Sabino Canyon

This weekend we ran at Sabino Canyon. Even though the runs at Sabino are harder (3.7 miles of uphill and then 3.7 miles of downhill), it great to run in the middle of our beautiful desert! The scenery at Sabino makes the extra work worth it. I am looking forward to later in the summer when the mountain stream is running again and we get to run through the nice cool water several times. Running with wet shoes and socks can be a bit of a departure from normal but the cold/cool water definitely helps keep you cool. Maybe it's time to go do a rain dance to get those monsoon storms to visit Tucson and bring our desert some much needed rain :-)



And a reminder of the reason we run - to bring an end to cancer! Your tax-deductible donation can help! We are over 15% of our way to our goal of raising $5000 but every penny, nickle, dime, dollar, fifty-dollars, hundred-dollars helps!



Please help save lives http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn

Running is a drug

Running is a drug. Kinda. You get a lot of the same effects from running that people get from using drugs. So running is my "drug of choice."

I found this article on CNN today about a guy that was a 20-yr addict that couldn't kick the habit until he found running and triathlons. Now he's clean and he's done an Iron Man event! An Iron Man is 2.4 miles of swimming, a 112-mile bike ride AND a 26.2 mile (a.k.a. marathon) run. Nuts!

Tomorrow is our third group run! I am excited for the 6:30am start since it should be cooler than our runs the last couple weeks. And I get to see the other "addicts."

And I am still totally psyched that "Grandma Raine" is in REMISSION!!! She still has 3 months of chemo left but we love, love, love the word remission!

Please help find a cure for cancer. Make a donation at http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn

Update on the head shaving: $195 with "keep it" in the lead. We've got a long way to go to get to $5000 by July 31st. Please help.

On the good news front...

A quote from my Aunt Kathy, regarding Grandma Raine's health:
"GOOD NEWS!! Mom has been on the new chemotherapy for 3 months now and the results are good! It's working and the marker that the doctor looks at (M or T spike) is down 60% and her proteins are down 50%. Woo-hoo!! Her chemo doctor wants her to have another 3 months of treatment to assure that she remains in remission. The chemo is very hard on her but it is saving her life."

Let's keep the good news coming!

Won't you help save lives? Make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymhoma Society at http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn

Shaving it for cancer...

Have you ever seen a grown woman shave her head? This is your opportunity!

If we raise $5000 by July 31, 2009 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), you may get to see me shave my head. I know some people do not want to see me shave my head, so whichever side raises the most money for LLS will make the decision!

Head to http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn to make a donation to this great cause! In the comment box, put “shave it” or “keep it” when you make your donation.

Right now, I have approximately 21 inches of hair that will be donated to Locks of Love – an organization that makes wigs for kids with cancer. So we are raising money for cancer support and research and donating hair to help kids with cancer too!

Make your vote & donation count!!!

(You can also make an unofficial vote on the right side of the page. Only donations count towards the decision!)

Back Again!

(For those close to my age, I totally have Backstreet Boys "Backstreet's Back" running through my head. And I wasn't even a BB fan... NKOTB all the way!!!)

Anway, I'M BACK!!!

This year, I joined Team In Training (TNT) as a "Team Captain." This means I am raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help cure blood cancers! But I am also helping other members of Tucson TNT with their fundraising.

Please help those with blood cancers and their families by making a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn

Reason We Run

Why Team In Training and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society?

What is Team In Training?
In 1988, a team of 38 runners in West Chester County, NY train for the New York City Marathon while raising $320,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Their nickname Team In Training (TNT) stuck. Since 1988, over 340,000 people have raised over $800 million in support of TNT’s mission: cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Participants train for an endurance event - marathon, half marathon, triathlon or century (100-mile) bicycle ride - while raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Each participant is paired with an Honored Teammate, someone locally whose life has been affected by a blood related cancer.

1-800-482-TEAM
teamintraining.org


The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $550 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has 68 chapters throughout the US & Canada and is headquartered in White Plains, NY.

http://www.lls.org/
888-HELP-LLS


Your 100% Tax-Deductible Donation

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society uses the donations for a variety of purposes.“The Society is committed to curing leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and helping patients and their families. The support you provide is invested wisely.
Source: http://www.teamintraining.org/firsttimehere/themissionandhistory/wherethemoneygoes/


Why I Joined Team In Training

Joining Team In Training is something I wanted to do for quite some time. My mom, Linda Schiefelbein, participated with the Phoenix-area chapter for the past year.Throughout my life, I’ve known a few people whose lives were affected by one of the blood cancers, most notably my step-grandmother Lorraine. She’s battled multiple myeloma for the past several years. My training for the Nike Women’s Marathon is nothing compared to the marathon fight she’s been through.I can only hope to be as strong as her. She is with me in spirit each time I run for this cause and she will be with me when I cross the finish line of the Nike Women’s Marathon on October 18th in San Francisco.I raise money for LLS so other families do not have to endure what Lorraine has gone through.I run and train in honor and memory of your loved ones. Please share their names with me & I will carry them with me as I run.


How YOU can help

MAKE A DONATION TO THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY!

Check the cushions of your couch, I’ll bet you find some change. Every dollar can make a difference! Please look in your heart (and wallet) to find $5, $10 or $20 to donate.

I committed to raising at least $5000 for LLS, and I appreciate all the assistance. I would love for you to donate $50 but $5 is all I am asking. Please join me in this effort to help save lives and find a cure for blood cancers.

There are 2 easy ways to donate by July 31*:
1. Visit my donation page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn
2. Email me at jennifer.wellborn@gmail.com and I will send you a form you can fill out and mail back to me with your check to LLS.

I would love to run in honor or in memory of your loved ones. Please let me know your loved ones names and I will carry them with me throughout training and race day. (jennifer.wellborn@gmail.com)

*Donations can be made after July 31 but I want to make my fundraising goal early so I can focus on training.

Over $4700 raised and 26.2 miles complete!!!

Team Tucson - on our way to the Pasta Party

Whew! It feels good to say that we raised over $4700 together for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Oh yeah, and I completed all 26.2 miles of the Nike Women's Marathon. Both were an uphill battle but definitely worth the effort!

On October 19, 2008, over 20,000 runners completed the Nike Women's Marathon or Half Marathon. Team Tucson had a great, but challenging, day! Our Team Marisa ran in honor of Marisa Gallego who lost her battle just six months before the marathon. We all carried Marisa in our hearts and minds throughout the day and I am happy to say that all 6 members of Team Marisa showed us their hearts that day and completed either the marathon or half marathon. I am still in awe of their strength.

I decided not to give you a blow-by-blow report of the day but give you a few highlights and some photos. I am also including a couple links to more photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009947&l=4db53&id=1177912287 and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009980&l=38ccc&id=1177912287.

Even though we did hill training and I knew it was hilly San Francisco, I was more challenged by the hills than I expected. However, the hills were definitely worth the views. We started before sunrise in Union Square in downtown San Francisco, ran to the Embarcadero, then ran along the bay to Golden Gate Park. At the top of a challenging hill, we got our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. We were so lucky that the bridge was not fogged over and we got several great views as we ran closer and closer. I ran the first half (or so) of the race with my mentor Kristin and we stopped to take a couple pictures of ourselves in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. My friend Tracey says this makes me a penguin (as in a John Bingham penguin) and I told her that I've never denied I was a penguin. I think never completing a marathon in less than 5 hours probably means that you will always be a penguin. Like John says, waddle on friends! John Bingham was one of our speakers for the Team In Training pasta party the night before the race along with renowned women's marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson (1984 Olympic Gold medalist).

I finished the marathon in 5 hours, 27 minutes and 53 seconds (check out my results here). About 28 minutes slower than my goal of finishing in under 5 hours but I was so happy to see the finish line, I didn't even care. I struggled during the second half of the marathon. It was hard not to have my family, especially my husband Dan, there to cheer me on but my second family (Team In Training) provided great support. Over the last few miles of the race, I ran with or saw all 4 of the Tucson coaches and coach Ryan ran most of the last 2 miles of the race with me. I don't know that my butt could have made it across the finish line in the time it did if it hadn't been for them. And my mentor Kristin's dad was a fantastic substitute for my own dad. Kristin made sign for each of us and her dad stood along the race route holding the signs and cheering for all of us. He even decorated his jacket with our honored teammates! I got choked up seeing him around mile 16. It was also great to see the survivors out cheering for us. I think we all should cheer for them instead. I can run 26.2 but I don't know if I could make it through chemo.

I am sad to say that from the time I started training with Team In Training in late May, two of my honored teammates lost their battles, one in August and the other in November.