Yesterday, Megan and I drove to Diamondhead, MS. Why would one go there? To run of course! We had a group run scheduled for this morning at 5 am, so we, along with others from our team, got hotel rooms at the wonderful (awful) Diamondhead Resort. But we were there to run, not relax in the hotel, so it didn't matter that it was disgusting.
The half marathon I am doing is in San Francisco, and here in New Orleans, we don't know what a hill is. The biggest hills we have are overpasses. So in order to train for the very hilly course of San Fran, our coaches have us run in Diamondhead. Man are hills tough!!! Not only was this the first time ever in my life to run 8 miles, it was the first time for me to do a long run on hills. It really slowed me down, but it was so cool to look back at the top of a hill and say "I ran that!" Every run I do, I gain more and more confidence, and I feel more and more like a runner! I am a VERY slow runner, but I have no problem with that at all. People often ask me what time im shooting for in my race, but I don't have one. It's my first half so I know it will be a PR :) I normally run between a 12-15 min mile (told you I was slow!), but today, it took me 2:28 to do 8 miles... so the hills really did a number on me! But I know I just need more hill training! I have had to miss several group training sessions because of weddings and vacations, but I still have 2 and a half months before the big race!
Fundraising is so much harder than I thought it would be. I have only raised about 1000 dollars, so i need about 2900 more! Our recommitment date is August 14th, and if I haven't raised significantly more by then, I will probably have to drop out. As much as I have worked for this and want to do it, I can't justify putting 3 grand on a credit card :( So I'm sending out an email and a facebook message today and hoping donations pour in! If not, I've at least raised 1000 dollars for LLS, and I am proud of that.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Amber
I really want to share some info about my honored teammate, Amber Sabala. Her story is the reason I'm running, and the reason I keep running. Below is a letter written by her husband telling their story.
From Eric:
I am very honored and humbled to tell you about my beautiful wife Amber Sabala, and I thank you for making her this year’s honored patient.
My wife was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and spent her last year in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. When my job relocated us here, she came kicking and screaming, but once we were here there was no other place she would have wanted to live.
Her story begins on October 16th 2008. We were sitting on the couch, and she had told me that she didn’t feel so good. We just chalked it up to a long week and that she was really tired. We were really hoping that she might be pregnant. She was leaving for a girls’ weekend the following day to go shopping with her best friend Emme who was our pastor’s wife. It was Emme’s 30th birthday. They decided to leave the 17th and were trying to leave early as possible. She got up when I did for work, and when she got out of the shower we both noticed a lot of bruising on her lower body. We were puzzled at what had caused it. We thought it might have been our dog who was always jumping on her or her just running into things. We really didn’t think much of it. So they left for Dallas that day, and all day long she texted me that she was very tired. They spent all day and the next day shopping. She made it home late that night and just went to bed. The next morning we got up and ready for church. This time when she got out of the shower, we noticed much more bruising. We decided to go to church and then go to Walgreens to get a pregnancy test. When it came back negative, we were devastated. That’s when we decided to go to the urgent care facility in Bossier. After doing a general examination, they sent Amber down to do a blood test. When they made it back to the room and settled in to talk with us, the doctor had already processed her results. The doctor told us that her white cell count was over 160,000 (normal white cell count is approximately 7,000-10,000). As the doctor was telling us this, they had already made arrangements to transfer Amber to the hospital. You can only imagine how scary that was for us. So we left to go to the hospital. Once there, they did several more tests to come to the final diagnosis, Acute Leukemia (M3). Little did I know from that moment forward, I would only have one more month with my wife.
Amber was immediately transferred to Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport where she began intense treatment. On October 23, she was moved to the ICU for internal bleeding. On October 29, Amber had improved and was moved out of the ICU. Then, on November 2, Amber returned to the ICU for what was to be her final stay. On November 13, her white blood cells had climbed to a healthy level, and on November 15, her doctor told the family that she would be moved to a regular room the next morning. However, later that afternoon, the doctors noticed that she was not as responsive as she had been. Early on the morning of November 16 (around 1:00 a.m.), a CAT scan was performed and it was found that she had suffered severe bleeding in the brain. A blood clot had formed, and it was determined that she was gone. At 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning on November 16, 2008, just 4 weeks after she was diagnosed, the life-support machine was turned off. Amber was laid to rest in Bossier City, the place she called home, on November 20, 2008.
We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on October 23 while she was in the hospital. Since her death, I have celebrated a Thanksgiving, Christmas, and her birthday, March 16th, without her. She will always be a part of me. She will always be remembered. I will always BELIEVE that she is in a better place waiting for me.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you in the hope that others will never have to experience something like this or in the hope that I can make it easier for them.
Eric R. Sabala
From Eric:
I am very honored and humbled to tell you about my beautiful wife Amber Sabala, and I thank you for making her this year’s honored patient.
My wife was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and spent her last year in the Shreveport/Bossier City area. When my job relocated us here, she came kicking and screaming, but once we were here there was no other place she would have wanted to live.
Her story begins on October 16th 2008. We were sitting on the couch, and she had told me that she didn’t feel so good. We just chalked it up to a long week and that she was really tired. We were really hoping that she might be pregnant. She was leaving for a girls’ weekend the following day to go shopping with her best friend Emme who was our pastor’s wife. It was Emme’s 30th birthday. They decided to leave the 17th and were trying to leave early as possible. She got up when I did for work, and when she got out of the shower we both noticed a lot of bruising on her lower body. We were puzzled at what had caused it. We thought it might have been our dog who was always jumping on her or her just running into things. We really didn’t think much of it. So they left for Dallas that day, and all day long she texted me that she was very tired. They spent all day and the next day shopping. She made it home late that night and just went to bed. The next morning we got up and ready for church. This time when she got out of the shower, we noticed much more bruising. We decided to go to church and then go to Walgreens to get a pregnancy test. When it came back negative, we were devastated. That’s when we decided to go to the urgent care facility in Bossier. After doing a general examination, they sent Amber down to do a blood test. When they made it back to the room and settled in to talk with us, the doctor had already processed her results. The doctor told us that her white cell count was over 160,000 (normal white cell count is approximately 7,000-10,000). As the doctor was telling us this, they had already made arrangements to transfer Amber to the hospital. You can only imagine how scary that was for us. So we left to go to the hospital. Once there, they did several more tests to come to the final diagnosis, Acute Leukemia (M3). Little did I know from that moment forward, I would only have one more month with my wife.
Amber was immediately transferred to Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport where she began intense treatment. On October 23, she was moved to the ICU for internal bleeding. On October 29, Amber had improved and was moved out of the ICU. Then, on November 2, Amber returned to the ICU for what was to be her final stay. On November 13, her white blood cells had climbed to a healthy level, and on November 15, her doctor told the family that she would be moved to a regular room the next morning. However, later that afternoon, the doctors noticed that she was not as responsive as she had been. Early on the morning of November 16 (around 1:00 a.m.), a CAT scan was performed and it was found that she had suffered severe bleeding in the brain. A blood clot had formed, and it was determined that she was gone. At 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning on November 16, 2008, just 4 weeks after she was diagnosed, the life-support machine was turned off. Amber was laid to rest in Bossier City, the place she called home, on November 20, 2008.
We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on October 23 while she was in the hospital. Since her death, I have celebrated a Thanksgiving, Christmas, and her birthday, March 16th, without her. She will always be a part of me. She will always be remembered. I will always BELIEVE that she is in a better place waiting for me.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you in the hope that others will never have to experience something like this or in the hope that I can make it easier for them.
Eric R. Sabala
Thursday, May 28, 2009
All of my life I have hated running, and i mean hated running. I played soccer in high school, and I was seriousl one of the slowest girls on my team, if not the slowest. I tried running for pleasure, i tried to make myself like it, but it never worked. Running was punishment for wearing the wrong uniform or for missing shots, not for fun! I have always admired runners, wished I could be like them. A few months ago i decided I would try running again. I downloaded the couch to 5k podcast and started running. I didnt follow the training to the letter, or train every day that i was supposed to, but I actually kind of enjoyed it!
In the end of April, I ran my first 5k, Run Forrest Run. I loved it! I didn't run the whole way, but I loved it! A few weeks later, my coworker Megan, another nonrunner, told me about Team In Training and asked if I was interested. It's always been a secret deep down goal of mine to run a half (and later a full) marathon. So we went to the informational meeting and I signed up!!
My next run after that informational meeting was fantastic. I had so much energy, and so much more mental strength. I finally figured out that I have never been able to do the whole mind over body thing. But when I signed up for Team In Training, I signed up to run for something so much bigger than myself and my aching shins. Before, every time I would run, I couldn't think about anything except for how badly I wanted to quit. Now, I think how extremely blessed I am to have my health, and how easily it could be taken from me! Our honored teammate, Amber Sabala, lost her battle to cancer when she was very close to my age, and after fighting it for only 28 days! Every day we have is such a gift, and every step I run is a way to embrace that gift!
Last Friday I did my second 5k, the Greek Fest 5k, and I ran the whole thing!! I was so excited when I finished!! My time was even slower than the first one, but I didn't care! Even better than running the whole way, I helped someone else. About half way through, I saw a woman ahead of me with a Team In Training shirt on ahead of me. I sped up to catch her, and asked her if she was doing Team In Training. Turns out, she is doing the same race as me, AND lives just 2 blocks from me!! This was only her 3rd day of running, but we ran the last half of the 5k together and never stopped! It was great to get to know her, and to have someone to run with! Afterwards she told me she wouldn't have finished without me, which made me feel great, but she helped me too!
In the end of April, I ran my first 5k, Run Forrest Run. I loved it! I didn't run the whole way, but I loved it! A few weeks later, my coworker Megan, another nonrunner, told me about Team In Training and asked if I was interested. It's always been a secret deep down goal of mine to run a half (and later a full) marathon. So we went to the informational meeting and I signed up!!
My next run after that informational meeting was fantastic. I had so much energy, and so much more mental strength. I finally figured out that I have never been able to do the whole mind over body thing. But when I signed up for Team In Training, I signed up to run for something so much bigger than myself and my aching shins. Before, every time I would run, I couldn't think about anything except for how badly I wanted to quit. Now, I think how extremely blessed I am to have my health, and how easily it could be taken from me! Our honored teammate, Amber Sabala, lost her battle to cancer when she was very close to my age, and after fighting it for only 28 days! Every day we have is such a gift, and every step I run is a way to embrace that gift!
Last Friday I did my second 5k, the Greek Fest 5k, and I ran the whole thing!! I was so excited when I finished!! My time was even slower than the first one, but I didn't care! Even better than running the whole way, I helped someone else. About half way through, I saw a woman ahead of me with a Team In Training shirt on ahead of me. I sped up to catch her, and asked her if she was doing Team In Training. Turns out, she is doing the same race as me, AND lives just 2 blocks from me!! This was only her 3rd day of running, but we ran the last half of the 5k together and never stopped! It was great to get to know her, and to have someone to run with! Afterwards she told me she wouldn't have finished without me, which made me feel great, but she helped me too!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Welcome!
I am going to use this as my training blog. I recently joined team in training, and will be running the Nike Women's half marathon in San Francisco in October!! I am excited, but nervous. I know this is going to be a journey that want to not only remember, but also share with others. I'll be updating everyone on how my training and fundraising are going, so keep checking back, and visit my fundraising site and donate some money to this worthy cause!!
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