I'm BACK!!!

Well after finishing my first half-marathon I woke up a week later and realized that I missed everything about it! I missed the Saturday morning practices, seeing new friends.... just the whole routine of training. So, I've signed up to do another one!!! This one is in February and it's in Austin this time. Best part about it is I'm a Mentor!! I have eight ladies on my team and Kick-off is on Saturday!

Keep checking my blog and I'll update it to let you know how we are doing! Our honored hero is a little second grade boy who has been fighting blood disease for almost two years. He's darling and a big sports enthusiast. He plans to play soccer and another sport this fall. I'll put up a photo of him soon.

In the meantime, here is a photo of our newest family member!! His name is Scraps, he weighs about 2 pounds and he's nine weeks old. A real cutie!!

WE DID IT!

What a blast! Amy and I had a wonderful weekend. The day started out cool (at 4:00 A.M.) and was overcast, staying that way until we reached about mile 10. Then the sun started peeking through the clouds and warming things up. Nothing like San Antonio heat - thank heavens. There were over 17, 000 participants. I never saw so many port-a-potties in one place in my life!! The US Marine Marching Band started off the race. People were cheering all along the course and bands were playing every mile or so. At mile 10 there was a steel drum high school band and right next to them were the Mariachi's (not sure of the spelling). Quite a mix! I watched a guy juggling 7 balls at a time while he was walking. There were plenty of "Elvis's" complete with full white jumpsuit, huge wigs, plenty of bling, and sunglasses.

There were some stretches of the highway were there weren't any bands or cheerleaders but when you looked around at the other walker/runners you saw the signs, pictures, ribbons, streamers with names of loved ones lost to this disease. So sad. But you also saw people with survivor signs on them stating how many years they have been in remission. Very emotional.

I don't know my actual time yet - but I did finish in under 4 hours, might have even been 3 hr 45 minutes ( long lines at the portables). I am proud of myself and the fact that I actually finished. How could you not with all the wonderful people calling out your name and telling you what a good job you were doing.

The best part of the entire thing was spending the weekend with my daughter and finishing the race together.

God Bless all of you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support, prayers, notes, and card of encouragement - not to mention the donations. Together we have done something to help the families and victims of this dreaded disease.

I'll keep you posted when I plan to do this again!!!!!!

Love,

Kathy

Finally here!

Well, only ONE DAY LEFT before I go to San Diego! Our group is leaving on Friday morning. Luckily I am in Group 2 that has to be at the airport at 6:15 a.m. - NOT Group 1 that needs to be there by 4:15 AM!! YIKES!

We had our send-off party last night at Johnny Carinos - great food - lots of fun! We received our purple Team-n- Training jersey, tickets to events and lots of good advise on how to take care of yourself until the race. We were also encouraged to take lots of money to go the the Health Expo? Can't wait to check that out!

I'm excited and nervous about the race. I know that we have received good training and I've been pretty good about doing what I'm supposed to. Coach Richard told us last night to wait until next Sunday - June 12 - before we say "never again." Hopefully I will continue with my walking - depending on our lovely humid south Texas weather!

Well, wish me luck and say a prayer that I finish what I have started! Amy (photo from her last marathon) is meeting me in San Diego on Saturday and she will be walking with me and we will have a great "girls" weekend! THAT I'm really looking forward to!!! I'll fill you in when I return on Tuesday.

Thanks again for all of your wonderful support.

Piece a Cake!

5:30 a.m. - Saturday morning - time to get up and get going! Well I'm on the down hill slide. Only two more Saturdays until the BIG EVENT! YEA!!!! I learned my lesson last week and made sure I had a good meal on Friday night. Plenty of carbs! The weather was fairly cool but the humidity is starting to become a problem!

Today was the starting date for those who have signed up to do the Niki in San Francisco in October. I saw a lady coming up her first hill - all out of breath and red in the face. Yes, that was me just a few short months ago. I told her it will get lots better and I know she was thinking - yeah .. right!

But today I finished my SIX miles in under 90 minutes.... Piece a Cake!!!!

TEN - TEN - TEN - TEN!!!!!!

I DID IT!!! I completed my TEN MILES in 3 hours and 10 minutes!!! I can honestly tell you that I almost didn't make it. Started out just fine but at about mile six I started to fade. So did my ipod! It gave out on me and I was out there - all alone - without my inspirational music and the sun started beating down on my head! What a bummer! My walking partner didn't show up today.

I did see some interesting sights at the Trinity University. A HUGE long line of people and kids waiting their turn to register for the kids summer program. There are only so many slots for the kids program and it's first come - first served. I know my friend Silvia was there - somewhere! They came prepared with lawn chairs, umbrellas, food, drinks, toys for the kids, and someone to hold their place if they had to make a "potty run" with one of the kids. The line must have been a quarter of a mile long. I sure hope they all got in.

Well this was my "long run" for the marathon. Next week the miles decrease a bit until the event in June. Wish me luck and keep those good thoughts and prayers coming my way. AND thank you all again for your great support - I couldn't have gone this far without it.
Love,
Kathy

Best Day Yet!!!

I did it!!! I can hardly believe it!!! I did NINE miles today!!! Yeah Team! Do I sound happy? I think I'm more surprised than anything... I could walk to work, I could walk to church, I don't need a car anymore. Yea right! If I walked to work I would have to leave the house at 5:15 a.m. to be on time - my car will still be needed! BUT - today, I actually walked as far as my job is from my home!

I think I will wear a sign to work on Monday saying -"I did NINE miles on Saturday!" Next week it's TEN miles then the miles start decreasing until the event on June 3.

OK, down to business.. For all of those who waited to donate thinking I wouldn't do this - it's time to donate!!! I still have a way to go to raise the $4000 and still need your help. If you can, PLEASE go to my donation site (which you can reach by pressing the "Donate Now" button on this blog and make a quick and easy on-line donation. Check are still welcome, just make the payable to LLS and mail to me at 7321 Sage Oak, San Antonio, TX 78233.

I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Meet a survivor!

I'd like you to meet my Aunt Bessie. She is the one on the left. She is my Mother's (in the center) sister. The other lady was my Aunt Margie - their sister.

Aunt Bessie is a survivor of this disease. She went through several long bouts of treatments. She's my Mom's youngest sister. Thankfully through donations and research she was given treatments to fight this disease. That is why it is so important to me to continue with this marathon and raising the money to find more and better medications to combat blood diseases. Cheers to my Aunt Bessie, a true hero.

Miles Getting Longer

On Saturday, April 21 our group met at the Knights of Columbus on Camp Bullis Road off of IH10. I've never been out there and had no idea how pretty it is AND how hilly it is!! The closer the marathon becomes the more miles we need to do. I did EIGHT miles!!! I can hardly believe that I finished that many - in two hours and 35 minutes! It's only 6 weeks until the Marathon.

Remember - it's not too late to donate!!!

I Forgot to Set My Alarm!

I can't believe it. I missed my Saturday run. Had everything ready to go when I got up. I even changed the time on the alarm.. but forgot to push the button! So, I waited until later this morning to go since I was too late to join the group. I still did my 4 miles... They are teaching us about "power drinks" and I tried one on my walk today. They really work! I was on the last mile and began to slow way down so I drank the nasty stuff and all of a sudden I wasn't tired anymore! Yeah!

Well, Wednesday is our 'recommittment' day and I'm where I should be (so they say) but still need a lot more donations. So, if you haven't donated, it's not too late! Thanks for your support!!!!

Spring Break Week

Well, Spring Break has come and gone and I'm back at work. BUT during the week I did keep up with my training including attending another Torture Thursday! This time it was a little easier and after eating bananas as suggested, my muscles weren't hurting so much the next day. Still can't do those big jump things but lunges will work in place of them.

On Saturday, after our run, we had a breakfast picnic to honor our hero - Jim. On Sunday, he developed chest pains and was taken to the hospital. By Wednesday, he was out of the hospital and was back with us at our training session last Saturday. This problem has nothing to do with his lymphoma but he'll need an operation to repair a valve in his heart in the near future. What a trouper! (He's the one in the dark blue running suit.)

I have heard from several people today that they just received my fundraiser letter in the past few days! The postman had misplaced two boxes of letters from TNT and had just mailed them about 10 days ago. So I'm sorry if you just received my letter BUT it's NOT to late to donate! It's easy - just click the button to the right marked "DONATE NOW"!

Saturday Event

This week was my first time at the Brackenridge Park area. It was a beautiful day - cool - overcast - but nice. The area we walked in had the most georgous homes - hugh places! I walked 4 1/2 miles! I did fine until coming back and we had to go down two large hills. WOW - the muscles I found on Thursday were screaming at me!!! But I managed to get back to the park. We had a breakfast picnic with our honored hero, Jim. Great time with new friends!

Thursday Tourture

I think I'm going to die... I went to a buddy "run" tonight and these trainers thought up some really cruel stuff for us to do. First a quick 1/2 mile - THEN - the second half mile they made us do lunges from one light pole to the next, then these things they call Toyotas - big giant jumps - then run for two poles - then do some kind of fancy footwork - pole to pole. We did this for the next half mile - then we walked another 1/2 mile. THEN they made us to crunches! When will this tourture stop!

It's a good thing we are doing this for a wonderful cause - or we might revolt!!!! Another good thing - we get to do it again next Thursday! More later.

Wednesday's Buddy Run

Tonight we were at the UTHSC Track doing laps. One lap around is 1/2 mile. I did 3 miles this evening. On Saturday the half-marathoners - me- will be doing 4 miles. The miles are getting a bit easier - thank heaven. The hardest part of tonight was getting there during the 5:00 rush hour - clear across town! That was a feat in itself! Tomorrow's practice is at Walker Ranch - sure hope I can find it!

An Overdue Update

Hi Friends,
Well my training is going ok - slow and steady. I'm up to 3 miles at my twice a week training sessions. Our group meets at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings for a Buddy Run. I think I'm the oldest member of our team and usually the last one in (right now). You have to move pretty fast to keep up with the "kids" but also to finish before it gets too dark to see the blue arrows on the path!

Our Saturday practices begin at 7:00 A.M. and have been well attended. Thankfully the weather is improving enough that we aren't freezing when we begin - we're just really chilly! I missed last Saturday because I was taking a weekend workshop at the Southwest Arts and Crafts Center downtown.

The next few weeks we increase our mileage about a mile a week. I'll let you know how that goes! In the meantime, if you haven't already donated to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, just click on the "Donate Now" button and you can make a quick and easy on-line donation. If you have donated, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is truly a wonderful way to help those suffering with blood cancers.

For the cure!

I'm on a Mission!!!

On June 3, I will challenge myself to complete the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego, CA. My goal is to raise $4,500 of which 100% is tax deductible and 75 cents out of every dollar benefits The Society and its mission. To do this, I need your help!!!

I’ve set up this Blog to keep you informed of my progress. I'm on a “Team” of seven women who will be working together over the next four months to train for this event.

I hope you will help me help others in their fight to beat blood cancers. It’s easy, just click the link below to access my fundraising website, or send a check payable to “Leukemia & Lymphoma Society” to me at 7321 Sage Oak Street, San Antonio, TX 78233.

http://www.active.com/donate/tntswtx/tntswtxkhayson