Finally Running For Tish

Tomorrow is the day! I will lace up and head out to the starting line. Before running my race I will have the honor of cheering on two strong, amazing women, Kristy and Jo as they run the Bellingham Bay 5k at 7:30. Bryce will also be running the 5k and I couldn't be more proud. At 9:30 my half marathon will begin! I am hoping to run it in under 2 hours but honestly I will be happy just to finish it.

I want to say thank you again for all of the donations that were made to Relay For Life. Sorry it took a year to pay up on the first of two half marathons but as we learn over and over, life thinks that it's funny when you make plans. As long as I make it through tomorrow injury free I will sign up for the Lake Padden Trail Half Marathon which is on October 18th. 

 

 

For Tish- with SO much love.

 

 

 

 

 

2014 Relay For Life

I am officially signed up for the Whatcom County Relay For Life! It is a good cause and you donation is tax deductible! I won't be bothering you (for a while anyway) for donations since there are still 250 days until the relay but I wanted to let everyone know that I am signed up and I will run again (someday) and I am asking you to make me run for a good cause.

Click here to visit my Relay for Life page and donate~ Donate

Time For Crutches

I haven't posted in here for a few weeks because nothing has really changed. It has now been eight weeks since that horrible run that has had me limping around, whining and complaining to anyone who will listen. As I had said before my IT band healed up completely but my hip continues to be very painful and won't let me run at all. Up until today I have been going to the gym regularly. While there I lift weights at use the elliptical machine. I began thinking that since so much time had passed maybe it would be good for me to start trying to build muscle around the hip. Last Friday I tried this and I have been in much worse pain ever since. I am thinking that building muscle probably is not the answer. So...like anyone who has something wrong with them and access to google, I decided to try and figure out what is going on in my irritatingly painful hip injury. What I came across as a likely answer is a hip stress fracture. I am keeping this internet diagnoses loosely as what is possibly going on. I am aware that the internet is not the best doctor.

I came across a list of three symptoms that if a patient has them then it is pretty much for sure a stress fracture and I have two...maybe three. The one that surprised me the most was that I cannot lie on my back and lift my leg while it is straight. I had no idea that I couldn't do that until I tried yesterday. Ouch. So I have decided to stop using my hip as much as possible. I am going to walk around on crutches and not do anything that aggravates it. Hopefully this will help. It will heal...eventually.

I wanted to mention that Tish would have been 38 this Friday. I will be raising my glass to her memory and keeping her in my heart where she always is. 

Out For Now, Optimistic For Later

So here I am at five weeks of being unable to run. If I had broken a bone it would almost be healed by now! This healing process is taking forever! I have been sad, frustrated, disappointed, hopeful and optimistic through these weeks. I never would have thought that I would still be unable to run after all this time. Unfortunately that is the case. I am slowly getting better. My IT band is healed entirely which is nice but my hip...not so much. I have been able to get in some great (and some pretty long) cardio workouts on the elliptical and lately have added in walking fast uphill on the treadmill. I added this in with the hopes of building some muscle around my hip to aid in the healing process. I haven't decided if it is helping or not just yet. I still limp through the house every morning but the pain seems to be less and less. In the afternoons and evenings I can walk normal...almost. Running is still completely out of the question. The pain begins with the first step of any attempt to run that I have made. I just need to be patient and let my body have the time that it needs.

Because of my injury taking FOREVER to heal I had to let the Lake Padden Trail Half Marathon go. It is only 10 days away and I had to accept that this is not enough time to heal and train for a half marathon. It was very difficult to come to this decision. There was a piece of me that was holding on to the idea that maybe I could still do it. A voice in my head cheering me on telling me that maybe I could walk/run it. There are 4 hours to complete it, I could do that...I think. That voice in my head was so loud and persistent that I was starting to believe that I could complete the half marathon despite my injury simply because I really, really wanted to. Fortunately I have Travis to remind me to think reasonably and not risk injuring myself further. To remind me that I haven't run at all (not counting me limping through the 5k) in five weeks and that "people usually train for half marathons". I'm glad that he doesn't let me forget to take care of myself. I am lucky to have him in my corner telling me things that I don't want to hear just to keep me from hurting myself. So even though I feel a little bit like a kid who just found out that there will be no Christmas this year I am letting the race go. Fortunately the race director said that it would be fine to give my registration to another runner. This makes me feel a little better because someone else will be able to run in my place. Hopefully this will make another runner happy and maybe get me some good running karma! I could use it obviously!!

So with both of my half marathons cancelled I will be looking for new ones to sign up and train for. There are a couple that I have my eyes on including the Seattle Rock 'n Roll half in June and the Lake Samish Half Marathon in January. There are others that I am considering as well, it will really depend on when I heal and what races are possible for me! I will get back out there...eventually. For now I will take care of myself and be optimistic, enjoy the things that I am able to do and be excited about what life has in store for me. That is what Running For Tish is all about after all. She is so missed, always in our thoughts and carried with us in our hearts.

And just for fun...a cat video. Makes me laugh every time. Poor kitty. 

A Trail Half Marathon!

After raising $400 for Relay For Life I began searching for another half marathon to sign up for. I was seriously considering the Seattle Half Marathon but the starting time for it is 7:30 a.m.! That would mean I would have to wake up before 5, drive and hour and a half and then find the energy to run...no thanks. After some more searching I found a race that caught my attention. It was the Lake Padden Trail Half. Trail running has always been something I knew I would like to try but never have. After considering the pros and cons of signing up for a race like this I decided that it is definitely something that I can do and I will gain a new running perspective.

I am now signed up for my very first trail half marathon! Lake Padden is located just outside of Bellingham, Washington which is very close to where I live. This will make arriving there awake and ready rather than exhausted much easier! I am excited to train for it and to gain new running experience! The race is on October 19th which is about 3 weeks after my Bellingham Bay Half Marathon. This will be perfect timing as I will have enough time to recover and not enough time to lose all the hard work put in while training for it!

I am proud to say that my Relay for Life team raised over $7,000! Our final total will be higher as there are some employers that haven't put in their matching funds yet! People can also still donate to our 2013 team up until the end of august. Feel free to donate and make me run! $200 more and I will sign up for a third half marathon!

I want to thank all of my donors and supporters! Because of you we were able to help current and future cancer patients. We helped to give hope to those who need it more that anything and that is something you should all be proud of!

Four Miles

After a few weeks of getting back into the swing of running I am really kicking myself for taking such a long break from it! I have been trying to add more miles into my runs but so far my legs really don't feel like doing more than four miles. Running is hard but it is SO much harder after taking time off from it! It is starting to feel comforatable again aside from a pretty irritating injury. Out of nowhere an area the size of a quarter on the side of my calf hurts. A LOT. It is a strange hurt though, it seems to be seriously offended with running. The rest of the time it just quietly complains. Today during my 4 mile run it was the worst that it has been. I had planned on running six miles but four was the most that the injury would allow. The last mile was more of a "hobble run" than anything else. So compression sleeve, ice and epsom salt baths will definitely be in my near future! Hopefully I will get in a few more runs this week before Relay For Life and hopefully I will be able to add on some miles! Four is not very close to 13.1...definitely have my work cut out for me!

Please donate and support me in Running For Tish.

Running For Tish~ Bellingham Bay Half Marathon

I would like to take a minute to thank all of the people who have generously made a donation to Running For Tish~ Relay For Life fundraiser! I am happy to say that because of you I have been able to raise $265 in honor of Tish, for a cause that is so important and close to my heart.

Because I made it to the $200 mark I signed up for a half marathon just as I said I would! I spent quite a while going over all of the local (and some not so local) half marathons that take place between now and the end of September. It is harder than you would think to find a race that is appealing and works with your schedule!! I finally settled on the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon which takes place September 29th in Bellingham, Washington. I chose this race because of its location. I live less than an hour from here and Tish lived less than five minutes away. As I am running for her it seemed like an easy choice to run in her city. For the last month or so I have only been running about five miles a week so the idea of running 13.1 is a little scary. I have gotten in a few runs this week and am excited to start adding more and more miles as I train. I will get stronger and faster and I will be ready to take on the half marathon! I will run for Tish.

Running For Tish

Donate to Relay For Life!

Tish Hurst was wonderful mother of three beautiful young girls, a cherished daughter, a very loved little sister and a great friend to so many people who loved her very much. Tish was an amazing woman with strength that was inspiring. She was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer in 2011. Less than a year later it had spread to her lungs. We as a family came together with such hope and love that it seemed pretty impossible for her to not survive. We joined the Whatcom County Relay For Life and created the team We Fight Cancer Together or WFCT. On July 13, 2012 our team walked all night long and raised over $10,000. After Relay For Life Tish continued to fight her cancer but it was just to aggressive. Despite all of the Chemotherapy and other available treatments her cancer continued to grow and spread. When she ran out of other options she participated in a clinical trial. We never lost hope. She was such a big part of our family. She was so important to us, there was no way we could lose her. In April 2013 it became apparent that the clinical trial was not working. Instead of shrinking her tumors were growing and spreading. Because of this she could no longer be a participant in the clinical trial. Despite all of this she planned a family Disneyland trip. Like I said, she was pretty amazing. 

Right before this trip her tumors were making it difficult for her to breathe. She had to bring oxygen tanks with her to help everywhere she went. This didn't stop her from enjoying her vacation. She created moments and memories that we will cherish forever. Soon after returning from this trip her breathing became more difficult and soon she was in a hospice. We lost her on May 3, 2013. We will miss her forever. We hurt because there is a hole in our family. We will keep her in our hearts and remember her forever.

In February I ran my first half marathon. Tish commented on one of my Facebook posts. I recently started really thinking about what she had said.

My first thought after reading her comment was -what a great idea. I already run and I want to raise money to help find a cure for cancer. My second thought was- I have no idea how to make that work. Almost three months have gone by and I keep coming back to that comment. So I have decided to try and make that work for her.

Click here to make your tax deductible donation!

Over the past few months when I was running and was tired, out of breath and wanting to quit, I thought of Tish. She has inspired me to be better, to enjoy my ability to be exhausted and to enjoy every moment no matter what. When I feel like quitting I tell myself that I am lucky, that I am fortunate enough to be able to suffer through a difficult run. After a while it became more of a way of thinking rather than something that I only thought of when I was struggling. Running for her became something I do. It became normal to say to myself this one is for Tish as I began a run. Since she has passed away I feel even stronger about the importance of appreciating every moment. You do not know how many moments you have so to waste a single one is unacceptable.

After giving this running for donations idea some time to roll around in my head this is what I came up with.

I am asking you, all of you, to support this cause that is so important to me. I am asking you for a donation to go towards finding a cure. A cure that will ensure that no one has to go through the horrible, toxic treatments that are currently used. A cure that will save our loved ones so that no one will have to go through the loss of someone to cancer ever again. Here is what I am offering for your donation. If I raise two hundred dollars I will sign up for a half marathon. Now you might be thinking, she runs all the time, that's nothing. I do run all the time...not 13.1 miles though. Despite having conquered my first half marathon it is still an intimidating beast to me. So this is what I will do. As donations come in (if they do *fingers crossed*) I will start training. You can see my donation progress here. If I reach $200 I will sign up for a half marathon and post about it in here. I will then sign up for another half marathon after another $200 is donated, and then another after an additional $200. To be clear I will sign up for my first half marathon after $200 is donated a second half marathon after $400 is donated and a third on after $600. If I make it to six hundred dollars in donations I will sign up for another for every additional $300 donated. If you guys go crazy with donations *fingers crossed* I may have to put a cap on how many races I will complete...like I said 13.1 miles is a giant scary intimidating beast! So come on people...make me run!! 

Please donate for my family and for yours!

This picture was taken the very last time I got to visit with Tish.

Donations can be made here~ Relay For Life
Just click on the "donate now" button and enter your info.
Donations are tax deductible!

If you are wondering what happens to the money donated here are some answers for you. Why We Fundraise