+11: Firsts

Today was the first day of school and the first day of real running (No, I really mean running not walking.) I woke up earlier before I had to leave for school to do a 25 min run wearing my new sneakers which are great! Today was a 25 min run day, which I did 1.87 Miles today using the walk run method suggested by my coach. I walked rather slow for 2 min, power walked for 3 minutes all as a warm up. Then ran slowly for 2 minutes, and walked from 2-3, then repeated. I varied the length of the walking based on how recovered I felt, it took a little longer in the beginning and a bit easier at the end.

On Saturday I talked to Coach Jen about this method, looking for some advice. She asked me how long I thought I could run for at a time and I told her 1 1/2- 2 min, and she had a good point, make yourself run what you think you can do, even if you feel uncomfortable for a little (for a very short time frame, not long discomfort) it's only a few seconds more. And when you reach a point where you can run 2 minutes with out being uncomfy then run a little more time. There was a point in the middle of the run during a run cycle where I ran for just about 2 minutes with out looking at my watch, which I normally do and tell me self "Okay only 10 more seconds" or whatever the case may be.

Good deal. So tomorrow I will keep that up on my run, and I know it will suck a little less with each day that goes by. As for the shoes, my feet felt great all day. They were not tired feeling at all, which they have been. I also enjoyed wearing my Chucks around for the rest of the day. They are always like a vacation for my feet.

And as for school that was good today too. I had Japanese first, which I forgot almost a whole year's worth of Japanese. (Not good) Had lunch with a bunch of friends, and felt great about eating my lunch from home. Oh! I did roam through the new cafeteria with them and found this tasty red barely with vegetables dish which I got a side dish of. I will figure out that recipe soon! Yum!

+9: Poor Ankles

Today was our team's second Saturday run and my first with them. With the threat of hurricane Danny raining on our parade I received some reassuring emails from my coaches that practice happens no matter what, and that it is to our advantage to run in all conditions because who knows what will happen on race day.

We went to see Inglorious Basterds last night, and did I did not end up going to sleep till 2:30 AM. When the alarm went off this morning I contemplated staying in bed, but I got up ate a banana and went on my way. It was quite drizzly when I left, still unsure of what to wear I wore my long Nike shirt and compression shorts and some new dri-wick socks I bought last night. These socks were sent by the devil. Too low, and I ended up with a bloody ankle from my chaffing sneakers.

It was a nice walk in the rain, with my Co-ordinator Andria, and one of the mentors, Carrie. Im amazed how fast the 40 minutes went with company with me. I got in a little over 2.5 miles and walked the whole thing.

After we went to the Sayville Running Store and they fed us bagels and talked about socks and shoes. I got fitted for some legit running sneakers that will not leave my poor ankles bloody. They have this nifty setup that you stand on and shows where you put pressure on your feet and then they recommend shoes for you. Can't wait till Monday to try them out on the road!

On the fundraising front I'm up to $710 and have $3,290 left. Also Bollinger's Family Restaurant in Farmingdale donated several gift certificates for my upcoming events and there will be a counter jar there also for donations! Go visit them and get yourself a tasty dinner and some homemade icecream!

+7

Day seven, vacation's over. Back to work and running. I had good intentions last night of waking up at 5:45 to be out at 6 am for today's run (and when I say a run I mean a walk), but when the alarm went off, I saw that it was still quite dark out, quickly allowing myself an additional hour of sleep before heading off to work. (Which for the record you know your job is awesome when you and your boss almost knock down the UPS driver to tear into your shipment of larger than life stuffed animals including a giraffe almost as tall as me and a barrel of hobby horses and unicorns which you then proceed to ride around the store!)

So after a day of playing with toys at work I came home went went out for a run. I haven't been running with my I-pod and I really enjoy it. It is nice to be able to focus on what is going on around me and helps me to pay attention better. There are so many little things to be noticed while running outside (non-running things). Various plants, people watching, people driving by and yelling "I love your tattoos!" The best is I found this kick ass vintage buffet side table which someone was getting rid of and I went back later to get it (and it did not fit in my car) and the guy at the house let me put it up further on the lawn to come back later with Matt's car! Score! i never would have found that if I wasn't running. (Or if I went at 6 am!)

I also got to try out my new running clothes I picked up on the way back from D.C. There happened to be a small outlet near a gas pit stop with a Nike in it. I picked up a pair of knee length cool max shorts, two cool max shirts and a hat. I am happy to say I dig these shorts. They do not ride up on me, the are short enough so you can see my tattoos in full view and long enough to avoid my poor thighs from chaffing. And the cool max is lovely because there is no swamp ass involved later.

Oh did I mention that the weather was beautiful running weather today? It was, I hope it is like this in Disney!

+6: Party's over!

We got back from our trip to DC yesterday. It was so nice, and I did TONS of walking there. I also did TONS of eating. Not the good kind the bad kind. Including a trip to Sonic to see what that's all about. (For the record, not so exciting, although the cherry lime-ade is tasty). On a more exciting note, I did get some running clothes on vacation!

Anyway, I did not go out on separate walks while we were in DC, but I did walk all day for several miles. I also missed my walk yesterday since we were driving all day, and today well, today was a lost cause on cross training day. I woke up super cranky and hot. If today was a running day I would have been out there, but today was cross training, and the gym at school/work is closed this week. I really didn't know what I should do for cross training. Really though none of this is an excuse.

Tomorrow I need to be in work at 7:30 am, and I'm debating if I should go out for 25 min. in the morning before I leave for work or go after work. I think I will get up at 6 am and go out.

I'd like to get into a early morning running habit. Okay tomorrow I'll be out at 6am.

+1

Happy Birthday to Matt! (My husband!)

We're leaving on vacation today so I wasn't quite sure when I was going to get my first walk in for the training season. I woke up earlier than planned and went out. It was so hot out already at 8 am. My walk was good, I went easy since I went for a long one yesterday before I knew my training plan.

I did however spend too much time fixing my shorts which kept riding up on me. My new mission is to get a pair of running shorts that are longer, don't ride up and have some kind of magical moisture wicking property so I don't feel so swampy.

Off to DC!

0:Kickoff!

Tonight was kickoff. It was so great to be able to meet all the awesome people that are on my team and working to find a cure for blood cancers. I can't tell you how great it feels to be part of a team where everyone is working together for such a great cause. My coaches and mentor are so sweet too! I'm even more excited about the program now!! Plus I got a sweet tote bag, and about 20 PowerBars. Score!

Training update, I jogged/walked 2 miles today on the treadmill. I decided I don't really like using the treadmill, I find it really boring, just looking around the gym. Now I have my training plan and I am going to be running outside more. Hopefully this humidity lets up.

Matt and I are going to DC tomorrow for a few days, so I will be getting up early on vacation to run run run.

Now I need to go pack!

-2

Wow! What a great donation day today was! I got 7 donations! (Thanks Carrie-Anne, Mike, Doug, Kellie, Caitlin, Krista and Teddie!!) I'm up to $420 and counting. This is so great.

Kick off is in just two days. My Mentor emailed me today to introduce her self, and let me know that she will help me out with fundraising, which was so nice! (Hi Donna!) This is her 8th race with Team in Training, and her fourth time doing Disney! She'll be doing the half with me too!

We also discovered we are neighbors!

I got my hair cut today too, which was well needed. I walked in and told Lorraine to "Chop it!" She didn't though, she knew I'd be unhappy doing that. So she took a few inches off and thinned out out big time. It feels so much better and I can still put it up when I run. She started running too and we are going to run a 5k in October together. I love how I've been finding new bonds with people I know already through running.

Nike is doing the Human Race again, which works well. It's a 10K October 24 all around the world. That's 6 miles which is half of my half marathon at my halfway time frame, so I believe I will be ready for that one. I'm signing up for the one in Brooklyn.

Matt and I are going to DC this weekend for a few days of well earned vacation (FINALLY!!!) Can't wait! This is going to be a bad eating/drinking weekend, but once we're back it's on! Training in full swing. I may do a walk/run to the White House, it's not too far from where we are staying. Hopefully it is not deathly hot, which I have a feeling it will be.

-4: A nice start

It's been three days so far since I started fundraising and my website went up. So far I have been able to raise $195, which is a great start. I have sent out emails to all my contacts (realizing I don't have very many email addresses) bombarded my Facebook friends. It's great to see people willing to help out financially.

Today at Matt's parents house for dinner my mother in law told me she forwarded me email to family and friends. I later checked my account and saw a new donation! (Thanks Derek!!) My MIL was so excited that her email helped.

Kick off is in four days, then fundraising will be full time action. I'm leaving on vacation the next day, but on the road I will be typing letters and addressing envelopes.

If anyone who is planning any parties in the future would be willing to be fundraiser parties please let me know. All you have to do is ask your guests for a $5 or $10 cover charge/donation at the door.

Don't forget to donate!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/li/wdw10/SeeLauriRun

-7: For real

After much debate, thinking, and asking others I finally signed up with the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society's Team in Training Program. This January, less than five months from now, I will be running/walking/crawling 13.1 miles through Disney World. I will be also fundraising $4000 for LLS as part of the program.
This will tell the story of my adventure, all the times I love running, hate running, how I manage to fundraise this all this loot, what I'm eating and of course about my training.

My fundraising site was set up today, so I spent a good portion of the morning making it nice, and then mass emailing it to everyone I know. My Facebook page has been taken over with updates about this and link to my site.

I made a nice breakdown of what I need donation-wise to get to $4000

I would need all of these donations:

10 Donations of $100= $1000

20 Donations of $75= $1500

17 Donations of $50= $850

26 Donations of $25= $650

I've been brainstorming ideas for fundraising, and if anyone has any ideas please let me.

So follow me along and check back frequently. I won't be quiting, my only goal is to get across the finish the race the same day I start it.
Of course please consider making a donation to my goal here
And please bookmark this Amazon.com link which will give a small percentage of your purchases to my goal.

Wish Me Luck!