Furthest I have ever run

I have never run more than 4 miles before.

Three months ago, 3 miles was my limit. Running always sucked.

One month ago, I ran 4 miles and my ankles hurt like heck.

This week, I ran 5.5 miles; the furthest I have ever run. I never thought I could do it.

Now, I am doing it for so many reasons.

Before the start of some of our group training sessions, TNT invites special individuals to lead a "mission moment," where they share why they are doing this and for whom. I am so amazed and touched by these people who open themselves up to strangers, talking about something that would generally make most people cry or fall apart. These people are survivors, fathers who are proud of their survivor daughters, daughters that are proud of their fighting fathers, with so many other stories and reasons. It reminds me of how much bigger training and racing is. And why 5.5 miles is just a small, yet critical, step in a much much larger journey.

15 Minutes of fame

Yahoo is sending a camera crew to interview/tape our group run tomorrow night.

Can anyone say: GLAMOUR SHOTS!!! Kidding. It will be great to get onto Yahoo's internal portal to spread the news about what we are doing and why we are doing it. It's an opportunity for 10,000 employees to learn about what we are doing.

We will all be wearing Yahoo shirts of some flavor; I hope Eran wears his tight Yahoo bike shorts too.

An athlete with a broken heart

My family doesn't at all support this. My uncle, aunt and parents have all tried to convince me that I should not participate in the triathlon, multiple times each. They have tried to discourage me in so many different ways, including a comparison of Albert Einstein trying to be Michael Phelps. There IS a hidden compliment in there. This weekend, I told my dad that the more they try, the more driven I am to do it.

I know it's because they are concerned and don't want me to get hurt. No one in my family has done anything like this before and as I mentioned in a previous post, I have never been considered an athlete. They also don't know (have not asked) how rigorous the training has been, to prepare me. To them, I'm working one day and swimming in the Hudson the next. Most importantly, they are worried about my heart condition. I have mitral valve prolapse, which is a non-threatening condition that I have had all my life.

Not having my family's support is harder than I expected. I thought I could just do without it, but this is such a big deal for me, that having my family at the finish line would have been amazing. In a moment of weakness, I did the whole, "I respect that you don't want me to do it but I'm gonna do it anyway. And even if you don't believe in me, my friends and coworkers do. In the form of two thousand dollars!"

I will see a cardiologist in two weeks to make sure I'm good to go and to ease my family's worry. I will be ok. I will do this race. And my family will be proud of me.

THANK YOU

With the raffle/door/drink donations from our fundraiser, the donations to my personal bucket, donations through paypal and to my LLS page, Carol's donation, and Yahoo's matching, I have (will) reach my fundraising minimum! I broke $1,000 over a month ago, and I am in awe of everyone's generosity to have helped me break $2,000 in order to raise over $2,700 for LLS.

So, I hired a bunch of little kids to stand around looking cute with a THANK YOU sign, because I thank you guys so much for helping me reach my goal. While I will keep fundraising, I can focus on training and not worry about how much more I have to put in from my own pocket (running shoes, triathlon clothes, and a road bike have all been part of the expenses so far).

Forever grateful and inspired,
Jeanne

PS - Bike this Sunday at 7:30am if you'd like to join! Sunny will be joining us!

"So why do you care?"

Catherine Patterson, my bubbly, sweet and blond-haired coworker, is the reason I decided to stay in the race. To me, blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma were just one of many debilitating cancers. That is, until I found out that Catherine's dad is currently undergoing stem cell transplant to cure his blood cancer. Catherine and her dad are the exact reason why Team in Training exists, and why I felt personally compelled to continue. The following is written by Catherine:

So why do you care?

*One, you can witness Jeanne, Sarah T, Jodie, Eran, Sarah S (honorary RM team member)and me jump in the Hudson – willingly.

*Two, you can see firsthand as Sarah S rolls me over the finish line.

*Three, it’s for a great cause.

As many of you know, my dad has multiple myeloma, a blood cancer within the LLS family. It has been almost five years since diagnosis.

Five years of almost continuous chemo, steroids, doctors, hospitals, and fighting. Refusing to give up. Finding strength when it seems there is none left… But more than that, its five years of life I have been given with my dad. Multiple Myeloma is known as a particularly mean, vindictive cancer. It is extremely difficult to manage, and remission rarely comes. My dad has outlived any odds he was initially given – although he is one who has strength beyond measure and, in my opinion, to whom odds do not apply. However, the reality is he would not be alive today if it were not for new drugs and new treatments discovered within the past few years.

As we went for our first training run, he was on a plane down to M.D. Anderson in Houston to start yet another treatment. He always says he is so grateful that he has the top oncologists in the country but , it was never a wish of his to be the focus of such brilliant medical minds.

Today marks the 50^th day into his treatment, his third stem cell transplant but his first using his brother’s cells. Day 100 is when they whether it has been a success. We are halfway there. And our training team is half way there too.

As usual, Jodie dragged me out of the office to do hills this Tuesday. I truly detest running with every bone in my body. And so I protest. But she usually wins. And now that Eran, Sarah(x2) and Jeanne are on board, there is no escaping J I am always grateful of their support, encouragement, and dedication – to getting me going but more importantly to this cause. I am grateful I have the best teammates and colleagues – although – it was never a wish of mine to be doing a triathlon. And while running up that beast of a hill, wanting so badly to just stop and walk away, I think of my dad. And all the other people who are fighting for their lives. These hills are nothing compared to theirs. My dad doesn’t have a choice to endure what he will, but he does get to choose to fight. And he does. Everyday. And so will I – with a little help from my friends.

And so the hill becomes manageable. And all the people around you, running for their own reasons but all with the same goal, become your support, my support, my dad’s support.

So I ask you to come tonight. Support us in our training, and support the organization that has given my dad, very literally, his life. As he has said of LLS: “What you do is why I’m here.”

And if nothing else, just come hang out with us.

I look forward to seeing you tonight!

Much gratitude,

Catherine

Bikes, Runs & Swims, oh my

Rigorous travel schedule and a week of laziness = tardy posting. Saturday and yesterday were eventful days so here we go:

When is the last time you woke up at 6am on a Saturday? Well, I did this two days ago and hauled myself and my new bike (ooooh) to 72nd St and Riverside Drive by 7:15. It was TNT's first Bike+Run (BRick) session (side note, would BRun or Rike have made more sense?) and I was not going to miss it after 2 weeks of semi-haitus. Though I admit I woke up at 6:35 because my alarm didn't sound and had to take the subway up....


The BRick consisted of a 1 mi run (a good warm up), a 1 hour bike which was about 15 miles for me (I ate some bugs and swerved all over the place), followed by a 2 mi run (the word catatonic comes to mind). It felt like someone put wooden stilts in my legs and forced me to run, every joint was stiff and every step was weighted down. That being said, I HAD FUN! I was just very happy to have made it this far so far- my first bike followed by a run ever.

Sunday was a day of rest (aka shopping, eating and family time).

Yesterday, Jodie, Eran, Catherine, Sarah S. and I did our weekly Monday Swim session. We did our first 30 minute continuous swim! I swam 1100m, I think. It's a pool with eight lanes, I really have no excuse to lose track. I remember very clearly our first swim (I think I blogged about it) - I was exhausted after four laps (100 m).

It was rewarding : )

Thank you Jin, for your generous donation! I cannot wait to catch REVOLVER when it's all said and done. And, to catch you soon for a get together.