Thursday, November 3, 2011

It has been awhile!

Well, it has been awhile since my last post.  I have a host of excuses...work, vacation, school starting back up for my son, life...you name it.  Training has been inconsistent at best, but at least I have more confidence about running the Half Marathon in January now than when I registered for it this past March. 
I slacked off for pretty much the entire month of August, and then topped it off with a trip to Walt Disney World.  I was ok in September, even fitting in a local 5k.  Boy, was that a wake up call to let me know that I needed to get serious in training.  On Columbus Day, my sister-in-law, my friend and her friend ran the Tufts 10k for Women in Boston in 83 degree weather!  That is New England for you...who knew that some areas of New England would get socked with 2 feet of snow a mere 3 weeks later.  I finished the 10k in a reasonable time...good enough to move my corral position in the Half Marathon.  I got in a few more sessions of training after that and then came down with a chest cold, so I have been coping with that for a couple weeks and well as lower back spasms.  I intend to get out today and get at least 30 minutes in.  Excellent running weather in Boston today.  According to Jeff Galloway's plan, I am supposed to run 9.5 miles on Saturday.  I am not sure I will get this in, but I hope to get out sometime this weekend to do some training. 
Happy training!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Well...this has been a not so successful training time

For the past month I have not been training due to some personal issues.  I hope to be able to pick up again this weekend or at the very least on my next scheduled training day on Tuesday.  Then we are off to WDW to hopefully enjoy a nice HOT vacation...I think we will be a less Disney-commando family this go around and more the see how it goes...this is a real change.

I have made some decent fundraising progress, but and still looking for donations!  No amount is too small to help the cause!

Please click on the Donate Here tab on my page to link right to Deb's Avon Walk Page!
Don't forget to let me know you have donated so I can keep track :)

Monday, July 11, 2011

I met some of my team members on Sunday!

I took a break from my blogging last week and took my kids to York Beach, Maine!  I love that place.  It just reminds me of when I was a kid and we used to go up there to Goldenrod for their delicious taffy.  It was a good time had by all...I had to drag the kids home. 

I still got my jogging in on Tuesday before heading up to the beach and then my sister in law and I took the chance to get out and jog along the beach on Thursday.  On Saturday, I managed to pull myself out of bed for a 4.22 mile jog/walk. 

On Sunday, I had the chance to meet 8 fellow Team AllEars members for a BBQ on the beach!  It was great to meet some of the team members face to face!  A few of us went for a jog/walk (5.18 more miles for me!).  As my son so eloquently put it "mom, they make your knowledge of Disney look pathetic."  Well, I guess I am in the right group...they can help me increase my running and my Disney knowledge : ).  It was great to put faces with names.  It is somewhat strange that I feel like I already knew them in some respects.  Thanks Mandy and Nick for having us!

It is supposed to be hot an muggy in my area tomorrow and I hope I can at least get out to walk for 30 minutes tomorrow after work. 

Don't forget to click on the Donate Here tab on the page or send me a check...no amount is too small!

Until next time...

Friday, July 1, 2011

Am I going to be able to keep this up?

Well, I have managed to keep up some semblance of training over the past month.  I have forced myself out of bed early on Saturday mornings to get the jogging in before I can think about what I am doing.  The good news is that I have increased my endurance...the bad news is that I am trying to follow the run/walk/run strategy and I keep forgetting to walk when I am supposed to walk!  At first blush, you may applaud my running efforts, however, I am still a non-runner and an uncoordinated one at that.  I should be doing all I can do to avoid injury and fatigue, which will just lead me down the road to giving up and slacking.  I have never run a race over 3.5 miles, so if I tire at that point, I am cooked!

Tomorrow is my "long run" day.  I hope to get 4 miles under my belt and not care about pacing at this point.  I have 6 months until the Half Marathon...I have to be the little engine that could...I think I can, I think I can. 

Thursday, June 23, 2011

How you can help

I know you have been anxiously awaiting the next blog entry :).  I promised you more details about how you can help and here they are!

I know that times are tough and it seems that at every turn someone is asking for another dollar for something.  If you can spare a couple dollars, they would go to good use!  There are a few different ways that you can help me this year...volunteer time is just as valuable as a monetary donation:

(1) Make a donation online at: http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/DebWills2012 - click on the thermometer to donate using your credit card or debit card (which have the visa or mastercard logo).  Please note Team AllEars - Heather Melito-Dezan in the personal note section so that Deb knows that your donation should count toward my tally. Please save your confirmation.
Please email me with the date and dollar amount of your contribution so that I can keep track and so that I can thank you!

***Note about Employer Matching*** Your donation confirmation will include the address to which you should submit your Employer Matching paperwork.  If your employer will match your contribution and you plan to submit the request, please let me know when you will submit and for how much the match will be.  I will provide you with the information necessary for the match to be credited to Deb's walk.  If you would like, you can complete as much as you can on the form and give to me to forward along to the Avon Foundation. 

(2) You can write a check payable to: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and mail it to me at 41 Park Ave, Salem NH 03079.

***Note about Employer Matching*** If you contribute via check and your employer will match your contribution, please let me know you will be seeking the employer match and how much your employer will match.  Please forward me the employer match paperwork and I will forward it along with your check!

Donation incentive***As I think of other incentives, I will post them*** For a donation of at least $50, I will run one mile during the Half Marathon in your name (or on behalf of a loved one of your choosing) and will add that name to the shirt I will be wearing on race day.  If I run out of miles for the Half and people are still interested, I will do the same for the 5K...that's 3 more chances!  When you make your contribution, please let me know if you are selecting this option!
I also welcome ideas for various donation levels :)

(3) You can donate an item or service to be used as a door prize or silent auction item at one of my fundraising events...more info to come on dates and events.  If you know anyone who owns a business or has sports events tickets that would be willing to donate something as a silent auction item or door prize item, I would appreciate it greatly!

(4) You can lend a hand at one of my fundraising events (there is a little something for everybody).
    In the works...mini golf fundraiser, Lia Sophia home party, Pampered Chef book party, Creative Memories book party, Laser Craze fundraiser, You're Fired fundraiser, Pink Party fundraiser in September, yard sale.

(5) You can lend words of encouragement to keep me going with my training and fundraising.  If you have had success in fundraising or running and have words of wisdom, please pass them along!

(6) You can come to the WDW Marathon Weekend in January 2012 and cheer on the Team!

Until next time.....

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Welcome to my blog!

Thanks for visiting my first blog!  I have thought about blogging in the past, but never got around to setting anything up.  Chalk it up to fear; fear that it would be too consuming and that no one would want to read what I had to write anyway. 

My participation in Team AllEars 2012 (TAE) has spurred me to begin a blog so that my supporters will be able to view my progress in training for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon (which I am still trying to visualize completing) and raising money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer with TAE!

Let me tell you a little bit about why I am participating in TAE and why I have decided to run (at this point it is a slow jog, but that is semantics) the Walt Disney World Half Marathon and the Family and Friends 5k.  In January 2011, my husband and I participated in the Buzz and Woody Best Friends 5k in Walt Disney World, which also happens to be one of our favorite vacation spots!  We decided to leave the kids at home as this was our first time participating in WDW Marathon Weekend activities and we had no idea what to expect that weekend.  I have to admit that I was nervous about being able to finish a 5k with zero training, but we did so in a reasonable time....though we can do better :).  While down in Disney World that weekend, I remember looking around at the participants in the various races (5k, Half Marathon and Full Marathon) and seeing those of all fitness levels and ages.  On more than one occasion I thought that if people you would not expect to be participating in the Half Marathon and/or the Marathon were doing so, why couldn't I?  The seed was planted for my participation in the Half Marathon at WDW in January 2012.  As we made the long walk to the starting corral for the 5k, I remember seeing several TAE members, including Deb Wills (25 yr breast cancer survivor, Honorary TAE Captain and founder/webmaster of http://www.allears.net/).  While waiting for the start in the masses there were several TAE members right next to us.  When I saw them, I remembered reading about TAE on http://www.allears.net/ and then decided that I would join TAE 2012 when registration opened.  Once the 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Registration opened, I also checked about TAE registration and decided to join!  TAE 2011 raised over $50k for Deb's walk...I hope with 99 people we can easily exceed that this year!

TAE 2012 is a group of 99 Disney fanatics from across the U.S., Mexico and Canada, who are united by our love for Disney, desire to move toward a healthier way of living, have been touched in some way by cancer and want to do our part to help end breast cancer!  Each team member has committed to raising at least $500 toward Deb Wills' participation in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (see the link to her Avon page on the home page to this blog) in addition to participating in at least one of the races during the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.  Some are participating in one race and some are participating in the 5k, the Half and the Full Marathon (affectionately known as the Dopey). 

My goal is to reach at least $1,000 in donations.  I have about 6 months to rally the troops to help me reach (and perhaps even exceed) my goal.  In my next blog entry, I will give greater detail about how you can help!

Thanks for hanging on until the end of this long entry!