Marathon Update #8 - Worlds Colliding!!!

This picture is perhaps my favorite photo ever. I'm titling it "Everybody Hurts"





To donate to the LLS and support my marathon run please visit:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax

Ok, so as of yesterday, it was exactly four weeks until race day. That is a bit scary. As time winds down I have one more big run coming up this Saturday, 20 miles. Yep, you read that right, 20 miles!!!!! That is kind of scary. So with 4 weeks remaining there are a few things lingering out there that either need to be fixed, fought through or are just scaring the crap out of me.

20 miles -

With my last big run scheduled for Saturday the question is, "To run, or not to run?" After the run I have 3 weeks until the big day, but truthfully I'm not sure that's enough time for my body to get better for the race. For the last 4'ish weeks my bones have hurt pretty regularly. On top of that my joints are starting to get funky. So now I'm wondering if my body only has 1 more big run left in it. If that's the case I certainly don't want to waste it on a practice run this Saturday. Not sure what to do here, I'd really like to have 20 under my belt before I try to tackle 26.2, but at what cost. I am open to any suggestions. On the brighter side, my knees feel better (or less bad) than they have in weeks, only 2 days removed from a very strong 8 mile run. So that's positive!!!

Fundraising (beware: several uses of the adjective "amazing" used here) -

These last 2 weeks have been the biggest in my fundraising so far. The support has been amazing. In addition I've had some amazing people go above and beyond to pass the word of what I'm doing into their own worlds. Once again I've received donations from people I've never met, which is beyond words amazing. It's amazing what happens when you ask. Thank you all so very, very much. With that said I am still have a way to go to meet my fundraising goal. For those of you who aren't familiar with how this works, I commit to raising a certain amount of money and if I don't raise it I pay the difference. I don't mind that to much, because it's an amazing cause. The LLS has helped me personally so much in my fight against leukemia, and I've watched them help so many others that they deserve every penny. However I'd strongly prefer to raise the money as opposed to pay out of my pocket. So if you can, please help. If you know anyone who might want to help, please tell them. To spread the word to non facebooker's, all my marathon updates are at: www.ihaterunningbutihatecancermore.blogspot.com as well as links to my official fundraising page.

Worlds colliding!!!!!! -

So this is scaring the crap out of me. Some of you know me so this makes sense, some of you don't know me well so I'll just sound crazy here. As I approach race day, one things is becoming more evident. Worlds are going to collide. I'm not sure how to explain this in a few sentences, so for those of you who don't understand the concept of separate worlds watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxuYdzs4SS8

The support for this race has been amazing. And some people have expressed interest in coming to the race to show their support in person at the finish line, which I love. Honestly anyone who wants to come would be welcome with open arms. The more people waiting at the end the more reasons I have to finish. As of now I have a few people who will be there, add that to my running team world and I currently have a count of 4 worlds colliding. That's a lot. I can't remember ever having 4 worlds colliding at once. So this is making me a bit nervous.

Them Bones -

With just 4 weeks to go, the second half of my training season has had a common theme, "my bones hurt". This is the part of my run I think I'm just going to have to deal with. It's not my joints or muscles (although my joints hurt) it's my bones. Stretching won't fix it, and I can't ice them. So I'm just going to have to run through it. I think this is one of the reasons my doc said I wouldn't be able to do the marathon or last through the training. In particular it's my shins, and my femurs (especially the right one). This the biggest reason I want to run the 20 miles this Saturday. I know I can fight through low miles in pain, and I've done 18. But the more I get used to running, even though every step hurts, the better. This will definitely be the hardest part of my marathon.


Well, that is it for this edition of marathon updates. Thank you all once again for your support. Your comments are also greatly appreciated.


B

P.S. - leave comments!!!

Marathon Update #7

Picture: I think sometime after the marathon me and my favorite little people are gonna go out for a waffle covered in ice cream!!!



To make a donation to the LLS click here for my official fundraising page


Hello, hello. It's everyone's favorite time, time for another marathon update. So the marathon is now only 32 days away (damn February only has 28 days). Now that is scary. It used to be this abstract far off mountain in the distance, but all of a sudden like a killer in a horror movie it's waiting for me just around the corner. So now it's time to for business.

So before I get into the running part (I will get to the running), I'm going to get into the part that right now is a bit more scary, the fundraising. Well, I'm not very good at asking for fundraising, actually I suck at it. But it's not for me, it's to fight leukemia. So I'm going to start go with 7 reasons you should donate and support; (to donate you can follow this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax )

1) Leukemia results in more deaths than any other cancer for children 15 under.

2) Going through treatments and dealing with the disease can be very painful at times. When I think of what I've had to go through I think that there are thousands and thousands of children going through the same thing. It's been hard for me, I can't fathom how hard it must be for those kids. The LLS funds research that helps makes the journey less painful and quicker.

3) Leukemia is most common amongst seniors. Last I checked we're all getting older, so some charity now may pay big dividends down the road.

4) Leukemia is most common amongst white people. So all you white people, who are also getting older, come on. (And yes Hispanics are Caucasian, and I learned last week that so are Egyptians)

5) I'm running the marathon even though so called experts (my doctor) told me I wouldn't be able to. That's gotta count for something.

6) Every 10 minutes someone dies from Leukemia. Didn't want to get to sad on you all, but I've already lost a few people I consider close friends.

7) It's tax deductable. As someone with extensive experience in financial planning I can tell that this is a good thing for your finances :-) (I didn't want to end the list on a super sad note)

So there you go 7 reasons to support. Also share this. I made a blog with all my marathon updates so people who aren't my Facebook friends could follow along and support, www.ihaterunningbutihatecancermore.blogspot.com. Share this with anyone who you think might care, or anyone who might not.

So now for the running part of my update. Now that I've gotten so many miles under my belt it's getting a bit harder. Last Saturday the team was scheduled to run 20 miles, but I only ran 5 (my knees weren't feeling that good and my legs weren't to spry). Apparently my body isn't recovering from the runs as fast as a normal person, so that kind of sucks. On a positive note, I ran 5 miles and it was no big deal. No big deal at all. That still trips me out, because a few months back that would've killed me. Love it!!! So I have 1 more scheduled run of 20 miles, (not this Saturday but the next) and I'm looking forward to that. What I have figured out from the fatigue and pain on the runs is that I can definitely manage it. I've started making my playlist of songs for the marathon, filled with songs that inspire me. If anyone has any ideas for songs please leave them in the comments section. Actually if anyone actually reads this please leave a comment. It's like a little gift waiting for me. I love them. I am starting to wear out my shoes. Actually I'm alternating between 2 different pairs, but the pair I use more is starting to wear a bit. Wow, I can't believe I'm running enough to wear out my shoes. This was the week I was going to incorporate some more cardio into my mid-week workouts, but then I went and twisted my ankle playing basketball on Saturday. My running mentor told me to do it ;-) . Actually no she didn’t', it was an alumni game and it was fun. But the sprain isn't to bad and I think before my run Saturday 10-20 miles on the bike should be doable. It's only 3 weeks away from the New Orleans marathon. One of my friends that I'm training with is running that marathon, so as scared as I am about my marathon waiting with a butcher knife and a hockey mask around the corner, New Orleans is even closer, (it's hiding in the closet!!!!)

I think I'll end on that note. Thank you everyone for your support, you're helping make the impossible possible.

B

Marathon Update #6

Adding a picture to this one, just because I like adding the pictures. This one is called, "Run Free"



To make a donation to the LLS click here for my official fundraising page

I'm titling this update "Breaking Down" because that's how my body feels. So I'm now, by my count closer to 200 than 150 total miles for training, which is awesome. During these hours and hours of running there have been many lessons learned.

1) I really am not a fan of running. Some people are, I get that, but not me. At this point I can without hesitation say that I HATE RUNNING!!! It's tedious, boring, painful, not the most efficient work out and once again painful.

2) I HATE CANCER MORE!!! I love my new motto "I hate running but I hate cancer more" but it's true. I don't think I could've done this if I wasn't doing this to help fight cancer.

3) Nutter Butters are amazing. I'll explain this. During our runs we have water-stations along the road that have; water, gatorade, pretzels, and nutter butters. Nutter Butters are amazing. When you know you're only a half mile away from a water-station with nutter butters awaiting your arrival everything just gets easier and that creamy nutty taste carries you home.

4) After 6 miles a little salt packet is oohhh soooo good!!! We have these at the aforementioned water-stations to help replace the salt you lose. I feel like a horse craving my salt, but it's so good.

5) That whole "Runner's High" thing is a myth as far as I can tell. Maybe the people who started that were actually high. I do have good days and bad days, good miles and bad miles. But that whole euphoria feeling of amazingness, nope. Not yet.

6) The "I ran 10 miles today what've you done? Oh you just woke up." phenomenon is very real. Sorry to everyone who has borne the brunt of that, but it feels good to know that you ran 10+ miles before most of the rest of the world has woken up. I'm not sure if it feels as good as sleeping in, but it feels good.

7) I hate running, but I hate cancer more. Oh, I already said that. Sorry but I like saying it. Catchy isn't it?

8) This is hard. I knew this would be really hard. And when my Doc told me that my body wouldn't be able to do it, I kind of believed him. But now going through it, all I can say is this hard. My body is in the rebelling phase and fighting back with pain. But me and Ibuprofen are winning that battle.

9) I am finishing that damn race no matter what. Now I know I'm tempting God to smite me on this one, but that's what I'm telling myself. My goal is to run the race, (using intervals). I may not go as fast as I want, but that's my goal. However if at mile 23 my legs shutdown, I will crawl the last 3.2 miles if I have to . I am finishing the race!!! Anyone who wants to come and cheer would be more than welcome.

That’s my update for today. I went with the lessons learned theme since it hasn't been a full two weeks since my last update and I haven't done any large mile runs. Thank you everyone for your support. Please leave comments, it inspires me to know that people are backing me.



Thanks, B

Marathon Update #5

Pictures: 2010 LA Marathon Route &



Life's to short not to smile!!!



To make a donation to the LLS click here for my official fundraising page


Well it's been a while since my last update, so here it goes. I have now run well over 150 miles total in training. To put that in perspective, I could've almost run to Santa Barbara and back, or I could of run to Tijuana, Mexico and had about 20 miles to spare. I'm pretty pumped about that. My biggest run so far was last Saturday, in which I ran 18 miles. I'm also pumped about that. At this point in my training, my knees are sore everyday when I go up and down stairs, which is not the greatest thing. I've cut out most of my mid-week runs to help preserve my body for my long Saturday training. Because I get to take some awesome medicines my body doesn't recover very well from the stress. The cool thing is that my doc originally said I probably wouldn't make it past the 10 mile mark running. So with all possible respect, I say to him, "Told you so." I now am only a month and a half away from the run, (March 21st). The course is awesome and I've learned that there is going to be some entertainment on the route; live music, cheerleaders???, possibly restaurants with food platters for runners and an after party. Pretty exciting. I'm posting a map of the route, but basically I'm starting at Dodger stadium, going to Downtown, going to Hollywood, Beverly hills, and ending at Santa Monica pier. That's a pretty awesome run.

With only 6 weeks until the run, I am now trying to focus more on my fundraising. The money I'm raising goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). They do a whole bunch to help fight blood cancers, but to put a personal spin on what they are, here are some of things I've personally seen them do. Some of the medicine I've been on was developed from research they funded. Some of their research has made the treatments less painful, which is a big deal. That's especially big because the treatments are the hardest part sometimes and so many of the patients undergoing them are children. I've had a few friends who couldn't afford some of the necessary treatments and they helped them obtain everything they needed. That is huge because these were people raising families and any chance for them to be there for their kids growing up was priceless. I've seen them help families be able to be together as much as possible as patients lived out their final days. All in all they have been amazing. So I really feel strongly about supporting them. With that said I am getting a bit more creative with my fundraising. As always you can go to my fundraising page and donate or tell your friends about it, the pages is; http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax For those of you who really can't afford to donate much, I totally understand but you can still come by the page and donate $1.00. Just having a long list of names of people who are supporting really makes all of us who've had to deal with this disease, patients and loved ones, feel so good. Also tell your friends. Getting donations from people I've never met has been one of the most uplifting things I've ever experienced. I'm also trying some other avenues. I'm looking to hold some charity poker games in which half the buy in will go to the LLS. The other half will be dished out in prizes. Please let me know if this would be of interest to any of you, beginners and pros alike. Also I've designed some T-shirts, tank tops and sweatshirts that can be purchased. They have cool slogans like, "Cancer Sucks!!!" Or for those of you who may be inspired to run for cancer, "I hate running… but I hate cancer more", "My friend beat cancer and all I got was this lousy shirt!!!" and a few other designs. Because the profits go to charity and I'm ordering them 1 at a time, they range from $20 to $40. Let me know if you're interested.

Once again I really appreciate everyone's support and well wishes. This has been quite a journey and knowing that I have so many people backing me has made it possible. Also thank you for taking the time to follow my progress, just raising awareness is great start to kicking cancer's ass!!!

Brandon

Marathon update #4:

This post is a bit sad so I added pic that will make you smile.


Please click here to support the fight against leukemia

so it's been a couple weeks since my last update and plenty of excitingness, ( and yes that is a word, I just submitted it to the oxford english dictionary). So 2 saturdays ago I ran 12 miles. That's right 12 miles. Actually a little more because I took a detour during the run to go to the ATM and get some cash (about .5 miles extra). That was hands down my hardest run. This is the part where I'm pushing my body to do things the Doc said it probably couldn't do, and wow was it tough. I really wanted to quit especially since the first 3 miles were a gradual incline (who in the world picked that route). This was the first run where I really had to spend a lot of time thinking why I'm doing this, beyond the bragging of course. So since I spent the better part of the 2hours and 15 minutes it took me thinking about why I got up at 5:30 am on a Saturday and ran 12 miles I thought I'd share that, so more on that below.

Other news since my last update, I totally enjoyed my rest week this last week, (only 10 miles for the entire week and no run longer than 4 miles). I am totally pumped that at the gym I thought I'd go for a short run on the treadmill and I busted out a 5k (and that was after a full workout). Not only did I bust out a 5k, I totally outlasted and outpaced the cross country kid running on the treadmill in front of me. Apparently my competiveness knows no boundaries. I'm kind of scared because this week we are increasing our mileage. I'm not sure if that means 13 or 14 miles. Either way I am starting now to mentally prepare myself. Since starting the training I have embraced my inner chef, (apparently there's a little italian guy inside of me dying to get out) and have created some fabulous dishes, which if you're reading this on my F'book than you've probably seen some pics. And thank goodness I can cook. My weight has fluctuated dramatically since starting the running; I lost about 20 pounds in about 2 weeks, (scary), and have had the pleasure of working to put nearly all that 20 pounds back on.

So now back to why I'm doing this. There two main things that I thought about to pull me through that 12 miles:

First: in the past 4+ years I have known 7 accquaintances and 4 friends that have died from Leukemia. For those of you who know me well you know that I don't hand out the friend title very easily. 3 of those friends have passed in the past 13 months. Of those 4 friends, 3 were married, and the 4th was engaged, they were planning on having the wedding when she made it to remission. 2 of my friends were very proud parents. Their children were 2, 4, and 4 at the time of their parents deaths. During that time I got to know these families fairly well. It's not that we spent so much time together, but when you're around people going through their worst, you get to see who they are quickly. When I think of my friends, I cant imagine what it must have felt like to know you're leaving behind people you love, especially you're children. I got to know some of their spouses pretty well and I have a deeper appreciation how hard it is to watch the person you're in love with and have decided to spend the rest of you're life with fight such a long painful battle, and then fade away and lose. Seeing how much this hurt the spouses was very hard for me because I can't help but think about how hard it's been for those who are close to me, (hence me not being very good at sharing these past 4+ years). Now I think of the survivors and how they will live the rest of their lives with that loss forever there. This was what I thought of most, I guess it being so personal to me it really touched some inner emotions and helped push me.

Secondly: something I didn't know before I became intimately acquainted with leukemia, is that leukemia is the leading cause of death from cancer in people under the age of 20, and it is by far the most common form of cancer in children ages 1-7. I also know how hard it is to deal with the treatment. Aside from the fact that you are dealing with your own chance at dying, it is painful, and strenuous, and seems last forever, and just overall crappy. As a person in my mid 20's I could see how hard it was to deal with all of that. What I can't imagine is how hard that is to deal with when you're 5 years old. How can you understand why you have to go through all the pain and suffering. Or how fair is it that you only got 5 years to experience life. This is something that I think about regularly. As tough as it is for an adult to go through this how ridiculously hard must it be to go through it as a child.

So that's what pushed me and what will continue to push me. And not to brag or anything, but I finished first for the 12 mile run, although 2 of our fastest runners weren't running that day, but hey I still finished first. I don't expect to turn in a awesome time in the full marathon however I know that no matter what I'm finishing (so if you see someone crawl across the finish line of the LA marathon on T.V. It might be me). Thank you everyone for continuing to support. If you haven't yet, please visit my fundraising page (link below), and yes even the dollar donations help. And please tell other people about it. Like I mentioned in my last update, I've had a few donations from people I don't even know and that has made me feel awesome. I also like to brag about that to the other runners. Just tell people you know this awesome, charming, handsome, funny guy who is super modest and is running his first marathon to save children from dying of cancer. That should work. ;-)

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax (my fundraising page)

Thanks,
B

Marathon update #3

To make a donation to the LLS click here for my official fundraising page


It's been a while since my last update so I have a lot to cover. Also I just figured out the whole notes section and will be moving all my updates there. For those of you who don't know I am running the LA marathon in March to raise money to fight Leukemia. If you want more info on that please visit... my web page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax

The last few weeks have had some highs and lows, I'll start with the highs. I've reached 25% of my donations goal. Thank you again everyone for your support there. Also about 20% of those donations have come from people I don't know. I cant begin to express how great that feels. In the 4+ years of dealing with Leukemia that has been one of the best showings of support. To know that not only do the people I know care, but they care enough to tell their friends. Thank you!!!! As for the running, last Saturday was my first venture in to the double digits. I had a 10 mile run which I finished in just over an hour & a half. This Saturday I'm scheduled to run 12 which will put me over 20 for the week. The best part is that now when I do a 3-4 mile run it feels like it's nothing!!! As for the lows, well according to my newly appointed marathon consultant, I have a strained ligament in my knee. Basically what it means is that it hurts when I run. I've had to cut out some of my smaller mid week runs to rest it, but I am still doing my long runs. I figure I'll probably be in some type of pain when I run the marathon so I might as well get used to running in pain. I plan on finishing this marathon even if I have to crawl across the finish line. Other than that the whole experience has been awesome. Also for those of you who have gone to my fundraising page or the LLS page to learn more, thank you so much. And please tell your friends, awareness is one of the best paths to beating this disease.

Thanks, B

Marathon update #2

So I am now 2 full weeks into my training for the Los Angeles marathon and I have already run over a dozen miles. For those of you who don't know I am running with Team In Training to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). For the last 4+ years I've had to battle with Leukemia and am now trying to raise funds for LLS in an effort to help all those who are battling with me. This week I will be meeting with a group of friends who are also battling Leukemia and am very excited to announce to them that I am running the marathon. Also I am excited to announce that I have already raised more than 10% of my goal. It is a big inspiration for all of us to know that people out there who care. So if you can stop by my fundraising web page and donate a dollar. I am hoping to be able to tell them all that less than 3 weeks in I have 50+ people already supporting. Seriously if you have 5 minutes and a dollar stop by the page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax it makes a difference to all of us to know that there are people out there aware. And if you want tell you're friends, I'd be super stoked to see support from people I don't even know.

Thanks, B

I'm running the LA marathon!!!!!!!!

Howdy all, I have signed up with Team In Training to raise funds to help battle Leukemia. Please visit my fundraising page, http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/LA10/bsosax , and pass the word along. Every dollar is appreciated and every body you tell also helps. This will be my first marathon, with hopefully many to follow. I am hoping to run with Team In Training until a cure is found. Thanks for taking the time to visit my page.

thanks, B