We Did It! (an Amy post)

We did it! We completed the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon this past Sunday in San Francisco and it was amazing! What a crazy weekend. We had so much fun and though the weekend had it's ups and downs, I'd say it was mostly ups and that we had a wonderful time.

(In the group photo above we're near the bottom Left. Jo Anna is sitting on the chair and I'm squatting just beside her. Click the photo to see it displayed bigger)

Our legs might tell a different story though, as they are quite sore today. Jo Anna was amazing, she did the 13.1 miles like they were a walk in the park. For me it was far more difficult, but she kept me going and got me to the finish line where a small group of San Francisco's finest Fire Fighters gave us our little blue box with our Tiffany medal necklace inside.

The route was beautiful, but had a couple of giant hills that nearly killed me. I was really sucking wind at the top of each one. And we were pretty slow paced so most of the sponsor tables and even some of the water stations were closed up and gone by the time we went passed them, which was a bit disappointing. The weather was overcast, slightly drizzly now and then, and cold! I had my "discard" long-sleeved shirt on, the idea being once I got moving and warm I could toss it, but I never did. It was too cold. Overall it was a pretty amazing experience and I'm ready to do it again next year.

The Nike Women's Marathon itself benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and raised over 18 Million Dollars this year! There were approx. 20,000 participants total and over 6,000 Team in Training participants. I've never seen so many people in one place. Jo Anna and I were trying to get to our "corral" - our group of same paced people readying for the race - and never made it. We got stuck in the crowd and literally couldn't move. Truly, we were packed in so tightly it was crazy.

The Pasta Party on Sat. night was wonderful - not so much the food but the inspiration. We walked into this huge conference center and were met by hundreds of TNT Coaches, Mentors and Staff all dressed in Green & Purple (TNT Colors) and cheering and shouting for us. We had great speakers who were exceptionally motivating and by the time we left, we were totally pumped for the race the next day. This made sleeping a little difficult but we managed with some pharmaceutical help.

Sunday morning was early! We were up by 5:00 a.m. and met our whole team in the lobby to walk to the start of the marathon. That's right - we walked to the place where we'd start walking 13.1 miles. Nuts, right? But it was a good warm-up. We got checked in, did some stretching, used the port-a-johns, and then tried to find our corral (that's where we got stuck in the crowd). Eventually though the crowd thinned out as the different pace groups started the race, and we were able to join up with those in our own group and start.

Jo and I were in the way back of the pack, and that was all me. She certainly could have finished much faster but she chose to stay by my side, which I will be ever grateful for. After being told that one enormous hill would be the last big hill, and then coming to discover there was another gynormous hill, I was ready to call it quits but it was Jo Anna who kept me moving and motivated. Eventually we crossed the finish line together, and though we'd walked nearly the entire 13.1 miles, we ran across the finish. Smiling big, cheesy grins.

I'll post a link to photos as soon as I have them uploaded. We really had a wonderful time and while part of me is so glad it's over so that I no longer have to stress about it, another part of me is already looking forward to next year's race!

See you all next Fall!
Amy (& Jo)

We're here!

We are in San Francisco! I can't believe we are here ALREADY. How did it happen so quickly? Our room is nioe, Meg is with us, so is our camera. I am dying for tacos and beer. That's where we are headed next. More later. Hungry. -J

We're in San Francisco! (Amy)

Well - we're here! We're checked into our Marriott hotel, we've picked up our packets and bib #'s at the Expo, we've visited the Nike Store and got our Nike Women's Marathon t-shirts, and we had lunch from a lovely Indian restaurant across the street. We got take out, as it was only $5.00. We had fancy meatballs, curry veggies and some sort of spicy chicken cooked w/asparagus. All over rice. The 3 of us split each dish and they were all really tasty. There's 3 of us now because our friend Meg came to do filming for the documentary. She's wonderful and we're so glad she could join us on this trip.

We've been hanging out with the other 2 honored patients for the Phx team, Linda and Andrea (and Linda's boyfriend, Lance). They're great people. There's a bond that forms when people who have been though a similar experience like cancer meet. I can't explain it, it's just there. I think any shared trauma brings people together because no one else can really understand what it was like. It's like an exclusive club that you pray you'll never become a member of. Unfortunately, new people are joining every day.

We've been up since the wee hours of the morning because we had to be checked in and at the Gate by 6:00 a.m. I can't remember the last time I saw 4:00 a.m. on the clock, nor do I want to. I'm not a morning person, but Jo was already at the gate when I arrived, which I expected as she IS a morning person. I've had 4 coffees already today and I'm still tired.

Our hotel is lovely, though not as close to the Marathon Start as I was led to believe. It's only about 1 mile away but when I'm already going to have to walk 13.1 miles, I really don't want to have to walk another mile to get to the Start! Maybe we'll be lame and take a cab....

I've got some great photos already but I don't seem to know how to get them off the camera. I borrowed my husband's camera and I've plugged it in, but nothing is happening. I may need to spend a little more time on it later. I'm not sure what the plan is for tonight, other than dinner someplace, maybe drinks. Tomorrow, other than the Pasta party at 5:30, we have the whole day for whatever. We plan to go see "Religulous" somewhere, get Dim Sum at a restaurant Meg loves, and then hopefully go to the Piers. Can't wait!

Hard to believe Sunday is the race already. Yikes! Am I ready? I hope so. I have a timing chip, which means as I pass markers, you can follow my progress online. Not sure how that works... but will post more when I figure it out. My race # is 16794 and Jo Anna's is 18357. You should be able to use these to find us. Also, my understanding is the race will be televised as a Pay Per View event on Direct TV. I think it's $12.95.

That's all for now! Will try and figure out how to upload my photos and then will post later. Take care and as always, thanks for your continuing support!
-Amy & Jo

For Jon

My cousin Jon passed away on September 25th, 2 weeks ago yesterday. He was home and surrounded by people who loved him. It was very difficult but at the same time, he's been so very sick for so long, it was somewhat of a blessing. And his older brother made it here from WI to say goodbye, which was the one big thing we were all hoping for. Shortly after his older brother got there, Jon passed away.

And just this week I got my PET Scan results, which were great. No sign of cancer, totally clean. I get to go an entire year now before my next scan, which will be right around my 5 year anniversary of completing chemo, and should be my last scan. I'll still need to visit with my Oncologist annually for a while, but no more scans unless I have symptoms. And after 5 years, the chances of that happening are minuscule.

Which leads to the question - why? Why did Jon die? Why did I live? And there will never be a good answer to those questions. Some people survive and some don't. We all start dying from our first breath, it's just a matter of when. And of course, How. I would never wish dying of cancer on anyone. I'm so grateful for every day I have now. And more than ever I want to be able to make a difference, otherwise why am I here?

So in Jon's name or in the name of a loved one you may have lost, or almost lost, I challenge you to do something good today. Maybe it's making a donation to a food bank, or signing up to volunteer for a soup kitchen, or Habitat for Humanity, or any local charity event - pick one that speaks to your heart. Go pick up poop at a local animal shelter. Or maybe help a neighbor with a project. Or buy something from one of your friend's kids who is selling junk you don't need to raise money for their school. Sign up to be a Big Brother or Big Sister. Register with the National Bone Marrow Registry. Donate blood. Take your old clothes, towels and blankets to a Goodwill or shelter. Give a homeless guy $5 today when you see him on the street. Pay for a stranger's groceries. Anything. Pay it Forward people. Give something or do something. If it's not to help our fellow man, then why are we here?

-Amy

We're in the home stretch! (posted by Amy)

So Jo and I are in the home stretch. Less than 1 month from now we'll be in San Francisco, pushing our bodies to the limit, all in the name of fighting cancer. It's almost surreal.

Today I sent an email asking people to give up a Starbucks drink and donate the money instead. I've got 2 great prizes to offer so anyone who donates a min. of $5 for this challenge has a chance to win some Starbucks coffee beans, mugs, a gift card and chocolate. The beans and mugs were donated, I'll be providing the rest. In case you want to participate, here's the link to my site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf08/astockinger

I feel so blessed to have a new job that pays well, good friends, a wonderful husband, terrific family, not to mention my health. My cousin Jon who is only 28 is currently battling metastasized melanoma and he's been fighting for over a year now. He was recently in the hospital for weeks and they finally let him go home, on the condition that he have Hospice Care ready to take care of him. He's not doing so great.

It just goes to show how much money is still needed to fund the research to save lives. While what I'm doing now supports blood cancer research, the treatments discovered almost always have applications in other types of cancer. Did you know that Chemotherapy was developed to treat childhood Leukemia? That's how it was discovered/invented. And now they use chemo to treat nearly every type of cancer out there. So funding cancer research, any kind of cancer research, helps save lives.

Next month I'll not only be walking the 13.1 miles for myself, and for Jo, and for little Hannah who lost her battle with Leukemia last year, but also for my cousin, Jon. I'm going to laminate a photo of him and pin it to my jersey. I wish I could do more, wave the magic wand and make him all better. Since I can't, I do this. I raise money to fight. Thanks for helping me in my battle.
-A

Nearly done with the funraising part.

If the numbers are correct, and since Amy did them, I assume they are, then we are nearly done meeting our minimum required goals!!! So, don't stop giving if it's in your blood!

Amy is on me about shoes, I ordered two pair via the internet, not always the most accurate when choosing a 13-mile-in-a-day sneaker, so I get her point. I, the eternal optimist, am hoping one pair will at least get me through the remainder of my training. I have slacked a million slacks these last couple of months due to illness and injury and need to get on the wagon, or pull it. Amy keeps inviting me to walk with her, but something always comes up. This Sunday, I have no plans and know she is going. I will go too. I walked the dogs today, but less than 2 miles, not much.

I am planning to go to the doctor tomorrow about my throat and dry cough. Get it fixed before my booty ends up back in the ICU. Blah. Amy's losing weight like butter in the microwave, that's her bonus for sticking to the training, that should motivate me to get moving. That, and the fact that the marathon is getting super close super fast.

I am excitied about doing this with B (Amy), I have never been to CA with her, or on a trip together, at all. We get a lot of time to spend in San Fran as tourists and I am jazzed!

Thanks to everyone who has gotten us here!!! We all rock!

The Benefit Show by Jo Anna

Two and a half hours of solid entertainment!!! It was a show for the ages, a show for the books, a show to end all...strike that...a show to BEGIN all shows. It rocked the socks off of the audience. Made them afraid to get up and pee. Better than I could've hoped for. Special thanks to The Sets for donating the room, and to Chris and Jim McClennan of Trash City who worked the door, hired the sound and security set the tables and dressed them with table cloths and candles, printed the flyers...I am so grateful to be friends with these people! We even performed on the BIG stage that the bands use and not the little comedy stage off to the side. It made it much easier. We even had a green room, a sweltering hot green room, but a place to change that was not the bathroom, nonetheless.

At 7:05 one of the comedians canceled due to illness, and Chris Bennett showed up with Josh Skalniak, so instead of one opening comic, I got two! Chris had contacted me earlier via the MySpace and I already told him he could get some time, but Josh was a bonus. The show was really strong and everyone got mad laughs. Virtual Show:

Male Pattern Radness opened with there dulcet tones like : "88 Miles per Hour", "Dog Food Sandwiches" and "4:19 is the longest Minute".

The Cheeky Monkeys (Amy Jean Page and Myself) ft. Eddie Oliver and Amy Donahue performed the sketch "Who's Down with Easy Bake" which handled the difficult talk every parent has with their teen about boys and girls and "baking" with someone else.

Stand Up Set 1: Josh Skalniak, Robert Fata, The Fabulous Amy Donahue

The Cheeky Monkeys dance to "My Little Chicken" by Adam Sandler

Stand Up Set 2: Tim Bateman, Chris Bennett

The Cheeky Monkeys dance to "The Pussy Song" by Connie Vannett

Stand Up Set 3: Eddie Oliver, Shane Hicks, Jon Jesmer

This is a Who's Who of Phoenix comedy, every one of these guys has been around town for years and have honed their craft and moved on to do other cities, these are the good ones, folks, it was a steal at $10. You can say you "saw them when..." Thanks to ComedySchools.com for bringing us together as performers and friends. I met most of these guys because of Tony's classes and they have stayed my homies even after school's out. The show was like a reunion, even Tony showed up to support the cause and his alumni. Very cool.

A very cool show! Hosted by the capable and loveable Amy Stockinger this was a show I am proud to have been a part of!

Jo Anna

Jo Anna Post-I'm not dead

Just read a bunch of posts by Amy and thought it would be a good time to jump back in and say "hello." Hello! I am up and a bout, haven't done a lick of true exercise in weeks, doctor's orders, but I have been marching in front of the TV set here and there for 15-30 minutes at a time. Soon, soon.

I will be rehearsing Sunday to prepare for the big show and am so excited about that! I can't believe it will be here on Friday next already! I am so blessed to have such great comics as my friends. Thanks to all and to Trash city for your support.

I am going to buy new running shoes soon, or rather, walking shoes. We just watched a show on tennis shoes last night and all the technology that goes into them is meant to mimic the natural movement of a bare foot. I did not know that, but now I do, and you do to. I also found that a good shoe does NOT necessarily prevent injuries because their high level of comfort often causes the wearer to push to far and get injured MORE. Crazy. So I will get a good pair, but I will be aware of my exertion. Promise.

Jo Anna

Special Thanks

This is about thanking some really great people who are being amazingly supportive. :)

1st - thanks to the person who made an anonymous donation to my site - I don't know who you are, but I really appreciate the support!

Special Thanks:

To Chris McLennan of Trash City Entertainment (www.trashcityentertainment.com) for promoting our event, getting us the venue, printing postcards, doing a Press Release and the flier - and just being all around super supportive! We truly could not do this upcoming event without her. Check out her website for info on other Trash City events, they've got some really cool ones!

Thanks to The Sets in Tempe, where we're having our event and we don't have to pay a dime for the venue!

Thanks to all the comedians who are performing - for free! They are all awesome so come out and see them at our show, 8/15!

And special thanks to Ann Cabano (ann@theenergymover.com), a massage therapist and friend who has said she would donate a gift certificate for a free massage. She's been really wonderful also, helping us get the word out about our events. Contact her for massage - she's not only amazing but she's got an office in Mesa or she'll come to your home!

And thank you to Jo Anna, for agreeing to do this crazy thing with me and for keeping me motiviated. And thanks to myself, on behalf of Jo Anna, for roping her into this cool, wonderful experience. ;)
-A

Amy - Updates

Ok - it's update time! Jo Anna is out of the hospital (has been for a while now) and doing great. She and I are filling out our paperwork this week for recommittment. For those of you who don't know what that is, it means we're promising to meet our fundraising goals of $2,940 each, if we don't, we're agreeing to pay the difference. Basically, we're putting our money where our mouths are. We have until October 3rd to meet our goals or we'll be charged the difference on a credit card. We will have until November 19th to continue to fundraise and reach our goals, and if we do we can get a refund on the charged amounts. So that's good. Still, the refund is a hassle so we're really working hard to reach our goals by 10/3.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us thus far. And if you haven't, it's not too late! You may have to copy/paste this, but here are our webpage links:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf08/jlarson
http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf08/astockinger

Donate to Jo Anna, she's got farther to go than I do...

We're doing a yard sale this weekend to fundraise, and our comedy event is on August 15th! We're super excited about that! We think we'll do really, really well that night. I'm emcee-ing and Jo Anna is performing, so it's going to be super cool! If you haven't received that flier email one of us and we'll send it to you. Bring friends! Only $10 to get in! :)

I did 5 miles this last weekend. Next weekend is 6 and before you know it, it'll be 10! That's the most we'll do in practice, then 13.1 at the marathon itself. Yikes! It's ok because I know we can do it. We have to. It's all about finding a cure, and if I have to walk 13.1 miles to raise money then so be it. I'm happy to do it.

More soon! Much love to everyone!
-A

Jo Anna's Been in the Hospital (Amy)

So it's Tuesday, July 15 and Jo Anna has been in the hospital for over a week now. If you read her last post, then you know she wasn't feeling too well and as it turns out, she had pneumonia. Not good. She finally allowed her mother-in-law to take her in to the ER and they admitted her to the ICU almost immediately with a fever and low blood pressure. Like really low. Dangerously low. She was on 2 IV's and a PICC line, with fluids and antibiotics hooked up for about 2 days. She was moved to a regular room last Tuesday and we were hoping she'd go home on Wednesday but she's still there. She's getting better, so of course that's good, but man... Over a week in the hospital totally sucks. She's way behind on training, not that training is the most important thing going on, but this blog is about our marathon training and so that's what's happening with that. We're really hopeful that since she's always been more fit than I am that she'll be able to just sort of jump back in and do the 13.1 miles with me, walking.

I'm up to 4 miles now, moving on to 5 this week I think. It's been going well for me, though the last 2 weeks I haven't been doing every workout I'm supposed to. I've been depressed - I got laid off at my job, they eliminated my position due to budget cuts. But the way it happened, well it didn't make sense to anyone and it's a long story so I won't post it here. Email me if you don't know about it and want to know more. So I've been kind of down and trying to figure out my next steps. I was supposed to start a new position in my old office yesterday, doing Admin work for the group that runs the TNT program, which does the marathons, triathalons, etc. So working for the same group that I'm training with to do this thing. I thought that would be great and I was excited to get started. Then I went into the office at 9:00 a.m. and was told that they had just received an email from our home office stating there was a new policy and that they have to wait 30 days before rehiring someone after a termination. I'm so not happy. Being off for 2 weeks was one thing - being off for 30 days is something else entirely.

So I'm probably going to look at some job postings today, and I've joined the PartyLite team (finally) so if anyone is interested in doing a candle party, even a book party, let me know! I'll be needing to make the extra money.

Feel free to email me at azspiraldancer@aol.com or Jo Anna at jlarsonm9k@aol.com, we'd love to hear from you. We're struggling a bit right now and could use your encouragement and support...

-Amy

Disheartened, etc. (Jo)

I have been so out of it, training fundraising, all of it. I hurt my ankle which put me out for a week, went to NY, came back with pneumonia, which put me out for over two weeks now and my fundraising is trickling. I would say it was at a standstill if not for the generous donation I received in the mail today from my Parent's friends who have known me since I was 8 or 9. Thank you.

My stomach aches, my body aches and my lungs feel squashed, very much the opposite of how I usually feel which is fit, strong and energetic. I roller bladed yesterday, it was the first official exercise I've done since walking around NYC. I have been trying to march in front of the TV for a little bit every day, but my joints really still hurt, baby steps. The TV marching was what I did in the hospital and when I was first recovering, it's gentle and I can sit down anytime. I am really ready to be well again. I am at about 93% of normal.

I feel really behind in my fundraising, I sent out my letters and as of today, have had one response. It's not like I expected a flood of money, but just some. My mother seems thouroughly unsupportive of this whole event, like I got roped into it and am doing it for no good reason. Maybe she's right, either way, it's for a good cause, the cause that helped Amy and I be alive today. It's not like I'm fundraising for boob implants and lipo. It's to cure cancer! Just because we are hale and hearty doesn't mean others don't suffer and what if we had perished, then would this be a good cause? Sacrificial lambs are a good motivator and reminder that not everyone lives. Both Amy and I have known those who didn't, some were so young, some were young mothers, some grandmothers, it doesn't matter, by raising money there will be more families that don't have to mourn the untimely loss of a oved one to Leukemia or Lymphoma.

That's my two cents for today. Why doesn't my keyboard have a cents sign key? There's one for dollars, but no cents...

Things are really happening... (Amy)

Yikes - so much to say, and I wonder if anyone reads this at all.
I'm working on getting us permission to sell our glow bracelets at one of the local event venues for July 4th. That's a slow moving process but I'm hopeful. I found out one of our co-workers got a free booth in Gilbert but she's already got 4 people working it, so Jo and I are on our own. I'm hopeful though... If we could get in at Tempe Town Lake, that would be amazing because there will be so many people there. We'll just have to wait and see.

I've pretty well gotten permission to sell them one weekend at Devil's Martini North. I'm just working out the details. I think that will be a great venue for selling them. I've ordered another 800 bracelets (I got such a great price!) which means we'll have about 1400 total. It might sound like a lot, but if we can get permission to sell them someplace busy on July 4th, I think we could possibly even run out.

Last week I met a survivor who came into our office who also happens to be a stand-up comedian. Well Jo and I are planning a comedy show on August 15th (we already have the date and the venue) so I spoke with him about getting invovled and he pretty much said Yes. Not only that, but he said he should be able to bring in a couple other comedians, and that perhaps his uncle would even sponsor us. So that's another event that is slowly growing and hopefully will become something really big.

We met with Darci and Meg last week about the film and discussed it's focus. I feel like we're getting a lot down with the two of them, and I get more and more excited about the project each day. In addition, Darci said we might be able to put together a Battle of the Bands through her church. They had done this type of event before and raised over $5,000. That potential is so exciting!

It's Week 4 and I've hardly put in any of my miles. I've been very bad this week. I did do my cross-training on Monday and I did Salsa dance class on Wednesday, but that's it. I did not put in my miles on Tues. or Thurs. like I was supposed to. We've been sleeping in our guest room all week because we've had workmen fixing the damage from our leaky roof in our master bedroom, and I've slept so poorly I've just been exhausted, and working out has been the last thing I want to do. So I'm doing miles today, even though it's supposed to be an "easy" day, so that it's not such a shocker to my body when I go tomorrow to do them.

Practice tomorrow, btw, is at 5:30 a.m. I can hardly believe it. It's too early! But I'll haul my tired behind out of bed and I'll be there. It's important I think, to go to group practice. It helps keep everyone motivated I think.

So that's it for now. More as things develop...
-A

Week 3 (Amy)

Well it was week 3 of training and all is going well. Not for Jo Anna, as you've probably seen, but we're hopeful of a swift recovery! My week went well, I did my bike riding Monday, 3 miles on Tuesday and Thursday, and then 3 miles again at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday with the group. I think maybe I didn't drink enough water as I was going, because I got really tired at around 2 miles. But I pushed through it.

Exciting news - today we meet with our "movie crew" - Darci and Meg, to talk more about the documentary and get more footage. We're then going to a Luche Libre event (mexican wrestling) to sell our $1 glow bracelets. I hope we do well... Then we've got a bachelor/ette auction coming up that is an event for someone else, but she's given us permission to sell our glow bracelets there as well. Then we're planning to sell them at a popular local Scottsdale hot-spot. I've gotten a return call, but we're playing phone tag. I'm hoping the mgmt says yes because I know we could do a ton of sales there. Heck - a couple of Fridays selling bracelets there and we could probably raise $1,000 or so. Maybe that sounds crazy and I'm naieve... but I think we could.

My Margarita PartyLite party is coming up in about 2 weeks and proceeds will be going to get raffle items for a later event. My friend's Starbucks store has donated items for a gift basket to be given away during my Starbucks Addict's Challenge (more on that to come), and my husband's store is putting some stuff together as well. And... they're working on getting permitted to have live music in the store on Fridays. If that happens, we'll be talking to them to see how maybe Jo and I could somehow host a night and work on raising money.

So many things going on! Oh- and July 4th is expected to be huge of course, with tons of people out with their families for the fireworks. I'm trying to figure out how we go about getting permission to sell our glow bracelets there too. I know - I keep talking about he glow bracelets - but we can get them so cheap and if we sell them for only $1, they'll be an easy sell, and we can raise money so easily! Way more easily than working a suck-ass concessions stand, for example. (if you don't get the reference see my previous post of June 2).

Whew! So busy... Between my 2 jobs, my training, my volunteering, and my fundraising, I have no life. Wait - I guess this is my life. And I love it!
-A

Out for the week

It's been driving me nuts not being able to walk, jog or bounce these last few days. I am going to skip group training tomorrow too, I need to keep this sucker rested until it fully heals again. Bah!!!! Pray for the rapid healing of my poor wounded ankle, I implore you.

-J

Oh no! My Ankle!

Jo Anna here, after walking to Walmart and purchasing sport insoles, I wlked home. Guess what? My ankle has been sore ever since. I twisted it pretty bad back in November and maybe all of the pounding has irritated it. I have it wrapped now and today is a core strength training day, not a walk/running day, hopefully it will be better tomorrow. Bleh.

Walking to Walmart

I rolled out of bed this morning and neither my legs, nor my back would bend or twist. I am stiff like a stick. My plan is to walk the mile and a half to the Walmart, buy insoles and MAYBE jog home. I would say it has been a while since I'[ve jogged this much, but I never have. At least not out in the world. I used to do 5-6 miles on a treadmill, but even that was when I was 19/20. Yeesh!

Amy: You think chemo was hard, try concessions!

Saturday was group practice at 6:30 a.m. so I got up at 5:30 and had coffee with Jo before we left for the park. Practice went great - only complaint was the sun was really beating down on us on our return mile. Next weekend I expect we'll be starting earlier, to avoid this.

Saturday night I was volunteering for the Kenney Chesney concert at a local stadium - a small group of us were working a concession stand as volunteers, with money earned going to the LLS, towards our fundraising goals. It was probably the most miserable thing I've ever done. I'd rather do another round of chemo than do that again.

I had to be there at 12:00 to park and check in, so there wasn't even time for a nap in between practice and going to the stadium - which was too bad because I knew it was going to be a late night. We were given a free meal which was a choice of a hot dog and pretzel or hot dog and nachos (not good fuel at all) then we trained and got set-up in our stand, and doors opened at 2:30. We were one of only two open stands on the entire level. Someone planned badly - I think they thought there wouldn't be much business on our level, for whatever reason. I don't know what the logic was, I just know we had 20-30 people in line for about 5 hours straight. There was no "down" time or "slow" time from about 3:00 until 10:00 pm. And people were mean. I had people get mad because it was an "all pour" event, which meant we had to pour all drinks into cups, including the bottled Gatorade and water. Also there were no lids for the drinks - it is a "no lid" policy. I guess people tend to throw them? This made people irate because they had to carry drinks and didn't want to spill them. Not to mention the rules about how many beers 1 person can buy, that one is always a crowd pleaser. Plus we were short-handed. We simply did not have enough people in our stand to really keep up with the demand so service was admittedly very slow, but we were doing our best!

We started out 3 ppl short to begin with because they didn't show at orientation (including Jo, but her son was sick and actually, I'm so glad she didn't make it because she would have hated Saturday!). During orientation there was 1 girl from another group who said that they had too many people and that she'd join our group and help us out, so we were thinking - Great! We're only down 2 ppl! But then she never showed up on Saturday. We were so slammed all night. They had to bring in an extra cook, and we even ran out of some of the food. That's how badly it was planned by the stadium people.

It was simply completely miserable. By the end of the night at 10:00 pm I'd had only Gatorade and water since my hot dog meal at 2:00, I felt like I was going to throw up or pass out, or both. My feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk. I ended up leaving a little before everyone else did because I truly felt ill, I had to sit down and put my head down because I thought I was going to be sick. Then I felt so bad about leaving the other girls to finish the clean up that I started crying, and then it was just that I was so overwhelmed by it all so I couldn't stop crying...

Before I left one girl told me she estimated we'd each earned something like $100-$150. I thought - That's it?!? I busted my @ss for that? So not worth it. I would pay someone $100 to not ever have to do that again.

Had it been simply a beer booth, which is what I was led to believe it would be when I signed up to do the gig, I think things would have been much better. But a full-on concession stand.... under poorly planned circumstances... I don't know what people were thinking, having just 2 booths open on an entire level. Never again.

I got home after 11:00 and just felt like crap. Sunday I was beyond exhausted - because remember I had done my training at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning on top of the work at the stadium - so I pretty much slept in, watched TV and tried to nap. What a crappy gig. Anyone considering something like this - I do not recommend it!
-A

3 miles

Found out my phone can make a playlist of songs stored on it. Now I just need to find my earpiece. I have it in the front pocket of this kick-ass water belt Amy gifted me (thanks!) but the traffic noise is loud even at 5:30, so it was hard to hear in places. Good run, tired, harder to run on pavement thatn to jog on my mini-tramp or a treadmill. Jog/walked today, jogged as much as possible, hard work. I want to start pilates regularly again to lengthen my muscles as I strengthen them.

I need insoles until I can afford better shoes and I need to warm up my ankles more. I noticed that there was pain in my inner-ankle area when I jogged on it. Learning as I go.

Okay! I get it.

Today I woke up sore and tight. Guess I need to really, actually rest my bod a bit. FINE!

Couldn't rest...

So, I didn't rest at all yesterday. Daemon was sick, so I was home all day and I pulled out my little trampoline and jogged for about an hour. Today, I did the same. Tomorrow is supposed to be a "take it easy" day before the big group session we do Saturday, this week it's 3-4 miles! I will take it easy tomorrow because I do not want to burn out on Saturday, that would mega-suck. I also did some light weight training yesterday. I must say, with all this exercise, my metabolism is cranking and I'm less cranky. I forgot I was such an endorphin addict! I remember I had a stairmaster in my MN apartent just to keep me from getting an energy build up that often turned to bitchy in the blink of an eye. I am really happy. I am hoping to go to my friend's house tomorrow and take the boys to swim. I will swim and lay out a little, sunblocked, of course. Easy peasy.

My fund raising is at a stand still. Like Amy, I need to get those letters done, maybe I'll do that tomorrow so I can bring them to the group session on Saturday to be mailed.

Amy: This week's training

So Monday I had the option to do cross-training, meaning something other than walking/running. I chose to cycle. I took my bike out and I was supposed to do only 20-30 minutes but because of a bunch of dead-end streets and back-tracking, I wound up doing more like 45 minutes. Oops. I was so exhausted when I got home.

Tuesday I was supposed to do my 2 miles but was so busy I ran out of time. I've come to realize that in order to get my miles in I have to do them early in the morning, otherwise I'm unlikely to do them at all. So I skipped Tuesday but swapped it with Wednesday, which was supposed to be a Rest day. Did them in my new shoes! Got new shoes at the Runner's Den after the shoe clinic - this was absolutely necessary as I did not have appropriate footwear (many people were quick to point out to me at the group practice last Saturday). Another 2 miles this morning and it really was easier today, I think I'm starting to get conditioned. Yay! Tomorrow is "10 Minutes Easy" - I'll have to ask my coach what that means again. I forgot.

Saturday I'm going to work a food concession stand at the big Univ. of Phx Stadium for the Kenney Chesney concert. My day will start with getting up at 5:15 a.m. to go to the group training to do my 2 miles there, then I have to be at the stadium at 12 noon to make sure I have enough time to check-in and get to my booth by 12:30, and Kenney Chesney doesn't even go on until 9:00 pm. It's going to be a really, really long and difficult day. I won't even have time to nap. But our group gets paid a commission based on our sales, and all of us working will split the money to our fundraising. I'm hoping to make like $400 or more. If I don't, I'll be very, very disinheartened.

So far Jo is kicking my butt in fundraising, which is ironic since it's the part she was most concerned about. She's got like 6x as much as I've raised. :: Sigh :: I need to get my letters out. I sent an email but no one (or hardly no one) has responded. It's a disappointment for sure, but hopefully people will realize I really am going to do this thing and they'll be willing to support me.

That's it. My rant for today. :)
-A

Today, we rest

It's actually on the training schedule, the last Wednesday of rest, next week begins core training on Wed. I will enjoy my rest day.

Yesterday went well, I will NEVER run without fuel again, it was rough going and I felt like crap all day after. Today I started with a belly full of quinoa and apple sauce, that sounds like good restin' fuel.

Tuesday Morning Run

It's Tuesday morning, 5:53 a.m., I am going to go do my 2-3 miles now. Alone, outside. I have never jogged in my neighborhood before, except on the way back from dropping Daemon at school, never just for exercise. Never just to run. Why do I feel nervous? First time jitters. I will be victorious!

They told us not to eat too much, just cuz we are running, but I am eating like a voracious wild dog who likes sugar. It's my running fuel. Crap, I just realized I was about to run on an empty stomach, well, coffee stomach. Maybe I will, just for the sake of the experiment. It's only 2 miles, not 10...

1st Group Training - Done!

Jo and I completed our 1st group training today - Yay! She was at my house early this morning, around 5:45 a.m. and we had coffee and talked about what we might expect. We did some voiceover work with the camera in the car on the way to the park, and then filmed some footage after practice was done. I woke up early this morning, like around 4:30 a.m., and couldn't fall back asleep. It was weird to go out, stretch, hear from our coaches, walk 2 miles, and then be home earlier than I usually even get up! I was home by around 8:00 a.m. Crazy. I'll hopefully sleep well tonight! Jo Anna got done with the 2 miles before I did, but I expected that. I think I was the slowest person there... Wait, there was one other person who kept pace with me (and thanks for that Michelle!) so I didn't feel like a total pathetic loser. I keep telling myself, I won't get any better by not trying - so what if I'm slow, I'm doing it! And that's better than not doing it! So yay me!!
-A

First Group Training Session Today

Up at 5am to be at Amy's at 5:45 to drink a coffee and be at the park at 6:30, ready to go. I am drinking a coffee now, too and making sprouted rye peanut butter toast to tide me. This Saturday it's 1-2 miles, next Saturday is 3-4 miles! Yikes! I suppose, I need to get in quick ready shape to do 26. What have I gotten into!?

I got my food handlers card yesterday so I can work a booth at a concert to earn more money for our goal! Amy's doing it to, it will be fun!

Off to eat!

More after the run.

-J

A Full Marathon

Gasp! I was originally going to do the half with B, but she assured me that she would be cool if I did the full. I really want to challenge myself, so I feel doing the whole 26.2, or whatever, is really really a challenge. I hope to meet up with her along the way, at some point. I hope to run/walk the thing. A jog here, a dash there with periods of recovery in between. I have my gym membership and my home gym (a mini-trampoline I roll infront of the TV, free weights and a mat) so I am staying on task. I was sick yesterday with some crazy stomach bug so I didn't work out, but I had been doing 2-3 miles a day for a couple of weeks prior, so I am not a huge slacker. I did jog for 40 minutes today so far. I just leave the trampoline out and jog while I watch TV. It works for me. My fundraising is going pretty well, but, like Amy, I am taking donations! http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf08/jlarson.

I am really looking forward to the group training, I get up early anyway, this will give me something to do!

Kickoff & Training

This is Jo (Right), her handsome son, and I - pictured on a sailboat for when we were promoting the Leukemia Cup Regatta. Two sailboats raced in our honor and they came in 1st and 2nd place. How cool is that?

Well we had our big Kickoff meeting and it went pretty well. We each spoke to the attendees about our experiences being sick and got some laughs. That's always nice. :) Our first group training is this Saturday at (gasp!) 6:00 a.m. or something insane like that! And since it's about to get really hot, the next week will probably be more like 5:00 a.m. I'm not looking forward to it. I am not a morning person.

Jo is planning to do the full marathon and I'm still planning to do the 1/2. She was worried at first, since the plan is to do this together - but I knew we wouldn't be together the entire way. She's way more fit than I am and I figured she'd probably finish before me, even if we were doing the same distance. So it's fine. We still start in the same place and finish in the same place, our routes will be slightly different is all. I'll be there to cheer her on and vice versa.

Training schedule has 1-2 miles tonight, so I'm headed out of work now and will get on the treadmill when I get home. 1-2 miles is a piece of cake. It's the 13.1 that's daunting!

And I'm still taking donations! LOL! My webpage is:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/nikesf08/astockinger

Thanks for the support!
-A

TNT Kick Off Today!

Today is the big pep rally, we get to meet our mentors and get super psyched about the event! It will also be the first day our crew gets involved. Two ladies from school are interestedin doing documentary films as their specialty and have volunteered to learn with us! One is bringing her son who is also in the film program at SCC, but farther ahead of us. Amy and I will be speaking at the event, I love speaking, but just had a wisdom tooth pulled so I am so worried I'll get too excited and talk the scab off of my gums and then and then and then my bones will be exposed and I'll catch rickets and and and...what are rickets?

Amy Post - Ideas, ideas, & good news

Jo and I met for lunch today and while it was actually a belated celebration of her Birthday (Happy Belated Bday, once again) we also discussed lots of really great ideas for our fundraising. We're very excited and there's some cool stuff to come. Stuff like creating some neat things we can sell, maybe selling glow-in-the-dark bracelets at a club or bar, there's a comedy show Jo is working on, which is sure to be incredible, and a wine party with fun stuff like tarot, massage and mini spa treatment, all in the works. Woo hoo!

And I just got a call from my husband, he's applying for a volunteer related grant through his work, American Express, in the amount of $500. He's volunteered enough hours in the last 12 mths for us here that he can ask for Amex to make this grant donation, and have the money go to my fundraising. Yay! $500 is a lot! That will go a long way towards helping me reach my goal. And I have a friend who works at Starbucks, and she might be able to apply for a grant through that organization (I need to look into it further) and we could put that towards Jo's goal.

It's all coming together. I'm so excited. :)
-A

Video

Amy suggested that we make a documentary of our Excellent Adventure. The first video was shot yesterday as I spoke to a group of potential marathon-ers. Amy will be speaking this weekend, and will tape her speech then. We are meeting on Monday to discuss particulars, so keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground. More to come.

Working it

To get ready for the treck, I have begun working out every day. I am trying to do an hour of cardio M-F and 2 miles of roller blading on the weekends. I am not pushing myself to be fast, but I am trying various levels of elevation, it is going to be in San Fran, for Pete's sake!

-J

1st Email sent!

Following A's lead, I sent my first email yesterday, I already have $25 raised! I can only go up from here! I share her concern about the amount of money necessary to compete, but figure that thousands of women raise these funds every year for this very event, so it is not out of our reach. I am excited to do this event with A, as we have been friends for so very long now, over half our lives now. She is an inspiration to me to "get moving and give back" to the cancer community. I have felt unfulfilled in a small way by being alive and not doing much to help others diagnosed with blood cancers to do the same. I had a stem cell transplant to cure my cancer, and while going through that saw 5 people, I had developed a bond with, pass on. They ranged in age from 19 to 60, three were mothers and two were teenage boys at what should have been the beginning of their lives as adults. I lived, now I am determined to make sure more people can. This marathon is a great way to raise awareness about something we know about and see everyday, but aren't sure how to help.

The next few months will be physically and mentally exhausting, but as A said, we already beat cancer, so how hard can this really be?

-J

Sending 1st email today...

Today I'm going to send my 1st email out to friends and family, asking for donations. I hope it's received well. I've written it, edited it, edited it some more. My website is ready, our blog is up, it's Go Time. I'm a little nervous - $2900 is a lot of money to raise, but I'm confident we can do it. J and I have many plans to make sure we meet our fundraising minimum. It'll just take some work. Heck, we already both beat cancer, what's a little marathon compared to that? And if we can do a Marathon, something most people never do in their lives, then we can raise some money. That should be the easy part!

I hope my family reads my blog. I hope they donate. I'm so ready to do this. Not only have I signed up to do this Marathon, but I've signed up for belly dancing classes and John and I are signed up for Salsa classes too. I'm tired of all this extra weight that I put on after getting sick. Signing up for this marathon has been the most exciting, motivating thing I've done in a long time.
-A

Every story has a beginning...

This is Amy and Jo Anna at age 16, back when they were in high school where they met. Aren't they sassy?

They met the first day of Freshman year and became fast friends. Though their friendship has had its ups and downs, they are proud to say that they are closer than ever and can't wait to begin this journey together - a Journey that will lead them to the Nike Women's Marathon on October 19th in San Francisco.

Amy and Jo Anna will be training with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training (TNT) program, and will be raising money to help fight blood cancer.

You may or may not know this, but both Amy and Jo Anna are blood cancer survivors. They will post later I'm certain, about their personal battles with this terrible disease.

They will be getting up in the wee hours of the morning every weekend to meet with their teams and train for this grueling challenge, and their inspiration is each other, as well as the many others who have fought their own battle with cancer.

They walk for Hope - hope that one day this disease will be conquered. That one day their efforts will lead to a cure. You can help by making a tax-deductible donation in their name to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please support Amy and Jo Anna, and be a part of their battle to fund a Cure.

To donate to Jo Anna go to: Donate Now

To donate to Amy go to:Donate Now