I'm a Marathoner!!!

I've joined the ranks of 1/2 of 1% of the world population... I'm a marathoner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reaping the Rewards

Getting soo close! New article up on what it was like to go get my race packet today at the expo!
http://ballston.patch.com/articles/reaping-the-rewards

Race Day Throw Aways

I have a long sleeve shirt that I kept from before I started losing weight and I'm contemplating using it as my "throw away" i.e. clothing you wear while waiting to start running to keep warm and then toss to the side once you start running. If ever there was a time to get rid of it, then would be it... but a small part of me said hold on to it... check out my latest article to find out the fate of my brown shirt!

http://ballston.patch.com/articles/race-day-throw-aways

P.S.

I've dropped 4 pounds this week on tapering... HELL YES!

Running Towards a Victory

Running Towards a Victory - Check out my last Team run before race day!
http://ballston.patch.com/articles/running-toward-a-victory

Got sleep?

http://ballston.patch.com/articles/its-where-all-the-magic-happens

Earning the Uniform

A very personal and proud column for me to write. Check out my latest on earning the Uniform.

http://ballston.patch.com/articles/earning-the-uniform

As a side note, I want to thank you for all of your support and encouraging of my column, my boss and those at AOL are very pleased with the interest my column has generated so thank you for your loyalty!

Food for Thought

Read some recipie ideas from me and some food for thougt...about food! haha

http://ballston.patch.com/articles/food-for-thought-3

Getting Back on Track

Waiting for tomorrow to get back on track? Check out my latest column on getting back on track! There will be a follow up to this one with recipes!
http://ballston.patch.com/articles/getting-back-on-track

I've been Blogged about!

Some things come full circle and I feel like this is one of them. Through my friend and teammate Sharon, I've met Samantha who is on her own weight loss journey and like so many of us, she blogs about it. I had the privileged to sit and chat with her over the phone which she turned into a really nice blog. Thanks Samantha for letting me share my story!
http://sparklyandslimming.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/awesomeness-is-named-alexis/

Options

the latest article to my column on Patch.com Check it out!

Only $82 away!

We are now only $82 away from reaching the fundraising goal for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Make today the day you stand up to cancer by donating!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps10/amundis

Only $207

I am only $207 away from my fundraising goal, please help me reach my goal TODAY by clicking the link to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps10/amundis

You've been there and supported my journey to save my life, now is the chance for you to help save someone else's who's fighting cancer! Common everyone, we're so close!!

Breaking a Routine Without a Doubt

My new article with Patch media is up with video from the 20 mile run yesterday! Check it out and feel free to post comments!!! GO TEAM! http:javascript:void(0)//patch.com/A-Jrc

So much to celebrate!

On my way out the door to go celebrate with friends and there is SO much to celebrate tonight. My first article was published today ! YAY you can check it out at the link here!
http://ballston.patch.com/articles/the-fat-runner

And secondly, the biggest accomplishment of my entire training season... I ran 20 MILES today!!! 2-0 AHHH I'm so freakin proud of myself. That will be the longest run until race day... now I'm on a running taper where the miles are cut significantly to prepare my body for the full 26.2 miles. I love it!

The Fat Runner!

Today something amazing happened... I had an interview with Patch Media after work today, they found me by word of mouth through Team in Training and wanted to follow my marathon training so I agreed. I thought today I'd be sitting down with a reporter and we'd chat a bit about my weight loss and about team in training but what happened today was just about the most awesome thing EVER! I was asked to become the new voice of runners and weight loss for Patch Media... AHHHHH I still can't believe it! In less then 2 years I've gone from knocking on death's door from obesity to now I've been hired to talk about my experience as a runner and future marathoner... CRAZY!!!! What makes me excited the most is that I get to be a representative for Team in Training without them, I would not be who I am today. I got choked up twice today, once while talking about my first "workout" of struggling to walk around the block and secondly when I talked about what Team in Training means to me. I was asked why I joined team in training? and I gave the most honest answer. I said I joined at first for selfish reasons, I was being given coaches and support to train and I knew I would benefit from it but once I showed up and learned about the mission of Team in Training and spent time with my Teammates who have personal stories of friends, family, and even themselves that have fought blood cancers.... Team in Training stopped become something different, my goal stopped becoming to finish the marathon, it became about being a better Teammate, becoming a stronger advocate for the mission and sharing the spirit of Team in Training with everyone I meet. Tonight will be my first blog with Patch and I could not be more excited!

The Push!

Dear Friends,

Its finally here! After months of training, race day is only 3 weeks away. This Saturday I will run my farthest distance to date, 20 miles. It will mark the beginning of the end of my training for the Marine Corps Marathon. The past few days has been a big shift for me, my fears and trepidation have melted away to make room for excitement and anticipation. I started training 5 months ago with no experience in running - or any athletic activity. I didn't know much other then I wanted to see if I could run a marathon. Each week I learned so many new things about running but more importantly I learned so much more about myself. Never once did I quit or get distracted, I've fought back from both injury and illness and in a time when many would have gave up, I worked harder and the results are apparent. I've shaved off 3 full minutes to my pace time and often find myself saying things like " an easy 10 miles". Running is my true passion in life and the mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is my purpose. Team in training, all of my team mates and coaches have been there to guide me and help me grow into the runner that I am today. Because of them, I have been asked to be a Mentor for future runners with Team in Training. I want to thank you for your support, your understanding and your encouragement. I am proud to say that I have raised over $1300 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and am only $554 away from making my goal. Training for this marathon has taken dedication, there has been blood, sweat and yes, even a few tears... and thats just to make it through the week! It has taken time away from my friend and my family and it has been the most physically and emotionally challenging thing I have ever had to overcome in my life... but none of that even can come close to the daily challenges of someone who's fighting blood cancers. My coaches, team mates and even strangers who recognize the Team in Training logo on my running gear share their story of how cancer has impacted their life and you can't help but to both feel humbled to know my work impacts other's lives and to feel driven to seek out every opportunity and seize every moment in life because life can never be taken for granted. I chose to adopt a new lifestyle so that I can live a healthy life, not everyone gets that choice and I run in honor of them. Please help me now push to the end and reach my fundraising goal ( link below) so that everyone has a choice to live cancer free.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps10/amundis

Thank you for your support and as always, please feel free to come cheer myself and all of my teammates on at the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 31st! And if you can't make it to Marine Corps perhaps you'd like to come watch my next marathon in January at Walt Disney world ( yeah thats right, two marathons in two months)!


Sincerely,

Alexis Mundis

THE BITCH HAD TO GO- A Tail of The Worst Running Partner EVER!

I don't ever like to talk badly about any of my teammates but after today, I really need to vent about the worst running partner ever - they've been there ever since I started running and when I joined Team in Training, I couldn't seem to get away from them. Even when I wasn't at practice, this partner followed me. We've been fighting for months and I keep telling myself I'm going to leave them but I didn't know how. My running partner told me I would never be able to make it, they've been a constant reminder of the pace requirements and of that damn bus ( if you don't maintain a 14 pace in Marine Corps they pick you up in a bus and you don't finish) and they're always telling me that I'm not going fast enough. I believed them.

My running partner slows me down on long runs and takes up my time when I'm on the trail. My running partner convinced me that I wasn't going to make it if my friend and mentor couldn't run the race this year and I bought it hook line and sinker. My running partner always tries to sabotage my training by telling me to not listen to the advice. The worst part is that my running partner has this way of making sure that I forget how far I've come this year. They constantly remind me of how much farther I have to go instead of letting me remember how far I've come. I had a fight with my running partner earlier this week and I knew it was time for us to go our separate ways but I really wasn't sure I knew how until I realized today that I'm the only one that can make them go away. My running partner's name is Doubt and THE BITCH HAD TO GO!

As soon as I let go of it all, my run was transformed. Suddenly next week's run didn't seem to long, that damn pace bus didn't seem like an issue and the first words out of my mouth after running 10 miles was " I'm not even out of breath!" The ride home we talked about the first 10 mile run we did, I was filled with so much anxiety over running double digits. by mile 3 I was complaining, by mile 6 I was begging for walking breaks and today 10 miles seems effortless. For the first time, I saw my progress with eyes unclouded by doubt and it was shocking. 18 months ago, I could hardly walk around the block, 5 months ago my pace was 17min.,I've never run longer then 3 miles without stopping for a break,and I couldn't run up a hill to save my life. In 5 months I've shaved off 3 min. to my pace time, dropped 30lbs and my longest run to date is 18 miles (that's only 8 miles away from my goal) and I ran up the biggest baddest hill in the Marine Corps race not once, not twice but THREE TIMES in one run!

I have transformed from someone who wants to be a runner into an actual runner. but the most amazing transformation has been my attitude and my perseverance. It would have been so easy to quit my first day when I finished 20 min. behind everyone else, it would have been the perfect excuse to drop out when I started a new job, it would have been a great opportunity to stop training when I had a hip injury or got sick. Instead I put my head down and worked harder, in a time when most would have quit, that is the time I put in extra time to get stronger. When I got scared and ran months with doubt in my head, I didn't buckle at the knees to it, I grew the courage to tell the worst running partner ever that THE BITCH HAD TO GO!

I am becoming the person I aspire to be and am reaching the goals I aspire to reach, it hasn't been a perfect journey but it has been a beautiful one. This is my month to reach an important milestone in my life and when I cross that finish line in 30 days, I will not be the same person I was when I started this all, I'll be a much better one!

P.S. I lost 6lbs this week - how crazy is that?!!?
Also don't forget to make your donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by clicking the link below!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps10/amundis