8 Miles! Check it off the list!

Hi all!  Thanks for checking out my blog again.  Gosh, I'm getting so good at this!  Just wanted to update everyone on my status for training for this Nike Women's Marathon.  Today we ran 8 miles! 

I really couldn't have asked for a better day.  It's gorgeous in Boise right now.  I've actually been thinking about my brother a lot lately.  He and his wife have not had a chance to make it out to Boise since I've lived here, and I think he will be coming to Boise this August!!!  Unfortunately his wife, Tiffany, won't be able to make it since she is doing her Residency.  I'm very bummed about that because I secretly want her to come here because I KNOW she'll just fall in love with it, and then Jed (my brother) and her will move here!!!  Well, it's an idea, right???  Jed!  I know you're reading this blog!  I'm really excited to show off Boise to you!!!  You're going to love it!

Okay... back to my run.  Today I was fortunate enough to run with someone who ran about the same speed as me.  It made it go a lot faster!  I'd recommend that to anyone once your mileage numbers start to go up a little.  I have to say, I'm still at a point where these runs are more fun than challenging.  I am actually excited to get up to some higher miles just to say, "oh, you know, I ran 18 miles yesterday... no biggie!"  :-)  Ha ha, secretly, I'll be really proud!  But I have to say I am so impressed by this group I'm running with.  They are all amazing!  I've never had a "running group" before, so this is pretty cool!
Yesterday I met with one of the employees, Lynne Wieland, who works at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Her son, Grant, was diagnosed with Leukemia 8 years ago when he was only 7 years old.  For 3 years he went through chemo and radiation, and has now been cancer free for 5 years.  He's only 15 years old, but without the treatments that were made by the donations of so many giving people, he may not be alive today.  It's overwhelming to think about, but your donations truly save lives!!!

So, something else totally cool about Lynne... she was a pro skier in the 80's and early 90's!  She was in the movie HOT DOG!!!  She was also in two Warren Miller movies, as well as several others!!!  Okay, for all of you who know me, you know I'm all about Freestyle Skiing.  It's my favorite sport, and I live and breath it in the winter.  It was so cool to meet someone who paved the way for so many other athletes to learn and grow in this sport.  Especially women!!!  She knew I was really into skiing, so for our meeting she brought her collection of pictures and articles that she was in.  I mean, she was on the cover of all these magazines and editorials galore, you name it, and she did it!  I'm truly honored to be able to run with people like this!!!

How cool is that picture!!!!

Hey!  If you haven't donated yet, and you plan to, Get on it!!!!  :-)  Thanks for all your support and I'll talk to you soon!!!

Rachel