Team in Training Infomation Video

Saturday, April 25, 2009

April 25th - First Donation!


Today I received my first donation for TNT! Thank you very much to "GES" for his outstanding donation of $100! That's such a big help towards my goal. To me, that is bigger news than all my academic news that arrived yesterday.

My seemingly minor academic news: I made the Dean's List in chiropractic school for the first time ever. Second, I passed all my national boards!

Also, today I went to see Hairspray at the Fox Theater! Great show! Got my playbill signed by most of the cast. I love "stage-dooring!"

But really: I'm so much happier today to have gotten my first donation. Anytime someone can share their money towards such a great cause makes me truly understand what this is all about! Training starts next week and I can only imagine what it will be like. I'm sure there are going to be hard and painful days, but patients with cancer can't take the day off. They only hope for a treatment that may eliminate their illness altogether. With each donation, regardless of the amount, we get one step closer. To all my readers, take "GES" lead and donate. Whatever it is that you can give at this time, please consider! There is a link on the lefthand side of the page to my donation page. Also, if you'd like more information about LLS/TNT, their links are available too. Again, thanks for reading and keep checking back!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

April 23rd

Wow, what a week! I've officially finished half of chiropractic school! And I moved into an apartment of my own. I attended another info meeting for Team in Training on Tuesday night. Again, it was very informative and so exciting!

The kickoff meeting is May 2nd and the first group training is May 9th! I got my stitches out this morning and I'll be reading to run in 2 weeks. Until then, I can do any other non-impact workouts that I'd like. So I'll have to get back into the routine soon.

I'm very excited to start training!! This is going to be an incredible summer! And I still don't have any donations so you should be the first!! Click here to reach my official TNT page!

Keep checking back for more updates!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

April 15th

Not a whole lot to report. My knee is still very tender over the incisions and I feel like it's pulling a lot of the time, but that's probably just the stitches. All my exams have gone wonderfully this week. Finals begin on Friday with Laboratory Diagnosis and Basic Technique. I rocked my Cardiorespiratory exam so well that I don't have to take the final for that class. And depending on how I do on my Diversified Technique final tomorrow, I may not have to take that final either!!

Again, I'm really busy and unfortunately still not up for trying to work out. I think I should check with my orthopedic doctor before trying any of that anyway.

Thanks for reading up on me! I still don't have any donations so please consider being the first! Even if it's only $5!! Just to get me started!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

April 12th - Easter Sunday

Surgery went great!! It only took around 45 minutes and I was back at my dad's house by 9:30am (after getting starbucks and meds). The only part that is still sore is where the incisions are. Otherwise, my leg feels great! I even got to keep the 2 screws.

Today is Easter and I got to spend it with my family here in St. Louis for the first time. I got showered with candy and even found the $20 egg at the family Easter egg hunt for all the school aged kids. I think it was just beginners luck. It was really one of the best Easter Sundays that I've had in a long time.

Training wise, I am going to try to get back to the elliptical or bike by the end of the week. I won't be getting stitches (6 of them) out until finals are over in nearly 2 weeks. I've got some tough exams this week, and finals start on Friday. I can't believe I'm really at the half-way point of school. 5 trimesters down, 5 to go!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

April 9th

Today was a great day! Went to school, adjusted some feet, then got adjusted myself. Then watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Not too bad of a movie, but it was too long. However, Brad Pitt was amazing! Now I'm all packed up to head over to my dad's.

Surgery is tomorrow at 7am. Shouldn't take too long. Hopefully they'll let me keep the screws! This will be my last post until I'm done!

Wish me luck (you could donate something!)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

April 8th

Today has gone really well so far and can only get better. My 2 practicals both went very well and were a lot easier than I expected! Then I went for a run at my gym. For 25 minutes, I walked 2 min 30 sec then ran (at 5.0) for 1 min. I burned 165 calories and went 1.6 miles. I had planned on going for an hour, but my shins were really bothering me. I should probably go to no impact workouts now, but I really love running. And since I only have a few days left to run, I wanted to run today! Tonight is the last night for DASA swimming lessons. We are supposed to have a party for the kids and their family. I'm really excited to go to it. I'm finally done with exams and practicals this week, and my room is clean! So I deserve a fun evening, especially with these great kids! That's my short update for today! Be sure to check out my TNT page!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

April 7th

So I've been pretty busy since last Friday.

Saturday - My younger brother (16) has mono and had to be admitted to the hospital because his airway was constricted. Therefore, I got to babysit my baby sis, Emily (4) for the whole day. We had a lot of fun at "Hare in the Air" Easter egg hunt at Logan. Then we went out to lunch to a great restaurant, O'Connells. Then we went back to my dad's house to watch her favorite channel, Noggin. Later that night, we went up to visit my brother in the hospital. He was doing much better!

Sunday - My brother got released from the hospital. I worked out on the elliptical (1 mile) before heading to my dad's house for the night. I had a big test coming up on Monday and didn't want to risk having a night of being woken up by my 'favorite' roommate, so I stayed with them.

Monday - I took the short answer make-up exam for Diagnostic Imaging I midterm. It was hard, but I knew a lot more than I expected. Still waiting on my grade. That night, I went to dinner with a few friends; we had such a good time! It was nice to kick back and just laugh for a while with the stress off my shoulders a little.

Tuesday (today) - I took most of the day off to catch up on sleep that I've been deprived of lately. Then, the motivation came for me to clean my room. I'm still working on 3 of the 5 loads of laundry I had to do. But my room is much more functional now that the clutter and dirty clothes are gone. I've got 2 practicals tomorrow but still haven't studied for either. They shouldn't be too bad, though.

The outpatient surgery center called today to ask all the questions and give me pre-op instructions for Friday. I have to be there at 6am, surgery at 7am. Should only take 30min to an hour. Then I'll head back to my dad's house. I'm so happy to get rid of the screws; they may even let me keep them (in a jar that is)! I just hope I can walk afterward. I hate using crutches! But Friday marks the day that I have to stop all impact sports such as running and be very careful. I seem to be a little accident prone lately so that's why I got my room cleaned up today. I don't need to be tripping over my mess.

Thanks for reading and be sure to really consider donating to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Every little bit helps! I also still don't have a first donation; YOU could be there first! I'm sure you could spare a coffee tomorrow and donate the cost to the cause. I'll be keeping you updated on all my training and everything else that I can remember!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/gat/nikesf09/calmon


Thanks again!!!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

April 4th - The Very Beginning (Intro)

It's official! I signed up for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program. I've registered to run the half marathon (13.1 miles) on October 18, 2009 at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. The catch: I've got to meet my personal goal of $4000 for the research and assistance to those affected by these blood cancers.

So, I'm starting this blog to chronicle my journey. So far, I've got my website up and going. I've written my story. I've sent out some emails. I've spammed a lot of people on Twitter. If this is the first time to my blog, please check out my TNT page:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/gat/nikesf09/calmon


I feel like I've taken on quite a challenge, especially while taking 33 credit hour of chiropractic college. This is going to be quite a feat, and this blog will be following all of the progress and fumbles along the way.

I'm so excited to get started! Here's what's coming up in my life:

April 10th - Surgery to remove screws in my right knee
April 17-23 : Final Exams for Tri 5
April 27: Jury Duty in St. Louis City
April 30: Flight of the Conchords concert @ the Fox
May 9th - Kickoff party (perfectly 4 weeks after my surgery so I should be able to start running again)
May 12th: Back to school

Well, here goes nothing! I'm so excited!