Well Mom, I know what you are talking about now. I was just about to post this beautiful blog when somehow it got deleted. Let me start again...

It doesn't seem like long since I posted my last blog even though it was almost a month ago! It is crazy what has taken place since then. My race is on Sunday!! It snuck up on me and I cannot believe I will be heading to DC tomorrow. As I reflect on this experience I cannot help but feel incredibly thankful.

We are all aware of the horrible tragedies that shook Boston and the running community last Monday. My race on Sunday is more important now than ever. It is important to both the family and friends affected by Leukemia and Lymphoma and to those who had their dreams shattered last week. I hope that I can make them proud and will keep all of them in my thoughts to drive me to the finish.

As I conclude on this journey, I have to thank all of you. None of this would have been possible without your support whether that be financially or in the many ways everyone in my life has helped me reach this goal. By raising awareness and fundraising for LLS hopefully one day we will be able to find a cure and advance research for all types of cancers. I sure hope in my generation that people can live in peace. To live in peace without illness and without terrorism.

On Sunday, I will run to live out the dreams that some people will never have the opportunity to do. And I hope that you will run and you will give to help others to hopefully reach their dreams. We cannot live in fear and by living each day to the fullest I think we are capable of doing most everything.

Thank you for helping me on this journey, the next time you hear from me I will have completed my 3RD HALF MARATHON!

GO TEAM!

For those of you who do not know, on Monday and Tuesday night was the Jewish holiday of Passover. During the next week many Jewish people around the world will be eating matzah and staying away from leavened foods. As a runner, this is going to be a difficult task!

As Passover is upon us and I am getting closer and closer to my goal, I believe that this is a good time to reflect. We celebrate Passover to remind us when we were slaves in Egypt and be thankful that we are now free. I think on Passover, it is important for everyone to remember that we are free, whether that is from slavery or from the many constraints in our lives. We are so lucky to be free from sickness and disease and I hope that by running I can help others become free too. Further, we are free to share and support what we believe. I cannot thank you enough for choosing to share and support me! So many people are thankful for your generous donations.

This past week has been crazy. On Friday, I got offered an interview (cross your fingers that it went well)! Saturday, I ran 9 miles at an 8 minute and 30 second pace. This was quite a feat and definitely made me very excited. Monday evening I celebrated Passover. And yesterday, I completed my first track workout this training season! Somehow, between all of this, I am now at 75% of my fundraising goal!!! Only 25% left to go. Thank you all :)

Hopefully next week will go just as smoothly. I would love to reach 80% of my fundraising goal by next Wednesday, get a second round interview, and complete my second double digit run of the season.

Keep up all your great work and remember to be thankful for being free!

Chag Sameach or Happy Holiday!

Just for fun...

Moishe took his Passover lunch to eat outside in the park. He sat down on a bench and began eating.

A little while later a blind man came and sat down next to him. Feeling neighbourly, Moishe passed a sheet of matzo to the blind man. The blind man handled the matzo for a few minutes, looked puzzled, and finally exclaimed, "Who wrote this shit?"

This weekend when I called my mom to tell her about my 10 mile run, she said “don’t kill yourself!” Obviously, in response I said “I am not going to kill myself” as I tried to explain to her that 10 miles is really not that different than 8 miles. She exclaimed “that’s 20 percent more!” I could not help but think about my fundraising. If 2 more miles is not that difficult, what is stopping me from raising another 20 percent this week? It is only $500 dollars more, 20 percent more! In those terms, I think I would rather run 2 more miles… But, nobody said this was going to be easy. Even though, I tell my mom 2 more miles is not that bad I can tell you that I was not thinking that running up capitol hill on mile 9. It probably seemed just as dooming as thinking about raising $500 this week. But, with perseverance anything is possible. One step at a time!

With each step, I cannot help but feel thankful! I am so happy to have so many wonderful supporters and cannot thank you enough for making this possible. This experience thus far has been humbling. It has made me stop and smell the roses. We need to take stock of what we can give and we need to be grateful. Let me share a story with you.

When I was 12 years old, my twin brother was diagnosed with a tumor in his shin. At first, the doctors kept telling my mom that it was “growing pains” but my brother is tough and we all knew it was not “growing pains.” After visiting the doctor, my brother was rushed to the hospital to get an MRI. He needed surgery right away. Although, I was too young at the time to understand I now understand how lucky he was. Luck is what made sure that his tumor was benign. Not everyone is as lucky as my brother! I cannot imagine what would have happened if our news had not been good. Not every family is as lucky as mine! My brother still has a giant scar on his leg… as well as other scars… to constantly remind him how lucky he is. Although, we do not all have scars to remind us, we are lucky!

This year, I got my first two scars to remind me how lucky I am! In September, I had to go to the hospital for emergency surgery. Although, the surgery did not end up being serious this experience reminded me how thankful I should be to be healthy. Unfortunately, this surgery prevented me from completing my first marathon, but when I stood on the starting line to complete the half marathon, I was happy. I was happy to know that I was healthy enough to be there that day running whatever distance it may be. Next year Philly…

Today, remember how lucky you are!! Maybe St. Patrick’s Day rubbed off on me.

Making thank you's to say "merci" to my wonderful donors! Thank you for all your support!

Who knows, if you donate you too may receive a beautiful merci as well :)

Hello Friends!

On this Saturday, I thought I would provide you with an update on my progress. Since I lasted posted, my mileage has been picking up, but I have not been doing very well fundraising. But, that is all going to change today! Be excited! I have put together a strict plan on how I am going to raise the $2,500 necessary to run on April 28th. However, without your support none of this is possible. I would hate to have this journey end because I was not able to reach my fundraising goal. Similarly, LLS needs us. Let me emphasize that every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer and every 10 minutes someone dies.

Today, at practice (which I hope you all know requires me to wake up at 6:45 AM on a Saturday) a young woman shared her story. When she was 24 years old (only 2 years older than me) she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. After many chemo treatments, she had little success in fighting the cancer. Finally, the doctor decided to give her a lethal dose of chemo to kill all her white blood cells. The doctor then used the woman’s own stem cells to regenerate her white blood cells. After a year in the hospital she finally could go home, cancer free. She told us of the moment she looked most forward to; camping in her backyard, something that would seem trivial to us but yet so important when your life flashes before your eyes. Without your support of LLS, stem cell treatment would have never been possible. Please continue to give, so woman like her can enjoy running just as much as me!

I thought I would also share with you why I believe Nike and LLS are great organizations to support. 78% of the money raised goes to funding program services and finding a cure. Just 22% is used for management and fundraising. In its 10 years of sponsorship Nike has helped raise over 1.3 billion dollars and has had over half a million runners run. The society receives no federal funding. I cannot wait to be the 500,001st runner!

This week my mom also posted a great blog that discussed why it is important that I run as well as a delicious cupcake recipe! Please check out her site at the link below and see her story.

http://thisishowicook.blogspot.com/2013/03/cupcakes-for-cure-or-watch-my-daughter.html

I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday! Be thankful for everything you have and remember, everything could always be worse.