The Day After the Marathon

To all of the brave Team in Training members who joined us in the inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. --  We salute you!


http://youtu.be/m-hCuYjvw2I

Why I Do What I Do

This article shows one of the major reasons I am so committed to fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The drugs we have aren't as smart as the disease yet.
http://www.cityofhope.org/about/publications/news/Pages/city-of-hope-researchers-show-how-cancerous-stem-cells-manipulate-their-environment-to-enhance-their-own-growth.aspx?elq=0a8a28452e03456c9fd6d175daab9659
I think the researchers are making some great progress and I am excited to play a part in that. I remember Dr Oehler telling us that Tyler's leukemia had found a way to recognize his Dad's stem cells by dropping that part of their cell structure. I didn't ask if that meant that Tyler was now a woman (since his cells dropped the male half of their XY structure), but it definitely meant that his disease was way too smart for the treatment option of a bone marrow transplant.
Thank you so much for helping me fund a cure to blood cancers. The Team in Training group at the Madrid Marathon raised $1.5 million dollars with 266 athletes entered in the race. That is making a statement, isn't it? My friend Ruth put the best line on her race shirt... The shirts have a place for us to put why we are running on the back and Ruth wrote that her reason for running was "finding a cure, duh!". Same here, Ruth!

My Verse for Race Day

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.     Isaiah 40:31

Marathon Eve

It is time to go to bed on the night before the marathon. Thank you all for providing encouragement along the way. I can't believe I am finally here, but hope to make everyone proud by finishing the race tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous that the heat will make me run even slower than normal (tomorrow is forecast for 68 degrees) and I'll miss the cutoff, but I'm going to give it my best shot. One blessing from today's meetings - I found out that I am the top fundraiser for the Seattle to Madrid group and was only about $3000 from 10th in all of US and Canada! Thank you all for your financial support along this journey. I couldn't make any sort of difference without you and your willingness to help me honor Tyler and the many other patients that have touched my life. As my dear work friends said, Corre con el Viento! From Madrid with love!

One Week to Race Day!

I completed my final long training run on Saturday morning, and just have two more US runs and two more Spanish runs before race day!  I'm still in shock that, after 6 months of training, I am final approaching the big day.  I've had several requests to post updates and will certainly try to accommodate, although I can't make any promises.

My goal for the day is simply to finish the race within the time limit.  The weather is forecasted for a high of 67 degrees, so I'll likely get completely sunburnt while running from 9am until 3pm!  I wish I could move a little bit faster, but 42 km (26 miles) is a really long way to go and I have to save a little bit of energy to stagger across the finish line.  :)

One week to RACE DAY!!!

Sneak Peek

Do you want a sneak peek of my race?  Check out a video of the course I will be running at http://vimeo.com/user11068139/recorrido-rocknroll-madrid-maraton

I'm surprisingly moved just seeing the course in high speed...  Wow!

The Final Countdown

It is the final countdown to marathon day!  Two weeks from now, I should have finished my race and be enjoying a flamenco show with my Team in Training friends.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has encouraged me along this journey!  I am so very appreciative of the friends and family that surround me and help me believe that I CAN accomplish big goals like running a marathon while raising over $6000 to fund critical research that will someday cure cancer.

I don't think I have shared this before, but I will be dedicating portions of my race to the many patients and survivors that inspire me to keep working towards a cure.  I am running in thanks for the health of Hans, Yanni, Melissa, Janell, Shane, Darren, and Steven. These names just barely scratch the surface of the survivors that I have met, but it inspires me to see each of them thriving despite a blood cancer diagnosis. 

I also want to honor the sacrifices made by those lost to cancer, including Cathy, Nick, and Tyler.  Each of them was lost far too young, which greatly increases the pain of their loss.

Finally, I am dedicating some of my energy to the caregivers for the patients above.  Spouses and siblings and parents that make sacrifices during treatment and learn to live with the big C fight a very different battle, but it is a valiant battle all of the same.  To each of my fellow caregivers, I salute you and the many ways that you demonstrate your love and support!

I'll try to post some photos from the race (assuming my mother can actually find me in the midst of all the other runners) so that you can see how much "fun" I am having over there.

Thanks again for the gift of encouragement and the generous financial support that you have provided along the way for the last 6 months!

Madrid -- Here I come!!

Meeting Goals

What a great weekend for my Team in Training adventure!  I met my fundraising minimum for Team in Training (so I get to focus on running for the final month) and I set a new distance record for myself in the same amount of time as it took me to run the half marathon.  I'm feeling good about being able to run an additional mile in the same amount of time.  I'm up to 14.1 miles in the bank.

This week is a "rest week" so I only have to run for 2 hours in my long run and I get to skip my Wednesday run.  It's amazing what things make you excited when you are training for a marathon.  I "only" have to run for 2 hours.  How many of you think that sounds like an easy day?  This marathon thing seems to mess with my brain.  Maybe that is why so many of my teammates are addicted enough to be competing in their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or higher marathons.  After we finished last week's run, several of them laughed when I told them that I plan to retire from marathons after I finish the Madrid marathon next month.  They are convinced that I'll be back for more.

Thanks to the fundraising events over the last week (and a great pin I got from my participation on the Light the Night board), I have had the opportunity to share my personal mission (fundraising for a cure to blood cancers) with many people over the last week and have been richly rewarded by peoples' generosity.

Now I am able to focus on getting better at running and learning about Spain. At least for the next month...

An Easy Week

I'm very excited for my "easy week" this week. Out long run on Saturday is only 90 minutes long, so it is a "short" one. What universe do I live in now that running for an hour and a half is a short run? It blows my mind!

But... If you compare to last week's 2 hour run (with the same anticipated for the couple weeks after this one), this Saturday will be a comparatively easy one for me. I'm looking forward to actually being able to run strong throughout the long run.

Here is a picture of us after our 2 hour run last weekend. Isn't great to have so many teammates to cheer you on each week?

TNT Auction

Just a few days left on our Team in Training auction...  If you haven't checked out the great stuff for sale yet, you can visit https://www.facebook.com/events/280572435294096/ to bid on bottles of wine, personal trainers, stamp sets, video games, gift cards, an iPod, a T-mobile cell phone, and MORE!

Whatever you bid will be a donation to the Team in Training participant that posted the item you bid on, so you get great stuff at a great price and you help us fight cancer at the same time!

Thanks so much to the supporters who have already gone out to bid -- we appreciate all of your help!

Why I Run

When people ask why I am running away to Madrid, I have to share my story about the Bledsoe Battle and the amazing man that I shared the battle with. While I couldn't fight the cancer myself, I can certainly do something to make a difference.

--> I'm running 26.2 miles to honor my husband and the courageous battle he fought against leukemia. When it gets hard and my body hurts, I will remember watching Tyler decide to fight each and every day.

--> I'm training up to 5 days a week to inspire others to help fight cancer with me. The dollars we raise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society are used to aid patients in their battle and to fund promising new research for blood cancers. I pray that each new discovery helps keep another patient from suffering and helps somebody reach remission.

--> I'm punishing my body with 5-6 hours of running in April in hopes that new research helps some other wife to keep her husband for a long and happy life. No one should lose a loved one to cancer and a happy marriage should get to last longer than 4 years.

--> I'm pushing myself further than I ever thought I could run because I have discovered that each of us has a wellspring of strength inside us. If my strength can be a weapon to help protect my loved ones, both those lost and those that are currently fighting, I will use it in any way I can.

--> I will ask each and every person I know if they will help me in this battle. I can do the run, but I need your help to raise the money to fight against blood cancers. Will you donate? Will you share this message with everyone you know to help me remember Tyler in the best way I can?

To donate, please visit http://bledsoebattle.com
To read the story of our battle, please visit http://bledsoebattle.blogspot.com

Thank you for joining me in this battle!

In loving memory of Tyler Bledsoe...

Breaking the 1 Hour Barrier

This next week's long run will break the 1 hour run barrier for me, but I am feeling good about continuing to run longer and longer times each week. It has been rewarding to get out and do something positive a few nights (and one early morning) each week. I'm certainly not perfect in my training, but I am running almost regularly according to my schedule.  If you want to follow my progress in running and/or fundraising, you can visit my Madrid website at http://bledsoebattle.com

The training is all based on time of the run, rather than distance, which is much easier for me to track. Some days I run at a faster pace than others and cover more distance; some days I just don't feel up to pushing hard. I'm hovering around a pace that would be put me at a 5-6 hour finish for the marathon. I would really like to bump up my speed a bit so that I can finish in under 5 hours.

We are also approaching the 1 year anniversary of Tyler's death, so I am also reminded of many things from my life with him. Last Christmas we were in Houston until late on Christmas Even, when Tyler was released to fly home. I think the doctors knew that he was dying and were trying to help us get home so that we could be with our families.

One of the fundraising options that we have is to get a personal sponsorship to put someone's name actually on our jersey for race day. I have been thinking that it would be really special to do that in Tyler's memory. If you have someone special that you want to have named on my jersey, a $1000 donation can make it happen.

Thanks to my supporters for this great start! I have hit 1/4 of the way to my goal (even though some of the donations are still in the mail and not visible on my website yet). I have been selling my handmade greeting cards at work to raise money and would be happy to connect with others that want a few cards to send out. $2/card adds up and will go a long way towards fighting blood cancers!

Thanks again for all of the encouragement and support!

Huskies or Cougars?

I was invited to participate in a Team in Training (TNT) fundraiser over the long weekend and decided that it would be a great way to kick off my newest round of fundraising.  Now that I have reached my goal of raising $10,000 for the 2011 Light the Night walk, I have turned my attention to the work needed to get to the Madrid Marathon.

While my running practice is important (and I just started my 3rd week of regular training), Team in Training sets goals for us to make certain that the costs to send us to our event is never more than 25% of the amount I earn for LLS.  When I was invited to sell beads at the Apple Cup pregame, I decided to join in with 6 other ladies from this season's marathon group and sell my little heart out.

When all was said and done, we had raised almost $2500 from the generous Cougar and Husky fans in downtown Seattle.  Apparently, they could all agree that fighting cancer was a good cause (even if they couldn't agree on which team deserved to win more that day).

Each of us earned $325 for our races in one afternoon.  Thanks to the many supporters who helped us hit such a lofty amount and to the survivors I met during the day who reminded me of why I decided to keep fighting against cancers.

If you want to donate to my marathon fundraising, you can find my marathon page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/madrid12/abledsomp0

Also, keep your eyes out for announcements of upcoming fundraisers.  I have a couple of swaps planned for January and February and would love to have both donations and shoppers!

Taking the Next Step - Ole!

Yesterday morning, I agreed to do something that I never wanted to do. 

I've always liked running in races, but since I am not particularly good at training I like to keep my races to 5 miles or less (preferably less).  However, since the time that Tyler was diagnosed with Leukemia, I have been keeping my eye on the Team in Training (TNT) program offered by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  This is their most visible fundraising program and their most successful after 22 years of helping people of all ages and abilities to compete in amazing events.

Yesterday morning, I signed up to run my very first marathon next spring... in MADRID, Spain!  I will be training with the coaches from LLS and going to practices with the rest of the participants, but would love to have some of my friends and family join me.  If you have ever wanted to run a marathon, I'd like to invite you to join me in Madrid next April.  I figured that if I wanted to make a statement in Tyler's honor, I should go big and make it in Europe!

Tyler loved running and was a cross country athlete in his school days, so I figured that a marathon was the best TNT event for me to choose.  I never wanted to run that far (and still think that people that do might be crazy), but I am excited for my newest adventure!  If anyone wants to head out for a run over the next 6 months, feel free to invite me along.  I think I'm going to need all of the help that I can get with my training!