First Team Run- Luther Burbank Park

I signed up for the Whidbey Island half marathon a couple weeks ago with my friend Andrew, but hadn't yet made it to a team run. To summarize, team in training (TNT) provides endurance training programs for charities. One of the things I found really cool about this program is every week we run at a different local area. I won't be able to make the Tuesday or Thursday runs most of the time due to volunteer commitments, so for now the Saturday runs will have to do.

This past Saturday our run was on Mercer Island. We met at the Luther Burbank Park. I was extremely proud of myself for not getting lost on the way there the first time around. I can't say I'll always be this lucky with my poor sense of direction.

I was feeling a bit like a slacker since I wasn't sure what quite to expect and I had missed the first two weeks as I joined late. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. Below is the only photo I managed to take from the run. If you look closely there's a few birds hiding in the brush :).

We ran for about 50 minutes, which doesn't seem too bad when you're on a treadmill, but when you're running up unfamiliar inclines on Mercer Island it seems like a lifetime. I made friends with a gal training for the Whidbey Island full marathon and we ended up jogging the last twenty minutes together. I plan to go running at least twice this week. I'll be enjoying a stay-cation over the holidays and studying for my six sigma green belt (SSGB) exam coming up the first week in December. Wish me luck!

I"M RUNNING A HALF MARATHON! How it all started

It was a typical Sunday afternoon.  I had just finished showering after a light jog. I was skimming through personal email on my Android while sipping a cup of tea and tiptoeing around the one of the cats' many gadgets strategically placed in the floor in hopes of getting me to take a moment play fetch with them.

I read the title of an email from one of my best friends from high school, Andrew, making a mental note to read it thoroughly after I had double-checked my fantasy football line up for that evening's games.

Fast forward an hour, during a commercial break and I finally get to Andrews mail:

" Hi Charm,

 

If memory serves me right the last time we hung out you mentioned you were looking to start running again. I've decided to run the Whidbey Island half marathon in mid April and wanted to see if you'd be interested in joining me.

 

The kicker is that I'm doing it for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to raise funds for cancer research. There's two aspects to it, the fundraising and the actual training for the half marathon.

 

For the fundraising, they set me up with a website where people can donate (there's also an app), although you know me and I hate asking people for stuff, so I'll have to work up to asking friends, family and coworkers to donate.

 

The training is cool because there's a group of about 20-30 people that you meet with twice a week to run with at your own pace: Tuesday nights at Green Lake (although they're setting up an East side group) and Saturday mornings at various places in the area. There are trainers and coaches that help you set up a training schedule that works for you.

 

Anyway, wanted to see if you were interested. You can sign up anytime between now and I think February. Below is the link to the website if you're curious.

 

-Andrew

 

www.teamintraining.org/mail"

 

Somehow reading his original email the only phrases that stuck were charity, Whidbey Island, fundraising, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). My immediate replay was Yes! I was thrilled Andrew was doing something philanthropic and wanted to support him. It wasn't until I went to register I realized I was signing up for a half marathon. (He's still never let's me down for not reading his email entirely).

 

So now I'm here, what am I doing? I'll be sharing updates over the next several months:

• Share my experience training for my first ever marathon
• Document my progress
• Keep me accountable
• Make fundraising more personable for my donors :)
• Share my mission moments as the occur in my experience

I will also share my fundraising link once that get's sorted out as it appears I've been automated for a few by error! Until then, stay tuned!