26.7% towards goal; thank yous!; summer heat training

Wow. Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed; your response has been phenomenal. I'm now at $467.20, or 26.7% towards my goal of raising $1750 by July 15 to beat blood cancers. Thank you for your support!

(But, of course, I've got a ways to go, and my deadline is only sixteen days away! If you can contribute, I would be grateful. You could give a dollar for every race mile ($26.20); a dollar for every team training run this season ($48) or a dollar for every day I get out and train for the race ($120 for 120 days this season.) It's all helpful and appreciated!

Big thank yous to my most recent donors:
Bill S, Park Rapids, MN
Kathy L., St. Paul
Emira I., Lincoln, NE
Kari M., St. Paul

You guys are great, and your support is so, so appreciated. I can't believe how lucky I am to have so many great folks encouraging this marathon run adventure to beat blood cancers. Thank you, thank you again!

Our training continues. We have team runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays; today, we were to focus more on pace runs. But owing to the heat, we simplified the run a bit: 5 min marathon pace, 5 min recovery; repeat three more times for 40 min total. Tomorrow, my schedule calls for 6 miles; seeing as the heat index is expected to reach 105*, I'll be doing that six miles in the morning! However, as it's also supposed to be 70%+ humidity (we obviously got the best of the weather condition grab bag tomorrow), I'll probably be dripping sweat by the end. No team run for the 4th of July, but one of our mentors will be hosting an unofficial team run in Minneapolis - the last of the 8am Saturday training runs. From here on out, we'll be getting team runs underway at 7am. Pretty much every Saturday. Good thing I found some double caffeine running gels!

Our LLS staff member, Kim, brought race jerseys for sizing purposes/trying on to today's run. I can't believe we're already this far into the season. Next thing you know it'll be marathon morning...! Egads!! Onwards!

Happy 9th birthday honored teammate Alie!; 15.8% towards goal - thank yous! and hill reps in the rain...

First things first - now 15.8% towards my goal of $1750 by July 15 to beat blood cancers. Hooray!! Big thanks to 

Ruth P., Minneapolis (who just finished her first 26.2 in Duluth - congrats again, Ruth!)
Paul B., St. Paul

If you haven't already, please consider donating - I can put in the miles but I can't make this goal without your help. Every little bit is helpful and is greatly appreciated!

Hill run with the TNT team today. We use the lock and dam hill (different than the trail), which is a quarter mile one way. Last time we did 2-4 hills. This time we were scheduled for 4-6. Who did 7? This girl.

The evening started off in the 60s and humid, but then…

Yeah, it wasn’t even drizzling; just straight up, honest-to-goodness raining. I brought my windproof vest with and when I got warm put it down on a concrete sign thingy; at the end of the hill reps when I went to pick it up, it was just soaked. My shoes were squishing. Water was rolling off my visor. But still, better than summer heat if I had to choose. It was a chilly ride home though!

Our honored teammate, Alie, is celebrating her ninth birthday on Monday. She's been in the hospital since before her bone marrow transplant in February recovering - making lots of progress but can you imagine being in the hospital that long when you're eight years old? Way to go, Alie - happy birthday and feel better very, very soon!!

10.6% towards goal; Thank yous! and training in earnest...

WOW. This month has just flown by! I've just submitted my first checks and they will be reflected in my fundraising total shortly. I am 10.6% towards my goal, and my goal deadline is LESS THAN FOUR WEEKS AWAY! Holy moly! I'm working to raise $1750 by July 15. If you can help - no gift is too great or too small - I'd appreciate it. Thank you in advance!

Rest assured, though, I've been diligently training. Last weekend we were scheduled for 13 miles, and as I missed my turnaround, I ended up with something closer to 14 miles. To my great surprise, though, I wasn't completely exhausted when I got back. However, my trusty fuel belt, which has been with me since my first marathon, finally gave out. Looks like I'll need another one of those!

On the bright side, you can't ask for a more gorgeous route. This is actually along the marathon route about mile 19 (I'm generally pretty tired by this time in the race!). It's not unusual to see eagles flying along the river.

This week is a cutback week. Sort of. I'm supposed to be running 4 miles a day on Monday, Tues, Thurs and Fri; Wednesday will be our hills workout with the team. The hill, as you might recall from previous seasons, is .25 miles one way, or .5 miles up and down. In other words - a hill to be reckoned with. I think I did four hills last time; this week, I'll be shooting for 6. That's 3 miles up and down the same hill, and for those of you counting at home, 1.5 miles of just running up hill. If that doesn't make me a stronger runner I don't know what will! Then, Saturday, we'll be running only eight miles. Instead of 13+. See? Cutback week!

Some positive news for our honored teammate, as well - Alie has taken very well to her recent umbilical cord blood transplant in February. She has passed her 100 day mark, which is a GREAT sign, and she continues to improve. Hooray Alie!!

And of course I need to take a moment to thank the first folks who have supported my journey this year. HUGE thanks go out to:

Sally C., Minneapolis
Michael and Patsy N., St. Paul
Les and Carol J., Battle Lake
Susan and Rich S., St. Paul
John B., St. Paul

I can't do it without you. Thank you again!