And so I begin a journey of 2 firsts in my life...

1: Joining the blogosphere (which I never thought I'd be part of)

2: Training to run my first half-marathon.

Welcome to my diary, of sorts, about the latter! I hope you enjoy reading about my journey over the next few months as much as I physically enjoy (or not) training for it.

Alright, a bit of background... last week I attended my first meeting for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training (TNT). The program helps raise money to fight blood cancers like Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and Myeloma. Through the Central Valley Chapter, there are 4 events to pick from. I was born and raised in Seattle... so it seemed like a great excuse to fly back to the Pacific Northwest by choosing to run in the Rock N' Roll Half-Marathon in Seattle this June.

So, how did such a crazy idea of training for this pop into my head, you ask?

About 2 years ago, I guess... I got the idea that I wanted to run a marathon. Not sure why. I guess I just loved the idea of the challenge. Or maybe it was just something I could add to my Bucket List. Whatever the reason... The idea has been on my mind more and more lately. So, late last year... I decided that 2010 would be the year that I would make it happen. And here we are!

My inspiration for this journey are all the kids of Camp Sunshine Dreams. Last summer, I did a story about this remarkable, non-profit camp for children with cancer and their siblings. Essentially... it's a chance for kids to just get away for a few days and be kids. I can't tell you how touching it was to see the smiles on all those kids' faces up at Huntington Lake. They are remarkable... battling such difficult circumstances at such a young age. And doing so with such courage.

You can see their story by clicking here.

I won't be doing this alone. Former CBS47 reporter Christina Musson and her husband have signed on to complete the half-marathon with me. Christina and I are both a bit nervous. I have a slight advantage, I guess. I ran Track and Cross Country in high school and have continued to run off and on casually since then. But this will be an entirely different experience!

Sooo... with my new running shoes in hand, I'm ready to officially begin training on January 30th. The goal? To raise as much money as possible so that one day we can find a cure!

I plan on updating you on my progress as much as I can along the way. Yes, even the aches and pains after those long, 10 mile runs.