Don't call it a comeback...

AND what happens if I push publish?

CMT Awareness month

I am coming out of blog SILENCE! I've been, um, super busy, but that is a post for another day.

Today I write to honor my BLOGGER friend Donna who I had the pleasure of meeting at Rev3 Maine last month. She is just as sweet and wonderful in person as she is on her blog Beating Limitations. I wish I hadn't been so crazy busy on a race weekend so that I could have spent some more time with her.

Donna has a nerve disorder called CMT. CMT is the most common nerve disorder - yet it is the least well known. Donna is on a mission to change that. Many CMT patients suffer in silence as it might not be apparently OBVIOUS when meeting someone that they actually have this disorder. Those with CMT have difficutly in transmitting signals to their muscles. The result is muscle atrophy. Generally it starts from your hands and feet and progresses over time to your core.

Can you imagine!? Starting to have muscle atrophy and not knowing where it will go next... how quickly it will progress.. how it might affect your life from hobbies to work to quality of life!? Donna faces this EVERY DAY .. and instead of just accepting it she has decided to live life to the fullest by staying active with triathlon and working to promote awareness to support initiatives to fund research to find a cure!!!

You can learn more about Donna and her amazing self at www.beatinglimitations.com. You can learn more about CMT at www.cmtausa.org AND!!!!! You can donate to help find a cure at www.cmtausa.org/donna

Donna is super awesome and as I mentioned one of her missions in life is to spread the word about CMT. During our big push to raise money for Ulman Cancer Fund and Team Fight via the Run Across America  she approached Team Rev3 by way of my team mate Jamie Bull. She offered to donate $10 per person to Ulman Cancer Fund's Team Fight (Rev3s Charity Partner) for each person that agreed to receive and wear a CMTA tech T and blog about CMT. How amazing is that! She created a win win.. CMT gets exposure so that YOU are aware of this nerve disorder and it's impact on the lives of others AND money is raised for Ulman Cancer Fund. /

I hope that you will take a moment to read about CMT and donate to her cause. This is NOT fatal disease (in most cases), but it affects people's ability to maintain a healthy happy lifestyle (which most of us take for granted) and to continue to live a NORMAL life doing things for themselves as the disease progresses. This is no way to live and a cure must be found!

A Run for the Cows Half Marathon

Half marathon.. hmm. Doesn't seem like too much post Run Across America, but it's a different animal. Totally different animal!!! Run one mile at at time for 9 to 22 miles a day for 21 days is WAY different from running 13.1 miles straight.

I signed up for this race well before I took off for the RAA and haven't really thought about it too much since.

So as race day came I started to wonder.. I'm preparing for a 50 miler.. should I just go out and run a nice easy 13.1. I KNOW I can do it.. EVERY day if I need to.

So the night before the race I started to think that I should just lay it all out there and see what happens. I was thinking I would try to negative split the race. Um, Like you are supposed to. I was planning to take the first have as 'doable difficult'. A bit beyond my comfort zone.. so 8:30 to 8:45s then pick it up to whatever I could push it to on the second half.. maybe 8:00 to 8:30s.

It had been reported that the course had mostly rollers and ONE big climb at 7 miles then finishing on a hill. Rollers.. sure I can push it through rollers.

I took my Garmin with me, but planned to (try) only look at it around the mile markers because I was used to my 'map my run' app telling me splits every mile and I didn't want to be ruled by it. I did pretty well with this.

In the early parts of the race I got caught up with a couple of women. EVERY time I looked at my watch (which wasn't too often bc I was focused on staying w/ these women) I was sub 8 and was thinking.. HOLY SHIT I am NOT going to be able to hold onto this pace for 13.1 miles.

I didn't carry anything with me (stupid) and could feel when there was 'too much' time between aid stations. I could feel my body start to tank and the need for some glycogen to keep me going and just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore an aid station would show up, I would swig some Gatorade (or whatever it was) and some water and feel it kick in about 5 - 10 mins later. I'd get back in a groove and repeat the process. The aid stations after about the first two were spaced just a bit too far for my needs. Next time TAKE YOUR OWN!! If I had just been out there to run it would have been fine, but RACING is a different deal!

Just the days before this race Jessica went into the hospital.. You will remember Jessica from the Blue Jean Ball back in January. She has gone through cancer and a liver transplant and is now in the hospital with Pneumonia, her CT & MRI showed something non the lymph nodes around her liver which could mean nothing, post- transplant lymphoma or that her cancer is back!

Jessica's attitude is positive. ALWAYS! Through EVERYTHING! She is always smiling and gives the MOST AMAZING hugs. I get to run. Jessica has to sit in the hospital. I envisioned her beautiful smiling face so many times today on the run and remembered the words of Eric Opdyke during the Run Across America, "This isn't hard, Cancer is hard." I dug deep for this girl. I dug deep thinking about what Ann said in circle about her religion believing that you could take pain for other people. I tried so hard to shoulder just a small portion of Jessica's pain during this run.

In the end I had a PR of about 4 mins on a much harder course. Through the last 3 or 4 miles I thought surely I was going to puke That last hill felt like torture, but it was "easy" in comparison to what Jessica was going through. I was running while she was strapped to a hospital bed.

I ran for Team Fight. I will continue to run for Team Fight. I will fight for you Jessica! I will be by your side in spirt. I did day dream about packing my race medal in the car w/ me and driving my sorry butt down to MD to stop by for just a moment to give you a hug and my medal and tell you how proud I am of your strength and resilience, but alas I have a family that would have missed me much.

You are amazing! I might have run my heart out today, but you have truly fought for your life! Anything I do in my life will pail in comparison to your will to live!

Wow.. this blog post took a turn didn't it! Race report to rave review of a beautiful woman FIGHTING! 

We can all fight for something in life. We are mostly blessed with good health and good fortune!!! If you don't have a fight FORCED on you.. what will you CHOOSE to FIGHT for!? 

I choose to FIGHT for those that are struggling with Cancer! I choose to FIGHT for my own life in that it makes an impact on the lives of others! No more floating through and focusing on mundane bullshit! Time to make it COUNT!

Let's fight! Like Carlos from the Run Across America said... I am David.. fighting against Goliath.. every day! 

Side note. I know this post is totally random... but I wrote it late at night... post race and possibly a glass of wine or two in... I refuse to go back and edit out the randomness. This is how I feel. It is the truth and it is from my heart. Jessica.. you amaze me and I can't wait to see you again!

For those that care. I ran a 1:41 - 4 min PR on a hilly course. 7:40min/mi avg. I am happy with this effort. 

Rev3 Knoxville

As Rev3 Knoxville approaches I'm having flashbacks to my first time working with Rev3 .. well I volunteered there because I was injured and couldn't race.

This was a huge turning point for me!

New finish line looks amazing. Thanks Nick Donovan for the photo!

I am stalking the progress of race set up on Facebook and texting the crew like a mad woman. So wish I could be down there working my butt off! They are kicking ass as usual and are ready to put on yet another top notch event! Amazing beyond words!

Last year was my first time meeting everyone (though very briefly) and doing some of the work as a volunteer. I didn't truly meet and get to know everyone and REALLY work until Quassy in June, but I got a touch of the energy and how everyone works together and I just KNEW that being on this team was going to be AMAZING!

I got to meet Kier and drive 10 hours each way with her and we got along great. I met many other team mates and was able to cheer them to the finish!!

I know that I didn't fully grasp what I had gotten myself into, but I could feel that it was going to be good!

I mean look at this.. they are WORKING while remembering to have moments of fun. Who are we kidding.. putting on a triathlon is HARD WORK, but it's fun too! Lucky bastards!

THE Chris Jarc and THE Krista Baker keeping it real. Thanks again Nick for the photo!

So I enter into the 2012 season so excited and ready to carry forward the amazing energy from the Run Across America, to race with heart and to work my ass off ... while keeping it real.

Best of luck to everyone WORKING and RACING at Knoxville.. I'll be keeping an eye on ALL of you from way up here in CT!!!

And check out our SWEET new kits. LOVE them! (but to the girls.. don't forget your sports bra.. seriously!)

The RUN Across America... the other side.

Just about to cross the Key Bridge to the big finish.

We are back. Back to reality! To say I am forever changed by this experience would be the understatement of a lifetime!

I have tried numerous times to sit down and really get out what all of this meant to me. It was such a huge thing... in ways I least expected. There is a lot.. layers.. levels.. emotions. It may take me a few stabs to really lay it all out there and what it meant for me and means for me going forward.

It was - and IS - about the Ulman Cancer Fund and FIGHTING the good fight, but really it was so much more than that in my little world.

Finishing up our first leg and running it in together. Brock, LJ and me.

I learned a lot of things about myself and my life and where I want to go.

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a long time know that I get caught up in my head and that I have been on a quest for MORE and have always felt like the wheels were spinning, but I couldn't really get to the place where I was happy and fulfilled.

The run seems to have opened me up to the idea that I CAN be happy! It doesn't need to be complex. It's not something I will find in a book! It gave me the confidence to make it happen. To know that it's going to be hard, but so worth it in the long run. To know that I am worth it... that I don't have to settle for a mediocre life... my life can be amazing... I can see and do all the things my heart desires. With JOY in my heart.

I am processing things that I NEED to be happy.. to live my most amazing and fulfilled life.

1. Purpose
2. Happiness/Fun/laughter
3. Adventure
4. Excitement
5. Change
6. Connection/community

This is my first stab at really getting this list down on paper for me to look at and remember and focus on.

Since my return I have found myself having more meaningful conversations with people. I've been more open minded to wonderful things happening (and they ARE happening). I've been more positive and dare I say more calm. Not in the direct sense of the word, but as a state of mind. I used to spend a lot of time freaking out about needing to FIND MY PURPOSE... and now I am more able to just be and trust that my purpose will find me.. as I go through life, try new things and find the joy!

There will be more to come as this is an enormous thing for me to process.

What are your top things that make you happy? Do you even know what they are. Thinking and thinking and thinking about it didn't bring them to light for me.. ya know what brought them to light for me??? DOING THEM!

Get out there.. live your dream, your passion, let your light shine!!!

Run Across America

Awesome photo taken by Jay and made into an informational flyer by Jamie Bull.

Today is Easter. We planned to take the day off, but will end up running at least 14 miles today as a group. We ended up cutting the day short yesterday when the light was gone, we were close to one of the first large-ish towns we've seen in the last two weeks and it started to rain.

We got the BEST Easter gift from Senior and Debbie Patten. A hotel room and dinner. We are so happy. I am sitting in the hotel cafe drinking coffee and blogging. Feels normal... yet not normal. Feeling a bit antsy like I need to go for a run.. or take a nap. :)

Over the last two weeks we've gone up an over the mountains in California, up to elevation and back down. We've run in HOT dry weather, massive headwinds, massive headwinds with rain, and cold dark overnights.

We started out running 8 hour shifts of 50 miles each. We started the first shift in Oceanside at 12am, the next at 8am, then another at 4pm. This lasted about a week until we realized that the overnight shift was KILLING us. Almost every midnight shift would result in tears from at least one of the girls. Then it was hard to sleep during the 8am - 4pm shift leaving us tanked for the 4 to midnight shift.

before Brian, Brock, Harmony and Kelsey went back to their 'normal lives'. Thanks for your support guys!

And when we had people leave we would be left with less than the optimal 5 people to finish a shift. We decided to take the whole team out one day and kill 100 miles quickly by bunny hopping (ie using 1 van to drop runners every 1 mile while the other van acted as sweep picking us up). We were able to cover a lot more ground. Previously we had been dropping one runner at a time and trailing them with one van. This took a long time, but we had no other option when we were running in the dark.

First dinner in a restaurant. Met a couple with a Flat Stanley from their niece so we took a picture w/ it.

Now we head out at sun rise and run about 75 miles (depending on whether or not we have fresh meat legs with us), come back to the RVs to eat and sleep then head out again to run the remainder of the 150 around 4pm so we finish up before dark. Then we get to get a good meal and a full nights sleep before we start all over again. This is working out much better!

A little yoga stretching does the body good.

I think the thing that surprised us all the most is that we thought that we would have 'down time' to keep up with things like work and blogging, but the reality is that we pretty much sleep, eat, run REPEAT all day every day.

Getting ready for our 8am shift somewhere in NM.

We've met some people along the way and I don't have photos of all of them (though photos will be posted on the Rev3 site... soon). Here are some photos of people that have come to run with us.

Pat and Ila came out to do a midnight to 8am shift with us and we were SO thankful!

Julie ran the day shift with us .. Fresh legs are so appreciated!

We've also met a lot of people along the way that have battled cancer, have family members that have battled cancer or who have lost people to cancer. It's been amazing! We are doing this to raise funs for the Ulman Cancer Fund and to create awareness, but meeting these people along the way has been so impactful.

We've run through quite a few areas that are - shall we say - economically challenged. We've heard their stories and watched as they have reached into their pockets to donate the small amount of money they have to share. Telling us they wish they could offer more and that the so appreciate what we are doing. This is ALSO what it's about. I feel so lucky to be physically able to do this, to have a supportive family that allows me the opportunity to do this, to have my Rev3 family that has made this possible, to the UCF folks for all of the support and inspiration.

Ash rolling out tight IT Bands.

I keep waiting for deep thoughts.. thinking that I'm going to have big epiphanies, but nothing. We have quite a system going and we are running running running... my mind is not numb, but the deep thoughts aren't coming. I'm guessing that when it's all over the magnitude of it will hit hard. Right now it's just what we do. We run. For those that can't. For loved ones that are fighting. For each other. When the going gets tough and I want to stop and walk I think of my many friends and family that have been fighting a much harder battle and it makes the challenge laying in front of me seem not so bad and I run harder.

Getting ready for one of our early night runs.

We ran through pretty much nothing seeing only ghost towns and an indian reservation through Arizona and New Mexico then as soon as we entered Oklahoma the police were out in full force. We were stopped FOUR times in one day. The first was, um, because I was going a bit TOO FAST through a small town as I was driving to catch our last runner. I had literally driven a quarter mile when I got pulled over, then the van was stopped to tell us to run on the opposite side of the road, then stopped again by another officer to check and see if we were 'okay', and finally Eric was stopped for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. 

The two times we were stopped for violations we were given just a warning (thank GOD the cop told me I would have been given a reckless driving ticket and charged $550...eek).

After I got pulled over.

Eric getting a written warning.

We have one week left. Tomorrow will be our last BIG day. We have 6 people in the morning for our 75 miles and then 7 people for the second 75 mile leg. On Tuesday the reinforcements start to show up and we'll be cruising as we start through TN and finish up in VA!

Beautiful run down a big windy hill then across a bridge.

We are still taking donations and are at $33,000 right now and our goal is $100,000. We are making a difference in people's lives, but our main goal is to support Ulman and allow them to continue to make a BIG IMPACT on the lives of those with cancer. Please support us!

And the WINNERS are....

Here is one of the RVs we will be riding in! Brian of UCF just picked it up!

In FIVE days we set off on our amazing voyage across the country. I'm so excited to see the country this way. We will be traveling through parts I've never seen.. I'll be with some of my favorite people and will be meeting many other wonderful people. All along the way we will be spreading the word about The Ulman Cancer Fund and we will MOST CERTAINLY still be taking donations!!! So keep spreading the word for us as we travel across the country!

The raffle was not nearly as successful as I had hoped it would be, but I'm happy to announce the winners! The raffle raised only $130... but every little bit helps right?

Swim Bike Run: Erin Serrault
1BandID: Amy Sursock
Sparkle Skirt: Sarah Goldie
Powerbar: Nancy
SpiBelt: Nicole Griswold

Please send me your info at lamount03 at gmial dot com and I will ship your prizes!!! Sarah, I will send you a coupon code and you can order your skirt directly from Sparkle Skirts. Amy, Same for you!

Off to continue my last minute preparations!! Thank you all for your donations!!!!