Fundraising goal reached! 8 mile run & support TNTers running the Lifetime Triathalon July 11!

First, the big news: even though we're four days away from July 2, I am over my goal of raising $1700 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! I absolutely could not have done it without your help.

A tremendous thank you to donors over the last week:

Debra and Todd, MN
Jane and Dave, St. Paul
Kjersten, St. Paul
Susan, St. Paul
Jacqueline, Oslo, Norway
Liz and Mike, St. Paul
Jenny and Mike, St. Paul
Heidi and Evan, Grand Forks
MaryPat, Shoreview

Your supportive notes and comments have been and continue to be a huge inspiration to me. Thank you so much.

Even though the fundraising portion of this adventure has reached its goal, training continues! I just completed a team run this morning - we went 8 miles along the Minnetonka Trail, and it went really well. I'm looking forward to 10! Wednesday, we practiced hills at the Minnehaha Lock and Dam #1 - FOUR of them! That doesn't sound like a lot, but that is a LONG hill - .2 miles up and back - and very steep. And our first time on hills, about four weeks ago, we did only two. No wonder I was beat at the end!

Our coaches have also been diligent in giving us tips to train in the warm summer months. July is almost upon us, and that marks the beginning of our weekend runs meeting at 7am, instead of 8am, to avoid the heat.

Cheer on TNT athletes at the Lifetime Tri July 11!
And now for even more exciting news: Team In Training members (not me, thank goodness - one event at a time, thank you) will be participating in the Lifetime Fitness Triathalon on Saturday, July 11. Let me know if you're interested in cheering - I will pass your information on to staff coordinating support for TNT athletes. This is a way to get a taste for what I'll be doing in October - and of course a way to support athletes running, biking and swimming for a very worthy cause. Here is the race schedule and spectator's guide (including course maps.)

That's all for now. Onward!

New personal record, and 91% towards goal - $150 to raise in 10 days!

I know this is old hat, but I can't believe how the days are flying by. It seems like yesterday I updated my blog last, and here we are, almost a week later. Amazing.

Well, my training has been a little sidetracked - my husband and I visited family in Illinois over a long weekend, and just returned. Thanks to the suggestions of several friends, though, I was able to locate a running path in the town we were staying in. It was a great path - distances well-marked every quarter mile, and the path itself was something like 5 miles long (not that I got to see the whole thing, of course!)

I did eight miles on Friday morning, our first day there - a new personal record! (My old record was 6.75 miles - blew that one out of the water!) After that, though, a major rain storm blew through and the path was flooded for the rest of the time I was there. Booo. Oh well. Imagine, focusing a family trip on family, instead of training : )

In other exciting news - we are at 91% of my goal of raising $1700 by July 2 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. That means we have 10 days to raise another $150.20. $150.20 is ten friends giving $15 each - an eminently possible goal, but I need your help. If you've been waiting to give, please consider doing so now to meet my July 2 deadline.

And, a big thank you to our newest donors:
Barry and Stephanie, St. Paul
Aunt Julie, Fergus Falls, MN

Thank you so very, very much. You guys are incredible. Onward!

Track workout, vacation runs, and 85% towards goal!

Whew! How do these weeks go so quickly? Well, today we had the dreaded track workout. My first track workout was, quite frankly, a bit of a downer. I didn't understand what different paces were, and I was often last among my group.

Well, this time I still pushed myself, but not quite as hard, and it was much better. I was running about 11:30 pace miles at a harder interval than I generally do - 4 min running, 1 min walking, I think. I usually do a 6:2 interval. WAY better. We did a cute little "ladder" workout - ten minute out and back warmup run; 1 mile run marathon pace, 1/4 mile recovery (slow jog/walk), then 26 situps and pushups each, then 1/2 mile marathon pace, 1/4 mile recovery, and then 1 full mile marathon pace again, then 10 min recovery run/walk. All told it was about 5 miles.

I am going to visit family out of state this weekend, presenting a new challenge: how do I take my training on the road? Fortunately, my wise running friends pointed me to the USATF America's Running Routes page, which has this amazingly handy "routes" function, mapping paths in cities across the US. Thanks, Amy and Jannette - VERY useful! I will be using a route I found there, and maybe some 8# weights and a resistance band. That will keep me busy.

Last but hardly least - thanks to your support, we are now at 85% of my LLS fundraising goal of $1700 by July 2. Thank you all so much! Newest donors include:

Grandma Ruth, IL (awwwww... : ) )
Grandma Emma, IL (double awwww... : ) )
Sandy and Dick, Minneapolis
Darrell, Minneapolis
Andy, St. Paul

I have to tell you that when I first signed up for Team In Training, I was most worried about the fundraising, not the running. You all have been amazing - not only in the financial support, but also in your motivating comments. It has given me strength on days when it's tough to even think about training.

Now, we have $250.20 to raise in 15 days. That's 15 people - one a day - giving $16.68 by July 2. Or that's 25 of my closest friends giving $10 each. Think we can do it? I do! Onward!

Be the Match Marrowthon, 79.4% towards goal, and 6 miles

Be the Match Marrowthon - free registration through June 22! Last weekend before our long team run, on a cold, gray morning around 8 am while the sky was threatening rain, a volunteer with the National Marrow Donor Program set up a small table on the running path and registered bone marrow donors. It took about ten minutes - cheek swabs are used for an initial test.

Bone marrow transplant is a life-saving treatment for people with leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases. However, seventy percent of patients do not have a close enough match within their family and depend on the National Marrow Donor Program to identify a suitable donor. That's where you come in.

It usually costs about $100 to register on the bone marrow registry to cover laboratory test costs, but during the Be the Match Marrowthon, you can sign up to receive a cheek swab kit for free in the mail. If you are identified to be a potential match, the donor registry will contact you. Your obligation is to consider becoming a donor (you don't even have to commit to donating), to contact the Registry promptly when they contact you, and to update your contact information until you're 61. That's it. Check out frequently asked questions about joining the donor here. Consider joining - you don't have to run a marathon to support patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Just swab your cheeks : )

Our long weekend team run was in St. Paul yesterday. To my great disappointment, it was only 6 miles, not 7 - and I was really looking forward to breaking my personal record of 6.75 miles. Then again, thinking back to where I was, imagining that I would be a little sad we were only running six miles instead of seven - well, I would have considered that a joke, and not in particularly good taste at that! In any case, I am developing a little bit of pain in my shin and the back of my foot. I've taken it easy today and am hoping that will help.

In other exciting news, I am thrilled to report that we are now 79.4% towards my goal of raising $1700 for LLS by July 2. That means there's only $350.20 left to raise in eighteen days - we can do this! Thank you all, again, for your help in progressing towards this goal. I literally could not have done it without you. A tremendous thank you to new donors in the past week:

Lara, VA
Peter, WI
Dawn, St. Paul
Margit, Washington, DC
Bob, St. Paul
Kecia, ND
Aunt Bonnie, CO

Thank you all so much. We are almost there!

6.5 miles, 61% toward goal, and happy birthday TNT honored Teammate Megan N.

Yesterday, we trained in Minneapolis. One of our TNT mentors, Jen, is a run-walker like me, and we tried out a 10 min run/2 min walk interval that seemed to go well. I did my second lap at my regular 6:2 interval. The 6.5 miles we covered yesterday is a new outdoor personal record for me! Sunday, we are slated to run seven miles - good stuff. I'm still a bit nervous about my pace but the mentors assure me I'm doing just fine.

But on to bigger news. We are at 61% of my goal of raising $1700 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Three weeks exactly until July 2, and only $670.20 left to raise. I know we can do this!

One of the cool things about Team In Training is that each season, honored teammates - people who are battling blood cancers in their lives - are chosen for each of the endurance sports. Our honored teammate for the fall marathon and half marathons is Megan.

Megan is a Minnesotan, and was diagnosed 13 months ago at age 11 with leukemia. She has actually helped write a book for Team In Training - "Pennies for Patients." She just celebrated her twelfth birthday, and her favorite pasttimes are reading, writing song lyrics, eating gourmet and healthy foods, and taking long overnight car trips in the country. Megan wants to be a nurse and an architect when she grows up.

Megan just celebrated a birthday this week! Happy birthday, Megan!! Sadly, it had to be in the hospital - her counts are all quite low. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts. You can leave a message for Megan at her Caring Bridge website.

6.4 miles, 54.9% towards goal, a quick note about apparel, and team run tomorrow - 6 miles!

Did 6.4 miles today at about a 10:27 pace. It was awesome! I always get a bit tired at about mile 3, but then catch a second wind. My new best friend is the visor I picked up at Run N Fun, especially when it rains (like tonight.) A quick tip I've picked up regarding clothing: always dress for about 20* warmer than what it is outside, because you will warm up as you run. (Of course, you'll always want to factor extreme weather like high winds, snow, heat, etc. into your decision.) I always knew that of course you warm up some... but 20*? But it hasn't failed me yet!

In other fantastic news... we are at 54.9% (which I would call 55%) towards my goal of raising $1700 for LLS by July 2! Thank you so much to all of the folks who have donated in the last day or so:

Gena, St. Paul
April, China
Linda, St. Paul
Amy, St. Paul

We have three weeks, two days, and only $765.20 to go. VERY exciting!

My favorite midweek break is tomorrow - our TNT team run! These have become my favorite activities of the week, and tomorrow we'll be doing 6 miles. Who knew I would ever be looking forward to running 6 miles? And Sunday we will break my own personal record - we'll be running 7 miles. Heck yeah. Onward!

6 mile team run, 43% towards goal, and an interesting accomplishment

How did it get to be Monday again already? These weeks are just flying by.

On to more exciting news: we're now at 43% of my fundraising goal of $1700 by July 2! Thank you all so much again. New donors include:

Cristy, St. Paul
Lisa, St. Paul

Well, other than that, I don't have a lot to report. Saturday, we did a long run - six miles - in the cold rain! I experimented with a new 10 minute run/1 minute walk interval, and that seemed to work well, though the pace has to be a bit higher to avoid the dreaded "pace bus" on race day. I know it will get there, though. We are due to do another six miles on Wednesdays and seven miles on Sunday. I'm really excited - I do love the team runs, and the miles just seem to fly by. We'll see if this trend seems to hold.

Finally, an interesting note... I seem to have hit the character limit of the webpage supplied by Team In Training, which was obviously not designed to be a blog (those of you who know me will be unsurprised that I have used a pretty straightforward tool for something else entirely and have again, bumped up against its limits for intended use.) In any case, I have started a companion blog at http://erinstojanruccoloteamintraining.blogspot.com/. As with most change, this is a mixed blessing - having a blog means that I can use more images and widgets, so you'll also see more pictures and my DailyMile.com widget with my daily training. I will continue to update the Team In Training page, but will keep only my latest posts there - older posts will be archived at the blog.

Thank you so much again! Onward!

Intro to hills, Twin Cities Marathon map and 41% towards goal!

I apologize for not posting more frequently this week - it's been busy at work. Sufficed to say I have been running, probably more than I should be for a first-time endurance trainee. Have to figure out a few more options to cross train without putting all that stress on my joints.

First - thanks to your support, we're now up to 41% of my goal of $1200 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by July 2. I've said it before and I'll say it again - the support I've received from friends and family has been truly inspiring.

A tremendous thanks to donors in the last week:

Mary, Minneapolis
Mark, Minneapolis
Bob, Boyceville, WI
Elena, Minneapolis
Adrienne and Neil, Minneapolis
Linda, Minneapolis
Elizabeth, Madison, WI

Thank you so much, again! We still have four weeks from tomorrow, exactly, to raise the remaining 59%. Together, I know we'll be able to do it.

Tonight, our team training was an introduction to hills. I am still learning a great deal about proper running form, and it's all I can do not to take off down that hill - but it's important to remember that my muscles are going to be just exhausted and it's easy to lose control. Going UP the hill is something else entirely - I want to run right up it, but you're supposed to shorten your strides, lean forward a little and use your arms more. Not what I naturally do, but a far more efficient way to get up a hill!

Finally, I thought yall would appreciate a map of the Twin Cities Marathon I'll be running in October. Exciting and frightening all at the same time.