It's been a rough week so far. The only day I've trained so far was on Monday. With a big test and four big projects to work on, it's just been impossible. I still have 3 days of training left for the week and it's already Wednesday! Ahh! If I get a day behind, I suppose I will survive. Tomorrow I have 4 miles, then 3 and 7 hopefully by the end of the week.

People keep asking me how I have the time to train. The answer is, I really DON'T have the time. I just have to make time, no matter how busy I am. And training, especially with Team in Training, makes me feel so fabulous that I could never give it up. It will certainly be a very busy summer, but on November 7th it will be SO worth it!

I'm up to over $600 on my fundraising, which I think is really great! There are still a few days left in April to get me to my $1,000 goal. I'm so happy that this many people have supported me. I hope it continues!

This article gave me chills. It's really worth reading, especially if you know New York.

http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/training/course_strategy.htm

I've raised nearly 10% of my goal! Thanks to everyone who already donated, it means more than I can say. I know it's tough to donate to something when it's not your cause.

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little worried about raising all this money. But I'm so committed to this cause, I believe I can do it. My goal is to get as many letters out tomorrow as I can. If you know anyone who might be interesting in donating PLEASE give them my information.

I ran 3 miles today at crunch, and my time was pretty good at just under 11 min a mile. Tomorrow is 4 miles, and then Sunday is 7!

I need to go to bed so I can get up bright and early :)

ONLINE DONATIONS!!!

my online donation page is up and running!! here's the link:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyc10/ldonelson

please donate to help me raise money for this amazing cause!

I'm off to run 6 miles :)

I woke up today, and one of the first things I thought was that I wanted to go running. Funny how I HAVE to take today off, because I have to run 6 miles tomorrow. Then I went outside, and the weather is GORGEOUS. Why the gorgeous weather on my day off from training? And I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow... during my long run. Oh well!

I'm stuck inside all day working on homework in the computer lab. Maybe if I get it done fast, I'll reward myself with a little Central Park-ing.

Hopefully my online donation site will be up and running by Monday. Love to all :)

My 3 mile run yesterday was not as easy as I was expecting. My ankles were hurting, and I wasn't expecting that at all since I had a full day of rest after my long run. I'm running 4 miles this morning, and I hope it doesn't happen again. I feel like running inside is much easier than running outside in the park (duh). So I think I'm going to transfer all of my runs to the great outdoors, unless the weather is particularly crappy or I'm on a time crunch or something. The marathon is outside, so I guess I better get used to outside conditions (i.e. hills).

If I could just close my eyes, and school would go away for the rest of the semester, that would make me really happy.

Happy birthday to my mommy!!!!!

It's Official (Sort Of)!

So I went to the Team in Training meeting on Wednesday night, and it was really inspiring. I learned a lot about the leukemia and lymphoma society, and how it's pretty much a mutually beneficial experience for everyone involved. Basically how it works is- you raise money for the charity, and team in training provides group training, physical therapy, clinics, and covers your expenses for the marathon. I'm really excited about group training, because I know it will help me stay on track.

I'm a little nervous about raising $3,800, but I think I can do it! It's for a great cause, and I feel like people will really get behind it. I'll have my online donation site up and running soon, and I have to raise $1,000 asap to secure my spot. Running for charity has put this entire running thing in a new light for me. I'm not just doing this for myself anymore, it's for cancer research and patient services. And I chose this charity specifically because of a family member who battled (and recovered) from leukemia. What could be more inspiring than that?

I went on my first really long run on Wednesday. I ran the entire 6 miles around Central Park, and it was amazing! Of course there were periods of time when I felt like quitting, but I made it through the whole way. I've actually never been around the entire part. I'm really only familiar with the lower half of the park where I normally run my 3-4 miles. The runs are definitely getting harder and longer now.

Today is just a baby run compared to Wednesday (3 miles). I'm feeling a little unmotivated today for some reason, but I think I'm just going to head to the park as soon as I finish writing this. I don't think it's the running part, I think it's all the school stuff I have to do when I get back from running.

OH! This is unrelated, but I think my apartment search is over! That makes me happy :)

WARNING! This entire blog will be boring.

So I ran my third run for the week, and it went really well. I think my goal is to run the entire marathon (well, mostly) at a 12 min/mile pace. I know it's kind of slow, but hey, I'm running the marathon! My time was about 35 minutes for my 3 mile, which is slightly under 12 min/mile. My long 6 mile run is tomorrow afternoon, and since the weather is supposed to be nice, I think I'll head over to one of the parks.

I'm meeting with Teams in Training tomorrow, and I'm SO excited. I'm a little worried about raising money, but it's for blood cancer research. I'm thinking about dedicating my race to my cousin Lindsay, who survived leukemia. Teams in Training also supports other races, like Chicago, Nike Women's Marathon, and even Dublin... I don't think this will be my last marathon :)

Summarizing the First Week

So as I'm writing this, I haven't been FORMALLY accepted into the NYC Marathon, but I'm meeting with my charity sponsor on Wednesday night. As soon as I find out if I'm accepted, I will post this publicly (ahh!) and everyone will be able to follow my little journal on the road to the marathon.

So the first week is now half way over. I'm using the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer guide, after completing Couch to 5k. I'm also using the RunKeeper App for iPhone. GET THIS APP! It's amazing.

I ran my first three miles in Central Park on 4/8, and my second run was 4 miles on 4/10 at Crunch. My third run was supposed to be today, but Crunch was CLOSED at 6 pm?? What is that about? Anyway, it's being rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. My long run (6 miles) is hopefully on Tuesday, possibly Wednesday. This will set me a day behind, but that's what I get for jump starting my training program in the middle of the week. I was just so excited! I had to start it.. but I should have waited until the start of a new week. Oh well! Anyone that knows me will attest to the fact that I'm very impatient.

I also bought new (and amazing) running shoes. I think I'm stuck on Asics for life.

If I can't get into the ING Marathon, I'll look into the Dallas one (where I'm from and where my parents still live). But let's keep our fingers crossed for Wednesday night!