When your legs get tired, run with your heart!

Sunrise over the race festivities

Mom on the Wall of Hope

Race start line

On Sunday I ran the Florida Brain Cancer 5k to benefit Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2) in memory of my mom.  It was emotional for me, but I also felt encouraged that there were like-minded people who felt the cause was important. I also felt encouraged by all the support from my family, friends, and workplace. My co-worker Will lost his dad to brain cancer and had already started a fundraising team for the race so I joined up with him and together our team raised $6,000! The event as a whole raised over $140,000 toward the cause! I just wish some of this money actually resulted in some kind of breakthrough because it's such a devastating disease, any improvement in prognosis or quality of life would help. It makes me feel good to do something that is important to my mom's memory. I think she would be happy that I am honoring her by helping to accelerate the research for a cure. Although she was so much more than the way she died, there's a lot to be said for her courage and inspiring attitude through surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, clinical trials, and hospice. I often have flashbacks of different memories with her and one that I think about is when her motor skills started to shut down and she had to move with some kinds of assistance, I pulled into the driveway and she popped up and walked all the way to the front window because she was so excited I was home. It's hard to describe how much love is between a mother and daughter, but when I think about that moment I think about how love conquers all, even death. <3

A little sweaty and tired, but I did it! :)

Flying Solo & Fighting for a Cause

First weekend alone in the new place. I went running a couple times, took a walk on the beach, went hog wild at Home Depot and bought two new plants and some new seeds. Spent most of Saturday playing in the dirt, a.k.a. gardening. Chatted with my dad. Read. Watched "How to Train Your Dragon" on TV. Threw a wild party... if by wild party you mean taking out the trash and doing chores around the house, ha.

Kevin and Devin skiing in Tahoe

It actually was quite nice and relaxing. I feel fully rested and recuperated for the work week unlike my dear fiance who is now snoozing soundly next to me. After getting up at 4 a.m., traveling all day, and then getting home at 6 p.m., he's pretty exhausted.  Glad to have him home.

On Friday, I saw that my co-worker Will had a poster in his cube about a 5k fundraiser for brain cancer research, so when I saw him in the break room I asked him about it and he told me he was actually about to pitch one of our partners on having the company be a corporate sponsor and then asked if I'd like to come with. I was totally floored.  Of course I would. We then discovered that we'd both lost parents to the same type of brain cancer, glioblastoma. Unlike many other types of cancer, there are virtually zero survivors of glioblastoma and there are no preventative measures (i.e. exercise and healthy lifestyle play no role). The side effects of the tumor, depending on where it is, are very similar to Alzheimer's. I think both Will and I

Glioblastoma, we are coming for you!

understood after the meeting, how difficult it is to articulate how much help this cause needs. The experience of watching a loved one not only suffer, but lose their personality, and then to watch modern medicine be hopelessly defeated by this insane disease is quite devastating. To have gone through it is to know, and it's something that both weakens and hardens you at the same time. It's such heavy stuff that it scares people. They don't even want to hold in their heads the idea of such pain and sadness, and I don't blame them. Life is so full of other wonderful, happy things. At the same time, to have the ability as an empathetic human being to cross that bridge and say "hey, I don't know what you've been through, but I care and I'd love to help however I can" is amazing. And that's what my boss did. Love this company.

CBD