It's getting tough not signing up for more runs

Right now I have no event runs this month (September) but I have something booked for every month left in the year.

October 20th  NIKE Woman's Marathon in San Fran
October 26th  Mud Factor Halloween Mud Run in Sacramento
November 17th  Awesome 80's in San Fran
December 8th CIM in Sacramento

But there are so many more I want to do this year alone....

Sept. 22	Rock the 80's		5K/8M/8M Relay/Kids Run	Elk Grove, CA
Oct. 6	Hot Pink Fun Run		5K/10K	Roseville, CA
Oct. 12	Oktobrewfest		5K/10K & Kids	Davis, CA
Nov. 3	Run Because You Can		5K / 10K	Sacramento, CA
Nov. 23	26th Anniversary Davis Turkey Trot		5K/10K/Half Marathon & Kid's Runs	Davis, CA

Then for 2014

 

Jan 12

Hot Chocolate Run

5K/15K

San Francisco, CA

What to do??????

Best Thing I Ever Did (in my Running life)

It was months ago, but it was when I was in the need to create a 4 person team for the San Francisco Live Ultimate 1/4 Marathon, I stepped out of my comfort zone and asked a stranger to join my team.  It was a woman who was wearing a tech tee from another running event, so knew she was a runner, and I stuck up a conversation with her. 

It was this woman who introduced me to the Facebook group "Run With Me".  From there it just snowballed.  I then met the caption for the local Team In Training team, and joined TNT.  I have met some of the best people and motivating friends from just one action of getting out of my comfort zone months ago.

Team In Training is more then just a group of people raising money for a great cause, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, but a family.  The experience has even inpacted my family.  At every training event we put our hands in a circle and shout "GO TEAM".  My little ones have done that with me when I get home from a training.  Today I woke up and was just in aww over the friends I have made and wanted to share that doing something as small as talking to one new person can really change your life.

THANK YOU!!!!

Completed my first Half Marathon....as a benchmark

As many of you have been reading I have been training with TNT (Team in Training) for my first half.  Well, I cheated and ran a half July 13, 2013.  I consulted with a friend of mine who is a professional marathoner and he agreed as long as I listened to my body, stay hydrated, didn't over do it, and used it as a BENCHMARK, that it would be a great idea and experience.

At the time I had only ran at the most 8 miles without stopping, so I was going to have some work cut out for me to do 5.1 more.  I did set a goal of 2:30 but more importantly I told myself that I would not kill myself or feel like I failed if I walked.  I honestly knew I would have to, and I did.

This run was the Davis MooNLight run.  I started at 7pm and it was still 90+ degrees.  After only 2 miles I had issues with my music and had to walk to fix it.  I couldn't honestly keep running while listening to slow and depressing, The Doors.  (When I run I need more upbeat music.)  About 5-10 minutes later I started running again and only walked when I honestly felt I "had" to.  Around the 8 mile mark I felt really good, I still had my legs and didn't feel like I was beat.  At the 10 mile mark I told myself, "you've ran several 5k's and all you have left is another 5k ahead of you".  At about the 10.5 mile mark, I started wondering why oh why didn't I just run the 10k, I would have been done along time ago.  However, at around 11 miles, when I knew I was almost there, almost home (aka the finish line) the course had some uneven and very slanted pavement.  I knew I was tired so I refused to run that part and walked it.  I was more concern with injuring myself and sidelining myself for future running events.  As soon as the pavement was level again I took off, still a bit tired but determined to finish.

I did it!  Not only did I listen to my body and finish my first half injury free, I did it in 2:27:30.7.  I came in 55th out of 124 in my age group.  Which personally I don't think is bad for my FIRST half marathon.

I'm looking forward to my first real half, one that I have TRAINED for and been waiting for, NIKE Woman's Marathon in San Francisco on October 20 2013!!!  I'm hoping to finish at 2:15 but will be happy as long as its not over 2:30 (I hear the crowded event make it hard to really stay on pace....not to mention the hills).

Team In Training and LLS ***Please help***

To ALL my readers......

Please or please help me. I know several of you have been watching my running and weight loss blogs.  Well I have 10 days to raise $1500. Please donate $5, $10, $25, or what you can afford. Challenge your friends to match your donation....spread the word.

If I don't make it to my the fundraising amount needed I will have to drop out of Team In Training and the idea of that has got me really depressed as I have already made some great friends. 

I want to raise this money not only so I can run in NWM with Team in Training BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY.....If it wasn't for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society my mother wouldn't be here today. The money I am raising, 100% of it goes to LLS to help stop blood cancers.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/nikesf13/christysells

If you haven't yet, here is the letter I sent to friends and family as well as posted earlier.  The story about why I am raising the money and want to run the NIKE Woman's Marathon.

I guess to really understand why I really want to run in the NIKE Women's Marathon, you need to understand just how much my mom, Barbara Ott (Shepherd) means to me.

I have two beautiful kids, Lucas, 3 years old and Amee, 1.  My mom comes over almost every day, since she lives next door.  Everyday Amee is learning new things and my mom doesn’t want to miss a new word or accomplishment.

Well, my family is very lucky to have this opportunity.  Back in 2001, my mom was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.  For quite some time my mom wasn't feeling well.  She had pain in her joints and she just figured it was just part of getting old.  She started wearing magnet bracelets that were suppose to help with pain. They helped at first.  However, as time went by the pain just got worse.   So after about a year and a half of living with the pain, my mom found a lump in her lymph nodes.  So she decided to go see the doctor.

Now when most people have been diagnosed with cancer they normally get a call from the doctor or they have scheduled a follow up appointment where the doctor tells them the results of any lab work.  Well, my mom’s doctor was gone on vacation after he did a biopsy of the lump.  My mom called the doctor’s office to find out the results.  It was on that call when the nurse told her she had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  My mom got off the phone and felt relieved, since she thought that “NON” had to mean it was NOT cancer.  It wasn’t until my dad googled “Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma” that they both realized it was cancer, and not good news at all.

I will never forget the day my mom sat us down as a family to tell us she had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  I had never heard of that before.  I immediately had the same assumption as my mom.  It can’t be bad.  Quickly my mom put the kibosh on that, and explained that she had stage 4 cancer.   At the time my mom didn’t even have health coverage that was going to cover treatment.  So she explained to her 3 kids, my sister, Karen, 20 years old, my baby brother, Brian, only 11 years old, and me, 27 years old, that she wasn’t going to be getting any treatment.  We all knew what that meant, but no one said it.

Thankfully after a few weeks my mom got new coverage and was able to get treatment.  My mom had the best oncologist ever.  I say this from the bottom of my heart because she told my mom she was giving her a treatment that wasn’t the “normal” treatment Kaiser used.  My mom was given 6 chemotherapy treatments of the new drug Rituxan.   It was a long and tough road for my mom.  She worked the entire time she was sick and losing her hair.  She was self employed, working with my dad so their business was the only source of income.   During her treatment she got a skin infection.  Because her white blood cell counts were down from treatment, she got so sick and was admitted to the hospital for a week.   Throughout her treatment I would call her almost daily just to check on her.  Most of the time when I would ask how she was, she would lie to me and tell me she felt fine.  She really wanted to stay strong for her kids. 

Thankfully she is strong.  Even after being told she had stage 4 cancer, that it was also in her bone marrow, she NEVER gave up the fight.  My mom only had the original 6 treatments of Rituxan and has been cancer free now for over 10 years.

When I think that so much of this story could have ended differently, it really makes me thankful for so much.  Had my mom never seen the doctor, had my mom never found coverage that allowed her to receive treatment, had her oncologist stuck to the “normal” treatment, my mom might not be here today. 

Since my mom kicked cancer’s ass she has seen her youngest graduate middle school, high school, and grow into a smart, strong man who is now serving our country.  She seen my little sister grow so much into the beautiful woman she is today with her body building accomplishments and meeting the man of her dreams.   And thankfully, with my mom still here today, she was able to see me get married to the man of my dreams and the joy that comes with becoming a grandmother.

Now all of this is also possible in large part of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  If it wasn’t for the many years and millions of dollars that LLS donated to research and testing of Rituxan, it would not have been available to my mom in 2001.  Every year LLS donates millions to research.  Last year they funded over $70 million to blood cancer research.  Cumulatively since they were founded they have funded $875 million to research.  But LLS also helps those who can’t afford treatment or the cost of their medication.

Please help me, help LLS.  Please go to my fundraising page to make a donation to LLS.  Your donation will help so many people who currently have a blood cancer and help those years from now by funding research going on today.  It will secure me a spot in the upcoming 2013 NIKE Women’s Marathon so that I can run in my mom’s honor.

THANK YOU

Christine Sells (Ott)

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/nikesf13/christysells

My First 1/4 Marathon

This past weekend I ran my very first 1/4 marathon and it was so beautiful!  It was the Live Ultimate Run in San Francisco and besides being in the city the weather was PERFECT.  I had been looking forward to this run for some time, as I had been trying to get the largest team for their "Ultimate Team Challenge".  

My team "Kickin' Assphalt" did win 2nd place for the largest team.  We were only 2 mins short of 3rd
place for the fastest team in the 1/4 marathon.  I was very proud of the team and my teammates as some of them I had never met until the week of the event.  In the process of creating this team I have made some new and can honestly say that I can see us all as friends for a long time.

The event was such a great success that we are all wanting to do it again next year and this time winning first place for largest team.  Here are the stats for my team (those who had chips that worked)

Kickin' Assphalt                                                  Team time of 4 top finishers  3:50:41

Michele Mitchell                                                                                             (54:18.2)

Nohemi Mimi Gonzalez Gonzalez                                                                    (58:00.6)

Denise Amado                                                                                                (59:01.2)

Kathleen Thai                                                                                                 (59:21.1)

Bernald(ron) Rondares                                                                                   (1:01:15.6)

Christine Sells                                                                                                 (1:03:00.9)

Kristen Snow                                                                                                  (1:03:26.9)

Olivia Olmedo                                                                                                 (1:04:55.3)

Christine Browne                                                                                             (1:07:00.8)

Elaine Wireman                                                                                               (1:10:14.9)

Laura Albidress                                                                                               (1:10:50.8)

Joseph Ledesma                                                                                              (1:11:01.9)

Anita Rodriguez                                                                                               (1:12:24.6)

Tracy Deming                                                                                                  (1:22:55.7)

Amy Kinnard                                                                                                   (1:24:55.6)

Coleen Lupo                                                                                                    (1:24:56.2)

Rochelle Brambila                                                                                            (1:24:57.5)

Here are my personal stats below.

Number	Division	First Name	Last Name	Total Time	All Place	Sex Place	Div Place	Lap 1	Lap 2
1106	30-39 F	Christine	Sells	1:03:00.9	309	145	64	31:47.5	31:13.4

Team Kickin' ASSphalt (missing a few teammates)

 Now, Besides the joy of finishing hard with my team, my little man ran again too.  He loved it.  It was a long day for him as we were up really early but that didn't stop him from running.  There were two different "kids dash", one for kids 4 and under and then one for 5+.  Lucas ran the 4 and under (since he's 3) but I really should have had him run with the older group.  The 4 and under was just too short for him, just when he started to run it was over.  Well, I know better for next time.  But as long as he had fun, which he did, all is good.

Lucas at the finish line

Very proud of his medal!!!!

Lucas showing off his medal.

Right before the loop 

Sites from my run....as I was running

Look at that view of the bridge and the ocean.  You could hear the waves crashing.

Just a beautiful day at Chrissy Fields in SF

Love the beach

SuperHero 5K

This year on Father's Day my son, Lucas and I ran in Sacramento's Superhero 5k.  It was a blast.  Lucas had been looking forward to this run for months.  And finally it was here.

Lucas right before the kids 1/4 mile

Lucas dressed up as Iron Man, with mask and hand pieces.  Lucas ran the entire 1/4 mile in 2:53.  I think it was the most fun that Lucas had in quite some time, he really enjoyed himself.  At the finish the kids got a medal, which made Lucas's day.  Plus there was so many awesome costumes.

Lucas Running his 1/4 mile

Lucas showing off his medal

Right before the start of the 5k

I would have to say the only thing I wish was different was that everyone that did the 5k got a participation medal.  Since the only way to get a medal was to place in the top 3 in each age group (and of course first 3 of the entire event) I was working hard to improve my time.  If you recall my first 5k in March was 33:25.4 and my 5k in San Francisco in May was a flat 30:00.  Well, I didn't finish in the top three in my age group but I did finish will my best time ever.  I was hoping to finish in 29-28 minutes, and I killed it finishing with a time of 27:41.

Look carefully I'm in the back

I've passed her right before finish line

I will say that when my husband and kids are there at the event I really work hard to finish strong.

My Color Me Rad run

My son, me and my BFF, Sara

I have been so busy with the two kids, training for my first 1/2 marathon with TNT (Team In Training), and actual fundraising for LLS (The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) that I just realized I never posted anything about my color run.

It was a great experience.  I had so much fun and I officially have a GREAT running partner.  My son, Lucas, at the age of 3 has finished his first 5k.  I was so proud.  He ran or walked at least 2.5 miles and I carried him for only the very end of the event for 0.6 miles.

He didn't like the water color bombs but over all he really enjoyed the run.

RIGHT BEFORE THE RUN, TEAM = Just Add Color

THIS WAS TAKEN BY A FELLOW RUNNER, RIGHT AFTER OUR FIRST BOMBING

Why I'm Running the NWM and What LLS Means to Me

I guess to really understand why I really want to run in the NIKE Women's Marathon, you need to understand just how much my mom means to me.

I have two beautiful kids, Lucas, 3 years old and Amee, 1.  My mom comes over almost every day, since she lives next door.  Everyday Amee is learning new things and my mom doesn't want to miss a new word or accomplishment.

Lucas and Amee, our holiday picture of 2012

Well, my family is very lucky to have this opportunity.  Back in 2001, my mom was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.  For quite some time my mom wasn't feeling well.  She had pain in her joints and she just figured it was just part of getting old.  She started wearing magnet bracelets that were suppose to help with pain. They helped at first.  However, as time went by the pain just got worse.   So after about a year and a half of living with the pain, my mom found a lump in her lymph nodes.  So she decided to go see the doctor.

Now when most people have been diagnosed with cancer they normally get a call from the doctor or they have scheduled a follow up appointment where the doctor tells them the results of any lab work.  Well, my mom’s doctor was gone on vacation after he did a biopsy of the lump.  My mom called the doctor’s office to find out the results.  It was on that call when the nurse told her she had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  My mom got off the phone and felt relieved, since she thought that “NON” had to mean it was NOT cancer.  It wasn’t until my dad googled “Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma” that they both realized it was cancer, and not good news at all.

I will never forget the day my mom sat us down as a family to tell us she had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  I had never heard of that before.  I immediately had the same assumption as my mom.  It can’t be bad.  Quickly my mom put the kibosh on that, and explained that she had stage 4 cancer.   At the time my mom didn’t even have health coverage that was going to cover treatment.  So she explained to her 3 kids, my sister, Karen, 20 years old, my baby brother, Brian, only 11 years old, and me, 27 years old, that she wasn’t going to be getting any treatment.  We all knew what that meant, but no one said it.

Thankfully after a few weeks my mom got new coverage and was able to get treatment.  My mom had the best oncologist ever.  I say this from the bottom of my heart because she told my mom she was giving her a treatment that wasn’t the “normal” treatment Kaiser used.  My mom was given 6 chemotherapy treatments of the new drug Rituxan.   It was a long and tough road for my mom.  She worked the entire time she was sick and losing her hair.  She was self employed, working with my dad so their business was the only source of income.   During her treatment she got a skin infection.  Because her white blood cell counts were down from treatment, she got so sick and was admitted to the hospital for a week.   Throughout her treatment I would call her almost daily just to check on her.  Most of the time when I would ask how she was, she would lie to me and tell me she felt fine.  She really wanted to stay strong for her kids. 

Thankfully she is strong.  Even after being told she had stage 4 cancer, that it was also in her bone marrow, she NEVER gave up the fight.  My mom only had the original 6 treatments of Rituxan and has been cancer free now for over 10 years.

When I think that so much of this story could have ended differently, it really makes me thankful for so much.  Had my mom never seen the doctor, had my mom never found coverage that allowed her to receive treatment, had her oncologist stuck to the “normal” treatment, my mom might not be here today. 

Since my mom kicked cancer’s ass she has seen her youngest graduate middle school, high school, and grow into a smart, strong man who is now serving our country.  She seen my little sister grow so much into the beautiful woman she is today with her body building accomplishments and meeting the man of her dreams.   And thankfully, with my mom still here today, she was able to see me get married to the man of my dreams and the joy that comes with becoming a grandmother.

My brother, Brian, Me and my sister, Karen

My mom and I at my wedding

Now all of this is also possible in large part of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  If it wasn’t for the many years and millions of dollars that LLS donated to research and testing of Rituxan, it would not have been available to my mom in 2001.  Every year LLS donates millions to research.  Last year they funded over $70 million to blood cancer research.  Cumulatively since they were founded they have funded $875 million to research.  But LLS also helps those who can’t afford treatment or the cost of their medication.

Please help me, help LLS.  Please either go to my fundraising page to make a donation or mail me a check made out to LLS with your donation.  Your donation will help so many people who currently have a blood cancer and help those years from now by funding research going on today.  It will secure me a spot in the upcoming 2013 NIKE Women’s Marathon so that I can run in my mom’s honor.

THANK YOU 

Christine Sells

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/nikesf13/christysells

143 Brown St #2

Vacaville, CA 95688

Almost time for some color

Tomorrow,  May 27th, is the first 5k I ever signed up for.  Yes, I have done others and even a 10k since I signed up for my COLOR ME RAD run, but this was the run that got me all started. 

My son Lucas (only 3yrs old) has also been waiting for this run for months.  He is so excited that every morning he's been asking if today we can run our color run.  

Yesterday I picked up my bib for the event and even got Lucas a shirt with the COLOR ME RAD logo on it.  I even made our t-shirts with our team name, "Just Add Color" on the back.

Now we wait.  And its getting hard with all this excitement.   Stay tuned for pictures and updates of our colorful fun!!!

Run with me on 6/30/13

Hey there runners. So you don't have to join my team "Kickin' Assphalt" and you don't have to run a 1/4 marathon to save 10%. If you want to run for a good cause "Stopping Childhood Hunger" then register for this awesome event. You can run a 5k or 1/4 marathon and there is even a kids dash too. Use the link below to save.

http://liveultimaterunsf.eventbrite.com/?discount=AmbassadorChristineSells

Never Been Prouder

This week I decided last minute to sign up for a local run called "Loop the Lagoon" here in Vacaville.  They had a 5k and a 10k option and since I'm planning on training for a 1/2 marathon I thought I better practice with a 10k.  The farthest I had ever ran at that point was 5.7 miles in 1:01 hours (back on April 21st with my running group from FB).  I also decided that it I really needed to improve my 5k time since I had 2 coming up and wanted to hopefully medal in one of them.  I read that hills and long runs could do just that.  Well, for my first 10k I personally think I killed it.  I thought the course was going to be flat but at the 2.5 and 5.5 mile range there were some nice not too steep hills that I had to do, so not only was this my long run but I got some hills in there too.  At this point I still don't know my "official" time but according to my RunKeeper app I ran 6.33 miles in 1:02 hours, with an average pace of  9.5 minute mile.  Not bad for my first 10k and my longest distance I have ever ran to date.

First Lap (5k) Done, one more to go

BUT HERE IS WHERE I WAS UBER PROUD TODAY......

So my 3 year old son, Lucas, has been wanting to run with me.  He tries to run when I go out in the morning to run, but he can't keep pace with me nor can he run for as long.  So I've been letting him start and finish my runs with me and I push him in the jogging stroller the rest of it.  Well today was his first run.  When we got to Lagoon Valley Park, he was so excited.  In fact the night before his run he told me, "mom I can't sleep I'm too excited".  So at the lagoon he got to watch me run and I believe he was excited to see me run and possibly even proud of me.  Then, about 30 minutes after I was done, they did the kids run.  Lucas got to run a 1/2 mile.  I ran along side him chanting the entire time "great job", "you can do it", "I'm so proud of you", and I'm sure other positive things too.  The kid had a blast.  At one point I pointed out that there was another little guy running next to us and he was going fast, that made Lucas run even faster.  I think he's gonna be competitive, as he finished he looked at me and said, "that boy didn't win".  Lucas defiantly earned his medal today, and I couldn't have been prouder.

Right before bed tonight Lucas said to me, "Mommy I had fun today".  In which I replied, "What was your favorite part"?

"My run"!!

That little guy is my new running partner

Youngest runner there

Determined to WIN

Motivation for Today 5/8/13

Get off your a$$ and just run!!!!

Any Nor-Cal readers out there

Currently my team "Kickin' Assphalt" is at 6 almost 7 people (someone new will be registering soon).  We're looking for a minimum of 3 more people to get to a goal of 10 or more.  Who wants to join us for a 1/4 marathon on 6/30 in San Fransisco?

If you are interested comment below with your email and I'll send you a coupon for your registration.

http://liveultimate.com/ultimate-team-challenge-san-francisco/

Run Like A Diva

I had such great weekend and awesome run this weekend!!!  My husband and I drove up to San Fransisco on Friday to get away for the weekend as well as to get my bib and goodie bag for my run on Sunday. 

Friday at 4pm we headed over the the expo to look at all the booths of goodies and to get my bib.  There was so many cool items that I just wanted to buy everything I saw.  Thank goodness my husband was with me or I might have sold my kids to buy everything that I wanted.  LOL, I would never really do that.  There was booths of all sorts of running shirts in all colors but being that it was a "Diva" run, there was A LOT of PINK!  There was also booths for all types of accessories, from bling for your shoes, compression socks, waist belts for your bib and cellphone, to actual running shoes.

The morning of the run I woke up early and got ready with anticipation of a GREAT run.  Since we were staying at a hotel that was on part of the course, we walked to the event (0.70 miles)  We walked in the brisk morning air from the bay and enjoyed the view.  I even got to see the starting line before it began to get crowed with participants.  I would have to say the only thing I really could complain about was that there were people that were running or more accurately were WALKING that were closer to the starting line then I was.  I don't think they knew proper line up.  I mean I don't think they saw the signs that were marking the start for 8min, 9min, 10min, etc.  I was at the 9min marker and even 5 minutes into the run I was still maneuvering around walkers.  OK, I lied there was one more thing to mention that didn't go so smooth....after the 2 mile marker we were supposed to run over a little bike path bridge.  However, there where people standing there blocking it so we didn't think that was where we were supposed to go so we took a different path and then had to u-turn to get back on course.  Had I never gone the wrong way I could have gotten a time of 29:50 or 30:10.  Instead I finished at 31:00.  This is still an awesome accomplishment seeing it was only my second 5k and my first one was 33:45.  I took almost 4 minutes off my time.

I would totally recommend running the "Run Like A Diva".  I will be there again next year, in fact I want to run the Myrtle Beach run next April.

This is me walking to the event

Right before the start

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fireman that gave me my medal!!!!

LAZY......get your butt up any way!!!!

I haven't been on the same running routine that I have been on for 3 or 4 months so now I feel like I'm a LAZY ASS.  I normally run on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.  For some reason ever since my birthday over 2 weeks ago (which was on a normal run day) I have been thrown off my schedule and I feel like a total loser.

Well, tonight as tired and lazy as I was, I got my ass off the couch and went to the gym.  I didn't want to do anything that would over do it since I have a scheduled run with some other mom's tomorrow at 8am.  So I decided that I would just run a 5k instead of trying to do a run from my 5k to 10k app.  I was however, gonna try to improve on my 5k time of 33:25.4.  Which I did I ran 3.12 miles in 31.14, and this was on a treadmill.  (I believe it's harder to run for time on a treadmill since there is no visual incentive to go faster or try harder.)

I feel so good to have gotten that run in and getting myself off the couch.  I also have to remember to stop being so hard on myself.  I did run 4.2 miles on Sunday while pushing both my kids in a running stroller, which is an extra 60lbs.  Every time I start to get mad at myself, for not working out or running, I realize I  really am not doing bad.  I'm just on the same workout schedule. As long as I don't give up on myself, I'm good.

BTW, it seems to hold true for every 100 calories you want to burn you need to run a mile.  If you want to  eat junk food in the range of 1000 calories then you need to run 10 miles to burn in off.  Remember that.

My Fundraising Page

If my blog has moved you off the couch and into some running shoes then PLEASE help me out with a donation to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so I can run in October's SF Nike Marathon!  Thank you

My Fundraising Page

Bad Week....but still moving forward

I have fallen behind on my 5k to 10k app by a week and a half, which is a little discouraging.  With my birthday a week ago and family plans due to my birthday I started to fall behind, then this week didn't start off great.  I went to the gym yesterday,Monday, with every intention to run my "week 2 run 2", I did my 5 min warm up and started my 12 min run when 8 minutes into my run the app tells me to start my brisk walk.  Ugg...some how I must have selected to do a "week 1" run.  Not sure what to do I stopped and made yesterday a weights day instead.  Today my kids were just not cooperating with our normal morning routine thus I missed my opportunity to get to the gym before work.

So tomorrow is Wednesday and I have a full day planned with errands that I might have to miss the gym in the morning.  I'm not too happy about that.

BUT, I can't be too hard on myself.  I did go out on a 5.7 mile run on Sunday with my new founded running friends from Facebook.  I just need to remind myself that I can't make excuses, because that is what they are.  But at the same time don't be too hard on myself, cuz life does happen.  I mean I'm still out preforming those sitting on the couch day after day.

Super Excited to Start My Training For My First Marathon

I'm so excited.  In my first day I already had $100 and a cookie dough fundraiser on it's way.  I WILL hit my goal, but only with your help.  Please check out my page and donate.

If you work for a company that matches your donations, then hit me up and lets maximize that donation.

My Fundraising Page

Thank you to those that have ALREADY sent in donations! Please feel free to SHARE this page/blog to help get the word out and help such a good cause. The LLS has helped make great strides in finding better treatment and cures for blood cancers.

Again, Thank you for your support

My Fundraising Page

Run with Me

If you read from my earlier post, I met a nice lady where I worked about 2 weeks ago.  Well through this great person I joined a "Run with Me" group on Facebook.  This group is great not only for motivation, running tips, but for actual group runs.

Today I went on my first "group run".  Some of us met a the local grocery store to carpool and drove down to Napa JFK Park (near the Napa Community College).  This group was planning on doing a 5 or 10 mile run.  I have never ran the entire time further then my 5k, I have done interval runs where I have gone 5.5 but never a full run.  So today I was planning on running the entire 5 miles and I did, and then some!

It was great meeting new people and having someone to race myself with when we started.  My first mile was a 9.18 minute mile.  Of course I didn't hold that pace the entire time, but I never let the group out of my site.  I even got so distracted at just following the person in front of me that I ran more then the 5 miles I had planned on running.  When I finished my "Run Keeper" app said I had ran a total of 5.7 miles at a pace of 10.41

If you haven't joined a running group yet, I highly recommend it.  I know I have just made some great friends and I know I have just found one more thing to full my new addiction to running.

Boston Marathon

I am just heart broken after today's events in Boston.  If you are a runner we are all going to wear any shirt you have gotten from one of your runs (5k, 10k you name it).

Today I was looking over some of my Facebook posts and I found this and had to share.....

Christine Sells

April 10 at 6:10pm via mobile ·

Looks like I'm signing up for my first 1/2 marathon!!! I will be running in the Nike Women's Marathon in SF on October 20, 2013. But in order for me to run in this marathon I have to raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. — with Jeannie Scala-Ledesma and 9 others.

Like · · · Share · Promote · Tag Friends

• 

  Christine Sells I'll be signing up with Team In Training on April 22 and can't wait to start my fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

  April 10 at 6:38pm · Like · 1
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  Kay Jamison · Friends with Kirsten Jamison Joseph Palumbo

  After today's events, I hope you will drop out.

  4 hours ago · Like
• 

  Denise Amado No way! Sorry Kay!

  4 hours ago via mobile · Unlike · 3
• 

  Christine Sells @Kay Jamison (Kirsten Jamison Joseph Palumbo) that's like saying after 911 I'll never fly again. We can't let these tragedies (as tragic as they are) change our lives like that. Touched by the tragedy yes but keep running in honor!

  3 hours ago via mobile · Like · 1