posted by Jennifer on a day in the life of me!, Team in Training

Signed up for what? The Christi Clinic Marathon & Half Marathon, April 28th, 2011!

Over the summer my husband had mentioned that there was going to be a marathon ON his 50th birthday April 28th, 2012 and that it was at U of I in Champaign (where he went to school as an undergrad & law school too). I knew he was going to want to do it. When he asked if I would do it with him – I immediately said YES – but just the half!

We have just signed up again with Team in Training – a FANTASTIC organization that raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My mother-in-law passed away last year from a blood disease and David lost 2 uncles to Leukemia + a high school friend.

This will be my 4th time running for the Team. I finished the 2005 and 2006 Chicago Marathon and in 2007 I finished the Chicago Distance Classic (half marathon). In fact it was because of my mother-in-law that David and I were even able to train for those events. Our long runs were every Saturday morning on the Chicago Lakefront. So as the summer months got longer – we began at 7:00 a.m. which meant my husband picked up his Mom @ 6:00 a.m. so she could babysit our 3 kids! She did that every Saturday as long as we were training – for months!

Now that we have 2 teenagers in the house, we don’t have to worry about babysitters, but we will be starting our official training with theTeam in balmy January Chicago weather!!

But, I’ve already started running – logging a few runs over the weekend AND guess what I did yesterday? I ran a few miles when I got home from work last night – I know I was shocked too!

For those of you who are not familiar with Team in Training, it is nationwide, and as long as you raise the minimum amount for your event, you get the coaching, the entrance to the race, hotel accommodations, air fare if necessary – all for free! You just raise the money. And the money not only helps to finding a cure, but helps patients with expenses related to their treatments.

At the long runs on Saturday, all the runners gather in a big group. There is usually a patient honoree – someone who is living with the disease who talks about what their life has been like, how they are doing, and thanking all of us for raising money. Now, I cry at commercials, so you know I get choked up every time I hear someone like that speak!

And, the best part about Team in Training is that you don’t have to be an athlete, you don’t have to be fast, you don’t even have to run – they have walking groups too! I am a REALLY slow runner, and knowing that the coaches (and my hubby) waited for me to come in from the longer runs and cheered me just as much as the people who finished first made me always feel great.

So, David and I have a joint fundraising page. CLICK HERE TO BE CONNECTED TO THAT PAGE. If you have an extra few dollars to donate – nothing is too small – we would greatly appreciate it!

Here is my Mother in law actually on my wedding day (that’s me in the background -almost 17 years ago)

What’s the longest race you’ve ever finished?

Tags: Half marathon training, Team in Training