Just a short one tonight...
The bus leaves for Canada in 9 days! I cannot believe it!
I am still raising money trying to reach my goal of $2900. I even got my Partylite friend involved & had a candle party to get moola donated. PS ~ if you want to place an order with me this weekend I am keeping my party open until Monday, April 27th ;)
The half marathon is so close I can taste it. And it is salty :) runners will get what I am sayin' here.
Anyway, for those of you who are still checking in on me thank you. Thank you for your support in so many forms. Thank you for prayers. Thank you for donations. Thank you for running with me when I move slower than you. Thank you for pouring my water or powerade when my hands are too shaky or sweaty at water stops. You all mean the world to me.
Please know that I could not do this without you all. I need something bigger than myself to keep me running & you have kept me running!
Thnank you! Love you!
~h
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Wow! The long run...
Have you ever had your breath taken away? Not by getting hit or scared, but by the pure shock of seeing something?
It happened to me at our pre-run talk this Saturday. Kelan came to see us.
You see, I ran my first marathon in 1999 with Team in Training (TNT). My hero patient at that time was a little boy around 8 or 9 years old who had been diagnosed with leukemia about a year prior. The day before my first marathon all the Seattle & Tacoma Team in Training members gathered around the pool for pictures. Kelan climbed up on a chair & read a poem he had read about our running for him & him not being sick any more. He had us all in tears.
Fast forward through years of not running, getting a postcard from LLS to join Team in Training (again) & my signing up for another event with the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. Early November 2009 we were in Gig Harbor for a training run & as I am running with my new coaches we are talking about how long they have been working with TNT. I am thinking they may know something about Kelan & where he is (or isn't). I was so nervous to even ask it out loud, but I did. And they said they knew Kelan & that in 2007 he ran the Honolulu marathon with both his mom & dad to celebrate his 5 years of being cancer free. What a relief to hear! I could let that go.
But then here we are this past Saturday huddling up for our mission moment before our longest training run before our event. And up walks Kelan. I see him & start to get choked up just at the sight of him. He has no idea who I am, but that does not matter. What matters is that he is a survivor. He is a high school senior who has swam at state level competitions. He is tall. And he is as blonde as he was at 8 years old. He speaks to those around him with confidence & passion. He & his family are still very much involved with TNT & LLS & other families with kids going through what he once did.
No, I am not solely responsible for his still being around. But I am one of many who has trained & fundraised for him & others wearing similar shoes. No, not all the stories end happily. But this one does! And I cannot tell you the feeling that wells up inside when I think of it.
The run was long & sometimes a true pain (in the knee or foot). But I did my 12 miles in 2 1/2 hours. About what I expected with my walking some of the hills that I don't get along with. The biggest blessing was that it stayed dry! I was so happy to be running 12 miles & not be soaking wet :)
I still have some funds to raise. Some days that is really frustrating. Some days I know it will be okay & something will come together. So yes, this is where I plug it & tell you that if you have not donated I would be ever so happy if you went to http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/vancouvr09/hburke & made a contribution. 75 cents of every dollar raised goes to this cause. There are numerous researchers in the Seattle area that are funded directly by what money is being raised by my team-mates & I.
As always, thank you for reading.
~heidi
It happened to me at our pre-run talk this Saturday. Kelan came to see us.
You see, I ran my first marathon in 1999 with Team in Training (TNT). My hero patient at that time was a little boy around 8 or 9 years old who had been diagnosed with leukemia about a year prior. The day before my first marathon all the Seattle & Tacoma Team in Training members gathered around the pool for pictures. Kelan climbed up on a chair & read a poem he had read about our running for him & him not being sick any more. He had us all in tears.
Fast forward through years of not running, getting a postcard from LLS to join Team in Training (again) & my signing up for another event with the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. Early November 2009 we were in Gig Harbor for a training run & as I am running with my new coaches we are talking about how long they have been working with TNT. I am thinking they may know something about Kelan & where he is (or isn't). I was so nervous to even ask it out loud, but I did. And they said they knew Kelan & that in 2007 he ran the Honolulu marathon with both his mom & dad to celebrate his 5 years of being cancer free. What a relief to hear! I could let that go.
But then here we are this past Saturday huddling up for our mission moment before our longest training run before our event. And up walks Kelan. I see him & start to get choked up just at the sight of him. He has no idea who I am, but that does not matter. What matters is that he is a survivor. He is a high school senior who has swam at state level competitions. He is tall. And he is as blonde as he was at 8 years old. He speaks to those around him with confidence & passion. He & his family are still very much involved with TNT & LLS & other families with kids going through what he once did.
No, I am not solely responsible for his still being around. But I am one of many who has trained & fundraised for him & others wearing similar shoes. No, not all the stories end happily. But this one does! And I cannot tell you the feeling that wells up inside when I think of it.
The run was long & sometimes a true pain (in the knee or foot). But I did my 12 miles in 2 1/2 hours. About what I expected with my walking some of the hills that I don't get along with. The biggest blessing was that it stayed dry! I was so happy to be running 12 miles & not be soaking wet :)
I still have some funds to raise. Some days that is really frustrating. Some days I know it will be okay & something will come together. So yes, this is where I plug it & tell you that if you have not donated I would be ever so happy if you went to http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/vancouvr09/hburke & made a contribution. 75 cents of every dollar raised goes to this cause. There are numerous researchers in the Seattle area that are funded directly by what money is being raised by my team-mates & I.
As always, thank you for reading.
~heidi
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
April 8th
Where the heck does time go?!?
Well, I must be doing something with my time since I am not keeping this blog up to date...
Oh Yeah! I am still training away for my half marathon. It is officially 26 days from today. Yikes! I cannot believe the changes that have happened during these months.
This Team in Training group has not been as good at keeping us all posted on our hero patient as I would have liked. Our team hero is Issac. He is 4 years old & has lymphoblastic lymphoma. That big name means that he has abnormal lymphocytes (white blood cells) in his lymph nodes & or thymus gland. This particular disease can also affect his bone marrow & organs such as liver & kidneys. When we met him early on in our training he was a shy little boy about the size of my Logan. He was taking chemo drugs on a daily basis & due to be done with that at the end of March. He will officially be in remission at the start of July. His grandma is participating in a TNT group & I am pretty sure Issac is their team hero as well. I'll see if I can get an update at our practice tonight or Saturday.
Fundraising is draggin butt. Things are tight for so many people & it is hard to persuade people to give. We had some big group fundraisers that I hope have good results for our accounts.
So, if you have found this blog, but have not donated to my cause... go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/vancouvr09/hburke & make a donation. Every dollar helps! Donate your latte money for the week, or even just the day. Give a dollar a mile that I am running (13).
Thanks for reading! And thanks for helping this cause!
~h
Well, I must be doing something with my time since I am not keeping this blog up to date...
Oh Yeah! I am still training away for my half marathon. It is officially 26 days from today. Yikes! I cannot believe the changes that have happened during these months.
This Team in Training group has not been as good at keeping us all posted on our hero patient as I would have liked. Our team hero is Issac. He is 4 years old & has lymphoblastic lymphoma. That big name means that he has abnormal lymphocytes (white blood cells) in his lymph nodes & or thymus gland. This particular disease can also affect his bone marrow & organs such as liver & kidneys. When we met him early on in our training he was a shy little boy about the size of my Logan. He was taking chemo drugs on a daily basis & due to be done with that at the end of March. He will officially be in remission at the start of July. His grandma is participating in a TNT group & I am pretty sure Issac is their team hero as well. I'll see if I can get an update at our practice tonight or Saturday.
Fundraising is draggin butt. Things are tight for so many people & it is hard to persuade people to give. We had some big group fundraisers that I hope have good results for our accounts.
So, if you have found this blog, but have not donated to my cause... go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/vancouvr09/hburke & make a donation. Every dollar helps! Donate your latte money for the week, or even just the day. Give a dollar a mile that I am running (13).
Thanks for reading! And thanks for helping this cause!
~h
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