Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sorry :(

Haven't posted in a while, a quick one here.

I'm going to be entering a quick contest hosted by SFU Now.
Please check out the website at http://www.sfunow.ca/

Maybe I'll win an iPod nano to help me on my longer runs! :)

I'm at 18k now :)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day Bowlarama - A Success!

First off... THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT CAME OUT TO SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISER!

Pictures can be found at here

I was pretty stressed out about the fundraiser the day before. I had to get prizes for the top bowlers (which we never got around to) I had to get balloons blown up (Thank you Tim the Mute at Balloonatics!) and I still had to finalize the list of attendees.

The night before, I couldn't sleep all night thinking and worrying about what I'm missing, what I'll need. I couldn't sleep until 3:30 so of course, I couldn't get up for our GTS on Sunday morning. Slept in til about 10:30 and looked outside. The rain's held off so I guess I can go for a run! I planned out the 18km route from my house to Wallace St. and back.

Running in traffic on a big street is definitely different than our regular GTS. I have to watch for traffic lights, turning cars, pedestrians, slowed my time down by a lot. At 11:30, I was only at Carnavarn and 41st. But then it started to rain! So I guess it was a sign to head back. But when I got to Granville and 41st, it started SLEETING SNOW! I was soaking wet and freezing cold. Finally made my way to the bus stop at 41st and Oak and ran into the Chevron to call Viet to come pick me up.

Lesson learned: Always check weather report before going out for a run.

After going home to shower and thaw myself, I started getting together the final plans for the night.

I arrived at the bowling alley at around 5pm to find the previous league not done yet. So we waited around while they finished. Monique showed up with all the great gift cards and we got our raffle table set up!

Then before we could set everything up, people started arriving in the masses! I had to finish the table, made sure people pay, make sure they got their token, my head was really spinning. But luckily, everyone got to bowl (I think) and a lot of people purchased 50/50 tickets and raffle tickets. That's pretty much the event as I saw it because most of it was just spinning by me. I however remember that a lot of people stuck around for the Raffle drawing and 50/50 which ended up going to people who weren't originally part of our fundraiser! But it's ok, if they were willing to purchase tickets, they have every right to win.

I want to thank my latest sponsors:
Joe Hung heya, you missed my fundraiser but thank you for donating instead! :)
Coast Imaging Arts Ernst at Coast Imaging Arts is a colleague/associate of the BCPIA. Thank you for donating to our cause!

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Another Day. Another Run

Forgot to post this on THIS blog last Sunday, so I'll repost it now.

I haven't really explained the format of our training with the TEAM. TEAM in Training is organized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. There is a group of dedicated full time staff that help in collecting donations from participants that will in turn help the Society.

The training portion of TEAM in Training is organized by a team of volunteer Coaches and Mentors. There are coaches for 3 main teams. The Run team, the Walk team and the Tri(athlon) team. As I plan to Run the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, my run coach is Coach Mike. Coach Mike is SUPER fast. I think he's ran over 5 marathons and he's a pretty seasoned runner. It's really great having such a seasoned coach because he understands what it's like for us when we first start out. Coach Mike and his wife Amy actually came from Ontario. Amy has Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a form of Leukemia that requires taking a single pill called Gleevec that inhibits the leukemia. Gleevec is the result of the hard work of thousands and thousands of fundraisers and donations. The fundraising and donations of these people has made Gleevec possible for people like Amy and many more.

We train every Sunday at 8:30 (yes that's A.M. for you sleepyheads) at Granville Island. We call those runs GTS (or group training sessions). It usually starts by meeting behind Cat's Social House in the little area that is covered. Sometimes we have workshops where experts come in to talk to us about strength training, nutritions, and equipment, but most times, we warm up, yell a quick "GO TEAM" and we're off!

The distances usually vary. Now for those of you that really know me from way back in high school (well not that way back) we used to have "run days" where we run about 3km around the school twice. Even in high school, I wasn't much of a sporty kid, I couldn't run that 3km without walking half of it. Imagine my surprise when we started one fine December day last year and Coach Mike told us our first run was 4km!!!! We maintain a set distance usually two weeks in a row and go up by 1 to 2km on the next run.

I still remember our first 4km run like it was yesterday. Coach Mike maps out a route for us:
1. Start off going west at Granville Island.
2. Run along the seawall below both the Granville St. Bridge and Burrard St. Bridge
3. Run past the Planetarium at Vanier Park
4. Run to the washrooms by the Totem Pole and Museum.
5. Turn around and run back.

I looked at that distance and thought.....NO...WAY.

Here's a look at our run route yesterday:
1. Start off going west at Granville Island
2. Run along the seawall past Vanier Park
3. Continue along the seawall past Kits beach
4. Turn up along the hill when you hit the pool at Kits beach. Right at Balsam
5. Run along Point Grey Rd. until you hit Jericho Beach
6. Turn up along the path to W. 4th Ave.
7. Turn right down NW Marine Drive
8. Continue along Marine Drive until you hit the concession stand.
9. Turn around and head back to Granville Island along the same route.

Now. Yesterday was also Daylight Savings Time. I'm currently busy organizing our Bowling Fundraiser next Sunday, so of course I didn't sleep until 11:30 PRE-daylight savings time. Which meant, after I set the clock an hour faster, it was 12:30! Yesterday's run I felt fatigue from the very beginning. My feet were slowly dragging along. The cold weather made it hard for my muscles to warm up. And my head just wasn't that into it.

The route you just saw above is our 16km route yesterday. It's the first step up from the 14km we've been doing for the last two weeks. When I started the run, I was sure I could only do 14km today. But when I thought of Jessica, I also thought, "Well, it's only really a km more, because it's a km there and when we turn back, it's an extra km back." Besides, I don't want to be the only person to not complete our 16km run! It'll be THAT much harder next week!

So I pushed on and conquered it!!!!

The best part? 1h 47mins which was only 4 mins slower than my 14km run the last week. But then I think this run wasn't a full 16km, which would explain why I'm only 4 mins slower for an extra 2km. I still felt great about myself.

Every time I think it's too hard to push on, I think of Jessica. She's brave, she's strong, and if she can battle cancer, a run should be nothing.

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I've been nominated!!!!

Wow! I just received an email to let me know I've been nominated and is in the FINALIST stage for the New Year's Resolution Contest hosted by Vancity! My one and ONLY bank!

There's a link located at
http://www.changeeverything.ca/who-your-winning-pick-2009-viva-la-resolution-contest-please-vote-only-once-honor-system-folks

Please vote for me!!!

I must say this is great news for me! I've been feeling slightly depressed lately because ticket sales for my Bowling Event hasn't been that great. In addition, it's been difficult getting people to donate things for raffle tickets on the night of.

If you check out my poster at

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/bubbos/poster.jpg

It's not too late to contact me for tickets! And as always, the proceeds all go towards supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

I recently visited Jessica (My Honoured Hero for my first half Marathon) and she's been doing well. Jessica is a 13 year old little girl that is the oldest of six children. Her family rents our basement suite for many years and I've seen their family grow throughout the years. I used to babysit Jessica and her siblings when I was younger and they were always the best behaved kids EVER!

Jessica was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) the most common form of Leukemia for children under the age of 20. However, there is optimism within centres that specialize in the treatment of children especially centres like the Children's Hospital of Vancouver because survival statistics have dramatically improved over the past 30 years. Most children under 19 with ALL are cured!!!

My goal is to raise $2000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. If you would like to support my cause, please click on the link below. It's a secure and safe site and a tax receipt will be forwarded to your email as soon as you're done.

Thank you once again!!!

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

GTS Last Sunday

Last Sunday, it was our second week running 14km and my time was the same as the week before 1hr and 43mins. Sarah shared her mission moment with us and it made me cry :(. She's really brave!!!

Bonnie came back to run again this week, good to see her out!

So the planning for bowling night is going pretty well. I've sent out a few mass emails and have told almost everyone I know about it.

Please everyone! Get the word out! March 15 6-8pm at Town and Country Bowling. $20 per ticket includes shoes and 2 hours of bowling!

Thanks!!