Tuesday, April 14, 2009

'Twas the Week Before THE Boston Marathon...

A friend sent along a great link today to a 4 min overview video of the Boston Marathon. Click here to access the video.

In a little less than one week, I will be running the Boston Marathon on a charity bid with the Lance Armstrong Foundation's (LAF) "TeamLIVESTRONG." Raising funds for the LAF and participating in an event was one of my goals as a Summit Delegate for 2009. I thought I'd perhaps participate in one of the well-known LIVESTRONG Challenge events -- I never dreamed I'd be running the Boston Marathon, much less training for the Boston Marathon while going through cancer treatments. I am no different than the many other caregivers and survivors of cancer...many I know who are doing extraordinary things, like riding across the country from Disneyland to Disney World (Crazy-awesome, Michael!) to sky-diving around the world (Jamie, you rock!). After facing impossible odds, we've all learned how precious life is, and I know I've learned to enjoy every minute of it.

I run races to raise money for charity and to help "give back" for all the help I've received through my own cancer battles. I'm running Boston Marathon to raise funds for LAF...and I'm running it for me. I'm about 1 month out of cancer treatments, and I run to celebrate the amazing magic and light of life. I can honestly say that I'm not as prepared for this race, as I'd like to be, but it's not for a lack of trying. I was injured earlier this year and bounced back from that and treatments to get to a point to run this race. I owe all my doctors and running coaches huge (huge!) hugs for their guidance and help. I have no doubt that this was a team effort. So...my fellow "team" -- THANK YOU! --- for all of your donations, your cheers, your support, your solidarity, your advice and friendship as I head into this race. I am thankful for everything, including the honor to run such an amazing race for charity.

TeamLIVESTRONG Boston -- 1 Week to go!!! CURES ROCK!

Note: If you'd like to donate to support my fundraising for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, please go to my link by clicking here.

2 comments:

  1. ONE WEEK! YEAH! You'll rock Boston, Julie, and do it with a smile, I'm sure (OK, maybe not a smile on Heartbreak Hill, but AFTER that...HAHA!). Can't wait to be in Boston to cheer you and others on!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julie,

    I know firsthand just how tough it is the train for (and even attempt to run) a marathon while have to take a chemotherapy drug, or be less than a few weeks after finishing a round of it.

    I also know how hard it is to try to train for as multi-week bike trip while in a round of chemo. The usual important challenges of avoiding training injuries, rest and recovery just add to the challenge.

    Have a great experience in your Boston Marathon journey, and it is very important to run it for YOURSELF.

    In the end I realized I was riding for myself, among all the other goals I had. In the end it was me on the bike versus the distance. No one going to be able to get me there successfully but me.

    We do these things for many reasons, and our own sense of accomplishment is as important as all the other reasons.

    Good luck

    michael

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Lance Armstrong's "Tour de France" Dedication to Julie

A great reminder that I had armies of support beside me in my fight. (Thanks, Lance!) Even with the recent media, this video isn't about the bike...but the fight against cancer. LIVESTRONG!

Stage 2 Dedication: Julie Westcott -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

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