The time has come! In less than 65 hours, I will be putting my conditioning to the test when I run my half marathon for Team in Training. As I read through my last three blog posts, I realize that I never mentioned where I would be running. When I signed up with TNT in September, I had a choice of two locations - Miami and Phoenix. Phoenix was my choice! The marathon I will be competing in is called the P.F.Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon! You can read about it here: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/arizona
Since there are only 4 of us, including me, from the Kentucky and Southern Indiana chapter of TNT, we have been grouped together with 14 other teammates from Kansas, Indiana, Minnesota and North Carolina. As a result, I am now on a team known as the "National Team". The TNT Coordinator from North Carolina and the TNT Coach from Minnesota will be meeting us in Phoenix and will be our support for the weekend.
I'm happy to report that, as of today, my fundraising total is $3,701!! That's $201 PAST my goal!! Thank you SO much to all of you for making this happen!!
As of today, I've run around 295 miles in preparation for this Sunday. I will run again once I arrive in Phoenix, but it will be a short (around 3 miles) distance.
The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon begins at 7:30 Mountain Standard Time - 9:30 for all of my EST friends. The temperature when I begin will be in the upper 40s, and in the upper 50s when I finish. This is a little warmer than I'm accustomed to, but at least I'm not running the full marathon for which the temperature at the finish will be close to 70. I've been training in the 20s, 30s and 40s.
The main highlight of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (and thus why it's called 'Rock 'n' Roll') is live local band music at each mile marker. I can't wait!! Plus, there will be local high school cheerleading teams rooting us on throughout the course. It's my hope that I will be so distracted that I won't even realize I'm running. :) The "World's Greatest Party Band" will be at the Finish Line -- the B-52s!! No kidding!! I'll be dancing to "Love Shack", "Roam" and "Good Stuff" soon after running 13.1 miles!
With all of the excitement in store for me this weekend, I haven't lost sight of why I'm heading to Phoenix this weekend. I'm running in honor of my dad and countless other cancer victims and survivors. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is doing great things for cancer research. Together We Train to Beat Cancer!!
Thank you SO much for your support!
Love to you all - and - Go Team!
