And I ran, I ran so far away I ran I ran all night and day I couldn't get away...

It’s amazing what you can think about when you are running by yourself for over and hour with no music. On Thursday, I finally did the 8 mile run that I had missed the previous weekend, after the great 5 mile run I had on Wednesday. I still wasn’t feeling well on Thursday, but in order to have confidence for the 10 mile run Saturday, I got my butt out of the house and attempted the 8 mile run. I did the same course that I had done for the 5 mile hill run the night before, and added 3 additional miles to it. Actually, it was 3.5 miles. It was a great run, which again, is so bizarre because I hadn’t been feeling great! So, like I said, I realized some of the outrageous things that I think about when I’m forced to be in my own head for a considerable amount of time. I started to comparing running/training for a marathon to be like being in a relationship. I know, this is not such an original thought, as I think it was Nike, or New Balance that had those commercials a few months back pretty much talking about the same thing. Anyways, I was thinking that when you are running just to run, it’s not such a burden and it’s fun and it makes you feel so great, but then, when you commit to a race, ie a marathon, it’s all of a sudden this overwhelming sense of obligation and almost like a burden. Sometimes you enjoy it, but other times, you see all you friends going out on a Friday night having a great time, and you are stuck doing nothing. Kind of like a relationship—you complain when you’re not in one, then the minute you are, you are jealous of your single friends out having fun. I then started to think that the actually running part is definitely the girl of the relationship. If you skip a run, you feel guilty. If you have a bad run, you feel like crap.
Anyways, there was more to my thoughts, I think it kept me entertained for a good 2 miles at least. Maybe it was more funny to me at the time, but whatever, this blog is all about sharing.

On Saturday morning we all met the group in DC down at Rock Creek Park. On weekend mornings, Rock Creek Parkway is closed in the morning hours to traffic, making it a great haven for runners and bikers. It was not as cold as it had been in the District, but definitely not tropical weather. We started out on the course at 8am to begin our 10 miles. Shortly into the run, we all realized that it was going to be an entirely uphill incline, which you know makes us all so happy. A group of us started out together, but eventually I was running with this kid Brian who I had run the 6 miles with two weeks before. We chatted a bit, and then mustered through the GIANT hill that came at mile 4. He is a lot of fun to run with, and he and I cheer on everyone that passes by, which is cool. After the hill portion, we turned around to go back to the start, thinking that we were halfway through, but then we started seeing some of the ‘Kenyons’ as we call them, running back towards us. Our hearts were a little diminished as we remembered we had to run back to the water stop, then turn around and go for another mile, before we could do the final turnaround to the start. I know, that made no sense, but the fact is that basically, we thought we were further into the run then we actually were. I thought Brian was going to cry when he realized it. We promised to keep one another’s spirits up, so that is what we did. Until he started talking about having eggs for breakfast and I told him to shut his mouth about food unless he wanted to see me vomit everywhere. I had tried a new breakfast that morning, Eggo waffles with blueberries and it wasn’t exactly sitting so well in my stomach, I will spare you those details. At mile 5 there was a water stop, so we took the opportunity to stop for a moment, have a cup of water and I did my first GU of the season. After a moment, we were back on our way and we had another runner to join us, Kristin. Brian enjoyed his first GU ever, which was quite the experience. First he couldn’t get it open, and I had to help him—I felt like a mom in the school lunchroom who had to help the kids open up the Capri suns---and then he gulped it down like a champ. We all chatted the rest of the way, talking about GU, how pretty the run was—which it was completely. It didn’t feel like we were in a city at all, the trail was filled with waterfalls and trees, and then with the temperature almost perfect, we all kept saying it was a great day to be out and running. The rest of the way, we entertained one another with movie quotes, talking about engorging ourselves with food after the run because well, we can, and then singing 80’s song lyrics. I actually had a blast with them! The run ended and we all high fived and pretty much proclaimed our love for one another as we were punch drunk on the runner’s high. We also laughed because we were saying how it’s crazy that just five minutes before during the run we wanted to die, but then now we felt incredible. I talked with the trainer that was there, because my IT band in my knee was bothering me. He helped me stretch it out and taught me a few strengthening exercises to do to make it feel better. After a bit of stretching and eating some of the lovely buffet spread that TNT provided, I was on my way.
On Saturday night, the Team Captains went to the Legwarmer’s concert. It’s an 80’s cover band down here that is ridiculously popular. We all got dressed up in our outrageous 80’s costumes and were danced for 3 hours straight to the best 80’s songs you could imagine. Some of the pictures are clearly above—as embarrassing as they are, I had to post them. These kids are fantastic and definitely know how to balance the training with fun times.




Until next time…….

So done with winter

Oh it’s almost the end of another week. My running schedule has been a little off the past few days because of a little event we had down here called the Inauguration. I think Friday-Tuesday night was the closest thing to a Spring Break DC could ever have. I am so excited and happy that I got to be here to experience such an historic event. On Monday night, I got a ticket to a pre-Inaugural party hosted by MoveOn.org down the street from me in an art gallery. Heather Graham and Rosario Dawson hosted the party and then there was a musical performance by Dela Soul and Moby. It was probably the coolest thing I have ever been to, might be the coolest thing I will ever go to.
Tuesday morning I woke up at 6:30 and turned on MSNBC to see a view of a packed Mall. I couldn’t believe how many people were already down there. Kerry and I walked down and by 7:45 we had assumed our spot on the Mall. I have never seen so many people in one place before, felt such a level of excitement and been so in awe of what was happening. It’s completely mind numbing to think that one man has been able to engage and motivate and give hope to so many people. Whether you are for Obama or not, it’s hard to deny the huge significance yesterday was.

As a result of standing in the cold for ten hours, I now have a nice cold. I woke up this morning feeling like I was hit by a truck. Work was not very much fun, and I dreaded the thought of going for a run. I got home, put on my running gear and just thought I would give it a shot, if I felt like crap, I would just stop. I ended up running a 5 mile hill run and felt pretty great the whole way-go figure! While I still feel like crap, I feel better about myself getting back on track with the whole running thing, as I said, with all the events going on this weekend, I have been not so disciplined. It definitely affects my mood when I don’t get out there and run, so this is good to be getting back into my routine.

This Saturday’s run marks the beginning of all double digit long runs. We kick it off with a nice ten miles this week and just take off from there. I am looking forward to being with the team and running with everyone again this weekend. While I was on my run tonight, there were a few points when I got disgruntled with my run and thought that I can’t do this. I guess I lack that bit of self-confidence—I know real big shocker for all that know me. I hold such doubt in myself and it’s frustrating because I really wonder what I could do if I didn’t think so negatively about myself and my capabilities. I think that when I’m running with the Team, those doubts aren’t as rampant, because I have people all around me pushing me forward.

I have to say though, this season, I am learning to fake my confidence so to speak. I have teamed up with a few other team captains and I am really starting to work on being a better runner. Last Wednesday, I braved 20 degree, 5:30am wake up call to meet two of my teammates at the track nearby for a speed workout. I was intimidated, but completely excited to go. Tricia and Michael are both really fast. Tricia played Field Hockey in college, is on her 7th marathon, training for an ultra, and is newly Boston Qualifier. Michael has done 5 marathons, a bunch of triathlons and is a Navy Seal. I played basketball from 4th grade through senior year of high school (kicking ass while at it) and was an All State Field Hockey goalie that had to learn the art of running in college in an effort to stay in shape. Cleary, these two have a few years more experience than I do. We ran 4 repeats this session that included running two laps around the track in a time that you desired. Michael explained it to me this way: Pick your goal time for the marathon, so I felt very aspirational and said, 3:45, to which he said, okay, then you will want to run around the track twice in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. By the end of our sessions, we will work our way up to running these repeats 10 times and if you can do them 10 times in 3:45, you will run your marathon in 3 hours and 45minutes. Hmm, yeah, I wanted to run home when he said that. But no, I wasn’t going to give in. So, off we were. The first two laps, I ran it in 2:43, then 3:00, then 3:15 then 3:40. I saw the light of God each time I did these repeats, convinced I was going to die. Tricia and Michael were consistently half a track in front of me, which is slightly degrading, and yet, motivational. I made it my goal to have them not pass me. Again, I started to doubt myself and give up because I wasn’t as fast and thought that I just plain old suck. Truth is, I had to remember this is about me, not them, and I have to start somewhere—even if it is in last place. Our workout was done before the sun came up that day, giving me enough time to take two, yes two, showers. I was frozen to the bone.

Michael also gave me some information regarding a local swim team up at American University. He knew that my “ten year plan” is Ironman, and that I want to get into triathalons next, but do not have access to a pool. Apparently, for 50 bucks a month, I can go and swim at AU every night, with coaches at a practice and it’s beginner through elite. I definitely plan on getting in on this, maybe this season. I am so excited, I am starting to feel like an athlete again!

So that’s basically life now. Monday run, Tuesday 6:30am spin, Wednesday speed workouts around the track or on the Hills (alternating each week), Thursday run, Friday spin, Saturday long run, Sunday 2 mile run and perhaps treat myself to yoga, or start swimming. In between, I will be eating LOTS. Are you all jealous?! I know it’s packed, but other than work, I really have nothing else going on in my life. Hmm, does that sound pathetic?

That’s it for me. I’m off to try to sleep off this annoying cold.

5:30am, am I a runner, or a farmer?!

I'm sitting on my bed, bundled up in my warm comforter and pajamas, enjoying a quiet Monday night. I noticed last week that from the left side of my bed, I can actually see the Washington Monument and the top of the Capital building during the winter because the leaves of the trees are down and don't block the view. Since then, I purposefully keep my one shade partially open because I think it's neat to gaze out at them in the distance as I try to fall asleep at night. So, as I am writing this, that's the view I get to see.

This past week and weekend was exhausting and a complete whirlwind.

I ran hills last week, trying to get myself used to those 16 miles in Nashville. I swear, my ass is going to be the size of Beyonce's by the end of this training. I actually thought of this on my Monday night run, as I approached the top of one of the many hills. When I lose weight, I lose it like most girls, first in the chest, well, clearly, I can't afford that. But, have no fear, where my chest loses out, my ass picks up the slack. I could have used this butt back in the days of my year round basketball endeavours to box out some of those big girls under the hoop. The only thing I know it does for me now is force me to buy bigger jeans.



Wednesday night I met up with my teammates at Rocket Bar in Chinatown for a big group get together. We are trying to make sure we balence out our exercise regiments with fun. I spent the night getting to know everyone, drank some beers--or as we like to call it Carbo loading---and played some SkyBall.

On Friday night, my teammates came over and I made everyone baked ziti, we played Scattegories and watched Napolean Dynomite. It was a fun time, nice to get together with everyone for a low key Friday before the run. I was in bed not much after 11.

On Saturday, my alarm woke me up all too soon and I had to pull myself out of the warm bed at 6:45 to put on my running gear and head over to Washington Lee High School in Arlington to do a 6 mile run with the Team. Everyone always says they can't believe that I go outside and run in this weather. The truth is, the worst part of running in the cold is waiting for the run to start. Once you get moving, your fingers start to regain blood flow and you actually get warm. Until the start, however, I was standing there in my running pants, underarmor turtle neck, running jacket, gloves, ear warmers and shaking like crazy from the bitter cold. Some people there were in shorts and I wanted to cry for them. After some time, we finally headed out onto the trail. This trail was the Curtis Lee trail, which runs alongside Route 66 in VA. It's a nice trail, but filled with lots of little steep hills. The nice thing about these hills are that they are the short steep ones, so you just have to get through the burn to the top, and then there's the nice downhill. I forced myself to focus not on the burn as a pain, but as a sign that I was getting stronger. Unfortunately, reciting Kanye West songs only gets you through a few of the hills, then my body is like, whatever Sarah, stronger or not, this sucks. The group I ran with for most of the time kept me entertained by playing this game where you named a movie and then you had to name the most actors in the movie. So, basicallly, I would call out Anchorman, and then someone would say, I can name 3 actors, and then someone might say I can name 4, and when nobody can name more than that, the person who named the movie says, Challenge, and the person who said they can name the most people have to go ahead and name them. It made the time pass by quickly, it also made me realize that I haven't seen many movies and I really don't know the name of actors.

After the run, we all went into Washington and Lee High School cafeteria to have our Honored Teammate picnic. All the groups were there--so, all marathoners, the tri-athletes, the half-ironman-ers--and we spent the morning getting to know one another, eating some breakfast and then hearing from all our Honored Teammates. It's inspiring to hear their stories and battles with their respective blood cancers. I always am in awe at how they are able to get up infront of a room of complete strangers and be so candid of their struggles, it's admirable. Our one honored teammate Denise spoke and she told of being diagnosed with her Lymphoma in her senior year of college just 5 years ago. At the end, she told us how she ran her first marathon with TNT 4 years after her remission at the San Fransisco Marathon. She was incredibly inspiring!

After the TNT, I was then off to work for the rest of the weekend. I had to work the American Cancer Society booth at the NBC 4 Health and Fitness Expo. Sounds easy, but talking to literally hundreds of people is exhausting. Not to mention, many of the stories I heard alone just sucked the life out of me. At 5:30 on Saturday night, I was practically falling asleep on the metro home. Sunday was my day of rest, after working from 7am until 2pm.

I ran 4 miles of hills last night in the cold. My shins are starting to bother me, sign of needing new shoes. I'm also still having the same problems I've had over the summer with feeling out of breath and my heart beating out of control, as if I am out of shape. I had gone to the Doctor's this summer when I was forced to drop out of the Marine Corps Marathon for this reason, and got several blood tests done, but they didn't find anything. Considering this keeps going on, I think I'm still going in to get more tests.

This morning, I woke up and went to my 6:30am spin this morning and got my ass kicked by the instructor Amy. Getting out of bed in the morning and walking to the gym in the cold sucks, but I always feel so great after. Don't worry though, today I slept in, because tomorrow I am meeting some of my fellow team captains at a track a few blocks from my house at 6:15 am to do interval trianing and speed workouts. I am excited because the people that I am running with are amazing runners and I feel like I can learn a lot from them. I am nervous because it's crazy early, cold, and I am way slower than they are. I might die on the track. It's going to be great. After my run, then work, I'm off to meet my team again at a fundraiser downtown at a bar--once again, we have to balence out our hard work with fun!

I've been in a bit of a funk lately, with work, running and life. One of the things that kind of did to me was some sad news last Tuesday from my mom about someone from home. It brought me back to the hardest point in my life thus far, the point that I had lost all hope. The news hit me a bit more than I expected, I suppose because it was the first time in a long while that I really thought about everything that happened in my life. Needless to say, Saturday's Honorable picnic came in time because the things I heard were things that I needed to hear for both my running, but for my life. At the end of our Honorable Teammate Denise's talk, she left us with one last thought. After telling us about running the San Fransisco Marathon, she said she felt selfish for doing something like TNT that benefitted herself. She began to cry saying that she can't thank those of us who have no sort of connection to blood cancer and yet choose to get up early into the cold and run so that we may help others. She thanked us all and reminded us that with every breath we may struggle to take on our run, that we are making it easier for those who struggle to take a breath to live, so keep pushing.
In just 7 days, there is the Inauguration of President Obama. All over this city, you see the word Hope plastered everywhere. I know that I am a hopeless romantic and perhaps a raging, nieve Liberal, but as I was on my run ;ast night in the frigid cold, I saw one of these many signs and just smiled. What a wonderful thing for people to see everyday. Cheesey as it may be, I think we all can use a little bit of hope. I began to run a little bit faster, and I vowed to keep my head up and have hope, and like Denise said, to push through and keep breathing.
Always with a smile.

I'm off to bed, my alarm is going off at 5:15 tomorrow morning....

Hills are my life....

I am so happy it is Thursday and that the cold rain has stopped!

This week has been the beginning of what seems to be the routine for the next few months for me. Let me start from the beginning...

So, lucky for me, Nashville=16 miles of hills, so I have been told. Oh what fun! Because most of our long runs are on flat trails, with the exception of my favorite Mount Vernon 16 mile trail, I have to do all my hill training during the week. That began last night. I walked out of my house to drizzle, and then by the time I was up the street, it was complete downpour. So, for 4 miles, running hills, I was in the pouring, cold rain. Surprisingly, I wasn't miserable. I think something takes over when you are outside in the elements, because you feel too much like a bad-ass, you can't complain. The hills I ran were not very nice to me, and I look forward to the day that I don't have to walk for a moment when I get to the top. But, as I told myself last night, it's nothing that is going to come to me all at once. Little by little, I will kick those hills in the ass.

After I ran, I took a long, hot shower and got ready for out Team In Training get together at a bar downtown. Earlier in the week, us captains were exchanging emails saying that something was not right. We had been paying too much attention to running and were not having enough fun. So, in attempts to unite the teams, we are doing weekly Happy Hours. It's nice to be around normal people that are fit, but know the balence of being able to let loose and have fun. In fact, one of my captains Sam was saying, yeah, we really need to keep ourselves in check. Anytime running has overtaken our social abilities, we need to fix that. Everyone is just a great time! One of our teammates Heather told her captain Tricia on Saturday 'I like running and all, but I like beer a whole lot more.' Thus, our TEAM motto for the season was born.
It's so amazing to get involved with a group and feel immediately like you have a whole new set of friends. These people have such great hearts, amazing stamina and are probably the funniest people I have ever met. Life is pretty awesome.

So tonight, I will be back, running more hills. From here on out, Saturdays are the long runs, then Monday night I hit a spin class, Tuesday morning at 6:30am I am at my next spin class. These classes kick my ass, but I'm confident it's the best way to build up my thigh and ass muscles, which is great for the hills----yup told you my ass would be growing this season. Then on Wednesday/Thursdays or Fridays I will be out running hills. One of my hill workouts will be straight intervals--aka, sprinting up the hill, and then going back down to sprint up again and again. The other day of hills will be what I did last night, which is just running up them as normal. Are you all jealous?

That's it from me for now. Saturday we have a 6 mile run along Lee Highway in Virginia. This entire run is hills. So, while you all are staying warm in bed, you can think of me going up and down on rolling hills in the cold--and what do you know? the forecast is calling for rain!
After this run, we have our Honored Teammate picnic, so I am excited for the rest of the TEAM to get to experience that! I will report back then!

See you out on the trails! Don't forget to smile!

Run on the Mall

Another week of TNT is down! Don't I look so cool in my picture? I should quit my job and become a model. As you can see, yesterday our Saturday run took us around 4 miles on the National Mall--something that makes me feel like a true Washingtonian. It's hard to hate running when you are surrounded by all the monuments. It was a cold start, but once we got going, it was a perfect temperature to be up and out! There are some crazy fast runners in this season's group! I feel like I am running with the Kenyons! Take that back, I feel like I am getting my ass kicked by them, not running with them. This time around, I'm going for more of the zen running, not talking about pace and time. I think I might like it better that way.

After the run a few of us went to Einstein's and got some bagels. I know I know, it was only 4 miles, the carbo loading isn't really necessary, but I like to use that excuse as much as possible during the training season.

Before the run, we had a guest speaker come and provide us a bit of inspiration. The woman who spoke was Mary and she has done TNT a bunch of times and like anyone who has done it, is obsessed. She began running with TNT to honor 3 of her friends who had just lost their battle to leukemia. Mary hadn't ever run before, and decided to complete the San Fransisco Nike Women's Marathon with TNT. At around mile 18, as all of us do, she hated her life and didn't want to continue. At this point, the crowd wasn't large, but all of a sudden, she heard a women going absolutely crazy on the sidelines. Finally, Mary had gotten close enough and could hear the woman pointing to her little two year old girl, yelling out, 'This is why you do it! This is why!' and Mary finished the marathon super strong. She went on to say to remember these stories when we don't want to get out of bed in the morning to run, when the runs get tough. Then, she said, you know, TNT throws out a lot of sayings, motivational quotes, but she said the one quote, 'Saving lives one mile at a time' is more than a fundraising quote for us to use, it is the truth and to remember that and be proud of that. Needless to say, Mary's little speech was very inspirational.

It's kind of funny because my posts always seem so serious when I talk about TNT and running, and I am a very sarcastic and jokey type of person. I can't help to talk about these stories, it's what this is really all about.

On Friday, a bunch of my teammates are coming over my house for dinner and some board games---just because we all have to run the next morning doesn't mean we don't have to be hermits on Friday nights!

That's it from me. I have an early morning Monday run tomorrow, so it's time for TV and bed.......happy running, don't forget to smile, GO TEAM!

Please consider a donation:http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/cmc09/sness

My Honored Teammate Erica

My honored teammate this season is Erica Barth.

I met Erica early in November when I was at the Silver Spring, MD American Cancer Society office one day for a meeting. I had forgotten my lunch at home and was standing at the front desk consulting the Chinese food menu to find something to eat when a young, beautiful blond haired girl walked into the office with her boyfriend. As I stood looking at the menu, I heard this young girl as our Admin. person, Gissella, if we had any wigs available in the office. We do have a wig room in each one of our offices so women can come in and receive free, brand new wigs; however, Gissella had to let this young woman know that the wig room was becoming very low in its stock. Before the girl could leave, I introduced myself to the girl and asked her what kind of wig she was looking for. She told me her name was Erica, and as I had expected, she was looking for a long blond hair wig, just like the hair I saw her with. I reiterated to her what Gissella said about the wig room, but told her that we had just had an event with the Washington Redskins and I thought there was one long hair blond wig leftover in the Vienna, VA office and I could check to see and let her know. Erica was excited and told me that would be wonderful. I then got to talking to her, asking her what kind of cancer she was being treated for and asked her if she needed any other resources. She told me she was just diagnosed in September with Hodgkins-Lymphoma and would be beginning chemotherapy in the next coming weeks. In addition to a wig, her biggest concern was that she lacks health insurance. I was able to give her a bunch of different resources--including financial assistance information from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. By the end of our talk, she thanked me over and over for being so kind and letting her know about more information in the 5 minute conversation than anything she has been told in the past 2 months. A hug later and she was gone.

After verifying that the blond wig I had in mind was still in the Vienna office, I made arrangements with Erica to send her the wig in the mail, as she lived an hour away from the closest office to her. A week later, Erica left me the best voicemail I think I have ever received to date. On the voicemail, Erica, in her so cheery voice, said 'Hello Sarah, this is Erica! I am just calling to let you know my boyfriend was waiting for me yesterday at my house with the package you sent me and I put on the wig and it is just so perfect and beautiful! It is so perfect that I started crying and I know it sounds silly because you think it is just a wig, but it's not just a wig. It's perfect timing because I just started to lose my hair and now I don't have to be embarrassed when I leave the house. I can't thank you enough, you are an angel and the nicest person I have ever met. I would love to take you out to lunch or for a drink or something, I can't tell you how happy this has made me. I can't wait to hear back from you, or I will call you later in the week.'
I can't tell you how much this made my heart literally smile. I immediately called her back and thanked her for her kind words and she refuted the thank you saying, no, THANK YOU. She then reiterated pretty much everything she said before, but also added when I said, you really like the wig?, she says, are you kidding?! I feel SEXY in it! Again, my heart smiled! Do you know how HUGE it is for a woman undergoing chemo to say they feel sexy?!
I then asked, in lieu of a lunch or drink, told Erica about my en devours with TNT and asked her to be my honored teammate. She said she would absolutely love to be.

It might seem odd that I have taken a random stranger as an honored teammate. Erica really touched me and I just feel so motivated by her spirit. I also feel a connection to her, she is turning 26 years old in January and never thought something like this could happen to her. It made everything a little more real to me--ironic because I am around cancer patients all the time. Here she was, almost a mirror image of me, facing chemotherapy, losing her hair, and battling to cancer.

Erica will be joining me and my team at our honored teammate picnic on January 10th with the entire Team In Training Spring Season. I think it will be a great way for her to see how much she is not alone in her cancer fight and to see how many people are out there fighting for her as much as they can.

Please help Erica's fight and consider donating to my efforts. Your donation, no matter how large or small, could help Erica's financial burdens through the Leukemia and Lymphoma's financial support system which you can read about here: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=4599

Please stop by my donation page and spread the word: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/cmc09/sness


Happy running!

Don't forget to smile :)

GO TEAM!

Why donate?

One of the many lessons I have learned through my job at the American Cancer Society and through Team In Training is that unless people are directly connected to the cause, they tend not to give. Obviously, this is not always true, but definitely tends to be the trend. So, as someone who works for an organization that asks for money and is now a second year participant required to raise money, I have to ask myself, how do I explain to my friends, family and strangers why it is so important to donate even the tiniest amount to my efforts for another 26.2 miles, especially given the current economic state we are all lucky to be a part of.
To begin, I always say, any amount that one can give is greatly appreciated and helps in the fight. I like to tell my friends that instead of that one or two beers at the bar, you could donate that money to my efforts. It’s incredible to think that a simple 10 dollars from merely 10 people raises 100 dollars, which incidently is just about enough to cover the cost of a wig for a woman undergoing chemotherapy. This tactic generally does not work. So, I will go for the more tangible.

Two weeks ago I held a Christmas party at the Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC through my job at the American Cancer Society. I had been wanting to get my volunteers involved with children’s oncology floors for some time, but with all the projects on my plate, it had taken a while to get this one underway. Finally, in the beginning of November, I began to put together a holiday party in December at Children’s Hospital. I had been in collaboration with some other colleagues and members of another organization and quite frankly, it became more stressful than anything. To put it into perspective, I had a perpetual stress headache for the entire week leading up to the event. There was chaos and miscommunication and it had gone from an event that I was so excited to do to being one that I absolutely dreaded. After the week of stress, I finally decided on Friday to put everything aside, know that my volunteers would be great and that we were going to put on a great day for the kids.
Sunday of the party came and I headed off to Children’s Hospital with 75 tiny milk cartons glued to paper plates, boxes and boxes of graham crackers, dozen cans of frosting, many bags of candy, tissue paper, the Polar Express book, a Karaoke CD and about a hundred teddy bears all in preparation for the activities we had planned for the kids. If you couldn’t tell, the milk cartons, icing, graham crackers and candy were all the materials needed to make gingerbread houses. We were there from 2-5pm that day and saw anywhere between 5 and 20 kids at any given time. We began the party with each of my volunteers sitting at one of the tables in the craft room making their gingerbread houses. The first boy came in with his sister and sat next to me, his name was Miguel and he looked about 8 years old-turns out he was 15. The boy was the cancer patient and his sister, who was about 10 was there to support him. He had a hearing aid and several other issues going on. I talked him through how to put together the house and piece by piece we put it together. As Miguel worked on his house, another young girl by the name of Jennifer came in. Jennifer must not have even been ten years old yet and was hooked up to a machine, which she maneuvered round like a seasoned pro. She had no hair, but wore a pretty pink bandana, matching her pink fingernails and pink shoes. In addition, Jennifer wore a hospital gown and a mask, as she was one of the inpatients. Between Jennifer and Miguel, I thought to myself for a moment that I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get through the afternoon. My eyes were beginning to well up, but I fought it and pulled myself together. From there, we had about 15 kids join the room working with all my fantastic volunteers building the most creative gingerbread houses. Some of the kids tended to enjoy eating their houses more than they liked to build them. In fact, one of the young boys sitting at a table across the room from me asked my volunteer, ‘Who made this frosting?,’ ‘Betty Crocker did,’ my volunteer told him, and the boy answered ‘Where does this Betty Crocker live, I want to go to her house!?’. We had quite the laugh.
Many of the nurses came in and saw what a wonderful time we were all having. At one point, I went up to one of the inpatient rooms to see a young girl who just had brain surgery, she was 8 years old. She was upset she couldn’t come to the party, so I brought up the materials to make her gingerbread house. Many of the other inpatient nurses came down to get supplies for their patients who also were not allowed out of their rooms. They were all so happy to see the kids having a great time.
After the gingerbread houses, we did a little holiday karaoke and then we had the children break off into two different groups and using white, green, gold and red tissue paper, dress up two of my volunteers as frosty. After an initial hesitation, the kids really got into it. By the end, all of us were in the room laughing at the two volunteers dressed head to toe in tissue paper as Frosty. By the end of the day, all the stress of the event was forgotten and I realized that it turned out to be more than I could have imagined. What a great day of work.

Okay okay, so what is the point of my story? The day at Children’s hospital was absolutely incredible. It’s incredible to see these kids, barely even 10 years old, living a life that I can’t even imagine. Later that evening, I had gotten to thinking of Jennifer and how it didn’t hit me at the time of seeing her that she had no hair. Because I work for the Cancer Society, I am used to women who have lost their hair; however, that night when I thought of Jennifer, it made me even more amazed at the spirit she has. I said to my roommate Erin, who came with me that day, I remember how cruel kids were at her age for the silliest reasons, can you imagine being her age and not having any hair? There was another girl there by the name of Sandra who was just one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. The nurse told me at the end of the event how excited she was to see Sandra so happy because it was the first time in a month that she was able to leave her room. And she did leave her room, but dressed in head to toe in hospital gowns with gloves and mask on. But you could see the smile in her eyes.

The point of my story is this. I am not touched personally by cancer. I am not touched personally by blood cancer, but I also know I do not want anyone in my life to ever go through the things that I get to see on a daily basis. Your donation has the power to prevent a child like Sandra to ever have to be in a hospital. Your donation has the power to help those there get better.

Perhaps I am lucky in that everyday between my job and my involvement with Team In Training that I get to meet incredible individuals like Sandra and Jennifer and Miguel to remind me that what I do is so important. I chose my career and my participation as a charity runner because the things in my life have made me want people going through whatever they are to know they are never alone. Without fail, you get this sense from those honored teammates of ours that know about Team In Training. Specifically, the honored teammate that spoke at our breakfast 3 weeks ago told us that when her treatments got too tough, or things were just seeming too big, she thought of the wave of people dressed in purple crossing the finish line of their events, and she knew she was not alone. Many of you reading this do not get the chance to listen to the beneficiaries of the donations that come in through these wonderful events. You don’t get to hear someone with leukemia tell you that the thought of what you do makes them feel stronger and not alone. But I’m here to tell you that the dollars you donate to me, the dollars that I represent with every step I take, are helping so many people you can’t even begin to imagine feel stronger. You are giving someone you don’t even know one of the greatest gifts, and that is that they feel they are not alone.

So, that is my little rant for the day… Don’t forget to smile!

GO TEAM!

Why Another 26.2.....

Well it’s a little less than a year later, and I am back with Team In Training to do another 26.2 miles while also raising money to find a cure for blood cancers! This marathon takes me to Nashville to run on April 25th—5 days after my 25th birthday! Many of you may have known that I had attempted to run the Marine Corps Marathon in October this past year following the first marathon in June, but I think my body was just burnt out and needed a break, so I deferred my race number until next year.

While I am not one hundred percent confident that my body is ready for another race (mostly due to stress), I decided that I wanted to join up with TNT for my second round after going to watch the Marine Corps Marathon in October. After a bit of hesitation (I didn’t want to feel like a quitter watching a marathon I had signed up to do), I decided to go and cheer on some friends, and one of my former Coaches for my San Diego season, run with a few of my old Team In Training teammates. Now, for everyone that has read my blog in the past, or has talked to me since my experience in San Diego, you know the enthusiasm I have for the marathon. However, I have to say, watching the marathon was just about as inspiring for me, if not more, than running it was. Perhaps it was because I went as someone who has already completed one, but watching thousands of people of all ages, races and abilities pass before me to get to the finish line was just so incredible. My friends and I stood at mile 18, the time when things get to be really tough, and clapped and screamed for literally 4 hours straight. We were there for the first man and woman to pass and stayed until the very last person went by, with the cop car following them and all. So, you may ask, why is it so inspiring to watch crazy people run so many miles?

I think the marathon and any endurance race is such a testament and tangible piece of evidence of the human spirit. To begin, watching the leaders, both the men and women, who pass by with such apparent ease and grace, looking as if they have barely broken a sweat, is almost an unreal sight on its own. Then, behind them are thousands of everyday people. The elite runners barely make up 5% of the race, leaving 95% or more racing towards the finish. Us non-elite runners have NO chance of coming in first, of gaining any fame or taking home any money. So, why do we do it? We do it because we are all trying to prove something. I’m not even sure if we all know what it is what we want to prove, but you can see it in the faces of each runner as they pass you on the sidelines. I think it definitely helped to have gone through one to really appreciate what was happening in front of me. As someone who has been there before and was standing at mile 18, it was easy for me to understand what most of them were feeling. Mile 18 is when what you are doing really starts to set in. The, pardon my language, ‘oh fuck what the hell was I thinking signing up for this?!’ Before that, thanks to the adrenaline, you are enjoying the ride. But at around mile 18, you start to notice pains and realize, oh shit I have another 8.2 miles to go. Many many people, Lance Armstrong included, have been quoted as saying, 13.1 miles is NOT halfway through the marathon, but rather it’s when you hit mile 20 that you are at your halfway point. Mile 18 is just about there. So, for all intense purposes, I think that miles 18-26.2 is when that human spirit that I was talking about really shines through. You see it in every one of the faces that passes by you. I have seen many movies/interviews with even the elite runners that talk about the absolute struggles of the marathon. Yes, even those individuals who at mile 18 look un-phased by 18 miles, are hurting and are battling through, and even though you may not SEE it, you know they are because that is the marathon. You see it in those who hear your cheers of encouragement and although they are appreciative, are at the point in their run that they would really rather tell you to just shut up, as they struggle to tell themselves to keep going. You see it in the face of the charity runners, who proudly wear their causes on their racing shirts and as you scream out, “GO TEAM,” burst out into a smile. You see it in the face of the stranger who is struggling and you call out the name on their shirt and even if it is just for a few steps, they speed up, just a bit. You see it in the man who has no legs and is peddling his way with his arms on a skateboard. You see it in the last man in the race, being hurried along by the cut-off car. Maybe I am nieve in thinking that anyone, runner or not, who watches a marathon would be moved, but I think it’s impossible not to be. I think it’s impossible because how is it not inspiring to watch so many people at the same time conquer things they might have thought unimaginable? As I said, it’s the closest thing to a tangible understanding of what life is all about-every day people conquering things they thought unimaginable.

Clearly, I didn’t leave my spectator experience of the marathon upset that I did not participate. Rather, I left inspired to sign up for my next one. It was as if I remembered why I love running again. So, here I am, about 5 months out and back with TNT again. This season, I am not only running as a member of TNT, but I have gotten a bit more involved and I am a Team Captain. As a Team captain, I am a mentor to the members on my team, helping them with fundraising tips, team building and tips on what to expect. Because of the holidays, I have only seen my team twice, once at the Kick-off breakfast and then at our first run. At the Kick-off breakfast, I decorated my table with different colored garland, mardi gras beads, purple pom-poms and then made goodie bags for each of my team members that consisted of Gu (the energy gel), silly star sunglasses, ridiculous little wristbands, candy and Accelerade. After the first run, a few of us went out to breakfast together and got to know one another a bit more. Between my teammates, the rest of the teams, and my fellow Team Captains, I think this season is going to be a blast all around! We have already made plans for game nights/pasta Fridays before Saturday runs, and I can tell that this group definitely likes to have as much fun as they do sweat it out in the many miles!

My goal this season is to get my teammates across that 26.2 mark in April and to fall in love with running. I truly want to go out to Nashville in April and have fun with the Country music and have as much of a great experience as I did in San Diego. Along the way, I definitely would like to raise a good chunk of money to go towards finding a cure for blood cancer—which I will talk about in my next blog.

Until then, I’ll see you out on the trails. Don’t forget to smile!

GO TEAM!

WE DID IT!!!!

Hello Everyone!

I'm officially back in DC, back to work, and back to reality! What an amazing journey the past four months of my life have been and I couldn't have imagined a better ending than I had last weekend in San Diego. I can't do the weekend justice just talking about the marathon, so here's a little recap of my weekend that felt like summer camp.

Thursday Night/Friday:
After a mere 4 hours of sleep on Thursday night due to some interruptions, Kerry and Moses picked up me and our teammate Lauren who crashed the night on my couch to go to Dulles Airport at 5am. At 8:15, we were up in the air, off to the West Coast. I was entertained by the horrible acting skills of Katie Holmes in the movie 'Mad Money,' then cried like a baby to the movie 'The Bucket list.' Once the movies were over, I knew the weekend was going to be perfect because they played an episode of 'The Office.' Six hours and not a minute before I was ready to jump out of my skin we were landing in San Diego. As I looked out the window at the area, I said outloud, 'I may never go home,' apparently a little louder than I thought as Kerry burst out laughing several rows infront of me.

After we picked up our baggage, we loaded up onto the TNT bus to the hotel. I'm not gonna lie, I totally felt like an Olympic athlete. We stayed at a Marriot in Mission Beach that was complete with beds and hammocks poolside.

Kerry and Me on the way to the Hotel...
Hotel Pool:
After we checked into the hotel, we headed over as a group to the Marathon Expo that was down at the Convention Center. For those of you who are not runners or have never been to an expo, it's where you pick up your race number and time chip and then are released onto a floor of endless discount running gear---aka it's like releasing a fat kid in a candy store. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, but I managed to control myself and not buy one thing!

Moses, Lauren, Me, Kerry and Hector outside the Expo:

After the expo, Hector, Moses, Lauren, Kerry and I walked around the Gaslamp District of San Diego. As we walked around, I stated that I didn't believe actually lived in San Diego because it was just too damn perfect. If I lived there, I would call into work sick everyday, it just wouldn't work out. We wandered for what seemed like hours, and I was getting cranky because we were approaching a 17 hour day of being awake ontop of a 4 hour night of sleep. Nonetheless, we rallied and Hector, Moses, Kerry, Lauren and I met up with some of Hector's friends who lived in San Diego and they took us for a dinner in Coronado. We sat by the a window that overlooked the bay onto the San Diego skyline. I treated myself to Swordfish and wine---the marathon was still a good 24 hours+ away. On the way home from dinner, John Melloncamp's song "Jack and Diane" was on the radio, and I had one of those life is perfect moments as I was riding through beautiful San Diego and all of us singing under our breaths, "Oh yea, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone...".

Group of us at dinner with San Diego in the background....

Hector, Lauren, Me, Kerry and Moses outside our Restaurant trying to capture the view we had...

Hector, Lauren, Me, Kerry and Moses again, closer view...

After 22 hours of being awake, it was time for bed....

Saturday:
Of course I wake up ready to rock n roll at 4 am Cali time, 7am East Coast, on Saturday. I laid in bed and forced a little more sleep until it was time when a bunch of us went out and did a quick 1.5 mile run to remind our bodies why we were actually in California. After our run, we went to Michaels to get the all important iron-on letters for our racing singlets, and then it was off to the pasta party.

Moses Lauren and Me waiting for the Trolley on the way to the Pasta Party...

The 34 of us from our region went to the Pasta Party about two trolley stops from our hotel. This is when the weekend became emotional/reminded us why we were doing what we were doing. We walked into the Hall of the party to deafening cheering noises. As we kept walking, coaches and survivors from all over the country lined the hallways and cheered at the top of their lungs for all the runners. I had tears in my eyes immediately. What really got me, and many of us, was seeing a woman crying her eyes out, holding a sign that said, "This survivor thanks you." I can not do justice with my words that would properly explain the emotions of what those few moments of walking through the tunnel of cheering made me feel. All I know is that i felt unworthy. I found a clip on youtube of the pasta party in San Diego from the year before, and it is actually at the same spot as where ours was. The first few seconds shows the cheering, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laVhdeL-Uco&feature=related

After getting our food, we sat down at our team's tables. We were a group of 34 joining a good 2 thousand in the room. As we ate, slideshows of our Honored Teammates and those who we were running for in Memory Of passed along the screens. After the slideshows, videos of past TNT events played, interviewing the participants, playing clips of them crossing the finish lines. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. The first speaker at the event was the VP of the TNT events for the Leaukemia and Lymphoma Society. She explained how far and how many improvents the LLS has been able to make in the past 20 years of TNT existance. It is amazing the improvements in the lives of both patients and families the money has helped to make, not to mention the astounding advances made from the research. We were also told that in the San Diego event alone, for the past 10 years, including this year, this race has raised $132 million from TNT!!! This year, I am proud to say that 66 chapters represented by 3200 runners raised a total of $12.5 million, $170,000 contributed from the 34 runners from the National Capital Region!!!!!!!

After the VP, a Runners' World favorite John Bingham, aka 'The Penguin,' spoke to us. John is famous for being a back of the packer marathon, and has quite a bit of humor in his views of the marathon world---which he has a lot of, he is a 45 time marathon runner! The Penguin gave us first timers some tips and things to expect--like not sleeping, don't make any decisions while on the course as after a certain point your judgement making abilities are not that great, he discussed 'The Wall,' and another portion of the run he named the 'Bite Me' stage, in which you will want to scream at even the person you love most in the world. I was familiar with that stage from our long runs, it was just really great to hear such an appropriate name for it!

When John Bingham was finished, the next speaker was Mr. Butcher, the husband of Susan Butcher, the first woman to ever with the Iditard 4 times and who had just lost her fight to Leaukemia. It was amazing and humbling to imagine the courage it took this man to stand before us and talk very much in detail about the point of diagnosis, the fight and the lost battle he had with his wife and two little girls. At the end of his speech, Mr. Butcher said that when TNT asked him to come and speak, he struggled with whether or not to. Once he decided to, they asked him to come and just say a few words of inspiration to us. He then said something along the lines of how his wife always lived by a saying from a philospher--I don't know the exact words--that when you are born, you sign a contract and that contract is you will eventually die. While you are here, you are to live life in an effort to do good for even just one more person. He said his wife did that times a thousand. He then went back into the thought of what to say to us about inspirtation, and he said, I walked into this room and I realized, I don't need to say anything inspirational to you all. You are like my wife in that you have inspiration in your hearts. All you have to do is look up at your table, look at the person sitting next to you, but most importantly, go home tonight and look in the mirror and know that you are a hero. Just when I thought the feeling of walking through the loud cheers from the coaches and survivors as we walked in could never happen again, it came back. It was an honor to hear such words from this man.

Some of the Team at the Pasta Party...

After all the food was eaten and the tears were dried, we headed back to our hotel pool where we had a pep talk and last minute race details from our coaches and got goodie bags on the beds that were poolside.

The whole team at our meeting:

All of us piled on the bed for the meeting....

My AMAZING Coaches...Coach Tina and Coach Rebecca!!!! Team Hector!!!!! Michelle, Carlotta, Me, Hector, Thais, Lauren, Kerry and Moses!!!
Sunday Morning:
I was pleasantly surprised that I slept like a rock on Saturday night!!!! I was dead to the world until 3:45am when my alarm clock went off and I jumped up out of bed like it was Christmas morning. All of my stuff was laid out compulsively the night before, so it took no time to get ready to join my team down in the lobby at 4:15am to take pictures. While all 3200 TNT runners were wearing purple race singlets, we were the only ones to wear the neon green hats, so it made it easy for friends, family and our coaches to spot us coming!! We walked out of our door to find that our coaches had decorated them!! You can even catch a picture of us in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060202045.html

Here are a few pics of the morning prior to heading to the race---keep in mind, this is 4:15am!:

YAY TNT!!!!!

Kerry and Me in the Lobby:
The whole team before leaving!
We were on our shuttle to the Start line by 4:45. Would you believe that there was actually traffic!!!! Once at the Start, you have to check your bags and hit the porta-potties. If you have never been to a large race, the lines for the porta-potties are a sight to be seen! They literally go on for miles--so long that once you go, you literally get right back into the line because you will have to go again by the time you get to the front. After 3, yes 3, trips to the porta-potties, I lined up in Corral 10 with Lauren and Hector. The music blasted and we were surrounded by 22,000 runners patiently waiting for 6:30am to come. Before I knew it, the gun went off and I was taking my first steps crossing the start line for my first marathon! What an adrenaline rush! I said to my teammate, yeah, this will be the last time I feel this rush for a few hours!
The first half of the marathon flew by in a blur! The energy was insane between the bands and all the crowds! Miles 7-10 I noticed were tough, and as I was thinking, why is this so hard already, I heard someone from the crowd shout, 'the crest of the hill is just ahead!" Yea, apparently I was running 3 miles uphill and had no clue! At mile 10, the downhill, I pulled out my cellphone from my waterbelt and called my Dad. He answered and immediately said, "What the hell are you doing?!" Oh just running a marathon Dad, no big deal. The two guys behind me got quite the kick of the sight of me on my cellphone. I said my family couldnt make it, and figured I called while I still felt good!
The support for TNT was amazing throughout the whole course. I was so proud to able to run the race and have people know that I raised money for others to participate. At one point, I was going through a rough spot and I saw a man on the corner holding a sign that said, "11 year survivor. Thank you Team In Training," talk about motivation!
I spoke to my sister at mile 14, still feeling strong. It wasn't until mile 17, when my shins started to cramp that I had a problem. I've had this on all my long runs, I cramp up where my surgery scars from high school are on my shins. I carried bio-freeze with me and was forced to use it at mile 19 when I couldnt walk another step let alone run because they cramped up so badly. I was on my way again feeling good until mile 21 when my other shin cramped up and I had no biofreeze left, and none of the Medtents had it or Bengay. Luckily, just like the angels that they are, Coach Tina and Coach Rebecca were there and so I stopped while they rubbed my legs down with Biofreeze they carried with them. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to finish.
The last 6.2 miles of new territory, I feel like the Finish Line just pulled me closer and closer. It's the toughest thing I've ever done, but barring your body from completely giving up, there is no way you are going to just stop. What a loser would you feel like! You even decide that walking is not good because you just want it to be over with! Luckily, the beauty of San Diego is a great distraction. I made the decision that even in the tough times, to take in every moment of the race and to not forget the images. I worked so hard for it. At mile 25, I called my dad again, asking him to talk me through the mile because my shins were cramped up so badly I didn't think I could do it. When he said, "It's only a mile Sarah," I had a bite me moment and immediately hung up. Don't ever tell a runner in a marathon they only have 4 miles, 3, 2, hell one, left, unless you want to get cursed out. I almost cursed out a crying child around mile 23 who was on the side of the road. Apparently, I didn't think he deserved to be crying because he wasn't in my shoes. Needless to say, I kept my control and used my anger to push me through.
Finally, just when I though they must have measured wrong and it was more than a mile, I saw the 26 mile sign. Not only that, but as I saw it, the band was playing "Don't Stop Believing," and I did a little fistpump. I was going to do this. Those last .2 miles, I literally kept saying, I can't believe I'm going to actually do this. The finish line was a twist and turn away, so at first, I didn't actually think I was. But then, one twist, one turn later, there it is, the most glorious sight in the world. The finish line. Everyone around me disappaeared, and for some reason, I jsut started screaming. Now, before I finish the story, about 100 feet away from the finish line you cross over a wire that feeds to the announcer your chip/name so that he can read your name when you finish. I was screaming so loudly that the announcer goes, "Who's that making all that noise out there? Sarah Ness, is that you? You sure are loud I can hear you all the way up here!" And I looked up at him with a huge grin on my face, the cliche two fists in the air, and crossed that finish line at 4 hours, 35 minutes. You can see official race photos at this site (there are a few, you just have to scroll through, I'm bib number 10809 and I think there are like 5 or 6):

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=31327&BIB=10809&S=230&PWD=

Here is a video link to a newsclip about the marathon and my two coaches are at the very end!:

http://www.fox6.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoID=464079

Everyone talks about the emotions of the finish, but no one tells you how you will FEEL. You FEEL like death. You want to vomit, poop your pants, pass out, one at a time or all three at once. You want to sit, but you know that's bad, so you walk. I felt like I was drunk times 100. I called my parents and all I could say was, "Holy shit, that was hard" over and over again. I don't think I was coherent until a good 20 minutes later.

I met up with my teammates in the TNT celebration area where I got ice wrapped around my shins and began refueling my body. I could not stomach my celebration beer until an hour after I was done. Walking at this point is very humorous. Everyone walks like they have something in their pants. Curbs are the enemy and everything is hilarious because you are delirious from what you just did. Here are a few pictures of right after:

Jeesoo, Lauren and Me--I don't even remember this photo I think I was still blacked out... Starting to feel like myself again, almost time for the celebration beer(s)....Me and Lauren..
Me and Kerry......definitely feeling the cloud 12 feeling finally.....beer time!!!TEAM HECTOR ALL SURVIVE!!!!!(Kerry and Moses, how in the HELL did you get low like that?!)
We headed back, then a few of us hit up the beach for a bit, then showered and went to the TNT Victory Party downtown. Like the natural rock stars that we are, Team Hector, or those who were left, hit up the bars downtown and partied it up in San Diego. It was easier to dance than it was to walk. It was quite the sight to see us try to "Get Low..". Another 24 hour day pulled that weekend!

A few of us at the Victory Party....

It wasn't quite the race time that I wanted, but shins will be shins. I enjoyed every moment, from the happy to the this is hard and I want to stop. I smiled more than I wanted to die as I keep telling everyone. When it got tough, I thought of all the money raised. At one point, I was going up another hill and I recited the mantra, "I am not alone." I was physically alone from my team, but I wasn't alone, I could make it. I thought of everyone who told my parents they were thinking about me that weekend, about all the people I knew were tracking me on the computer, of all the people who donated. You all got me through those miles, even if you weren't on the course with me. I ran this marathon for so many reasons, too many to quit when it was tough. This was a gift to those who can't do it, for the people I raised money for, a gift for those who donated to me, and a thank you to everyone (especially my family) who has been through hell and back with me over the years. I can do it. And I did it. And I will keep doing it.

Anyways, I just want to end with a huge thank you to each and every one of you. You have made a contribution to such an amazing cause. I wish you all could fully understand how much your donations really effect people. I have had the privilege to meet so many beneficiaries of your dollars and if you could just see their gratefulness, I think you would be so proud of your support of my efforts. This truly has been the most amazing thing I have ever been a part of. I have made the most amazing friends, been blessed with amazing coaches and got to cross something off of my 'Life To Do List." I hope that one of you decides to do TNT one day so that you can understand my words better. I will most definitely be a part of this organization again. I have my first 26.2 under my belt, new lifelong friends, raised money for a cure and memories to last me a lifetime.

It's still not too late to contribute, here is my link: http://www.active.com/donate/tntnca04/tntncaSNess

THANK YOU!!!

GO TEAM!!!!!

Now it's off to train for Marine Corps in October!

Best,
Me!
*There will be days when you think you can't run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that you did"

Recommitment

This was a big week for Team In Training-Recommitment was upon us and we had to resign with the team based on if we felt we could raise all $4000 dollars by May 16th. I am not a quitter and I know that this is the best thing I could ever participate in, so I resigned. It is scary though I am only at $1700 dollars and the thought of having to back the rest of that money up if I don't raise it is terrifying. I have to continue with this challenge though. Here are the reasons why I have chosen to do a marathon and complete TNT:



. To help find a cure for all those people-men, women and children-who are afflicated with blood cancers.

.To prevent any family from having to go through the pain that it is to have one of their own suffer from blood cancer.

.To raise money to find a prevention for blood cancer.

.Because one day, someone in my family, one of my friends, one of my friends children, or coworkers, etc. could be afflicted by the illness.

.To prove to myself that I am a runner and I can run 26.2 miles.

.To prove to myself that when I put my mind to it, I can achieve whatever it is.

.To show my family and friends how far I have come in 5 years and that I will live my life to the fullest and appreciate every moment.

.For my Uncle Charlie who emulates, for me, how much of life and the world there is.

.Because I CAN.



It's about stepping outside of yourself. Anything is possible. So possible that none of us are immune to cancer. Just because you haven't been affected directly at this point does not mean there is no reason not to help. Running a marathon for me is possible. I have enough family, friends and coworkers in my life that raising the funds should be possible. Those close to me may never fully understand the emotions and the sense of fulfillment this opportunity provides for me, because they will not be there running with me. However, those close to me have the amazing opportunity to contribute to this cause and be a hero with me.



Other than the recommitment, I went home this past weekend for Easter. Kerry and I ran our 10 miles in Chatham. We risked our lives on busy streets with no sidewalks. Oh and then there were the constant inclines and hills. Running with Kerry was great, but we definitely missed the Team and also the fun trails in the DC area. We did manage to hit up a bagel place after our run, however, have no fear.

This coming weekend we are running in the National Half Marathon. Other than that, it's been a fairly quiet week, just the norm.

Please be sure to check out my site and help make a difference with me!

What an inspirational week

Well after the last weekend I had that was filled with running in conditions that were not too pleasant--rain, hills and frigid temperatures--I was looking forward to running in pleasant conditions. On Tuesday night, Kerry and I ran our quick 4 mile Tuesday run together. We left the house thinking, oh we will just get this over with real fast, it's just 4 miles; however, this was not such the case. Those 4 miles felt like the marathon. Thankfully, Kerry was feeling the same way as I was---and for no better way to describe it other than death. Normally while on a run, you like to catch the lights so that you aren't constantly standing around waiting to cross streets, on Tuesday though, we were praying to catch the lights so that we could stop. It was defeating. There we were, struggling through an easy run, when on Saturday, we kicked ass running up and down hills for what my teammates told me was an 8 mile run. How could this be? Well the answer was simple and it was because our bodies were just tired. We put them through a tough weekend, and running on Tuesday was not what they wanted to do. But that's why we have easy 4 mile runs on Tuesdays, to get our bodies back into business. This does not do so much for you mentally, however. It's a blow to your confidence and frustrating.



Needless to say, I took Wednesday, the day for cross training, off because I knew that my body still needed a break. I got up at 5:30 Thursday morning to do my 4 miles before work. In addition to work that morning, I was taking volunteers to the Hope Lodge in Baltimore to make dinner for the patients and their caregivers that evening. I knew that by the time I got back from Baltimore, I would not want to go to the gym to run 4 miles, so 5:30am wake up call it was! Thankfully, the run was MUCH better than Tuesday! I forgot how much I enjoyed running in the morning! Also, for as much as I love running with other people, there is a great peace to running by yourself from time to time. It is a great way to begin the day, clear your mind, enjoy the beautiful morning. The world is so much more peaceful at that time. I concentrated on the sound of my breath and shoes methodically hitting the pavement and I was very much in a zen place. Needless to say, 17 hours later as I climbed into bed, I fell sound asleep!





Saturday morning was a day I had been kind of dreading, and it was more out of fear than anything! On Saturday, I met with my Team in Bethesda to run the Capitol Crescent Trail for 12 miles. I haven't run 12 miles in quite some time, so the thought of it really made me nervous! I woke up again at 5:30 that morning to eat a bowl of cereal and make my way to the trail for our 7:30 am start. Prior to the run, I ate a GU, which is not really how I like to start my mornings! It's not the flavor that is so terrible, it's more the consistency. For those of you who don't know, Gu is this little silver packet of energy gel. It comes in various flavors, ranging from plain to banana to chocolate to expresso to tri-berry, etc. As I said, the flavor=not so bad, the lovely consistency is the part that you have to get over. If you eat Gu and fall madly in love with it, you have issues. But, it works! I don't take Gu for any run under 8 miles. I also learned the hard way during the half marathon that if I don't consistantly take it, like every 4 miles, my stomach gets quite angry with me. So, I take it 15 mins prior to my run and then about every 4 miles, or like every 45 minutes. That morning I was consuming the tri-berry which is quite delightful if you swallow it ASAP and wash it down with lots of water. I have tried other routes of energy, such as shot blocks--which is kind of like a gummi bear, but not really at all, then there are jelly beans and bars. But I like the Gu because it's quick, doesn't take a lot of space up, and works for me. So one bowl of cereal, some Gu and I was ready to hit the trail. The morning was quite beautiful, little chilly with the wind prior to us getting out there, but the sun was coming out and, well, it beat running in pouring rain! Before the run, we all gathered around Coach Tina and did our stretching routine. As we bent over doing the one stretch, Tina did her usual, "I hope nobody had beans last night" comment, but this time took it a step further and added, "I've been on the toilet 4 times already this morning." Oh, runners, what can I say, you learn A LOT about each other quite quickly! Tina then told us that there would be a lot of TEAM members on the trial today because besides our group, the Spring athletes were on the trail as well, running their 18 miles that day! I thought to myself, oh god that is insane, 18 miles! And then laughed because I realized oh crap, I'm headed that way myself! In addition to letting us know about lots of Team members on the trail, Tina told us that NBC would be on the trail filming one of the marathoners training because she is blind. Once again, I attempt to shame anybody reading this blog who attempts to tell me that they can't run, or even walk a considerable distance, as I was among many body types, athletic abilities on Saturday AND ran with a blind woman and a woman who has leaukemia and they are all out there determined to keep going.


After our moment of silence remembering who we were running for, we were off running the 12 miles. We were instructed to remember, this is training, not a race, go slow! In addition, we were told that the first half of the run to Georgetown was downhill, while the second half back the Bethesda was all uphill. GRAND! Here we go! So my pace group set off and I could not look back! At around mile 4, our pacer Hector was like, uhm is it just me, or are we running really fast? And then he said that we were pacing a 8 minute mile. To which we all were like, wow that is borderline ridiculous. So we all backed off, especially with 8 miles ahead, and a long uphill climb. That is, we all slowed up, minus our one teammate Moses who just took off. We saw him at the turn around, and he made it look easy! Running past, all cheery in his green shorts. Mind you, we are all boggled by this as Moses came to the run telling us he had had 6 Miller Lights the nite before. As he ran by us, we are like, Moses, how the hell are you doing this right now--pacing a consistant 8 minute mile---and he shouted, 'carbo loading on 6 miller lights!". I can assure you all that could never be me. I would probably be puking in the bushes. But hey, whatever works for ya!


The trail we were on was so beautiful and there were so many people out! Kerry and I kepts saying how much we wished we had a camera. The houses that we saw were magnificent, seeing little waterfalls, and there were certain parts with tunnels and such that were absolutely gorgeous. I am finding many hidden treasures in DC, so much so that now when I know I have visitors coming, I don't even want to show them monuments, but rather the trails! It's amazing to be on the trails and see everyone out--it's like a whole other world that nobody knows exists! There were water stations for the various running programs that had volunteers handing out water and cheering everyone on! And of course, with all the Team members on the trail, there were many shouts of "GO TEAM!" which is a huge motivator as I said last week. Kerry and I kicked butt and ran the 12 miles in 1:46. The miles actually flew by which was due to the beautiful surroundings, the cheering and the good conversations. At around mile 11/11.3 Kerry and I were coming up on this bridge overpass on one of the roads in Bethesda. I hate this bridge so much for two reasons: one, it shakes incredibly much and literally makes me feel sick--even though it isn't a long bridge--and two, the incline leading up to it is ridiculous. The only positive to the bridge is that you know the run is pretty much over once you get over it. Kerry and I saw the bridge in the distance, with our heavy legs moving forward, and started swearing at the sight of it. Just before we started to climb the incline, came Coach Tina, shouting "There are my ladies! Way to go girls! You are kicking butt you and just look so great!" I practically wanted to burst out in tears, she was amazing! We told her how much we hated the bridge and she agreed saying, "it scares the shit out of me!" We talked about what a perfect day it was to be out on a run, and then corrected ourselves and said, it's a great day to be alive. Before we knew it, we were over the bridge without even realizing it. Kerry and I got a jolt of energy and finished our run and I know it was because of Coach Tina and her enthusiasm! All my teammates agree that everyone needs a Coach Tina in their pocket!


The run was over, we stretched, I struggled to get up off the ground, and then we all went across the street to treat ourselves to bagel sandwiches. Team Hector sat around, mouthing our bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel and had some laughs. Later that night, everyone came over my house for a little st.patty's day fun and a little team bonding. I feel like I've known these people forever and I don't know what I would do with my life without being apart of this. I can't imagine not knowing these people, not waking up at 5:30 and be greeted by the incredible coaches and teammates. I love every minute of this experience and I can only hope that everyone that is reading this, or who is in my life not reading this, has something that makes them feel this great and fulfilled as this experience does for me.

It's been a really inspiring week for me. Between my trip up to the Hope Lodge for work, being on the trails with my teammates, I'm standing a little taller each day. These experiences have put so much perspective on life for me that I have become much more relaxed and aware of what is important. Yesterday, we had a Look Good Feel Better training at work for the beauty professionals that want to help volunteer for the program. This program teaches women how to deal with the side effects of chemo and radiation, virtually giving them a make over and they walk out with a bag of makeup worth about 300 dollars. It is an amazing program. During the training, we have a patient come in for the trainers to do the demonstration of a session with. This particular woman came in all down, not wanting to be there. She even commented to me, you're just so full of energy, I am not there. I laughed and said that I was excited for her to find out what was in store for her and assured her that her spirit would change. My did it. That woman walked out looking and feeling like a million bucks! By the end of the training, this woman who came in with her head hung low, was up dancing with her new wig on, making jokes and just feeling good, like the progam says. At the end, she stayed after all the volunteers left and I was just speaking with her and she kept thanking me over and over again, and she sai, what a great day! Without even thinking, I blurted out, everyday alive is a great day. Now understand, most of these women look at me, a young girl out of college, not much life experience and no cancer, and they probably think I don't know what I'm talking about-so sometimes I keep my thoughts like that to myself. But yesterday, it just popped out. And Ms. Jean, the patient, said to me, my god that was beautiful, you are so right. I can't attribute this attitude to anything but my experiences with Team In Training and my job. I have been blessed to make it this far, especially from where I was a few years ago,and I just realize more and more how amazing things are. How amazing it is that I can give a wig to a woman and have her whole spirit lift and make her feel not sick, to have the ability and the courage to get out and run, to raise money for a good cause. I don't thnk I will forget the moment I had with Tina and Kerry on the bridge when the sun was out, the temperature was perfect and it just hits you, it's a great day to be alive, like I said. I'm glad that I can pass that on to others, especially those who forget that. I certainly know what it's like to want to quit and I hope I can keep spreading those words to others, you're alive, it is great, no matter what.




I am going home finally on Thursday for Easter weekend! I am so excited to be in NJ and to see my family, it's been too long! I will be running 10 miles on Saturday with Kerry, so if you're in town, look out for us!





I'm going to end with a quote Coach Tina sent us last week that was written by a veteran coach of TNT and the quote was about Team In Training. She sent this out in preparation for the recommittment date that is upon all the members. Basically, I'm signing all the paperwork assuring I will have raised $4000 dollars by May 16th--otherwise, I'm footing the bill. Please help spread the word and donate: http://www.active.com/donate/tntnca04/tntncaSNess

Here is the quote:
“This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I’m exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; leaving in its place something that I have trade for it. I want it to be a gain, not loss; good, not evil; success, not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it.”~W.Heartsill Wilson~