TNT-Thursday

Ok, ok, I know that it is Friday, but it has just been one of those weeks. (Have you ever had one of those weeks?) But I still wanted to give you an update on things. Today I thought I would share a little more about Team in Training.


Team in Training is first and foremost a fundraising program. The primary objective is to raise funds for blood-related cancer research. They work hand in hand with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society whose mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Since it's establishment in 1949, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has awarded over $550 million dollars in research grants. And great strides have been made. One of the most incredible research advances has been the increasing cure rate for children with acute lymphocytic leukmia (ALL). In 1960, less than 5 percent of the children with ALL survived. Today, over 80 percent of the children diagnosed with ALL are surviving! That is AMAZING! And that has been in my lifetime.

The heart of the Team in Training program is the patient that those who are training and raising funds train in honor of. An Honored Patient is someone who has been diagnosed with leukemia or a related cancer and has agreed to be a Team's inspiration. As I mentioned in a previous post, Jared is our Honored Patient that our team is running for.




And now to my training. When I signed the dotted line to run this marathon I was not exercising at all. Nada. So I have a long way to go. Team in Training provides a coach who comes up with a training plan and helps in every way he can to ensure that you will cross the finish line. Slowly but surely I am getting stronger. Tomorrow will be my 'long run' of the week and I'll be going 5 miles. Each week my long run increases. During the week I do shorter runs with some cross training on off days. It feels good to be exercising again and to be doing it for such a great cause.


Next week I'll 'introduce' another one of the special people that Steve and I are running in memory of.

Until Next Time...

(If you are interested in donating to my Team In Training efforts, please click on the Team in Training logo to the left of this post. And thank you in advance for helping in the race to find a cure!!)