...Karen! Karen, a cyclist who knows someone on my running team, won my raffle for the long weekend at the lakeside cottage in Upstate NY. Congratulations Karen, and thank you to everyone who entered! Check out the video below to see my friend pull the winning ticket:
I haven't been updating my blog since I started the raffle, since I wanted the information and cottage photos to be the first thing that potential entrants saw. Now I feel like I can finally catch everyone up on the past three Saturdays!
Honored Teammate Picnic
The honored teammate picnic was on Saturday, September 20th. After an easy four mile run we gathered by the canal at Fletcher's Boathouse for bagels and cake. While we were eating, people on my team got up and shared their personal stories. Monique shared the story of her sister, who died 20 years ago of complications from Leukemia, and she explained that thanks to all of the hard work of fundraisers like us, patients are far more likely to survive now from the same disease. Marc stood up with his two year old daughter and explained that she had been fighting Leukemia since January, which is why he decided to do a Team in Training event. In addition, Sarah, who is currently undergoing treatment but is still training for a half marathon, attempted to share her story but got too choked up to do so. Her husband stepped in and explained the details of her treatment, in addition to thanking us for all of the fundraising work we were doing. There were many others who also talked about friends and family members who were battling a blood cancer, or who unfortunately lost their battle. It was an emotional morning, and it reminded us why we are out there doing what we're doing.
Running with Cows and Horses
On Saturday the 27th Dave and I had to attend a wedding in Upstate NY (congratulations Eric and Diana!), which meant that I would have to miss Saturday Training for the first time. Since I knew I would be a little too busy to run on Saturday, I chose to get my six miles in on the Friday. I used www.mapmyrun.com to plan a route in the secluded area surrounding my mother-in-law's house, and proceeded to exhaust myself running up steep hills through the lakeside farmland. At one point, I was worried that I missed the cross street (literally named "Cross Street") to get back to a road that I was familiar with. There were plenty of little dirt roads that cut into cow pastures, but they looked like they turned into driveways as they got closer to the farmer's barns. I was really starting to get nervous, but eventually I did come upon a hilly, narrow, gravelly little road called Cross Street. There was a sign that said the road is closed between November and April, and I thanked my lucky stars that it was only September (I think I would have cried if I had had to turn back the way I came). I soon discovered the reason for the sign, as the road was really more of a treacherous little path that is probably impassible in the cold NY winters. As I attempted to run down it, I decided to try the Energy Gu that I had picked up at the Bethesda training. It was caramel flavored, but it had caffeine in it and it basically tasted so disgusting that I barely had any of it. I'm definitely going to stick with sports jelly beans! In any case, I made the lonely 6 mile trek and I was very proud of myself. It's really starting to get easier!
8 Miles!!
Yesterday we were back at Fletcher's Boathouse, but this time for an 8 mile run. I was happy to be surrounded by my running buddies, and Andrea and I chatted easily along the path. We ran from Georgetown to Bethesda and back, which was no small feat. Still, it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The shorts and sports beans that I purchased at the Army 10-miler Expo the day before helped. I still can't believe I ran 8 miles!
Following the run, Erin and I borrowed a table from Tina and proceeded to run a bakesale in front of Giant for the next four hours. It was pretty successful, and we each walked away with $98 for our fundraising webpages. People were so generous, and some came up to us and thanked us because they had lost loved ones to a blood cancer, and they were just genuinely happy to see us out there raising money for the cause. I was exhausted from the run and nervous about the fundraiser, but it was so rewarding and inspiring to hear people's stories. Now I know more than ever that I need to meet my fundraising goal. Thanks so much to all of you who have already donated!
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