Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Monday, October 1, 2007

Training Day 140!

The marathon is less than a week away! We leave for Chicago this Friday. Get excited!

Our last long run was Saturday, we ran 8 miles, which is not really "long" anymore. It was cool outside and it was a great run!

We raised $7,035! Thank you all for helping us meet that goal!!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Training Day 127

Only 18 days until the marathon. We ran 20 miles last Saturday. We definitely should have done a short run since we ran 18 the week before, we were pretty sore. But we made it through and now we get taper until the marathon - no more long runs until the real deal!

We only lack $200 on our fundraising. That is a huge relief! Thank you soooo much to everyone who has donated!!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Training Day 117

We ran 18 MILES this morning!! The marathon is a MONTH from yesterday, we are getting excited!

We still need $700 to meet the mandatory goal - so keep up the generosity! Thank you!!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Training Day 104!

Only 6 weeks until the marathon, we are getting close! Ran 12 miles this morning and it was a breeze...well, pretty much. We go back up to 18 miles next weekend.

Thanks to everyone who has donated lately. We hit a plateau last month and we were worried about the fundraising for a while but we lack less than $1000 now. And thank you all for your encouraging words, emails, and notes, you have no idea how much it means to know we have such a great support system.

Have a great week!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Training Day 98

Well here we are, day 98 of the intense training. On Saturday Lindsey and I ran at 4:15 am…that is a long time before the sun even thinks about shining in Mississippi. But, by 7:45 I had run 14 miles and Lindz had run 16 miles. Okay so she did better than me…a lot better!

We really appreciate all the generous donations from our many friends and our generous family. We are nearing our fundraising goal everyday, and it will be so gratifying to complete the financial part of this effort.

The Mississippi heat has proven to be more of an obstacle than we initially anticipated. At around 8 am it is around 95 degrees. Okay so maybe 85, but it is just too hot. We are doing just fine, as long as we can finish before the sun gets up we will make it…I think.

We ran in the Surviving The Sizzle “fun run” on Friday night, that was fun. I was 145 out of about 180. The temp was around 95 and the humidity was at 65% I think. But, it was a nice FUN RUN.

- Steve

Monday, August 13, 2007

Training Day 91

We ran 10 miles this morning before 7:00 a.m.! And get this...it actually felt great!!

The past few weeks have been very difficult. Besides the temperature reaching 100 degrees everyday, life has been hectic. Steve started a new job about a month ago, only a few weeks before the primaries (which were last Tuesday and I hope you all voted!). He has been getting used to the new job and traveling all over the place. I just finished an intense semester of summer school and have been trying to work while managing everything that life has thrown my way lately.

Last week we had to do 14 miles and I want to share that experience just in case anyone who is reading this is experiencing the same level of frustration. There is hope!

We were running at the reservoir and started at 5:30 a.m. This was really the first week the extreme heat kicked in and the humidity had to be at 110%. I had exams the two days before and I had not slept more than 4 hours a night the whole week. I was already in a bad mood when we started and I knew it wasn't going to go well. Steve was running slow for me - but his slow running is still faster than my average pace. At the end of mile 1, I was already having trouble breathing. By mile 2, I was absolutely exhausted and I started crying. I realized that crying was wasting my fluids and probably taking extra energy so I gave myself the "Suck it up, Tew" speech that Stephen Horn and JR Love used to give me in college when things were difficult. That kept me going for another mile. At mile 3, I saw Stephanie McDaniel, an old friend from Colonial Heights who is also training for the marathon. She said, "Hey Lindsey! How is it going today?" which was all it took to trigger the tears again. But she gave me some encouragement that got me through the next mile.

I came to screeching halt at mile 4 and told Steve to leave me, I was going home. So Steve trotted off and stood there contemplating what to do next. I was SO mad at myself. I knew I would be so disappointed if I didn't keep trying so I started walking again toward the next water stop. About that time Trey Bourne, our run coach, came along side me and asked if I was okay. I told him I was exhausted and frustrated and I wanted to go home. He was very helpful and understanding and tried to convince to not beat myself up about it. He said if I went home, I would have gone 8 miles and that's still a good run. Once Trey said it was okay to go home, I didn't want to anymore! I already knew I could go 8 miles, I needed to know I could do 14. Plus, I knew if I didn't make the 14 miles, then the next long run would be even harder. I walked a little farther and refueled at the water stop. At that point I decided that I would go all 14 miles even if I had to walk the whole way and it took all day (and I thought that it might).

Once I decided that quitting was not an option, I felt better immediately. I did okay for several miles after that and it wasn't until around mile 11 that I hit the infamous "Wall" again. By that time it was after 8:00 and very hot. I caught up with Kim Bourne, Trey's wife (those two are sent from heaven!) and we walked together for a while. It helped having someone to talk to so I could keep mind off of the heat and pain. At mile 12 I looked up and there was Steve. He was walking too. Actually, he was limping. His knee was killing him and he was pretty mad about it. I was glad to have an excuse to walk the rest of the way and we limped in together, complaining the whole way about how awful it was.

Needless to say, after that day I was discouraged. I started thinking I wouldn't be able to finish the marathon the 6 hour time limit. I could think of about 9 million things I would rather do than ever run in the heat again. So I moped for a day or two. But at some point last week, my attitude changed. Maybe it was because I caught up on my sleep, or maybe it was because school was over and I felt like I was getting a handle on my life again, maybe it was Joy's story (below), maybe I got used to the heat (no, that's not it), maybe it was all of the crying out to God I did last Saturday when I didn't think I could take another step. My short 4 mile runs last week went great and even the 10 mile run this morning was no problem. Even though I walked a lot, I made myself push through the most physically challenging thing I had ever done last Saturday, and now I know I can do anything as long as I want to do it.

So, as cheesy and cliché as it sounds, I just wanted to tell anyone out there who is having a hard time, that you can do it! I am NOT a runner, but I am doing it. Running is usually not easy and it is rarely fun, but I WANT to run a marathon, so I am going to do it, just because I know I can.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great week!

Joy's Story

Joy Hughes is one of our teammates with Team in Training. She is friends with Lindsey Oswalt, one of the girls I wouldn't make it through law school without!! Oswalt told me months ago that Joy was doing Team in Training and that I needed to meet her but Steve and I just found her 2 weeks ago. We ran with her some during the 12 miler and she was definitely a blessing to me that day! Joy had an encouraging experience lately that she shared with the Team and I wanted to share with you all.

Here is Joy's story:

"A few weeks ago on a Sunday evening, I was just about to begin jogging at the boat launch near Palisades when a man approached me. He recognized the Team in Training jersey I was wearing, and asked about it. I let him know that I was participating in the Team in Training program, and then he told me that his daughter is Marganie Dumas, one of the two children that for whom are raising money; she is six years old and has leukemia. His actual words were, "My daughter...well, we get a lot of help from them." He motioned towards his shaved head and said, “We had to shave her head this weekend, and so she made me shave mine.” He proudly held up his TNT bracelet, choked up, let me know how much it meant to him to meet someone from the Team, and hugged me. Mr. Dumas’s spirit of appreciation was overwhelming. Seeing firsthand that our efforts mean the world to this family has given me so much motivation to keep pushing, and it is really humbling to see how much hope a little help from a team of runners can give. I'm glad I signed up."
-Joy Hughes

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Training Day 76

12 miles today! 150 miles total so far!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Training Day 69!

In just a few days we will be at the halfway point of our training - that is hard to believe! We are running over 20 miles a week total now. This morning we ran 10 miles at the reservoir. We have been running out there on Saturdays for about a month, it’s a nice change of pace from our day-to-day runs. We have been very blessed during the month of July – every week for our Saturday morning "long run" there has been a great breeze and the temperature has been relatively low for this time of year. (Who really believes in global warming??) Next Saturday is 12 miles and then 15 the next – ahh!

Please continue keep us in your prayers. In some ways this challenge is getting harder rather than easier as time goes on. We have both dealt with serious injuries from the running and as the runs get longer we have to be careful. Pray that we will build up the endurance to finish this race strong and that we will be free from pain and injury! Another thing is that our fundraising has pretty much come to a halt and we are still far short of our goal. We lack over $2,000 of the required amount we have to raise and we are $5,000 short of our personal goal. Please pray that we will have direction about where to go next to raise money.

Thanks for checking in on us!!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Training Day 56 - 1/3 of the way....

We have reached the 1/3 mark on everything -
- we are over one third of the way through training, 91 days to go
- we ran 8 miles Saturday, a third of the 26 we will run at the marathon
- we have raised $3800, over one third of our $10,000 goal

Thank you for your continuing support!!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Training Day 41

We ran 6 miles this morning! Steve ran the whole 6 this week, he is back on track and doing great. He is still being careful with his knee but it is so much better. I am glad to have him back, it is much more fun than running by myself!

Steve and I are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family - your support and words of encouragement are more helpful than you know. AND, y'all have donated almost $3,000 in a month! THANK YOU so much for supporting us and the L&L Society.

If you cannot afford to donate - believe me, we totally understand. But you can still help in a huge way - if you would send an email to your friends and family and tell them about this, that would be great. So many people are affected by cancer and we want to reach as many people as possible. ALSO, we are looking for corporate sponsors - Businesses who donate over $500 are provided with numerous advertising benefits through Team in Training. Talk to your company and see if they are interested. If so, we can contact them with the details.

Thanks for checking in on our progress!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Websites for Jake and Marganie

Our two Honored Heroes have their own websites - please check these out. You can read their journals, see pictures and follow their progress.

Jake Craig's site: www.caringbridge.org/visit/jakecraig
Marganie Dumas' site: www.caringbridge.org/visit/marganiedumas

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Day 25

I think I had a break-through this week. Running has actually not been awful lately...I almost enjoyed it one morning and I sort missed it on my cross training day. I don't know what this is all about but I hope it will last!! This Saturday we are supposed to do 6 miles - ouch. It will be Steve's first day back running since the knee problems. I probably will not let him do all 6 miles - even though you know he will try to!

Keep your comments coming and send your friends and family to our website. Thanks!
Lindz

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Training Day 17

We ran 4 miles Saturday. It was our first group run with other Team in Training people. There are about 90 people in the Jackson area (and 125 state-wide) participating in Team in Training this year! We ran with Hayden and Danielle Levingston. Hayden and Steve left us in the dust - Hayden is even taller than Steve, so they looked like they were out for a Sunday stroll! Danielle and I pulled up the rear, but we finished!

Steve's knee started to hurt during the Saturday run and by Monday he could not run at all (see other post). He is out of commission for 10 days.

This week has been good for me so far. I over did it a little yesterday with cross training (including my near fatal experience on the ski machine which sent me limping back to the friendly eliptical). It was a good workout but running was hard today.

Hope you all are doing well and had a great holiday weekend!

Knee problem

Steve went to the doctor because he was having bad knee pain. He has ITB (iliotibial band syndrome), very common for runners. He cannot run for 10 days. Please pray for him!

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/0168-knee-injuries.htm

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Training Day 8

Well, Lindz and I are well on our way to becoming top contenders for first and second place at Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon...Oh wait what happened? I must have blacked out when I was running. Anyway...Training is going well, we have not missed a day yet, even if that meant running in Germantown, TN on our short vacation. OK so it was like 14 hours of a vacation, but we are dedicated to many things. Although, this marathon training has somehow found its way to the top of that priority list. Thanks for stopping by and checking up on us. See you all soon.
Steve

Oh heavens, yesterday was the hardest day yet. Steve is doing much better than me - I mean seriously though, his legs are eight feet long, he has an advantage. We ran 3 miles Saturday. I am reading a couple of books on marathons and I recently learned that my heart rate while running should be around 145 - about 70% of my maxium heart rate. So this morning I counted my heart beat for 10 seconds then multiplied it. My heart rate was 240!!!! I thought I was having a heart attack! When I got from running I asked momma to watch the clock while I counted....I was still at 240!! Then she politely informed me that I should be multipling by 6, not 10. so I was actually at 144. Whoops.
Lindsey

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Training Day 1

Well, Lindz and I started training yesterday. We ran approximately 2 miles in 20 minutes. Not bad for the first day. Today will be more challenging due to how sore I am. Anyway just thought I would tell you all how we did on Day 1 of 164 days of training. Thanks for all your support.
Steve



I searched the internet for a marathon where I could lay out instead of run. There is not one.
Lindsey

Friday, May 11, 2007

Honored Teammates


We have two honored teammates - Marganie Dumas and Jake Craig. Their parents provided the information about these special children and their current situations.

Jake Craig
Brandon, MS
Age: 19 months
Parents’ names: Jay and Megan Craig
Other family members: Jake is an only child besides our four-legged furry dog, Rankin
Type of Blood Related Cancer: ALL (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia)
Date of diagnosis: 12/07/06

Favorite Activities:
Jake loves doing anything OUTSIDE!!! He loves to ride the tractor with his daddy and playing in the dirt. Jake also enjoys swimming- He started swim lessons at 5 months old!! He would stay outside all day if only his body wouldn’t tell him that he needs a nap!

Current treatment:
After our initial stay of two weeks in the hospital and beginning chemo, Jake went into remissino after just four weeks. This is only the beginning for Jake on this journey. We are currently treated in the outpatient wing of Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital and will continue to receive chemo for at least the next 3 years.

How has the Society helped you personally?
The Society is due all the credit in the world for educating me on leukemia. I was absolutely clueless about this illness. I had heard of it but that was it. Thanks to all of the educational material we were given in the hospital I can actually understand the disease better. Also knowing the percentage increase of survival of children with ALL is great and we are currently in a study/research program for Jake's treatment. Hopefully we can keep raising those percentages to 100% survival rate!!! Also thanks for getting me into shape by joining Team In Training, it has been a great experience and I had SO MUCH FUN running 13.1 miles at the Country Music Half Marathon!!!


Marganie Dumas
Brandon, MS
5 years old
Parents’ names: Russ and Cindy Dumas
Siblings: Russell (15 years old), John Polk (9 years old), Camille (13 years old)
Type of Blood Related Cancer: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Date of diagnosis: 01/23/07

Favorite Activities:
Playing with dolls, listening to Hannah Montana and the Cheetah Girls CDs, fishing and talking!!!!

Current treatment:
Marganie is currently in remission, but receives weekly treatments. She receives different types of chemotherapy depending upon the phase of her treatment. She recieves some IV push chemo, some IV infusions, some intrathecal shots and some IM shots.

How has the Society helped you personally?
The Society has made my family aware of the many ways that other families can be helped undergoing similiar circumstances. It has been simply amazing to my family the response of those around us to the need of contributions to the Society for further research and funding.

About Us


Lindsey:
I currently live in Brandon, MS and I just finished my first year of law school at Mississppi College School of Law. Madison, MS is my hometown and I went to undergrad and grad school at Mississippi State University.

Steve:
Steve grew up in Winona, MS then went to Mississippi State where he graduated in 2004. He currently lives in Pearl, MS and he is working in Madison as the Director of Governmental Affairs at the Mississippi State Medical Association.

Running History:
Well, I ran 4 miles one time - on the treadmill, at 0 incline, in the air conditioning, with two fans blowing on me; but as far as running outside...I can run to the end of my street. Steve ran a mile in 8 minutes once, because I bet him that he couldn't do it. Otherwise, not much history.

The Mission


Hello everyone!

Steve and I decided to run the Chicago Marathon...and we need your help! We will be running with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

We need to raise at least $3,500 EACH to participate in the marathon, but we have set a personal goal to raise a total of $10,000 together. This is where we need your help! Please make a donation to support our participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society's mission.

Thank you so much for your support! Please check back to see our progress. And please keep us in your prayers as we work toward this goal financially and physically.

Sincerely,
Lindsey and Steve


Training Starts: May 14, 2007
LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon: October 7, 2007

Please visit our website to see how you can donate: http://www.active.com/donate/tntms/tntmsLTew