My Outlook on the World

Update and Des Moines Marathon!

2010-10-14T16:46:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted in just about 2 months, mainly because my life is boring, and busy! I have thought often about posting some updates on the kids, and all the fun stuff we have been involved in, but have not gotten around to posting anything!

Here is a brief summary /update of the comings and goings in in the Wombacher household:

(1) The girls are in gymnastics on opposite nights, which takes us to Johnsburg four nights a week. Johnsburg is about 30 minutes away. They love gymnastics. We hate the drive. They win.

(2) The girls are having so much fun in 2nd and 3rd grade. Haley's Spanish has improved a lot. She has to draw three pictures each day showing something she did, and then write 3 sentences in Spanish about those things. It's only been a month, and we are all out of ideas! Her days are the same every day, so we have resorted to making things up! Olivia is doing so well in Spanish that she got to read the words for the Spanish spelling test a week ago.

(3) Haley is taking piano lessons. She likes to learn the new songs and notes, but hates to practice.

(4) For Olivia's birthday she wanted her own desk in her room. She got a new desk, bookcase, and adorable hot pink chiar. (As a nerdy mom, I was so excited for her, but not near as excited as she was!)

(5) We have been traveling to Iowa for football games A LOT. The girls and I have even made it to 2 games. (I would post adorable pictures, but I'm at work) Chad's mom sent them each a Ricky Stanzi # 12 Jersey, which they LOVE.

(6) I have not been running as much as I would like, because I have been working too much. Nevertheless, in 2 days I will be running my 2nd marathon. I am excited and nervous all at the same time!

I hope to provide an update after the race. Maybe I will post some pictures soon as well!

TEN!

2010-08-19T12:40:00.003-05:00

I guess an appropriate sub-title to this post is if I knew then what I know now. 10 years ago today I married the love of my life. I honestly cannot believe it has been 10 years since we said "I do!" Most of the time it seems like only yesterday, but occasionally it seems like forever!! On August 19, 2000, I knew that I was marrying a great guy, a true friend, and the person I wanted to spend every possible minute with. I knew I was marrying a smart ass who would always be quick with a one liner. I knew he was a good golfer, and shared my love of good food. I knew that we both had hopes and dreams that we were scared to share with anyone else. I knew that he loved me unconditionally (because he had met my family, and still wanted to marry me:) But, I don't think I knew how much I did not yet know about the man I had just promised to spend the rest of my life with. I am so thankful for the past 10 years, and the chance to have learned so much about myself, my husband and about life!

On August19, 2000, I did not know that a year later he would hold our little girl, and rock her to sleep, and it seemed so natural that I knew he was meant to be a daddy. I did not know, that when I would crash one of our cars (more than once), he would hold me and comfort me, and not get angry. I did not know that he would sacrifice some of his career goals in order for me to advance in mine. I did not know that he would send me flowers at work "just because." I did not know that he would be the one cooking dinner and cleaning the house most of the time. I did not know that he would teach me so much about myself just by listening to me complain! I did not know just how much I loved the man I had just married! There are a million other things that I did not know on August 19, 2000, that I do now. I thank God every day for bringing Chad to me, and for the life I have and the things I now know!

TIME TO DO IT AGAIN!!

2010-08-05T10:34:00.002-05:00

I have been pretty non-existent in blog world lately. I could make excuses, but the truth is, I really haven't had much to say. I know that's so hard for you to believe, right? But, today I do have something to say....tomorrow I will be walking the Susan G. Komen 3 Day in Chicago for the second time!

This year we have expanded our team to include 3 new members. I am so excited to share the laughter and excitement as well as the tears and remembrance with each of them! Last night, my tent mate, and awesomest friend, Rebecca, and I worked for 3 hours on our tent decorations. About 3 weeks ago, we came up with a really COOL idea, and have spent the past 3 weeks adding to it and coming up with more ideas. If you do not remember, last year we were devastated when we did not win the tent decorating contest, so this year we went ALL out. I will share pictures via facebook tomorrow, and on my blog next week. Our theme is Candyland, but I will not share anymore right now! We got the idea, because our team name Boobalicious Babes is based off of Bubbalicious gum! I know we are going to come home with the ribbon, I just hope Rebecca doesn't expect to keep it:)

I would be lying if I did not say I am a little more nervous this year, because I did not train nearly as much as last year. I have been running fairly consistently, but walking just has not happened too much for me this spring/summer.

Tomorrow I will join nearly 2,500 other walkers and crew members on the journey of a lifetime! I cannot wait to see all the pink shirts, great team names, and meet some wonderful and inspiring people.

Thank you to everyone that attended a fundraiser, bought a super bowl pool square, made direct donations to my fundraising page, prayed for me and my teammates, and supported us during the time leading up to the walk. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers this weekend!

I will update on Sunday night or Monday morning with all the details and more pictures! In the meantime, check out my facebook page where I will update often! Go Boobalicious Babes!

Week One: I am a Warrior

2010-06-20T19:59:00.003-05:00

This week's marathon training did not go exactly as planned, but it still went well. On Tuesday, I had a school board meeting that lasted until 2:30 in the morning. Luckily, I had gotten up early and put my miles in before work. I also got my 5 miles in on Wednesday, but by Thursday the lack of sleep caught up to me. I skipped working out all together on Thursday.

The highlight of my week was Saturday, when I ran the Midwest Warrior Dash. The Warrior Dash is a 5K race which includes 12 obstacles along the way. The obstacles included jumping over old junked cars, crossing a plank, climbing over 3 foot walls, about 20 foot cargo net climb, a 3 foot deep mud pool, a 20 foot hay stack to climb, about 10 small hills at the end of the race, jumping over fire, and finally crawling under barbed wire through thick gooey, cold mud. IT WAS AWESOME! We had such a great time. I was really nervous going into this race, because I did not know what to expect. Others told us it was hard, because your shoes got so muddy and wet, and it was! I had planned to run with my sister-in-law, Amy, but I lost her somewhere in one of the obstacles. I looked back thinking she was right next to me and I couldn't find her, so I just kept running. There were a lot of people that did not RUN this race but walked and just did the obstacles. I am proud to say I ran the entire way. I also felt pretty good about the obstacles, apparently adding a little weight training into my routine paid off in getting over some of the obstacles. I have no idea what my time was, but I do know it was FUN!

Here are my totals for the week: Run 19 miles, Walk 6 miles (I only have 7 weeks until the 3 day, I am going to have to up this a little!), Bike 1.50 (the girls wanted to go on a bike ride, so I just added this in)

Can it really be 7 years already?

2010-06-14T10:38:00.003-05:00

Monday, June 14th.

June 14th always brings several emotions my way! Today is the anniversary of buying our house and moving to Harvard, Illinois. Seven years ago today, we left the great Hawkeye state and ventured out on our own for the first time. I was so excited to be a homeowner, so sad to be pregnant and so far away from my family, nervous to be studying for the bar exam, scared to death that I would not pass. I am sure I could go on and on with the raw emotions I felt on that hot June day.

Looking back, I am so glad that we moved to Harvard. Yes, you read that correctly:) Over the past 7 years, I have been blessed to have met so many great people; people I now call my best friends. After successfully passing the bar exam, I took a great job, which has been such a blessing in my life as well. Looking back, I would not have expected all that I have achieved in 7 years. My babies have grown up here, and truly love Harvard as well!

This June 14th is also pretty important because it marks the first day of my 18 week marathon training plan. If I run every mile of the plan I will run 591.2 miles by October 17, 2010. The plan also includes cross training every Monday. I think I will do the bike at the gym tonight. I set up a training log notebook last night to hopefully do a better job of tracking my runs during this training session. I am also trying to train for the 3 Day walk. I got up at 5:00 this morning, and walked a little over 4 miles before work today. My plan is to keep walking in the morning, and do the marathon training plan in the evening. I will try to update once a week with how its going. I am really excited for this marathon because so many of my family members have committed to this race. Both my brothers, Jasen and Trent, have started training for the full marathon as well. One of the groomsmen in our wedding, Tim, is also running the full with us! I am praying for my friend, Beth, to be able to join us for the full as well. Beth and I shared our first full marathon experience together in Kenosha, and I would LOVE to have her there in Des Moines as well! Also joining us in Des Moines is Dani and Justy! I was supposed to run my first full marathon with Justy in Hawaii, but due to injuries, I only did the half. Dani has done 2 halves and is ready to try for the full! It will be so cool to have so many people I know on the course! My sister Nitasha and her husband Ryan, as well as my sister-in-law Amy, are all planning on doing the half marathon! I can't wait to have all my friends and family there; it should be a great experience!

3 DAYS - 60 MILES!

2010-06-11T11:37:00.004-05:00

Do you like the new Widget at the top of my blog? In 8 short weeks, I will once again walk 60 miles in 3 days in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure in Chicago! I am still trying to raise the required $2,300, and thought I would share with you about 2 big fundraisers! The first is a garage sale tomorrow from 8-3 at 1004 Dewey Street! We have a ton of kids and baby stuff, adult clothes, toys, shoes, books! Come out and help us meet our goals!

The second is going to be SO fun! We are having a bowling and bags fundraiser at Westlane Bowl in Crystal Lake on Saturday, June 26th beginning at 3 p.m. The cost is $15.00 per bowler, which includes 2 games of bowling and shoes, or $15.00 per bags player! There will be cash prizes for the bags tournament. We have a lot of fun games planned throughout the evening. Jeff Overlee will be DJing the event! If you haven't been to an event with Jeff before, he is so fun and has GREAT music! There will also be a silent auction, some door prizes and raffle prizes! Come out and support me and my team!

1/2 Day Fridays

2010-06-11T08:16:00.003-05:00

For the first time in a while, the girls rode with me on my way to work this morning. We sang, we laughed, and just remembered some of my favorite moments during their first 6 and 8 years. Then Chad got in the car and we tried to get him involved! He pretty much just laughed at us! A few minutes later I got out of the car and walked into work with tears in my eyes! I love them so much! I am so proud to be their Mom. It's been hard for me to come to work the past 2 weeks, because they are home enjoying summer. I feel like I am missing out on so much with them, while I am at work. I love my job, and love what I do, but I sometimes wish I could just be home a little more with them! Chad has been working more and more from home, so they have spent a lot of time with him, and I know they are in good hands with Dani, but I just miss them so much! One of our conversations today centered around the fact that our neighbor has 1/2 day Fridays during the summer. It went like this:

Me: "I wish I could have 1/2 day Fridays!"
Haley: "You should tell your boss that you want 1/2 day Fridays just for the summer, Mom."
Me: "I don't think my boss would go for that, because he wants me to work more hours so I can make more money." [Yes, I was trying to explain the billable hour to my 6 and 8 year old]
Olivia: "Well, Mom, someday, you'll be the boss, and then you can have 1/2 day Fridays whenever you want."
Me: "I like the way you think, Liv!"

While I am missing my kids from work today, I am dreaming about the days when I can have 1/2 day Fridays!

Running and Life

2010-06-08T07:49:00.003-05:00

Running, one might say, is basically an absurd pastime upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in the type of running you need to do ... chances are you'll be able to find meaning in that other absurd past time .... LIFE.

- Bill Bowerman

The End. . . It's Just Another Beginning

2010-05-28T09:28:00.003-05:00

Today is the last day of school in Harvard. Or, using Olivia's lingo, "the last 2 hours of school." The girls are ready for summer! They are looking forward to the pool, softball, and spending time with their friends. I long for the days when I could spend the entire day outside without a care in the world. While today is the end of my time as a mom of a 1st and 2nd grader, it is the beginning of fun in the sun for them. For the past two years on the last day of school, I was a mess. I cried so hard two years ago, as I simply could not believe that my first born beautiful little girl had finished kindergarten. Once again I cried so hard last year, as I realized that I would never have a kindergartner again. Today was different. I didn't cry, but I smiled as I looked at how much my babies have grown and changed during this school year. My normally quiet, studious Olivia has blossomed into quite the little jokester. The entire time we took pictures on the porch this morning, she kept asking to just do a funny one! Of course, as you can see I did let her do a funny one. Haley did not know what to do for her funny one, so we call this her "Sponge Bob Face". My little Haley, who could not stand school last year and just wanted it to be over, can't stop talking about Mr. Beesley and Ms. LaSota. She has learned to love school and all that it entails. They both are good readers, good friends, and make me so proud!

I love you girls! In just 15 minutes, I will officially have a daughter in 2nd grade and a daughter in 3rd grade. On September 1st, when they go back to school, for the first time since they went to day care, they will be entering school in the same building. I cannot wait to see how they interact when they go to school together! Cheers to the beginning of summer, my little princess and pumpkin!

Proud Mamma!

2010-05-18T11:11:00.002-05:00

I know many parents hate this time of year because their kids are involved in so many activities it seems like we are always running from here to there. I on the otherhand, love it! I love to watch my kids in all their activities! I am so proud of all they have accomplished! Here is a short recap:

Last week, Haley was "Little Miss Muffet" in the Jefferson School first grade musical. It was the perfect part for her. She loved it! I wish I had a photo to share, but Olivia was in charge of the still photos. She instead used her camera to shoot a video every time Haley spoke. Chad videotaped the entire performance, which was very cute. However, I am SURE (unless you are grandma or grandpa) you do not want to watch 35 minutes, so I will not post it. I often wonder what Haley's nitch will be, and acting just may be it!

Haley has also started softball again, and is really liking it. I am helping coach her team this year, but haven't made it to a practice yet. I am going to try to make it Thursday, and will hopefully have some pictures to post after that!

On Sunday, Olivia had her final regular gymnastics meet for the season. She still has the State meet on June 5th. She was so proud because her Mimi and Papa were there along with her cousins and uncle Jason (and of course Mom, Dad, Haley and my friend Sara but we are the regular attendees:) She did really well scoring a 9.5 on her floor exercise. She placed first in her division. Here are a couple photos from the meet.

Also on the proud mamma note, Olivia scored the highest in her standardized reading test for her entire grade! She loves to read even more than I do I think!

I know its not nice to brag, but I had to just this once:)

I conquered 26.2

2010-05-02T14:10:00.006-05:00

My legs are a little stiff today, but there is a smile on my face! Just over 24 hours ago I conquered one of the biggest feats I have ever attempted - a full marathon, 26.2 miles.

The morning of the race, I was up early, and ready to roll. Traffic getting to the race was a little delayed, and we were detoured around a crime scene. I was getting nervous that we weren't going to make it. Due to my parking in an illegal parking spot in the police department lot, we made it to gear check, the port-o-pottie, and the start line just in time.

Beth and I had talked about trying to stay at a 10 minute mile pace for the first 10 miles. And that is just what we did. I felt really good going along. At mile 6 I grabbed some of my power jelly beans and kept moving. Between mile 10 and 11, I saw my awesome family! Check out the girls' shirts! I was so happy to see them, and kept moving.

My best friend, Rebecca and her family came too. Apparently, they saw me at mile 11, because she took this great picture, but I missed them.

At mile 11.5 we broke off from the half-marathoners. Beth and I were walking through the water station, when another marathoner said to us, "this is where is gets lonely girls." Great, buddy thanks for the encouragement. He then told us this was his 9th marathon, and he knew we could do it. That's more like it.

I was feeling pretty good, until between 14-15 when I got the worst IT band pain down my entire right leg. I stopped and used a tree, and laid down in someone's first yard to stretch. Beth and I had a nice laugh about that point, because I said, "We didn't come here to walk," to which she replied, "well I came to walk a little bit." So we did walk a little bit after that. We ran through gravel for a while, and I got a small pebble in my shoe, which eventually led to a large blister right on the bottom of my foot. That irriatated me a little bit!

Just after mile 23, when we had only a 5K left, our family and friends were there again. My girls ran a little bit with me, and enocuraged me.

Beth and I stayed together until about mile 24. I then felt so sore that I just wanted to kick it up and finish. I was only a little ahead of her, but I knew she would finish, and I would see her at the finish line.

Right before the last corner and the finish line, all my family and friends were there again! I was so thrilled to be done. I was a little disappointed with my finish time of 5:11:46, but only because my Garmin said 4:59:35. I forgot that it stops everytime I stop. (So I guess we stopped for about 10 minutes along the course.)

Here is one last picture....
I could not have done this marathon without him. He was there for me for the past 16weeks of training, whether it was watching the girls while I was out on long runs, or rubbing my back and legs after the runs. As soon as I saw him I got so teary-eyed. He is awesome.

One last shout-out - thanks to Rebecca for the awesome pictures. Chad is not a great photographer, so I am glad you were there!

The Best Day!

2010-04-23T19:22:00.004-05:00

The girls did not have school today for Teacher Institute! Chad and I always scramble to figure out what to do with them when there is no school, and today was no different. They stayed home with Dad for the morning, and he brought them to me at work when I got out of court. We then spent the afternoon just us "girls." I've been telling Olivia that she could have my Taylor Swift Fearless CD, but I keep forgetting it at work. She reminded me today to bring it. We brought it in the car, and listened to it between each stop. After a quick lunch at Panera, we went to Great Clips where they got their new summer haircuts! They look so cute, if I do say so myself. The picture is a little grainy, because it is from a cell phone, sorry! After shopping most of the afternoon, we heard The Best Day play on the Taylor Swift CD. I was reminded how great it is to be a mom to these beautiful, funny, smart, precious little girls! I am so proud of them, and truly had the BEST DAY with them! It also reminded me how great my mom is too! Here is the video of The Best Day with the lyrics. Such a great song!

What will I do at 32?

2010-04-19T20:27:00.002-05:00

On Saturday I turned 32. I am not one who worries about getting another year older (at least not yet anyway)! Tonight on my run I started to think about what I want out of my 32nd year. What do I want for myself? My family? What plans do I have and what are my dreams? Here's to 32:

1) At 32 I will run my first marathon! I can't wait for this challenge and adventure. I am looking forward to sharing the day with several of my running buddies, but especially looking forward to crossing the finish line with Beth by my side, and as Beth always says hopefully with our arms raised high! If all goes well, I may also run my 2nd marathon in the fall!

2) At 32 I will pray over my children each and every night. I will pray for their todays, tomorrows and forevers.

3) At 32 I will celebrate 10 years of marriage to my best friend and love of my life.

4) At 32 I will walk 60 miles in 3 days so that one day we may all live in a world without breast cancer. I did this at 31 too, and it is still one of the best experiences of my life.

5) At 32 I will welcome a new niece or nephew into the world! I can't wait to meet Trent and Carrie's new little one in September. I will also welcome the births of the children of 2 close friends.

6) At 32 I hope to do better in keeping up with birthdays and anniversaries.

7) At 32 I will continue to represent the wrongfully accused and some "rightly" accused and vow to do my best to make sure that everyone gets the justice they deserve, whatever that may be.

8) At 32 I hope to keep a secretary for the entire year! 31 was a rough year for me with secretaries. I believe we went through 4, or was it 5? Shelley is definitely a keeper though!

9) At 32 I hope my children to teach my children to love life, love Jesus and love each other.

10) At 32 I hope to have a girls getaway weekend with my sisters! We haven't had one in several years, and I miss my sisters!

I am looking forward to 32!

Run Jamie Run

2010-03-30T17:42:00.003-05:00

My birthday is coming up! I love birthdays, mine, friends, family, it does not matter! I just love to celebrate those close to me. I am really excited for this birthday, because it is going to be a really busy but fun day! Olivia has a gymnastics meet, which is always enjoyable! She is doing so well and its fun to cheer her on. Then we have a dinner auction fundraiser for the day care the kids went to when they were little. We do all the legal work for WCLS and the dinner is always an enjoyable evening. After that, it is out for another fun Boobalicious Babes fundraiser night! We will be doing our Woodstock Pub Crawl and hoping to raise even more money for our 3 day walk. I am going to sidetrack for just a second, and ask if you have made your donation to my 3 day account yet? If not, will you seriously consider a donation so that one day we will have a world without breast cancer??

But, back to the title of this post. My awesome hubby gave me my birthday present early! I recently crashed another ipod, and have been left using my cell phone for my music. So, Chad got me a new ipod nano! Its my favorite color GREEN, and on the back he had it engraved with Jamie Wombacher and Run Jamie Run! I cannot wait to run tonight and try it out! My marathon is quickly approaching and this gift could not have come at a better time! Isn't it so cool?

I never thought I would say it, but I think I am a marathon runner!

2010-03-21T20:35:00.002-05:00

The past month my life has been so hectic between work and life at home with the girls, that it seems like I have only been getting in 1 or 2 runs during the week, and my long run on the weekend. Needless to say, that is not the best way to train for a marathon. I struggled through my long runs as a result, but generally have kept up with them. This week I knew we were planning a 20 miler on Saturday, but I didn't even make it to the gym one time. I was dreading the 20 miler.

Then on Thursday, I got a call from Haley's school saying that she was sick and needed to be picked up. Luckily, Chad had a cancellation and was able to go pick her up. I had nothing on my calendar at work for Friday, so I agreed that I could stay home with her Friday, while Chad went out to some appointments. Most of the week was beautiful and in the 60s, but looking ahead toward Saturday the forecast showed rain and snow and colder temperatures. Chad said he would be home by noon on Friday, so I talked Beth into doing our long run on Friday instead of Saturday.

WHAT A GREAT IDEA! It was beautiful out, in fact I wore shorts and a t-shirt. So, off we went for a 10 mile out and back on a really pretty trail. We did the first 10 in 1:44. Funny side note to add here .... at 10 miles we stopped to stretch, and I thought I better check my phone just in case work called ... I love my job...I love my job... I love my job...sorry, sidetracked. I noticed that my phone had been posting to facebook the letter D or DDD, or DD. Not once or twice, but well over 250 times. I also apparently sent the same thing to a client that had e-mailed me. Don't worry I apologized to her today! I also had an urgent message from work. We had to stop for about 10 minutes so I could call a detective and a client and make arrangements to have a search warrant executed.

But after 10 minutes, we were back on our way. At this point, I accidentally hit the start button on my Garmin even though it was on autostart, causing me to lose some of our mileage, and time. That was frustrating:) The next about 4 miles went pretty well, and then alternatively Beth and I would have a pain here or there (at one point I had some dreaded stomach issues) so we walked a little, and then ran a little. We probably ended up walking about 2 miles total. The bottom line was that we finished 20 miles, and if I can finish 20 miles I know that I can finish a marathon and officially call myself a marathon runner. I also burned over 2100 calories, which was pretty cool. We have one more 20 miler before our race; I am sure we will finish that 20 miles without walking!

Just one of those days....

2010-02-10T07:54:00.002-06:00

Do you ever have one of those days? You don't feel like working out but you know you have to. Yesterday my marathon training plan called for a short 2 miles. Normally, I would look at 2 miles on the schedule and run 4 to make it worth my while. Not yesterday. It snowed a lot and I didn't feel like going out to the gym, so I decided I was just going to run on my old treadmill. It was only 2 miles, how bad could it be?

After dinner I made a comment that I was debating whether I was going to go downstairs and run or go up to bed and watch Biggest Loser. I then said that I knew if I went upstairs I would just blow off running for the night so I could not choose that option. A couple minutes later Haley told me to "just blow it off Mom." Great, even she knew it was going to be one of those days.

Finally I made it to the basement for the worst 2 miles I could imagine. Right away my knee was hurting, then I felt like I couldn't get enough air, I was sweating like a pig before .25, and I just could not focus on running. It was painful and hard and it was ONLY 2 miles. What the heck had gotten into me? I worried the entire time that if this 2 miles was so horrible, how was I going to do 18 this weekend. When the treadmil said 2 miles. I turned it immediately off and said goodnight to the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad workout. I did follow-up the run with shoveling, which felt surprisingly good.

I am going to chalk it up to one of those days...and hope and pray that the next workout will be much much better.

Maui 1/2 Marathon = Personal BEST!

2010-02-01T21:24:00.005-06:00

It has now been 1 week and a day since I finished the Maui Oceanfront 1/2 Marathon. For the past week, I was just too busy relaxing and enjoying the beautiful Maui weather and terrain to update my blog.

This was right before the race started!

I am THRILLED to report that I set a personal record in the 1/2 marathon. I ran my first 1/2 marathon in October, and finished in 2:09:59, which was under my goal of 2:10. This time my goal was simply to beat that time and set a personal record. I started out feeling really good, and set a pace of just over 9 minutes a mile. I wanted to keep the pace at 9:30, and did a pretty good job. Thanks to a great physical therapist, my IT Band did not bother me at all!

Running hard (near the 9 mile marker)! Look at the beautiful ocean I ran next too. I even saw a whale breech during the first 2 miles. Thanks to my friend, Sara, for the great picture. Every time that I saw Sara and Chad cheering me on, I smiled and pushed a little harder!

Somewhere around mile 10.5 I started to get a little distracted and tired. I could not push myself to get below 10 minutes/mile no matter how hard I tried. The mind games started and I tried to focus on finishing strong, and then it happened.....

I often talk about how "true" marathon runners will just urinate on themselves to avoid having to stop. First off, I do NOT consider myself a "true" runner. But I almost had no choice, the more I tried to concentrate and tell myself that I did not have to pee, the more I felt like I was going to pee down my leg! Luckily, with 1.5 miles left there was a water station and a port-a-potty. If you know me, you know I am not a huge fan of port-a-potties anyway, and on this day, it was absolutely disgusting!! I will not go into details here, but suffice it to say I nearly threw up as well. So I wasted 30 seconds in the NASTY port-a-potty and was on my way to a strong finish. My final time (including the port-a-potty stop) 2:03:12. Early on in the race, I thought I might make it in under 2:00, but I did not, and nevertheless, I was so HAPPY with my finish. My friend, Beth, often talks about finishing strong with your arms in the air in victory, and I did just that!

After the race I got a massage. I finished just as my friend, Dani, crossed the finish line for her first 1/2 marathon. So the cheering squad and I got in the car to go cheer on Dani's husband, Justy, as he finished the full marathon. (Justy and I were supposed to run the full marathon together, but after I was injured, I decided to do just the 1/2.) We caught up to him with about 4 miles left in the race. He was walking and looked tired and ready to quit. I decided to put my running shoes back on and finish the last 3 miles with him, a la Biggest Loser. You know, when the friends or family show up during their run to help run a portion of the marathon and encourage them! I tried to encourage Justy, and help him finish strong. He was swollen and beat, but I did manage to get him to run for a little while when the professional photographer was on the road, and to run the last 1/2 mile. He finished a marathon and I am proud of him! Later that day, we walked about 4 miles down the beach. So my total for the day with walking and running was about 20 miles. I am SO ready to train hard for Kenosha!

Super Bowl Pool for the Cure!

2010-01-12T17:21:00.001-06:00

Hello Friends and Family!

As you may know, I have registered to walk the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk in Chicago in August. The total walk will be 60 miles over the course of three days. I walked it in 2009 and it was truly a life changing experience. We are excited to have the opportunity to walk it again in 2010. We have doubled our team this year, and so far have 6 registered members. Each of us is required to raise $2,300 for this great cause. It will not be an easy task but I am sure we will meet our goal. We are planning many exciting fundraisers over the course of this Spring and Summer. Our first major fundraiser is a Super Bowl Pool. We will be splitting the proceeds of the pool 50/50. With 50 percent going to pay the winners, and 50 percent to our fundraising efforts. The rules for the pool are below. If you would like to be included, please send $20.00 per square to Jamie Wombacher, 1006 Dewey Street, Harvard, IL 60033. Please also include your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. If you could also send me an e-mail to let me know that you have dropped the money in the mail, I will know to look for your entry fee. In order to make sure that we have all the money collected prior to the Super Bowl, I must have all mailed entries to me no later than Thursday, February 4, 2010. If you do not want to mail the money, you may deliver to me or one of my team mates, listed below. We will accept cash hand-delivered entries (if space is available) up until 12:00 noon on February 6, 2010. We currently have 2 grids available for a total of 200 squares. We plan to payout $1000 per grid.

Susan G. Komen 3-Day Super Bowl Pool Rules

1. The cost to participate is $20 per square.
2. Players can purchase more than one square.
3. Values (0-9) will be assigned randomly to each row and column on February 6, 2010.
4. Emails will be sent before the start of the game on February 7, 2010 (to players who have provided an e-mail address) informing each player of his/her position(s) on the board.
5. Each players' position(s) will also be posted online before the start of the game at www.becca-mycuprunnethover.blogspot.com.
6. Winners will be determined by matching the last digit of each team's score with the grid at the end of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters and for the final score.
7. The proceeds will be split 50/50 with half of the money going toward the Boobalicious Babes 3-day team and half of the money going toward the payouts.
8. If the board sells out, the total of the payouts is expected to be $1000.
9. The expected payouts will be as follows:
a. $150 (or 15%) to first quarter winner
b. $150 (or 15%) to second quarter winner
c. $150 (or 15% to third quarter winner
d. $550 (or 55%) to final score winner
10. In the case of overtime, the overtime score will be counted as the final score for purposes of determining the final score winner. There will be no additional 4th quarter payout.
11. In no event will the payouts total more than 50% of the total proceeds of the pool.

Questions? Call or e-mail me (815) 814-3913.

My fellow team members are:
Rebecca Lee
Dani Parrotte
Shelley Stricker
Lani Fentrow
Tracey Perkins.

Thanks for participating in this fundraiser for a great cause!!

Training Update!

2010-01-11T08:39:00.002-06:00

Training for the 1/2 marathon in October was enjoyable. I trained outside, and rarely stepped on the treadmill. Unfortunately, training for Maui has not been quite as enjoyable. I get so bored on the treadmill that I start playing mindgames with myself. I have been meeting a friend at the gym which helps, because I can't really quit when we have already decided what we were going to run. That just wouldn't be fair. I also started by 16 week full marathon training plan last week. My long runs are Sundays. I was hoping it would be in the 30s so I could run outside, but it was not. In fact it was so cold that the water froze to the side of my water bottle when I was out for only a minute. So, off to the gym I went. I was prepared though, I looked through the guide to find out when there was something on TV that I could watch for the next 2 hours. If I did 6.0 pace, it would take 1 hour and 40 minutes. Kinda depressing, huh?

I settled on 5:00, because there was a special about a previous Biggest Loser winner, Eric, who had gained back nearly 200 pounds. I was intrigued, and thought that it would be a good motivator. Actually, the better motivator was the guy on the treadmill next to me. He was running pretty fast when I got on. Shortly thereafter his treadmill shut down and he got off. I know that the treadmills shut down after an hour, so he must have been running for an hour. About 3 minutes later, he was back on the same treadmill, still running just as fast, and he did another solid hour! WOW! So, I set the treadmill to 6.4 miles per hour and off I went. Somewhere during the run, I felt that I was a little slow and upped it to 6.5. At the end of the first hour, I had run 6.5 miles. I got off, went to the bathroom, and hopped back on again. I looked at it as only 3.5 more, just a little over a 5K. For the next 2 miles, I settled on 6.8 pace, a little faster, but I just wanted to be done. For the next mile, I upped it again to 7.0. About this time my knee started hurting. I had visions of my horrible knee pain pre-physical therapy. I said a little prayer, and told myself that I would finish all 10 miles. (I also knew at this point, that my marathon buddy, Beth, had already done her 10 probably on this very same treadmill, earlier in the day. My competitive spirit wouldn't let me quit!) So for the last 1/2 mile, I upped the speed again to 7.5, pretty fast for me! I finished all 10 miles, and felt pretty good about it too! My knee is a little sore today, so I think tonight will be an elliptical night!

Did I mention that I leave for Maui in 11 days, and run the 1/2 in 13 days!

Marathon Update

2009-12-11T10:53:00.003-06:00

I finally decided that I will not be doing the full marathon in Maui as originally planned! My leg is really feeling so great, and running has been good (when I have actually been doing it), BUT, I realized how much training I missed out on when I was not running, but going to physical therapy. I have decided to run the half marathon in Maui on January 24th. I have enough time to train hard for it, and still enjoy the race. I loved the 1/2 marathon in Des Moines, so I am sure Maui will be much better! In Des Moines I ran around a couple of very pretty parks and lakes, but I was also wearing gloves and a stocking cap! In Maui, I am planning on sporting my Good 'Ole Hawkeye Black and Gold Running Shorts, and my Black and Gold Sports Bra, absolutely no hat, gloves, or shirt for that matter!!!

I could not let myself abandon a full marathon altogether, afterall it was my goal and dream. So, I have decided to run the Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha on May 1st! I am super excited to have 2 of my running buddies and great girls, Hollie and Beth, along side of me for this race. It will be the first full marathon for all three of us, hopefully it will be a great first marathon, with many more to follow.

Countdown to 1/2 in Maui -- 44 days! Oh, and that means I will be on the beach in 42 days:)

Countdown to FULL marathon -- 140 days!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T08:52:00.002-06:00

I remember as a kid in school writing Happy Thanksgiving down the page and then trying to fill in things I was thankful for that began with each letter. I wish I had that paper now to compare, I am sure it would be much different. I have added some commentary where needed:

H - Hubby
A - Affection (from my children and husband)
P - Parents (mine)
P - Priceless moments
Y - You (all the people that have taken time to read this blog, because you are my
friends and family)

T - Ten Ks (or any race for that matter - I just needed a T)
H - Haley and Olivia (there is no O in Thanksgiving, so I have them both listed
here:)
A - Awesome friends!
N - Nieces (all 10 of them)
K - Knowledge (it is power you know)
S - Siblings (My sisters and brothers are the best and I cannot imagine my life
without them)
G - God
I - In-laws (and I have some of the best parents-in-laws, and brother and sister-in-
laws - on both sides)
V - Vacations! MAUI in less than 2 months:)
I - Investments (no I don't mean just $$ here, I mean the time teachers, coaches,
and others invest in my children; the investment I made by spending 3 years in
law school; in friendships; there are so many investments we have made over the
years, for which I am thankful)
N - Nephews
G - Gymnastics (it has been such a great activity for both my girls - they have grown
strong, have met new friends, and have learned discipline)

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Marathon Questionable Depressed:(

2009-11-11T16:28:00.004-06:00

For the past month every time I run I had pain in my right knee and right hip area. A week ago I went to a sports massage therapist, who worked out my leg, and it felt pretty good for a day, and then I ran again. The pain was unbearable for a while, but on Sunday it became unbearable, tears in my eyes pain. I was supposed to run 12 according to my training plan, but could barely finish 4.5. After I finished, I was in a lot of pain the rest of the day, and had trouble sleeping Sunday night. On Monday I broke down and called Dr. Dehaan (read orthopedic surgeon), and today was my appointment. I asked Chad to come with me, because I was really afraid to hear the words, "do not run," or "you cannot run."
So here's the news:
Good news: (1) the x-rays looked great; (2) it's not surgical; (3) I can walk, do the elliptical, ride the bike, or swim.

Bad news: I cannot run for a while. He would not say when I could expect to be running again, because he thinks that will be up to the physical therapist to decide when my legs are ready.
I have to go to physical therapy 2-3 times a week for the next month. Hearing that leads me to believe that I will not be back to running for about a month. Given that the marathon is January 24th, and I am in the heart of my training, I doubt I will be able to run the full marathon in Maui. I missed a 12 miler last week, and was scheduled for a 13 this weekend. I just don't think my body will be physically able to run 26.2 after taking a month off. I am just going to work hard at therapy, pray about it, and we'll see what happens! I would be lying if I didn't admit that I am pretty upset about it!

He said there were 3 separate injuries and they are all causing some of the pain. He talked a lot in medical terminology but what I got out of it was (1) bursitis in the hip area (or swelling / irritation in the bursa); (2) patellofemoral problems in both knees, even though the left knee does not hurt at all (basically the knee cap was not tracking where it is supposed to); (3) sacroiliac / pelvic something - causing my gait to be off and my left leg to longer than the right.

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!!

2009-10-29T12:19:00.003-05:00

Was it really 8 years ago? Where has the time gone? I swear sometimes it seems like only a day or two ago that I rolled over in bed and said, "Honey, I think my water just broke," and Chad casually replied, "Jam, go back to sleep, you are dreaming." I was not dreaming, but my dreams were coming true. That day I became a mom to the most beautiful little brown haired, blue eyed princess! I remember so clearly the doctor telling me that day I was going to have a 9 pound baby, and responding, "oh, no we are not!" Sure enough, after an 16 hours of labor my 8 pound 14 ounce baby was born (just shy of 9 pounds)!

Two days later on Halloween we brought her home in a premie pumpkin sleeper. It was all they had and Chad's mom really wanted her to celebrate her first Halloween! She couldn't really bend her arms because it was pretty tight. As I buckled her into the car seat I cried tremendously, and looked at Chad and commented that now we were responsible for this little tiny human being, and there was no way I could handle it! I think I have done pretty well over the last 8 years, if I do say so myself:)

My princess is so smart, and can be quite funny, loving and inspiring! She loves music just like her Daddy; for her 8th birthday she got her first ipod! Olivia was blessed with natural athletic talent, which we all know she did not get from her mother! In December she will begin her career as a competitive gymnast! She is shy and outgoing all at the same time. She was the lead in the first grade musical last year, even singing a solo! She is a great big sister, and would do absolutely anything for Haley! I am so proud to be her Mom!

P.S. I tried to upload some more pictures, but it is not working. Maybe later!

Happy Birthday, Olivia! I love you!

Back on Track!

2009-10-26T09:25:00.002-05:00

88 days! We leave for Maui in 88 short days! So, today I am officially "back on track". I am back to counting points; back to the marathon training plan; back to working out twice a day most days!

I have two goals in mind. The first, to finish my first marathon! I don't want to set a time goal, because I have never ran a marathon and don't want to get discouraged with times. I just want to finish, and feel good about it in the end! I finished my half marathon with a huge smile on my face, and I want to do the same at the full marathon.

My second goal, to be able to wear a bikini on the beach, and feel good about myself doing it! The last time we were in Maui in January 2008, I was near my heaviest weight. I sat on the beach and swam in the ocean, but I did not feel good about the way I looked or felt! This time, I want to be proud of myself as I sit on the beach and swim in the ocean. A couple months ago, I got the motivation I need from my husband! I asked him if he thought I could wear a bikini in Hawaii (at this point I had lost nearly 30 pounds), and he responded with a shrug and a funny face. I was so upset, but then again, thank him for being honest! I would rather have him tell me the truth, then lie, and embarass myself! I guess I will just work that much harder on my core muscles at the gym over the next 88 days!

Here's to "back on track"!!!

Tuesday's Chuckle

2009-10-13T10:10:00.003-05:00

I saw a young man in Court today approaching the Judge wearing a t-shirt that said:

"Ain't got no job

Ain't got no money

Ain't got no car....

But at least I'm good looking"

For some reason, I gotta believe his closet had to hold a better choice for Court. But, it did provide me with Tuesday's chuckle!

Have a good Tuesday!

Whirlwind of a Weekend!!!

2009-10-05T09:03:00.002-05:00

Friday night we had family fun night! We like to cuddle up on the couch and watch movies or play Wii. So after a quick and easy Taco Bell dinner, Wii it was! We played trivia, yatzee, and battleship! As we played, I couldn't help but smile, and thank God for my beautiful family!

Saturday morning I woke up early, planning to run a 5K in Cary. It was cold, and my kids were sound asleep, so I decided not to, and instead went back to sleep for an hour. I was kicking myself later for not doing the race! But, when I woke up, I had so much energy, and no idea where it came from. Chad was in a 2 day golf tournament, so it was just the girls and I. We went to Walmart to buy a birthday present for a party they were going to. An hour later, they both had new bedding, and had decided to change beds. Olivia would now have Haley's full size bed, and Haley would have the solid oak bunk beds. We got home, and immediately got to work, switching out the beds. The girls were a big help putting the bottom bunk back together. I then dropped them off at the party, and got back to work myself. I did get my middle finger stuck between the plywood and the frame at one point, and thought I was going to be stuck there until Chad got home a few hours later. But luckily I was able to free myself after about 5 minutes. My finger still hurts a little today! So, I digress...my awesome neighbor, Justy, came over and helped me assemble the top bunk. By the time I went to get the girls from the party, both rooms were completely redecorated. We ran to Walmart and picked up a new lamp shade, and curtains before Chad got home. He was surprised to see the new rooms, and the girls were so proud! Chad and I went out for a great date on Saturday night. It was nice to just sit and talk since we have both been going in opposite directions all week long.

Sunday morning, once again, I woke up with such energy! The girls and I went to church, and then made a pit stop at Menards. I decided I want to tear off the wallpaper border in the kitchen, put up new blinds, paint, and put handles on the cabinets. So we were on a mission for those items. I bought a couple handles, but that task is overwhelming, there are WAY too many choices! I didn't buy blinds, because once again I was too indecisive. I did buy a little sample of paint, because buying a whole gallon might be too much! I think I like the color though, so I may just finish it next weekend. I started on removing the wallpaper, but apparently I underestimated the size of the task, so that will have to wait too.

My biggest accomplishment of the weekend, was getting out and running a little over 8 miles. Chad needed a ride home after celebrating his golf tournament victory, so I ran to the bar and drove him home. It was a hilly run, but I kept a 9:23 pace, which felt great. Only two weeks until my 1/2 marathon in Des Moines:)

Overall, it was a busy weekend! Next weekend is looking to be just as exciting. Chad is going to Iowa for the BIG Iowa vs. Michigan football game, while I take the girls to Miley Cyrus in Milwaukee!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2009-09-25T11:14:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is my beloved husband's 35th Birthday! To him it is just another birthday, but, I gotta feeling that tomorrow's gonna be a good night, a good good night:)

Chad turning 35 reminds me that we have been together 10 years now. In fact, I remember, when my sister, Dani, was trying to get me to go out with him back in 1999. I was about to celebrate my 21st birthday, and she kept telling me, he's 25 and such a great guy. My response, almost every single time, was that 25 is WAY TOO OLD! Finally, I gave in and agreed to just 1 date, wow has time flown by since then!

We have been through so much...law school, a new baby during law school, followed by a move out of state to a town where the most interesting thing is a cow in the center of town, and another new baby....job changes, and a period of time without a job. Many fun times spent with friends and family including trips to Disney World and Maui. I am so looking forward to our next trip to Maui too!

So, anyway Happy Birthday to:

The biggest Iowa Hawkeye Fan I know!
The current Plum Tree National Golf Club Champion!
The best father in the world, even when you are teasing those adorable little girls!
The love of my life!
My best friend and biggest supporter!

I love you so much, Babe!

She is just like me!

2009-09-09T15:35:00.002-05:00

Last night Haley and Olivia were getting ready to go to a soccer game with our neighbors. Haley took Olivia's money and candy and put it in her pocket. When Chad and I told her to give it back, she threw it across the room. I told her to sit down in time out because she was not going to the soccer game, because of the fit she just threw. Next thing I know, she is completely out of control screaming and hitting every thing in sight including me. At one point she was yelling at Chad (I'm not exactly sure what she was saying, but something along the lines of please let me go!) I was pretty angry, but trying to hold back a laugh, because I distinctly remember having a very similar fit when I was about 10 years old. My parents would not let me go to a basketball game, because I was being mouthy, and I lost it. Chad tells me all the time that she has my attitude, and up until last night, I thought that was a good thing! I ended up holding my ground as the parent and did not let her go to the game, although it would have been so much easier to just let her go, so she would stop yelling. I guess my new prayer is that she will put that "tude" to good use!

Run with Carl Race Recap!

2009-09-08T14:12:00.002-05:00

After 5 quick miles yesterday, I realized that I love racing! My sister-in-law, and running buddy, and I ran the Run with Carl 5 mile race in Bettendorf, Iowa yesterday. She warned me the night before that it was going to be a hilly race, but I was feeling pretty good about hills after nearly killing myself on Sunday running near my parents house.

So at 8:15 the race started going UP HILL! I should have known that was a sign of things to come. The "pack" pace was pretty quick in the beginning, and at one point I looked down at my trusty little Garmin and saw that my pace was 8:16. I knew I could not sustain that pace for 5 miles, so I slowed down a little bit and settled in right around 9:00 per mile. In fact at the first mile marker I was at 8:58. I was feeling pretty good, and decided to pick people to pass. At one point, I picked a guy in a red shirt, and just before I finally caught up to him, he stopped and walked off the trail, I have no idea where he went, but I do know that I suceeded in beating him:) The next person I decided, I needed to beat was a women in a black shirt that said STAFF on the back. She had started right near me in the beginning, but was now a little ways ahead of me. Just as I caught up to her, she started to walk! Man, I must be intimidating, every person I chose to "pick off" made it so easy! I even found myself passing 3 or 4 people every time we encountered a hill.

As I passed the 4 mile marker, I realized that I might be able to make a 45 minute total race time, if I kicked it up just a little. The only problem, was that the last mile I was faced with 2 hills. I did okay and even passed a couple people on the first, but man the last 1/2 mile of the race was up a HUGE GIGANTIC hill. I was giving it all I had, and ended up going up the hill next to an older gentleman! Thank God for him! When I started to let up a little he yelled at me, to keep going! And when we got to the top, he telled at me to kick it up and finish strong! Thanks, older man in the yellow shirt (who by the way was not breathing nearly as heavy as I was, and made it look so EASY!)

I crossed the finish line at 44:11. I was super excited for my overall time! Looking forward to next weekend's 9.5 mile race!

.....I've come a long way....

2009-09-03T11:40:00.012-05:00

Monday night my awesome husband decided he would like to go for a run with me! Monday is usually one of my rest days in my training, but since he volunteered to go with me, and I know how much he despises running, I didn't want to let this opportunity pass me by. He suggested Harvard Hills Road, which I advised against, but off we went. He told me that he could do no more than 2 miles, so I planned using my Garmin to get us back home right at 2 miles. I had Belle on my arm, who hadn't been on a run in quite a while, and was running pretty fast, even for me. Chad did great. We came back into our neighborhood, and he hit me on the back and said, "I need to cool down, we can't run all the way home." I looked at my Garmin and we were at 1.6 miles - I was proud of him. I couldn't tell who was breathing heavier, Chad or Belle, but they both survived. I then had an amazing revelation....I was not even sweating, nor was I panting like Chad and Belle! I was so excited, looking back to 9 months ago, when I started this journey, I could barely run one mile on my treadmill without dying. Here are a couple pictures from Christmas 2008, when I decided that I needed to lose weight, and get on track. I honestly didn't believe I was very big until I looked at these pictures.

Next Saturday, I will be running a 9.5 mile race! Technically it is 16,726 yards, the distance that Walter Payton ran during his football career, but I've been told it is 9.5 miles. This will be the longest race I have run in my short running career, and I can't wait. Tonight, I head out for the longest run in my short running career, just over 9 miles. Here are two pictures from this summer. I am so happy to see the changes in my body! Not only do I have so much more energy and endurance, but I am only 7 pounds from the goal weight I set back in January. I feel great, and am honestly not working too hard to get to that goal. If I don't reach it, I don't care!

(I'm still new to blogging and can't figure out why it is shrinking my pictures!)

My kids think I'm so cool!

2009-08-28T07:52:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, Haley got a package from my dad and step-mom in the mail for her birthday. One of the gifts was a Hannah Montana CD, which Chad and I have heard at least 100 times since Friday. Both girls like to play one particular song over and over and over, but they do like the entire CD.

Driving to work yesterday I heard on the radio Miley Cyrus live in concert October 27th at the United Center. My first thought was, the girls would LOVE to go see Miley Cyrus, and Olivia's birthday is October, so it could be her birthday present. I forgot about it until late in the day, and then decided to log on and see if there were still tickets available. I found out that she is also coming to Milwaukee on Saturday, October 10th. I thought that a Saturday would be better since it will be a late night for the girls. Chad already had plans to go to Iowa that weekend for the Iowa vs. Michigan home game, so I decided it would be a great mom and daughter date night, and went ahead and bought 3 tickets.

I told Chad that I wasn't going to tell them until the day of, but anyone that knows me, knows I have a hard time keeping a secret. I got home from work, and within about 2 minutes told them I had a surprise, but they had to guess what it was. The guesses starting with Haley asking if it was a dance, and Olivia suggesting a play. Haley guessed a Miranda Cosgrove (read iCarly) concert, and I told them they were very close. A few minutes later Haley guessed it, and then started screaming and dancing around the kitchen. Olivia's eyes lit up and she had the hugest smile on her face. If I knew I was going to get that reaction, I would have videotaped it! It was priceless! Needless to say, they are very excited, and I am ONE COOL MOM!

Happy 6th Birthday Haley!

2009-08-14T08:01:00.003-05:00

My little pumpkin turns 6 today! Wow, time has certainly flown by! She has grown into such a great little girl. She is strong-willed and sassy at times, but is definitely mommy's little baby. She loves to cuddle on the couch and watch her favorite show Dog Town. She will be starting first grade next week, I can hardly believe it. She is afraid to learn to ride a bike without training wheels, and to go off the diving board at the pool. She is a social butterfly, entertaining every one with her cute jokes and attitude. She is inseparable from her best friend Pieper, and the two of them could not be any more alike. She has my spunk, and Chad's sense of humor. It seems like only yesterday, I sat through the bar exam with her kicking my bladder and making me have to take breaks every hour! I am so proud to call her my baby!

The most amazing experience of my life!!!

2009-08-13T13:28:00.004-05:00

Well here it is Thursday, and I am finally getting around to writing about my 3-day experience. I can sum it up with three descriptions: amazing, life changing, and inspiring! We started out with opening ceremonies bright and early Friday morning. There was not a dry eye in sight. As we left Northbrook Court and made our way to the beginning of the walk, we passed the first of the inspiring people. A man, most likely in his 50s, wearing a shirt that said "Team Lisa" and had a photograph of a beautiful YOUNG woman. He was carrying one of the many flags that the 3 day provides. I asked him quite simply how long he was going to carry the flag. He told me only until the first pit stop. I then followed-up with, "how many people do you have on Team Lisa." He responded as many as 17 in the past, but only 3 this year. He looked me in the eye, and smiled, and said, "this is my daughter, she walked last year, before she died, at the age of 34." Needless to say, Dani, Rebecca and I all three LOST IT. 34, really? Reminded me of the Kenny Chesney song with the lyric, "you died much too young, like a story that had just begun." So, the walk began. It was a great morning, and we soon entered the Chicago Botanical Gardens and the crowds spread out. We for whatever reason, decided that this was somehow a race, and we needed to push it, and push it we did! We ended up back at camp about 2:30 in the afternoon, after walking nearly 23 miles. There were many awe-inspiring people along the route, clapping and cheering us on. It started raining about 10:45 in the morning and rained the rest of Day 1 and all through the night. I looked at my teammates when I arrived at camp, and said despite walking in the rain all afternoon, "I'm not even pissy." Which was a huge statement about the amazing people along the route! We got our tents put up and decorated, hit the hot showers and dinner, and we in bed before 8.

Saturday morning we woke up to rain again, but decided to get started again fairly early. We spent the early part of the walk planning our fundraisers and recruiting of new team members for next year. Of course, our competitive attitude took over, and we pushed ourselves again until lunch! The people along Saturday's route were AMAZING. So many supporters including the police and fire departments along the way. In fact, it even made me a rethink my usually not so great attitude about authority figures (I know my job is wearing off on me)! Anyway, we walked another 19.1 miles on Saturday. I developed a horrible hip pain, and a shin splint, but kept right on walking. There is NO way I was going to catch a bus or sweep van! My tent mate, Heather, had horrible blisters, but we kept on moving. When we got back to camp, I went to the medic tent, and met a great chiropractic student named Roy. He stretched out both my hip and my leg, and I felt much better! Thanks Roy! We showered and ate dinner, and later went to the New Balance Tent to play Bingo. Rebecca and I both won "big prizes." She won a bag and I won a visor. Once again we headed to bed around 7:30! Day 2 we met so many great people along the route. I remember one little boy about 4 wearing a shirt that said "Thank you for walking for my mommy!" Of course there were tears! Dani's parents also came out to a cheering station, which was a welcome surprise!

This is the remembrance tent. It was a tear jerker. Inside there is a tent for Chicago, where people write messages to those who did not beat breast cancer. The first note I saw, "Mom, I miss you, Allycat." BROKE MY HEART. All around inside the tent are photos of former walkers male and female, who lost their lives to this horrible disease!

Finally, it was day 3. We got up at 4:45 to get out on the course. Did I mention we were competitive? At every pit stop Dani asked the person keeping track, where we were at. Not bragging or anything, but usually in the top 150 out of 1800!!! Day 3 was so HOT and humid. We walked along the lake front most of the way, it was pretty, and did I mention HOT? There were a lot of different people on the lake front, and not quite as many friendly people cheering us on, but it was still inspiring. We arrived at Soldier Field about 1:30 to an amazing crowd. We cried and laughed as we walked in holding hands. We had just finished 60 miles, and for such an important cause. Our families joined us for the closing ceremonies. I had NO idea there were so many survivors walking along side of us. In the closing ceremonies, when the survivors walk in all the walkers raise a shoe in honor of their strength, courage and devotion. There was not a dry eye in sight!

I know this is getting long, but I have to get serious for just a minute. I'm sure you want to know why we walked 60 miles? Quite frankly, I signed up because 60 miles seemed like a challenge. I have been lucky to never have a family member diagnosed with breast cancer, and I hope there is a cure so that never happens! But about 3 weeks before the walk, I myself found a lump in my right breast. I tried to ignore it, but finally decided that I needed to get it checked out. I went to my doctor, who also felt it and sent me for a mammogram and an ultrasound. I was FREAKED OUT, afterall, I am only 31, and mammograms are for people over 40:) I went to the tests, and a very good friend came with me, for moral support! Thanks, Sara! The radiologist told me that it was dense breast tissue and nothing to worry about. Most people would walk away happy. I was a little concerned. Rebecca tells me its because in my job, we learn too much, and happen to be defending two failure to diagnose breast cancer cases! Anyway, I finally followed up with my own doctor yesterday, and have been reassured that I don't need to worry. So, next year, I will walk so that one day, no one will go through the agony and stress that I went through the past few weeks! I thank my wonderful and awesome, God, that I am healthy!

Now, I ask, will you join us, the "Boobalicious Babes" next year?

I'm new to this and 3 Day here we come!!!

2009-08-06T08:16:00.000-05:00

Many of my friends have blogs -- some share their motherhood journey, some share a lot of useless nothing (but I still read it), some share the sadness in their lives, some share a unique journey they are on. I hope this blog will share the major events in my life, as well as my family's lives. I will use it to document my newest journey, becoming a marathon runner. Yep, I said marathon runner. I will be running my first marathon January 24, 2010 in Maui, Hawaii! But for now, I am going to start with blogging about my 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk Journey!

Back in January, two of my closest friends and I on a whim decided that we would walk the 3 day (read 60 mile) walk for Susan G. Komen. Thankfully, none of the 3 of us has ever had breast cancer, or had a close family member with breast cancer, but we thought it was a way to give back. Fast forward to August, and tomorrow we begin our journey.

Well actually, it began quite a while ago, with training, which I am sure we have not done enough of. And raising funds, as we each must raise $2,300 in order to walk. We resorted to begging, borrowing, but not stealing. As of this post, I think we will all have our funds.

Last night, Dani and I dyed some old bras pink, to use as tent decorations. There is a contest, and WE INTEND TO WIN! I'll post pictures of the camp, so you can see how great the pink bras look. We also highlighted our hair pink. I do have a couple pictures, but I didn't get them uploaded this morning. More to come on that... Rebecca has yet to join us, but I am sure she will tonight, if nothing else Dani and I are really good with peer pressure! Tonight, we will be staying in Northbrook, and starting the walk bright and early tomorrow! I am so excited, and can't wait to share this great adventure with you!