Two weeks in

Day 13 of my training.

I've been mapping out routes around my neighborhood. From my condo to the gym is 1.5 miles. So I can walk to the gym, work out, walk home... and that is three miles. (By the way, walking a mile and a half AFTER working out: WAY HARDER). There is a 3.3 mile loop, also, if I go around by the mall instead of walking back the way I came. I have even included shopping at Best Buy and Target into my walks.

I started adding short bursts of jogging to my walking. It doesn't hurt my legs to run, it hurts my chest. Apparently I am not cardio-ready. So I run lightly until it starts to hurt, then I walk. When my pulse stops freaking out, I run again. Each time I go out, I can run a few more times.

RUNNING CLOTHES

Dana + spandex = SHRIEK!!!!! They have "running skirts", and at first I was hesitant to get one. I'm trying to be a big tough athlete (stop laughing!) and the skirt just seemed kind of prissy, even for me. But at the first team training I attended, several of the ladies were wearing them. So I bought one, and it is REALLY comfortable and I look SO CUTE. Not that my cuteness is important, but STILL!

Cotton is a big no-no, according to the "experts". So that eliminates ALL of my clothes. Including my panties. I have spent the better part of forty years hearing that non-cotton panties were the devil. And now I have to buy some! So, my immortal soul is in jeopardy, but my bottom will not be chafed. Sounds like a worthwhile sacrifice to me.

I also bought a new PINK sports bra, and a PINK running jacket, and a PINK non-cotton tank top. I would really like one of those "Run Like A Girl" t-shirts that Team In Training makes... maybe that will be my next purchase. BUT, I need a hat or visor for running, and a comfortable watch. My shoes feel good, but I guess I will need to go to a shoe expert soon to make sure I've got the best ones for my foot type and my running type.

I also am reading a hilarious book called:
The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women: Get Off Your Butt and On with Your Training by Dawn Dais. It is really funny and inspiring. I feel much less inadequate reading about Dawn's journey.

Fundraising Update: Up to $460! That makes me nearly 15% of my goal! The fundraiser is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 12 at Hamlin Pub in Clarkston. More details to come!

As my trainer, Tammy, likes to say,

Smiling and Miling,
Dana

The Saga Begins

"WTF?" is the response I'm getting a lot from people who know me.

I am not a runner. I'm not even an athlete. I used to kick box, years ago, but that was fun. Running = decidedly not fun.

Why do people climb Mt. Rushmore? Why do people go to college while working full time and raising two kids? Why do ants spend their entire lives hauling regurgitated sand to the top of a hill?

Because we can!

But that isn't my real reason. My reasons are many:

• I need to get in shape. My metabolism recently flipped me the bird.
  
• I need support and motivation to get going with getting in shape. Team in Training does group training and everyone supports and encourages one another.
  
• It is a commitment, and once you make it, you HAVE to keep going. I work better when I have a goal.
  
• I lost a dear friend to leukemia a couple of years ago, and the program is all about fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If doing this helps prevent anyone else from losing someone dearly loved, then it's all good.
• Fundraising event planning is fun. Just wait til you see what I have in store! Mwah ha ha!

I ran into an old college buddy of mine, Bora Guven, who is an Iron Man Triathlete. He mentioned TNT to me, and I looked it up. There was a local meeting a few weeks later. Judee Metz and I went, and it was really interesting. The coaches are so passionate, and there were some great stories. I signed up. SO many people I know have either heard of it, know someone who participated, or have participated themselves. I had no idea! The alumni say that it was the most rewarding experience of their lives.

I met with my fundraising coach, Sarah, for the first time on Tuesday. I have some great ideas, and I sent out my first fundraising email. I've already made $225 after just one day!

This was the letter:

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, really, it was a bird and a plane...

I don't have a cape and I look terrible in spandex (trust me on this one).

I don't have xray vision, even with my contact lenses in place.

I can't leap tall buildings in a single bound (although I can jump nimbly over my cat before she trips me down the stairs).

I can't turn invisible, fly, or hear your thoughts.

**But I can still save the world, which, if you know me at all, has always been my job.**

I can walk.
I can run.
I can cure leukemia!

Mild mannered mother and computer geek during the week, marathon trainer and champion of the cure on the weekends. I am a Superhero.

Please check out my Team In Training page and help me fight something equally as vicious as crime: blood cancer. This is my first fundraising endeavor, and I'm only asking for you to help with a FIVE dollar donation to my account. If you can give more, that's fantastic, the more superheroes in the world, the better the fight! My amazing family and friends are actually my greatest superpower. Thank you all for helping me save the world. (All donations to LLS are 100% tax deductible, too!)

My other superpower is the ability to see the future... and I see a cure for leukemia and other blood cancers in the near future.

With love and gratitude,
Dana Robinson Pierce
Your Friendly Neighborhood Superhero

I am completing the Detroit Free Press Marathon on October 18, in memory of Gary "Buddha" Metz, who lost his decades long battle with leukemia in 2007. We miss you, Uncle Boody.

Team in Training is a sports endurance training program to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society whose mission is to "Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families."

My Page

Team In Training

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Now I'm just working on my training. I've been walking to the gym about two miles away, working out, then walking home. I've been doing short burst running on the treadmill. I hurt from head to toe, and the marathon training hasn't even started yet. The kick off meeting is May 13, and the group training starts on May 16. If you have any tips for me, post them in the comments here! Thanks!

Dana, the Accidental Athlete