My dog, Zoe, loves when I train because she gets to go out for runs with me. This dog has so much energy. She can keep up with how ever long of a run I go on. 2 miles or 5 miles, she's right by my side. I love it!

I'm back to playing soccer again. After taking the last 4 months off to let my ankle heal from injuries, it's so nice to be able to play again. I've totally missed it. Last night was my first game in a while and we kicked butt! 9-2 and one of those goals was scored by my boob!! Yes, I said boob. It kind of just bounced off it and into the goal. It was awesome! No one really saw it, but I felt it. :) What a great way to start the season.

The kickoff for Team Challenge Las Vegas is in a few weeks. I won't be able to make it, which I'm bummed about, but the first training starts on the 29th and I'll definitely be there. I leave for Canada next week to visit a friend and drive back with her to the states. I probably won't get back to San Diego until the 24th, but I'm looking forward to the road trip home. Should be lots of fun. I'm hoping to keep up the training in Winnipeg. I've been doing about 30-45mins a day, either walking or running. Lea says there's not much to do in Winnipeg Beach, but at least I could walk around the lake or something.

I'm super excited about this season. It's going to be a lot of fun.