This wasn't the post-marathon update I had envisioned writing. I had hoped to present all of my supporters with a picture of myself at the finish line, face red, hair flying all over the place, with a medal around my neck and an ear-to-ear grin. I anticipated giving a recap of each and every excruciating mile, showing how I overcame it all to cross the finish line and help beat blood cancer.

Instead, I hurt my knee pretty badly at mile 21, and ended up getting to the finish line strapped to a stretcher, in the back of a fire truck, with my amazing and supportive coach sitting next to me.

I don't know what happened. Maybe it was the weather, which was about 30 degrees warmer than it was during most of my training. I don't know. Perhaps it was the fact that this was not a terribly well-executed marathon. I don't know. Maybe all of my injuries weren't as under control as I thought they were. I don't know. But I didn't finish, and I had to be wheeled to the trainstation in a wheelchair.

Am I upset? Yes. Am I in pain? Yes. Am I going to try again? Yes.

I'm going to try again because I had such overwhelming support from everyone who loves me, loves my brother, and loves my family. I'm going to try again because I found something that I love that I don't have to be good at. I'm going to try again because I said I was going to run a marathon, and I don't like giving up. I WILL finish a marathon.

I'm hoping to do that on November 6th, as I run the New York City Marathon, again with TNT. All of you helped to make me the top fundraiser for the New Jersey Marathon in the REGION--including NYC, Westchester/Hudson Valley, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Eastern PA.

And I'm going to do it again. And this time, I'll finish.

If you're interested in continuing to follow my training, or interested in continuing to help fight blood cancers, you can find my training blog here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyc11/jmorvay

And so, I WILL see you at the next finish line.

Jenna

I'm not saying anything groundbreaking or original by declaring that running is addictive. It is. Once you make it past those first few torturous runs, it starts to feel pretty good. My running addiction manifests itself as a feeling of power and invincibility mixed with physical pain, which somehow doesn't seem to matter as I keep pushing on. I'm hoping that in 10 days, that feeling of power and invincibility doesn't fade away too quickly.

So since running is addictive, you can imagine that I DO NOT LIKE TAPERING. I understand that it's necessary and important and all that jazz, but it's cutting down on my fixes. I only ran two miles today. TWO. That's half my normal Thursday distance. Not cool.

In other news, I feel good and strong! My malfunctioning left calf muscle is still painful, but it doesn't bother me while I'm running (after running is a different story, but we'll deal with that later). My left knee has decided to stay in its right place. I'm hoping this maintains itself until May 2nd, or at least May 1st at around 3:30 PM.

I mentioned in my last post that I had overindulged a great deal in the last few days. Since then, I've been a very good girl. But here's YOUR chance to overindulge on my behalf as I go into the next ten sober days before I run my marathon. My husband Jacob is a wannabe mixologist. I think if we weren't shallow and materialistic (and didn't have a mortgage), he would quit his job and just make drinks all day! So please help him indulge his fantasy and raise money for my run by coming to a guest bartending event he has set up! It is next Wednesday, April 27th, beginning at 6PM. I will not be partaking in Jacob's lovely libations, but you can--and 10% of your drink price and all of the tips will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The event is at Katwalk NYC, 2 West 35th St between 5th and 6th Aves. Hope to see you there!

Since the beginning of March, I have had injury after injury after injury. First it was my hip flexors and IT band. Then my left calf muscle decided that it didn't want to work. Then my left calf muscle kept not working, but then my left knee decided to do some crazy things. Add to that mix a very difficult last few months at work, some difficult personal stuff, and the overall awfulness of the weather in NYC, and I've become a bit of a basket case.

Saturday, I didn't feel like waking up to do my long run. I was just absolutely spent, and yet another Saturday of waking up early sounded dreadful. So I slept. In fact, I spent most of my weekend sleeping, eating, and getting drunk. There was no running involved. I didn't even think about running. It was the first time in months that I didn't prevent myself from another glass of wine because I had to run the next day. It was the first time that I felt one hundred percent happy eating fatty, terrible food, because I wasn't planning to run the next day. It felt awesome.

Since I'm on spring break (yay!), I decided to do my long run yesterday. The weather was lovely, and it was Patriot Day, so I thought that in honor of the Boston Marathon, I would run a half-marathon. I ran up the street, over the Queensboro Bridge (which, P.S., sucks, no matter how many times I run across it), two loops in Central Park, and back over the bridge. I was a lot faster than I was the last time I ran 13 miles. I wasn't terribly sore. I did everything right. And I had drunk a great deal of wine the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that.

I turned on the last ten minutes of the Boston Marathon when I came home. Anyone who marginally follows running knows that yesterday was a major recordbreaking day. What I realized as I was watching was that the top womens finishers ran a full marathon faster than I can run a half. I wasn't discouraged by this. I don't feel any need to measure up. It just absolutely blew my mind that the human body is capable of running that fast. But you know what? Caroline Killel, the winner, spent a long time in the medical tent after she won, and she probably didn't have excellent Argentinian wine the night before (or ever, while she's training). Whereas I ran 13.1 miles (probably a little more, but that's okay) 9 minutes faster than I did in the NYC Half, after having overindulged several nights in a row.

So am I going to get wasted on the Saturday night before my marathon in less than two weeks? Not likely. But, with two weeks to go, I realized that balance is totally okay. I have all my mileage in, I keep getting progressively faster, even with injuries, and I feel physically better than I have ever. I can eat crappy foods occasionally, drink wine more than once a month, and stay up past 11. And a few minutes ago, I realized something else: over the next eight days, when all of my Jewish friends and family are bellyaching (get it? I'm so clever) about their matzah-induced constipation, I'll just go run a few miles, and thus not have to sympathize. Boom.

So my big finish line is in less than two weeks. Help me end this training season with a bang: I'd really love to raise another $2,500 within the next two weeks, to make my contribution $10,000. I may not be able to run a world-record marathon, but I can definitely (with your help) play a big part in helping to cure blood cancers, so college kids, high school kids, and adults don't have to endure what my baby brother is enduring right now. I have over 600 friends on facebook. If each of them gives $5, I'll more than cover that goal. Think about it :-)

--Jenna

On many days, I am overwhelmed by the physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges and demands that teaching in the inner city requires. Not only am I supposed to guide students who have been academically left behind their whole lives into being college-ready, but I also have to serve as mom, therapist, social worker, and sometimes prison warden. It's daunting. And while this year is hundreds of times better than last year, I have had many days when I wonder whether I have the mental fortitude to teach as my career.

Last week, though, I had a day that reminds me why I teach, and it had nothing to do with academics. As my school's mission is to ready kids for a life in the medical professions through exposure and rigorous academics, we often associate ourselves with charities that have a medical theme. Last week, we began doing Pennies for Patients, another arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I try not to be one of those creepy teachers whose personal lives are common knowledge, but enough kids walked in on me crying at my desk after Jared got diagnosed, and enough other kids listened in enough corners as I spoke about it to a few colleagues, that most of my ninth grade students are aware that my brother has cancer. When I announced to my first period class that we were doing Pennies for Patients, a student raised her hand.

"Excuse me miss," she said, "no offense, but isn't lymphoma what your brother has?"

"Yes, it is." I said, surprised. I had never uttered the word "lymphoma" to any of my students; I had just said "cancer." I figured they must be better at listening in corners than I thought. But I was immediately distracted by that thought when every single child in that class went digging in his or her wallet for some change. My first period students are very bright, but they are also very tired in the mornings. I don't think I've ever seen all of them moving at once like this! I was completely touched when, the next morning, a student brought in a huge jar of pennies that she had been saving under her bed.

I was even more amazed, though, by my second period class. In the two-minute passing time between class periods, enough of my first period class had let my second period class know that we were collecting money for LLS. Somehow, though, the message was mutated by the High School Gossip Telephone Game into "we're collecting money to cure Ms. Morvay's brother."

I held up the cardboard box again second period to let the kids know that we were collecting the money, and immediately, the kids started putting money in the box, clamoring in excitement about curing my brother's cancer with their contributions. They were so eager that I decided not to disabuse them of the idea that they might be personally responsible for Jared's complete cure. The biggest surprise, though, was from a girl who has more than earned the title of Problem Child. She has displayed no empathy or caring all year. She is generally disrespectful to everyone, and downright nasty to a few students. I would never have expected this out of her.

This student pulled a five-dollar bill out of her pocket, walked up to me, and put it in the box. "Your brother needs to be cured more than I need candy after school this week," she mumbled.

My students aren't all destitute, but $5 isn't exactly chump change to them. And this girl is a fiend for sugar. This was a big deal for her--a major sacrifice. I was beyond touched, because this was the first time this girl had shown that there was a little bit of caring in her heart. She gave up her after school candy for the chance that her contribution could help cure my brother of cancer.

Of course, though, the love and empathy had to pass. Five minutes later, she let out a very loud, nasty fart as we were laboring through Othello, and five minutes after that, told the girl next to her that she was a "fat, f***ing p***y," but for one moment, I was able to see that she wasn't a complete sociopath. It was beautiful.

That's why I teach. I teach for those tiny moments, when students show flashes of humanity and love. I teach because, ideally, I don't want my students to grow to love Shakespeare and Tennyson and Shelley, but because I want them to become better people from having read those authors.

In two months, when Jared is done with treatment and no longer has any cancer in his body, I can't wait to go back to my students and let them know that my brother is cured. I hope my problem student feels a sense of accomplishment at helping, and I hope that she doesn't regret her week of missed candy.

Hello faithful readers!

I am now officially a part of the 5% of the population that has run a half-marathon! I had an incredible experience running the New York City Half Marathon today, and I can't wait to run another one!

The day started out bright and early, when I woke up at 4:30 in the morning. I had my usual pre-long-run breakfast of oatmeal and a banana, and hydrated myself. I left the apartment at 5:15, and then made it to the TNT meeting spot at 6:00. We had a great pre-race cheer session, and I met up with Jenn and Shaunte. We made our way to our starting corral, about half a mile from the actual starting line, and proceeded to wait for about an hour (while shivering) until the starting time for the elite athletes....and then made our way down the East Drive in Central Park to cross the starting line 15 minutes later.

The first eight miles were the hardest part of the course, which I didn't figure out until the end. Central Park is pretty hilly, and though I've been doing a lot of running there during training, it was still tough. Shaunte and I kept up a pretty good pace, Jenn caught up with us just as we started to run Harlem Hill, and we met up with another of my former co-workers, Melissa, who is much faster than the three of us--but she ran with us, which was incredibly nice!

We made it out of the park at mile 8, and then had the exhilirating experience of running down a blocked-off Seventh Avenue. I cannot describe how amazing it is to run down one of New York City's most crowded streets made empty, with people cheering you on, and musicians performing for you. The exhilaration increased when we made it into Times Square, where a singalong was taking place. The song playing as we ran through Times Square happened to be "Born to Run"--very appropriate! We then reached mile 9, and then ran down the West Side Highway.

Mile 10-Mile 11 was tough. The finish was so close, but not that close, and we were starting to feel the burn. But Mile 12-end was fabulous! Crossing the finish line was a feeling unlike any I have ever experienced! People were yelling encouragement, and hearing my name on the loudspeaker as we crossed the finish line made me feel like a real athlete.

I don't have any pain in my hips other than the expected soreness from a long run, but I do have massive blisters on my feet. I need to find some way to counteract that!

I can't say enought how amazing the TNT cheering sections were. They really helped us get through the tough spots, and it was nice to feel so loved!

One more step on my way to my marathon!

See you at the (next) finish line,

Jenna

Hello my faithful followers!

Last Saturday, we ran the George Washington Bridge and then the Palisades Park in New Jersey. It was a beautiful run, and very hilly--and I got hurt! My left hip flexor started to bother me a whole lot, and I ended up walking the last four miles. I was in a ton of pain on Sunday and Monday, too. So on Tuesday, I paid a visit to a sports medicine doctor, who diagnosed hip flexor tendinitis and IT band syndrome. He prescribed super anti-inflammatories and physical therapy.

At this point, I was going nuts: after three months of working out six days a week in some capacity, not working out for a few days was making me crazy. I took a TRX class on Wednesday night, which kicked my ass immensely--but after the class was over, my hip was totally fine. Of course, every other part of my body is hurting from the incredible workout, but that's perfectly fine. I've had a difficult time trying not to run this whole week, so I'm hoping that when I start physical therapy on Tuesday, I will be told that I can go back to running soon. I think the fact that my hip is completely fine now is a good sign, right?

In good news, I was, in fact, one of the top five fundraisers last week, so if all goes according to plan, I will be running the NYC Half Marathon on March 20th!

See you at the finish line,

Jenna

Yesterday, I was out to lunch/dinner with two of my friends, and my iPhone beeped, signifying that I had a new email. Since that beep triggers a Pavlovian response in me, I checked my email. This is what it said:

Hi Spring Season High Fundraisers,

As one of our top 25 fundraisers for the season, we are very excited to share an awesome opportunity with you! We have secured a few additional spots for the New York City Half Marathon and we want YOU to run the streets of NYC with the Team. Be a part of over 400 TNT runners on Sunday, March 20th, that conquer the hills in Central Park and run through Times Square. With entertainment all along the route, and your TNT coaches on the course offering support, this is one event you wont want to miss!

Starting now through Monday, February 28th at 5:00pm, we are challenging you all to a fundraise-off! Raising a minimum of an additional $325, the top five people who raise the most money between now and Monday will receive a TNT spot in the NYC Half Marathon. Remember, 100% of all funds that you raise over your fundraising minimum go directly to the LLS Mission, so get started right away and don’t miss this opportunity!

So this email gave me several exciting pieces of information: one, thanks to so many of you, I'm one of the top 25 fundraisers in New York City! Two, if I raise even more, I can run the NYC Half Marathon in a few weeks. So, Team Jared--let's get to curing blood cancer! If you have already donated, please don't feel obligated to donate again---you have already made a difference! But please share the link to this site via facebook, Twitter, whatever--and let's make an even bigger difference!

See you at the (yet another?) finish line,

Jenna

Wow, have I fallen behind in updating! I am going to try to get back into updating more often as I get closer to race day, I promise!

Training has been going well. Last Saturday, I did my longest run yet, of almost 13 miles! We ran three bridges (Queensboro, Brooklyn, and Manhattan), and it was HARD! It probably didn't help that I got into an altercation with a fence as we were running towards the Queensboro bridge: I tripped over a not-terribly-well-maintained fence, right at the beginning of the run! I scraped my knees and elbows, and I have some lovely and attractive bruises, as well, but I ran the whole thing, anyway! We were under a wind advisory, and the gusts of wind were supposedly up to 50 mph! I can believe it--running across those bridges was incredibly difficult, because we were always running into the wind.

After the Saturday long run, I hopped on a plane (and somehow managed to get out of my seat when I got there, despite my aching legs) and flew out to Cincinnati to see my parents and Jared. It was so lovely to be back. Jared is doing incredibly well. He no longer looks like Skeletor, and he hasn't lost any hair. He is now officially more than halfway through his chemo treatments, and he is doing amazingly. I went to Pilates and did yoga with my parents while I was in town, and I was inspired to try yoga or Pilates at the studio where I tried hot yoga at the beginning of my training. I needed to be stretched out!

Other than adding a mile each week during the long runs, training is pretty much the same as it has been since the beginning: short runs on Thursdays and Sundays, group hills or intervals on Tuesdays, and cross-training on Mondays and Wednesdays.

I am more and more excited for my first marathon as training continues. When I stop to think about it, it blows my mind that I, Jenna Kamrass Morvay, am training for a bloody marathon. I have never had any interest in anything athletic, but I've been bitten by the bug: I've already signed up for the Miami Marathon next January, and I'm hoping to run the New York City Marathon in November with TNT. Not to mention the five or six half marathons I plan to run between now and December...

See you at the finish line!

Jenna

Hello, everyone! Apologies for hibernating on my updates the past two weeks: the beginning of the semester at school kind of made me crazy! But I've been feeling really good about my running and training, so I wanted to give a quick update!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and this weekend, I gave myself two awesome running presents! Yesterday was my first double-digit running day: I ran ten miles during our group training session in Central Park! I felt really good afterwards, and might have even been able to hammer out another mile or two, but then I walked down a few flights of stairs and knew that I was done! I was pretty sore all day yesterday, but at this point, I'm kind of used to constant soreness in my legs. This morning, I ran a four-mile race at a 10:51 pace! That's 1:11 faster than my previous race! I was really proud of myself! I was especially proud because I ran alone. I have been running constantly with either my friend Jenn or my TNT Mentor, Liz, but neither of them was able to make the race today. I almost decided not to do it, but Jacob sleepily talked me into it. I have been worried about my big race in May and running by myself, but today gave me confidence that I can do it!

In other news, you might have noticed that I upped my fundraising goal again! I have been lucky that so many people care so much about my family, and I am hoping to continue to do my part to help get rid of blood cancers!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Sunday! I had an excellent training week--probably the best I've had so far since I began this endeavor! Want to hear about it?

My week actually began on a sour note: my hip flexors were really bothering me on Sunday. I ran a mile and a half into Astoria, and I just could not do it anymore. I knew that I shouldn't have begun running in the first place, but I am used to being someone who finds any excuse to not do physical activity, so I forced myself to anyway. I called my parents as I limped my way home, and after a bit of a lecture on how dumb it was to not carry a metrocard or money to buy one when I run, I resolved to listen to my body a bit more, and be smarter about what I carry in my pockets when I'm running.

As last weekend was a three-day weekend, I went on the treadmill on Monday and did fairly well. I hate the treadmill, but my friend Suni, who is training for the Miami Marathon next week, did 21 miles on the treadmill last Sunday--so I figured I could do four. I actually only did 3.9, but I'm okay with that: the training calendar said I only needed to do three.

Tuesday was our first hill workout, and it was HARD! We ran up and down Cat Hill three times. My hip flexors were still bothering me, and Cat Hill is not a small hill. Apparently we have seven weeks of hill workouts to look forward to, and as the NJ Marathon has an elevation change of about 62 feet, it's going to be awesome for my speed!

Wednesday I rocked the Wii Fit, as usual. I really enjoy it, but I think I need to add something else to my cross-training routine. I'm considering the stationary bike, but we will see.

Thursday, my amazing TNT mentor, Liz, set up a group run in Central Park. We ran the lower loop twice, which equals about 3.75 miles. It felt really good, and I noticed that I'm getting a lot faster, because there were many times that I was ahead of Liz.

Saturday was an event called Connection to the Cause, and it was extremely inspirational. It began with a nutrition clinic on what to eat and drink while you're running and immediately after. Since puberty, I've spent my life counting calories to make sure I don't have too many, and the idea of willingly consuming more is a little scary--but I definitely feel better on a long run after I've had some margarita-flavored Shot Bloks, so I need to suck it up and ingest them. I'm not losing weight, but I'm not gaining it, either, and I look a lot better. After the nutrition clinic, we went for a long run. I ran with Jenn and her new mentor, and instead of doing a 3/1 run/walk, we ran 4/2. I liked the longer run time, but the longer walk time seemed interminable. We were running the opposite direction on the full loop of Central Park as the Manhattan Half Marathon, and I was really jealous of the people running the half! I conqured Harlem Hill for the first time, which is an insane hill that stretches from 102nd St to 110th St on both the east and west sides of the park. Even after one hill workout, it felt great, and I felt incredibly powerful for doing it without too much difficulty. Once we were finished, we went back to the school where the event was being held (incidentally, it is the school where I did my first semester of student teaching two years ago), and heard from teammates who are survivors or still battling cancer. It was incredibly inspiring, and it made me feel lucky that Jared has had a pretty straightforward diagnosis and treatment. I also purchased two TNT singlets from past races, because a girl always needs more running gear, and they were two for $5.

I wore one of those singlets today for my workout. Last night, I went out with several friends to Blockheads, a horrible restaurant in the city that has potent $3 margaritas and food that is only good after one or two of said margaritas. We didn't get seated until after 10PM, and between the late dinner, a margarita, and the sub-par food quality, I felt rotten this morning. I was going to go meet my mentor and several other people for a group run at noon, but I just felt like there was lead in my stomach, and I took a nap, instead. When I woke up, I went down and ran a treadmill workout. I decided to try run/walk intervals of 4/1, and that worked out quite nicely. I felt really good, had minimal soreness (even my right hip flexor, which is quite uncooperative, didn't bother me), and was able to run faster! I think that's what I'm going to do from now on. The only bad part about the workout was that I wore my new TNT singlet and some very short compression shorts. Note to self: when wearing a singlet, use BodyGlide, because underarm chafing is distracting and painful. Second note to self: compression shorts with a 2-inch inseam are not a good choice if I don't want everyone to see my tuchas. Or if I don't want any chafing on said tuchas. I don't know what I'm going to do when it's shorts weather.

That's all I have for this week! Thanks for reading such a long update! I only have $92 to go to meet my goal--will you be the one who helps me get there?

See you at the finish line!

Jenna