We Did It! (an Amy post)

We did it! We completed the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon this past Sunday in San Francisco and it was amazing! What a crazy weekend. We had so much fun and though the weekend had it's ups and downs, I'd say it was mostly ups and that we had a wonderful time.

(In the group photo above we're near the bottom Left. Jo Anna is sitting on the chair and I'm squatting just beside her. Click the photo to see it displayed bigger)

Our legs might tell a different story though, as they are quite sore today. Jo Anna was amazing, she did the 13.1 miles like they were a walk in the park. For me it was far more difficult, but she kept me going and got me to the finish line where a small group of San Francisco's finest Fire Fighters gave us our little blue box with our Tiffany medal necklace inside.

The route was beautiful, but had a couple of giant hills that nearly killed me. I was really sucking wind at the top of each one. And we were pretty slow paced so most of the sponsor tables and even some of the water stations were closed up and gone by the time we went passed them, which was a bit disappointing. The weather was overcast, slightly drizzly now and then, and cold! I had my "discard" long-sleeved shirt on, the idea being once I got moving and warm I could toss it, but I never did. It was too cold. Overall it was a pretty amazing experience and I'm ready to do it again next year.

The Nike Women's Marathon itself benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and raised over 18 Million Dollars this year! There were approx. 20,000 participants total and over 6,000 Team in Training participants. I've never seen so many people in one place. Jo Anna and I were trying to get to our "corral" - our group of same paced people readying for the race - and never made it. We got stuck in the crowd and literally couldn't move. Truly, we were packed in so tightly it was crazy.

The Pasta Party on Sat. night was wonderful - not so much the food but the inspiration. We walked into this huge conference center and were met by hundreds of TNT Coaches, Mentors and Staff all dressed in Green & Purple (TNT Colors) and cheering and shouting for us. We had great speakers who were exceptionally motivating and by the time we left, we were totally pumped for the race the next day. This made sleeping a little difficult but we managed with some pharmaceutical help.

Sunday morning was early! We were up by 5:00 a.m. and met our whole team in the lobby to walk to the start of the marathon. That's right - we walked to the place where we'd start walking 13.1 miles. Nuts, right? But it was a good warm-up. We got checked in, did some stretching, used the port-a-johns, and then tried to find our corral (that's where we got stuck in the crowd). Eventually though the crowd thinned out as the different pace groups started the race, and we were able to join up with those in our own group and start.

Jo and I were in the way back of the pack, and that was all me. She certainly could have finished much faster but she chose to stay by my side, which I will be ever grateful for. After being told that one enormous hill would be the last big hill, and then coming to discover there was another gynormous hill, I was ready to call it quits but it was Jo Anna who kept me moving and motivated. Eventually we crossed the finish line together, and though we'd walked nearly the entire 13.1 miles, we ran across the finish. Smiling big, cheesy grins.

I'll post a link to photos as soon as I have them uploaded. We really had a wonderful time and while part of me is so glad it's over so that I no longer have to stress about it, another part of me is already looking forward to next year's race!

See you all next Fall!
Amy (& Jo)

We're here!

We are in San Francisco! I can't believe we are here ALREADY. How did it happen so quickly? Our room is nioe, Meg is with us, so is our camera. I am dying for tacos and beer. That's where we are headed next. More later. Hungry. -J

We're in San Francisco! (Amy)

Well - we're here! We're checked into our Marriott hotel, we've picked up our packets and bib #'s at the Expo, we've visited the Nike Store and got our Nike Women's Marathon t-shirts, and we had lunch from a lovely Indian restaurant across the street. We got take out, as it was only $5.00. We had fancy meatballs, curry veggies and some sort of spicy chicken cooked w/asparagus. All over rice. The 3 of us split each dish and they were all really tasty. There's 3 of us now because our friend Meg came to do filming for the documentary. She's wonderful and we're so glad she could join us on this trip.

We've been hanging out with the other 2 honored patients for the Phx team, Linda and Andrea (and Linda's boyfriend, Lance). They're great people. There's a bond that forms when people who have been though a similar experience like cancer meet. I can't explain it, it's just there. I think any shared trauma brings people together because no one else can really understand what it was like. It's like an exclusive club that you pray you'll never become a member of. Unfortunately, new people are joining every day.

We've been up since the wee hours of the morning because we had to be checked in and at the Gate by 6:00 a.m. I can't remember the last time I saw 4:00 a.m. on the clock, nor do I want to. I'm not a morning person, but Jo was already at the gate when I arrived, which I expected as she IS a morning person. I've had 4 coffees already today and I'm still tired.

Our hotel is lovely, though not as close to the Marathon Start as I was led to believe. It's only about 1 mile away but when I'm already going to have to walk 13.1 miles, I really don't want to have to walk another mile to get to the Start! Maybe we'll be lame and take a cab....

I've got some great photos already but I don't seem to know how to get them off the camera. I borrowed my husband's camera and I've plugged it in, but nothing is happening. I may need to spend a little more time on it later. I'm not sure what the plan is for tonight, other than dinner someplace, maybe drinks. Tomorrow, other than the Pasta party at 5:30, we have the whole day for whatever. We plan to go see "Religulous" somewhere, get Dim Sum at a restaurant Meg loves, and then hopefully go to the Piers. Can't wait!

Hard to believe Sunday is the race already. Yikes! Am I ready? I hope so. I have a timing chip, which means as I pass markers, you can follow my progress online. Not sure how that works... but will post more when I figure it out. My race # is 16794 and Jo Anna's is 18357. You should be able to use these to find us. Also, my understanding is the race will be televised as a Pay Per View event on Direct TV. I think it's $12.95.

That's all for now! Will try and figure out how to upload my photos and then will post later. Take care and as always, thanks for your continuing support!
-Amy & Jo

For Jon

My cousin Jon passed away on September 25th, 2 weeks ago yesterday. He was home and surrounded by people who loved him. It was very difficult but at the same time, he's been so very sick for so long, it was somewhat of a blessing. And his older brother made it here from WI to say goodbye, which was the one big thing we were all hoping for. Shortly after his older brother got there, Jon passed away.

And just this week I got my PET Scan results, which were great. No sign of cancer, totally clean. I get to go an entire year now before my next scan, which will be right around my 5 year anniversary of completing chemo, and should be my last scan. I'll still need to visit with my Oncologist annually for a while, but no more scans unless I have symptoms. And after 5 years, the chances of that happening are minuscule.

Which leads to the question - why? Why did Jon die? Why did I live? And there will never be a good answer to those questions. Some people survive and some don't. We all start dying from our first breath, it's just a matter of when. And of course, How. I would never wish dying of cancer on anyone. I'm so grateful for every day I have now. And more than ever I want to be able to make a difference, otherwise why am I here?

So in Jon's name or in the name of a loved one you may have lost, or almost lost, I challenge you to do something good today. Maybe it's making a donation to a food bank, or signing up to volunteer for a soup kitchen, or Habitat for Humanity, or any local charity event - pick one that speaks to your heart. Go pick up poop at a local animal shelter. Or maybe help a neighbor with a project. Or buy something from one of your friend's kids who is selling junk you don't need to raise money for their school. Sign up to be a Big Brother or Big Sister. Register with the National Bone Marrow Registry. Donate blood. Take your old clothes, towels and blankets to a Goodwill or shelter. Give a homeless guy $5 today when you see him on the street. Pay for a stranger's groceries. Anything. Pay it Forward people. Give something or do something. If it's not to help our fellow man, then why are we here?

-Amy