Thursday, September 19, 2013

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. 22Rock the 80's
5K/8M/8M Relay/Kids RunElk Grove, CA
Oct. 6Hot Pink Fun Run
5K/10KRoseville, CA
Oct. 12Oktobrewfest
5K/10K & KidsDavis, CA
Nov. 3Run Because You Can
5K / 10KSacramento, CA
Nov. 2326th Anniversary Davis Turkey Trot
5K/10K/Half Marathon & Kid's RunsDavis, CA






Then for 2014
 
Jan 12Hot Chocolate Run
5K/15KSan 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!!!!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

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).

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

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

110630-39 FChristineSells1:03:00.93091456431:47.531:13.4



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

Friday, June 21, 2013

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.


Thursday, June 13, 2013

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