Falling Off Track

Happy New Year!

I know y'all have been wondering where I've been.... ok, probably not. But I'm going to tell you anyway. I've been on my couch. (Well, not just the couch but you know what I mean.) Throwing a pity party. Yup. Sad. I know.

What Led Me to Fall Off

FRUSTRATION
It all really start around the mid to end of July and after my final weigh in for my family weight loss competition. The scale hadn't moved in about a month and that was very frustrating. I tried to remain positive by focusing on my pace and not the scale. That tactic seemed to work as long as I was running.

NUTRITION
My nutrition started to slip as I was not tracking my food on MyFitnessPal. I had also stopped wearing my BodyMedia, taking pictures of what I ate, and updating my blog. Without tracking these things, I started giving in a little bit more to my cravings.

INJURY
In early August I started to experience some pain in my foot when I was running. I ignored it for a couple of days because it wasn't all that bad, but then on one of my runs it was a pretty severe pain and I actually had to walk home. I was completely bummed and knew I needed to take some time off.

TIME OFF
This time off came around my birthday where I took a trip to Cedar Point with a bunch of my girl friends. I was out of town not worrying about what I ate or drank. Girls just want to have fun, right?

HELLO COUCH POTATO
So a combination of all of these things lead me back to my former habits. I was making poor choices when it came to eating. Like, ordering carry out almost every night or going out with my friends for dinner and a drink. These poor choices made me lethargic, which led to making another choice not to cook and to eat out, which led me to feel lethargic again. You see where I'm going.

What I Learned

TRACKING
Although some do not see the point of doing it, tracking in anyway is helpful to keeping you on track. It's easy to mindlessly eat thousands of calories in one meal. I'm not saying you can never have pizza or your favorite take out anymore, but that needs to be a rarity. In most cases, the fast food you buy is going to be more expensive than a meal at home and three times or more your meal allotment.

ACCOUNTABILITY
I know this may sound silly but my blog was kind of my accountability. Posting what I was eating and doing daily helped me stay on track. I may only have a handful of readers but the feeling of posting my activities and eats for the "world to see" made me eat healthier. Notice that when I started slipping, so did my posts. Because lets be honest, no one is going to cheer me on when I'm eating pizza or take out for the fifth time that week. And doing so is just embarrassing.

LISTENING TO YOUR BODY
It is very important to listen to your body when it comes to injuries. Your body requires rest to recover and repair. In my case, having a foot injury did put me out of running for a time (I'm still not sure that my foot is 100% better, but I think its getting there) but it was not a good reason to stop all activity. I should have continued with lower impact cardio (either bike or elliptical if my foot could take it) and I could still certainly lift weights, work on my core, or even do some floor exercises for legs. The truth is: I used my injury as an excuse to be lazy. There you have it.

Getting Back on Track

Even though it is a new year, I don't do resolutions. I prefer goals. I have a goal list and continue to add and modify it. My goal for this year is to do good in school, PR a mini-marathon, and reach my goal weight. I'm going to use these goals to get back on track. To get back to being healthy. Before I start any training, I need to get to the Dr. and be sure that there is not an issue with the foot. Stay tuned - I'll have more coming for you!

6 Miler + CrossFit

Saturday was quite the day.

I woke up bright and early and headed out for my long run with my friend Julie. I needed to do 6 miles and Julie said that the trail we would run from her house would be about that. Well, we hit 3 miles and still had a 1.65 mile loop around the local YMCA before we would head back for the final 3 miles.

I tried to do what I could and around mile 5 I was experiencing some discomfort in my stomach and my ankle, so I stopped and walked for a little bit. After a while, I started to feel better so I ran the remaining 1.95 miles back to her house. Overall, and not including the walking part, I completed 6.95 miles in 69:39 for an average pace of 9:58.

5 Mile Stretch

Shortly after my run, I headed to a local CrossFit box for their guest days workout. I met up with my friend Justin and was surprised to see his sister Kaitlyn had decided to try it out too! (Side note - I used to babysit these two and their younger brother back in the day.)

The workout for the day was actually a group workout made up of 3 members, which just so happened to work out perfectly for us!

Musical Medicine Balls
100 Kettle Bell Swings
100 Burpees
100 Goblet Lunges
100 Toes to Bar, Knees to Elbow, or Crunches

Team "TooPhit": Kaitlyn, me, and Justin

The workout could be divided among the members in anyway, as long as 100 reps were completed before moving on to the next exercise. While one member was doing the work out, another member would be at rest, and the other would be holding a medicine ball overhead. If the medicine ball would be set down, the workout also had to stop.

KB Swings

Our idea was to do 10 reps each and then rotate. I didn't make any adjustments to the kettle bell swings and I think that we would have sped up our time if we had done as many as we could before we switched members but we didn't have that much time to talk about a game plan so we just went with it.

Burpees

Burpees. Oh how I hate burpees. First of all, with (what I believe to be carpel tunnel) my wrist problems, it's really had to put weight on my wrist when it is bent. Secondly, I have no upper body strength. Thirdly, on this fine day, I had thought it would be a great idea to run 7 miles before going to CrossFit so my legs were very sluggish. I did what I could, but I could tell I was slowing the team down. So I did what I could before I felt like death and then passed it to the next member. I felt terrible, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Kaitlyn doing goblet lunges

The goblet lunges are lunges where you knee comes to the ground each time, alternating legs. Each leg counted as 1 so we each did 20 before passing it on. No adjustments were made here and I ended up with some nice bruises on my knees. I love me some battle wounds!

Crunches instead of toes to bar

The last exercise was toes to bar. Toes to bar are done by hanging from a bar and bringing your toes to the bar. You can alter this by just bringing your knees to your elbows. Originally, I planned on trying to do knees to elbows from the bar because I thought I would be okay with it; however, by time we got to this my arms were jello and decided I would just pound out the reps doing the least difficult move: crunches.

Team "TooPhit" (as I am dubbing us as it's Justin's nickname around the box) finished the workout in 22:40.

We completed the work out with a few minutes of stretching. Even though the workout had it's challenges, I still enjoyed it and wish that they did guest days once a month!

Justin "TooPhit", Kaitlyn, and me.

What did you do Saturday morning? ;)

Most Talented Dog Ever

It's Wednesday afternoon and I should be getting ready to go to the gym, but I'm updating y'all on my eats and workouts instead because I am feeling lethargic. I want say it might have something to do with this heat wave, but lets face it - I'm am not outside all but maybe 10-15 minutes a day right now. I didn't get up the past few days in time to get my morning run in, so I went to my gym in the evening to run on the treadmill as it has been too freakin' hot and humid to function outdoors.

Monday

I was up in enough time to run for about thirty minutes so I munched on a bit of banana and honey, but then my body had a different idea so I stayed put and just got ready for work instead. I made a smoothie with water, cranberries, blackberries, spinach, and some PlantFusion protein powder. I haven't had this combo in a while and it was delicious.

I guess I should mention at this point that I have changed from my 4 eats (3 meals and 1 snack) every 4 hours to 5 eats (3 meals and 2 snacks) every 3 hours. I did this because I was feeling really hungry after 3 hours and I hadn't been able to lose any weight for a few weeks. I thought maybe it was because I had increased in my running time/mileage and was still eating around 1200 - 1300 calories. My goal is now more around 1350-1500. So not a big difference but we'll see if that helps.

Anywhoo -- I had a mid-morning snack of a rice cake covered in Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Lunches for this week consist of a Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger, mozzarella cheese, pineapple slice, and some sweet potato rounds. This has become one of my new favorite lunches. It is very easy to make, delicious, and filling. I will try to change it up next week, but I give you no promises!

My afternoon snack was a White Chocolate Macadamia Luna Bar. I hadn't tried this flavor before and it was really good. I tend not to go for the Luna bars because it does contain processed food but they were on sale for $1/bar so I couldn't pass up on the savings.

I then took off to work out. I first hit up the Fitness Studio to do some toning and then headed off to MaxFitness to get my run in. I ran for 35 minutes and approximately 3.5 miles.

When I got home, it was time for dinner. I cooked up some Salmon and topped it off with Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce and blueberry-nectarine salsa.

Now time for intermission.... Jumpy the Border Collie:

...and now back to your regularly scheduled post.

Tuesday

I heard my first alarm go off and snoozed it and then never woke up again until I had 45 minutes until I had to leave to make it to work. I showered up and made a smoothie with mango, strawberries, protein powder, and some spinach.

My morning snack was a rice cake covered in Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter that I picked up at my local Fresh Market. I hadn't tried this flavor yet so I was going out on a limb to buy a whole jar but it just sounded so good... and Holy-Yum! I was right! I love this stuff!

Later in the afternoon I had a pear with a hard-boiled egg. Simple yet satisfying.

I got home, changed, and then hit up a spin class at Max Fitness. After that I hit up the treadmill but was having some discomfort in my calf muscle. I tried to go as long as I could, but could only make it to the 2 mile mark before I decided I would rather be safe then sorry.

I cooked up some ground chicken tostadas when I got home and it hit the spot. Have I ever mentioned how I love food that is so simple yet so delicious?! Well, I do. This meal is easy to make. Just brown up some ground chicken (or turkey, or even a lean ground beef), toast your corn tortillas, and serve it up with some lettuce, tomatoes, and black beans. Add some salsa for some added spice and wallah! You could even add in some other flavors if you wanted like corn, onions, and/or avocados!

Question: What kinds of things do you do to get past a plateau  Do you change what you eat or your workout schedule? Fill me in! I would love some ideas! 

Back to the Grind

Do you ever get off a day and it seems like it takes you multiples days (for me, weeks) to get back on track? That is what happened to me. Although I was more than happy to help my grandpa move a couple of weeks ago, not having that time set aside so I could work around it really threw me off from my blogging streak' however, I maintained my running and eating which is what is really important (if I'm being honest.)

Here are a few highlights from the past couple of weeks that I have been silent..

STUTZMAN BIGGEST LOSER

On Sunday, July 7th, my family gathered for the results of our biggest loser competition. Some of my family I had not seen since Easter so their loss was noticeable. I did my best but wasn't able to pull off the win. My uncle Dewayne came in first, followed by my uncle Terry, and I placed in third. Overall, I can't be disappointed in my performance because I am 25 pounds lighter than when we started! Here is a short video that my aunt put together.

RUNS

My average pace on my runs have decreased, which is exciting! Well, I guess more than exciting, it's unbelievable! I was running my long run on Saturday and when MapMyRun would say my split pace, I was shocked. I was holding a pace that I would have never imagined I could do for one mile, let alone for 6 miles. It just goes to show that hard work and dedication does pay off.

 

Training Plan

I am still making changes to my running plan as I need to. Because I have been feeling stronger and that I need less time to recover, I have added a an additional day of running during the week. Additionally, I am still going to use my split timer for my run/walk but am only going to use the walk time if it is absolutely necessary. I figure, if I can run 6 miles and walk less than 2 minutes of it, I really don't need to be walking 4 minutes on short runs. Here is this weeks plan:

Week 8Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday

• 3 minute warm up
• 3 minute run x .5 minute walk. Repeat 8 times.
• 3 minute cool down

Saturday 7/20 - 6 miles
HEALTHY SURPRISE

I had placed my Healthy Surprise box in my pantry and kind of forgot about it. I figured I needed to start eating some as my next box will be arriving soon. Here are some of the treats I've tried:

Sesame Ginger Journey Bar: It wasn't like a flavor explosion in your mouth but it was still good. I would eat another one. It was 200 calories with 7 grams of protein. It is all natural, gluten free, non-gmo, soy-free, and vegan. They have other flavors and I would really like to try the Pizza Marinara. You can buy them online through the website and it breaks down to $2/bar. Not shabby!

Mango, Pear, Pineapple Fruit.0: Although the flavor was good, it was like eating baby food... or drinking a warm smoothie. It may have tasted better if it were cold but I'm not sure. If I get another one in a box, I will have to try it that way. It was 100 calories for the whole pack and you can purchase them online from their site. Cost breaks down to $2.50 a pouch. Maybe a good snack to pack for kids..?

Apples + Cherries That's it Bar: I loved this bar. It was soft and chewy and filled with flavor! I hope I get another one in my next box! One bar is 100 calories and only contained apples and cherries. Seriously! They have three other kinds, Apples + Pears, Apples + Apricots, and Apples + Mangoes. If you would like to try them, you can try all 4 flavors for $6.99 ($1.75 a bar) by going here.

Home Free Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies: These crunchy, bite size cookies were delicious! They took care of the cravings for crunch and sweetness all in a 100 calorie pack! The bits of chocolate were surprising soft and creamy compared to the crunchy cookie. The 100 calorie packs go for $1.50 on their website. That's about the cost of a candy bar, only these are a bit healthier.

SunBiotics Original Almonds: They're almonds. You either like 'em or ya don't; however, I saw on their website that they have Cheesy Almonds which I would LOVE to try! I absolutely love cheese! I wasn't able to find a store locator or a place to purchase these through their site, so I'm not sure how you can try these or how I will get the cheesy flavor... I guess I'll just wait.



Running Perks and June Recap

SATURDAY

I woke up in the morning feeling like p diddy and had a tablespoon of Justin's Maple Almond Butter and a Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio Kind Plus bar. This was my first time having a Kind bar and it was really good. I had this to eat because I planned on running about 30 minutes after...

...but the 30 minutes turned in to over an hour before I actually hit that pavement. Oops!

My phone recently had an update and ever since then the GPS has not been working properly. I was running along and hit the one mile spot waiting for MapMyRun to read my total time and distance.. and I waited... and I waited. I thought maybe I had forgot to start it, but when I looked at my phone it was only reading .70 miles. Ugh. Frustrating. But I continued and said I would just have to guess by the total time. These are the split times they gave me, none of which I am trusting because it obviously didn't take me almost 38 minutes to do two miles.

 

I did some stretching when I finished and then found this weird gross thing on my shirt. I wonder how long he was along for the ride.

I hopped on MapMyRun.com to fix the map as best as I could to see what my total distance was. I planned to do 5 and ended up doing 5.45 with an average pace of about 11 minutes/mile. I guess that just means that I will have to do 5.5 or 6 this coming weekend.

After I freshened up, I headed to IHOP for some delicious breakfast! Yes, I had bacon and waffles. My lovely aunt gave me some grief for posting this photo on Facebook but I explained to her that running has its perks. I ran over 5 miles and burned more than 800 calories, and the day was just getting started. The meal was about 660. It was probably less than that because I didn't get butter and I used sugar free syrup instead of regular. So, of you ran 5.45 miles, you could eat like this too! Well, technically anyone could have this but you can have it with less guilt if you ran first. Oh, and it is a fact All my running buddies know that we run so we can eat. :)

I then headed off to Tiffany Nails to get in the 4th of July spirit.

After the nail salon I headed to get my hair done. It was desperately in need of a cut but was talked in to just a trim as everyone said they liked my hair long, so long it stayed. I think I am going to chop it all off when I hit my goal weight but we will see.

When I got home from running around all afternoon, I was in the mood for something salty and crunchy. So I took a look into the Healthy Surprise box I received a few weeks ago and found some Sesame Dijon Zucchini Chips from Just Pure foods. These were really good and I was sad when the bag was gone! The whole bag is one serving for 170 calories and 5 grams of protein. I can handle that! But I just checked out their website and one bag is $7! Yikes! Not sure I will be buying more of these after all.

SUNDAY

I kicked off Sunday with a smoothie made of pineapple, orange, ginger, kale and protein powder and then headed out to see my friend Britni.

After spending some time with her I headed to the grocery store to get all the fixin's for the week. I didn't have that much on my list and ended up filling the cart (and my cupboards) with things that were not necessary like chips, protein and other healthy bars, zero calorie flavored waters. I guess I was a little hungry.

When I got home, and after everything was put in its place, I made breakfast for lunch. Just a couple of eggs seasoned with Mrs. Dash, an orange, and a half of an Ezekiel English Muffin with a Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb wedge.

I was getting ready to relax when I noticed I had a voicemail from my mom asking me to come help her, my dad and brother move my grandpa. So much for relaxing. It was up off the couch and ready to work.

When we got there we had to pack everything up and load it, take it to his new home and unpack it. We got the major things done first, the kitchen, bath, and bed rooms. I had to leave at 8:30 pm because I was exhausted and I had things to do to get ready for work on Monday.

JUNE RECAP

Question: What do you like to eat after a run or workout? Do you splurge every once in a while or stick to the diet?

Busy Bee

Yay! The weekend has arrived! Wow, this week has flown by and as you know I've been M.I.A. Sorry! I finished up training on Tuesday afternoon and I am back to working a real schedule and as you know I've been doing more cardio, trying to burn off as many calories as possible so I can win the weight loss competition.

I'm just going to do a quick summary of what I have had to eat these past few days along with what I've been doing to burn off those calories!

Breakfast

Tuesday: PlantFusion protein powder, banana, celery, romaine lettuce, water and mint smoothie.
Wednesday: Smoothie of strawberries, orange, spinach, coconut water, mint and protein powder.
Thursday: Pineapple, mango, cucumber, water, and mint with a scoop of PlantFusion protein powder.
Friday: Strawberry, mango, spinach, mint, water, and PlantFusion protein powder smoothie.

Lunch

Cauliflower, broccoli, ground chicken, Fountain of Heath Roasted Garlic Hummus and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning. I have also made this with rice in it but left it out for a low-carb option.

Snacks

Tuesday: NutThins, cheese, with roasted garlic hummus.
Wednesday: Apple and cheese.
Thursday: Rice cake covered in Justin's Honey Peanut Butter with a banana.
Friday: Apple with Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

Dinner

Tuesday: Veggie burger with a Thousand Island and red onion dressing, topped with mozzarella cheese and pineapple, served on a bed of spinach. Delicious!
Wednesday: Egg white omelet topped with red onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, and cheddar cheese.
Thursday: Cumin rubbed chicken breast served with a cucumber relish (cucumber, tomato, onion, garlic, lemon peel, and lemon juice), topped with a greek honey yogurt dressing served on a bed of spinach. Yum!
Friday: Honey BBQ salmon served with a blueberry-nectarine salsa (blueberries, nectarine, and oven roasted pecans). Holy Yum!! This was soooo good!

Activities
Tuesday: I had intended to go to spin class but on my way home I stopped by a friends house to see if she wanted to join me and we ended up talking right through it. Oh well, time with her is more important.

Wednesday:  I completed my run in the morning with an average pace of 10:41. After work I dashed off to spin class. I was, once again, the only person in the class. But that's ok with me. The instructor is super nice and she actually remembered my name, which really surprised me.

Thursday: Another morning run? Sure, why not?! I've been good about getting up and getting it done. But I have noticed that when I work out in the morning, I feel more hungry throughout the day. My run on Thursday had an average pace of 10:30.

My GPS got funky and all of a sudden decided that I could run like Dash from the Incredibles:

Friday: Rest Day!! I did go for a little walk with the pup to warm up my muscles so I could do some stretching but that was it.

Article
Although I have been doing my runs in the morning, they seem harder and I'm more willing to give in to walking. I was wondering what the difference was and like magic I ran across an article from Runners World. Here are a few of the tips they suggested that I'm going to have to try:

Give your blood sugar levels a little pick-me-up prior to running by eating half a banana, 6-8 ounces of juice or a toast and jam 15-20 minutes prior to your run.  Your body will tell you what it can handle and what it prefers.  It may mean waking up a few minutes earlier, but it will pay off because your mind will wake up and you will have plenty of energy to get you through your run. 

Walk for at least 5 minutes to properly warm your body up before you run.  It takes a little longer to warm up in the morning so start with an easy walking pace and gradually increase it to a brisk walking pace.  Walking for five minutes will make all the difference in allowing your body to more efficiently prepare for the transition to running. 

After the five minute walking warm up, run easy for 5-10 minutes.  Your body will reward you with a strong performance if you gradually bring it up to speed.  Like warming up a car in the winter, your body needs time to wake up, warm up and run!  You won't believe the difference!  If that doesn't help, alternate running for a minute or two and power walking for a minute before you hit your running tempo.  Run-walking works wonders in transitioning to running, especially in the morning.

It may mean waking up earlier (ugh!) but if it will improve my performance I'm game.

Question: Do you run in the morning? What are some things you do before you hit the pavement? Share with me in the comments below!

Running for a Cause

Hi everyone. I want to introduce you to someone that is very inspiring and is pretty special to me. Her name is Stephanie.

I met Stephanie in 2009 when I signed up to participate with Team in Training (TNT) to complete my very first mini-marathon. Signing up was was a big deal for me at the time as I was not athletic and I was definitely not a runner. (I actually hated to run and now it's more like a love-hate relationship.)

When you sign up for TNT they don't just set you free. They give you a coach (Shout out to Nathan!), a training plan, and a mentor to help you with anything you may need. I was blessed to have Stephanie as a mentor. She not only encouraged me in my running but was also there to help with my fundraising. I had thought about bailing not thinking I could finish or raise the funds, but she was right there to encourage and even help with whatever I needed. She helped me cross that first finish line.

2009 - Morning of the Indy Mini
Stephanie is on the far left in the black hat, Coach Nathan is opposite in a white hate.

I had such an amazing experience that I signed up with TNT in 2010 to run the Indy Mini, and again in 2011 to run a full marathon in San Diego.

2010 - Morning of the Indy Mini
Once again, Stephanie is on the far left in the black hat, to the right of her is my friend Erika and Coach Nathan.

2011 - At breakfast after a training run. We were more of a "I run to eat group"

Christine, Me, and Stephanie

2011 - Stephanie's going away party.
Erika, Stephanie, Me

Stephanie continues to inspire me with the drive and passion she has. Knowing her, she is inspiring others as I type. She is one of a kind. One of the nicest and most caring people I have ever met, and I am happy to call her my friend.

Stephanie's Story

My name is Stephanie. I’m a runner. I didn’t used to be a runner. I used to be a person who really didn’t do much of anything but walk once in a while. I used to be a person who liked to think of herself as being ‘athletic’, but really never got out and did anything.

Then I lost my oldest sister to cancer – Acute Myelogenous Leukemia… the one you really didn’t want to get because the survival rate was pretty slim. She was 42. She had a 13 year old girl and a 10 year old boy. She had a husband. She had two sisters, and a mom and a dad, and cousins and aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews. She was not perfect – who is? But she was pretty amazing. And in a 14 month time warp, we lost her. Just like that. I can safely say that we all pretty much miss her a LOT.

In the spring of 2008, when I got yet another postcard in the mail for Team in Training, a fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I looked at the events being offered and realized one of them was in San Francisco (one of my sister’s favorite cities) and that this event was being held on what would have been her 50^th birthday (October 19, 2008.) I think I was getting a wake-up call from heaven to get off my butt and do something. I decided that maybe it was time. Time to stop making excuses:  of having babies and small children, of not enough time to train, of too much work to do, and “how in the world can I raise a few thousand dollars?”...pick a reason. So I signed up for the Nike Women’s Marathon. And if you’re going to go at all, you might as well go big. So I bypassed the half marathon and dove in to the full marathon – 26.2 miles. Me. The not-really-so-athletic person.

Do you know what I found out? Everyone can be an athlete. Not only did I train, and successfully (well, there were some unexpected knee issues along the way during that first race) complete a full marathon – and it did take me a while - but I realized that runners aren’t all tall, thin, muscular people. Along the course I ran with, I passed and I was passed by all shapes and sizes; fast and slow; wheezing and singing; joyous and pained; walkers and sprinters. And everyone celebrated everyone else for being out there and giving it a shot. And everyone celebrated the efforts being made by so many to help fund the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Five years later, I’m training for my seventh Team in Training event (one Olympic length triathlon, one 100 mile bike ride, and now six full marathons.) This will be my third Nike Women’s Marathon. I’m probably stronger and healthier than any time in my life (short of my kid-hood perhaps.) I’m 48. I’m six years older than my sister was when she died of blood cancer. I guess I owe it to her to make the best of it, and to continue the fight that she is no longer around to participate in.

I would like to raise at least $3000 this time around. What does this money fund? Why would you want to spend money on something you may have no connection to? Is it worth it?

Here are some stats:

THE POWER OF YOUR MONEY:

$1,000           supports one week’s salary for a medical researcher who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

$500              allows 10 patients to log on to a web cast and hear the latest information in treatment for their disease.

$500               is the cost of a CT scan.

$200               provides a Family Support Group Program for one year for a patient and their family.

$150               allows 5 patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

$150               provides a blood cancer patient with financial assistance for one year.

$100               provides 3 patients access to an information teleconference.

$75                 is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

$40                 is the cost of sending a comprehensive packet of information for children with cancer.

$35                 pays for transportation expenses for a patient living in Northern California’s most rural areas to treatment at a comprehensive cancer center.

$25                 covers a single prescription co-payment.

$5                   is the cost of sending a newly diagnosed patient information about support and their disease.

And here’s the really cool stuff….did you know this?!

Targeted therapy RESEARCH
Discovering the molecular abnormalities that cause particular types of blood cancer has been useful in diagnosis and risk stratification, and as foci for new “targeted drug” development. LLS-funded investigators have helped advance molecularly targeted treatments that can selectively kill blood cancer cells versus normal cells. Many of these new treatments benefit not only blood cancer patients, but also patients with other diseases. For example:

Ø  Gleevec® was developed and FDA-approved for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), including children. It is now also approved for the treatment of patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive cases of acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), and for patients with a rare form of stomach cancer. Gleevec is being tested for patients with other cancers, including breast, nerve, brain, prostate, lung, thyroid and ovarian cancer, as well as mesothelioma and melanoma. Related, even more potent drugs, Sprycel® and Tasigna®, have now been approved for patients who do not benefit from Gleevec and are also being tested against a wide range of cancers.

Ø  Rituxan® was the first FDA-approved, anti-cancer antibody drug, developed for patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), including diffuse large B-cell and follicular B-cell lymphoma. Rituxan is now used to treat patients with many forms of lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), ALL and myeloma. It is also approved for treating patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis, and being studied as a treatment for other types of autoimmune diseases and cancers, and for chronic graft-versus-host disease, a serious long-term complication of bone marrow / stem cell transplantation.

Ø  Velcade®, Thalidomid® and Revlimid® were developed and FDA-approved for patients with myeloma and are also helping patients with some forms of Hodgkin and NHL. One or more of these drugs are now being tested for patients with CLL, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and ALL, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), colorectal, head-and-neck, kidney, thyroid, liver, lung, pancreatic and prostate cancers.

Ø  Dacogen® and Vidaza® are revolutionary new drugs that target small chemical, “epigenetic” additions on cancer-associated genes. These drugs are approved for MDS patients, can be safely used even in the frailest patients, and are also being developed for patients with ALL, AML, CML, CLL, and NHL, as well as for patients with kidney, colorectal, thyroid, head and neck, lung, prostate and ovarian cancers, other advanced solid tumors  and melanoma.

So you are not just helping blood cancer patients and researchers. You might be helping any number of patients with any number of diseases by funding ground breaking research. It might be one of your own relatives that you are helping. It might be yourself. It might be someone you don’t even know.

So help out. Get off the couch. Make a donation. Get involved. Do it because you have a personal connection. Do it before you have a personal connection. Become an athlete. I did.

If you would like to help Stephanie meet her goal or give to a great cause, please go to her Team in Training website and consider donating. No donation is too small. 

Additionally, if you were touched by her story, please consider sharing this post with your friends and/or family. Thank you all so much!