Family

My Dad and Kathy were here this week....yay! Every time I am with them I am grateful. I have been blessed with a loving, supportive family who enjoy each others company and cherish our time together.

I used to feel guilty about this. My Mom was not here and I was enjoying my step mother and father...what about my loyalty to my Mom? Well, I got over that after a few years because I know my Mom would just want me to be loved and happy. Of course, I wish she was still here.

A huge thank you to those that donated this week- My step-father's parents; my best friend, Brandi; one of my other closest friends, Melissa and Matt Hudson; and a friend of a friend, Melisa, who lost her aunt to Multiple Myeloma. I am 53% of the way to my goal, and that is looking good! I am doing a Karma Yoga class on June 26th at Flooid Yoga where all proceeds will go towards my fundraising goal. More on that in the next post.

To recap my training this week....

I ran my longest long run this am- 5.5 miles to total 15 miles this week; I rode over 100 miles on my bike in 6 hours; and a few miles logged in the pool. I am in training for a 1/2 Ironman too, so I am doing the multi-sports until August. But I think it is kinder on my body than just running alone.
After my sprint triathlon last weekend I was so sore for days. I think I accumulated quite a bit of lactic acid from going as hard as I could. That has worn off, and now I am back to training for the Olympic I am doing in 2 weeks.

I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for your support to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma.

1st Sunday recap

Fist of I have to say I am BLOWN away by the donations I received last week. I am 46% to my goal, so maybe $2500 is not a big enough goal? It's not like I am going to be doing the NYC Marathon more than once in my life! And, if I hadn't mentioned yet- 93% of each donation goes directly to the MMRF. Only 7% goes to the administrative fees, 93% goes directly to research!

I was with my friend Wendy the other day and she was telling me about a long-time client who is getting ready to have Hospice step in. He is in his last stretch of cancer that has spread to his brain. It is Wendy's first experience with someone close to her that is going to loose his life to cancer. When I was listening to her speak so many memories flooded my mind. I saw my Mom suffer. Suffer to the point of complete despair. My Mom had to go through the pain of her bones literally breaking in half. Multiple Myeloma is a blood cancer. The blood becomes thick with blood proteins, then the blood stop being able to pass through the bones and finally they break. It was painful and flat out torture for her. When it got too hard to care for my mom, my step dad and I turned to Hospice. Barry and I would not have been able to get through this without is Hospice. When I get brave enough, I want to get involved with that amazing organization.

When my Mom got diagnosed with MM the MMRF was not yet formed. The clinical trails were rare and impossible to get in, and there was limited drugs for patient care. But because of the work of the MMRF and the donations from people like us we can help the lives of people with MM for the better.

From the bottom of my heart, my mom, my step father and I thank you for donating.

In other news, I did my first race back since foot surgery on Sunday! It was our annual club championship triathlon, Tempe International. I hadn't raced for exactly one year. Nothing...no bike events, run events, or triathlons. Last year I did the Olympic distance, (1500 meter swim, 26 mile bike and 6.2 mile run), but this year I went for the Sprint, (400 meter swim, 12.3 mile bike and 3.1 mile run). I am not quite up to a 6 mile run yet, and I wanted to start back slow. But I raced hard, and finished 5th out of 30 in my age group, (1 second behind the 4th place girl....how does that happen???). I was able to catch up with a lot of my acquaintances in the club and it was a great time.

Next up is Deuces Wild Triathlon in two weeks.

Until next Sunday's recap....please keep donating and have a great week! The link to my donation page is easily found on the right hand side of this blog's page.

XOXO

ACA

Reflections & time to start the work

Mothers Day....so bitter sweet. I am a lucky woman, but something is missing. That missing piece is my mom, Patty. I know I am lucky to have had her in my life for 23 years, but now that I am 35 that gap of when I knew her, and when she passed is growing so big. I can see pictures, read letters, and wear trinkets and belongings of hers that she either gave to me, or were passed on to me. But that is not her. I miss her smell, her touch, her laugh, her energy.

I told my family, friends and work that I will be raising $ for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in which I pledged to raise $2500 in order to secure an entry spot to the NYC Marathon on November 6th. I got mixed responses and that is understandable. Some are concerned that I will be pushing my feet to hard after all I just went though. Some were excited for me that I can run a race that is extremely hard to get in, and some just understand that this is the way I work...I am athletic, compulsive and goal oriented.

So it is fitting for me to launch this fundraising effort on Mother's Day. And I have to acknowledge my amazing step-mother, Kathy, who has given me more that I could have ever asked for in a mother, a friend, and a constant source of support and love. She has had her own journey to battle with the cancer monsters and she is a fighter. She is so brave and so full of life that we all just knew she wouldn't be brought down by it.

I saw my dear friend Melissa Hudson the other day when I was in Florida. Melissa and Matt's infant son Harrison had a undiagnosed form of muscle neuropathy and required 24-7 care. Harrison passed away one month ago. I asked Melissa how she and her husband Matt dealt with raising money when there are so many causes, and money is too tight for most people. She said because people that love you will want to help, and because even one person dying is too many.

Here are some statistics I found on multiple myeloma and why it is so important to keep raising money for research to support clinical trials. There is no cure yet for multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma is a relatively uncommon cancer. In the United States, the lifetime risk of getting multiple myeloma is
1 in 159 (0.63%).
The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for multiple myeloma in the United States are for 2010:
About 20,180 new cases will be diagnosed (11,170 in men and 9,010 in women).
About 10,650 deaths are expected to occur (5,760 in men and 4,890 in women).
The 5-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is around 35%. Survival is higher in younger people and lower in
the elderly. 5-year survival rates are based on patients diagnosed and initially treated more than 5 years ago.
The recent improvements in treatment may result in a more favorable outlook for recently diagnosed patients.

Thank you for your support. RIP Mary Patricia McCarthy..i.e. Mom