Week 1 Complete!

It is now the beginning of Week 2 of the "official" Team In Training marathon schedule, and so much has already happened!

First off, I am finally recovered from a lovely bout of swine flu I contracted about 5 weeks ago, and it has taken me 5 weeks to get over it. I am sure many of you can relate. *ugh.* But I'm bouncing back pretty quickly now, thank goodness!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to an informational meeting for Team In Training, and the coaches and staff explained everything, from how to raise money for this amazing cause, to what the training will be like. I must say, though, I came out of the meeting slightly nervous. I am a regular exerciser, but rarely do I do cardio for longer than 30 minutes at a time without some sort of break. However, my nerves went away when I went to our first run with our trainers and the other Team in Training participants this past Saturday. It was a blast! We all met at Lipscomb U. at 7AM (I'll be honest, that part was difficult), and they had an amazing breakfast setup for us, plus a few informational classes about running health, safety, and injury prevention. After we went through the classes, they had a running path set up for us, and encouraging staff and coaches guiding us through. There were several different lengths you could run. The people training for the full marathon ran 4 miles, and the people training for the 1/2 marathon ran 2. I ran the 2 miles since I have decided to do the 1/2 marathon. 13.2 miles is enough for a first-timer! The 2 miles was nice; not too difficult, but I'm wondering how a couple of weeks from now will be, when we are running 10 miles!

I think the best part of Saturday was the people. There was so much encouragement and optimism. I didn't feel left out or pushed; I was only encouraged to give my best. I heard a beautiful story of a cancer survivor. And I met a wonderful girl who is running for her brother, who was just diagnosed with cancer last week. It was a beautiful time of honesty, strength, and hope. I came out of that day more excited about why I am running.

If you would like to donate to this amazing cause, please go to Lightning100.com or click on the links found on my blog. It will take you to my personal TNT website, where you can contribute any donation (does not matter how small! Every cent counts!) that goes straight to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization that helps further the advancement of research for curing blood cancers. They have done so much already in the advancement of medicines, and they continue to save lives every day.