Day 6 - Fundraising Day

No physical training was done today, Day 6 of my adventure. I spent a ton of time though working on my fundraising efforts. Got my fundraising letters ready to go. I secured a golf course for an upcoming Golf Tournament on July 11 to raise money for the Leukemia Society. Working on a dinner at Sticky Fingers whereby the restaurant will donate a percentage of their sales to the Leukemia Society. So, overall, got a lot accomplished today. Day 7 we have another TNT Meeting to learn about proper shoes, clothing, etc. to prepare us for the big race day event and then we are off for our very first "group run". Hope I can keep up! Wish me luck. I'll update you later how that goes!

Thanks to everyone for all your support!
Tina

Day 5 - Shoe Fitting Day

Enjoyed a peacful morning sleeping in and then had a nice brunch with my hubby. Afterwards we headed over to Mt. Pleasant to get me properly fitted for some running shoes. I settled on the Ascis Nimbus 11 as my shoe of choice - same shoe I chose yesterday but today was told that was actually a proper fit. :) Found out I have an extremely high arch so I am required to get some insoles to prevent injury. Surprise, Surprise, just more money to spend.

Had a relaxing afternoon with a nice nap and then hubby grilled dinner. By the time we finished that it was almost 10:00. I had not been feeling all to well today so I didn't try to run at all, but we did manage to go for a 1.8 mile walk after dinner and we completed that in 32 minutes. Not bad with no running but a pretty quick walking pace.

This week the goal is to get my 110 fundraising letters sent out along with securing the golf course for an upcoming golf tournament for a fundraiser.

Have a great week!

Day 4 - Busy Day.

Happy early Birthday Mom! Today was my monthly Stamp Camp where I teach local ladies how to make various greeting cards and notecards. Since my mom's birthday is coming up this Tuesday the ladies all brought handmade cards for her and we had pizza and ice cream cake and had a wonderful time.

After class I headed out to the local sports stores trying to find some appropriate running gear. Did you know that stuff is expensive??? Well, it is. However, some of it I can't do without if I am going to be able to run safely for long distance, so I guess I'll start saving up to buy a few things. Found the most comfy shoes today so I'll defintely be going back to get those soon!

Anyhoo - when I got back from shopping I figured I might as well get my training in for today. That was kind of a mistake since it was 4:30 and still pretty warm outside, but I managed pretty well. I actually ended up doing the exact same walk/run I did on Thursday and managed to get in 1.2 miles in exactly 21 minutes ago with running yet again for about 3 1/2 minutes. Calves still burning but the burn does not seem to last as long so I guess that is good news. Going to maintain 1.2 to 1.8 miles all week and simply try to increase the amount of time I can manage to run.

That's it for tonight. Getting ready to snuggle down and hopefully fit in a movie before I crash for the evening.

Thanks for checking in on me!

Day 3 - Look What I Got Today!

That's right - my new Dri-Fit training jersey! You know how much I love getting free stuff!! I had a meeting today with a representative of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and because of my hardwork putting together my fundraising plan, I was given this shirt today! Earned it two weeks ahead of schedule! Go me!!!!

Anyhoo - after putting together my fundraising plan and making tons of phone calls to implement those plans, I was mentally exhausted by this afternoon. By the time I got home, did laundry, cleaned up the house for my card class I am giving tomorrow, and took the family out to dinner, it was 10:30 p.m. So - -I am sad to report I didn't get to walk or run today. :( However, since I did collect a few donations today and worked hard on my fundraising plan, I feel I didn't let the LLS down too bad so I'm hitting the hay to get some rest so I can put in a good effort tomorrow on my training! Goal tomorrow is 2 miles and increase my actual running time. Wish me luck!

Days 1 and 2 of Training

Day 1 - 5/19/10

Well, yesterday I "officially" started my training for the half-marathon coming up on October 2. That sounds like a long ways a way when I say it, but when I realize I will have to run/walk 13 miles at that point, all at one time and in less than 4 hours, well.....it seems like it is right around the corner!

Last night the boys headed to the ballfield for game night while I was home doing whatever it is I always do when I am home. After a few minutes I realized the field was 1.8 miles away so I might as well start somewhere and head to the field. So, I laced up my tennies and headed out at 8:06 p.m. I was thinking I would walk for just a few minutes and then perhaps run for 30 seconds/walk for 30 seconds, run for 3o seconds/walk for 30 seconds, etc., etc., until I reached my destination. Well, needless to say that did not happen.

I walked for 2 minutes, ran for 30 seconds, walked for 2 minutes, ran for 30 seconds and then I had to look at the back of my legs because I literally thought my calves were on fire! Luckily, I did not see any flames. Whew! I actually reached my destination in 32 minutes (my goal was 30 minutes since the ultimate goal is to eventually be able to run 4 miles in an hour). Out of that 32 minutes, I ran a total of about 4 minutes. So..... I felt that was decent for my first attempt at running since 9th grade PE class and I still lived to tell about it with my calves in tact.

Day 2 - 5/20/10

Today after work I met a friend of mine for dinner. These plans were made months ago, long before I knew I would be training for a marathon on a daily basis (LOL - I still laugh at the thought of me doing this)....anyhoo, I went to dinner and enjoyed myself catching up with my friend. Didn't get home until about 9:00 and was tired. However, being the trooper I am (after all, this is only day 2 of training - I can't already be quitting - right?) I laced up my tennies and off I went. I only ended up doing 1.2 miles tonight, however I did that in 21 minutes and ran 3 1/2 minutes total....so I am thinking that is a slight improvement to last night......... and my calves only burned about half the time of last night too! Woo Hoo.

Let the training begin!

As you may or may not have heard yet, I'm training to participate in a half-marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. If you know me at all, I know what you are thinking .......... "What has Tina gone and done now?"…. "That girl only knows how to run to the bathroom or to run to catch a great sale at the grocery store!"…… "Has she lost her mind?"

Well - I may have lost my mind, but at least it is for a good cause. Yes, I could have easily backed out when I learned a half marathon was actually 13 miles long! (I have never walked more than 3 or 4 miles at any given time – and never ran more than a mile and that was 20 years ago!) And sure, I could have snuck out the back of the meeting when they explained I had to collect $2,500.00 in donations all by my little ole’ self. And I certainly felt like running and hiding under a rock when they told me I would have to be in downtown Charleston every Saturday morning by 5:45 a.m. to run anywhere from 4 to 13 miles over the next five months!!! (This one almost sent me over the edge since Saturday is my day for beauty sleep!)

However, then I realized……..those patients that are suffering with Leukemia, Lymphoma and other blood cancers…..they do not have a choice to run from the problems they have to endure on a daily basis, so why should I be able to run away?

So, if you would like to make a donation to my cause and help me obtain my required donation amount of $2,500.00 it would be greatly appreciated! Hopefully I can get my fundraising achieved within the next 30 days so I can divert all my attention to figuring out how to go from running 20 feet to the bathroom to running 13 miles to the finish line!! So please, if you feel this is a great cause as I do, please don’t delay and send in your donation now! We will all appreciate it!

There are two ways you can make a donation to my cause. You can mail me your check made payable to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (or simply LLS) to: Tina Rucker, 206 Jasmine Drive, Summerville, SC 29483. Or, feel free to go to my personal fundraising website where you can make a quick, secure, online payment.

Also – if you have a family member or loved one that has or is suffering from a blood cancer, I would be honored to write their name on my race day jersey and run in their honor! Simply make sure and put a note in with your donation of their name and even a little story about them if you would like and I will be sure to bring them along with me on my journey!

The individuals who are battling blood cancers are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Stay tuned here for daily updates on my training efforts!

Tina's New Adventure

This blog started out as just a place for me to write my daily happenings, thoughts, etc. and somehow evolved into more of a business blog promoting my Stampin' Up! business. Well - I was never really good at keeping up with it for a business perspective so I am going back to my old self and using this for a personal blog.

I just recently signed up to train to run a half-marathon in order to help raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so I am going to use this blog to maintain more or less a diary of how I am doing with my marathon training along with still fitting in my every day life.

I hope you will come along with me on my adventure. It is more than likely going to be a very long, interesting and probably embarrassing ride along the way.

Stay Tuned!