Hurricane Gustav

This has been a very emotional week for us. We left Baton Rouge on Saturday afternoon and came up here to my cousins' house in Ruston, LA. I am so glad that we left. All of my friends who stayed in Baton Rouge are okay, as far as I know, but they say it was just awful. I have heard so many stories about trees on houses in Baton Rouge and I am very very scared about our little house. My coworker Ray is supposed to go by and check on it for me today. I hope it's okay. As I write this, the outer bands, what is left of them anyway, are swirling over Ruston. We lost power this morning for an hour or so. But that was it. So far.

Joey just got a report of a tree that fell onto a power line at Camp Alabama near here. He is in charge of Camp Alabama so obviousy he just left to go see about that. I'm sitting here watching CNN, as we have been this whole time, dying to see something about Baton Rouge on their coverage. Governor Jindal is speaking right now. I am still worried about the levees flooding New Orleans even today or tomorrow. There is an awful lot of water pressing against them!

So now I am just waiting. I am sad for the people I have heard about who died when trees fell on their houses. I am sad for the people who didn't die but still have lost things that I'm sure were important to them. I will write more when I know more about my friends and our house, etc.

Love,
Melissa

Remy's First Birthday!

Today is Remy's first birthday! I made cornbread, which he had never had but I had a feeling he would love. He did! Here are a few highlights:

Hope.

Hope is a word I have been hearing often lately - and I just heard it again while watching the Democratic National Convention on PBS. Yes, Tony and I are watching on PBS, because we don't have cable and they are carrying the entire thing. The announcers are hilarious on PBS. Anyway - I am getting very excited about the election and I really hope that people will take the time to educate themselves about the candidates. I know I have. At least I hope I have. I hope that people won't just do what others are telling them to do - but that they use their own minds and hearts to decide. I do hope that times will change in America - that children like Angela (more about her another time) will be able to attend college in the state where they grew up, even though their families are in the depths of poverty. I do hope that I will have the opportunity to fulfill my dreams and to work to create environments for children and families that will be supportive of their dreams. I do hope that we will bring our troops home without many more having to be honored in next year's Run for the Fallen, which we had yesterday here in Baton Rouge. I do hope that my family - Tony's and my family - will grow up in a safe, clean, progressive environment. I know that we have so many freedoms that we don't even realize that we have, and watching the Olympics and realizing some of the freedoms (of the press, etc.) that they actually don't have in China.

I do hope that Obama wins - yes - but more than that, I hope that Americans, no matter who they are, take the time to decide, for themselves, what they believe and stand by that.

A New Season, A New Goal!

... the new season is the Nike Women's Marathon season, and the new goal is another $4,000!!! I am working to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while training for the Nike Women's Marathon, in which I will participate on October 19th!

Please check back often, as I will continue to post updates on my training, my fundraising, and my Team!

If you would like to make a contribution to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, you can do so here:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/la/nikesf08/mthreatt

Until then,
Melissa

Our "Stay"cation

Tony, Remy, and I had the most wonderful weekend at home.  This was our Memorial Weekend "Stay"cation!  That's what they're calling it on TV this weekend so that's what I'm calling it; and that's what it was!  On Friday night we watched a movie and went to bed early.  I woke up early Saturday to run 8 miles with my TEAM - the last Group Training Session of this season!  After that I went to breakfast with Kelly, Ashley, Leigh and Mauri.  We went to the Broken Egg Cafe - I'd never been.  It was delicious!  I went home to Tony and Remy and we had a very lazy day.  Then Saturday night Tony took me on a date downtown.  We went to the Wine Loft and had drinks and appetizers that turned out to be all we ate that night.  Then we went to Boudreaux & Thibodeaux's and watched a really cool rock/zydeco/cajun band from Lafayette.  The guy sang primarily in Cajun French and it was really cool.  Sunday, we woke up pretty early and I made beignets from Cafe du Monde Beignet Mix and they were actually really good!!  I took pictures, because at the same time I gave Remy his crab cookie from Paws & Claws and he is so funny when he eats those!  Then we actually went back to sleep for awhile before continuing to be lazy in the afternoon.  Today, Monday, Memorial Day, we remembered the reason for the day while thinking of those we know - Tommy and others - and those we don't know who are working every minute to protect us.

I feel like we did so many little things while just being together.  We really, really needed this.  I feel reenergized and ready for my [haha] 3 day work week.  Then it's off to San Diego... wow.  Prayers welcome for my nerves, for my body, for my mind, and for my TEAM :)

Until next time... nervously and excitedly,

Melissa

This week!!!

The Rock 'n Roll Marathon is this Sunday!!!  We are leaving on Friday morning for San Diego.  I got out my suitcase and made my packing list today.  Also, Kelly, Ashley, and I went to the store and got a bunch of ribbons and safety pins and fabric paint to decorate our singlets on Saturday.  I am so excited about this event weekend!  I am excited to travel together [somewhat together anyway], to room together, to eat together, and to represent the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by running together.  

Meanwhile, the new season of Team in Training has had two good group runs and has our first fundraising clinic this Wednesday night.  That night Leigh and I will get to share our fundraising ideas with our new group and to help them figure out how best to approach the amount of money that they need to raise.

Getting excited,

I will write more soon,

Melissa

So proud...

I am proud to announce that our dear friends Hank and Joanna just had their first baby on May 7th!!! Jackson Kingsmore Burns. Yesterday I received the sweetest birth announcement - and it's perfect for them! It's a baseball card :) With his picture on the front and all of his statistics on the back :) I am so proud to say that I have loved Hank and now Joanna and Jackson for 8 years. Hank is my first very close friend to have a baby; he's so important to Tony and to me and we are so proud. I just wish that we lived closer to Raleigh so we could share with them during this exciting time!



Congratulations, Burns family. We love you!

Ninfa's Night!

Last night the TEAM went to Ninfa's for drinks and dinner and we had a wonderful time. Here are a few pictures:

Mauri looking cute :)
Kelly and me!
What's so funny, Leigh? :)
Rose and sweet Victoria.
We got our singlets/tshirts! We've earned them :) :)

Summer has arrived.

Summer has arrived, in full swing. This was made apparent in no subtle way to Tony and me last night as we were running the 6.3 mile loop around the lakes. It was probably 85 degrees and about 1000% humidity. No joking. I thought I was all cool taking my brand new Fuel Belt hand-held water bottle with us for the run. Haha, yea right. I put ice cubes and cold water in it when I left work. I went by the vet real quick to buy dog food, then straight to the lakes to meet Tony. As we ran, I would take a sip here and there, basically just trying to decide if I even like the thing or not. I decided I do - but not really on 85 degree days. After 1.5 miles or so the water was H-O-T because it was right against my hand! Ha. At one point around 4 miles I decided it might be nice to squirt a bit on the back of my neck. I almost puked it was so uncomfortably hot! Anyway, we finished very strong and it was fine. But wow, do I ever hate running after work! I am such a morning person now it's amazing. Never again all summer do I hope to do that. Seriously.

On another note - that was the first time Tony and I had run together since January, and it was really nice. No ipods, just us. Not much talking either, but mutual encouragement and togetherness that has been a long time coming.

Until next time,
Looking forward to Ninfaritas tonight with the TEAM,
Melissa

Hahaha.

I just realized there are a lot of things we say in the Baton Rouge TNT family that other people wouldn't understand. Marathon training adds a lot of jargon or different meanings to things to one's vocabulary: GU, Shot Bloks, bonk, the stretching place, the hotel, the natatorium, the finger, the bump... haha. For example, Tony and I are planning to run the 6 mile loop tonight after work, and I just said to him "so we'll do the bump but not the finger." And he just laughed and was like "um okay?!"

The office just bought all of us daiquiris... and I got a raise today. Hahaha. What a funny day.

Just wanted to share.
Until next time,
Love,
Mel

18 miles!!!

I finally did it. I accomplished my long run of the season. And it wasn't even that bad. Well... not REALLY that bad. The first 12 miles were fine, minus a little tummy discomfort. The last 6 miles were pretty hard - but my Team was beside me. Literally! They literally took turns running a mile-ish with me, and Kelly and Ashley ran beside me for the last two miles and we finished holding hands. It was incredible. It was a beautiful morning; Tony had graduated the day before... I was on cloud 9. 10 if that's possible.

I won't fall as long as you're around me... how perfect has the title of this blog become?

T - 12 days!!!! Ahh. Crazy.

Until next time,
Love,
Mel

I won't fall...

... as long as my Team is around me. I experienced the true meaning of this statement and these needtobreathe lyrics on Sunday. If it hadn't been for the encouragement of my coach, mentor, and teammates, I would have stopped running after 7.5 miles. The morning started off at 6:00 with an incredibly steamy atmosphere and a nervous energy that I usually only experience before a bona fide long distance race. Nonetheless, we decided to run the first 6 miles of the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon course, then double back to the beach, making a water stop there and then doing the BRB Half Marathon course completely. That would have equaled 20 miles. In the end, that is what Kelly accomplished :) :) I, however, had a very hard first 7.5 miles and was really questioning my ability to finish. I had, however, been out for 5-6 weeks before this! The longest I had run before this was 15 miles 6 weeks ago and then 8 miles last Sunday... Well, when we refueled at the Beach, I was feeling very doubtful that I would be able to do the full marathon in San Diego. I have already said that if I end up unable to do the whole thing because of my injury, I will not be at all disappointed - I have raised almost $3300 for the LLS! What's not to be excited about?!? That's great. However, I did say yesterday when I was frustrated that I wish there was a 30k (20 mile) option in the Marathon... because I could totally do that :)

So to make an extremely long story short, Mauri and Sherri encouraged me to just keep pushing and to let those people who I will never meet but who I have helped so much already through my fundraising be my inspiration. To let what they are fighting every day be my inspiration to fight the fatigue that I was feeling in my quads. When all was said and done, I ended up completing 15 miles yesterday. I was psyched! Yes, I did walk some, but I had planned to do that. Tony says he walked a lot at the end when he ran the Nashville Marathon, so I figured I'm allowed to do that some too, hahaha.

So, when all was said and done, I just know that I couldn't do this without Mauri and Sherri and my Team. That was certainly proven yesterday... <3 y'all.

Until then,
Melissa

Forgive Me...

Please forgive me for not posting in a long time. Tony's crazy 24/7 studio schedule seems to be messing me up as well! In the weeks since I last posted, I have done many things:

- Instead of running the 16 miles that my teammates ran the first Saturday I was injured, I went to the gym and swam continuously for 2 hours. Literally starting and stopping my watch when I wasn't physically swimming. I logged 6,000 yards that day. Ask anyone who swims/used to swim, and you'll know that's more than likely along the lines of the longest hardest practice they ever endured! I was exhausted afterwards, but happy because I certainly got an endurance workout in!
- I have raised over $3,000 now! I'm close to my goal. Tony and I plan to put in about $300 of our own money at the end, so I really only need about $500 more. Hopefully that will come in soon.
- We have decided to move into a house - Loren and Jeremy's house on Perkins!! - when they move out at the end of June! It's a 2 bedroom/1 bath with a small yard for Remy to play in :)
- I "finished" my first project - not really finished it but got the drawings out for public bid which will happen on June 19th.
- I have worked out on the elliptical trainer for 2 hours, again to simulate the long run that my teammates were doing. This time it made my butt and thighs hurt way more than running does :)
- I have helped my husband, Tony, get through his final semester of architecture [almost!] and can't wait to see him graduate in 10 days!!!
- This Thursday, May 8th :), I am traveling home to SC for my sister Elizabeth's graduation from Clemson. I am so proud of her! She is going to law school in the fall - how cool!? :)

The biggest news is that I think that my injured foot is almost better; YES!! I ran 8 miles with Marcelle this past Sunday on the Mississippi River Levee and it was amazing. Amazingly hard at first, and then amazingly exhilarating for the second 4 miles and I even sprinted at the end. (Mauri knows my reasoning for not normally doing that... haha.)

So here I sit at work, itching to go out and run again. Was planning to run on the treadmill tonight but I'd really rather be outside so I think I am going to go to Walden/Kenilworth to do it. I've missed running in there, and it's really "good," flat asphalt so I should be alright!

Okay enough rambling for now... I have to get back to my code research. I'd love to hear from anyone who's reading this!

Much love...
Until next time,
Mel

Sigh of Relief...

Well, folks, we have a stress overuse injury. Not to be confused with a stress fracture (yay!!!!) The doctor suggests that I swim this week instead of running, and I should be alright after two weeks or so. This certainly wasn't a part of my plan, but it's how it has to be for right now. And I do enjoy swimming very much so this injury is making me do it, and for that I am thankful. I plan on swimming for an hour after work tonight and then going tomorrow morning before work. I used to swim for an hour and a half every day after work when I did Team Greenville Masters (I miss y'all!!!!) so I should be able to occupy myself in the water for an hour tonight!

The foot is sore right now because of the doctor's poking and prodding but I have on my old green Mizunos so hopefully the soreness will subside here in a little bit.

Lunch time is over so I must get back to work now. Much love.

Until next time,
Melissa

Good News and Bad News...

Good News! Kelly and I raised $630.00 yesterday!!! We went to campus for the LSU Spring Game festivities and talked to sooo many tailgaters. Out of all of the tailgates that we visited, only two or three turned us away without buying a raffle ticket. We are raffling a photograph from last year's LSU vs. Florida football game. It's a really cool picture and everyone was very eager to give $5 (or more!! sometimes $20!) for two (or eight) chances to win it! We each will get $315 of this, and it has brought my fundraising total to almost $2,700. I am so excited. I know that I have a lot to go still ($1200 ish) but I am so encouraged by the generosity of the LSU family. One gentleman also gave us the name of his sister who has lymphoma right now and we are going to add her to our list of honorees on race day.

Bad News... I think I might have a stress fracture in my right foot :( I didn't run last week because I was trying to rest my foot and also because I had a minor sinus infection... but I went out yesterday to try to run and had to call Coach Mauri after 15 minutes to come in the "poop van" and get me :( I rode around for the rest of the girls' 8 miles and talked with Mauri and Sherri, and I am going to call the Baton Rouge Orthopedic Clinic tomorrow morning first thing to try to be seen and to figure out what is wrong with me... It hurts off and on... not always but when it does I have to limp. Annoying is what I call it! :-p This week I am going to swim after or before work, depending on the day, and hopefully that will keep my hard-earned endurance/lung capacity in tact! I think it will. I love swimming; you know that; just haven't been doing it lately at all. Looking forward to it, actually.

Okay, have to finish cleaning up the upstairs now. Remy and I have been doing laundry and cleaning up and out the house all day. Have a great big pile of things to donate which makes me happy.

Until next time,
Love always,
Melissa

Milestones left and right...

I have not been able to post in awhile... things have been so crazy! Since my last posting, I have been to South Carolina and back for Easter weekend. My family has seen a lot of milestones during this time also. Here are a few: My sister Elizabeth was accepted to the University of South Carolina School of Law (and I just happened to be home to witness the acceptance firsthand!); Remy was neutered about a week ago (it was a milestone for him I guess, haha); I ran 15 miles for the first time in my life!; and I reached $2,000 in my fundraising effort for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It's really been an awesome month.

I'm dealing with a few blisters today, because we had to run in the rain around miles 8-10 yesterday :-p That was pretty interesting. So I have a strange blister on my left arch and an even stranger one on my left middle toe. It looks like the pictures they show of tapeworms that are growing a second head, hahaha. That's what I think it looks like anyway :)

Tomorrow starts a new work week, and I have a funeral to go to; the father of the professor Tony works for passed away on Thursday. He's basically known as the architect of Baton Rouge. He designed many of the important buildings in town, as well as in Hammond, a town 45 minutes away.

Looking forward to a great week. And right now I don't want to move because Remy is snuggled up so sweetly next to me that I'm afraid he'll wake up if I move. I love this kid so much!!!

Until next time,
Love always,
Melissa

Wonderful Weekend!!!

What a wonderful weekend. It all started when Tony's whole studio passed their mid-term presentation "exams" which means that they all get to graduate! So we went to The Chimes to celebrate. I came home after that and went to sleep because we had to run at 6:30 in the morning on Saturday. The San Diego Marathoners ran "only" 7 miles this weekend, and my funny knee that was giving me some problems didn't hurt or feel loose at all!!! I was so happy about that. Leigh, one of the Nashville Half Marathoners, had to run 8 miles, which was the furthest [farthest? I never know which one to use...] she had ever run! I ran with her for my last two miles and she pushed through for her last mile and a half by herself. I was so proud of her :)

After we ran, we went to New York Bagel and then I came home. Saturday was so wonderful because I spent the entire day with Tony [and part of it with Remy too!] We went to The Apple Store and Ann Taylor Loft in the new part of the Mall of Louisiana. I spent my birthday money in Ann Taylor Loft, and it was too hard to decide what to get :) But I ended up getting a dress and two shirts that I can wear to work when it gets warmer. Well, I mean when it gets warmer and stays that way, haha. Then that night Tony and I went to Chili's and to see Vantage Point [the Chili's and Regal gift cards were our Valentine's presents to each other!!]

Then, today we spent the morning together and Tony cooked breakfast :) I went to the gym to swim with Kelly for our cross-training. That was really nice! The best part was that we sat in the hot tub for a few minutes afterwards. Then this afternoon Remy and I went to the doggie park again like last weekend. I really really like it there! He even "kissed" a Great Dane. I wish I had my camera for that, it was so hilarious.

So now I'm just at home watching TV and getting ready for the week. Next Saturday we have to run 13 miles with TNT... that's another half marathon, not quite three weeks after the Mardi Gras Half Marathon that we just did. That should be really interesting, but we're doing the Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon course so it should be fun! Karen says it's fun, at least ;-)

Until next time,
Love always,
Melissa

Good Friend

This is the picture of Marcelle and me during the half marathon. She has a sore heel so didn't run in it but made this sign for us :) She's so awesome. I can't believe we've only been friends since August! Crazy. Love you girl.

On another note, we had a 10 mile training run on Saturday which went really well! We did have a bit of confusion so it ended up being 10.5 miles but that's not a bad thing :) I had a "floppy knee" issue that caused me to limp around mile 7 for a few minutes but I got through it and just iced it really well when I got home. I hope that doesn't become a common thing.

We went to breakfast after which was also awesome, 7 people this time. It was so fun and Ashley made us all laugh so much. Haha. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. I really really love this Team. I'm so happy I made the decision to do this!

Okay I have to do some work now... 7 miles this Saturday. No problem, right girls? ;-)

Until next time,
Love always,
Melissa

25%!!!

I have officially raised over 25% of my money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!! As of last night I have raised $1603!!! That's just over 26% of the total goal that I set for myself which is actually much more than what I have to have for the marathon. Please visit my fundraising website... see the link on the right and check it out!

Thank you everyone for your continued support. I really appreciate it!

10 miles tomorrow... I'm actually looking forward to it. AND, Kelly [sister in law!] is coming to visit TODAY! I get to leave work today at noon and she'll be here at 3:00pm!! :)

I'll have a report after the group training session later this weekend.
Until then,
Melissa

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Every time I hear this Kanye West song I think about this new running adventure that I am on. I know that the song has nothing to do with this and isn't even that wonderful if you read the lyrics, but still...

Harder - Each week from here on out is going to get harder and harder.
Better - Each week from here on out I am going to feel better and better about my ability to finish the marathon.
Faster - Each week from here on out I am going to get faster [as evidenced by my performance on Sunday!!!]
Stronger - Each week from here on out I am going to get stronger... I can already feel myself becoming more toned and having more strength in day to day activities, not to mention while running.


Work it harder, make it better,
do it faster, makes us stronger,
more than ever, never over,
Our work here is never over.

Mardi Gras Marathon - Pictures

The following are pictures of our awesome Sunday morning in New Orleans :)

Us at the starting line... before.

Karen and me, before! Go Tigers!


Karen and me... AFTER :)

Three girls, with beer, after :)

Karen!!!

We also had lots of professional pictures by MarathonFoto but the proofs are SO tiny online you can't save them and see them really at all. There's a funny one of me at the finish line, though :) Haha.

Until next time,
Love,
Melissa

New Orleans Half Marathon!!!

What a fabulous weekend! First, college baseball started at LSU on Friday and at Clemson on Saturday. Clemson won the series, Wil Boyd hit a home run, and I missed every single minute of it. But I'll be listening during the week!

Second, and the biggest news, is that I ran in the Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans, and I got a PR [personal record] by 2:15!!! Last January I ran 2:23.45 and TODAY I ran 2:21.32!!!! The chip time is actually 2:23.15 but that's because I waited in line for a portapotty for about 1:00 and then got back on the course after about 2:00 total. I stopped my watch to do that, so my watch reflects the time [2:21.32] that I was actually running. It was so fabulous. I felt SO STRONG, so happy, and so confident!

Marcelle and her friends were waiting for me around mile 10-11, and they had a sign that said "GO MELISSA, ASHLEY, AND KAREN." I was so happy to see her! It was so sweet of her to have a sign for us, that was so awesome.

I was technically there with those two sweet girls but we all ended up running at different paces so we just met up at the end! Ashley was cheering for me and then after I finished she and I cheered for Karen! It was so great. The whole time I was running I was wondering where I would see Mauri, our TNT coach, and I finally saw her at Mile 11.25ish. That was so fabulous! It was great to see her and when I told her I KNEW I was going to get a best time, I really did know it for sure.

We spent about an hour and a half [after a Subway and two beers and Chee-Wees!] cheering on the marathon finishers. It was incredible. We saw one girl who was really in trouble medically when she crossed the finish line. They had to put her in a wheelchair and all but we never heard sirens or anything so we hope she was alright. It was pretty scary though. We were standing there watching marathoners finish and all of a sudden Ashley realized that a TNT teammate of ours, Rose, was finishing the half marathon. We started jumping up and down and screaming Go Rose! Go Rose! It was awesome!!!

Other sights we saw were a daddy holding his three-week old baby after running the half marathon, the most beautiful blonde curly haired 19-month old named Wyatt :) whose Mommy had just run it, and a woman who was sobbing while embracing her husband after finishing the marathon. It is always such an emotion-filled place to be. I just love it.

So then we walked back to the hotel, via a pit stop in Dominic's Bar for bloody marys for them and an Abita Amber for me. We showered, checked out, and then went to Chili's for lunch/dinner/snack, whatever it was.

I've just been home resting ever since. It was such a wonderful weekend. I am actually looking forward to running my 10 miles on Saturday. I really do think this is the beginning of something wonderful this Spring. We shall see :)

Until then,
Love always,
Melissa

Washed by the Water

Even when the rain falls
Even when the flood starts rising
Even when the storm comes
I am washed by the water

Daddy was a preacher
She was his wife
Just tryin' to make the world a little better
You know, shine a light
People started talking
Trying to hear their own voice
Those people tried to accuse my father
Said he made the wrong choice
Though it might be painful
You know that time will always tell
Those people have long since gone
My father never failed

Even if the Earth crumbles under my feet
Even if the ones I love turn around and crucify me
I won’t never ever let you down
I won’t fall
I won’t fall
I won’t fall as long as you’re around me!

-- Washed by the Water, needtobreathe, from the album The Heat. Also the title line of my blog comes from this song. It's raining all day today and I've had it in my head. Look up needtobreathe if you don't know them. They are fabulous! www.needtobreathe.net

Love,
Melissa

$1000!!!!

I wanted to let everyone know that I have raised my first $1000 as of this afternoon! Actually, over $1100 after I checked the mail this evening. I am so thrilled because that means that over $750 of that goes directly to research and treatment of blood cancers through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!! How amazing. I am so thankful for each of you who has contributed so far. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I also wanted to let you know that with this first $1000 came my first "dedication" as well. I mentioned in all of my letters that I'd love for all of you to let me know about people in your life who have been affected by blood cancers or cancer in general. I'd really like to dedicate my run in honor and memory of these people. Well, this week I received a donation from my cousin Genie Hill in Charleston. Her husband Bob died in 2003 of carcinoid cancer, and she asked that I dedicate my run to him. I am honored to run for Bob and for Genie and for each of you. Please keep the stories coming.


More soon. Until then enjoy this incredible weather that we've been having, as well as this exciting week... hehe... college baseball opening week!!

Love always,
Melissa.

BEAUtiful Day.

Today was the most perfect Saturday EVER. I spent it with Remy, which was incredible. I woke up at 5:30 and took him outside, then took him back upstairs to sleep with Tony while I got dressed and went to meet the Team in Training folks for our 6:30a.m. group training session. They had been saying all week that it was going to be horrible weather today, but I think someone got that very wrong. It was cloudy and chilly and windy at 6:30a.m., but I had taken my long sleeve shirt off after about a mile and a half. I ran with Ashley, Kelly, and Maydel until Kelly and Maydel broke off to do about one mile less than Ashley and me. Ashley and I are running in the Mardi Gras Half Marathon next weekend, so we thought we'd need to do a 10k today in preparation for next week's 20-ish-k :) I'm not too sure how that's going to go next week, but that's a different topic for another day. I'm supposed to be writing about the BEAUtiful day we had today! After our 6.2ish miles, a wonderful breakfast, and a spontaneous group shopping spree at Fleet Feet, I came home and Remy and I went outside and sat for about an hour and a half. Well, I laid on a towel and he laid on my chest and I fell asleep in the sun. It was wonderful. We checked the mail before coming inside, and I had three donations in there, totaling $226.20!! That brings the running total of donations to just under $950. I am so excited!

So after hanging out outside we came in and watched the Ford Ironman World Championships [well a replay of it on NBC] from Kona, Hawaii. That consists of swimming 2.4 miles, biking a zillion, and running a marathon. Wow. The chick who won was just someone who picked up running to lose weight however many years ago and look at her now. Wow. :) After that we "watched" golf, meaning we took another nap until about 5:30. We woke up and there was an infomercial on, haha.

So tonight Tony is finally coming home from studio and we're going to watch Rush Hour 3 that just came from Blockbuster Online. It really was a BEAUtiful day today and I can't believe it's only mid-February! I hope tomorrow isn't as yucky as they say it's going to be, but it probably will be...

Until next time...
Love always,
Melissa

BIRTHDAY day

Today is my birthday :) And it's my week to have a half-day off of work today. Fabulous! I plan on going to Target and then going home to take a nap with Remy. Then tonight we're celebrating with some friends and going to bed early, since we have our weekly group run at 6:30am tomorrow! :)

As a fundraising report, I'm proud to announce that I have over $500 now! $562 to be exact. I received an unsolicited donation from a good friend, as well as a check in the mail yesterday from the Grattans. I can't wait to run with the group tomorrow and to check in with everyone's training and fundraising progress!

They say the rain is supposed to hold off so that's a good thing! I plan on having a lazy Saturday tomorrow with Remy after the run and breakfast. Hopefully that's what I'll get to do :)

Clemson baseball countdown... 1 week until Opening Day. [For those of you who don't know, I am a huge fan of college baseball, as of about 5 years ago. I just really love it, and it starts in a ONE WEEK so I am really excited about that].

Until next time,
Love.

Birthday Week

Yes, it is my Birthday Week! I am going to be 26 on Friday, February 15th. It's also Valentine's Day week, of course, but we're going to focus on it being Birthday Week :) After the ridiculous "run" I had on Sunday, I took Monday off instead of going to yoga, mainly because Tony was coming home from New York on Monday. So, the first time I ran since Sunday was yesterday, Tuesday, after work. I ran 3 very strong miles and was very happy about it. Not as fast as I'd like, but quite strong so it was great! Also, I was wearing shorts which some of you know I hate, so that didn't help I don't think ;-) Tonight I'll be running 4 miles after work, it promises to be a strong 4 miles as well. Hopefully. Then tomorrow it's 3 miles again, then rest on Friday [Birthday day!], then 6.2 with the Team on Saturday morning. T-minus 11 days until the Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans! Yay.

On a fundraising note, I am up to $437!!! Keep it coming, y'all! Still awaiting almost 70 envelopes from South Carolina, so that promises to be successful.

Until the weekend,
Melissa

Bonk.

Well, the Sunday afternoon long run that was supposed to be 9 miles didn't exactly turn out that way. I was running with Marcelle and Ashley, which promised to be wonderful. However, after the first two miles [which felt amazing to me, by the way!!] they said my face looked really red and I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I made it all the way to the three mile mark where the water fountain is at The Chapel, and there decided that I was not going to make it. So, I peeled off from the other two girls and promised to text them when I got back to my car. It was from then on that I knew something was really wrong, because I stopped sweating around mile 4. At that point I was walking more than I was running. Neither of those things has happened to me in my [albeit young] two year running career. When I stopped sweating I knew I was dehydrated. I was so mad that I had let myself get like that. I thought I had prepared appropriately but I guess I hadn't. It was 2:00pm and not a cloud in the sky. I was really hot, but I'm always hot while running when other people are just comfortable. So... I got in my car and went home disappointed, but happy I guess that I had gotten at least 5ish miles in. Oh well. This coming weekend we'll be back at 6:30am and doing 6.2 miles together [me and Ashley anyway]. We decided after my episode yesterday that we don't need to be going in the afternoons at all anymore. Looking forward to 6:30am Saturday for sure!!!

As for a fundraising update, I already have $358! I am excited. Keep it up, those of you who haven't donated yet. If you can, we really need your support! And please let me know of the people you'd like me to run in honor of... it makes each step that we take during our training mean so much more!

Until next time,
Love always,
Melissa

Donations and Weekend Update

I received three checks in the mail in the past two days! One was for $26.20, one for $52.40, and one for $100.00!! I hope this is only the beginning of a very good few months. Also, today [Saturday] I went to Counter Culture [sorta like a TCBY, sorta] and saw a display with holes for quarters and realized it was for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I have never paid attention to what those are for, but have seen them all my life [at Never On Sunday in Greenville especially!] Well I put the three quarters that I had in my wallet at the time in there, and decided that I will always do that. I am embarrassed that causes like this and so many others have gone somewhat unnoticed by me thus far, but this campaign is helping to change that! I guess you could say it already has!

Today, Kim and I went to New Orleans to volunteer with Operation Playground. Our team painted a basketball court [half of one at least] on the expansive asphalt "play yard." It helped make a huge difference in the play yard itself. The school was an awesome, very old New Orleans school building located in the Garden District [7th and Constance]. The assistant principal spoke, and a little first grader named DaWayne said the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as a few other very sweet things about respect, etc., that they have them memorize and recite every morning before school. It was so sweet, I teared up, I must admit. He definitely inspired us to work for 3.5 hours in the hot [even though it's February!] sun. I am really, really glad that Kim and I went. It was great!

Tomorrow I am substituting in the toddler room at the Chapel, and then Ashley, Marcelle, and I are running 8-9 miles. Then I'm going to watch Clemson basketball with Danny and Karen, so I am really excited about that! Maybe one year Clemson will win in Chapel Hill... and now seems like a good time to start.

I'm gonna go play with Remy now... until next time,
Melissa

First Donation!

Today I received my first donation! Well, sort of. I did about an hour and a half of Photoshop work for someone on Sunday and I convinced him to pay me via a check made out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! So that is my first official donation, and I will have it in my hands tomorrow. I hope it's only the first of very many.

Today is a 3 mile run day. We don't have work today because it's Mardi Gras, and it is about 80 degrees and 75% humidity. So I will go running sometime this afternoon [not excited about the heat though!!] before I go babysit baby Ian Morgan tonight. I also plan to put any babysitting money that I earn between now and June towards my campaign.

More soon.
Until then,
Melissa

Team in Training Website

My Team in Training website can be found at:

www.active.com/donate/tntla/tntlaMThreatt

You can visit it anytime to check up on my progress or to donate to this cause.

Thanks in advance for your support! :)

Love,
Melissa

First Group Training Run

Today is Saturday, February 2nd, 2008, and today was our first training run. I hope that some of my supporters, friends, and family are reading this blog and will check back regularly to read about my progress. I promise to write often!

Now, about today. I arrived at Baton Rouge Beach right before 7:00 a.m. and saw a few ladies standing together. I saw Mauri so I knew I was in the right place. It was really cold, about 38 degrees I think, and I was wearing my LSU sweatshirt and hated to leave it behind in the car. We split up into a few groups, some running 4 miles, some walking, and some running 6 miles. I ended up running with Ashley, which was wonderful! We were a part of the 6 mile crowd. I always thought I couldn't talk while running, and while yes it's quite difficult and take awhile to get a thought across, I was able to this morning. We got to know each other a little, and when we rejoined the group after finishing, we got to know the other ladies a little bit as well. I agree with what Mauri said - this is definitely a great group! See below for a few pictures :)

The team's first official injury!

Kelly stretching after her 6 mile run!
The group! Kizzie [sorry, I don't know how to spell it yet!], Jessica, Ashley, Melissa, Mauri, Katrina, Kelly, and Rose! We missed everyone who wasn't there today and I hope to see them in two weeks for sure!

So now I am just at home resting, cleaning a little, and being with my puppy. He's asleep right next to me right now. I'll probably be taking a nap in a little while as well!

Until next time,
Love,
Melissa

Why I'm creating this blog...

I have been wanting to write a blog for awhile, but other than the arrival of little Remy into our family this past October, I haven't had a reason to. Until this week. This week I mailed out letters of support announcing that I will be participating in the Rock'n'Roll Marathon in San Diego, California on June 1. All along the way, I will be raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to help research and treat blood cancers. We have an honored teammate in whose honor we will be running. Her name is Chloe and she lives outside of New Orleans in Harvey, Louisiana. Her family is living with the reality of blood cancers every day. We hope that the money that we raise over the next few months will go towards helping make their lives, and the lives of millions of others living with cancer, a lot easier.

This morning we had our first group training run/walk. We took and group picture and that made me realize that I should begin to blog about my experiences over the next 4 months. So here we go...