Team in Training

Hello! My name is Julia and I just signed up with Team in Training.

Actually, I started running last November as a way to get in shape. I started with a group called R.U.N. (http://www.meetup.com/runner). These people very quickly became like family to me. I love running with them and they are so motivating and encouraging...

Well, it began to pay off because just a few weeks ago, I ran my longest distance of 4.69 miles in the Beach to Bay Marathon Relay. I decided that it was time for another challenge/goal - to run in the San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon.

When I told my friends at Church that I was running, my friends Rhonda and Sharon encouraged me to train with them through Team in Training. So, it turns out that Team in Training is a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. They can train anyone from not being able to run one mile to running a full marathon (that's 26.2 miles) in less than 6 months. In addition to the training, they also provide their runners with education on how to stay healthy and hydrated while running.

So, what's the catch? Well, you have to fund raise for them. OMG! I have never tried to raise money...well, maybe candy bars in high school for the choir...but I have to raise $3000 by October!!!

I will be honest with you, I am actually more worried about raising money than I am about running in a marathon... But I am Julia and I do what I do best...plan and organize as much as I can.

So, here I am....about to start fundraising and about to start training for a half marathon....what better to do than to blog about my journey?!

I don't know if anyone will be interested in reading about my adventures with Team in Training, but I welcome you nonetheless.

So now here is a question I want to answer, why is the Leukemia and Lymphoma society a worthy cause to donate to? Well, did you know that Leukemia is the number one cancer killer of children and that over 100 children die every day of a blood cancer?

I recently met a woman who lost her son, Tre’Vaugh La Var Payne, at age 12 in 2005 to Non-Hodgkins T-Cell Lymphoma. I told her about what I was doing and she thanked me. As I hugged her, I thought of my sisters. Some of you may know that I have lost two sisters, although not to Cancer. My sister, Marlo, died at age 19 in 2004 in a fatal car accident and my sister, Monica, died of unknown causes in 2006. She was 10 years old.

Every child that dies of Leukemia or Lymphoma leaves a grieving family behind. I may not have a personal connection to blood cancer – but I have seen grief and I know the pain of loosing a child. It is a pain that never truly goes away.


If I can do anything to help prevent other families from having to go through the same heartache, I will do everything I can.

Til next time.

Julia