Beauty for Ashes

Training is going well and I am meeting a lot of great people! This week our recommitment form is due. That means I am now committed to raising $2,400.00 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and running a full marathon on October 19th. With your generous support and encouragement, I’m close to reaching my goal. I was a little nervous about recommitting until I read Betsy's last e-mail regarding her progress and what she is going through. I realized that I am doing nothing compared to what she is experiencing. Betsy recently visited a wig shop in preparation for chemotherapy. Although she didn't purchase the wig in the photo, she had a blast trying on all sorts of styles. She talked about how her battle with lymphoma has become like a race of sorts, and that these past months have been training for the months to come. That really put things into perspective for me. At the end of all this, I’m going to get a t-shirt, a medal, and hopefully my name in the record books for making great time. Betsy’s finish line holds a greater reward. I look at her smile that is so genuine even while dealing with hair loss, nausea, chemo treatments, and the unknown. I’m humbled by her strength and will gladly continue on this journey to do what I can to fight this beast called cancer.

Sometimes I get tired of getting up so early for those early morning runs but once I'm out there it's fine. Saturday, we ran 14 miles at 6:30 am, so I had to get up at 5:00 to get to Modesto in time. This means that my Friday nights aren't too late anymore! The run was easier than I thought it would be and I made good time, so I was pleased. Our next long run is 16 miles on the hills in Knights Ferry. I’ll try not to think about it until that morning so I don't get too anxious!

Thanks for all your support and prayers, and especially for Betsy.
Until next time....