LOVED CIM! I PR'D!

This past Sunday, December 2nd, I had an amazing experience at CIM (California International Marathon). To say it rained that day is an understatement. I'd like to say that it was a crazy monsoon! It was a downpour from the start, with lots of headwinds and sidewinds, slippery pavement and lots of puddles. I started telling myself that the puddles were a little "ice bath." Memories for a lifetime!

My fellow peeps, Ernie and Nikki drove up for this race with me the night before and we enjoyed a delicious carbo load pasta feed. Lasagna is my friend! Congratulations to them for braving the elements as well as our TNT peep David R. My running buddy Charlene unfortunately had to drop out of this race due to back injuries, so she was one of the people who I ran for. Love you Char!

The things that go through your head when you're running by yourself I tell ya...I managed to find a great cadence to have in my head (the beat to a No Doubt song); among other things going through my head included, but weren't limited to: "I'm going to kick CIM's @SS," "Just Keep Swimming," "It's GU Time" and "I'm Alert, I'm Alive, I Feel Great." I couldn't wait to see that mile 20 marker and started to do the "it's only a 10K" countdown, then 5K and then, "Travis will be waiting for me soon" and he was! Right around mile 26 towards the homestretch, he shouted for me, I acknowledged him and he said, "dig, dig, dig!" A couple weeks ago, I told myself if I could beat my Nike Women's Marathon time, I'd be happy (which would be to beat 5 hours), then after the Santa Barbara Half/20-miler, I thought, geez a 4:50 would be good, then shortly after that- just shy of a 4:45 would rock, but ultimately, I'm going to do the damn thing. I FINISHED CIM IN A 4:37 and some odd change! I'm still on a runner's high and feel great. To celebrate, I had a Nation's cheeseburger and fries. LOL

To those wondering if CIM is an easy course (Folsom to Sacramento), don't let the "net down" fool you. Aside from the insane weather, there were plenty of rolling hills.* :)

This a photo I found online that someone took of runners during the race. CRAY!

I snagged this off the photographer's website. Thanks Sport Photo. Yes, for the first time ever I wore a garbage bag while running. I didn't take it off until about mile 24 when the rain had finally stopped and the sun was peaking out. One of the best accessories of the day!

All done and holding the bling to prove it! This photo sure is deceiving, as it was NOT sunny during the race. LOL

*I wore my angel necklace that my dear friend Roxanne had given me earlier this year (it is a keepsake that Roxanne had in memory of her mom Marian) to watch over me. I actually have worn it at almost every race since she gave it to me. Thank you Roxanne.

Thanksgiving Weekend- What A Treat!

I finally got a little breather from work to write my Thanksgiving Weekend Recap. I don't know about you, but I have had a few friends on Facebook who have been posting things that they were thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving and the holidays. I wanted to start off with what I'm thankful for this holiday season:

• I am of course thankful for the Le-Strom families-Travis especially; and our household of four-legged "kids." I can always count on Trav to support me in everything I do. I'm also thankful for my parents and their continued determination. Poppa Le had a rough third quarter this year after experiencing a stroke, so we are blessed that he recovered from it with no major physical disabilities. Again, many thanks to everyone who sent their thoughts and prayers. My mom is so strong and I admire her for her unselfishness and kind heart to all those around her. Now, if only we had the funds to build our dream "Le-Strom" compound out here, we could get all of our  folks to Cali!
• This year was filled with continuous love and support from our FRIENDS, many of whom are our extended family, which includes our Team In Training crew. I also had the pleasure of joining Team Victorious, a unique group that I got to communicate with virtually, then got to meet some of the members in person at various races.
• Thanksgiving was a very important day for me. A group of us ran the Nitro Turkey Trot 10K at Point Pinole. The last time I ran a race on Thanksgiving, I had a seizure. This Thanksgiving race, I got to celebrate 2 years of being seizure free! We celebrated back home with a champagne toast. Special THANKS to Travis, Ernie, Charlene, Dom, Nikki and Jen for being a part of this special run and day.
• Of course I'm thankful for what we are blessed to have (think Maslow's Hierarchy of needs) but truly appreciate our health and physical fitness from the ability to run to the cool people we work out with at Your Body Works, the physical and mental health overall, has been very positive this year.
• With that, I say to all those reading: CHEERS! Here's to nothing but good things for the rest of the year; and here's to health, love, successes and great happiness for 2013 and beyond!

As I wrap this up, I want to send out a congratulations to my friends Ali & Matt Timmers on the birth of their daughter Avery. We missed each other this past Turkey Day, but shared experiences together nonetheless. I successfully cooked my first Thanksgiving turkey this year, as Travis and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend full of festivities with lovely friends: Ernie, Nikki and Jen here at the Strom house. We started with a winter hat dance party on Wednesday, then the Nitro Turkey Race Thursday, followed by an awesome T-Day dinner with all the fixings. Nikki and I battled Black Friday and then that Saturday, Ernie, Trav and I ventured all the way out to Fremont to do the Quarry Lakes Turkey race -- all so that we could earn our "double down" medals. Yes, I'm addicted to the bling! I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was a spectacular one! Of course, I have a few photos to share below. Until next time!

 Nitro Turkey Race- E-dog, Trav, Dom, Jen, Myself & Charlene

Our Thanksgiving Crew- E-dog, Trav, Jen, Nikki & I

On the menu: Turkey, 2 Stuffings, Homemade Mash Potatoes w/Gravy, Cheesy Potatoes, Candied Yams, Seasoned Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts. In addition, there was Cranberry Sauce, Olives & Dinner Rolls! Wine, Bloody Mary Bar, Chocolates, Pecan & Pumpkin Pie, not pictured! :)

Quarry Lakes Turkey Race

20 Miler (Including The Santa Barbara Half) Recap

So this past Saturday, November 10th, Travis, E-dog and I completed the Santa Barbara Half. We seem to have this theme going this year, which I don't necessarily recommend, where we tend to not look at the course map ahead of time (you'll read about that later).

The morning was brisk! Very windy and chilly. Due to a little lack of planning by the organizers, there was about a 15 minute start delay due to the abundance of runners needing to take shuttle buses to the start. That's cool though because they acknowledged it. I guess by Travis parking near the start, that helped us out, BUT we really decided to do that so that we could get an extra 7 miles in after the race to complete a long 20 mile training run. I must say, people looked confused and it was kind of weird to be running "home" to the car in the opposite direction, on the other side of the road as the full marathoners were still out there! One spectator asked why I was coming from another direction and I quickly explained what I was doing so I didn't look "cray" LOL.

So to back track, in celebration of Veteran's Day, there was a flyby before the start along with a bag piper and a bugler. Even more inspirational was the fact that a little 13 year old girl who was in a wheel chair and on a breathing apparatus was going to be pushed the entire race by her parents; her first half marathon.

The race was nice, taking us down the streets, through a bike path (a little narrow with all the runners), through neighborhoods and ultimately along the beach. There were some rolling hills and pretty views. The big surprise came at mile 10 when low and behold a very long hill! As I mentioned earlier, we didn't bother with the course map. It lasted for about 3/4 of a mile. I'm proud to say I ran up every dang hill that day, held a consistent pace and drafted accordingly, looking ahead to see every turn as our coaches had taught us. Dare I say I have "mastered" the "grab a water cup and turn it into a little spout you can run with" technique that Coach Tim had taught us a long time ago. :) I had a nice strong finish and turned in the time I had wanted in order to still do 7 more miles afterwards (goal was a 2:10 or less; did about a 2:08-ish). The race volunteers provided us with mini flags to run to the finish with. The last leg had flags lined up on both sides. Soldiers were in uniform cheering us in and they were saying thanks for running, as I was thanking them for their service. What they do is above and beyond to protect our country; glad we were able to show support by running. Thanks for reading and as always, below are photos!

Thanks Brightroom for the photo "proof."

Of course Travis is looking at his watch, not the camera.

Yes, Ernie and I are still goofing around after 20 miles.

Take It Easy On The NYC Marathon Runners!

Wow, for all of those runners who were in NYC for the Marathon, I feel bad for them. It's like they were "damned if they did or damned if they didn't," when it came to the kind of help they could provide while being stranded there. People have the audacity to ridicule them for not doing enough? Something is better than nothing! Many of these individuals fundraised for different charities and came a long way for the race, having very personal reasons for why they run. Some people who projected anger towards those runners should not assume that "all runners" are selfish or have their own agenda to just "race." Seeing people post things on social media like "F@^! the runners" is disheartening. Don't let a few runners who were let down by the decision of the race organizers, the mayor, etc., who may have poorly expressed their distaste for how the race situation was handled, let that be the stereotype for who runners are. I come across a few rude runners, or some who are just in it for themselves now and then, but the runners I know on a personal level, are not like that whatsoever! We have good hearts, we run to help others, we run to overcome our fears and to inspire others. Whether we run with our own personal health issues to better ourselves so that we can pay it forward, or run because we ourselves are motivated by someone who's out their doing it despite their personal set-backs, plain and simple- We all have a personal story to share.

Whether those NYC runners were able to donate some money (keeping in mind that they already did bring revenue to the city by just coming into town) or donated their time to those affected by the Hurricane, any type of support is good support. From what I've read through articles or from individuals who were physically there posting their experiences, many runners were out there helping to pick up garbage, handing out headlamps, asking how they could help, etc. Let's be thankful, not disrespectful to them by saying they haven't done enough!

I commend some of the people who wrote back to nasty FB posts that people had about the runners pointing out that angered individuals should maybe direct their questions about getting assistance to other organizations, like the professional sports teams that continued playing, big retailers, etc. One person had a good point. If someone that lives there locally has the time to rant on Facebook by swearing and blaming runners, they themselves are not necessarily out there doing good for the greater cause...they obviously have resources to be able to access the Internet, etc. Maybe they should change their negativity and harness it into something positive by spreading the word about what is needed through their social media networks.

I know I'm not perfect, no one is, but just seeing all of the rude, nasty things that have been going on around the topic of the NYC Marathon, the runners and non-runners, tourists and local residents alike, has just been crazy.

As Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I'm thankful for so much. I send my thoughts and well wishes to all my friends, their families and those affected on the East Coast. Stay strong out there. Remember that even though people might not be able to physically or monetarily help, spiritual positivity is a very powerful thing. I recently interacted with a lady from New Jersey, who despite what happened there, took the time to want to learn more about helping the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She spoke to me over the phone as she was standing in the crazy gas lines, trying to recoup from what happened in her area. Despite the terrible things that surrounded her, she was still positive and actually signed up for Team In Training because she wanted to pay it forward. Amazing.

Grape Stomp Half 10/21 Done!

My third race in two weeks was completed! I put in 6 miles on Saturday prior to Sunday's Grape Stomp Half (to get my long run training in). My running buddy Charlene did the Tarantula race the day before this one- way to go buddy!

The Grape Stomp Half was alright- not on my list to do again. 1. The race started about a half hour late. 2. There was disorganization and the MC just came up with long winded speeches about how "things happen." 3. I always carry my own fuel, but was surprised to see that no electrolytes were offered at any of the aid stations. This could have been a major issue if it had been warmer out. Also, I'm not sure if they stated whether there would be electrolytes or not on their webpage, but if they said there were going to, that may have messed up some people's nutrition plans. 4. The shirt and bag we got was nothing special. The only thing that made up for this race was the cute little grape medal that doubles up as a wine stopper. Other than that the route was part of some familiar areas that our coach has us do for Team In Training, which don't get me wrong, are nice views on good training terrain. Hey, we did the dang thing! At least I had my running buddy, we ran into some friends and also saw some Team Victorious members and other Nike finishers out there. -Lisa

TWO TEAMS, ONE CAUSE!

The Team In Training Side
Well folks, another Nike Women's race has come and gone! When I first began with Team In Training (TNT), the Nike Women's Half Marathon was my first race ever. Last year, again with TNT, I did the Nike Women's FULL Marathon- my first full ever. This year, I went for the "trifecta" and once again did the Nike Women's Half Marathon with TNT. All three years, Travis and I have both fundraised to help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society despite times when one or both of us had already gotten accepted into the race via lottery. This past Sunday's race, October 14th, was dedicated to our personal honorees Tony and Steve. We also ran for all of our Team Fury honorees and in memory of Josh Knoblock.

The Nike Women's Race is one of my all time favorites because since it's inception in San Francisco 9 years ago, it has raised over $128 million dollars for the LLS. Nike of course does what Nike does best, "hook you up." At the finish, I got another lovely Tiffany's finisher's necklace and not going to lie, was super stoked to see that the finisher shirt was a NEON GREEN- matching my "Slimer" shoes (I even did a little dance when I saw the shirt).

I feel that this third Nike has really brought things full circle for me. Travis and I have come a long way with our running and fundraising. I have also found some renewed confidence in my health. The hills of San Fran at this race use to seem so daunting, but after great training from our coaches over the seasons and diving into crazy trail runs this year, those hills were nothing! THANK YOU to everyone who supported "Team Strom" through another season with TNT. Your generosity and continued support is much appreciated. You fueled us through the finish line and every dollar you gave, was a dollar towards finding cures for blood cancers.

The Team Victorious Side
So this year's Nike was extra special because I got a chance to be a part of a group that became something bigger than what we could have all imagined. Back in January, I chose to sign up for Nike's Virtual Half and they set forth a challenge for individuals to sign up as a group. The largest group would get automatic entry into the Nike San Fran race. Well, Team Victorious, which culminated from one wonderful "Captain Jules" were the "winners." Throughout the months leading up to this race, we all corresponded via Facebook, met at different races, shared stories of why we run and who we run for and gave each other advice when times seemed tough. Of course all of the individuals on this team also helped contribute to fighting blood cancers and some were even part of TNT as well, such as myself. You know you have inspired others and shown the public what a team can do, when Nike acknowledges your group with things such as a private shopping hour at Niketown, exclusive Team Victorious Nike Tech T and group photo shoot. WOW! Please enjoy all the photos below. Click to enlarge them and as always, thanks for reading.

My Race Day Shirt

Race Morning With Running Buddy Charlene & Trav

Coach Tim Meets Up With Us

Post Race Photo By The TNT Honorees' Wall

The Tech T That Nike Gave To Team Victorious Members (My name's inside the V)!

Group Photo Shoot For Team Victorious The Night Before The Race!

San Jose Rock 'n' Roll!

This past Sunday, on October 7th, Travis, Ernie and I completed the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon! I was very surprised at how well I did, considering I fell asleep in the car during the ride down to the race. I usually start slow and thought I was following my usual routine, until I looked over and saw that I was running with the 2 Hour pace guy. Pretty cool.

I ran for about 75% of the way with that pacer, until I decided to take it a little easier as I felt a little overheated (I don't do well with any remote heat) and still had the Nike Women's Half Marathon in sight for next weekend. Though I didn't PR (wasn't planning to) I finished with a new course best! Travis ran well, despite forgetting his socks! NOTE: NEVER FORGET YOUR SOCKS. He paid for it later having ran barefooted with his Nike Frees on the entire race.

Post race, we all enjoyed one of our favorite breakfast joints- Katy's Kreek. Bloodies were had by all, and Ernie and I of course had to get the SEAFOOD Eggs Benedict. Now I know all of my picky peeps back in the midwest are probably saying "yuck," but it is so good! If you ever make it out here, we should go to brunch there. DON'T WORRY! There are plenty of different eggs Benedict combinations to choose from!

Click To Enlarge

Light The Night & The Significance Of My Balloon!

Travis and I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in Light The Night with our dear friends Tony (one of our personal honorees) and his wife Julie. Together, along with his family and friends, we helped raise over $1,200 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! It was a great experience to be able to walk alongside Tony in Wisconsin. 

During the Walk, walkers carry illuminated balloons in three colors: white balloons are carried by survivors; red balloons by supporters; gold ones are carried by walkers who are walking in memory of loved ones lost to cancer. As you can see I was walking with a gold one. My gold balloon was in memory of Josh Knoblock, husband of my friend Rina. Josh lost his battle last year on October 21, 2011. The first season that I did Team In Training, I met Rina and her husband Josh. Rina was running for him as he was undergoing his chemo at the time. She completed the Nike Women's Half Marathon in 2010 in honor of him.

Last year, only a few days after Nike Women's 2011, Josh sadly lost his blood cancer battle. This year, Rina is running in memory of Josh and will again do the Nike Women's Half Marathon. She is doing it as part of her healing process, to give back and help raise valuable funds so that we can find cures!!!

Many of you have played an important role in helping "Team Strom" go above and beyond our goals and we thank you. For those of you who haven't quite jumped on the bandwagon yet, please take a moment to CLICK HERE and visit my friend Rina's fundraising website. Read her stories, view photos and consider helping her reach her personal goal. Thank you. A few photos from the walk are below, simply click on them to enlarge them.

Travis & I with Tony & Julie. The stickers on my legs represented my walk in honor of personal honorees Tony & Steve M., and Team Fury honorees. I also had a sticker for Rina's husband Josh as well as my "in memory" balloon for him.

A beautiful rainbow appeared right before the walk (ended up being a full double rainbow).

A shot that I captured during the walk in downtown Milwaukee.

Light The Night!

Hey everyone! I'm taking a slight break from giving you a running update. What you get instead, is an introduction to the Light The Night Walk! I just joined "Baker's Flock Of Angry Birds" team!

Light The Night Walk is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual fundraising walk to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer. Hundreds of thousands of participants raise funds for lifesaving research and patient services. To read more about why I've also joined this group aside from the TNT endurance program, visit the link below! Thanks for reading! -Lisa

http://pages.lightthenight.org/wi/SEWI12/LStrom

Nike Is About 9 Weeks Away...

So my first Half Marathon ever was the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, as well as my first FULL ever! I'm going to embark upon Nike for the third time, so just thought I'd share real quick a video of last year's course. You get the idea of what running the full was like for me (as well as part of the half marathon, which is what I decided to do this year since I've already done one 6-hour endurance race and plan on doing a different full- gulp...). Enjoy!

Summer Breeze Half!

Well folks, another half is down in the books. On Saturday, August 4th, three of us who did the Lake Chabot Half, jumped right back in for the Summer Breeze Half in San Leandro at the Marina. Short and sweet, I'm glad my leg held up (knee/IT band). I promised my legs that if I made it through, I would take at least a week break from running, which I did by taking a trip to L.A.- much needed after finding out my dad had a stroke just over a week ago. THANK GOD AND THANK EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO HAVE BEEN PRAYING AND SENDING POSITIVE THOUGHTS. Our family appreciates all the love and support- it has definitely lifted us in spirit and helped Dad on his road to recovery. He is doing better as each day goes by and can walk and talk. For those of you on Facebook with me, you've been getting the most updates, so stay tuned there. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Now, I'm ramping it up again, getting ready for our next races. We are thinking about doing the Dragon Fly half marathon next, which is in September, but first let's get through the Nike preview run with Team in Training this weekend! More updates soon! -Lisa

Myself, "E-Dog" & Jen!

2 More Races Down!

On Saturday, July 21st, we had a training run with Team Fury, which was a hilly trail run at Redwood Regional Park. I chose to do 6 miles in anticipation of the Wharf to Wharf race the next day. I definitely experienced I.T. band pains, most likely as a result of my legs still healing from the crazy 6 hour endurance race. Nevertheless, I took it easy on the way back and then on Sunday, July 22nd, completed "The best little road race in California" with a group of peeps! We enjoyed a post race breakfast with bloodies and mimosas and topped it off with a shopping spree on the way home from Santa Cruz/Capitola. 

This past Saturday, July, 28th a good group of friends and some TNT alumni participated in the Bad Bass "Ultra" Half Marathon at Lake Chabot. Now you might wonder why they consider it an "ultra" as part of the Brazen Racing series, and I know exactly why...HILLS on a CRAZY trail, or as one of my friends put it, "that's not a hill, it's a freakin' cliff!" Well we all did the dang thing and it was cool to have our Coaches there cheering us in. Our head Coach Tim placed 3rd in his age division, so obviously I only saw him at the start and finish line because he is so fast! Following the race, the organizers sent us their usual "thanks for participating" e-mail and included this, "Half marathoners, we should have covered it in the pre-race briefing, but we know you found out on your own, that there were two changes on sections of the course (at the request of the park) that made the course slightly longer and definitely tougher (more climbing).  So, if you ran it last year and were comparing your time to this year, be sure to give yourself 10-15 minutes of slack to account for it being harder!" Now if that summary didn't wrap it up, I don't know what does! It was definitely one of the most challenging races I've ever done. Now, I look on to more races and am trying to rest my legs for the next one. Thanks for reading! Photos below as always for your enjoyment- click to enlarge. :) -Lisa

Wharf To Wharf (Santa Cruz to Capitola, ~10K)

Trav, Ernie, Leanne, Nikki, Me, Stephanie & La Dawn

Bad Bass Photos!!! This is just one of the "hills" we had to ascend...trust me, this photo doesn't do this "hill" justice! It's definitely the biggest one I've seen in a race.

Just some of the crew post race!

Charlene, Me, E-dog, Nikki, Coaches Gary & Tim

Dirty Half Dozen Done!

Well, it's been a little while since I posted. June was filled with many activities, from being in a wedding party to Trav literally "getting his feet wet" as part of a half Ironman Tri relay team in Quebec, Canada. Now on the meat of this post!

Last Saturday, July 7th, Trav and I, along with my running buddy Charlene, set out to run a 6 hour endurance race (Dirty Half Dozen) at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. It was a looped course with approximately 98% dirt fire trails! Well, we started out strong and after the half marathon mark, I was on track to PR for a full. Unfortunately, at mile 16, both Charlene and I experienced knee & IT injuries! Travis had previous IT issues, so was feeling it slightly before us and then got pretty much the same injury as well. We decided at that point to deem ourselves "Team Hobble." Team hobble might of wobbled, but we didn't fall down....

Due to our injuries, we were reduced to trotting, forging our way up the rolling hills, yet having to hobble our way down them because our legs simply would not move the way we needed them to.

In the end, we all finished our 6 hours! Charlene and I did 27.68 miles and found this to be pretty rewarding, all injuries aside. Had we been in good health, we would've placed, as the third place female finisher did just over 30 miles! We were so close, but hey, a great time was had by all despite the pain. I might add, this was my second full marathon and the farthest I've ever ran in one day! :) We've got photos below for your enjoyment (click to enlarge them). Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates. -Lisa

Going Strong On The Course

We Did It!

One Of My Top 3 Favorite Medals- Bottle Opener, Coaster & Medal All In One.

TEAM FURY!

Had a nice easy run with Team Fury (Fall Team in Training crew) this morning. This season's "photo contest" is going to be for the SF Bay Area team that has the most photos posted with us posing with Flat Stanley and/or Flat Summer. Below are a couple photos from today. Tomorrow, Sunday 6/10, I embark on a longer run with my running buddy Charlene in preparation for the "Dirty Half Dozen" race in July. No it's not a half marathon...stay tuned for future posts! ;) -Lisa

Planking has commenced for the new season with Team Fury

with Stephanie, Flat Stanley & Flat Summer.

A core group of us...there are over 100 peeps on this team.

San Diego Rock 'n' Roll!

Last weekend we flew out to San Diego for another run that benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This was our last official race that we participated in for the Team in Training "summer season" with "Team Josh." While we are wrapping up, a few teammates are tapering in preparation for the Mayor's Marathon in Alaska and wish them well.

San Diego was such a fun trip! We spent time with our friends, visited the race expo, had an amazing Inspiration Dinner with over 6,000 other TNT participants, raced the streets of San Diego and got in a "date day" before flying home.

We are now on to the new "fall TNT season" with "Team Fury!" Thanks to friends, family, social media and business connections, I received many generous donations for my "Birthday Wish" of raising money to help find a cure for blood cancers. Way to go everyone! As always, a few photos from this past weekend are below.

Some of our peeps that we sat with at our pre-race Inspiration Dinner (carbo load)!

Travis & I sporting the bling. Love the "Go Team" in the background at the TNT tent!

Yes, this is AFTER the start and look at the sea of people still waiting to go!

Show Your Grit Winners!

Months ago, our Team in Training group was challenged in a "Show Your Grit" contest against the other SF Greater Bay Area teams (Tri, cycling, hike, etc.). As one of the people who got to spearhead this contest for our team, I was so happy to find out that we won. It was a lot of hard work taking lots of photos and posting them on social media; I was happy to have support in posting and our crazy group really hammed it up for the camera. Below is one of many photos taken from our photo shoot by the SF office staff at our pancake breakfast (part of our award for winning). The images will eventually be used for local area marketing efforts. How fun!

Click To Enlarge!

So Many Events, So Many Causes. It's All Good!

Do you have a fun run, mud race or other fitness event that you like participating in? Comment to this blog or e-mail me if you have my address.

We may talk about TNT/LLS often and by now you know why, BUT we also support other causes. In fact, a lot of events we sign up for benefit a charity, organization or the community. The majority of events out there have a cause they support.
I have had personal connections that got me involved to help causes such as the National MS Society (one of my best friends has it and does the walk every year), the American Diabetes Association (my uncle passed from it and I have friends living with it), the Alzheimer's Association (I know too many who lost loved ones to this) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association/ALS (participated in rides to MDA Camp, fundraising events, etc.).

I want to start taking a more in depth look at the Epilepsy Foundation. I think they don't get enough awareness as they should. "Not Another Moment Lost To Seizures" is their saying. One in 10 adults will have a seizure sometime during their life. I wish there was a cure for this, as I wish there were a cure for many of the other things people get diagnosed with.

20 Miler!

The longest run of the season for our team was this past Saturday. Participants ran up to 20 miles in preparation for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll race the first weekend of June. Having just come off Avenue of the Giants on Sunday, May 6, I still decided to do the 20 miler and it was great! We ran in beautiful Tiburon, CA. There were some hills involved of course, but what our Coaches put us through, is well worth it because we go into our races well prepared. Some people ask why I decide to run as far as I do when I'm not necessarily signed up for a longer race (until July). I do it because I can, I do it to support others and my simple response is, "just because."

Travis is battling some slight injuries, but managed to still crank out 13 miles!!! We had the pleasure of seeing one of our team honorees, David, who was out there running with a big smile on his face and waited for everyone to finish, with lots of smiles and hugs to give out! I wish everyone could meet David; he's such an inspiration and positive individual to be around. We are nearing the next season of the Leukemia & Lymphoma's Team in Training and hope to be able to continue on in raising funds for this amazing organization. For those who haven't followed this blog page as often, one of my previous posts, was that my Birthday Wish this year is to be able to do another full season with Travis and the team. I can't do it without the wonderful support from individuals like you! Please help Team Strom stay together with TNT! :)

Melissa, Nikki & I Post Run!

One Inspirational Weekend!

This one's jammed packed folks. Travis and I were so lucky to be able to visit with our great friends, Tony & Julie! As you know, Tony is one of our personal honorees. We were so happy that they were able to come out to San Francisco for Julie's work and we sure took advantage of all the time we had to spend together! Last Thursday started out with a wonderful dinner in the city, followed by a trip over to Ghirardelli Square. Friday, we went on a solid 2 and a half hour hike at Muir Woods, followed by lunch and a walk in Sausalito then ended the day with the Brewers Vs. Giants game. You can't ask for anything better than seeing the reason behind why you started running right before going into your TNT race weekend.

On Saturday, Travis, one of our friends and I headed up north to the Humbolt, CA area in preparation for our race with our Team in Training crew that signed up for the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon. After 4 hours of travel, race bib pick-up and finally check in at the hotel, we laid low and carbo loaded. Sunday was WONDERFUL!!! We met up with our fellow teammates and all started the race together amongst the giant redwoods! This is one of the most scenic races I've ever done, but to be honest, sometimes I don't notice my surroundings because I'm so focused on why I run, who I run for and getting to the finish line! The camaraderie when you are running with fellow "purple peeps" is amazing and the crowd support is too. As I sprinted to the finish, a woman looked right at me and yelled, "Thank You For What You Do." I still get chills hearing that because a stranger who I didn't know was thanking me for running to help those battling blood cancers. This was my best "official race" half marathon time to date. I ran a 2:01. Travis also had an "official race" best of 1:47. Enjoy a few photos below and feel free to contact me to learn how you can get involved. Thank you.

Travis, Ben, Anne, Me, Willie, Maddie, Nancy & Jen

All done! Apparently hiking 2 days before a race did the trick!

Tony at the Brewer's Vs. Giants Game on 5/4.

Meet Our Personal Honorees

I'd like to share with you who our personal honorees are in short detail so that you can further see why we continue to run with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, raising valuable funds to help find a cure for blood cancers and support patients and their families affected by this terrible disease.

First and foremost, our journey began when our dear friend Tony B. was first diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Dec. of 2009. We didn't want to sit back and do nothing. We needed to support him and his wife Julie in some way. Since they were hundreds of miles away from us, we decided to show our support throughout Tony's journey by running with the team to raise funds and help find cures. Today, I'm happy to say that Tony is currently in remission (as of the holidays last year) and he along with Julie share their story with others and emphasize the value of the LLS and "Be The Match" program. They are a strong couple that we truly admire.

Tony is now able to travel. Here he is with wife Julie at a wedding.

Our other Personal Honoree is Steve M. He and his wife Caroyln are wonderful individuals who we had the pleasure of meeting years ago. In fact, we purchased our first home from them in WI! Steve was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and has been undergoing treatment earlier in 2012. Steve and Carolyn are a loving couple, very caring and active in organizations within their local Florida community. I'm happy to say Carolyn's last FB post on Nov. 2, 2012 said, "Today I am thankful for my husband Steve's cancer-freeness!" Pictured below is Steve- "bald and beautiful" along with Oliver, their rescue dog.

What A Weekend!

I'll spare all the extra activities that kept us busy from last Friday through Sunday and jump right to the "running" portion. For my Facebook friends, you got the gist of what the weekend adventures provided!

I pretty much agreed to doing an "impromptu" Half Marathon with my running buddy Charlene on Sunday. She asked me to sign up just three days before the event! Why not right? Now keep in mind, we are technically suppose to take it easy in preparation for our TNT Avenue of the Giants Race this coming Sunday 5/6!!! The day before the race, I had a run with our wonderful Team in Training crew- Team Josh. I decided to just do over 6 miles (about a 10K) since I needed to save my legs for the race on Sunday and figured the race would add on the mileage that would equate to what some of our fellow marathoners were suppose to run. Are you still following me on this one??? All said and done, I did just over 19 miles this past weekend! What was insanely exciting for me was that Charlene and I accomplished a 2:04 finish time after all the craziness we had gone through days before. YAY (finisher photo below)!

Charlene & I after the Pleasanton Half Marathon!

"Make Lisa's Birthday Wish Happen!"

The title says it all, make my birthday wish happen! May 25th is my birthday. Interestingly enough, the new Team in Training season (first run) kicks off on May 26th. Help me join Travis again for another season, as I'm kick-starting the fundraising now for a great cause. Thanks!

Survivor Mud Run!

On Saturday, April 21st, Travis and I headed to Lathrop, CA for the Survivor Mud Run. This race featured 3.5 muddy miles with 16 various obstacles to overcome. It was a fantastic time. We started early in the morning in the surprisingly hot sun and what felt to be at least 80 degrees- it was only 9am! This is our second type of "adventure race" and I can sense more to come. We are considering the Tough Mudder with a few other friends and that one would be no walk in the park.

Post Race!

We ran on April 21st. April 21st marked 6 months since the passing of our dear friend Rina's husband, Josh. His spirit lives on with our team this season. We have a great coached run with "Team Josh"- our Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training crew this Saturday. For those of you who don't know, anytime Rina or our teammates are graced by the presence of a Lady bug, this is representative of Josh. Think about Josh the next time you see a Lady bug and really cherish the moment that you're in. Again, we ask you to please make a donation so that we can continue our efforts with the LLS and Team in Training so that no one has to go through what many friends and families have to when faced with blood cancers. We need to find a cure!

Our Personal Honoree Tony Baker!

For the past 3 years now, Tony has served as our driving force behind why we originally joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. We were so thrilled to hear the news that he was in remission last year (right before the holidays). As Tony and his wife Julie show us, you never stop fighting and you never stop educating. Please visit this link and view the news story they were recently featured in: 
http://www.todaystmj4.com/features/specialassignment/147842235.html

Because they live in my home state of Wisconsin, this is an opportunity for all of my friends in other states to "meet" Tony (hear and see him first hand). It was great seeing the video, as I was just telling his story at our TNT Personal Honoree Picnic this past weekend. Also, please keep our friend Steve in your thoughts as he undergoes treatment for his lymphoma.

Again, if running isn't your thing, let us do the "leg work" for you. Just make a donation to help us take more steps forward towards finding a cure for blood cancers. You may want to consider other ways to help too, like volunteering at a local event for the LLS OR signing up for "Be The Match." Learn more about "Be The Match" by CLICKING HERE. Thanks! -Lisa

Here we are with our friend and personal honoree Tony and his wife Julie.

A Saturday Of Inspiration!

This past Saturday, our team came together for a coached run in Livermore, CA. I was up around 5am, and carpooled in with some of my friends for a 7:15am start time. This weekend I decided to once again go for the full mileage on our training calendar. I set out and completed 15 miles! It was a challenging route, but I did it (keep in mind a few of us ran a half marathon just the Sunday before). Go Team!

Waiting for all the participants at the end of this training run were family, friends, team honorees and personal honorees. What made Saturday extra special was that it was our Personal Honoree Picnic where fellow teammates were encouraged to share their personal connections to the cause. I heard many inspiring and emotional stories from those who lost loved ones, to those who are running for individuals currently undergoing treatment or are in remission. I decided to share "Team Strom's" story on why we began our journey with Team in Training. I was fortunate to announce that our personal honoree Tony is in remission, but it wasn't the case for other stories that were told...the tears were flowing, hugs were shared and many teammates stepped up to speak. I also decided to talk about our friends Steve and Carolyn. I thanked my fellow teammates for keeping them in their thoughts and prayers as Carolyn's husband Steve is currently undergoing treatment.

The stories that were shared this past Saturday is a constant reminder that we have to keep fighting! As always, I've included photos from this last weekend's adventure for you below. Simply click on them to enlarge them. Thanks again in advance for your support! -Lisa

My friends Ernie, Nikki & I on our 15-miler! We all ran the U.S. Half last Sunday. :)

Our fun "iRun" crew!

Yes, we still have the energy to plank! Do you see me?

U.S. Half Done!!!

We'll folks, another Half Marathon is in the books. I dedicated this race to my friends Steve & Carolyn. Carolyn's husband Steve was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and is undergoing treatment. For those who believe in the power of prayer, I ask you to keep them both in your thoughts.

The U.S. Half was a great race through the Presidio, up, over and under the Golden Gate and back, past Crissy Field and SF streets with great scenic views. We couldn't have asked for a better day and for it to be on Easter Sunday at that. Post-race photos are below. Upcoming Leukemia & Lymphoma Society TNT races include the Avenue of the Giants and San Diego Rock 'n' Roll. Nike also benefits LLS! Thanks for reading. -Lisa & Travis

Lisa & Her Running Buddy Charlene

With Our Great Friends (Who Are All TNT'ers)

We've Got Spirit!

Our team has such spirit. We ran long hill repeats on Tuesday and some of my fellow teammates came with cameras in hand to help me take photos for a "Show Your Grit" contest that pinned us up against other SF Bay Area TNT groups to see who could post the most photos for social media. I'm so proud to say our team won and beat out another team (that had twice the amount of people as us) by 300 photos! WOW! Not only do we get a pancake breakfast, BUT more importantly our faces on local marketing for LLS/TNT AND bragging rights are cool too! Check some of us out as we are "planking" (out of all things) AFTER our crazy workout. I also included a photo below of the group running up the hill. Enjoy!

Click Photos To Enlarge

Coach Tim leads the charge up the hill!