Fun and Done!

It's about time this post was added! It's been a fun, hectic and relaxing couple of weeks since race weekend. The pictures below are in reverse order, because this blogging thing still isn't as easy as it should be (or maybe I'm just not good at it). As most of you know, JL and I finished the race in just over 6 1/2 hours. We walked the last 14 because JL had a knee issue at mile 12. The course, unexpected to us, had 9 miles of the "tank trail" right in the middle of the race. It's called the "tank trail" for a reason (ONLY A TANK SHOULD BE ON IT). Our coaches said that it was actually in the best shape in the history of the race (would have hated to see it in previous years). Anyway, in the middle of this 9 mile stretch JL blew our her left knee. She is a fighter and we walked the remaining way (at a very fast clip). On top of it all, we found out about a month before the race that JL IS PREGNANT! Although we are very excited, this took it's toll on our training as we didn't want to tell anyone until the race was over. She is due in January.

Once again, we want to thank everyone for your support. We appreciate you reading this blog and helping us help people fighting all types of cancer.

We hope you enjoy the photos below from our trip:
click on any picture to open it up larger!














Glacier hitting Prince William Sound












Supermodel JL in front of a glacier













Large iceberg with seals and sea otters (the little black dots) "chillin' in front of a glacier. They hang out here when they have their young so the whales don't eat them.












Look in the middle of the picture above to see the glacier "calving". You can see the splash from a large chunk hitting the water!












Seals chillin' on a berg.












Waterfalls off a high glacier












Another glacier!












Two glaciers have carved out valleys on either side of the chunk of land in the middle. The expanse you are looking at is about 10 miles accross!












Entrance to Denali National Park (Duh!)












This is the end of the road (15 miles in) for private vehicles in Danali.












There she is (a little cloud covered) on the right of the photo. Denali is just over 20,000ft. To compare the white mountain in the left of the screen is about the same height as Mt. Rainier, about 14,000 ft.












A Musk Oxen. A very rare arctic animal that has neither musk glands nor is an ox (huh?)












Some of our catch at the cabin (Alaskan Rainbow Trout). Cleaned and prepared by the one and only Eric Mandel.












MOOOOOOOOOSE! (or "water donkey" as I found out they're called in NH). This one had 2 calves which we saw, but could not get close enough for pictures without endangering our lives!!!!












Our cabin for the week on Wolverine lake. The hot tub felt much better than the cold tub in the pictures below.












Funny crew paddling and enjoying life after a marathon. JL is here too, she's the photographer!












View of the lake from our cabin deck.

Ice bath time!

About 3 weeks to Go!

Lot's of Pictures and a Video!

Well it's been almost a month since the last post and a lot of info to deliver.
BOTH JL AND MIKE HAVE REACHED THEIR GOAL!!
OVER $9,000 RAISED.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT WAS ABLE TO DONATE MONEY OR TIME TO THE FUNDRAISING EVENTS.

This journey so far has had it's ups and downs. JL had a knee injury occur first and has battled through. She even had a sports medicine doctor tell her to quit running all together. SHE HAS BATTLED THROUGH. Mike has had a nagging knee injury for the last month and will see a physician on Friday. WHAT EVER IT TAKES...HE WILL BATTLE THROUGH. This journey is not unlike the journey that people with all types of cancer go through. Good days and bad days...good weeks and bad weeks. These people battle through. Included below are some pictures of people on our team that are inspiration at every practice.

Our race is June 23rd and you can read more about it by clicking on the following link:
http://www.mayorsmarathon.com/

Sean Valley has posted the San Diego send off party video on you tube...you can watch by clicking on the following link: (be sure to have your computer volume on as it is set to music)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_yaFTZlke0

Skip
Diagnosis: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Status: Just finished chemotherapy
Occupation: Retired firefighter/paramedic
In my free time I like to: Golf, knit, & remodel airplanes
As an honored teammate I hope to: Stimulate interest, encourage others to walk and run
Words of encouragement: Expect miracles to happen...find cures for the thousands of us affected by cancer.











Esther Greiner.
TNT Captain and along with Astrid keeps the water stops and fun stuff happening all while fundraising and training.











Our buddy Chris (from Massachusetts...originally) getting a high five from coach Brent with our enthusiastic team leader Bonnie. Chris will be running the San Diego Half Marathon this Sunday June 3.









This is the rest of our Team within a team. From left to right -- Our Mentor Kelly, Misty and Allison (Allison is newly engaged!!) They will all be running the Full San Diego Marathon this Sunday. GO TEAM!










Here are the usual suspects. Mike And JL on their 3 hour run last Saturday. With knee injuries and all, both ran about 16 miles. With 3 taper weeks, should be well rested and ready for the Marathon in Anchorage.









Here's Larry and Elodie. Larry will be joining us in Anchorage...running the half marathon. Larry is a big fan of punk bands. The picture to the left shows Larry toughing it out on the longest training run of the season after getting about 3 hours of sleep! (Pay the price to see one of your favorite punk bands on a Friday night before the longest training run) We learned our lesson earlier in the season.





Hey...here's Mike and JL again (kind of looks like fake running for the photo op.)












Coach Brent (obviously one of the coaches...look how skinny and happy he is!)












This is the fun at the end of the run. Soaking in the kiddy pool filled with ICE WATER!

The next and final blog will come after the race so look out for it!
The most challenging step is yet to come.
We will remember a story our Captain Esther told us from her Honolulu Marathon experience. At mile 21 a spectator joined her on the course and walked with her for 2 miles. At mile 23 he put his hand on her shoulder, looked her in the eye and said "because of you, I will have a tomorrow."

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR DONATING. YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN LIVES AND BECAUSE OF YOU SOMEONE WILL HAVE A TOMORROW THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEFORE. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING OUR EXPERIENCE WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

One Down One to Go!

Sorry for the long delay between posts...

We have been up to a lot of working out and fundraising. Many of you donated online or by check because of an email or letter you received from JL or Mike. Thank you so much. A couple of weeks ago JL had a showing of some new and old paintings to raise money. For all that attended, Thank You! For all of you that did not or could not attend, sorry, but you missed out. There were some great raffle prizes, great beer and wine, great appetizers, desserts and great live music! JL sold 20 paintings and raised about $2,500!!!!!!!!

I'll do the exciting math for you all and give you our fundraising update:

JL:

$4,500.00!!!! --- JL HAS REACHED HER GOAL...WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!

MIKE:

$4,233.00!!!

only $267 for Mike to reach his goal. If you would like to help Mike make it go here:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntwaak/tntwaakMAllen

The most exciting thing at this point is that all of you helped by giving your hard earned dollars to a great cause! Almost $9,000 to help those fighting for their lives from cancer!
As of Saturday April 21st -- Our Chapter (Washington/Alaska) have helped raise over $400,000!!!

Over the last month training has become longer on Saturday's (up to 2 hours and 20 minutes last Saturday) -- This was just over 13 miles for JL! We went through a month of hill workouts and have moved into tempo workouts (20 minutes of hard running in a 50 minute workout). Sounds easy, but it's not.

JL has almost fully worked through her knee injury. As you can see above she did a half marathon for training last Saturday!
Mike has an I T band injury and should have it worked out by the end of the week. Mike took an ice bath last night to help the injury. For those of you that have never taken an icebath, you should try it some time (HA HA!). Just fill up the tub with cold water, dump in a bag of ice and jump in for about 10 minutes.
Below are some pictures after a hill workout at Greenlake.

































Watch for the update when Mike reaches his goal. Only 53 days until race day!

Poker Fundraiser

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED AND PLAYED SOME POKER FOR A GOOD CAUSE!

Sorry, no pictures from this one.
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE FUND RAISER STAYS AT THE FUND RAISER!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO CRUSH RESTAURANT FOR PROVIDING THE VENUE AS WELL AS FOOD!!!!!

ALSO A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO RUN26 IN LYNNWOOD!

As far as training, JL is still returning her knee to normal and hopes to be back out there running soon. Mike is having some lingering shin pain and hopes to get it figured out with the team coaches. This past Saturday's run was 100 minutes with hills at Discovery Park. This translated into 9.5 miles for Mike. The runs during the week are increasing slightly and hills are being worked in as part of the strengthening phase.

Fund raising update:

JL: $3,075.00 donate: http://www.active.com/donate/tntwaak/tntwaakJPaquin

Mike: $1,922.00 donate: http://www.active.com/donate/tntwaak/tntwaakMAllen

A special thank you to JL for attending the poker tournament and adding to Mike's fund raising goal!

There will be more fund raisers coming up...so don't fret if you missed this one. JL is showing her artwork at Crush Private Dining on April 18th. Go to the Juniper Blog for more info: http://juniperflowers.blogspot.com/

Poker Tournament

I'VE CHANGED THIS POST FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE ALREADY READ IT:

For those of you looking to join in on the Poker Tournament, here is the info and how to enter:

Where: Crush Private Dining
611 Pontius Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98119
(The building is not well marked so look for the Team In Training logo -- It's the one on the right hand side of this blog)

When: Thursday March 29 (starts 6:30pm)

What: Poker for a cause (Texas Hold'em -- beginners welcome). Hey it's for a good cause. Nobody is going to the World Series of Poker from this tournament. $25 entry fee (Winner will walk with a cash prize or have a chance to trade cash for another prize -- prize amount to be determined by # of entrants)

How to enter: Go to my donation page and donate $25 online or contact me directly by email (mike@juniperflowers.com) or cell phone (206.841.4194) to pay by check or cash. All entries must be received by Thursday March 29.

There will be Red Hook Beer, wine and food.

Any questions, contact me (Mike Allen @ 206.841.4194)

More Sunny Pics...

Even though it's been a warm week here is Seattle, we thought you would like to see more pics from San Diego.

Here we are after a run.

Enjoying a little side trip to Mexico with our friends Douglas & Cheryl from LA.

Oh yeah, the reason we went down to Mexico. Dougie and Cheryl had been telling us about this little town in Mexico with the grilled lobster while they were our neighbors on Vashon Island. We finally had the chance to make the trip with them and it lived up to the hype! Here's some of the selection pre-grilled.













For those of you that don't know, these are our Seattle friends (Danielle & Kele) that transplanted to San Diego (the reason for the trip).













Laughing and throwing back a few cervezas!














As far as training this week. JL took the week off due to her nagging knee injury. She is going to see a sports medicine doctor on Wednesday. Not to worry, our coach Shelby says the injury is common and should be corrected with a patella band. This will keep her patella tendon in place so it won't swell. JL did walk/run the 90 minute workout on Saturday, but is feeling the pain in her hips today. Mike ran 9.7 miles on Saturday's 90 minute run. During the week: Tuesday 30 minutes, Wednesday 40 minutes with some hills (preview to next week's hill and strength training) and Thursday 40 minute easy recovery run.

Thanks again to all of you who have been able to donate. For those of you still waiting, any donations given before April 1st would be a great help.

Here's our current status:
JL: $2300.00
Mike: $1170.00

To Help JL go here:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntwaak/tntwaakJPaquin

To Help Mike go here:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntwaak/tntwaakMAllen

Mike will be hosting a Poker Tournament on March 29th. Buy in is $75 with most of the proceeds going directly to his fundraising goal. If you are interested in attending please email at the bottom of this post. Tournament starts at 6:30 sharp! The event will be held at Crush Private Dining, 611 Pontius Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98119. Winner will walk with a cash prize (amount will be determined by the amount of entrants).

The date is set for JL's art opening. She will be selling her work and all proceeds will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and count towards her fundraising goal of $4500. The date has been set for Wednesday, April 18th from 5-9pm. There will be food, wine, beer & music. $10 cover charge and drink tickets will be $2 each with the first 2 complimentary. If you would like to attend and do not receive an invitation in the mail, feel free to email at the bottom of this post to RSVP.

Once again, thanks to all of you that have donated so far!!

Sun This Week!!

Told you this week would be pictures from warmer climates...

This is the view from the sculpture garden at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, CA.

Needless to say there were plenty of sunshine, palm trees and sandy beaches...














While JL was icing her knee AGAIN...















Mike was getting a pedicure and checking up on the local culture!














Just kidding, JL was taking this picture from a pedicure chair of her own. It was a great time in San Diego (actually Oceanside). Kele and Danielle were great hosts! They gave the full tour up and down the coast, some excellent Sushi as well as a classic '80s cover band (and it was classic!) Some old Vashon Island friends came down from Redondo Beach (where they live now) and gave us all the Mexico tour -- Puerto Nuevo for some of the local specialty, Grilled Lobster!

Oh yeah, some miles were logged as well. Tuesday was a travel day with a workout planned, but after a 6 hour delay at Seatac courtesy of Alaska Airlines, the workout did not happen. Hopefully this will not be the case on race weekend!! Wednesday and Thursday were 40 minute runs early morning (did I mention on the beach?!) Friday rest day and trip to Mexico. Saturday was an 80 minute run and about 8.5 miles. This was the first Saturday run missed with the team, but it was nice to get it done in sunny California. Am I rubbing this in?

Not much of a change in fundraising for this week:

JL: $2025.00
Mike: $1160.00

To Help JL go here:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntwaak/tntwaakJPaquin

To Help Mike go here:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntwaak/tntwaakMAllen

Mike will be hosting a Poker Tournament on March 29th. Buy in is $75 with most of the proceeds going directly to his fundraising goal. If you are interested in attending please email at the bottom of this post.

JL is still planning her art opening. Tentative date is set for April 18th. More info to come.

Once again, thanks to all of you that have donated so far!!