The end of a long head of hair and more hill training

Uggg, it's been a crazy few weeks around here. I've been meaning to post something but haven't had/made the time. In addition to running and fundraising, I also have been making weddding and birthday quilt gifts (some pics can be found on my craft blog). I also always forget how busy the end of July & beginning of August are at work.

I will NOT be shaving my head. I will be donating approximately 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love. We did not make the $5,000 fundraising deadline in time but there is still time to make a donation to this fantastic cause!

I'll post some pictures of the new 'do as soon as I get it later this week. I am still debating on long, sideswept bangs or no bangs. I had bangs a couple years ago and like them in pictures but I also remember how much of a pain they can be... I have until Thursday after work to figure it out!

Here's a picture of the current 'do (more photos here). You can also follow the link to see pictures of the time I ACTUALLY shaved my head. It was back in 1998 and a little cold during the Flagstaff winter. And there were many different awkward stages while it grew back in...

Please help save lives by making a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn We still are only 1/2 way to the $5,000 fundraising goal. Please share this blog with your friends and family.

We met at Sabino Canyon this Saturday and did 12 miles of hill training. We ran to the top (3.7 miles), back down to the Mile 1 marker, back up to the Mile 3 marker and then ran back to the parking lot. It ended up being about 11.7 miles total, partially because I always forget where the 3rd mile marker is and went up and extra (steeeeep) hill!

Here are a couple photos I snapped with my phone. We arrived before the sun and got to see the sun come up over the canyon. And the moon stayed out to play with us even after the sun was high in the morning sky. Mornings like these with views like this make me happy to live here :-)

Sunrise over Sabino Canyon (taken while running = blurry)

Mile marker at the top (3.7 miles of mainly uphill, a little downhill)

The moon was still up even though the sun was getting high in the sky. Photo taken on the way down from the top.

Please help save lives by making a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn We still are only 1/2 way to the $5,000 fundraising goal. Please share this blog with your friends and family.

Yard Sale SUCCESS!

Our yard sales, yes SALES, this past weekend were a success!!! All totaled, 4 TNT members raised over $1150 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Our friends and family provided so much support and made so many donations that we had to split the yard sale between two locations. Nora & I were stationed at my house & Michelle and Jen were at Michelle's house. Nora & I raised just under $500 for LLS on Saturday and Michelle & Jen raised over $650 on Saturday and Sunday.

Below are some photos of the "stuff" that my friends, family and Team In Training members donated for our yard sale. And these photos are without the stuff Nora brought over. I still can't believe she sold her old golf clubs for just $25, including the bag! But it all went to a great cause :-)

Thanks to the following people that made donations to me for this fantastic fundraiser: Mom & Dad, Joseph, Patty, Tiffany & Justin, Carolyn, Rick, Dennis & Anne, Louanne, Dan's boss & wife, and anyone else I might have forgotten.

Notice my "helper" Rory in the photo above. This is what our living looked like the night before - even before I sorted through the large moving box of stuff Dan got from his boss. There was barely room to walk in the living room by the time I went to bed. The picture below is our guest room/office. It was completely full!

More photos can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031703&id=1177912287&l=2b16c0cf00

Also, if you would like to help find a cure for blood cancers, you can make a donation at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn. Every quarter, $1, $20, $100 helps!

Yard Sale

This Saturday, a few of us TNTers (Team In Training participants) are having a yard sale at my house.

If you live in the Tucson area and have items you'd like to donate, they'd be greatly appreciated!!! If you want to swing by on Saturday morning and check out the bargains, we'll be at the corner of Kelso & 15th Ave - just off Oracle and Glenn, by Nash Elementary.

We have so much stuff to sell we've expanded to a second location. The second location is: 3033 W. Treeline Dr. 85741. Cross streets are Orange Grove and Shannon. Just north of Org Grove on Shannon. Turn west on Positano and then east on Treeline.

You can also make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf09/jwellborn

Honored Teammate Lorraine Anderson

Lorraine, aka Grandma Raine, is my honored teammate. Lorraine came into my life when I was about 8 years old and has been a part of our lives for the past twenty-plus years. My own grandmother passed away when I was 4 so Lorraine is the only grandmother I've really known.

Lorraine was diagnosed with multiple myeloma eight years ago. She has been through countless rounds of chemo and radiation. She is a fighter and I believe has done her own marathon several times over. I am constantly impressed by her strength and determination.

We recently got fantastic news that Lorraine's cancer is in remission! Let's hope it stays that way forever!!! She has been in and out of remission ever since she was diagnosed.

Last year, when I trained with Team In Training for the first time, Lorraine wrote me this note that still touches me each time I read it:

Dear Jennifer,

Your e-mail has touched me in so many ways. I'd be so proud of you & your running accomplishments regardless of the cause. The fact that you are running in my honor & doing so to help me and others battle cancer makes this much more than an athletic feat. You make me so proud of your strength and commitment that it adds to my own. We will be sending a donation shortly and hopefully, more in the future.

Love, GrandmaRaine

She is proud of ME? In my mind, she is the one that we should all be proud of, not the other way around.

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