“Team In Training” Partners With Freihofer’s Run for Women

Posted by Admin | March 9, 2010 | No Comments

Surely you’ve heard of Team In Training (TNT), The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s  groundbreaking charity sports training program. The organization recently reached the remarkable milestone of raising $1 billion to support blood cancer research and patient services.

For more than 21 years, TNT has helped more than 420,000 participants — from first timers to seasoned athletes — train and acheive their best at marathons, half marathons, triathlons, 100-mile century bike rides and hiking adventures.

Now for the first time, TNT is setting up training programs for those competing at the 5k level. And which race do you think it might be?

Take a moment to mull it over.

You got it! It’s the Freihofer’s Run or Women!

So what does this mean?

Starting on April 1st, Team In Training will be offering an 8-week training program for Freihofer’s Run for Women participants who’d like to be involved in this charitable program.

According to Robyn Haberman, Team In Training Campaign Director, “We have phenomenal coaches who will provide participants with a training schedule and we host two team trainings each week, which makes it a lot easier to get the miles in. Team members often make long-lasting friendships in the course of the program.”

The program is geared towards athletes of all ability levels – from first timers to people with ambitious finishing time goals.

In addition, Team In Training offers free race entry, training and race day gear, and an Inspiration Dinner prior to the event.

In exchange, everyone on the Team is raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  TNT asks each participant to raise a minimum of $500, and they’ll coach you through that process as well, providing letter-writing campaigns, samples and envelopes, and giving each Team member their own Web site to collect online donations.  Members also each get assigned a mentor who’s been through that program to help provide guidance and moral support.

The Team will also be training for an Honored Hero, a local child affected by leukemia.  The Honored Hero helps put a face to the cause and reminds everyone why they’re doing this. Participants can also train in honor or in memory of their loved ones if they choose to. TNT will be announcing the Honored Hero shortly.

Robyn says the goal is to recruit a minimum of 50 women to participate, “though 100 would be super awesome!”

The Recruitment Event will be on Tuesday, March 16th from 5-7 p.m. and will give people an opportunity to chat with coaches and past participants, and learn how they can get involved. After that, TNT will host a few additional information meetings for people who missed the event prior to kicking off.

We here at the Freihofer’s Run feel extremely proud to be selected as the first 5k to host the Team in Training campaign, and it’s a cause that we are behind 100%.  We hope that you’ll sign on to be a part and tell others as well!

For more information, please contact Robyn Haberman at 518-438-3583 or 866-255-3583. She can be reached via e-mail at Robyn.Haberman@lls.org.

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Category: Team In Training  Tags: >

Gearing Up for the Shamrock Shuffle

Posted by Tera Moody | March 2, 2010 | No Comments

I am really excited to run the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago in March.  I love the city and the race is so much fun.  My mom, dad, and brother will all be in town that weekend and I can’t wait to spend time with them.  My brother is actually going to run too!  It will be the first time we are in the same event together.

Ryan is actually the reason I started running in the first place.  He’s an amazing guy and I always wanted to be like him when I was growing up (and I still do).  He ran cross country in junior high as a way to stay fit for other sports and that inspired me to do the same.

He definitely enjoyed the other sports more and over the years made comments that he really didn’t like to run.  But I think he has caught the bug.  He even completed a marathon last year and is signed up for a 10 miler this year.

Category: Tera Moody's Blog  Tags:

A Bump in the Road

Posted by Sarah Herman | March 1, 2010 | 1 Comment

I’ve dealt with injuries before; a rolled or twisted ankle seems to be my specialty. This time, stress got the best of me, resulting in one of the oddest injuries I’ve ever had…

For those of you going through college/ grad school, I understand the mass amounts of work you have to do and how it weighs on you through the semester. And I understand how precious sleep becomes. I admit, I’ve been sleeping like a baby every night ever since I started running, but wow, have I been waking up with terrible headaches.

I figured out I had been clenching my teeth while I was sleeping due to the amount of stress I had been experiencing. While running is a great stress reliever, sometimes we can’t help but have too much stress. This is where my injury comes in. I haven’t run since Monday, and it’s killing me. Why? Because for about two weeks now I have been clenching my teeth so hard in my sleep (hence, the headaches) that it’s tensed my neck muscles up so tight, giving me one heck of a stiff neck. The first day I woke up with my stiff neck, I couldn’t believe the amount of pain I was in, and it only worsened throughout the day. It’s hard to be in a classroom, trying to pay attention to a room full of talkative 11th graders without looking every-which-way! I tried rolling my head around, but I was met with terrible pangs in my neck and head. I figured my tension tamer tea would help, but it only relaxed me for a bit. Since I can’t move my head around too much, I have been unable to run (I would rather heal than risk hurting myself even more).

To all of you expert runners out there, what do you recommend for this odd “injury”? And as I did last time, I want to open the response board up to all of you to share some of the odd injuries (or any injuries) you have experienced while running, and let us all know what you did to heal!

Happy Running!

Category: Sarah's Couch to 5K Journey  Tags:

Do You Want to Run a 5k?

Posted by Amanda Wright | February 25, 2010 | 2 Comments

Who wants to run the Freihofer’s Run for Women 5k this June? Did you run in the past but stopped? Have you always wanted to be a runner but you didn’t know where to start? Well, I have a solution!

This spring I will be mentoring at the Fleet Feet No Boundaries program. I urge you to stop by Fleet Feet on Wolf Road this Sunday, February 28th at 4:30 p.m. to find out more information. The program is absolutely amazing!

No Boundaries is a beginners 5k training program. It is setup similar to Couch to 5k (which is how I got started). You will start off with a walk/jog routine and slowly work your way up to running the entire time. There are so many people at different levels that you won’t feel out of place. I’ve personally become great friends with several past NoBo participants and I will tell you they are now running half marathons!

What do you have to lose? Running has changed my life for the better and I know it can do the same for you! I would personally love to have a hand in changing your life.

Last but not least this past weekend I participated in the HMRRC Winter Marathon Relay. My team completed 26.2 miles in 4:22. There were wind gusts up to 41 mph and it was brutal! Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to run a marathon in the middle of winter in Upstate NY?

Guess what? I HAD THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE! I ran the 11.2 mile leg of the race and ran my fastest 11 miles ever. Despite the conditions I was able to dig deep and shave 4 minutes off of my previous 11 mile time. I’ve said it before; I love to race! I feel so happy and comfortable when I am at a running event.

I hope to see you this spring at the NoBo program!

Category: Amanda's Journey  Tags: > >

Freihofer’s Community Walk Kick-Off Event

Posted by Admin | February 22, 2010 | No Comments

Join Us March 10 for the 22nd Annual Freihofer’s Community Walk Kickoff Event

Organizers of the 22nd Annual Freihofer’s Community Walk (slated for Saturday June 5, 2010) will hold a kickoff event at 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10th at The Meeting Room at The Crossings of Colonie. This is a great opportunity for many non-profits to spread awareness and raise funds for their own organizations. There is no fee to participate and 100% of the money you raise goes back to your organization. Freihofer’s supplies food, entertainment and logistics. So get your supporters, volunteers and board members involved to help lead a team for your non-profit organization. Please RSVP by Friday, March 5 by emailing Alicia Jacobs at ajmgnt@aol.com, or calling 669-9806. Seating is limited.

Category: Community Walk, News  

My New Running Buddy

Posted by Sarah Herman | February 20, 2010 | 4 Comments

These past couple weeks have been so hectic because I started student teaching, but running has served as a great stress reliever. I used to have so many thoughts going through my mind when I was running, but now it’s almost like a quite focused state that I enter as I run. I focus on my breathing, my steps, my pace; the numbers fall away and I don’t notice the time any more. It’s so wonderful. I know this is something I will be doing for the rest of my life now.

I want you all to meet my newest running buddy… his name is Killian! Of course, on the days I don’t run, we take long walks together through the snowy sidewalks of Syracuse, but once the snow clears, we’ll be out there pounding the pavement!

He’s great walking by my side, so I know he’ll keep the pace with me once we start running. And since he’s only a little over one, he’s still got that puppy energy (believe me!).

My aunt just told me she signed up for the WR the other day, so now it’s “for real” haha! I’m so excited!

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm/ healthy through these weird winter months (I know, they’re dragging. It snows every day here). When the winter weather gets me down and tries to deter me from running, I look at pictures from the summer last year. I’ve even started eating more summery foods (in my mind) that remind me of brighter days. I’m a coffee drinker, so sometimes having iced coffee gets me in the summer day’s mindset.

So ladies and gentlemen, I open the floor to you—what do you do to keep yourself motivated during these gray winter days? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Category: Sarah's Couch to 5K Journey  

I Like a Challenge

Posted by Amanda Wright | February 16, 2010 | 2 Comments

As of this morning I have lost a total of 105.8 lbs! Words can’t even express how I feel. Two years ago I was 276 lbs and miserable. On the outside I looked happy but what was going on inside of me was so sad. I was embarrassed by my appearance. I would walk with my head down afraid to make eye contact. I constantly felt like people were making fun of me. I never ate in public – I didn’t want to give people reason to make fun of me. I hid from the camera and only have a handful of pictures to document how big I really was.

It has not been an easy journey; I struggle on a daily basis. I learned a long time ago that I needed to change my life to be successful with my weight loss. Fad diets are useless because you don’t learn anything. Anyone can lose weight if someone is providing their meals but what happens when you have to make your own meals or go out to eat? It’s important to figure out the reasons behind why you eat. Are you eating because you are bored? Upset? Happy? Depressed? Once you are able to pinpoint the reason why you eat you can make an effort to do something else besides eating. Running, anyone?

At the end of my training for my first half marathon I was down a total of 98lbs. This means that from October – February I have lost 7 lbs. While I am thrilled that the scale is going in the right direction I am upset with myself. I have gotten too comfortable. I still need to lose more weight.

I figured out what I am doing wrong and put together a plan to get myself back on track. I started a BIRTHDAY CHALLENGE. My birthday is March 9th and my goal is to lose 10 lbs by then (please note: I started this challenge 2 weeks ago). To reach my goal I would have to lose 2 lbs a week. Research says that a healthy weight loss is .5 – 2 lbs a week. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I can reach the 10 lb goal but I like a challenge! I never thought I could run 13.1 miles and I did.

To get myself back on track I have committed to:

  • drinking 64+ oz of water a day
  • writing down everything I eat
  • staying within my Points® range
  • working out/running

Last week was the first weigh-in of the BIRTHDAY CHALLENGE and I lost 1.2 lbs. This week I lost 1.6 lbs. This puts my total for 2 weeks at 2.8 lbs. Only 7.2 more pounds to go!

Category: Amanda's Journey  

Bit of a Break

Posted by Tera Moody | February 13, 2010 | No Comments

I haven’t been training at full volume since my half marathon. I think my body needed a little break and my plantar has been bothering me. I had hoped to resume regular training next week but I will have to see how it feels. I always thought if I got injured I would be pretty upset but it hasn’t been bad since I can still do some running and racing.

Its been fun to have a relaxed schedule. I have hopped in some workouts with friends and even got on an indoor track this week. Last weekend I raced in Texas and this weekend I’m off to Spokane to run a cross country race. If I was at full volume I wouldn’t be able to do as many races and have flexibility in my workouts.

And I am amazed at how productive I am when I’m not exhausted from training and sleeping poorly! The last couple of weeks I’ve really been able to get a lot done. I’m almost caught up on work and I went through my closets and got rid of a bunch of old stuff. I even finally went to the eye doctor and got contacts.

I probably won’t be able to do a spring marathon and that’s a bummer but I’m sure I will be ready to go in the fall.

Category: Tera Moody's Blog  

Endurance Up, Weight Down!

Posted by Sarah Herman | February 6, 2010 | 1 Comment

I’m so thrilled with running lately! I’m down 5 lbs and I’ve started to challenge myself to push past points of weakness. The Couch to 5K program advises you to go at your own pace, so if you need to slow down or speed up, you should so what you feel works best. I’ve been running for longer intervals of time without a problem now and it feels great. At this rate, I’m positive I’ll have a great experience running the FWR, and that’s a really nice thing to feel since I’m just a beginner.

I asked my friend Kallie about her experiences switching from the treadmill to outside. She told me that it’ll certainly be new and a little challenging but once I get through the initial few times running outside, I’ll be fine. She told me she always feels like the treadmill pushes her since it’s a moving belt. I understand that. She gave me some great advice; remember that the pavement is a new surface, so don’t get discouraged. Just remember to keep your goal in mind, no matter how long the stretch of road in front of you seems. She’s so helpful!

My feet are starting to hurt less now that I’m fully used to my running shoes. I really love them… they’ve become my partners in crime for running (as silly as that sounds). I no longer feel self-conscious on the treadmill. I can’t believe that I even did in the first place! I reminded myself that everyone had to start somewhere, and I should be patting myself on the back for even getting where I am now. So… (pat, pat, pat).

Sarah Herman is a novice runner training for her first Freihofer’s Run.

Category: Sarah's Couch to 5K Journey  

What’s Next?

Posted by Amanda Wright | February 4, 2010 | 1 Comment

After my first 5k I spent the following months focusing on the amount of time running. I worked my way up to running for a full hour (approx 4.5 miles). By March 2009 I was down 75lbs! Not only did I have a new body, I had a new found passion for running.

Before I knew it race season was in full swing. I ran my 2nd 5k in May 2009 and I finished in 32:55! That is over 6 minutes faster than my first 5k six months earlier. That was all I needed – I was HOOKED. I have since run 16 different races ranging from 5ks, 10ks and a HALF MARATHON!

Yes, you read right – I ran a half marathon! It was a spontaneous decision. Never did I think I could run for 13.1 miles. To be honest, I never thought I would want to run 13.1 miles. I spent the summer of 2009 training for the USMC Marine Corps Half Marathon. At the end of my training I had lost a total of 98lbs.

Almost a full year to the day that I finished C25K, I ran my first half marathon. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. There were a number of times during the race that I got choked up. Best part of all; I finished the race 25 minutes faster than planned.

This past Thanksgiving I ran the Troy Turkey Trot for the second time. Remember, this was my very first race (finished 39:02). My time this year was 29:57!!!!! What a difference a year can make.

2010 has already started out to be a great year for racing. I am a member of the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners club and I’ve been participating in the Winter Series. Only runners would willingly get together to run a 10k in 15 degrees. I’ve had a blast and met so many wonderful people.

There you have it – you are now up to speed on my life. Next week I will talk about my weight loss goals for 2010.

Happy Running!

Amanda has been running for 2 years and has lost over 100 lbs through running and with support from Weight Watchers. She’s a member of the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club & Albany Running Exchange. She can be reached at manderzny309@aol.com.

Category: Amanda's Journey  
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