I'm Going on an Adventure!

No, I'm not setting off to save Middle Earth. That would be pretty amazing though. I am, however, setting out to help eliminate blood cancer and learn how to run a race.

You might have noticed - or maybe you haven't, that's okay - I've run a few 5Ks recently. Why? I'm not really sure. I hated running as a child. I puked on my sixth grade teacher after being forced to run a mile in P.E. I dreaded running days throughout middle and high school. I managed to worm my way into a bowling class that counted as P.E. just so I wouldn't be required to run. College didn't change anything. I took a dance class to fill the requirement and, if I worked out, I was doing Zumba.

In short: if you had told me two years ago I would be running races now, I would have politely asked you to return to whatever mental asylum you had escaped from and please stop spouting such wild tales.

I digress.

Whatever pushed me to do that first 5K led me into doing more. Crossing the finish line was exciting. And each time I crossed, a little voice that grew progressively louder told me I could go longer. I could do a 10K. Look how fun the 5 was, the 10 would obviously be double that! So, the next obvious move was to sign up for the Tinkerbell 10K at Disneyland. But even that wasn't enough.

I have drunk the Kool Aid.

A friend of mine told me he was going to be a coach for this season's Team in Training. They were going to be doing the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. Train with people who know what they're doing? Raise money for blood cancer research? Sign me up! So . . . that's what I'm doing.

If you don't know what Team in Training is, go to teamintraining.org. The history and the mission are explained much more eloquently there than I can do here. If you want the basics, I'm fundraising for cancer research as well as Family Support Groups for patients and educational purposes. In return, the Society is helping me train for a half marathon. I'm also participating in honor of a dear friend of mine who is a Leukemia survivor. I'm sure Team in Training participants helped fund research that saved her life. I will never be able to express my gratitude to them, but I can hopefully do for someone else what they did for me. And that is why I am asking for your help.

Every single donation helps save a life with breakthrough therapies. Because of Team in Training and its supporters, blood cancer survival rates are higher than ever. Patients and their families receive the support they need as they go through treatment as well. Every little bit helps. If you would like to donate, please go here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/calso/tinkerb15/swright

I will also be documenting every training session I go through here on this blog. Why?

1) When I feel like I can't remember why I'm doing this, I can come back and see the progress I've made and what it's for.

2) Maybe it will inspire you to start running? If I can do it, anyone can. Seriously.

3) I can't show you which patient(s) are going to benefit from your donations, but I can show you how I am benefiting. I promise to be 100% honest on how my training is going. Good, bad, and ugly.

Thank you in advance for your support. Whether it's donating, cheering me on, spreading the word, or all of the above, I know you guys will be a driving force behind me. And I'm incredibly grateful for that.

The first practice is this Saturday, so you'll be hearing from me soon. I'm sure there will be many points along the way where I will want to quit, but for now . . .