Today I joined the Yahoo! Group for the DC Marathon team. There, I found all kinds of support materials for fundraising, training, and pacing myself! Looking at our training calendar, I'm a couple miles behind, but have no fear! My first stop today when I get home is the elliptical machine. (Today my schedule says 40 minutes of x-training)
First of all, I am blown away by our support team. In our welcome packet on the Yahoo! Group there is a letter from our staff contact, that includes a listing of the 27 additional people (27!!!) who are return members serving supporting roles to the DC Marathon Team this season. Wow. What a testament to this program.
The most important element of the welcome packet, though, is not our supportERS but who we are supportING. Since I unfortunately missed our kickoff celebration last Saturday, I didn't have a chance to meet Karl in person, but I've been reading about him and he is quite an impressive guy.
The first thing I noticed was the picture of Karl, wearing the signature purple singlet jersey of a Team in Training participant, a TNT visor, and a huge smile on his face. Karl was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in January 2005. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for this disease. Karl is very brave...he is participating in a clinical trial to evaluate the use of two antibodies to treat the lymphoma--one that has been around for awhile and one that is only in the trial stages. Unfortunately the antibody that has been out on the market awhile has a history of relapses--so the doctors are trying to see if a double dosage of antibodies improves the treatment. Since beginning the treatment in November 2005, Karl is in remission (yay!) and here is the coolest part: Karl is not only our honored teammate, but a Team in Training Marathon junkie! He has trained for 9 events over the past 4 years. Wow, I can't even imagine. If someone like Karl has the motivation and drive to do more than two events per year, I should have no excuse on my sluggish days not to pick myself up and fundraise and train. It's these exact investigational treatments, dedication to research and finding a cure, that LLS stands for. (www.lls.org) I can't think of a more perfect person to honor than one who has not only overcome lymphoma, but several endurance events as well.
Another nugget: Karl's wife Stephanie will be training with us this summer for her first Team in Training event!
I spent last weekend in Charleston with my friend Trish, who thinks I'm crazy for wanting to run a marathon. My auto-response has become that it's something that I've wanted to achieve for a long time, and there is no time like the present. (It helps that my first winter in DC wasn't kind to my tummy, and it adds a little motivation to see the positive body benefits of training!) Trish works for the Air Force, like me, and works with a Captain who is moving here with his family in the fall. The really cool thing is that his wife, Kim, has trained for several Team in Training events and volunteered to go running with me when they get here. I'm so excited to have the support! Of course, I've got a long way to go until I can keep up with her, but it's nice to see that TNT'ers stick with running and are willing to help out their successors.
Our first team run is this Saturday--3 miles! My parents will arrive soon after, but I'll have to let you know how it goes.
So I'm wondering if any of you have clicked on the link at the top corner of my blog yet...
Part of the reason that I decided to train with the Team in Training program is because all of the funds raised go to a GREAT cause! But I've got a long way to go before October, to raise the $3800 I have committed to raising for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America. Any amount you can give will help motivate me and get me to San Fran in October! Who will be first?
Thanks for reading! Look for letters and a group on facebook to pop up soon.
