10 mile run (or 11 or 12...it's hard to keep track when you're lost).

My 10-mile run was definitely my most adventurous yet. Saturday morning I awoke to thunder and lightning, but was surprised to find an email in my inbox that our run was not canceled. I was housesitting in West Lake, so it took me nearly 30 minutes (driving through a thunderstorm) to get to the 51st street where we were supposed to be meeting. Well, apparently everyone else had decided to ditch practice and I was the only one there. Though I was irritated I had driven so far, I was secretly thankful I wouldn't be running in the rain when it was 40 degrees outside.

One thing I've found out running this thing is that it is a billion times easier to run with a team than by myself - so though I was appreciative that I didn't have to run in the rain, the thought of running 10 miles by myself was a bit daunting.

I woke up Sunday morning with the task before me in mind. Since my sister was in town, there were many things I wanted to do that didn't involve running 10 miles. I woke up and ate breakfast around 9:30 then delayed starting my run until about 11:45. This was my first mistake. Those of you who have run long distances before know about carbo-loading. It is not good to start a 10-mile run on an empty or near empty stomach. Thankfully I had stopped by RunTex on my way to Town Lake and bought a couple of GU packets. I started running my usual trail, but planned to run the full trail around Town Lake, which is about 10.15 miles.

I realized I must have made a wrong turn when I found myself literally running along IH-35. This was not a good feeling, considering 35 is a terrifying highway to be on in a car let alone on foot. So I make my first turn around to get back to the nearest street that is not a major highway. Thus I find myself on Riverside... and about 15 minutes later on East Riverside, which as you Austinites know, is not the safest part of town. Turning around again, I finally stop at a gas station and get directions back to the trail. Great!! I'm back on track....until I realize that I have run out of water. Again, I go off the trail and on to the street. I'm on Cesar Chavez, again not in the best area of town and am having difficulty finding a gas station that is not boarded up. I eventually give up and head back to the trail, only to find that if I would have kept running for oh, about 30 feet, I would have come to a water fountain. Blurg.

I've been running at this point for about an hour and a half and realize I still have about 5 miles to go to get back to my car. See, this is the trick to running long distances - don't bring a phone and run really far away from your car while you're still feeling slightly energized... and then when you want to quit and give up, you have no choice but to run back to your car.

In all, I ran for about 2 hours and 10 minutes before I suddenly started feeling like I was dying. I think I had run well over 10 miles (I hope I'm not THAT slow) and decided to walk the last mile to my car. At this point, I'm starving (these runs make me hungrier than I've ever been - and that's saying a lot). I am literally taking breaks sitting on benches during the last twenty minutes because I feel like I'm going to pass out. I finally get to my car, drive straight to Jason's Deli, and then eat more than anyone ever should. I'm not even going to begin talking about the ice bath I took a couple of hours later..

Though this run wasn't the most uplifting for someone who's ultimate goal is to run 26.2 miles, I did learn a lot and will hopefully not make some of the same mistakes twice.

Lessons learned on this run:

1. Eat a good breakfast before I start.

2. Look at a map before I begin.

3. Bring plenty of GU, in case I need to refuel.

4. Fill up my water bottle every chance I get even if it's not empty so I don't ever run out.

As far as fundraising goes, I have raised $3,250!! I mailed a batch of checks to the LLS today, so my website should be updated in a week or two. I'm having a car wash in Longview over Easter break, so hopefully that will bring in a couple hundred dollars. Also, my sister, Abby, is having a garage sale to raise money for LLS!! Now that I'm pretty sure I will be able to raise my original goal of $3,500, I would like to go above that about $500 to $1000 or whatever I can do for this great organization!

This is a long and disorganized post, but I hope some of you found it interesting! Thank you for all the encouragement and stories along the way that remind me that I'm running for a great cause!

Yours,

Lisa

9 Mile Run

Hey everyone!

We had our 9 mile run last Saturday. We ran through a gorgeous neighborhood around Lake Austin - gorgeous, but very hilly! The run went really well - I feel like they are getting easier as I get into better shape, but past marathoners have told me that mile 12 is when things become difficult! My shins and knees are feeling better than they were the first few weeks, which makes me feel much better.

Fundraising is also going extremely well! Thanks to everyone for their very generous donations! I have raised about $3,125. Again, this is not yet reflected on my website since I have not mailed in all the checks. Once I do, it takes about a week or two to upload to the website. Also, the people at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society upload the check information to my website, so the name on the check will be the name that shows up on the webpage under donations. I am trying to mail checks each Saturday in bulk, since I have been getting about 2 a day.

As a result of fundraising and talking to different people, I have become more and more aware each day what a great cause this is. For example, I found out that four of the wonderful people whom I traveled to Guatemala with on a mission trip in October have had people in their immediate family pass away from Leukemia. Three of these people lost a child and one lost a younger brother. With their permission, I will include more about them in the future.

I better get back to work! Everyone have a great day and a happy Spring Break!

Lisa

The Power of Your Money

Here are some of the ways our fundraising helps patients:

$5000 Supports more than one week of research for a medical researcher at UCSF, Stanford, or Berkeley who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

$1000 Allows 20 patients to log on to a webcast and hear the latest information in treatment for their disease.

$500 Provides a blood cancer patient with financial assistance for one year.

$200 Provides a Family Support Group Program for one year for a patient and their family.

$150 Allows 5 patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

$100 Provides 3 patients access to an information teleconference.

$75 Is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

$50 Is the cost of a CT scan

$35 Pays for transportation expenses for a patient living in Northern California's most rural areas to treatment at a comprehensive cancer center.

$25 Covers a single prescription co-payment.

8 Mile Run

Hey everyone!

Today we had our 8-mile run as a team. The weather was absolutely perfect for running and it went really well! I ran in West Lake yesterday, which is extremely hilly so my calves were really tight for the first few miles, but the last three weren't bad at all. Running with a team helps SO MUCH!!! Running by myself last week made the 7 mile work out seem a lot worse than it was.

Fundraising is also going very well. Thank you to everyone who has donated! I have raised a little over $1900 so far. My fundraising page doesn't reflect this, because the checks that have been mailed to me haven't been added to the total yet. I'm mailing eleven checks to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society tomorrow and then it takes about two weeks for them to be added.

Any fundraising ideas are still welcome. Also, if you know anyone who would be interested in donating, please give them my webpage address!

Thanks for the support and donations!!

Lisa