Results

Ok, so I'm a dork. I totally forgot to update my blog like 2 months ago to give you all the results from the race. I think the excitement of it all, totally just made me space out, though you wouldn't think it would. Duh.

Anyways, so let me tell you:
Saturday Morning, December 5, 2009
5:45am - Meet at the airport - UGH! Sooo early!!
8:30am - Arrived in VEGAS!!


December in Las Vegas is COLD!! Seriously. It was like 30* out and it totally rained, but luckily not on race day.
So we stayed at the MGM Grand, but check in took FOREVER. Ugh. I think we waited for our room for like 3 hours. The coaches wanted to do a group run to the race expo after everyone checked in. I totally didn't do that run. I walked. While most people changed into their running gear, I and a few others, just changed into our running shoes and we walked over with the group. I found some neat stuff over there. I bought a thermal long sleeve shirt with the Las Vegas RnR logo on it. Got a bag full of samples and free stuff. Can't go wrong with that, right?! :)
Once we got back to the hotel, we hoped our room would be ready. But we were wrong. It took probably another hour or so before that happened. But in the meantime, I was able to meet up with my friend, Sara, and her mom. Sara was gonna share the room with me and Caitlyn and Jessica.
We had our TC Pasta/Inspiration dinner. All of us mentors went down early to line up so that when our mentees came down to the ballroom, they'd have to walk through a pathway full of mentors, coaches, and endurance managers from all over the US. It was so neat. My parents met up with me for the dinner. That was nice. They stayed across the way at their time share place. I was excited to have my mom there as she's the reason that I was running this race.
After dinner, we had a group meeting with all the last minute details before the race. Everyone was anxious about the race. Even after already completing one half marathon, I was still anxious about this one. But excited.


Sunday, December 6, 2009
3:30am - Wake Up for Race!! - sooo early, I don't even know how I functioned.
We met our team down in the lobby of the hotel. There were HUNDREDS of people dressed in their orange Team Challenge jerseys. We were like a blob of orange. It was awesome. We all walked over to the Mandalay Bay together. It was freezing out! Next time, I might actually wear long pants instead of capris. Or at least search earlier for leg warmers. I checked in my "after race" bag at the bag drop and peed and then met up with the group for a warm up. We took pre-race pictures and before we knew it, we heard the gun shots for the start of the race. It seemed a little unorganized as to where to go. Everyone was pushing each other to try and get into the corrals. 
I paired up with Tiffany since we were in the same corral, #28 out of 29. HA! But last year my race time was over 3:30, so the slowest are always in the back. I went searching for my parents because I knew they were looking for me. Found them - they took pictures and Tiffany and I took off. It took about 45min before we even reached the start line. 
They were filming the race and had it playing on the jumbo screens outside some of the hotels. It was crazy. Just as we were finally getting out there on the race course, a few of the racers were almost done!! OMG. It was nuts. Those were some serious racers. I think the first person to finish, crossed that finish line in just over 1 hour! To be able to run that fast would be AMAZING!! 
Tiffany and I kept a slow, steady pace. I wasn't sure how long I was going to be able to keep her pace since I was trying to keep my breathing under control. I was determined to NOT have any asthma attacks this year. I decided to do any early bathroom break in the course. I found some bathrooms that didn't have a long line (like the ones I ended up at last year). And that was a good decision. The ones further down, had the line, which totally made the early break justifiable. *And I didn't need one for the rest of the race!!*
We past Tiffany's boyfriend first. Then I found my parents, who took some motion shots. And then I got into super focus mode. I worked on my breathing, kept a good pace and was able to stay with Tiffany for about 1 hour and 45 minutes until I started to feel my asthma kicking in. I slowed down, she kept going. But I'm really proud of myself. I was able to run for 6.5 miles without stopping!! That's a record for me! I've NEVER done that before. Though my body wanted me to slow down and walk, my legs didn't. I tried walking but they wanted to run. It was wierd. Finally I overpowered them and made them walk. 
I saw some guy working at a bar pass out beer to some of the runners/walkers. That was funny. I passed some of the brides and grooms who got married at the Paris Hotel. That's a neat idea. Get married while running a marathon. Who would have thought?
I passed some local HS cheerleaders, Team Challenge supporters/cheerleaders, and some random people on the sidelines in their lounge chairs watching all of us crazy people run or walk in the 30* weather. 
The weather was insane. I never truly felt like I warmed up. I got warm enough to toss my jacket on the side somewhere along the course, and eventually my gloves, but even with my long sleeve shirt and TC jersey, I was still cold. Yes, definitely long pants next time.


Finally about mile 10, Michelle Layton, one of the TC honorees, found me and ran the last 3.1 miles with me. She kept me motivated and inspired. Jess Johnson found me too, and her words of inspiration always get to me, and I could feel that emotional asthma attack coming, but luckily I kept it in check. Yay me!
Those last three miles were the worst. Actually, no. Scratch that. The worst was the last mile. It's like I knew I was almost done but my energy level was on empty. I kept telling myself, "you're almost there!" and then I saw my parents. And I pushed it harder. Not walking, but not running either. Somewhere in between. Michelle was there by my side. And once I saw that finish line, I pushed it hard! And crossed it. And almost collapsed. I got all teary-eyed. But I did it! All 13.1 miles. AND, I beat last year's time by 20 minutes. I finished in 3:21. How awesome is that?!! 20 minutes! Amazing!


Now I have a goal to shave off another 20 minutes. If I could do a half in 3 hours or less, I would be soooo happy! So it's something to work at.


The rest of my trip was great. After the race, I hung out with my parents and my boyfriend. We ate, I got a massage, and waited for Sara to finish her marathon. Yes, she did the marathon. And did it in about 5 hours or so. I don't remember her time. But that's awesome. Go Sara!


We partied that night with friend and teammates. Monday morning I walked to the buses with everyone and said bye. Then went to meet up with Arnon at Excalibur and spend the rest of my time in Vegas with him. We had a great time. 


Thanks to everyone who donated. I raised a total or $3,873.60! I couldn't have done it without your support.


So, now I have completed my 2nd half marathon. Still not brave enough to do a full, though Sara really wants me to do one with her. Maybe later. 

3 Days And Counting

I'm getting all nervous and anxious and excited and all these other emotions. Vegas is only a few days away. I leave Saturday and cannot wait!! Doing all the last minute stuff. I have to run out and get some GU and whatever else. Still haven't found leg warmers. Flashbacks in Hilcrest didn't have them. So I've just given up the search. It's not the end of the world. Maybe on my outing today I'll find some cheap orange socks that I can just cut the feet part off and make them leg warmers. Like the knee high socks or something. It's a thought I had yesterday at least.

30 minutes of running yesterday. I actually practiced my walking pace. It was a good workout. I figure I'll start out the race walking for the first few miles and then once my body is warmed up, I'll start some running. It's a good plan. Now only if I can stick to it.

I feel more ready for this race than I did last year. Maybe it's because the coaches were different and there seemed to be more support and comrauderie (did i even spell that right?) I don't know. It has just been a great season with Team Challenge and I hope to have more in the future. Though I think that if I stick around next season, I probably won't be a fundraising mentor, but I'll definitely help out. I think I've tapped out my fundraising for another year. It's hard asking people for money in this economy, but I'm grateful for the people that supported me this year. I have raised just over $3800 and as of right now, in the #5 slot for our San Diego team as top fundraiser. But that could change because Caitlyn and I have been at it. I get some $ in and then she does. I think right now I'm ahead. :) But it could change.

Anyways, I'm gonna go run my errands.

11 Miles Strong

Well I totally got over whatever it was that I had on Thursday. It was just a 24hr thing because Friday morning I woke up feeling 100 times better! I think doing nothing all day after my walk at the lake helped.

Saturday was awesome! 11 miles was on the schedule and I totally rocked it out! I had this plan to do some running, but with limited maps, I felt the need to hang back and make sure no one got lost. I think there was one map for 5 of us. But it turned out to be a good thing. We pushed each other to go a little faster than usual. Kept a good steady pace too. I'm glad I bought some Gu the other day. It really helped keep my energy level up. And I didn't forget my water this time. So happy about that. I think I would have died without it. AND I only had one pee stop about 1:30 into it. If I can make sure that happens again during the race, I'll be okay and not lose momentum like I did last year. The pee stops can totally mess with your time if there's a long line.

I started to slow down a bit towards the end. I think it was the hilly-ness of the bridges we had to cross. That was when my asthma started to kick in and I had to focus on my breathing. But I'm happy to report I didn't have an asthma attack. I kept it in check. Yay me! Walking only, I finished the 11 miles in just over 3 hours. And I am totally happy with that. Honestly, that's actually faster than my half marathon time last year. I think I did the 13.1 miles in 3:38 or somewhere around that time. So to do 11 miles in 3 hours just by walking, I totally have this in the bag. Add some running in there and I for sure can make it in 3 hours. At least I hope. But I'm thinking positive here. No asthma attacks. No early pee breaks. Just cross that finish line with the crowds cheering. Yeah. That's what I see happening.

I have awesome mentees!

I'm so proud of my mentees!! They are doing awesome in training and with their fundraising. Re-commitment is Monday and it looks like all of them are sticking with it and going to continue on to race day in Vegas. I'm so excited! Together, so far, they have raised $6,090! WOW! It's really nice to know that I'm helping them, even in a minute way. It's gratifying.

My fundraising is going well too. I'm up to $2,660. Which is about 53% of my goal. Friday I tried to set a weekend goal. I sent an email to 15 of my friends hoping that they would help me raise $300 by Monday. And if they donated, I would write their name on the shirt I wear to training this week. Out of those 15 people, only one donated. And he donated $100 which was totally awesome! PLUS he works for Qualcomm and put in the request for a matching donation. Doubly awesome! Not only will his name be on my shirt this week, but I will put his name on my jersey as well for race day. I'm sad that I didn't get a better turnout. On the plus side, my friend, Lauren, donated $36 which was great! And I have one more friend who wants her name on my shirt this week, but wouldn't be able to get me the money until tomorrow. I bent the rules for her. Why not? So I plan on using my Team Challenge shirt I got last year and finding some kind of fabric marker to write with. I don't want it to bleed. I have to check my marker box.
So, I've surpassed the amount I need to get to Vegas, but I'm still aiming for $5000. I'm halfway there. It's doable.

I walked Lake Miramar with a friend today. It was a beautiful morning for it too. This week is recovery week. So our distances are not that far, nor are the times. Today was supposed to be a 30 min easy walk, but I did all 5 miles. That's cause I'm awesome! :) Saturday I think we are only going to do about 4 or 5 miles. Easy peasy. I can do that. And it's at the beach - The Boardwalk. Should be fun. Tomorrow is at the UCSD Track. I've never been there, nor have I ever run at a track. Looking forward to the new experience. I'll let you know how it goes!

Sevens

I'm up to 7 miles now! Saturday we ran in Encinitas at Moonlight Beach. It was a really nice area. The weather was perfect. Though it was cold at first, the sun came out and got a little warmer. No need for a jacket. I probably should have left it in the car, but I was freezing in the morning.
I walked mostly with my mentees. Kinda ran back and forth between them. 2 of them could only do the 5 mile route, which was totally fine. I didn't want them pushing themselves too much. And then the other mentee I have did the remaining 2 miles with me. She's good company and keeps a great pace. I can run ahead of her to do my interval training, but she keeps up with her walking pace. Long legs help though. :)
I ended up running past the boat houses in Encinitas. I remember reading about them, but wasn't sure where they were. So it was kinda cool. And I had to take a picture of course to show everyone.



I figured out what the blister problem was. At first I had thought it was the socks, but it couldn't have been really. They were the same brand of running socks that I used last year. Coach Dave had made mention of the fact that my shoes seemed a little small when he checked where my toe was. But the guy at Road Runner was really sure about the fit. I mean, they are the knowledgeable one and I totally didn't think about checking the shoe size of last years running shoes. Turns out, that was the problem. My shoes were too small. A half size too small. When the guy measured my feet, he said that I wore 6 1/2. So a 7 would be good. They seemed to fit fine and they were good up until I started to get to 5+ miles. My feet swell.
Unfortunately, it was 2 weeks after the 60 day period that RR gives you to return your shoes. So I wasn't sure if they would take them back for an exchange. I figured I'd give it a try. Especially since after the run on Saturday, my feet were KILLING me. The blisters on the tips of my toes were getting worse. And going downhill made it excruciating. I actually walked slowly down the hill to try to avoid hitting my toes with the tips of the shoe.
Anyways, after some convincing, the guy at the register reluctantly agreed, but said that this would be my only time allowed. That was perfectly fine with me. I now know what size shoe to get when I need a new pair. I have yet to take them out and break them in, but tomorrow is a new day. Monday. The start of a new week.

My best friend, Jesi, is coming for a visit this week from NYC. Really looking forward to seeing her. I'm planning on getting her out there training with me. At least get her to walk with me. She says she can't run. Her birthday is Friday, Oct 16th and we're going to Disneyland. I'll get TONS of walking in there! :) Should be a fun day.

Wednesday is going to be crazy busy. I have to drive up to Seal Beach and pick up Jesi at her grandmothers. I'll do it early in the morning so that I can be back in time to make it to practice at 6pm with TC. Jesi can hang out at the bay while we run. She did say she wants to be at the beach as much as possible...

Happy Birthday Mom!

This past week's training has gone well. Saturday's run was in Coronado. And the weather was perfect!! The sun was out, but it wasn't too hot. There was a nice breeze. I think I only made it about a mile before I had to take my jacket off.
Most of my mentees made it out this weekend. The Dale family did a great job. 6.5 miles! We actually went farther than expected. None of us saw the neon chalk on the ground to mark the 2 and 2.5 mile turnaround. We ended up making it to the 3 mile marker! Not too shabby. We ended up doing a little over 6 miles. It was exhausting, but felt really good.
I have to say that I think I need to start training with the Energy Gu. I tried it once during a 5 mile run and half way through, when I took it, it totally gave me that extra energy to get me the rest of the way. Now that we're getting into longer training sessions, I'm finding my stamina runs short about 4 or 5 miles in. I think the gu will help with that. Last year I used the flavored power bar power shots to get through the half marathon. They helped. I want to try the gu this year. They are in smaller packages and I can fit more of them in my pocket. I have to take a trip to REI or Road Runner and see what goodies I can find. :)

The run on Saturday left me exhausted for the rest of the day. But I did feel great. Though I think I need to find some new socks. I feel like I'm getting blisters on the tips of my toes and occasionally I'll get one on the inside of my foot by the heal. My friend, Sara, gave me some names of socks that she likes. I'll have to check them out. I figure if the same thing happens with the socks, then maybe my problem is with the shoes, and I'll have to get new ones. Though I hope I still have time. I don't remember exactly when I got my shoes and the time might have expired already to exchange them. Bleh. I don't want to have to spend the money on a new pair of shoes. They are just so expensive.

My interval training of 4:1 is going well. Not ready just yet to up it to 3:2 but I will...eventually. Slow and steady wins the race right?

Yesterday, I did an intense walk around Lake Miramar with a friend and Zoe. It was good. My body aches all over, but it's a good ache. It means I'm working hard, at least that's what I tell myself. We're going to do it again tomorrow. But tonight, I have group training at Mission Bay Park again. Looking forward to it. I know Zoe is excited! :)

One more thing before I go.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Her bandages are off! Her boobs are perky again! And all for her 65th birthday!

Mom Update

So I want to give you a little update on my mom.
She's doing great. Wednesday she had one of her last surgeries. This one was for the reconstruction of her breast. She now has a matching (and perky) pair of boobs. And all just in time for her 65th birthday! which is next week.
I was a little surprised at the fact that the hospitals are now doing outpatient surgeries for things like this. She went in for surgery in the morning and was home by late afternoon. Seriously?! They don't want to keep people in the hospital anymore? I mean, I guess recovering at home would definitely be better than in a hospital. I just find it fascinating that most surgeries have become outpatient. My gallbladder surgery years ago was supposed to be outpatient, but because of complications I was in the hospital for a week, where as my grandmother had the same lapriscopic (sp?) surgery and she was out of the hospital the same day. It just boggles my mind.
Well, in any case, I spent a good portion of the afternoon yesterday hanging out with my mom at home watching a couple movies. Have you seen Calendar Girls or Mrs. Henderson Presents? They were really fun. Mom and I were laughing hysterically. It's always nice to find a movie that puts you in good spirits. And that's what my mom needs most. She has a little discomfort from the dressings, but I believe she gets those off on Tuesday at her follow up appointment.

Team Challenge Update:

So I've kind of got another mentee. Caitlyn ran the Napa half with me last year and she's doing the race with me this year, but she's gotten discouraged with her fundraising. Being the awesome person that I am, I have decided to take her on as a "fundraising mentee." She doesn't really need my help with running and stuff as she is definitely a RUNNER in the true sense of the word. I think she said she has a goal to finish the half in 1:30 or 1:45. Crazy!
But since I seem to be doing really well with fundraising, she has asked that I help her with some ideas. I couldn't say no. :)
Last night we went out to dinner at TGIFriday's in La Jolla. It turned out to be an awesome brainstorm session. This guy came up to our table after we were done eating and started chatting with us. Turns out he's a magician and had a plan for Caitlyn's fundraising dilema. He showed us some magic (which totally drove us crazy in trying to figure out) and said that if we can get a venue and get a lot of people to show up, he'll do a show and let us keep the profits. 100% of the money! WOW! How awesome is that?! So now Caitlyn has to get herself a location like a community center room or ballroom. Once we get that, then I'll make her a flyer, we'll distribute it, and hopefully she'll be able to raise at least another $1000. I think it will totally work out as long as Caitlyn puts forth the effort to find a place (hopefully a donated place). Then the rest is easy enough to make happen. So if anyone knows of a place that would be willing to donate the space and get advertised on a flyer, PLEASE let me know!!

Next on my list: To help my mentee family with a big fundraiser. Hopefully we can sit down tomorrow after training and do some brainstorming.

5 miles and still going strong!

Wow. Training over the weekend was intense. Saturday's group run was at Miramar Lake, not too far from home. We worked on distance this weekend, rather than speed. 5 miles! Woo hoo! That is the farthest distance so far this training season. And it's just going to get longer. I think next week we'll be increasing it another 1 or 2 miles.
I did the lake in about an hour and fifteen. Not too bad. I have a personal goal to work on. I want to try and get 5 miles done in one hour. I know it's possible, but it's going to take a little work. Saturday trainings I focus more on the needs of my mentees rather than my own, so I have to do some distance training during the week. And this past Saturday I did all walking. There was no running involved. Instead I worked with one of my mentees on speed. She's a fast walker, but I think it helps to have her long legs. :) So to walk 1:15, I think if I were to add in some running intervals, doing 5 in 1:00 is definitely possible.

Last Wednesday at group training, I didn't have any mentees with me. I was by my lonesome. No walkers. So the coaches had me work on speed. I did 40 minutes at a fairly steady fast pace and felt great! Since I had told Coach Dave that I wanted to try running a little, he is having me work on a 4/1 interval to see how my lungs and I can handle that. 4 minutes walking, 1 minute running. It's doable. :)
Zoe came with me again. Coach Dave LOVES having her run with him and I can say that Zoe absolutely loved it too! She was a happy and tired dog.

Tonight's group run is in Balboa Park. So far most of my mentees are planning on being there. We're doing TEMPO training tonight. Will let you know how it goes.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today is my 30th birthday! I can't believe I'm 30 already. 3 decades of me. Crazy. But I'm excited for what this next decade will bring. Since Monday is really not a good day to celebrate, I'm throwing myself a big birthday bash on Saturday. It should be LOTS of fun.

I did get up and go for a run today! Well more like a walk/run. More walking than running. My achilles is still hurting but not as bad. It actually feels a lot better, but I decided to take it easy.
I've been working on a personal goal to try and do 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. I'm getting close. I did 2.27 miles in 37 minutes. Though I did walk almost all of that, so I think it's pretty good. I figure if I can do 5 miles in one hour, than I can finish the race in just over 2:30, which would be totally awesome considering I did 13.1 miles last year in 3:33. So it's just a goal of mine. I'll let you know when I reach it.
We have training on Saturday at Lake Miramar. If you go all the way around the lake, it's almost 5 miles. 1 hour to get around it would be awesome. But I think that's something I have to accomplish on my own time and not on Saturday. I want to make sure that my mentees stay at a good pace and not push themselves too hard. I want them healthy and not in a hospital. If I can get them to walk it in 1:30, that would be great. I want them to start at one thing/one goal and then work their way up - pick up speed or whatever it is they need to cross the finish line.

Well, I'm going to go enjoy the rest of the day! Have a good week!

The End of Week 3

I can't believe how awesome you guys are!! I have now reached 25% of my goal! And I have a handful of names to be adding to my racing jersey. Keep those donations coming!!

Yesterday's training was in La Mesa at Lake Murray. I can honestly say that I do not ever recall being at that lake (in my almost 30 years of life). It's really gorgeous! I love Lake Miramar, but this one has these gigantic geese honking around everywhere. It's really cool. Though the trail doesn't go all the way around the lake, you can still get a good 6 miles or so it if you go out and back. I think we did about 3.5 maybe 4 miles total, which is really good. A little running. A little walking. It was pleasant.
I'm concerned my mentee, Sherry, is pushing herself too hard. I love that she is so motivated to get out there and train and try and run a little. But I'd rather her walk and work on maybe a faster pace, than see her get complications from running (if it's been too soon since her surgery) and relapse. But only Sherry knows her body, I'm just here for moral support.
Bruce is doing awesome. He's picking up speed really well and before he knows it, he'll be ready to do some running/walking intervals at a good pace.

We had a nutrition clinic after training. Learned some new things. I went out to Target today and bought some G2 (the lower calorie Gatorade). I haven't tried it before but I guess it's supposed to be better (less sugar) for training. Though there are better sports drinks out there, that's all that Target had while I was there. I need to go into REI and pick up some Power Bars. I have some of the energy shots from last year (which I think are still good), but I don't have power bars.

I went with the Dale's to D.Z. Aiken's for brunch afterwards. I LOVE that place. The challah french toast is my favorite. They hadn't been their before so it was nice to be there for their first experience at DZ's. I'm thinking we might have to do breakfasts more often after trainings on Saturday. It's a good way to get to know my mentees better and to help them brainstorm for fundraising ideas. They have to raise $6800 I believe in order to get all 3 of them to Vegas. But I know they can do it. We'll come up with some good stuff for them to do.

Anyways, I can't believe it's already the end of training week 3. Only 12 more to go! Vegas will be here before I know it.

Awesome Mentees

So I finally got to meet my mentees, well almost all of them. They are super nice. I have a family I'm working with. A husband and wife duo. They are too cute! The wife has Crohn's, which almost took her life last year but she's doing great now! And I'm so proud to have her and her husband as my mentees. They are starting out as walkers, but in the future, they want to be able to work up to running. PERFECT! I can do that! I can get them there.

Our group training was in Encinitas this time. I've never run up there. It was a nice run/walk. We ran along the coast highway. I think we did about 3 miles in just shy of 45 minutes. Not too shabby. I got some good advice from one of the coaches we have about walking. Since walking, I've found that I've been using totally different muscles and the pain I've been having on my shins (not shin splints) is completely normal. It means that my muscles are working to get stronger and eventually the pain will go away. That's good news. And I got some good stretching suggestions for my shins. Yay!

Oh, I almost forgot...I ran for a while too during the training - for about 8 minutes! It was awesome! I'm working on stretching those lungs out. I still haven't called the acupuncturist yet, but I will. I think probably some time this week.

There are 2 of us walking mentors. Me and Jake. I found myself at the training in between the fast walkers and the slower ones. I think my walk/run intervals will be good. I met a couple new participants who just joined our team on Saturday morning. Both walkers. One is the fast walker (she has long legs) and the other is more my speed. Not sure which of us mentors they will be matched up with, but I'll be very happy to have one or both of them.

I have one more mentee who Jess said probably won't train a lot with us as he is part of Team Fusion (a large group of people from a company who joined Team Challenge). But I hope to meet him soon. At least I can support him via email or phone.

I took today off from training. Back to the streets tomorrow.

Hope you're all having a great Labor Day weekend!

The Power Of 3

So I've been matched up with 3 mentees. I have not met them yet, but I'm hoping that they will be at the training on Saturday in Encinitas. I'm looking forward to being able to help them and answer all their questions (or at least the ones I have the answer to). Tonight/tomorrow I'm supposed to introduce myself via email and remind them to come out to the training on Saturday, make sure they're out there starting to fundraise and "sell" how much fun trainings can be! I can do that. :)

Ugh! This weather sucks! It's so hot, even at 8:30am! I'm good with high 70s low 80s, but high 80s and feels like 90s, does not give me motivation to run or even walk. I guess I'll have to get up earlier. But I'm doing it! Yay me!

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!

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)