Athletic Supporters

Since I ran the Disney Marathon for the first time in 2008, it’s become a tradition to go back each year and run the half marathon. So on Jan 9th, in the middle of a record freeze in Orlando, I was there. Running. Did you know that the average January high in Orlando is 71 degrees? I did, and counted on it after a rough few months of Rhody winter training. This trip was supposed to thwart the imminent onset of winter depression. Instead, there was snow and hail (it was actually bouncing off of my face). As if the cold weren’t insulting enough, I also ended up without a running partner as two of my friends came down sick. Somehow, the Happiest Place on Earth seemed slightly less than magical at 5:45 am, in the dark and the snow, running by myself. This pretty much described my mindset as I started the first mile after waking up at 3:00 am and waiting several hours in the cold and dark. But as I ran further, started to warm up, and tried not to be such a salty jerk, I started to watch the spectators lining the path. At the Disney marathons, a smattering of people watch from the sidelines for most of the race—but the portions of the race that are inside the parks are crowded with spectators. You could describe most of them as curious, since the course is roped off like a Disney parade. However—there’s a subset of spectators that I might describe as truly rabid. They are all with Team In Training. They are easily spotted for their face paint, costumes, and/or noisemakers. If you think you can avoid their attention—think again. If you wear a purple TNT jersey (even barely visible beneath layers of cold weather gear, as I discovered), they will scream for you from hundreds of yards away. The morning of this particular race, I felt like Usain Bolt when I came around the corner into the park and heard their cheers. At that point I was pretty much forced to abandon my grumpy mood. I started to think about how truly supported I've been through all my training and fundraising for TNT. Although I didn’t fundraise for this event, most of my friends and family have either trained with me or otherwise joined along the way. Even during the cold winter training in Rhody, my fiancé came with me on runs (although he did, literally, run circles around me—this happened). Each year, I’ve had progressively more friends along for the Disney run. Although they didn’t all make it to the starting line this year, my best friends and their families have made the trek in 2009 and 2010. They’ve even recruited some friends to run—which I’m told brings the total to around 50 of us. This blows my mind. Not just that I know so many people crazy enough to get up at 3:00 am to run 13.1 miles, but that all of them are now participating in a sport that offers so many social and physical benefits. And it’s not just the runners—all the people who have made donations to TNT have also been a huge support. Some donated in memory of my dad, some donated because of a personal connection to the cause or because we’ve had a long, close friendship—and some (like many of my fellow interns) donated for apparently no other reason than being awesome. It’s clearly not because interns make so much money that we have to give it away (have I ever mentioned that I qualify for food stamps in Rhody?). I am grateful for the people that have helped me complete these kinds of events and to raise money for such a fantastic organization. I feel lucky to have helped the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (through TNT) and also happy that so many people in my life are involved with running. Maybe they’ll take up cycling next As for the Disney half—despite my terrible attitude; it ended up being pretty awesome. Horrifyingly cold but somehow fun anyway. I even went to Magic Kingdom the next day, when it was (slightly) less frigid. I’m already looking forward to next year—it better be at least 71 degrees.

At Magic Kingdom with my friend Erin, the day after the race (wearing my medal!)

America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride!

Welcome to my training blog! I’m training to complete America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride—a 100 mile cycling event in Lake Tahoe on June 6, 2010. The main reason I’m doing this is in memory of my dad, who lost his fight with cancer on January 19, 2006. For that reason, I’m training with Team in Training and raising money ($4,600—holy crap.) which will go towards cancer research. My goal with this blog is to share my experiences and thoughts during training with the people who are supporting me. So far my thoughts (other than “Aren’t I hip for having a blog??”) are that I’m a little bit nervous. Things seemed great when I signed up for this, when the coaches were talking about the majesty of Lake Tahoe and the team camaraderie…but training doesn’t officially start until the end of January and the coaches are nowhere in sight. And who am I kidding? The last bike I owned was a purple Huffy. I’m pretty sure it also had sparkles. While it may have been the envy of the neighborhood, it certainly did not prepare me for 100 miles. Did I mention that’s 100 miles in a row?

Anxiety aside, I’m reminding myself that fear of the unknown and the challenge of an endurance event is nothing compared to the daily effort of those battling cancer. I ran the Disney marathon in 2008 with TNT, and there were many (many, MANY) moments in training when that thought was the only motivating one. If my dad could face pain and chemo on a daily basis, I could finish one more mile, one more minute, one more lap. I am lucky to be healthy enough to run a marathon or to bike 100 miles, and for that reason it’s hard to complain about the opportunity to do this…although those that know me know I sure as heck will try. So although training and fundraising may be difficult between now and June 6--and this blog may occasionally be a forum for complaint—my most important goal is to support TNT and to honor my dad throughout the process. Sparkles on my bike wouldn’t be bad, either.