Light The Night 2011 Walk

Back in July I started raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night walk in Boston Common. The goal of the walk was to raise money for cancer and pay tribute to those battling cancer and commemorate those who have lost loved ones. I was lucky enough to be walking with a good friend, Alyson, who survived her battle with cancer and has been cancer free since December 2010.

Since July, I raised over $125 for the cause and became a Champion for a Cure. Our team as a whole raised over $2000 and we were awarded with a banner to carry during the walk. Each person on our team raised over $100 and were given a t-shirt memorializing the night, a bracelet allowing us access to a food tent and a balloon that varied in color depending on your status of a survivor (white), a supporter (red), or in memory of the loss of a loved one (gold).

When we arrived, the entire Boston Common was filled with tents, people and light filled balloons.

We checked in and got our bracelets. Then we headed over to get our t-shirts and balloons. We met up with the rest of the team and got ready to start the race.

I brought my dogs with me on the walk to give them some exercise and excitement for the night. And there certainly was excitement. There were so many people there and Finn was in heaven. Snickers just kind of went with the flow, but Finn was going in every direction. He’s a handful, that’s for sure!

The walk was 2 loops around Boston Common. Each loop was about 1.1 miles making the entire walk 2.2 miles. The first lap was very slow since there were so many people around. As we made our way around the Common it started to thin out and we had more room for the dogs and less pulling since there weren’t as many butts to sniff.

When we finished, we took pictures at the finish line and hung out and talked for a while

When we got back to the car, we decided to let our balloons go.

I felt very blessed to be a part of this walk, not only as a friend, but also as a supporter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. At one point during the race, Alyson mentioned that she was so happy to see so many red balloons. I was shocked, and thought she said it the wrong way. I said, “I’d rather see more white balloons. That means more survivors”. She said, “Oh, I know, but seeing so man red balloons means none of these people have cancer. That’s the good part here”. This woman amazes me every day and with simple comments like that, she shows how special she is. I’m lucky enough to call her my friend.

In case you’re interested in supporting a great person and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, we are still able to raise money until January 2012. My fundraising page is still up and you can still donate. Please, if you can, support this cause. 

Three Things Thursday

1. I’m doing this for me and no one else. Don’t judge what you don’t understand.

This whole triathlon journey was started on a whim while in a crazy mood. During the training process I’ve learned so much about myself and although I’m not where I want to be in my training, I’m happy with how far I’ve come from the beginning of it all.

It was said to me recently that I’m too hung up on the race aspect of things. Considering I’ve been doing 5K races during training to better myself and the final result is a race, I don’t think I am. I’m not racing anyone else but myself. I’m pushing myself to train and go further, harder, faster and stronger to make myself better. Timing myself and checking out my pacing helps me keep track of my progress and helps me determine what I need to do to improve.

I had a quote emailed to me today that fits here perfectly:

Frustration is first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I’m content with what I can do. ~Bingham

I can’t lie; I’m a competitive person by nature. I like to compete. Being in races motivates me to do better because seeing someone ahead of me makes me want to catch them in that moment. I love that feeling. Motivation. But, when it comes down to it, I’m only in competition with myself. I want to do better than I did the last time. And I’m disappointed when I don’t see forward progress. That’s human nature and I don’t see anything wrong with that. 


What I do think is wrong, is other people passing judgment on me because I don’t think the same way they do. I don’t think I’m better than you because I like to compete and I don’t think you’re better than me because you don’t. I think it just makes us different. And different is good. Embrace it. Don’t fight it. And definitely don’t be rude about it.

2. On Tuesday I did couch to 5K week 5 day 3. This included a 5-minute walk warm up; 20-minute run and a 5-minute walk cool down. The mental hurdle has been leaped and I actually believe that I will finally finish the Couch to 5K program this time around. This is my 3rd time attempting it and it’s the furthest I’ve ever gotten. I know I can complete it. I dread running each and every time I do it, but knowing that I can do it is what’s pushing me to actually do it. Maybe one of these days I’ll enjoy running, but don’t hold your breath.

3. Yesterday I attended a swim clinic by Max Performance. They are organizing the Title 9 Triathlon that I’m doing. I grew up swimming, so I have a strong background, but I wanted to learn about swimming in a triathlon and learn tips and tricks that would help me out on race day. I’ve read many articles and heard lots of people talk about the swim being the hardest part of the race for most people. I’m lucky that I grew up swimming in lakes and ponds, otherwise I’d be right there with everyone.

When I did my duathlon a few weeks ago, I waited until most people started, then started swimming. During the clinic, I wanted to put myself right in the middle of things so I could get a feel for a hectic start and deal with the “worst case scenario” before race day. We did 3 race starts to a buoy 100 yards out and back. There were about 70 people there and they split us up into two groups. We did start waves in 2 groups to lessen the amount of people. They said for newbies, it’s easier to stay on the outside since most people will swim as close to the buoys as possible. The first start, I was in the middle of the pack, right in the center. The second start I tried to stay as close to the inside as possible, but still in the middle of the pack, front to back, to get as many people around me as I could so I’d get jostled and see how I could deal with it. The last start, they had the two groups go together, for anyone who wanted to give it a tri (see what I did there? J) I got myself right up front and on the inside. I figured if I was gonna get kicked in the head or swam over, I’d rather it be during a swim clinic than during the triathlon. Although in the actual race, I’ll probably still hang back a little bit and err on the side of caution.

The clinic was very cool and it was good to get another group swim under my belt. I’m so used to swimming solo and swimming with a group motivates me to push myself and do better. After the swim, the Max Performance people hung around and answer some questions and talked with everyone who was interested and gave some great tips on triathlon swimming. They also mentioned that they would be having a “Newbie Night” for Tri-newbies to talk about anything and everything regarding a triathlon. I’ll definitely be attending. It was a great event, I’m sure the newbie night will be great too, and it’s making me look forward to the triathlon more than ever. Max Performance sure goes above and beyond to make sure they make everyone feel comfortable before race day! Thanks guys!

Before - all smiles

After - still smiling!

I support my friends....do you?

My co-worker and close friend, Alyson, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma last summer right around this time. She fought her battle in about 5 months of intense chemotherapy and is now cancer free. (!!!) She is walking in the Light the Night evening walk in October and I am lucky enough to part of her team.

“Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event. It is the nation's night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost.” (source)

If you can, please visit my fundraising page and make a donation to support my participation in the Light The Night Walk and help save lives!

If you’re the type to need motivation, I’ve got just the thing. Alyson has bracelets that she is selling for $5 and the money is going straight to our Light the Night fundraising. In fact, you can just go straight to my fundraising page and donate there. Once you’ve donated, please let me know via e-mail (runaroundsara [at] gmail {dot} com) and I will get your info to send you a bracelet.

In support of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

After I saw these bracelets and wore mine for about a week, I decided I wanted bracelets of my own. I know, monkey see, monkey do. It’s common for me.

In support of...well...running :)
The text says "I run around...do you?"

Same deal. Donate $5 you get one of these bracelets. Just donate to my fundraising page and let me know by e-mail and I will send you a bracelet. For every $5 you donate, you get a bracelet. You can choose the bracelet that you’d like.

Any donation amount is accepted. If you don’t want a bracelet, or only want to donate $1, we will take it! Every little bit helps!

If you want to join us in walking the Light the Night walk to support and raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society please do! The walk is in Boston, MA at the Boston Common on October 13th at 7:00pm. You can click on the link “Walk With Us” at the top of my fundraising page to become part of the team.

Alyson’s life was saved by the amazing doctors and nurses at Mass General Hospital in Boston. It is the walks like these that raise money in support of various types of cancer that helped her and her family learn more about her Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and helped her make an informed decision about her treatment options.

Please support this cause if you can.