Quick Update on my training and fund raising to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and cancer research to save lives. Woohoo!!
Training for the Oil Creek 100 ultra-marathon has been tough! Two days ago, the last day of the month, was my last chance for a long training run here in July. I’ve been trying all month but the heat and humidity just kept stopping me in my tracks. This past weekend, I decided I was just going to do it…a 50 mile training run! No matter what! So, Sunday morning I loaded up the Gatorade and got to the park early and started running. It got hot quick! I think the high was supposed to be around 90 something. I didn’t really want to know how high exactly. My goal for the day was 50 miles in 10-12 hours.
I got to 22 miles, and yep, I wanted to quit. It was still early but already hot. I thought about my failed attempts earlier in the month. I kept going. I reached 28 miles and was starting to hit the wall. It was near noon and getting really hot. I was hot and tired but I kept going! Soon, I wanted to quit every time I stopped for water which was about every 5 miles, plenty of hydration, but the heat was getting to me…I so wanted to bag it! By 35 miles, I felt exhausted and every mile was tougher than the last. I kept moving and I started thinking about my Honorees.
I thought about family and friends with cancer, survivors of cancer, and those lost to cancer. I thought about Judy, Paula, Karen and Herb, Uncle Jack, my Mom, and all of the more than 100 Honorees on my list. As you know, they don’t have a choice. They get their diagnosis, then their treatments, and they deal with it the best they can. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don’t.
I especially thought about my little friend Nataleigh, who as a toddler, went through cancer treatments for over two years! If she could do that, I could surely keep moving for 10-12 hours…mile 39…42…45…I was walking a lot now in the afternoon heat. It was definitely 90 degrees, if not hotter. I was spent but I kept moving. I thought about little Nataleigh with needles and tubes and chemicals and cancer in her and I kept moving. I knew I had to finish because, at 5 years old today, Nataleigh is cancer free and it’s due to advances in cancer treatment and new research that saves lives. And that’s why I’m running, to continue the fight to save lives just like Nataleigh’s. Mile 46…47…48…49…that little sweetheart, that little fighter, got me through the last and the toughest part of that 50 mile training run on Sunday! We made it in 11 hours and 52 minutes! Woohoo!!
And of course, the important part…my fundraising goal is $6,000 to support cancer research to save lives just like Nataleigh’s! To reach it, I need your help! All of us have someone in our lives touched by cancer. For that reason, please consider making a donation to help fight the good fight. No amount is too small. Every little bit helps!
You can donate quickly and securely at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/noh/columbus11/elewisgbvt
If you have a friend or relative that you would like me to run for in their honor, at the Oil Creek 100, I would be proud to do so. Please send me their name and their story for they are my inspiration! I’ll add their name right next to Nataleigh’s!
Thank you so much!