I'll take a side of 4 with pain

Tuesday night I run with my Team In Training group for a mid-week run before our long hauls on Saturday mornings.  I clock in a few other days during the week with shorter runs to keep my fat ass moving. Over the last 6 weeks I’ve been more than fine with these Tuesday evening meet-ups, but for whatever reason last night I couldn’t push myself through our required 6 miles.

 What I think I look like when I run.

Total badass.

I’m not a quitter.

Well, actually I am. 

I quit a lot of bad habits. 

Nail biting, hair twirling, binge drinking. 

But that was in my 20s.

I’m in my 30s now, and I don’t quit.

Except I did last night.

My thigh was in pain.

Real pain.

Not some phantom, “oh my legs are just tired of running just to freaking run” kind of pain.

Like Satan was traveling through my thigh and pinching every single never between my hip and knee cap. 

Asswipe.

So I quit.

After 4 miles.

4 lowly miles.

Never thought I would get to the point in my training where 4 miles was considered some short pansy distance.

So yeah, I’m a quitter.

No runners high last night.

No feeling of accomplishment.

Instead, I bowed my head and stopped off to grab a salad on my way home.

When what I really wanted was to dive into a greasy cheeseburger and fries.

A salad.

That’s how my Tuesday night rolls.

A salad.

Thrilling.

 What I wanted to do mid-run.  Curl up and cry for my mommy.

I am running for her

Meet my best friend, Kelli.

She's gorgeous bald, isn't she?

She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma at age 26.

We met our first week in college.  Pledged the same sorority.  Were attached at the hip for years to come.  We were roommates.  We traveled together.  Shopped together.  Borrowed toothpaste from each other.  Ran errands for each other.  Shared a beagle together.  Shared the same group of friends.  Her family is awesome and accepted me so much.

We lost her a few years ago.  

  Do you know what it is like to watch someone's husband, parents, sisters, grandparents, cousins let someone go?

Do you know what it's like to watch a nurse unplug life support machines one at a time?

We were all gathered at her bedside when she took her last breath here on Earth.

I'm running the San Diego Half Marathon in Kelli's memory.

We all know someone struggling with cancer.

Won't you help me raise funds to help find cures for blood cancers?  Anything helps.  $1, $5, $10 donations.  

It's not for me.  

It's for Kelli.  

And all the rest of the folks out there who have lost loved ones or are going through this terrible disease we call cancer.

Log on to the below link and help me eradicate cancers one step at a time.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/rnr12/rshultz

I need your help in a bad (or good) way

What do these three people have in common?

1. They are all very near and dear to me.
2. I'm related to one of them.  In fact, we share the same parental units.
3. Two of them were my best friends on college.
4. Each of them heard the words, "You have cancer" from their physicians before the age of 32.
5. All of them are heroes.

I'm running to support each of them on June 3 in San Diego.

Help me!  I've just joined the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) and their Team In Training group to help the fight against blood cancers.  I'm not a long distance runner, but I've decided that training for a Half Marathon is what I need to do to help raise awareness and funds to fight cancer.

I continue to be blown away by the professionalism and support the LLS provides those of us in training.  What an absolutely AMAZING organization.

Asking for money is just not something I've ever been good at.  But it's not about me.  It's about the folks I'm running in honor of and about all those folks currently having to endure this horrific disease.  And did you know that often times research for blood cancers commonly is also used to help treat a number of other cancers? 

If you'd be willing to donate even the smallest amount to help my cause, I would be thankful a gazillion times over.  

Log on to the following fundraising page and follow the steps.  You'll receive a receipt and can claim the donation on your taxes. 

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/rnr12/rshultz

Thank You In Advance,
American Bridget (Ryan)