Did It...

Marathon morning...
Up early and ready to do this thing.

Check

4 hours, 22 minutes, 36 seconds....
Let's do it again!

Make it or Break it...

I'm down to the wire. I've kept up with my training. My knee is doing fantastic. But I've blown it on the fundraising. Good intentions procrastinated. Projects never fully completed. I have such a HARD time asking friends family and co-workers to donate. I don't know why. It is an amazing cause. Every paitient I have met and visited with has told me how incredibly important the LLS was in their cancer treatment. Still, I haven't followed through very well. Sure, I could blame Christmas or a crazy schedule. But those are just excuses, really it's just been me having a hard time asking for help.



Today is make it or break it. I don't want to disappoint those who have donated and supported me and this cause. So I'm hitting the phones and making the calls.



I'm about forty $25 donations away from my goal or 20 $50 donations. The amount per person isn't great and I can come up with a list of over 100 people that $25 wouldn't be an outrageous amount or even a stretch. Wish me luck folks. And if you would like to help with the cause, that would be AMAZING ... just click on the "make a donation" link at the top right of this page.





Jen

My Knee

I've been holding back quite a bit on training due to knee pain. Since my divorce my insurance is bad. Well, let me be frank...it sucks. Yes, I have some, but it isn't going to offer much assistance in terms of physical therapy, etc. My worry was miniscus or cartiledge and the possibility of doing signifcant damage. I didn't want to compromise my ability to run in the future or risk the need for surgery.

Luckily, I know people. :-) The diagnosis was classic runner's knee, or tendenitis. There are some things I can do to help healing. The bigger piece of the puzzle is looking for the source, whether it's form, lack of stretching, etc. that has recently caused the pain. Good news is, I can and should keep training. I know better now what is happening and how to both prevent, deal with and treat the reoccuring pain.

NOW, I just have to make it to the starting line. 59% there.

57% Finished

I'm at 57% raised for fundraising dollars.

On one hand I'm thinking 57% !!! Yay! That's over halfway. That's not much left. Then on the other hand ... That's still 43% more to go. Yikes!

I did the math, 57% of 26.2 miles is 14.94 miles. I can imagine when I hit that mark running I'll probably have about the same range of emotions plus burning muscles, a high heart rate and extreme light-headedness with 11.26 miles left to go. Half empty? Half full? It could go either way.

Thanks for dropping by. I hope you'll consider making a donation to help get me across that finish line, but most importantly to support the many children, adults and families impacted by blood cancers. The donation is truly for them.

Thanks! Happy Holidays!

Jen

At First It Was About the Running

I have to admit, at first my marathon effort was about the running. It was my newest addiction with fabulous health benefits, social networking benefits and a huge contributing factor to my new love affair with how good my legs look. Sure, I was open to the fundraising effort, but it wasn’t my driving force.
I’ve never been one to participate in charity work. I have avoided being involved when it comes to illness, suffering and need, whether it be cancer, the economy or otherwise. I’ve always felt so powerless. What can I do? What can I say? I’m just little me and those things are so big. So, I’ve avoided them. Avoided talking about them. Learning about them or getting involved in any way with them.

Something amazing has happened with my marathon training. It’s like I just woke up one day and it wasn’t about the running anymore. It was about the niece battling leukemia of an unknown girl at the bar who strong armed the patrons, to GIVE something, anything to this cause, as I was only gently requesting donations. I saw firsthand how it mattered to her. It was about a little boy that asked his mom why she could go home and he had to stay at the hospital. I know it matters to him. It was about a freshman at college who is determined to make his grades and continue on even with debilitating pain and no promise of an end in sight. I can see that this makes a difference in his life. Something broke through for me and I wept for these children, families, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers that are faced with their own mortality or potential loss of loved ones, without fairness, without explanation.

I have found myself inspired to reach out and to speak up, not for me, but for them!

Running has given me personal physical strength. It has given me emotional strength. It has challenged me to go further than I could go, faster than I thought I could and to carry on when I have wanted to quit. Running has helped given me courage to face challenges in my own life and helped me find my own power to make real and lasting changes in my personal circumstances.

That personal power has transformed into something bigger. This marathon is giving me the opportunity to place one foot in front of the other and help someone else in need. It helped me realize my own strength and commitment matter. It helped me realize, even though I cannot make it go away, I am not completely powerless to things like cancer. I realized that my footsteps can make a difference and that my voice counts. I know now that I may be small, but not insignificant. I am so very grateful that I am able to contribute even if it is only at a small level.

Sure, I am looking forward to crossing that finish line for the personal accomplishment. But it really isn’t about the running anymore. I don’t think I have the personal desire to actually complete 26.2 miles for me. I have nothing to prove and I am adverse to pain. I would have bailed on this event by now, but I won’t. I can’t. It is no longer for me. Your donation counts and if you aren’t able to contribute to this cause or even another, please take time to pray for those in need, as THAT IS powerful too.

So You Think You Can Wing It!

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Downtown Johnny's Hall of Fame

6PM-9PM

Join us for a night of fun-raising as our valiant contestants Wing it On in honor of our Team in Training teammates Zach and Nick, 2 boys both battling leukemia Local athletes, celebrities and community members are participating in a wing eating contest where the ultimate winner will be chosen by YOU!, the voting public.

Purchase an optional $5.00 wristband for drink specials with the funds going directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Mark your calendar! Invite your friends! I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

More details to follow soon!