Marathon update #4:

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


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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