HAWMC Day 28: Followers

I feel that today's task is very redundant. We have discussed the topic of social media repeatedly as well as promote those that are our favorites. But given I have only done a select few I will share my top 10 follows on twitter for WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Challenge Day 28!


@MGHcancercenter
@DanaFarberYAP
@UlmanCancerFnd
@LIVESTRONGCEO
@AKPfoundation
@marleneruns
@FirstDescents
@LeanGrnBeanBlog
@runaroundsara
@JonnyImerman

These are in no particular order but they are all ones you should check out and follow for yourself!

HAWMC Day 22: Day to Day Inspiration!

Today's task for Day 22 of WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Challenge is to write about the day to day ordinary things that inspire you.

There are so many things on a day to day basis that inspire me. Because I am heavily involved in large cancer community people that I come into contact inspire mostly more than they will ever know. Tonight is prime example, I went down to current LIVESTRONG at the YMCA session to see how the class was doing, sharing some info with them about other existing programs out there that they may be interested and just generally see how I could help them. While there I was speaking to someone who is still currently going through treatment and is far to hard on himself for not being able to do what he thinks he should be able to do. We had a very long conversation about life obligations as well as his goals. He was inspiring to me because although he is in the midst of fighting for his life that isn't his focus he still wants to live his life! That was extremely motivating and inspiring to me to make sure I keep doing what I am doing so that I can help others achieve their goals!

There are so many other little things too that inspire me...
- Whenever I see someone doing any kind of exercise; running, walking, biking, etc. they inspire me because I know what it takes to put those things into motion.
-People that stand up for what they believe in. Even if it happens to be something that I don't necessarily agree with. Standing behind what you believe takes a lot of work.
-Waking up to the birds chirping letting me know a new has begun, it's like a clean slate waiting for what I want to put on it.
-The children in my class. Just seeing how much progress they have made and how much their brains absorb.

One thing recently that has been extremely inspiring is the overall human generosity in Boston. I have lived just outside of Boston my entire life but the ties I have to that city are strong. More memories then I have time to share here. So the recent attack was really personal. However to see so many people running to the aide of other despite their own safety with even the slightest hope of helping/saving them is astounding. Seeing not only the people in Boston/New England rallying around and supporting the city but support across the world is inspiring. Knowing how much support all these bombing survivors will have is inspiring. The survivors themselves are inspiring, telling their stories in addition to providing comfort and support each other.

There are so many small things in the world that are inspiring you just have to know where to look and be willing to accept them. I have also learned that you have to be willing to offer inspiration as well it's like one big complete circle.

So my advice is to live in the moment and take the inspiration where you can get!

HAWMC Day 4: Care Page

When I was first diagnosed I wasn't really looking for too much information except the basics of general information on Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma and the type of treatment I was undergoing. So for that I went to these places...

The American Cancer Society:
www.cancer.org

Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center:
http://www.massgeneral.org/cancer/

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society:
www.lls.org

The Lymphoma Research Foundation:
www.lymphoma.org


Mass General served two purposes, first to help orient me with the cancer center as well as my medical team through their online profiles. Second was exploring the information they have on there about my lymphoma.

After my treatment I was looking more to connect with others like me and figure out the recovery/survivorship aspect of cancer. For that I turned to some other outlets.

The Lymphoma Forums:
www.forums.lymphoma.com

LIVESTRONG Foundation
www.livestrong.org
Specifically to get their guidebooks to begin with and then to have as a resource for many other things throughout the cancer journey.

Stupid Cancer:
www.stupidcancer.org

First Descents:
www.firstdescents.org

AKP Foundation:
www.AKPfoundation.org

Immerman Angels:
www.immermanangels.org

I would suggest across the board to definitely check out the website of whatever hospital or cancer center you are having your treatment because not only is there usually information about different types of cancer but also about different services that are offered in different capacities.

There is so much information out there so it is hard to tell where it go. So here is a little list to help get people in the right direction.

If you want to get in on this healthy activist challenge check it out. Even though it's already started you can still join in! http://info.wegohealth.com/hawmc

I Live Strong!

Being a cancer survivor and having had past experiences with LIVESTRONG I have been heavily following what has been going on with Lance Armstrong. I watched the first part of his interview with Oprah and will most definitely be watching the second part tonight. I have also spent the better part of this morning exploring many different news articles, blog posts by both cancer survivors and your everyday citizens. I also tuned in to watch Doug Ulman on the Today show (well I watched it online as I missed the original broadcast). 

As far as my own perspective on Lance I must say that I always knew that the likelihood of him having been involved with doping was far greater than him not being involved. When this all came about these past few months I had just been involved with LIVESTRONG at the YMCA and was sporting the famous yellow LIVESTRONG wristband. I can't tell you the number of people that commented on it whether it be positive or negative. I was always more upset by the negative comments but that is because the bracelet means something entirely different to me but I will explain that later.

 I must admit that I do feel some sense of anger, disappointment and just plain betrayal from Lance for denying it for so long and going to the lengths he did to try and hide the truth. I will certainly not say that what he has done to his former teammates, their families as well as many others in the cycling community has any justification because quite frankly I don't believe it does. What he did was just flat out wrong and to carry on the way he has for so many years made it that much worse.

Having said that I also have to ask, with everything that he has done at this exact moment who is it really coming down on? You could argue many things here, the cycling community, LIVESTRONG, his fellow teammates, etc. However in my opinion it is really only coming down on Lance. He is the one that is being striped of all his medals and titles, he has lost the respect of lots of people, he has burned bridges with more people then we as the public probably know about, he has even lost the foundation that; despite what many think; he worked so hard to build. I am sure there will be even more fall out in the form of law suits and such as the weeks/months continue. As he said in his interview, all of this is everything that he deserves, he made his choices and has to live with the outcome of finally admitting what he did. I know it will certainly be a long time until he has earned back my trust, however his personal actions will never cause me to not support LIVESTRONG.

I will always and most likely forever be an advocate and supporter of LIVESTRONG. I have not removed my LIVESTRONG bracelet during any of this and I will not. I wear it for what it means to me and to me it does not represent Lance Armstrong. It represents my own journey that the LIVESTRONG Foundation has helped me immensely with. I can honestly say that without their survivorship programs I would not be living the life that I am today. On the same token those programs would not be in existence without all the people and organizations that support LIVESTRONG. I view LIVESTRONG and Lance Armstrong as two separate entities. I have very high hopes that LIVESTRONG will continue to get the support and do amazing things for the cancer community. I say bravo to all LIVESTRONG staff and program creators for all their hard work. Take it from me what they do is truly life changing.

I know there are many different opinions right now, this is just my own. 

I live strong and will continue to LIVESTRONG.

LIVESTRONG in Montreal

I don't even know where to begin. I guess from the beginning, I have gotten more than I could ever ask for from The Lance Armstrong Foundation's LIVESTRONG programs. I have had the pleasure of going through their LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program as well as their Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment program. I decided that because I had gotten so much out of their programs that I needed to let them know just how much they had done for me. My original plan was to email them but for the life of me I couldn't find an email address so I decided what better way then to really get my point across then to write an old fashioned thank you letter I even included a before and after picture of myself as I had lost 75lbs due to their programs.

Once the letter was received I got an email from their Community Program Manager Jordan Parks telling me how excited they were to receive my letter and that although they get feedback from people through surveys they are all anonymous so they never get to talk to them. They even sent me a package full of amazing LIVESTRONG stuff...

A little while later I got another email from Jordan asking me if I would be their guest at an event in Montreal where they would be officially announcing the Cancer Transitions program. They wanted me to speak at the event and share my story with the audience. I was thrilled on so many levels. I had never been to Montreal, I was going to get to share my story and be able to tell everyone about this fantastic program all at the same time. I was a little nervous because I would be going by myself but I knew it would be fine and be worth it.

So on August 28th, 2012 I flew from Boston to Montreal. It really was a few first for me, my first time in Montreal, my first time taking a cab from the airport (I know shocking), my first time some where that English isn't the primary language and my first time speaking in front of that many people. After riding in the cab for what seemed like eternity we arrived in front of a beautiful hotel.

The Hotel Intercontinental was amazing! It even has a little shopping/dining area withing the hotel which I thought was amazing! After checking in I went and wandered around for a little bit and of course got some lunch. The proved to be some what difficult not really being able to read french despite all the years I took it middle school and high school. Around 3pm Jordan and I met to go over what would be happening that night. The funny thing is that while walking to The Westin Hotel where the event would be held we ran into other people from LIVESTRONG and all of them knew me by name, I was very flattered but also surprised.  Once there I got to go see the space and we did a little run down of how things were going to go. That was when I learned that not only was I speaking but it was going to be in front of 300+ people, Doug Ulman the CEO of LIVESTRONG was going to introducing me and Lance Armstrong was going to be there. Let me tell you if I wasn't nervous before I certainly was after that. We worked everything out for the night and decided to meet back at the Westin at 6:30pm.

I went back to my room and vegged out a little before getting ready and heading over there. I also got to meet Ivy who co-wrote the Cancer Transtions program so that was fun too. Once there we got our tickets and got to just mingle around.

I felt a little out of place cause I didn't really know anyone but at least the food was good and everyone that I did meet happened to be really nice! Then I got to go into the "green room" where I met Doug Ulman so we could talk about what he was going to say when he introduced me so he wouldn't give away too much. Then I met some of the panelists that were going to be on stage. Sarah Cook was one of them who was a pediatric cancer survivor but now she is also big advocate for other pediatric cancer patients and survivors. I also met Gwen Andrews Nacos who is the director and founder of Cedars Cansupport. Both of these ladies were amazing and made me feel right at home! I got to have my picture taken too...

L to R: Jordan, Ivy, Sarah and I (photo provided by asbed.com)

It was great to meet so many people affected by cancer and doing such amazing things with it. I of course also got to meet Lance Armstrong which I have to admit I was thrilled about. I think what he has done (with lots of help from LAF and LIVESTRONG supporters) for cancer survivors is absolutely amazing!

(photo provided by asbed.com)

Then came show time. I have to be honest that I hadn't really prepared a speech so to speak I a really had was bullets of things I wanted to talk about. It is is much easier to share your story cause you know it! Had I written a speech I would have been more than happy to include it. If by some chance there ever happens to be video of it that pops up I will be sure to post it. As I sat waiting I listened to everyone speak. Then Doug took the stage

and started to talk about me at which point I am almost certain I must have turned scarlet red. As I got up to go on stage you have to know the only thought going through my head was, 'Don't trip.' Luckily I did not trip. As I took the podium I was all of a sudden really calm and so I began to speak.

(photo provided by asbed.com)

When I finished Doug gave me a hug and I went back to my seat. And no in case you were all wondering I did not trip coming off the stage either. They invited Cary, Sarah, Lance, Princess Dina and Gwen all up to take their seats on the stage.

The great thing about this panel is all the questions came from the audience. It was a fantastic experience!

After it was the complete opposite than what it was earlier in the night. Everyone knew who I was! I was trying to make my way back to the green room because that's where I thought I was supposed to be. But I kept getting stopped by people. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. The people stopping me were telling me their story and sharing how hearing about me had inspired them and how much they were looking forward to Cancer Transitions. I love that I was able to help some many that in itself was so rewarding! I did finally make it back to the green room where I got to meet Sarah's family who were great as well as a number of other people. Jordan did finally find me and asked if I would join all the LIVESTRONG people back at the hotel. I of course said yes.

After changing I headed down to their hospitality room and was greeted warmly by everyone there. It was fantastic to be able to sit with so many people. I got to talk to all the people who worked at LIVESTRONG and  hear more about what they do and things they are working on. One of the girls Rebekkah had just gone back Austin for a day and then she flew to Montreal for the week and was then flying to Peru (I think I might have gotten that wrong) all to help spread LIVESTRONG all over the world.

It's funny because I know for myself when I think about everyone that works for The Lance Armstrong Foundation you hold them in a higher regard almost celebrity status. It was great to be able to spend this more personal time with them including Lance. It makes you remember that they are all just people too. Doug told me a great story about his daughter learning to swim and hearing about others stories was just so much fun. I ended up going to bed around 2:30 am that night and it was well worth it!

The next day I got some time to explore Montreal. I was able to find what I considered to be "Downtown" Montreal which really just meant I found all the shopping,

four story mall with 4 separate equally large wings

A beautiful Cathedral Church

A fantastic stone sculpture in the park.

This trip to Monteal is one that I will not soon forget. I am so happy that I was able to help so many people touched by cancer as well as help support a program that I truely believe should automatically be part of every cancer patients treatment. As soon as you are done you go right into Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment!

I also can't thank everyone enough at The Lance Armstrong Foundation for everything that they do, for having such fantastic programs through LIVESTRONG and of course for not only giving me this opportunity but also making me feel right at home the whole time!

I'm a Triathlete!

If anyone had asked me last year if I would do a triathlon I would have actually I did laugh out loud and say, "No!" However I was very wrong. What can I say my friend Sara can be very convincing! See she did the Title 9 Women's Sprint Triathlon last year and literally the since the day she did she was saying, "You're doing it next year with me." most of the time I would just roll my eyes at her. But after MONTHS of her persistence I finally agreed to do it. At the same time I decided to use this as my challenge for my Team FD fundraiser. I was hoping I would get to my goal before the triathlon. That began the training process!

We trained for months however neither of had actually registered for the race. I think for me it was because as long as I wasn't registered then I didn't have to actually do it. However I started telling everyone that I was doing it so I think either way it was bound to happen it just wasn't as finalized yet. I finally registered on July 14th. Now mind you this is something that registration opens for in January! Sara wasn't having a great day so she opted to not jinx anything would register tomorrow. Well tomorrow turned into a week later at which point she was kindly told the triathlon was sold out and she was put on the wait list. 

OH MY GOD I AM DOING THIS ALL ALONE! was my first thought I started freaking out slightly a lot. On August 6th we found out that she was in fact not excepted and therefore I really was doing it alone. I had come to terms with that and started to really get myself ready!

Now it is race day! September 9th, 2012 Hopkinton, MA.

Logo belongs to Max Performance

I got into the actual park at about 6:30am however by the time we got to park, get the bike off the car and make sure I have all my bags we were just starting to walk over at 6:50am.

This was the first glimpse I had of any part of the tri as we walked across the dam from the parking lot.

I went through the check in at the transition area getting written all over my arms, hands and legs with sharpie! It was mostly my race number except on my calf where they write your age. Then I went to find a spot in my row to setup my transition area. I have to say I felt pretty prepared for this part, I knew right off the bat that I needed an adapter for the bike rack because since Sara wasn't doing it and I don't have a good bike I borrowed not only her bike but also most of the other gear from her. She told me I would need an adapter. As I was walking a volunteer asked if I needed an adapter I of course said yes and she came with me and got me immediately setup so I was good to go! 

A really cool thing this year was they gave you towel in your race packet that was the perfect size to setup the transition area. I was in the mind frame of minimal. When packing the night before I really thought about what I was actually going to use and that is what I brought. After I had everything setup I went over to the "fence" to talk to all my friends and family before I needed to head out.

I was pretty relaxed, everything was going well...to well. When it was time to get ready for the prerace meeting I discovered that my Garmin was not working. I had no idea what was wrong, it was just frozen so I walked over and handed it to my husband. There was no way I had time to deal with that. Guess I would be timing it with my Sportline watch. I got ready and started to walk out of transition. I didn't get far because I then found my friend Elizabeth who I had only just learned a few days before that she was doing the tri. Then of course we felt we needed to rush out cause we took up time chatting.

Tim the race director gave the prerace talk and then we got into our wave groups (by swim cap color) and started the long painful walk to the boat house where we would get into the water for the start. I say painful because the pavement was hard and bumpy and I wasn't wearing shoes. It was not a good idea to have hurting feet before I even started.

I was completely calm at this point because I knew I could do the swim so I was just chatting with my fellow newbies while the waves started and we waited our turn. As we were waiting Sara came running over to give me my Garmin. She and Lewis had been able to fix it. I was so EXCITED! Now I would have hopefully an accurate time and a map!

Then it was time for all us white caps to get into the water! We only had to wait a minute or two and then...

we were off. The swim seemed to take forever. Every time I looked up to make sure I was going the right way it seemed as though I wasn't passing any buoys. But I kept going, it didn't help that the water was murky cause I got hit and kicked a few times but I finally made it to the end and crossed that first finish mat.

Swim 1/4 mile (Garmin says 1/3 mile): 13:34

Then it was on to my first transition!

There is one thing I learned about the transition from the water to bike is that when setting up your area you should untie your sneakers. That is one thing that really slowed me up. I decided to wear my tie died LIVESTRONG shirt because let's face it without their cancer transitions program and LIVESTRONG at the Y program I would have never gotten to where I am today! I had to sport my support!! 

I was pretty well prepared for everything else thanks to Sara's advice and newbie night! I double checked that I had everything and got out to do the bike...which was my biggest fear. I felt more prepared thanks to the AKP foundation but I was still very nervous!

Transition 1: 4:36

I walked my bike out of the transition area to where we needed to mount our bike and then I was off. I will admit the start even though it was on a hill was not as difficult as I had thought. I was hopefully that was the case for the rest of the course as well.

I had the misfortune mistake of not doing the course before this. Although Sara and I did go drive the course so I would know a little and then I looked at it online with the topography chart so I knew the hardest hill was within the first two miles so as long as I could make it past mile 2 I would be ok. I'm not gonna lie I had to stop twice within those two miles but I did not get off my bike! I made it and continued on. I remembered to refuel at mile 5 so that way I wasn't totally exhausted for the run. There were however quite a few more hills after that and in total I ended up stopping 3 more times in the remaining 8 miles. Once we made it back into the park it was all up hill until right before it ended. As we were riding there were people who were running out for the 5k course. After the 6th person or maybe the 20th (who really knows) told me I was almost there and it was the last hill I decided they were all liars! The hills seemed to never end until that final left turn and then it was downhill. I had made it all the way through!!! Halleluiah!! I could not have been happier to see that dismount sign.

Utter relief on my face right there!

Bike 10 miles: 51:34

I knew I was home free at this point. Make no mistake I still had work to do but I only had 3.1 miles between me and that finish line!

Transition two was a lot easier and quicker. Put the bike back, take my helmet and camel pack off, grab my visor and go!

Transition 2: 1:27

I knew I needed some time for my legs to adjust from riding to running so I had already planned to walk the first five minutes. Well the start was also uphill and who wants to run uphill? Certainly not me! However I walked for longer than 5 minutes because my legs were in pain. They felt as though with one false move I would be having one of those monster muscle spasms! I got to about .75 of the first mile and decided to give a running interval a shot. It wasn't so bad. I continued to to run 30 seconds walk 1:30 intervals, unless it was down hill then the run was a little longer. I made sure to drink Gatorade at the first water stop and I also ate a small balance bar right before  the 1.1 mile mark so that I didn't loose any energy. By almost mile 2 I was feeling good again. But come on with only a little over a mile left who wouldn't feel good?. As I started my run back across the dam I knew I was almost there. I could see the beach and then I checked the time, wow I might actually make it before my goal of 2:10:00.

There were many people who were already done and leaving so I had lots of last minute encouragement as they passed. Then I got across the beach and was met by the first wave of my cheering section; my mom and her friend Roni. I ran from that point on until I crossed the finish line where Sara, her mom Janet, Lewis, my friend Meaghan and her husband Chris were all waiting for and cheering me on.

I DID IT, I AM A TRIATHLETE!! 

Run 5k: 45:38

I was so excited to have crossed that finish line and get my medal! I couldn't believe I had done it! I was greeted by everyone with congratulatory hugs and great jobs. I am pretty sure at some point I started crying but there is no evidence of that! 

 You gotta love their signs too! Sara's was three in one mainly reminding me that I wasn't done yet, until I was actually almost done, HA.

Then my friend Elizabeth found me so of course we had to take a picture together as triathletes with our medals.

After all was done I went over to check my official time and rank. 

I had to take a picture of my posted time with my watch because my official time was exactly (down to the second) the same as my Garmin time which had NEVER happened before, it is always off by seconds or minutes.

Final time: 1:56:47

I am so excited that I was able to complete the triathlon 13:13 faster than my goal! 

There are so many people and organizations that I need to thank I am not even sure where to start. I guess first would be Sara for her constant confidence in me and for pushing me to even do this. Then would be my husband for his constant love and supporting all my training and aspirations! My mom of course for her belief in me and her support. And many other family and friends who were always behind me 100%.

I have to send a huge thank you LIVESTRONG! Their program Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment was what started it all. I learned everything I needed to know to start a healthy me and deal with everything that came after having cancer the "new normal". I was then able to continue that with their LIVESTRONG at the Y program! I support LIVESTRONG 100% and would be happy to help any way I can with any cancer survivor find LIVESTRONG programs near them.

In conjunction to LIVESTRONG I want to thank everyone at the Greendale YMCA who ran my LIVESTRONG at the Y program. You are phenomenal and gave / continue to give me great support. Special thanks to Jenn and Walter for everything during the program and beyond. And Walter for taking the time to check over my inept mountain bike and getting me new tires. Even though I ended up not using it in the race it helped me to train, so I truly appreciate it!

I would like to thank First Descents. I only just learned about this amazing organization this summer but the week I spent white water kayaking changed my out look on life. I realized there was so much I thought I couldn't do and it was because I never tried. I wish every young adult cancer survivor could experience this! I would also like to give a quick Thank you to Brad Reiss and his family for being my largest donor for my team FD fundraising. Your support is phenomenal! I would have sported some Team FD gear as well but I don't have any yet. But when I do you better believe I will be showing it off!

I would also like to thank the AKP foundation. I was able to go on a biking retreat with them in mid august and although it was challenging it also showed me that I had made lots of progress in my cycling abilities. It gave me renewed confidence that I would be able to bike the triathlon after having spent that weekend in Vermont! I have also been approved for a grant to help with a new bike. I am so excited and just goes to show that the future will hold even more unexpected. Thank you again for everything!

and of course I need to thank Max performance, the race directors and volunteers were all absolutely amazing! Everyone was overly helpful, everything was organized to the T. All the course were laid out with volunteers at every turn as well as police to help with high traffic areas. I felt safe the whole time and knew that there was relatively no chance I was going to get lost, miss a turn or veer off course at any point it was phenomenal! So a special thanks to all those involved!

Now who wants to do it with me next year? :)

New Year, New ME!

Wow I just realized it has been a really long time since I posted anything. So figured an update is in order!! 

Shortly after my last post I did the Jingle Bell Run 5K in Somerville and it was losts of fun and a huge success for me. It was the first 5k I had done since I started my whole new workout out look on life and given that I have a terrible cold and was coughing the whole time I was able to complete the 5k with a time of 50:32 which for me was a new personal record! I was very excited!!

 

(Even with my eyes closed.)

Then it was the new year. Since last year I have started something that I can now consider a tradition. Instead of making new year resolutions I started making a bucket list (I am still trying to come up with a better name) for the year. I know the general concept is the do things you have always wanted to do before you die but my take on it is to make a list of things you would like to do within that year. Last years was a great success (even though I only completed half) and it was lots of fun too!

 

So here is my list for 2012:

1.) Go to visit Orlando, Fl (seems odd but hey I would like to do it)

2.) See a show in NYC (funny enough it is easier said than done).

3.) Take a cooking class of some kind (preferably something new to me).

4.) Force myself to try something new once a month. It can be food, activity, etc (but it could be more than once a month that is the minimum).

5.) Reach the 100lb weight loss goal (almost half way there so it is doable).

6.) Get more involved in volunteer work related to cancer (ie, MGH, LLS, ACS,LIVEstrong, etc).

7.) Some how get Lewis to join in my quest to lead a healthier life.

8.) Travel out of the country.

9.) Make a budget and stick to it!

10.) Be able to run for a whole mile!

11.) Read 12 books, so it averages a book a month but as long as I have read 12 by the end of the year I will be happy!

That's good to start with. I will hopefully be able to add more on to it as the year goes on and I am able to complete things.  Hopefully my list will inspire others to do things they have always wanted to do! I think it is more fun than coming with resolutions of things you will no longer do, try to focus on the positive people!! :-)

As for my quest for a better me there are a few things coming up that I am very excited about.

I couldn't find the logo for 2012 yet

My friend Sara convinced me to do a duathlon the end of July. It will be in New Hampshire and it is a 1/2 mile swim and then a 5k. The best part of all of this is the name it's called The Chunky Dunk Duathlon how fantastic is that. So in light of this she has also been kind enough to help me not only setup a swim plan to start working on my endurance for that part of the race but is basically my own personal swim instructor and I can't thank her enough!!

One of the other things that I have coming up that I am SUPER excited about is

I officially start the program on February 16th, 2012. However I have already had my intake interview, which is basically just getting your background info and medical info. I just had my fitness assessment on Friday so that I have a baseline of where I am starting and then I can see where I end up at the end of the program. I am so excited because I think this will be great motivation for me to keep going on my exercise path as well as teach me new things and develop so new thing to throw into my routine. If you or anyone you know is a cancer survivor this program is something they should definitely check out! I will keep you updated on how the program goes as well as what I learn during my 12 weeks!

Another great thing is that right when I started training for the duathlon I got into the LiveSTRONG at the Y program and got a membership to the Y til mid May that will allow me to be able to have a pool to start swimming which is amazing!

The last thing I want to share is a 5K I am doing with a friend of mine in March right here in Worcester to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! It's the Guiness Celtic 5k in Worcester and it is on the actual parade route (which will be motivating because the race starts at 11am and the parade starts at 12pm). So feel free to join me on Sunday March 11th, 2012 for a fun filled race!

I think that is pretty good for an update. I will do my best to post more than once every two months but in the mean time I hope something I wrote inspired you!