Thank you + an ankle update :)

Thank you to EVERYONE who attended our happy hour on 12/7.  It was an amazing success, and I was able to raise a ton of money.  The space was really cool, and people were really loving the food from the tequeria next door!  We stayed and danced the evening away and everyone had a really great time (and some folks won some awesome raffle prizes too!)

I'm back in Singapore now, and my ankle is quickly getting better.  That said, my right foot is almost like dead weight to the point that when someone is about to step on it, or I'm about to drop something, my reflexes just aren't working quick enough to get my foot out of the way.  (either it's the injury, or I'm now just a million times more sensitive to the fact that I have a sprained ankle, and I keep dropping things on my foot.)

Yesterday was my first full workout since my last swim in NYC (about 2 weeks ago).  I was able to do 40minutes in the pool (plus some) and swam just shy of a mile.  I was worried that my ankle would start acting up, but luckily I was able to pull through and really get going!  The pool here (pictured above) is absolutely beautiful and slightly longer than the Y I go to, so I was really enjoying myself.  Looking around at all the guys around me, I was definitely one of the better swimmers, and probably the one with the most endurance (which doesn't say a lot since I'm still a weaker swimmer, and about 20-30 years younger than most of the guys that were there...) Excited to get running again soon! My ankle feels like it's at about 75%!

It's a busy month for sure, but Bermuda is right around the corner!  This is what my travel looks like through the end of January, but I'm thrilled to finally have BERMUDA in my list of upcoming trips!!

Happy Hour!

My teammates, Marilyn and Crissel, and I are holding a happy hour on Friday, 12/7 and I hope that you, your friends/families/coworkers/fellow athletes will come join us!

The event is at 200 Orchard in the LES (steps from the 2nd Avenue subway stop) and starts at 5:45, with happy hour prices till 8pm! There will also be $5 'Bermuda Triangle' cocktails all night. We have a private room to ourselves till 10pm, and then we can stay as long as we want even after that as the DJ spins! This place has a BYOFood option, or you can have food delivered right to the bar, so you should be set if you want to eat!  Items that will be raffled off during the event are graphic design products from CMYK+White (designplusshop.com), Body Shop gift set, a gift card to Body Rock Sport (http://www.bodyrocksport.com), and more! Raffle tickets are now available and are priced as the following and can be bought at our workplaces, social events, or at GTS!

• $10 for 5 tickets
• $20 for 12 tickets (2 bonus tickets!)
• $40 for 25 tickets (5 bonus tickets!)

See you Friday!
FACEBOOK INVITE: https://www.facebook.com/events/404457906289108 (please invite your friends and have them rsvp too!)

RAFFLE ITEM SAMPLING (PICTURED BELOW):

• Professional hair product from Schwarzkopf Gift Basket
• $90 gift card to spend at www.BodyRockSport.com 
• American Apparel T-shirts: Toddler t-shirts (size 4 white tees, size 6 green tee) & Mens' dark grey size M t-shirt
• "I'm not an old bag!" Eco Tote bag
• 10-piece Body Shop Moisturizing Body Care Collection.

Prizes will be selected in order of when the winners' ticket was selected. Winning ticket holders not present will be eligible to win the final prize left after selections are made... so get thee to our Happy Hour!

Professional Hair Product Gift Basket from SCHWARZKOPF

$90 GIFT CARD TO SPEND @ ONLINE STORE

GRAPHIC TEES & TOTE FROM CMYK+WHITE

10-PIECE GIFT BASKET FROM THE BODY SHOP

9 mile walk GTS!

I might have a little soccer injury, but that's not going to keep me from GTS!  I did the Brooklyn GTS this morning, crossing the Manhattan Bridge, walking to the Willamsburg Bridge, and then back to Fort Greene.  My ankle is getting a little bit better, and I'm optimistic for Bermuda!   

Here's a shot from our 9mile walk.

Fundraisin' for Bermuda! T-shirt Fundraiser and Happy Hour!

You could be one of my proud sponsors in the 20-miler Bermuda Triangle Challenge, Jan 2013! Buy this custom-designed shirt -- it's only $25 and funds raised go to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

CHECK IT OUT!: http://bit.ly/TShirtOrderForm. SERIOUSLY! Check it out!

The first order goes in on 11/26 night, and I hope your shirt order will make it with the cut! I'm also doing a Happy Hour with two other TNTers in 2 weeks, and we're raffling off some items, such as gift certificates and other items. Can't wait!

I'm proud of how much I have been able to run recently, though I have to take it a little easy after a bad soccer sprain, I'm hoping to be back on my feet in a week!

Missing workouts!

It's been a rough week so far as I'm in the middle of our major conference week "Ad:Tech".  It's long days of meeting with clients and other industry folks, and in some cases, getting into deep product and roadmap conversations.  I ran on Saturday in the 5K, and added an extra loop after that, but that was the last time I worked out.  Sunday - Wednesday have been a wash, and today was supposed to be a group training session, but it's been snowing in NYC like it's nobody's business.  I barely made it out of Javits unscathed by the snow.

Tomorrow I have soccer practice, and it's possible on Friday I'll get a workout in, before Saturday GTS.  Wish me luck, and support the cause, please!!!!

Here's a picture from our 10/27 Brooklyn Bridge team run.  I'm way too happy for 9am on a Saturday, but maybe that's not a bad thing. :)

Stay running,
-S

Training and fundraising, post-Sandy

I didn't workout all week as a result of Sandy. I had done a quick run on Monday night before the storm hit, because I was having a little cabin fever after cooping myself up for 2 days. The storm did not impact me directly, but the loss of life and property is still going up, and it's hard to think about enjoying myself when there are so many others around who are struggling.

I worked from home all week, and was working approximately 10-12 hour days, when i was feeling up to it. I have a sinus infection that I have been attempting to stave off, but it's been a full week of feeling sinus pressure.

I still really wanted to make it out to Saturday practice though. It was the first day that Prospect Park was open, and the first day that we were able to survey the damage.

I still need to fundraise, and I know it is going to be difficult in the aftermath of Sandy, but life doesnt stop and the medicines and treatments for cancer patients are still needed. Please support me and support the cause! http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/berhm10k13/sarahthomas

Yesterday, the team did a 5K+ race in Prospect Park to benefit the park and we got to see the damage up close and personal. The power of Sandy is unimaginable. The team also brought donations for Sandy victims: canned foods, blankets, batteries, and other goods which willbe distributed in BK and Staten Island. I am PROUD to be a part of such an awesome philanthropic group of people. GO TEAM. (Here's a picture from our brunch after the raise, where we had a really helpful group conversation about fundraising.)

From Brooklyn to Central Park.... with love!

That's right! Today, we had a group training session (GTS), where we ran from Brooklyn Bridge (yes, we met at the Shake Shack) all the way up and through Manhattan to Central Park/Columbus Circle.  We paired off, and I ran with my running buddy, Marilyn for the duration of that 6mile run.  It's nice running with Marilyn as she runs about my pace (I might be slightly faster, but we'll see on race day!).

Running through Times Square on a Saturday morning at 9/9:30am is NOT my idea of fun, and yet, I got a thrill out of sprinting through the streets, whizzing by confused tourists.  "People work out in Times Square?" I think was the comment I heard.  The response, "Yeah.... wait! I know her! That's Sarah!"  I love a small world.  I ran into the girlfriend of a coworker who had done the triathlon with me.  I however was so set on getting out of Times Square as soon as possible, that I told her I sent her a message on Facebook, and off we ran!  It probably took us a little over 1:20 to do the route, but there was a ton of traffic, pedestrians, and there's definitely a steep incline getting over the bridge and when headed uptown.

After the run, we united with the Manhattan GTS group and went to "Connection to the Cause", where we heard a cancer survivor talk about his experience with Team In Training, how it's impacted his life, and how it is an awesome organization.  Every time I hear someone tell their story, I'm always in tears.  This story really hit home with me, because he started talking about actual numbers, like the maximum lifetime deductible on his insurance, and the price of the $125 pill that he has to take every single day of the rest of his life, so $125 x 30days x 12months x Xyears when X is the rest of your life.  How can anyone afford medicine if that's what going to keep them alive to be with their family and watch their daughter grow up?

I hope you'll consider donating to Team In Training and to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I have met so many cancer survivors and families of cancer patients, that it's unreal.  We're all impacted, and we're all capable of helping, regardless of who we are, where we come from, how much money we make, and how long we're going to live.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/berhm10k13/sarahthomas

Sandy will probably hit us tomorrow or the next day.  Lots of nervousness all around, but tonight, we celebrate Halloween.

PS -- Does anyone read me?  I'd love to know your thoughts, or if you have any questions.  I'll probably keep rambling anyway, but knowing that someone is out there would be nice. (insert Julia/Julia quote here...)

Group Trainings

This past Saturday my heel was feeling a little better, so I decided to could do part of the GTS.  I biked to and from practice, which was about a 5-6mile bike ride, did a half loop of the park, and then met up with everyone.  I still haven't gotten down the ability to figure out what to wear to a cold-weather workout, since I've never really worked out in the cold.

I ran with one of my new TNT friends, Ryan, who I think probably normally runs a 7minute mile.  He took it easy on me, and we were doing a 9:35minute mile for about 3/4s of a loop (so approximately 2.5 miles at that pace).  I started to slow him down at the end, and told him he should 'leave me'! I always like to make it a dramatic statement like I'm being left behind with no hope, and it amuses me everytime.  I've done similar things in races that I've completed with friends, because I tend to be the slower of most people I know.  These days I average about a 10-10:30minute mile, though last weekend with Marilyn and I ran, we were doing a 9:30 for a good part, and my watch told me our max was a 6:30 sprint bit.

It's been a good 3 weeks so far, but I want to really ramp it up in the next month or so.

Stay healthy!
-S

High knees, karaoke, skipping, and butt kicks...

Last night, we had our 2nd Wednesday workout, and it was a good one!

We did skipped, ran, jogged, karaoke-ed/grapevined, side-skipped, high kneed, and butt-kicked our way through our hour long workout!  I can't believe how dark Prospect Park can get, but it was a fun little workout, where we were alternating  between running and one of the aforementioned exercises at every other lamppost.

Sadly, now, I have a bruise on the botton of one of my heels. boo.
Here's a useful video I found:  http://www.active.com/running/Articles/5-Steps-to-Proper-Running-Form.htm

Run-Walk, Success!

This Saturday, Marilyn and I ran-walked 6.5 miles in about 70minutes.  What does this mean? We were going faster than my normal 10.30 minute mile!  Our coaches explained to us that the run/walk concept allows you to actually go farther and faster than you would by going slow and steady the entire time, and it actually worked really well.

Fundraising though, is a whole 'nother obstacle that I haven't been able to crack yet this season.  That said, a lot of folks don't realize how far their donation can go.

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The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to
funding blood cancer research, patient services, and education. Our mission is to cure leukemia,
lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of our patients and their
families. An estimated 957,902 people are currently living with a blood cancer in the United States
alone. Since being founded in 1949, the Society has awarded over $814 million in research grants.

How Your Donation Can Help
Donations support research that helps develop new treatments for blood cancer, which in turn help a
wide variety of cancer patients. Donations also go to patient services. Feel free to cut and paste the
info below into your fundraising letters and emails to show exactly how donations help patients and
their families:

$50 will register 1 person to be a bone marrow donor.

$75 will provide HLA (bone marrow) typing for a family member of a patient with leukemia.

$100 will pay for the cost of 4 patients’ chemotherapy drug prescription co-payments.

$300 will train 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed
patients.

$1000 allows patients to meet with health care specialists to design and discuss their disease,
treatment plan, and prepare them with the info they will need during the treatment process.

$2000 provides patients with a one month supply of Gleevec, a life-saving treatment developed
with LLS funding.