EXCITED...INDOMITABLE...HAPPY =)

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Today I cancelled my hotel reservation for The Boston Marathon and I thought I would be sad, but instead I felt a bit of elation.  July 30^th, that is the date, I will be running my portion of the Coast to Coast for Cancer Marathon into DC, as the date draws near I feel a spark and hunger for adventure, it’s almost like a giant springboard towards something new and amazing.  Yes, I have run a marathon, I have certainly raised money for different organizations, but to run 26.2 miles FOR cancer as a cancer survivor while raising $7,500 to help other cancer patients gives me a feeling that I do not think I can put into words.  I truly hope that if you are able to run with me that day you will join me for some, if not all of the miles.  You can purchase a mile for $200, and dedicate it to whomever you wish (but you can run with me regardless of donation).

Donate Here

Giving back, paying it forward, call it what you will…I still deal physically with the aftermath of a horrific birth experience as well as the many effects that cancer and the treatment have had on my body, but here I am, running marathons to help people in my same situation; for the first time in my life I feel like screaming “look at me, look at me”, the feeling is that invigorating...to be able to give back as I am still going through it. 

Running after cancer is THE BEST!!!!

As I raise money through your generous donations I am helping other cancer patients by providing direct patient care, yet on some level I am hoping that I may offer someone a spark of hope, a beacon of hope.  Having gone through cancer at age 36 I did not have anyone I could look to or relate to…I pray that you will share my story if you know ANYONE going through cancer and the rigors and hell of treatment.  Let them know that you can thrive after and even during treatment, that cancer does not end your life…it simply changes your journey.  Your cancer may cause your body to eventually fail but all bodies fail one day, my goal has always been to keep my cancer from killing my spirit.  God has blessed me with an indomitable will, an unusual energy level, and dauntless determination…cancer can take NONE of those things from me…unless I allow it to...sorry folks, I am rooting for me on this one!

If you have been considering donating to my race please do so…do it now!

Boston Derailed...

Coast-to-Coast for Cancer

Not this year for me...
maybe one day,
but then maybe not.
Life will certainly
go on...which is awesome.

So as we all know I have been training for the Boston Marathon for quite some time now…Boston is officially out and I have been derailed, sidetracked and otherwise redirected.  About 10 weeks ago I began having a lot of pain in my left tibia…I assumed this was a previous stress fracture from two years ago reasserting itself.  Turns out my last tibial stress fracture was in my right leg and this one was brand-new.  DAMN.  Broken.  THIS does not make Boston look very promising.

Looking for a bright side to this situation I decide that I will take up swimming (immediately jumping into two slow miles a day) and preparing to unleash my inner triathlete.  Since running is out I decide that it is time to get my Interstim replaced (bladder pacemaker) it had not been working for over 4 months and having the ability to empty my bladder is always an added bonus in my very unique little universe.

Running Boston has never been a bucket list item or life goal for me and I am not devastated to miss it, but I am disappointed…for me there would be a kinship with people insane enough to train at that level, shocker right?

Whatever happens at least I won't be doing this for 26.2 miles...

Still swimming and finding comfort working towards a new goal of a triathlon I find out about this AWESOME marathon opportunity.  They are having a Coast-to-Coast marathon to raise money for cancer (Donate Here)…all types of cancer.  There will be 160 runners passing a baton across the ENTIRE country traversing 4,000 miles from Washington State to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and I am going to be one of those runners…WOO-HOO…this is WAY better than Boston for me.

This is me knowing that I get run
 and help patients with cancer at the same time.Oh yeah...I've got swagger.

As a breast cancer survivor people always want to know why I do not do more Komen events, the three-day and all of the races…etc.  I am a HUGE supporter of Komen and breast cancer fundraising in general, but so are a lot of people.  The Coast-to-Coast marathon assists patients with ALL types of cancer and that makes me happy. 

Having gone through breast cancer I can assure you that thanks to Nancy Brinker and the Susan G. Komen foundation every single aspect of breast cancer is either covered by your insurance or financed by any one of a number of amazing organizations.  I have watched too many of my friends with other types of cancer fight tooth and nail to get even very basic needs covered by insurance. 

Please come and be
indomitable with me!

Needless to say this race is the first of its kind…runners going from Coast-to-Coast with the goal of raising a million dollars towards cancer research and direct patient care.  My portion is $7,500 and I am going to need your help to get there…please consider donating or even “buying a mile” for $200 (Donate Here).  You can also form your own team or join mine and raise money with me and join me on race day (sometime around July 25^th in the DC area…specific time and day soon).

I would love a crowd of my friends and supporters there to fight cancer with me.

Although Boston is not in my immediate future I am feeling lots of new and exciting things on the horizon…Boston Derailed…absolutely.  Opportunity knocking?  Always.  Swimming, Triathlons, Coast-to-Coast for Cancer and a chance to give something back.

Life is full of amazing blessings.

I came across this just this morning:

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.”

-Erma Bombeck

Do you want to join me on my big run?

Can you donate?

Do you always try to find the opportunity in the disappointments?