Hard Work Pays Off

If you remember back to when I started this blog, the sole reason I began blogging was to raise ovarian cancer awareness while training for my first half marathon in honor of my aunt.

This weekend I had the chance to present the money that was raised to my aunt, Hala, in front of family and friends.

Through fundraising, a bake sale, a t-shirt sale, and lots of hard work, together we were able to raise $2,149.39! My initial goal was to raise $1,300 and with the help of family and friends I was able to surpass that goal! 

It was wonderful to see how happy my aunt and uncle were when I presented them with the check. It meant so much to see all of the hard work really pay off. They are going to use this money to help pay off some of their medical expenses.

Another fun thing that my uncle did for the celebration was mow a cancer ribbon in his front yard! So awesome!

This whole experience was really life changing. It was amazing to see yourself make an impact in someone's life, no matter how big or small the deed you do is. It's hard to believe that just a few months ago the idea of raising awareness and training for a half-marathon in honor of Hala was just an idea floating around in my head. Seeing it come true was amazing and I hope to keep on running the mini-marathon race and raise awareness!

Question

Have you ever raised awareness to an important cause/charity/foundation before?

Photo Shoot Giveaway

If you remember about a month ago I began selling t-shirts to raise ovarian cancer awareness along with money for my aunt's fundraiser. I had also mentioned that if you bought a t-shirt you were eligible to win a photo shoot by Michelle Davies Photography.

When I first talked about the giveaway, the deadline to enter was April 15th but that was before some complications with the shirts arose. Most people did not receive their shirts by this date and most people received a misprint. The shirts are supposed to say "Raising Awareness With Every Mile" so if you bought a shirt and it did not say that, then be on the lookout for another one coming in the mail soon!

Giveaway Details

In order to be eligible to win a photo shoot with Michelle Davies Photography you must:
1: Take a picture of yourself in the shirt. (A phone picture will work!)
2: Email the picture to michelledavies [at] michelledaviesphotography [dot] com
3. Live in the Fort Wayne, IN area or be willing to travel to the area. (Michelle considers anything within 20 miles of downtown Fort Wayne the Fort Wayne area)
4. The deadline to enter is Friday, April 26th at midnight.

Everyone who enters will be put into a drawing and a winner will be chosen at random. The winner will win a photo shoot that is an hour long, at a mutually agreeable location, and can do clothing changes.

All photos sent to Michelle Davies will also be posted on the blog!

Thank you for helping me raise awareness and don't forget to wear your shirt on Saturday May 4th to support my cause while I am running in the Indy Mini Marathon!

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below or send me an e-mail. I look forward to seeing your pictures!

* If you did not buy a shirt but still want to donate towards the cause you can find more info here.

Putting Training on Hold

On Tuesday I went to take a half hour nap and woke up 4 hours later, yesterday I had a killer headache, and today I woke up feeling like complete crap.

Because of this I am putting the half-marathon training on hold.

I feel awful doing that because this week I was really going to step up the training and make sure to do everything exactly like I have planned out on the training schedule but haven't had the energy to do so.The last time I felt sick like this and continued running I ended up having a fever for a week so I am worried that it could happen again!

Not doing anything for a few days will make me feel like all the progress I have made with my paces will go to waste. I don't want to be walking across the finish line of the half-marathon, I want to run across it and not feel completely dead.

 (Source)


I have 6 weeks and 2 days left until the race and I have read about people training for races in 4 weeks so I feel like I will be ok. I have already done a few really long runs so I feel like I have a good base but I haven't ran 13 miles on any of them so I hope to get this done soon.

Until I feel better I am putting up my racing shoes and taking a break. I am going to focus on eating healthier and drinking tons of water in an effort to stay healthy this next month and a half. I also know that the last week of April (a few days before the race) I will barely have enough time to train as it is finals week and I will be packing up to move but this is a tapering week so I should be ok. I will be looking for people to guest post that week so if you are interested keep an eye out for that!

T-Shirts

The other day on the blog I announced that the t-shirts I am selling for my aunt's fundraiser are ready to be sold! So if you haven't done so yet please check them out and consider purchasing one to help raise ovarian cancer awareness! You can find more info about the shirts and the giveaway that goes along with them by clicking here. To buy a shirt please click HERE. There are only a few days left until the offer is over!

Question

What are some tips that you have for staying healthy while training?

Another Long Run in the Books

I feel like I haven't posted on here in awhile because I was so busy working on papers for my online class but it is officially over! While I was gone did you guys check out my guest post on Avery's blog about staying on track with exercise? If not then you really should because I shared a lot of great tips that could come in handy for ya!

Workout

Over the weekend I went on another long run. I used my SPIbelt again and just like last time, it didn't let me down. This time I packed a Tri Berry GU Energy Gel, my ID, and keys.

Here's the breakdown of my run.

Mile 1 - 8:31
Mile 2 - 8:48
Mile 3 - 8:29
Mile 4 - 8:54
Mile 5 - 9:02
Mile 6 - 8:48 - ate the GU
Mile 7 - 8:55
Mile 8 - 8:52
Mile 9 - 9:47 - cool down

Total time - 1:20:05

I was super happy with this run. I felt good the entire time and the weather was perfect. I think that my Garmin only wanted me to run 9 miles because when I began my run it said "low battery" but I just ignored it, hoping it would last the entire run. As soon as I hit mile 9 I stopped the watch and then it said "run saved" and turned off! Guess that was a good indicator to quit :)

T-Shirts!

If you haven't done so yet, check out these super cute t-shirts I am selling for my aunt's fundraiser. The shirts are to help raise ovarian cancer awareness (the reason I am running my first half-marathon in May) and to help show your support with my training! Please help me out and buy one today for yourself or even a friend! Also if you live in the Fort Wayne or surrounding area you can be entered into a fun giveaway if you purchase a shirt! There are only a few days left to purchase them!

Question

Did you go on any runs this weekend?

You Can Never Have Too Many T-Shirts! (Plus A Giveaway)

The reason I started this blog a few months ago wasn't to talk about my everyday life or to share my meals with all of you - it was to track my training for a half-marathon I am running in honor of my aunt who is currently fighting ovarian cancer. If you would like to learn more about my aunt's battle please check out this post for more info about my aunt or this one for more info on donating.

I have also been raising money throughout my training with an initial goal of $1,300.00 and I have surpassed that. My new goal is to have raised $2,000.00 by race day which is on May 4th. I hope to surpass this goal as well and I hope the t-shirt sale helps me do just that.

I know that a large percent of my readers are fitness gurus and love working out just as I do which makes me assume that you all love t-shirts just as much! And aren't these ones super cute?!

The shirts are available in both short and long sleeve. You also have the option to choose between normal cotton t-shirt material or American Apparel material which is super soft and top of the line (American Apparel shirts are a few bucks extra). The shirts are also shipped directly to your door step!

All the proceeds from the t-shirts go directly to my aunt's fundraising fund! If you are interested in buying one please click on the following link https://myshirtsize.com/raisingawarenessonemileatatime/

Thank you so much for buying one of these shirts to help me with my cause!

Giveaway

If you end up buying a t-shirt you have a chance to be entered into a fun giveaway. Michelle Davies of Michelle Davies Photography has offered to give away a photo-shoot to one lucky reader!

There are a few rules to enter though.
1. You must live in Fort Wayne, IN or the surrounding area.
2. You must e-mail a picture of yourself in the shirt to Michelle by Monday April 15th! Her e-mail is michelledavies@michelledaviesphotography.com.

Also, if you don't live in the Fort Wayne area you can still e-mail me your pictures and I will put them up on the blog!

40 Dozen Cookies Later

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to brainstorm a few different fundraising ideas for my aunt who is battling ovarian cancer. I thought that a "bake sale" would be a fun thing to do and figured that some of our family's coworkers and friends would be interested in buying some goodies from us to help out with my cause.

Little did I know that I would be baking over 30 dozen cookies and 10 dozen cupcakes all in less than two days. I knew that some people would want some cookies but I didn't think that many people would. I am extremely happy with the turnout but wish I had a little more time so I wasn't rushing around.

I headed home Friday night and didn't get home until almost midnight. As soon as I got home I tallied up the orders and wrote out a shopping list. The next morning I headed to the store and grabbed everything I needed and immediately started baking once I got home. Of course I forgot a few things so my mom and step dad were kind enough to make a few errands for me.

My brothers were also nice enough to help me out occasionally. They helped to cut up the caramel pieces, carry trays for me, and loaded up my car with all of the orders.

(Photo by Michelle)

I also had a little bit of help with packaging up the orders. I stamped "Thank You" on tags and tied them with teal ribbon on the bags and boxes. I stuck with the teal theme because it is the color for ovarian cancer.

Thank you to all of you who ordered and helped out my cause! If you would like to help out click here and find out some more information on how you can donate.

I will be posting the recipes for all of the cookies and cupcakes I made. Be sure to stay tuned for the recipes for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss cookies, Lemon Crinkle cookies, Chocolate Chip cookies, Red Velvet cupcakes, Chocolate cupcakes, and Vanilla Cupcakes!


Have you ever done a bake sale?

Shocked by the Generosity

Do you see those rosy red cheeks? Those aren't from a hard workout - they're red from the frigid air!

So since it was so cold today I thought I would stop by Starbucks between classes and grab some coffee to warm myself up. I ordered their new Vanilla Spice Latte and it was pretty good. I have been hearing some good things about the drink and thought I would try it for myself. It may easily become one of my new favorites.

I also got a piece of banana chocolate chip coffee cake. I don't have a picture of it because I already scarfed it down :)

If you are a dedicated reader then you should know by now that I have been raising money for my aunt. Today I checked my Paypal account to see how much I have raised to date and I have raised over $1,000! I am so shocked by the generosity of some people. I can not believe how generous some people are when it comes to helping out a great cause and a great woman. My aunt 100% deserves this and I am so happy to be doing this for her. My initial goal is for 100 people to donate one dollar for every  mile I am going to run for a total of $13 donated per person and some people have been exceeding this amount and have been donating up to $50 for every mile. I am in shock when I find this out from people and just want to give them a great big hug.

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far and thank you in advance for those of you who are going to donate.

Also, there are exactly 100 days until the race! 4 miles on the treadmill is on today's agenda.


Have you ever done a fundraiser before? Do you have any tips or tricks for raising money?

My Aunt

As some of you know, the main reason I started blogging was to use my blog as a way to make people more aware of ovarian cancer while telling about my training for a half-marathon that is coming up. I wanted more motivation to run the 13.1 miles as I have never ran that far in my life. I did some thinking and thought that the perfect person to motivate me would be my aunt, Hala.

Hala, is currently fighting ovarian cancer and has been for several years and I wanted to give back to her. She is an extraordinary woman and gives so much to others and expects little in return. She comes from a big family whom she is very close with and has a daughter and a son. I truly believe that Hala deserves this more than anybody as she has done so much for myself and others throughout her life. Even when she was going through her chemotherapy and felt sick, she would still have the whole family over for family dinners and would make sure everyone else was okay, not worrying about herself. She is my motivation to run a mini-marathon because if she can go through numerous chemotherapy sessions, then I can push myself in one race to run the farthest I ever have.

(Image Source)

Hala's Story

At 41 years old, Hala was told she had fibroids and could have them removed. Her better option was to have a hysterectomy so the fibroids wouldn't come back. So in February of 2006 she went in for a hysterectomy and the doctor found the cancer. On March 31, 2006 she was told she had a race kind of ovarian cancer, stage 3A. They told her it would be cureable with chemotherapy but when she went in for chemo she had an allergic reaction and ended up back in the hospital for a few days. In May she started a new chemo treatment and had to go in for the treatment once a week, 3 weeks out of the month and had 1 week off. She went through all of the treatments until September when she was in remission and would go back every 3 months for a check up for the first 2 years and then every 6 months after that. Three years later in September 2009 the cancer came back. She started chemotherapy again but it wasn't working. A few months later they started her on a different type of chemo and it worked and she had to receive treatments every week. In the summer of 2010 she took a break for her daughter's graduation and then started with the chemo again. The next summer she took another break for her son's graduation. She then started back up with her treatments but she wasn't making progress or getting worse - the cancer was staying stable. In January of 2012 Hala's tumor marker numbers were going up but she did not want to keep going through with the chemotherapy. The chemotherapy made her sick and tired but the family pressured her into going on with the treatments so she could get better. In April of 2012 she started on 2 new drugs and the tumors have been getting smaller and having less activity. Right now she is still undergoing chemotherapy but is only one 1 drug but if this drug doesn't work she will have to be taking 2 different drugs during her treatments. She doesn't know how much longer she will have to have chemotherapy or if the tumors will ever be gone forever, but all we can do is pray that the treatments work and that she can be healthy again.

 The above information was given by Hala

How You Can Help 

Throughout my training for the race I am going to also collect donations for her so she can use the money towards her medical expenses. 100% of the donations collected will go directly to her. I have opened up a bank account that people can donate money to and am currently working with a company to sell shirts for the cause. Once the shirts come in I will have a link on the blog so people can order them and have them shipped directly to them. I asking that people donate one dollar for every mile that I am running. I am running 13.1 miles so that would be donating $13. If you can't donate that much money, any amount can help. If you can only donate $1 to this cause, that is better than nothing at all, or if you can donate more, I would greatly appreciate it. You can find the donate button via PayPal on the top right corner of my blog 

Thank you for your help!

60/30 Workout & A Giveaway

*The giveaway is now closed*

I had a wonderful New Years Eve thanks to Alex, Jessica, Jacob, and their parents, Sue and Jim!

We all went out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant before heading to The Eagles lodge for a New Years party. A country band called The Outlaw Cowboys was performing at The Eagles and they were pretty good! We all had fun talking and dancing until the ball dropped.

It was a great night and I am looking forward to many good things in 2013.

My Resolutions

I'm normally not big into making resolutions for the upcoming year because I usually don't stick with them but this year I am going to make them and try my best to stick with it!

My first resolution is to not have anymore than 2 rest days in a week. I feel like I have had way too many rest days these past few weeks because I have been so busy with finals and the holidays and want to make sure I don't slack on workouts and long runs especially with my half-marathon coming up.

My second resolution is to drink more water. I know I don't get enough each day and I really need to work on it.

My third is to continue with blogging and to raise money for my aunt's ovarian cancer fund that I created. For those of you that don't know, I am dedicating the half-marathon to her and raising money in the process to put towards her medical funds. If you would like to donate click on the "Donate" link on the top right of my blog to easily donate with PayPal. Anything helps!

Last, I am going to strive to be a better sister, daughter, girlfriend, and friend. This is something I always try to do but I know there are a few simple changes I could make to have better relationships with some of the people I care the most about.

Workout

I couldn't start the first day of the year without a workout so I created the 60/30 Workout. I saw a workout on Courtney's blog earlier this week that interested me and I made a few modifications to it. It's a good, quick workout to jump start your day!

New Years Resolutions Giveaway

Each year so many people make a resolution to become more fit, active, eat healthier, and/or lose weight. I thought that a fun way to kick off the new year for you all and to help with your resolutions would be to offer a New Years Resolutions Giveaway that includes products from some of my favorite healthy food and fitness brands. I am still working with some companies but as of right now some of the sponsors are Chobani, Attune Foods, and GoodBelly, just to name a few!

This week's giveaway is from Attune Foods. The winner of this giveaway will receive a few boxes of Uncle Sam Original Cereal and Uncle Sam Raisin Bran Cereal. These cereals are heart healthy and still full of flavor! The original can also be sprinkled over your favorite yogurt for an added crunch.

How to enter

Comment on this post telling me what resolutions you have for the new year. If you didn't make any, comment telling me how you brought in the new year!

I will choose a winner on Saturday January 5th!