Great Success!

Here are some assorted pics from the race. Somehow I posted these in the reverse order!! The first picture is me crossing the finish line. You can just barely see my purple shirt under the big banner. My finishing time was 2:2o!

The next picture is the home stretch, coming back up Exchange St. in Providence. That last 1.1 miles were the hardest!! Luckily, TNT made the last mile the Mission Mile and there were tons of posters and signs made my TNT members with supportive messages to team members to keep running!! The next pic is Mile 10 - I was feelin kind of tired, my knees were sore, and I was getting some cramps - but it totally lifted my spirits to see my wonderful family and hear them cheering me on. The next picture is at Mile 4.5 and you can see my #1 cheerleader running next to me (up hill!) as I change my music on my iPod. You go Mom! And the last picture shown is me and Ben at 6:45am before he drove me downtown to start the race.

Thank you to my Mom and Dad, Meg and Steve, and of course Ben for coming out to support me today! You guys are the best and I love you!

Fresh Start!

Feeling good about a bunch of things today. First, I ran 8 miles on Friday and felt good afterwards so that made me feel hopeful that I can run 10 very soon. Next, Ben bought me new running shoes so I feel motivated to run longer distances. My old shoes weren't as supportive as I needed them to be on my long runs. I am flat footed so my arches would hurt after a run, and my knees were beginning to ache. I plan to run on the treadmill today after work to break in the new shoes. And lastly, I met my fundraising goal with the help of all you wonderful people!!! You guys are so amazing and really do inspire me to keep running! Thank you sooo much!!

Where did this week go?

What a crazy week! Sunday night I went for a run - 7 miles. And on my way home I was surprised to see Meg & Steve (Ben's parents) waving at me from inside Hope Street Pizza in Providence! Ben came outside and said that his parents were on their way home from a great weekend at the Cape and they were getting dinner. So I went home and changed really quick and then drove back to Hope Street. When I got home from dinner, I took a shower and then started feeling really queasy. I don't know if I was dehydrated or just completely exhausted or what. So on Monday I was still feeling kind of dizzy and weak so I didn't run. Tuesday was Ben's birthday so we treated ourselves to a nice dinner out, which meant no running for me. I had meetings for work til 5:30 on both Wednesday and Thursday, so I didn't run. But I did do a different workout on Thursday. I am planning on running today after work. Ben might come with me which would be great :-) I need to get back on the bandwagon with running. I felt so bad after that 7 mile run I have kind of been dreading running again because I'm afraid I'm going to feel that way again. I bought a protein powder and some multivitamins at CVS hoping that it will help. I'll try to write again soon! Thank you for your continued support and donations!! You guys are amazing!

Getting Back on Track...

This picture is from our first Team running day, back in February. I am in the center with the white headband/ear warmer.

So, as some of you know, I've had to take a week of to recuperate from a slight knee injury. (I'm not going to say how this injury occurred, because I am too embarrassed!)I am back on track now, after running yesterday about 3 miles and doing some lifting. Today I am hoping to run 5, but we'll see how my knee feels. I am feeling kind of stressed today, it's just one of those days where nothing seems to go right. Hopefully I'll get my run in because I've found it's a great stress-release for me.

A brief fundraising update: Thanks to all of your generous support, I have raised $1118 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so far. Only about $400 to go so please donate if you haven't already. We are almost there!! http://pages.teamintraining.org/ri/Provid09/krackliffe

Happy Valentine's Day

Just got back from my first 4 mile run of my training. Last year I was running 4 miles a couple times a week, but that was before I took a 5 month honeymoon from exercising after the wedding. :-) The sun feels amazing after so many gray days and bitter cold. If only this cold wind would blow over...I'm excited to be on vacation this week. Big plans coming up with Taryn's 30th birthday next Saturday in DC. Also very excited that I am very close to being half-way to my fundraising goal! My fundraising page doesn't reflect all of the donations I've received by check yet. I can't thank everyone enough for all of their support that is coming in many different forms.
Ben and I are spending Valentine's Day in Newport tonight. First Valentine's as a married couple, and almost exactly 6 months after we got married. Time has flown by... Have a wonderful day!

After a long weekend, back to training...

What an awesome weekend in New York. AnnMarie and I drove down on Saturday morning, and got to the city at about 1:30. We had lunch near Christine's apartment at Pier 17, right under the Brooklyn Bridge. The view was amazing and the weather was beautiful. Then we hopped in a cab and did a little shopping in Soho. I even got to squeeze in a visit with Jenny on Saturday night at The Hill. I wish my visit to New York could have been a little longer. I'm intimidated by the trendy lifestyle of New York because it makes me feel so unfashionable, but I'm awed by it at the same time. What a beautiful city.
I did a 3 mile run today up Blackstone Blvd. By the time I got back from grocery shopping and taking Moose for a walk, it was after 5 and getting dark. Most of my run was in the dark and I was wishing I had some reflector armbands or something. I may have to pick those up soon. The road is pretty well lit and there are lots of runners and walkers so it's not terribly dangerous. I did run through a deep ice puddle that I thought was frozen over. My entire right foot was soaked. Luckily it was at the end of my run, so I just ran the rest of the way home with a cold wet foot.
I just want to say thank you to all of those who have donated so generously to LLS for my race. Your support means so much to me and I appreciate it so much. You are the ones who motivate me to get out there and run in this bitter cold New England weather. Your generosity to help those in need inspires me to meet the physical challenge of running this race.

Got this in an email from the Rhode Island LLS office and thought I'd share it:

"What does a $25, $50, or $100 donation buy?"

• A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options
• A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members
• A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures
• A donation of $500 could provide patient aid to a person with Leukemia, Lymphoma or Myeloma
• A donation of $1,000 makes possible one-on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team

3 Mile Run

Yesterday was my first three mile run - and although I ran it at a pretty slow pace - I did it. I didn't run Tuesday or Wednesday, so I had to put in some effort yesterday. I ran on the treadmill, which told me I was running a 11:31 minute mile. I hope I can get back up to a 10:30 minute mile, where I was last year. The key to running for me is having a good playlist. The music motivates me to keep going - or maybe it distracts me from the running because I'm enjoying the songs so much. I think I need to download some new songs, I kept having to skip ahead on my ipod because I didn't like some of the songs on my "working out" playlist. I guess it's time to update it. Using my ipod while running is tricky business for me - I've dropped it on the treadmill, tripped on the treadmill while looking at it, etc. Pretty embarrassing actually, haha. I don't think I am going to run today, I have to do some errands before heading down to NYC tomorrow morning. I'll be back on Sunday, hopefully for a run!