Training Recap

my walk team from Sunday

I know I've been preoccupied with wedding plans on here, but I wanted to give you an update on my marathon training with TNT. This past Sunday I walked six miles and I'm gearing up to walk eight this coming Sunday. I'm really enjoying walking. I feel like I'm exerting less energy by walking, but I'm going faster than when I ran so I end up having more energy in the long run. Granted, now that we're getting into the longer walks I'm getting tired after, but I feel good. I've also been averaging 2-3 miles three days a week at the gym.

Now that it's getting warmer I'm going to start walking outside. I've been getting several checks in the mail, and hopefully those numbers will be reflected on my web site soon. I have a couple fundraisers coming up and I'm excited to see what type of money they bring in.

Now for wedding stuff! I'm meeting with my future mother-in-law today for lunch (La Salita!!!) to go over the wedding plans. I think we're getting really close to signing for our ceremony and reception site; I'll be sure to post about it when that happens. This afternoon after work my parents and I are meeting with a potential photographer...keep your fingers crossed that I won't have to sell my arm and/or leg to have them shoot our wedding!

In sad news, my camera is still MIA. I know where it is (left it at the house in the photo above), but I haven't had time to take pictures. I was doing so fantastic with taking a photo everyday, too! I'll pick back up when I get it back.

Buzzin' Around the Office

This morning I somehow made it out of bed and into the gym at an earlier time than usual. I hit the treadmill at full speed (ok, it was only really going at 3.7 mph) and walked for more than 45 minutes. I'm learning how to keep an endurance pace so that I can actually complete a marathon without feeling and looking like I'm about to pass out/die at the end. So far so good. Can you believe that at one point during my workout this morning I actually had enough oxygen and energy to sing - outloud! - with a song that was playing?!

My walk this morning set the tone for a good day, and I think that good days (ok, bad days, too) deserve a treat. I stopped at my local Dunkin' this morning and bought my daily fix, a cup o' french vanilla joe with a little cream.

Ah. Bliss. Not only did the caffeine start it's magic work right away, but I was able to be more productive than I've been in awhile (i.e. I was able to "just say no" to browsing wedding web sites/blogs...I'm addicted). It's been a couple hours since I had my coffee and I can still feel it in my system. And don't worry, I'm still being productive - I just had to take a break to eat lunch, so I'll be back typing away at work stuff in just a few minutes.

I love the smell of coffee in the morning.

Oh! And I bet your glad this post had (almost) nothing to do with weddings, huh!

My Story

If you're visiting from my TNT site, thank you and welcome! I want to share my reasons for running again with Team in Training:

It was a dark and rainy night (as it so often was in Britain) and I was well into my sixth month of studying abroad in Bournemouth, England, when my mom called from back home. Her tone of voice told me she wasn't calling to chit- chat about the weather.

Instead, she told me they found a large mass near my Papa's liver. The silence, emptiness and loneliness that hit me after that sentence was almost unbearable; it felt like my air was sucked out of lungs and someone punched me in the stomach. The rest of the conversation was a blur.

After hanging up with my mom I felt alone and isolated, and as the days and weeks flew by so did results from countless number of tests, which all came back inconclusive. My parents canceled their first trip overseas in order for my dad to take more tests to see if the tumor was cancerous.

On May 5, 2005, a month before my plane departed from London, my mom called me. My Papa was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin�"s lymphoma, and would start chemotherapy immediately.

Chemotherapy and cancer. I tried my best to wrap my head around what was going on, and through hot tears streaming down my face I tried to give my mom the support I knew she needed from over the phone. The reality of what was going on made me realize it was time for my adventures and traveling to end. There were more important things to worry about back at home.

Emotions overtook my senses as I stepped onto American soil for the first time. I was anxious to see my friends who promised to meet me at the airport, and of course, to see my family. As I walked out of the security section I scanned the sea of heads for familiar faces. Instead of seeing any of my friends I spotted my dad walking towards me with open arms.

I stopped in the middle of the airport as he was walking towards me. Just from looking at him I could tell his first chemo treatment had already started taking a toll on him: he had lost a lot of weight, was using a walking stick, and his thick black hair was gone, replaced with a smooth bald surface. A few weeks later his eyebrows and eyelashes disappeared. The chemotherapy treatments took a toll on him both physically and emotionally, and changed me forever.

Now, four years later, my Papa is in remission and my hope is that families should ever have to go through this, but if it should ever happen, I hope they know there are organizations out there like LLS that will help them every step of the way. That is why I am doing this...to help pay it forward and get rid of cancer for good.