A Guest Post on Anything For 10: Breathe Deep

I want to do another check in and get some of my current goals and aspirations out in the webisphere, but it is November, and November is Lung Cancer Awareness month. I've written about my personal connection to this cause in the past, but today you are getting another perspective from my oldest friend whom I have also blogged about before. Laura is taking on the Anything For 10 mentality and raising money for Lung Cancer Research. Why does this matter to you? Because anyone who has lungs and breathes can get lung cancer. It's fatality rate in those diagnosed is one of the highest of all cancers. Take on the Anything For 10 mentality with my friend Laura and educate, donate, or find a race for LUNGevity or the American Lung Association that you can participate in yourself, and don't forget to Breathe Deep.

You can help donate by visiting Laura's fundraising page.

I still remember the view outside the window of my mom’s hospital room in 2001. It’s the day after Christmas and three days before, surgeons removed a large tumor and surrounding tissue from her right lung.

It’s not a great view, in fact it stinks. From my perch in the window well, I can see nothing but the terraced roofs of the other buildings that make up the hospital complex. I’ve spent the better part of the last three days imagining movie chase scenes across those rooftops. Tom Cruise jumping off the edge and catching himself on a windowsill three stories down before falling to his death. Jackie Chan leaping across the five-foot divide between wings like he was stepping over a crack in the sidewalk. Pierce Brosnan being pinned down by enemy fire behind the HVAC unit.

I got lost in those imagined chases for hours. Never did I imagine myself as part of the chase, as someone running for her life and leaping from rooftops. I hated any physical activity. I was a chubby kid with asthma, I found any excuse to get out of the mildest of exertions in gym class.

And yet, 15 years after that Christmas in the hospital, I’ve registered for my first 5K. For the first time in my life, as a slightly less chubby adult with slightly less severe asthma, I’ve been going to the gym and jogging outside. I know I could walk those 3.1 miles, but I feel compelled to push myself, to cross the finish lungs burning and legs pumping. I want to breathe deep because I can and remember my mother.

Race Recap: Caesar Rodney Half Marathon

This Sunday I ran the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon to kick off the spring race season and my attempt to join the Half Fanatics! I was so worried about this race beforehand. I know that the Caesar Rodney course is notoriously difficult due to the hills, but on top of that, I didn’t fully train for this race. I ran 7 miles twice in preparation for this endeavor, which was the longest distance I ran, and my other runs were sporadic to say the least. I was kicking myself for signing up for this race that requires winter training until I took the time to think about why I was running it in the first place.

There is a fun looking new race in Philly this spring called the Love Run, but I chose the earlier, harder race of the two because it is for the American Lung Association, which is an organization I wanted to support. I have also run a race to benefit LUNGevity before for the same reason. An amazing woman who influenced me greatly growing up died from lung cancer despite having never been a smoker. It’s simple, if you have lungs and you breathe, then you can develop asthma, chronic bronchitis, or even lung cancer. Cara was an amazing and strong woman, and I ran, once again, in her memory.

I had started off slow. My AMAZING husband took me to the race, and he assured me that I could make it and that it was fine to just take it slow. I decided that the best way to accomplish that was to place myself at the verrrry back of the starting corral, and lose myself in a podcast of This American Life. I wasn’t exactly lost in it with a woman confidently and almost effortlessly speed walking next to me. She assured me that it was only because she has long legs that she was able to keep up with my “running” pace. I told her I need to get some of those!

I nearly drown at the first few water stations because I attempted to drink from those paper cups while running, but it turns out I still suck at that. I started walking through the water stations by mile 8 because I didn’t want to be the first dry land drowning victim at a half marathon. Besides those water stops and half of the monstrous hill at the end, I didn’t have to walk at all. I finally did a half marathon without doing a run-walk the whole time. I usually get passed by a whole bunch of people in the second half of the race, but this time, I got to be the one passing people as I slowly gained speed! I ran a negative split, and I set a new PR since I didn’t have to run-walk!

All in all, I had a great experience running the Caesar Rodney Half, despite the challenging course. It was a great start to my spring racing season this year, and I am looking forward to my next two races in my quest to get in Half Fanatics!