Lannie's Ladies Take 4

Another cause that is close to my heart is the NOCC, which is the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. I became acquainted with this cause after a dear friend of mine, Lannie told us she had ovarian cancer. Luckily it was detected in the earlier stages, they were able to do a hysterectomy and remove all the cancer. She was one of the lucky ones!

This is our group, we are the Lannie's Ladies!

Now on to the race recap. This was the 4th year we have done this race so we had a lot of expectations that it would be similar to the past year's event. They changed the venue and a lot of the sponsors pulled out or didn't renew. I am not sure what exactly happened this year, but balls were dropped. We all signed up to the 5k event. In the past it was all the same. The runners could run and the walkers started right behind them. Well, this apparently they only wanted to runners to do the 5k. If you chose to sign up to walk, you were only supposed to do the 1.5 mile course. Well, none of our group got that memo, they all went in expecting to do the 5k. They let the walkers start after the runners were on the course for a good 15-20 minutes. It was a a loop that you had to do 5 times. On my 3rd lap, they were still standing there waving me on. So when I finished my run, which was incidentally 3.39 miles, not 3.1, they started the festivities shortly after that. 

All the survivors were gathered on the stage and celebrated. It was a touching moment, however, there was one glaring omission, Lannie was still on the course, trying to complete her 5k. So when she came through on another loop, she saw the large crowd and realized that she was late. I had to break it to her that it was over. She was so hurt. My heart hurt FOR her. We are all there for this most amazing, wonderful woman who survived cancer. She kicked cancer's ass and she wanted her place on the stage. So of course Terie and myself had to do something and sought out the race director to right this wrong. She felt awful and said they could get all the survivors to re-gather on the stage AFTER all the door prizes and awards for runners were passed out. By this point, Lannie and all the ladies were just over it. Feeling dejected we all gathered ourselves and headed to the nearest Cracker Barrel. This has become a tradition, every year we run or walk for Lannie and reward ourselves with Cracker Barrel.

So at the end of the day, it was not the best race experience, but the point was still the same. We gathered around a friend that we adore and we rally, because we are happy she is alive and I will walk, run, hike, bike, row, ski, hop on one foot, whatever she wanted us to do, to show that we honor her and how much of a bad ass diva she is for kicking cancer's ass! Go Lannie, Go!

Now I want to share some important facts with you about Ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer has very vague symptoms, it is important as a woman to make yourself familiar with them. It could save your life some day!

Here is a list of the symptoms, please pass them on...

• Bloating
• Trouble eating or feeling full quickly
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Feeling the need to urinate urgently or often

Other symptoms of ovarian cancer can include:

• Fatigue
• Upset stomach stomach or heartburn
• Back pain
• Pain during sex
• Constipation
• Menstrual changes

Ovarian cancer risk factors:

• Genetic predisposition
• Personal or family history of breast, ovarian or colon cancer
• Increasing age
• Undesired infertility

Facts

• All women are at risk
• Symptoms exist - they can be vague, but increase over time
• Early detection increases survival rate
• A Pap Test DOES NOT detect ovarian cancer

For more information, please go to www.ovarian.org and help break the silence!

The start of a great Winter season!

I am so excited to start running with Team in Training again!!! I missed it. I really felt out of the loop a bit. There is just something magical that occurs at 6:30am on Saturday. A group of strangers come together, they enter into a commitment together with one sole uniting purpose...to raise money for cancer! They are never strangers for long, a family of purple people come together and do some amazing feats. This will be my third season with Team in Training and there is a reason that I keep coming back! It is truly spellbinding to see the dedication, heart and soul in people that want to do something good in the world. When it's 105 degrees outside, we train. When it's 14 degrees outside, we train. What we are doing REALLY does make a difference in the lives of patients with blood cancers. One of the honored heroes that spoke at kickoff said her oncologist told her that there would be a cure in her lifetime! How much more encouragement to run can you get than that?!!! That is why I get up at 5:30 every Saturday for 4 months of my life...so I will hear one day that cancer has been eradicated, blasted, eliminated, expelled, CURED! Why do I run? Because cancer SUCKS!

Check out the group of strangers that will be one big family in a few shorts weeks!

GO TEAM!!!

Oh no, I hated the shoes! Really?!

I know it's hard to believe after my last post. I had a brief love affair that ended after 2 miles and one rather large, annoying blister on my little toe! I guess you never really know a shoe until you run in it! That is why you should try them out on your treadmill before you commit. I promptly took them back to Run On after I slid them on and was going to take a second run in them. My feet were like, hell no, get those off me. My toe immediately began to scream at me, hello, you have a blister the size of Montana over here! I didn't realize it until I put them on. Alas, back to the Asics for that run. No pain at all.

So I got the other shoes that I was waffling back and forth about, the Brooks Ravenna 2. I have heard so many great things about Brooks and I am test running these now. I think I like them, I just ran a quick 2 in them and they felt GREAT! We shall see!

Oh how I love the smell of new running shoes!

There is one magically thing about running season...NEW RUNNING SHOES. You go into to the sports logo illuminated running store and breathe in the smell of rubber and synthetic nylon. There is something about all that that makes your head swirl, in a good way! It's magic when you try on that one running shoe that makes your foot squeal with delight! I found a shoe today that I think fit all that I wanted and needed in a shoe. It's the Saucony Progrid Guide 4. They hugged my feet when I put them on and it was love at first step. I went in to the store in hopes that I would fall in love with the Brooks shoe, but after trying them on, I wasn't smitten by them...I just wasn't feeling it all. I have many runner friends that swear by them...but your foot knows best...right?! I am giving this glowing review, maybe prematurely, as I have yet to run a mile in them. But, I do think I know a good thing when I find it ;)

The Winter Season is upon us (you wouldn't know it)

I took a little time off from my running to renew and rejuvenate myself. I swam, I biked, did lots of classes and just gave my legs a rest from running for a little while. Now I am raring to go again. I have charted out my race season and am stepping out of my comfort zone, a lot, I plan on signing up for a half Ironman that will be in April! Holy smokes, I can't believe I just wrote that. I am going to delve in the triathlon circuit, hopefully it doesn't kill me ;)

I am taking on the challenge again of raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training this winter. This is a cause that has become near and dear to my heart. I haven't personally been affected by blood cancer, but I have lost both my grandparents and countless friends to other forms of cancer. If they can find a cure for blood cancers, it will help to fight all types of cancer!

I have become a stronger, healthier, more fit than I have ever been in my life. I owe my renewed rejuvenation for good health and wellness, solely to TNT. Had I not gone to that first info meeting, I would surely still be sporting the baby weight from 2 kids. Now apart from physical fitness, I have a renewed faith in humanity. I know that people will be there to support me in my cause. I know that I have a new passion to do something that helps others and makes me truly happy in the process. Who doesn't want that?! I have fuzzy good feelings all the time, just knowing what I am doing will enrich someones life immensely!

You would hardly know that it's the winter team when it's 110 degrees outside, but, it actually is. I am so excited training will kick off August 20th. I will be a mentor again, so I can teach people everything I know and help them along their journey as well. I am going to run the 26.2 mile White Rock MARATHON this time. I have only run half marathons for TNT thus far. I know everyone KNOWS I can run a half, but I want to prove I can run another full AND shave off 43 minutes of my time. That's my "goal" anyway ;)

I successfully raised, with the help of a lot of people, $4,352.47 in the two seasons that I have been a participant. I intend to raise $1,500 more this season, with some more help!

If you want to donate to my cause, I will give you a few reasons why you may want to:

1. 100% of every dollar goes to LLS; this helps finds cures and better treatment options for Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma.

2. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20.

3. There are an estimated 957,902 people in the United States that are living with or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myleoma.

4. Every 4 minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies.

Check out my fundraising page...
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntxok/Whiterck11/cponderhdp

Another half down ~ Austin Livestrong Half Marathon

Let me start by saying that I was very excited about this race in particular for many reasons. First, I was going to be running the third event to achieve my "Marathons of Texas" medal.

Secondly, I was going to stay with my really good friend, Stacy, that I just adore, that I haven't seen in about 5 years.

Thirdly, I LOVE Austin. If I could pack up and move anywhere, I think it would be Austin for sure. It is such a great city, the food, the sights, the people, just the overall atmosphere of Austin has always sparked something in me.

Fourthly, I was going to run with my friend Leslie. It was so much better that I had her to run with. She pushed me through when I needed a push the most!!!

Now that you know why I was excited to run this, let's get into the race. Lord O mighty, I will start with that. It was HARD, really hard. It was not 40 degrees like it was predicted to be, it was HUMID and pretty windy. Not what you want on race day. The first 3 miles were uphill. THREE miles....uphill!!! Then there were some downhills, but more giant uphills.

When I read the course description, I should have been alarmed then, but I shrugged it off. It surely couldn't be THAT bad, right?!

I will write some of what the spectator guide said:

The (REALLY) BIG ONE (mile 11.8)
15th and West sits at the top of possibly the toughest hill of the day. Yeah, really? This is a good place to line the course with loud, positive support, and even coach a bit, telling runners to keep their heads up, keep their hips under them, and to move those arms. Yeah, that worked out real well! DO NOT tell them it's the last hill - they've got a couple more to go in the LAST mile. That's right, they saved the BEST hill for LAST!

I almost had to laugh while CLIMBING That mountain. It was just comical really to see everyone TRY and run. I attempted and just walked it. There was no point in burning all my energy, when I KNEW there was worse to come!

Skip ahead to the next one:

The (OTHER) BIG ONE (mile 12.7)
At Westover, the marathoners have crested a FAIRLY MASSIVE hill, and have nearly closed out what is, in terms of hills, the toughest portion of the course. At this point you could not even see the street at the top of the hill!!!

After getting past these grueling hills, the end was near! I couldn't have been more relieved to see the finish line that day!!! The race was tough, it was worse than Tyler with the hills, but fortunately it didn't beat my body up like Tyler did. I had hip pain for weeks after that race!

After weaving through the giant line of baggage check to get to the shirt tent (which was all the way on the very end of the chute) and watching a man collapse behind us and need immediate medical attention, I was ready to get the heck out of there. This happened to be the second one I saw that day. There was a man right after the last big hill that I heard stopped breathing and was given CPR by a passing runner. He seemed to be stable when I came across him, but that shook me a little. I am sure he must have tried to power up the hill and over exerted himself. I wonder how many others collapsed that day. It had to have been because of the difficulty of the course and the higher temperatures.

After the race, my friend Stacy tooted us around town to see some sights, we even did a little light hiking.


Overall, was it a race that I would do again? YES, I would and I will run it again, probably next year!

Want to run 2011 NYC Half-Marathon March 20th?

Looking for another spring event to run? Want a new cause to be a part of? The Fresh Air Fund is looking for runners and sponsors to join their Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Half-Marathon on March 20th. This is a great way to participate in NYC's premier race while helping Fresh Air Fund children. Check out the website for more details :http://freshair.org/racers

Ready to be a part of one of the world's best road races? Join The Fresh Air Fund-Racers on March 20th, 2011! The amazing 13.1-mile course takes you through beautiful Central Park, action-packed Times Square and ends with breathtaking finish-line views of the New York City harbor. More than 11,000 runners, of all ages and abilities, finished the NYC Half-Marathon last year, and they are so proud of their very own 2010 Fresh Air Fund-Racers who ran and raised $100,000 for the cause!

They are calling all runners and Fresh Air Fund supporters to come out and either challenge themselves to run the race or join our cheering squad. The Fresh Air Fund provides runners with guaranteed entry in exchange for fundraising before race day. Entries are limited - please get in touch soon! Please email kbrinkerhoff@freshair.org or call (212) 897-8890. Or click here to learn more about how to fundraise for the race!

Over the past four years as a NY Road Runners charity partner for the NYC Half-Marathon, our 335 Fund-Racers have raised close to $400,000 for The Fresh Air Fund!