Running On Fumes

For those of you just now tuning in, I am coming out of a 7-year hiatus from long distance running. When I went off to college in 2001 work outs changed a lot for me. I turned to aerobics, yoga, weight machines, and dance classes but ran very little.

Well, this summer all that changed when I decided to begin training for a half marathon. I started feeling convicted when I was registering my boss to run a race with Team In Training. Here he was, dealing with his 4-year-old being diagnosed with Leukemia, taking him to clinic for treatment weekly, spending days on end in the hospital with his son, and having his 4th child in the midst of all the craziness... and yet, he was making time to train for a half marathon and raise money for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

This got me charged. Here I am: young, single, healthy, with time to spare. What was I doing to help? I hate cancer and how it's affected people I cherish. So... I signed up to run with Team In Training and began to hit the treadmill. I can barely believe it's been 6 weeks now. When I first started I could barely run a mile. And just last Saturday, I ran 10!!!

It's been such an amazing experience so far... from meeting people on my team and experiencing the blessing of seeing friends give towards my fundraising goals, to hearing stories of cancer survivors and running new distances. I've loved how it has stretched and challenged me. And believe me, it has. You can definitely keep me in your prayers because my body is tired. My sleep has been lacking with late night and early morning runs... and I'm pretty sure I'm about to say goodbye to a toenail.

All in all though (aside from some soreness and one throw-up session after my first long run on August 9th) I am feeling pretty good and can't wait to finish the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in San Antonio on November 16th. If you'd like to support me you can click the link below to go to my fundraising page. As of right now, $1,715 has been given to LLS in my name. My goal is to reach $2,900 by November 1st. And if you can't give, I completely understand and have been there too. Know that I covet your prayers and encouragement. Thanks for cheering me on!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/rnrsa08/jpenuel