“If the mind can dream it, then the
body can achieve it”
I am a runner?
If you had known me 10 years ago, I have come a long way. I
was a smoker for 10 years, I quit January 2007, and February 2007 I signed up
for Team in Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I was relatively
new to living in L.A, it seemed like good way to meet people, it was for
charity so that’s a good thing right? and it would get my healthier. Oh ya and
we fundraise A LOT of money by doing endurance events such as Marathons.
When people asked me how I quit smoking I tell them it was
easy, it was because I wanted to, I found something better, I found the best
support system and reason to never go back. Smoking makes you feel bad, it
makes you smell and it weakens you. Team in Training and running got my leaner,
healthier and I raised approx. $3500 for finding a cancer cure and ran my first
ever half and full marathon events. I
had wanted to do a marathon for a while it seemed like a cool thing to do, but
the commitment – the time it took, that was the thing that scared me! I
remember when I announced it many people had reservations about my ability to
complete it or meet the fundraising goal but I kept going. I exceeded my
fundraising goal by $1000. I completed my first full marathon in 6 hours and 40
minutes in June 2007 at the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon. I was not fast
and I did not finish first. Crossing
that finish line was amazing; being on Team in Training was life altering.
Without a doubt in my mind it belongs in the box of best days of my life ever
next to the day I got married and the day my son was born. IT was THAT great.
Okay so Marathon – bucket list – check. What’s next? Let’s do it again!
I was full of enthusiasm but my feet were no longer as young
as they used to be and were carrying more weight than they used to, I developed
some overuse foot injuries. It took me a year, new shoes, special inserts and
trial and error how to work through the pain. It wasn’t easy, there were some
days I couldn’t stand even from the pain in my heel but we got through it. In
2013 I ran again the Hollywood Half Marathon and also the Long Beach Half
Marathon. It was after Long Beach when I realized that my times were improving
and almost as good as pre baby times for races, well at least the slower ones.
I thought about what I had been doing in terms of running before my family and
I remembered a goal of 12 races in 1 year, one for every month – well somehow I
decided then and there I needed to do that except this time the goal would be
14 events in 2014. 14in2014 it had a nice ring to it. So that is how we got to
where we are today.
When I started team in training I had never even heard of
Lymphoma, a couple of months after I completed my event, my Aunt sue was diagnosed.
In 2009, she passed away on December 1st 2010 on my mother in laws
birthday just 3 months after my husband and I ran the L.A Rock and Roll Half
Marathon in their Honor. In 2013 my Mother in Law Janet already a survivor of Leukemia
was diagnosed tumors in her throat and later esophagus. She passed away July 2014. Once the seed of
14in2014 came into my mind it would not leave. I decided that I would dedicate
these running events to both my aunt and mother in law and I would fundraise as
much money as I was possibly able to because I am tired of crying. We have
cried every week for 56 weeks since we found out my mother in law had cancer
for the 3rd time. 3 times is not the charm for cancer, we cancelled
all plans, we shaved heads and I cropped my hair and donated to locks of love
but we couldn’t do anything but love her. Now she is gone and there are not
words in and language to adequately describe the loss I feel over losing two
women who were my other mothers. I am tired of grieving of them, I want to
honor them, to make them proud, the world should know these two angels names.
So because I have nothing better to do I am running AGAIN and
FUNDRAISING again for Team in Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I
am not as young as I used to be I have aches and pains that I never had
previously and I have commitments that are time consuming and I don’t have an
endless budget for the best running shoes and apparel. None of this matters
because I feel very deeply in my soul that I must do it. Every time I run I cry
now. At some point whether its 3 miles or 13 miles there is a moment where I
think of my aunt and my mother in law and I cry. I then think of what I am
doing and their strength and how they never complained and then I keep
running. I leave it all right there in
training, and I tell you a secret, now I don’t cry at home anymore.
I told my husband about 14in2014 and as he is always
supportive he said all the right things then I told my Mom and she did the same
but I was embarrassed a little to tell other people what if they thought I was
silly? But I am fundraising so I had to tell people. The amount of kind words, support, love and
strength that has been shown to me has me in awe. It is an incredibly motivating
and inspiring feeling to know people support you and believe in you. The people
who cheer me on and have donated are what inspire me to go an extra mile – they
believe in me and I cannot & will not let them down.
Some fun facts:
When I was first started running in 2007 I couldn’t run a
mile straight – it was around 18 minutes in time. Pre – baby my fastest race I did was a 10K
that I completed at a 10 minute mile pace without walk breaks. Post - baby I am
comfortable running a 12 – 13 minute per mile pace and I can run 5 miles
without stopping or a walk break. To date
I have completed 2 full marathons and approx. 12 half marathons (I actually can’t
remember!) and who knows how many 5 and 10K events. I am fundraising for a cure
for cancer and raising awareness that we need better treatment for cancer
patients and we need to eat better and exercise often to help minimize our risks
of contracting diseases like cancer.
My name is Erin and I AM a runner.
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