The Journey...

I know I have been neglecting one of the most important parts of this journey but I will be more diligent with sharing this part of training because it has been such a turning point for me and has brought many self-actualizing moments me. So here goes:
Saturday (4/4) was my first day back with TEAM at Wilson Ave. since March 16th. I had to leave the country for a family emergency and even though I took my gym shoes (as many good runners do), there was simply no running to be done under the Mexico sun. I was nervous to get back into it especially because I was supposed to run 10/6 miles!-yikes! I spoke with one of my coaches (shout out-Andy!) before hand to let him know that I was back and to communicate some of my fears and anxiety about getting back into it. He told me to listen to my body and not do 10 miles but ease back into running. Now I have to explain what is going on with the 10/6 miles. I was trying to see if I could train to run the full marathon as opposed to the 1/2. I have been going back and forth on this and I have decided to just do the 1/2 and do it well. I think making this decision will help me to focus better and train properly at my level.
NOW-- training. I arrived and it was so chilly but that is usual. If you are running outside, you should be a bit chilly because you will sweat a lot during your run. After a minute, I was greeted by Lourdes (she was originally my mentor but then i got a different one) anyway we always start our runs by sharing together in a moment that honors a patient honoree. Basically we dedicate our run to someone that is currently struggling with the disease or in memory of someone that passed away from the disease.
Then we were off.

I started running and it was okay. I felt myself breathing a bit hard but I kept the pace. We start at Wilson and Laskeshore and run south. After 10 minutes of running, Lourdes found me and checked in with me. I was ready to quit after the first minute. Getting back on the grind was a bit hard. We hit Belmont and it was time to make it back. On our way back there was a TEAM table(at this table fellow runners can find, water, Gatorade, sweets, power bars, etc.) I REALLY needed some quick acting snacks to get me fueled to help me get back to my starting point. We stopped drank, ate and stretched. Then it was time to get back on the horse and run it back.
NO!!!!!
Honestly, I think I was done one mile in but I was very thankful that I had such great support encouraging me and helping me finish. Lourdes and I ran back and even did the hill. I was first introduced to the hill by a fellow runner, Terin who was my support for running my first 5 miles( the most I have ever ran at one time about 4 weeks ago). Now that experience was my breakthrough!

(Terin and Lourdes-My support team!!!)

Terin taught me how to approach the hill. When you are running up the hill you have to lean into it(knees and elbows-mantra as you are running up) and when you are running down, after you do your Rocky dance at the top, you shift your weight back. Needless to say coming down is easier that running up.
We got back to FINISH!!!!


(That is me in the bright outerwear:)



I was so proud that I came out period. Let alone run 5 miles. When we usually get back we are welcomed by "treats". This week there were yummy delicacies including, get this, peanut butter and jelly pizza and macaroni and cheese pizza. One word: YUMMY! I will get the recipes and post them here because I had never seen anything like that and surprisingly they were both delicious.
Thanks to all that make these delicious treats for fellow runners. I will get back on track this week and follow my training schedule as it is supposed to be and hopefully next Saturday will be better.

Keep it real and Keep it going!

Chic Therapy!

So it is April and jewelry is in the air literally with the help of that tree. My friends organized a jewelry party to help with the fundraising projects. It was a girls' night in! It included jewelry from Chicago designer Jessica Constable (www.jesslc.com) , mimosas, desserts and lots of fun! Chic Therapy was indeed in order! The pieces that Jess makes are so unique and classy.

Because i was not here to see the invite list all of the arrivals were such a surprise but very much welcomed. I cannot thank all the people involved in making this night such a great success. :)

The final total of $ raised was 180.20.

So a big THANK YOU!

Training days

I know you may be asking yourself, how is the training going?
...Stay tuned

Carson Perie Scott-Take 2

Well… Liz and I made a trek out to Harlem and Irving Park Plaza to sell the coupon books on the actual Community Day at CPS. This experience I thought was a good one. It was a bit crazy to even get the date but secured but I want to thank Rose for all her patience and support. We made $38.50 that night which brings our total for this fundraiser to $129.61!!! Thanks so much Liz for your help:)

Carson Pirie Scott-Take 1!

After the cupcake fundraiser brought a good number of funds into the pot, we wanted to maximize the month of February by selling community day coupons at Carson Pirie Scott to try to reach our monthly goal of $1, 000. Selling them to family was pretty easy and we just needed a bit more. I decided to hit up the neighborhood Carson Pirie Scott store at North Riverside Mall. Jackie and Eva came along for the ride too (actually Eva gave me a ride!). We arrived and the employees at C.P.S. were so nice and tried to maximize our potential by suggesting that we split up. That was not going to happen! Anywhoo, we set up shop in the Men’s department on the lower level and as we are accessorizing our table I am so excited that we came and can’t wait to be all set up so that the donations can just come pouring in. I think to myself -$500.00 fundraising goal for today? I should have put our goal even higher.

We are finally all set up with our banner, pamphlets, coin box and promotional items. We wait a couple minutes with anxiety to start talking to whoever passes by…we wait…So Jackie, what is up with you?...we wait…Eva, how is your training going?...we wait and finally people start walking toward us. Hi! would you like to save $10.00? Oh, you are looking for the bathroom? No problem, straight ahead. Hi! would you like to save $10.00 or … You’ll come back? Great, catch you on the comeback! We kept getting cut off that when a person would actually stop or want to listen we would get tongue tied and forget what we were selling.

Some of the things we realized while standing under the spotlights-literally! There is no bumpin’ music at C.P.S., what is up with that? If we wanted to give a performance to call attention to our cause, we would need to provide our own boombox. Needless to say, no showcasing of our footwork occurred at C.P.S. we would have to wait for Betty’s. Without music the store is uncomfortably quiet-honestly I think you could totally have a session of meditation and no one notice. Men don’t shop! Maybe we should have picked a different store location but at this point we just need to make the best out of this.
We kept “assaulting” everyone with our spiel and people would start walking quickly or not make any eye contact. We would have the occasional person that would politely state that they were sorry but were unable to contribute.

I have three memorable encounters that I would like to share (Jackie and Eva please share yours):

First up, was a young Latino male who stopped by our table to see what the table was about. After a couple of exchanges and many questions answered the interrogation was over and he stated that he would love to donate but that he does not have any cash!!! What??!! That entire back and forth exchange and no cash!!!! We gave him a flyer tear out that had all my information on how he can make an online donation. He said he would and gave us his email address. Before leaving, he stated that he would NOT mind being contacted but that he would be contacting us too because he too needed help with his organization. It takes all kinds!

The afternoon continued and Jackie needed to leave so Eva and I decided to move upstairs to the cosmetic area. Once we were there I ‘m not sure if it was the bright lights or what but it seemed more happening (it might have been the lights) than where we were. Crazy enough we kept seeing the same people walk around that we had previously encountered. Honestly, it felt like a revolving door. At first we would recognize some people and stop our spiels, but after a while we decided that is the price you pay for walking around the same store and Not donating.

A lady decided to bless us by buying a coupon book and Eva (being friendly as she is) offered her a promotional item of her liking or a candy for her purchase. Well this lady cleaned us OUT!! She took all the promotional items on the table and called her kids to get candy as well. One of the kids asked “is it free?” To which she quickly responded “No, I paid $5.00 for it!”

Lastly, I remember two young girls who had shopping bags with them and I tried to appeal to their youthfulness and possibly their want of helping others. Would you like to make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society? ( I had to learn how to say it quickly because people would start speeding up their pace, what is up with that?) The girls responded back that they were sorry but they did not have any cash and clarified “this is all gift cards” pointing to their purchases.

There are so many encounters (the perfume lady, the broken arm lady, the group of men, the kids who stared at our table, the beautiful eyed baby boy, the no cash people, the link card guy, a certain somebody deciding to look around and fundraise at the same time) that I could write for paragraphs on end but need to cut it short to report that on this faithful date we made… $41.11.

Thank you to ALL the donations that were made that day!
Thank you to Jackie and Eva for all their time and being part of this adventure.
Don't forget--When you give from your heart(time, money, thought etc.) you are giving the best of YOU!

Valentine's Day was last Saturday...are you in the dog house??

Valentine's Day was last Saturday...

are you in the dog house??

Now you can donate to a great cause all while helping youself get out of the dog house! Don't wait around, it's cold outside! Get your lady friend one of these unique necklaces!

As you already know my lovely roommate, Idalia, has signed up to run the 1/2 marathon this summer with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. She has also committed to fundraising $3,900! This donation supports research to find medications and a cure to help those with Leukemia.

(How can I help?)

Jess L.C. Chicago jewelry designer has come out with a line specifically designed to help this cause ! With the purchase of one of two necklaces you wil l be donating 40% of the price to Idalia's goal !

The necklaces are handmade and very unique!

(Both available in Silver or Gold)

Here is how to order:

Click on the link (or copy and paste )and enter IDALIA ANDRADE in the Soc Code field. The necklace will be delivered to your address!

Silver Lining

http://jesslc.com/SC0 3. htm

Lucky in B ed

h t t p : //je sslc .co m/S C05.htm

OR if you would like to donate directly please click on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/il/rnrseatl09/iandrade

Thank you for your donation and your support!

-Eva

P.S. Please forward to anyone in the dog house!

I got 5 on it!!

Did you miss out on getting your cupcake order in?? Do you love to shop?? Have $5.00 to spare??

Well you are in luck because Team in Training is partnering up with everyone's favorite neighborhood store --Carson Pirie Scott to sell coupon books.

You pay $5.00 for the coupon book and you get a $10.00 off coupon.

Please check out the website to get more information: http://www.communitydayevent.com/

If you are interested in a booklet, please contact me via email at andrade.idalia@gmail.com or call me:)


I need to fundraise $273 to meet my $1,000 goal for the month of February!