Race for the Cure!

Miles in 2013: 805
Days until the NYC Marathon: 27

This year's Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure was a lot different than last year's!  Last year Jen was still in treatment and I was a little bit of an emotional wreck.  It was also nice and cool last year, and that was not the case in Central Florida today!  According to my Garmin at race start it was 73 degrees, sunny, and 94% humidity.  Basically not my kind of racing weather.  Our original plan had been to run fast enough to break 30 minutes for the first time ever.  It took me all of about 2 minutes of the race to realize that was not happening for me that day!  I couldn't breathe and swore I was having an asthma attack - not good since my inhaler was in my car in my driveway.  I muscled through and pushed as hard as could and still came up with a 30 second PR so I was proud I was able to do well for all the survivors in my life.  I really do enjoy the races at UCF since I feel like I spent so many great years of my life there!

PR - I've had a PR at this race every year!

The new theme this year was "Do you tutu?"and we were more than happy to join in!  Leah and I got to the race early to pick up our packets and then sat in her car whipping up a few tutus for the race.  Michelle met up with us and we all walked around checking out vendor tents.  I think we all looked adorable in our Adidas Breast Cancer shirts and our tutus!

We sure do!

Pinktober

Miles in 2013: 805
Days until the NYC Marathon: 27

There hasn't even been a week of October yet and I've already gone to two Breast Cancer events and worn pink everyday at work!  Tuesday I challenged my students to wear pink and I'd say about 65% of all my students did!  I told them a little about Jen and why Breast Cancer Awareness Month is important to me.  Some of my girls made me a super cute Breast Cancer cheer bow to wear this month, and another got me a cute bracelet.  Here's a look at my pink outfits this past week.

October 1 - Tuesday

October 2 - Wednesday

 

October 3 - Thursday

October 4 - Friday

 

 

Tuesday was also Ladies Night at Track Shack, our local running store.  It's a fun pink evening with shopping, food, beverages, and friends.  I was asked to model some of the store's wares and I think I picked some great outfits! A few items I modeled may have found their way home with me because I liked them so much I had to purchase them!  Many of the girls from our training program were there and it was a great night which raised a nice chunk of change for Florida Hospital's Breast Care Fund.

 

Outfit #1 - Adidas Breast Cancer Line

Outfit #2 - New Balance (also a Breast Cancer shirt)

Me and Leah

One of my favorite survivors, Donna and I

 

Upcoming Breast Cancer Events

Miles in 2013: 733.2
Days Until the NYC Marathon: 50

October is just around the corner and with that comes all the of Breast Cancer Awareness Events.  To kick off the month I am modeling at Track Shack's annual Ladies' Night event.  Then is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at UCF.  I am also working on an art project reworking a lawn flamingo to go up for auction to benefit a local charity, Libby's Legacy.  I'm about half way done with her and I'm quite pleased with the way she's turning out!

I'm also so excited to say that Leah is also fundraising for a Breast Cancer Charity, Think Pink Rocks!, and running the NYC Marathon with me!  It going to be so nice to celebrate Jen's cancer free anniversary in NYC and have someone to run all those miles with!  As part of her fundraising she is hosting a virtual race with a really awesome NYC themed Breast Cancer Medal.  Check it out and sign up!

 

 

Until then I am impatiently waiting for the day we land in NYC!



26.2 With Donna

Miles in 2013: 112.3

This weekend I went to Jacksonville to run the half marathon at the 26.2 With Donna race.  The race is the one of the largest races that 100% of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer research.  When Jen was diagnosed in June, I had a gut reaction and signed up for this race.  I went to the expo and walked around with Gloria and Betty, two of my favorite breast cancer survivors.  At the expo I got a sweet deal on a "vintage Donna" shirt and signed Jen's name on a big board with the word "love" on it.  Gloria and Betty signed one that says "finish."  I didn't know what they were for but I did see them later.

See "Jen" in a heart to the left of the "L"?

Betty and Gloria signing

Race morning was really cold and windy in Jacksonville.  Leah and I thought we might try and PR and tried to run with the 2:10 pace group.  About 2 miles into the race we realized that was not going to happen for us.  Leah and I split up not long after that and I ran a little ways ahead of her.  Around mile 6 we hit the beach and ran the "memorial mile"  - There were those signs again!  Somewhere along this mile was a man holding a sign that simply said "Jen"  I snapped a photo of just the sign and kept running.  About 100 yards up the beach I turned around, ran back to him and asked to take a picture holding his sign.  I'm sure this detour added a few extra minutes to my overall time, but the photo was worth it.  When I finished he said "I hope your Jen is ok."  I assured him that she was, thanked him and went on my way.  Back in about the same spot I was in when I turned around I started to think about Jen and cried.  Yes, she was ok, and I was so thankful for that.  I started thinking about everything we do together, the calls, the texts, the funny emails, the Ross shopping trips, and so many other things, and realized just how thankful I was that I still have her here.  On my race day outfit I had 2 patches, one read "I RUN FOR JEN" and the other was a heart with the name Jess in angel wings.  One my running friends lost her sister a week or so before this race, Jess was also 31, but wasn't as lucky as Jen.  It put a lot into perspective for me, I am so grateful that my friend is ok, and so terribly sad for my friend losing her baby sister.  There is no rhyme or reason to this disease and that is the scariest part.  I know wearing a patch in a race really isn't enough to commemorate her life, but it was the first thing I could think of to honor her.

The photo I went back for

Race day tributes and my bling

After I left the memorial mile, I got it together, stopped crying and kept on running.  I met some lovely strangers along the way, and some members of our marathonfest training group.  Overall I finished the race in 2:40 which really wasn't a terrible time all things considered.  I am so glad that I was able to be a part of this event, and really run for a reason.

After the race with my bling and sweet Nike outfit!

Ring That Bell

Miles to Date: 383

This week is important for WAY more than just running races.  Today was Jen's LAST CHEMO!!!! I drove down after work last night so I could go with her today and support and celebrate this milestone with her.  I wore my new pink dedicated to Jen shirt instead of purple though - I have to be a little bit of a rebel.  We sat, talked, napped, ate lunch, and hung out in the chemo lounge.  Finally at about 2:30 this afternoon her chemo dripped beeped and she was done!  Jen's husband, mother, father, mother-in-law and I were all there to watch her ring the bell and there wasn't a dry eye amongst us (or among about half of the patients in the lounge).  I continue to be so proud and amazed by her ability to smile and laugh through all of this.  She really is one of the most inspiring people I know and I am so fortunate to get to call her my best friend!  Now it's on to radiation and then we can all move past this cancer nonsense!

Last Round Me and Jen!

 

Chillin in the Cancer Lounge

 

RING THAT BELL!!!!!!!!

I haven't run since our race on Sunday, so my miles are the same. That's ok with me though - I'm looking at this as a mini-taper before our half marathon on Sunday. I started this week off with a sore throat and start of a sinus infection, but now with half a Z-pack consumed I'm ready to race and get another PR this week!

Taking a Bite out of Cancer and Getting Back to Work!

Miles to Date: 366

This weekend included a double run as part of our Goofy Training.  We started Saturday with a 16 mile run at a pretty easy pace.  I ran with Jenny for most of the mileage for her last weekend before the Runner's World Half Festival this weekend.  While we were waiting for the holy grail of a porta potty - Bart Yasso tweeted her back from a tweet she'd sent him!  She's gonna do great this weekend at the race!  After our 16 miles we went to eat a much deserved breakfast and stopped by the Track Shack for the special debut of the Asics GT-2000 series and Leah and I picked up a matching pair.

Thanks Bart! We love you too!

Sunday we met for 8 miles which we ran at a 13:11 pace, not bad seeing as how we put in 16 the day before.  Our Sunday runs always start at Panera so I made sure to grab another Breast Cancer bagel.  We're trucking along in our miles and getting ready for the Goofy.  I spent the rest of the day with the pups relaxing in bed and napping!

Delish!

Notice the paint job and Piper's feelings towards Breast Cancer?

Today is Jen's first day back to work and she's already said how glad her students are to see her and some even brought flowers and balloons.  I can't wait to see her ring the bell next week at her last chemo treatment.  Today in honor of her heading back to work I wore an understated breast cancer shirt and slightly less understated hot pink Nike's with it!  This week I should be hitting 1,000 miles run total since I started running in June 2011, and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure!

Sweet kicks!

Track Shack-O-Holic!

Miles to Date: 318

This week has already been a busy one!  Monday Night I went to The Track Shack for a Meet and Greet with Bart Yasso.  I met him at the Pittsburgh expo, and I have to say in terms of the Running World he is one of my favorite people.  He tells the best stories and is really entertaining, but also is laid back and down to earth and seems like a guy you could go grab a beer with.  I offered him the highly thrilling chance to pace 4 girls who run real slow and swear alot while doing it in the Mickey Marathon.  Not sure if I convinced him - but hey it's worth a shot!

 

 

Tuesday morning we met for a short run and skipped our usual 3 mile warm up.  Leah and I ran a fast for us 2 miles in the low 11 min mile pace and walked another mile and half.  Tonight was Ladies Night at the Track Shack.  Our entry fee went to the Florida Hospital Breast Cancer Care Fund which helps women afford to get mamograms.  With a raffle, snacks, fashion show, and a goody bag of Betsy's favorite things I knew it would be a great night!  I also won an entry to the Disney Princess Half Marathon and the Royal Family 5k in a silent auction.  I paid less than it was worth online and my money went to the cause, so I could truly feel great about running for a reason!  Leah also went and bought one of the flamingos that Florida Hospital was selling.  One goes home with her, and the other gets tagged and goes out in a flock to somewhere in Winter Park, so she let me stick Jen's name on that one.  We run past a flock of flamingos every weekend and it always makes me smile!  Up tomorrow is another easy morning run and then 14 miles this weekend!

 



Track, Yasso, and a Double Mastectomy OH MY!

Miles to date: 209

This week brought me over 200 miles run! That number is only going to get a whole lot bigger in the upcoming months as we train for Disney's Goofy's Race and Half.  Last Sunday I did a pretty impressive ten miles after 3 straight days of running including my super fast for me 5k!  All the girls decided it was ok to take running on Tuesday morning off and get in some much needed rest.  We were back at it with 6 on Thursday and 12 not so pretty miles on Sunday.

Tomorrow is the first day we get to run on the track instead of running mile repeats on the road and I have to admit that I'm pretty excited!  I even have a track shirt I've been saving to wear to commemorate being back on the track.  On top of that it's also a work out of Yasso 800's - I was lucky enough to meet Bart Yasso at the expo for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May, so it seems fitting that my first track workout in months is his!

 

Tomorrow also is an important day for Jen, she goes in for surgery - a double mastectomy!  I love her attitude and outlook on this process she'll "do this once - but not again"!  I'm so proud and in awe of her bravery!  So after the run in my special track shirt I'll be sporting purple at work for her.  So put on some purple and send her positive thoughts, prayers, wishes whatever it is that you're in to, because I know that I will be!

Motivation and Inspiration

Miles to Date: 181

Even though it's been summer time - it's been pretty busy and hectic around here.  Training is no exception.  I've been cranking out the miles and running hard!  This week we had a lot of miles to put in: 6 on Tuesday, 6 on Thursday, 6 on Friday, a 5k today, and 10 tomorrow!

Sometimes it seems really tempting to take it easy in this heat and humidity, run a little slower, and not push myself near as hard.  When it comes down to that time I try and think about my friend, Jen, her battle is so much more than my last measly mile in the heat or pushing myself to run just a little bit faster.  After this last chemo treatment she hit a rough patch and had to spend almost a week in the hospital.  After a 7 mile run last Thursday morning I showered and hopped in the car to make the 2 hour drive to visit and surprise her in the hospital.  Her hospital shared a parking lot with a Starbucks so I played the "I was just in the neighborhood getting a latte" line.  We joked that true friends know each other's Starbucks orders.  She is going through and dealing with so much that when it comes to things like being sore running I try not to sweat the small stuff (just the humidity!)  She really is my hero and motivation to do well at running!

I went to the anniversary sale this week at the Track Shack where I was told that sadly I had to retire my Nike's and start wearing some Asics. Luckily they're purple and judging from my 5k time today they are my "magic shoes"(thank you Forrest Gump). Leah and I also got matching purple Nike visors to supplement our ever growing Nike apparel collection.

Today a bunch of us suited up in our Nike shirts to run the Track Shack's Celebration of Running 5k.  Gloria and Betty (both Breast Cancer Survivors themselves) joined us with the Abso-FREAKING-lutely Amazing Shirts.    Leah and I started the 5k together and she finished in an impressive 34:17 and I ran a 34:36 - a PR of 3 minutes!  Granted we both thought we were going to throw up but that's a small price to pay for running so fast!

For now it's just resting up for our 10 miles tomorrow and another week of running. That and crossing my fingers that Jen starts feeling better and can start running soon herself!

Me and Leah with our matching shirts and visors

After the race with my medal and "dedicated to Jen"shirt

Abso-FREAKING-lutely AMAZING

 Miles to Date: 63

This week was a busy one with lots of miles!  I added another 19 miles to the total this week.  Our running group ran on Thursday, the day of Jen's 2nd chemo treatment so we wore purple on our run for her.  Kathleen had bought shirts for some of us a few months ago that are convienently purple and pink and say "Abso-freaking-luetly Amazing" (Thanks Nike), and since we all think Jen is pretty amazing we wore them for her.  Poor Leah doesn't have one yet - but she represented really well in an all purple Nike outfit.

This week was a big one for Jen too, in addition to her second round of chemo, she started to lose her hair.  She wrote a pretty funny blog about it but I still think it was pretty scary.  On Wednesday she told me she didn't think she was strong enough to shave it off and be done with it which is totally understandable.  By Friday (with a little inspiration from Charlize Theron) she decided she could do it.  Even though she told me I was crazy I hopped in the car and made the 2 hour drive to be there and help her shave it.  Lucky for her, that melon of hers is pretty cute and not lumpy or weirdly shaped at all!  Now I need to go find her some fabulous earrings to rock.  She continues to amaze me with her incredible strength and bravery, and I love her so much!  I am so proud of her for going through this with the grace that she is.  I also was lucky enough to finally get to meet the cute little guy that we're pretty sure saved her life (talk about a get out of trouble card there - that little kid is set for life now!)

For now time to keep on running - Jen also mentioned that she thinks on the days she feels up to it she's gonna start running and is going to run as much of that half marathon we signed up for as she can!  I think it will be the best race of my life!

A Goofy Idea

Miles to Date: 44

This weekend our training schedule had us running on both Saturday and Sunday.  A bunch of the girls I run with have bit the bullet and signed up for Disney's Goofy's Race and a Half.  This means the second weekend in January we'll be running the Donald Half Marathon on Saturday, and the 20th anniversary Mickey Full Marathon on Sunday.  39.3 miles total that weekend (with some talks of tossing in a 5k on the Friday as well!)  It definitely seems a little bit Goofy to be logging all of the miles that training for this race will require, but now with a purpose that matters they don't seem so bad.

Before my Sunday Goofy Training Run

All around me I have been noticing things that remind me of Jen and one of the coolest was on our Saturday run.  Rounding the corner to our finish area I noticed a heart with an A and a J in it on the sidewalk.  We run parts of the same route most weekends but I've never really noticed it before.  It made me happy and made me think of Jen (and my husband who is also a J).  It's funny how things you never notice suddenly mean so much to you.

On my run A+J

For now I'm going to keep running and logging those miles!  6 or 7 tomorrow morning assuming this Tropical Storm will go away!

Pink and Purple - Logging Extra Miles!

Miles to date: 34

For those of you who don't know me - I don't mind the color pink.  I actually quite like HOT pink.  Conveniently for me Breast Cancer's color is pink so it is easy for me to deck myself in pink for the cause.  However,  my friend Jen is not as wild about pink as I am and asked her friends and family to wear purple (her favorite color) on Thursdays (her Chemo days) to show support.

This week some of our running group decided that it was time to "run before our run" and added in an extra 3 miles of a warm up before our usual workouts.  This requires starting at 4 am instead of 5 am, but we manage to get in 6 miles instead of 3.  It's Thursday so this morning I put on a purple Nike top and laced up my hot pink Nike shoes (I'm a bit of a Nike junkie) for my run and for my cause!  12 miles total this week so far with another 10 planned for this weekend.  Racking up those miles and hopefully those donations!