So worth it!

We did it!!! We crossed the finish line to help save lives!!

All of the hard work and anticipation towards the big event finally came! My Team and I arrived in San Francisco Friday evening. Our hotel was located right in Union Square. We could not have asked for a better spot. Union Square was the epicenter for the weekend. It was covered in huge, white circus tents. Thousands of women filled the streets. The tents were filled with all kinds of goodies; pedicures, manicures, back massages, shoe fittings, picture booths, and tons of give-a-ways. We did not know where to start! We did get our fair share of free-bees!

We spent Saturday touring the city. Most of the girls have grown up in Idaho and have never been to San Francisco. We rode the cable car, went to the pier and did some major shopping! That night was the BIG pasta party. We arrived at the convention center and the entire place roared with loud cheering and nose makers. Our coaches, mentors and staff cheered us on as we entered. The feeling was breath taking. The chills rushed my body as hundreds of people greeted us with excitement. The two girls I was with even said that the feeling we had was the same thing they felt on their wedding day! It was that good. We devoured our pasta and meatballs as we listened to inspiring stories from cancer survivors. The night was truly magical.

Then comes race day….

I ran 20 miles in my training, what is six more? This was my thinking coming into this marathon. Besides hurting my hip four weeks prior to the event, I was feeling pretty good. I had decided to take some time off thinking that things would be fine for race day. That did not work out quite as planned. My legs tightened up around mile 10. The psychological thoughts began at this point too! I kept telling myself I can’t start thinking this way until at least mile 20. No use. My legs felt as though I had a ton of bricks tied around them. I kept going…. I saw my cousin and aunt around mile 17 which helped boast my energy. It was short lived. About a mile later I came up to the lake that we had to run around, I tell you it was a lot bigger then I would have liked! That had to have been when I hit the wall that so many talk about and I had yet experienced. I kept going… Two of my friends had caught up to me about half way around. This got my energy up until I realized that I could not maintain at their pace. I still kept going, with a few extra walk breaks, but I kept at it. One last stretch on the highway. I finally saw Jay and my family. I was not very happy at this point, I just wanted to finish. And that is exactly what I did!!!! 4 hours and 9 minutes! Not the par 4 I was shooting for, but hey it was my first! The only thought in my head as I finished was what the ** was I thinking! Then I laid eyes on my prize, a sexy man in a tux with my Tiffany’s necklace! So worth it! Whether or not I will do it again that is still up in the air.

I was very fortunate to be so close to my family and friends! Several of them came out to cheer me on. After the race we went out for a great lunch and nice cold beer. It was great to have them all there!

As if my body was not sore enough, we still had the victory party to attend that evening. Back to the convention center for more food and lots of fun. The stress levels were finally down, now my only concern was getting up and down from my chair. That did not stop us from dancing our booties off. We rocked the dance floor! What a night!

The entire weekend and journey leading up to it was truly life changing. I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt, I shed tears of sadness and tears of joy, I challenged myself in ways never thought possible, met life-long friends and I absolutely loved every moment of it!

Thank you everyone for being a part of this journey!

Success!

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Last week was a huge success in both my training and fundraising. The past few weeks I have been working hard on organizing a huge fundraising event! Last Tuesday it all came to life. A local pizza place, Lucky 13, donated there space and 50% of their beer and wine sales for the evening. We were able to collect tons of amazing prizes from local businesses. We used the items as silent auction and raffle prizes. We even auctioned off a date with a very good looking fireman! ($500 final bid!) A friend of mine gave me the number of a local musician and he was willing to come play for the event. All I had to do was keep his beer glass full! :) Plus his music was absolutely amazing! He is one man that plays all his own instruments and vocals! His name is James Orr if you are interested in looking him up. People could not stop talking about how incredible he was! We also had face painting for the kids. The place was full the entire night! We were able to raise over $3,000!!!! It was a lot of work but so worth it! I am ready to make it an anual event....maybe! :) Through all the planning I was also able to get close to several of the girls on the team. I have really been able to build some friendships. I am looking forward to continuing them after all of this is said and done.
Then Saturday came, time for our 20 mile run!! If that does not sound bad enough, add pouring down rain, thunder and lightening and some good hills! Through all that I made it and suprisingly felt pretty good throughout it. It was later in the day that I could not move my poor little legs. I have recovered just fine and was able to get in a 7 mile run today.
The race is getting close! I can't be more excited to get there and enjoy the weekend in San Francisco!

Thanks again for the support and encouragement! I love you all! :)

Back in Boise

It feels great to be Home! It feels even better to call Boise home... It has now been one year since Jay, my dad and I packed up our cars and trailer and made the long journey out here. It has been one exciting year so far. We are definitely still getting adjusted and meeting so many amazing people. There has not been a dull moment. We are both very happy with our decision and love what Boise has to offer.

Back on my training... It is nice to run in Boise again. Kind of crazy to think that when I moved here a year ago it took me about a month to get used to running at a higher altitude. Now I prefer running here! The temperatures are still hot but the air is much more dry. Not too bad as long as you get up early and run.

I got back into town on Tuesday, unfortunately I did not make it on a run that day. Wednesday I was back full force. I did a good six miles in the neighborhood. Thursday I decided I needed a little change of scenery. I decided to take a jog up in the hills.... I don't think I realized what I was getting myself into. As if the hills were not hard enough, I got passed up by a high school cross country girl and her coach. I think that has got to be one of the most defeating encounters when running. We were not on some straight trail either, we were on the good climb to the top. I kept telling myself that she is much younger and has probably been doing this for a lot longer... I pushed and was able to make it to the top! I even carried my camera just to share some picture with you! So enjoy!

I have a big 12 mile run tomorrow morning then Jay and I are off to camp in Coeur D' Alene area for a few days. Should be a lot of fun!

Thanks for listening!

Why did the golfer wear more then one pair of pants?

In case he got a hole in one! :)

Heating up

I made it through my first double digit run! Last Thursday I met with a group of people from Team in training to run ten miles. It was not as bad as I had imagined, but I will admit there were a few times during the run that I did question the fact that I was actually training to run 26.2 miles! The thought scared me a little. Ten miles is not even half of what I am working towards! Luckily I still have about fifteen weeks to continue preparing....

Today I flew back to my home town, San Jose, California. My childhood friend Richard Tapia is getting married! My mom and I flew in this morning. After getting off the plane the heat and smog over took me. I do not remember it being this hot! I have gotten used to Idaho's dry heat. I was still determined to get outside and run my old tracks. We got home, I dressed into my brand new sports bra and tank top. I was ready and pumped to get a good run in. I laced up my shoes, strapped on my GPS, and plugged in my IPod. The first song played for about two seconds before it died. Luckily it gave out before I left, so I was not stuck carrying it on the run. Motto for the day: The less you are carrying the more free and happier you feel! :) No big deal, I can enjoy my surroundings a little more.
I took off from the house, headed towards the Campbell Park course. Besides the heat, I was feeling pretty good. I got to John D. Morgan Park and decided it would be a good idea to break up my run with some walks (run 8 minutes, walk 1 minute). After my first walk the first eight minutes took a century! Finally I made it to the park course and decided to run around a little until I reached about thirty minutes, then I would turn back. I made it for about five more minutes then I decided to walk a little, there was no starting back up after that. I have never felt so sick on a run in my life. My first big defeat had hit me.... I took a few minutes catching my breath and keeping myself from pucking. After about five minutes I was able to re-coup enough to start walking, yes that is right, walking through down town Campbell. I was about three and a half miles from where I had started and had no one to call for a ride. No other option but to start walking. My only thought was how nice it would be to get home and jump in the pool. I enjoyed a walk through down town, checking out all the new and old shops. This kept my mind busy for awhile. I still had quite a way to go until home. I stopped in for some ice water at Subway on Campbell and Winchester. Still I had no desire to start running again. I continued for about another mile feeling slightly defeated but also happy that I would have something to learn from the experience and something to write about in my blog. :) I finally made it to the Expressway, and was able to pull it together and jog the rest of the way home! I made it! Six and a quarter miles in an hour and seven minutes, not too bad! I think I am going to try some cross training tomorrow :)

I hope everyone had an enjoyable fourth! Don't for get to check out my Fundraising Page! I am about $600 away from my half way point! I have also added a few more honorees. One recent one was a really good friend of my grandparents, Ed Turner. He lost his life to Leukemia before I was born. It was said that his wife had a hand in introducing my grandparents!

Please keep the stories coming, they are what keep me going!

My first time...

Here it goes...my first blogging experience!

As you can see I am training for a BIG marathon, 26.2 miles! The farthest I have ever run is about ten, not even half of what I will be attempting come this October. With the help of TEAM in training, they promise that I will will be able to do it! So here I am, six weeks into my training with 16 weeks left to go! I have also begun my fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I have the goal to raise a total of $4,000 before race day. So far I have raised a little over $900. You can check out my progress on my TEAM website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/id/nikesf08/abuettner. If anyone has any fundraising ideas or suggestions please feel free to let me know.

Throughout my training I will be honoring many people that have fought cancer in their lives; many that have been fortunate enough to get through it while others have lost a life fighting this terrible disease. A good friend of mine, Michael Sierra, was diagnosed with Leukemia in high school. He fought the battle and is now living a happy, healthy life. Because of programs like the Leukemia and Lymphoma society we have more money towards finding a cure and are able to better educate people about this disease.
As many of you know my mother and sister were both diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Both courageously fought an uphill battle and overcame it. My mom has now been cancer free for five years and my sister for two years.
It is through their courage and resilience that I will be able to complete this marathon. Since I have started my fund raising I have learned of several others that have also fought Leukemia and Lymphoma, I ask that you please share with me your stories. It will be my honor to wear the names of these people on my shirt come race day. Here is a list of my honorees so far:
Honorees:
Micheal Sierra
Tonya Beiner
Pamela Buettner
Scott Anderson
McKynna Deann Luper
Kaden Pate
Don McPhail
Justin Wise
Dottie Ann
Jolie Hunter

As far as my training is going, well it has not been to bad so far. I run every Satuday morning with the TEAM and during the week I have been running by myself or sometimes I can get Jay to come out with me. Our Saturday runs have gotten progressively longer. So far our longest run has been 8 miles. We are scheduled to run our first double digit this weekend (10 miles)! I am a little nervous about this one! During the week I have worked up to an average of 4.5 miles on about three days. The temperature is rising and it is getting much more difficult to run for longer distances. We are going to start our runs at 7am now, so hopefully that will help a little. We have also started some cross training at the YMCA. Last week we had a spinning class. It was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding things I have ever done. Boy was my butt sore! I think I was sweating out places I never knew that I could sweat! This week we will be doing yoga and water aerobics, should not be nearly as rough as the spinning.

Well, I will do my best to keep you updated on my progress. I am also going to get some pics up of my runs.

Once again I appreciate all the support and encouragement! I hope you find this as rewarding as I do. Maybe I can even convince some of you to join the TEAM! :)