Training Week 4!

I am so happy to have completed the 6 mile run on Saturday. Oh, and did I mention that the 6 miles was on hills. Hurts. So. Good. It was a beautiful and hot morning to run along concrete, trail, and asphalt in the Scripps Ranch area. Here is a picture of Lake Miramar that I took from the trail section of the run.

 Here is a pic of me after the run.

We also had a great injury prevention clinic where we learned about ways to help treat and prevent injury. I picked up a new hydration belt and a headband from a fellow teammate as part of her fundraising. And because I have reached 50% of my goal I picked up an awesome hat and order my new Team in Training sweatshirt!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the support.

Ashley

Training Week 3!

Yesterday marked the start of the 3rd week of training. We returned to Crown Point and I ran 5 miles. I have decided to train using intervals of running 10 minutes and then walking 2 minutes. By then end of the run I was actually passing some of the people who ran the whole 5 miles - and I felt great while they were slowing down and fatigued. The run took just over an hour and my average pace was 12'17"/mi.  Here is a picture after the run.

I also picked up some pretty cool swag. For raising at least 25% of my goal I got some socks (they say "saving lives one mile at a time" around the ankle) and a license plate frame.

I really want to reach 50% of my goal because I will get a Team In Training hat and if I reach the goal by October 20th, I will get a sweatshirt.

Thank you once again for supporting LLS and my efforts - it is greatly appreciated.

Ashley

Training Week 2!

Hello!

Thank you everyone for bringing me to 47% of my fundraising goal!

Saturday kicked off Week 2 of our training where we ran over 4 miles. I cannot wait for this heat to go away - It was in the 80s by 7:00am and then got to be over 100 degrees, yowza!

It was also the week where we got fitted for new shoes. At Road Runner Sports, they have this "Shoe Dog" program where they look at your foot type and analzye how you run. I learned that I have fairly flat feet and need a stability shoe. After trying on almost a dozen pair of shoes I selected the Mizuno Wave Inspire 8.

I also joined Chuze Fitness, a San Diego based gym, to do my cross training. I go there on Tuesdays and Sundays to do 40-45 minutes on the bike or elliptical. Last week I woke up everyday around 4:30/4:45am to run before my day began. This week, I am working out after work. I actually think I prefer getting up early because then I do not have to worry about it for the rest of the day. Mondays and Wednesdays are the hardest days to fit in running because I tutor for an Adult Literacy Program after work. At least I am keeping busy!

Thank you,

Ashley

Training Has Officially Begun!

Today was the first official day of Training! Go Team!

We met at Crown Point Shores in Mission Bay for our first meet. I ran 3 miles with the group. Here is a map of the route:

Today's session included an Expo where we received a lot of information and met the coaches and mentors that will guide us through the training season. Here is a copy of my training schedule for the next few weeks:

And may I say: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

It felt awesome going to my first training session today and already having 40% of my fundraising goal completed! Because I have already started raising money, I got a new training T Shirt - see the pic below.

Next Saturday we will meet at Road Runner Sports to get fitted for proper running shoes.

Thank you!

Ashley

Some General Information...

I thought I should post some general information about LLS/Team In Training, What the next several months have in store for me, and the event I will be running.

The Mission behind the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is to "Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families." Team In Training was started in 1988 and "Only Team In Training has trained over a half a million runners, walkers, triathletes, cyclists and hikers and raised over $1.2 billion to fund lifesaving research." Visit the website http://www.teamintraining.org/ for more information.

Although the official kick-off for my training begins on September 8th, I started running several weeks ago to get ready. I currently run on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 5 am and run on Sunday in the evenings. Each week my total mileage is about 10 miles. Once training begins, I will be adjusting my schedule slightly because

I will be running on Saturdays with the Team In Training group/trainer. I should still be running 4-5 days a week at that time. I will post more information specifically about training once it begins and will try to update this blog weekly with photos and such. I will be running the Tinker Bell Half Marathon on January 20, 2013 at Disneyland. I will be running through the Disneyland and California Theme Parks as well as the surrounding streets of Anaheim. This mostly women attended event's inaugural run was last year where there were a lot of runners dressed as Tinker Bell and Disney Princesses.

Thank you everyone for your support and I also really appreciate the words of encouragement! Please donate to this great cause and together we can help save lives!

Until next time, Ashley!

Ashley is running a half marathon...

Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team. Welcome to the Team In Training section of my blog. I have a mission-to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well. Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures. Thank you for all of your support! Ashley

Update On My Status

Well...it has been awhile since I have put anything on here. Since getting medically cleared I have been working and waiting for an update. I have been officially updated that the available spots for the remainder of the year have been filled. I am actually fairly happy and will be considered for departure in February - June of 2010. I am still pushing for South America but would be also be happy with Africa.

I should be having another suitability review of my application and then discuss everything with a placement officer in the upcoming weeks. Wish me luck!

Ciao

Ash