lucky number 13.1

heyyy!! so, i’m off to my Tucson training camp TODAY for a whole week! i’m scared and wicked nervous about everything. I hope i come back excited about all the training i have to do in the next few months. That would make this whole nutty trip worth it! I’ll try to post photos and things as i go along. See you guys when i get back! xo. t

Hello! Welcome! Thanks for reading. I decided to start a blog documenting my training while i inched towards my goal of running 13.1 miles at the Halifax Blue Nose Marathon, May 2012. I joined the Team in Training group (purple shirts if you remember from last year!) and hope to raise $5000 through my efforts for cancer research. You can read up more about Team in Training right here - http://www.teamintraining.ca/. If you want to jump ahead and donate to my goal, please see my donations link here - DONATE (you rule). I will be harassing people much, much more in the future so don’t fret! I’m coming for ya!

So here i am, a tall, reasonably athletic, 35-year-old female. As an onlooker, you might be saying to yourself “a half marathon for this girl should be a snap! what gives?”. Well, let me tell you! Let’s get honest for a second. I would never have called myself a champion of causes. I definitely have a bleeding heart and am genuinely brought to tears hearing stories of people struggling. (NOTE: Terry Fox documentary is a must watch. Bring kleenex). But, i was never on student counsel, i hate giving speeches or standing on boxes for that matter and being in any kind of light (lime in colour or otherwise). I guess what i’m saying is, i never saw myself as a torch carrier .. but things have recently changed.

A few factors led me to this very public goal announcement.

First and foremost, i am motivated by two, very amazing ladies in my life - both of whom have and continue to battle cancer. My friend Justine Campeau lives in Ottawa and is a stunning wife and mother to two adorable little girls named Rosie and June. Justine has been going head to head with breast cancer for what seems like forever. She’s recently had a double mastectomy. (i’m getting teary just writing this). She’s written about her up’s and down’s and kids and life on her amazing blog. She is what i commonly refer to as a ‘monster babe’. Her beauty is seriously unparalleled. Please read about the monster babe HERE. I’ve been staying in touch with Justine and her family through snail mail and email. It’s been tough because i haven’t been home in years but i feel compelled to somehow help. It’s a strange feeling to want to help but not know what to do. It’s gotta be something similar to swimming for the first time. Splashing around, kind of panicked and not having the skills to move yourself forward. So i guess there’s always been a sense of wanting to help in some capacity, but really not knowing how to swim.

November 5th (Saturday), i get the now infamous text from my friend Kate that says “I have some news!”. I will never forget it because it was the cafe’s 2nd birthday and a Saturday on top of that, so the place was nuts. I remember thinking “Girl is pregnant again .. i just know it!”. I soon found out that i was totally wrong. Kate, who never had a bad pap test in her life, had cervical cancer. I can say ‘had’ now because she just under-went a radical hysterectomy to have the disease removed. She’s also the mom to Josie and Sam and probably the only person i have ever met to handle bad news with such grace and humour! Like only Kate could. 

Cancer has no place here! F-U cancer!

I went to visit Kate on ‘vacation’ as she told her kids, and sitting around, shooting the breeze, the topic of running and half marathons came up. I’m a huge believer in physical activity and living an active lifestyle is very important to me. But, races and competitions involving physical ability scare the hell out of me. Kate and i were talking about it and she said something to the effect of “imagine how great it must feel when you cross that finish line?”. I agreed of course because truthfully, i dream of running half marathons, marathons, triathlons .. any of these types of deals. I watch movies about it, i read books about it and i train like a hero .. but i can’t seem to get over the fear of entering a race! It’s totally crazy.

I left Kate’s that day with lots of stuff milling around my in head. I was angry she was in pain. It reminded me of Justine and how i felt like i needed to help but wasn’t sure how. I was mad she couldn’t run when she wanted to. And then, like a lightbulb, there it was - I’m going to run for Kate! I’m going to face my fear and pain just like she did and just like Justine does every day. The realization filled me with such a light and sense of purpose, i will never be able to describe it. So, as i have said to them both, i am so grateful to know both these women because they are helping me accomplish a HUGE goal in my life by giving it meaning and purpose above and beyond just crossing a line. (albeit, crossing that line is going to rule). 

So, i’m going to be raising money and posting stuff about my training efforts! There will be funny videos and photos. I want to show you what it actually means when someone says they are ‘training for a half marathon’.

Thank you so much!! xo.

I am a hurtin unit today.

My legs are aching. (in a good way). I know i’ll come out the other side of this stronger and repaired. This is a good thing.

But my mind is saying “run .. run girl!”. My body is having none of it.