10 Things about Jonathan Smyth

Hello again,

In addition to running in memory of my mom, I am also running In Memory of Jonathan Smyth.  Jonathan was a brave fighter who lost his battle with cancer at age 7 in 1998. 

Here are 10 important things to know about Jonathan (courtesy of his mom, Marie Smyth):

1. Jonathan loved Legos.

2. Jonathan was featured in an issue of Lego Mania Magazine.

3. Jonathan loved fried clam strips at Nancy's on the dock in Oak Bluffs, MA. on Martha's Vineyard.

4. Jonathan had a cute little beauty mark on the left side of his head that you could only see when he lost all of his hair during chemotherapy.

5. Jonathan loved golf and baseball and was a Red Sox fan.

6. Jonathan posed swinging a golf club on a brochure for the Jimmy Fund golf tournaments.

7. Jonathan loved watching Nickelodeon and especially the show "Rugrats".

8. Jonathan was born on May 4, 1990, weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 21 inches.

9. Jonathan loved beanie babies, trucks, race cars, and drawing pictures of sharks and rockets.

10. Jonathan and his mom rescued a baby snapping turtle from a Dunkin Donuts parking lot. 
Jonathan named him "Little Dude".  Little Dude lived in a tank during the winter in Jonathan's first grade classroom as their class pet.  In the spring, Little Dude was released to the pond behind our house in Sudbury.  We think we saw him a few times over the years after his release.

Please consider supporting my fundraising efforts to honor the memory of Jonathan, Patty and all of our loved ones who are battling or who have battled cancer!

XO AMY

Hello!  Here are 10 things that you may not have known about my mom, Patty Shields.

10.       Patty always wanted to be an archeologist.
9.         Patty liked to eat vanilla ice cream out of a cantaloupe.
8.         Patty loved Laura Ashley.
7.         Patty did not like roller coasters, but liked rides that spun.
6.         Patty wanted a shamrock tattoo.
5.         Patty liked black licorice.
4.         Patty and I loved to watch Days of Our Lives.      
3.         Patty loved going to the movies.
2.         One of Patty’s favorite flowers was the daisy.
1.         Mom always encouraged me to “Just Do It.”

I am running the 2013 Boston Marathon in her honor.  Please consider supporting my fundraising efforts.  If you have already supported me, thank you thank you!!

XO AMY

Let the TAPER begin!

 

I put 21 miles on the books yesterday.  What a great feeling it was to come to a stop after 3.5 hours of straight running.  Trotting, really.  Like I said before, I am not fast.  Tortoise, not the hare.  That begin said, with 20 days to go, I am pretty much staring this race right in the face!

 

I will confess my fears here and now.  This will be my 4^th time in the ring with the Boston Marathon and it is NOT easy.  Running 21 miles yesterday reminds me of what it feels like to “hit the wall.”  Around mile 18, my body just says, “That’s enough, thank you very much.”  I am not built like a true runner that just bounces and glides along, feet barely touching the ground.  But what I am is determined and committed.  I push through those last 8 miles.  It is torturous at times.  I want to stop again and again.  But finishing the race is the only option, so I put one foot in front of the other.  I can almost hear the cheers and can envision the fans urging us along.  That brings a smile to my face.

 

Yes, marathons are hard.  I choose to do this one again and again because it make me feel great.  The sense of accomplishment I feel when I turn the corner toward the finish line is up there in my top ten best feelings ever!  But even more than that, fundraising for Dana-Farber makes me feel amazing.  In the past 4 years, I have raised over $45,000 and counting!  Please help me cross the $50,000 mark!  100% of your donations go straight to innovative cancer research.  You can’t beat that with a stick.

 

You will be hearing a lot from my in the next 20 days…thank you to those of you who have already supported me. 

 

XO

Race day is approaching quickly!  Only 24 days away…  Although it is the second day of Spring, this morning’s run covered my eyelashes with snow.  I have my longest run of the training season this weekend and it looks to be a nice, warm 51 degrees.  That makes me happy.  I have a playlist FULL of new songs thanks to your suggestions…new songs keep the long runs interesting.

 

I am shamelessly soliciting for donations.  No amount is too small.  It all adds up to one big fat number at the end of the day.  Last year, the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge raised over 4 million dollars.   That is A LOT of money and it is all thanks to you and your support.

 

I plan to be the tortoise, not the hare this year.  Not that I was ever a speed demon…  My goal is simply to finish without dehydrating and to try not to do too much walking.  I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I had a time goal in mind…but I will keep that to myself for now J

 

As always, to all of you who have already donated, your support means so much to me.  Participating in this event is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and makes me feel so close to my mom, Patty and this year, Jonathan Smyth.  Someone I never knew, but now feel like I do.

 

XO

The Art of Fundraising

I am sitting on my couch, contemplating my 16 mile training run tomorrow.  My stomach is WAY too full of cake from my dear friend’s baby shower.  Not the best way to fuel a run, but I can never resist a dessert buffet.  

At this very moment, Marathon Monday is exactly 1 month: 12 days: 12 hours away.  I set out to raise $15,000 and am only 1/5 of the way there.  If my math is correct.  Which it often is not.  Needless to say, I need to get my fundraising pants on and get to work!

I chose $15K as my fundraising goal because last year I raised over $13K and know that it is possible.  Rounding up to the next “5” seemed like an obvious place to go for 2013.  Now, I need to figure out exactly how to get there.  What is the perfect art to fundraising?

In the past, I have peppered your inboxes with messages.  I have blogged.  I have written quippy status updates.  All with the intention of drawing people into my story.  My love for my mom.  My admiration for little Jonathan Smyth.  My rainbows sightings.

Listen, I realize that everyone has a cause that is close to their heart.  And I am imposing mine on to you.  My cause is Innovative Cancer Research.  Research by the brightest, most creative scientists out there working hard to treat and eventually eliminate cancer once and for all.

I know you have your cause.  But if you have ever known anyone to suffer the effects of cancer, please consider making a donation to my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.  Dollar amounts add up, so don’t fret about the number.  My daughter Charlotte has a paper bag with the words “Fight Cancer” on it, full of loose change.  That seems like a great place to start.

XO AMY

"Ahhhhhh....why did I sign up for this?????" This is what I was thinking at 6 am earlier this week when I overslept and missed a run. I had snoozed my alarm about 4 times and just couldn't bring myself to get up out of bed and out on the streets in the dark. So, I went back to sleep. Which I never do. I NEVER skip training runs! EVER! I am as rigid as it comes. Give me a schedule and I will follow it. Flexibility is rarely an option (just ask Theo). The decision to skip a run created a catastrophic thinking downward spiral. Why did I decide to sign up for the race this year? I have a full time job and less freedom to run. Runs MUST happen at the crack of dawn. How am I going to pull off 8-10 mile runs at 5 am? AHHHHHHHHH!

Then wouldn't you know, that night Declan (my six-year-old son) comes home with a worksheet talking about marathons, specifically the Boston Marathon. One of the questions on the worksheet was, "Why do you think someone would choose to run a marathon?" Lucky for Declan, he has a mom who could answer this question from experience. Declan posed the question during dinner time and I replied, "Because it makes me feel accomplished."  Quickly Charlotte (my eight-year-old daughter) chimed in, "People run marathons to help sick people."

There you have it. That is why I signed up for the 2013 Boston Marathon. I am running this race for the 4th time in memory of my mom, Patty. This year, I have another angel pulling me along--Jonathan Smyth, my "In Memory" partner. Both of these courageous heroes fought an unwinnable battle. I want to make the outcome different for those cancer warriors today and in the future.

Thank you to those that have supported me in the past. Thank you to those who have supported me already this year. Please consider helping me attain my fundraising goal of $15,000! More blog entries to come as I train through the early, dark, winter mornings....

The final entry

I started writing my final blog post almost two weeks ago. April 21st. The day my mom died. This year, it will have been 16 years. It has been so long that the anniversary doesn’t feel like the punch in the gut that it once did. However, you just never get used that the fact that your mom is gone. In a cliche way, it felt like the perfect day to make my last blog entry but it didn’t happen. That day, I sort of went off the grid. Didn’t answer the phone. Didn’t really go on the computer. Took a 1.5 hour nap. Started this blog entry and just stalled out.

SOOOO, here I am to tell you all about my 2010 Boston Marathon experience! Have you been on the edge of your seat?!?! I am feeling that emotional let down that commonly follows a big event, like the post-wedding blues. So much planning and anticipation and then “poof” it is over. Although, that marathon was no “poof”... It was more like a “SLAP, BAM, BASH, POW!” It kicked my ass.

Dana-Farber hosts a big pasta party celebration the night before the marathon. It is quite an affair and really hammers home WHY we are running this race. We were introduced to the “patient partners”--kids suffering with cancer who are paired with a number of runners. There is a video montage of former patient partners who have lost their battle. It is absolutely heart wrenching. We met Delores Barr Weaver---the daughter of Claudia Adams Barr for whom our fund is named. Delores’ goal for creating this fund in her mother’s memory was to have a world without cancer. Remember, 100% of funds raised by our team go to innovative cancer research--research that has a difficult time getting funding due to unknown outcomes. Translate: cutting edge, experimental and very important!!

After the party, Regan and I stayed in a nice hotel in the city while Theo took the kids out to Rockport. We took a stroll, checked out the Finish Line, got ice cream on Newbury Street and hit the sack early. Alarm was set for 5 am...I slept like a baby! Met up with my team in the lobby of our hotel and befriended a really cool girl, Mae. We are both moms to 3 kids, our mothers were treated at Dana-Farber for uterine cancer, both passed away. She was a great compadre that morning before we lined up. Once we crossed the start, I was on my own.

Mile 1-9, I felt really strong. I was determined NOT to run too fast, to stay in my zone and enjoy the crowds. I saw Theo, the kids, Sean, Emily, Henry as well as my friend Erica and her son, Jimmy (somehow missed Jonathan and his family) at mile 9, which was a great boost. From mile 10-13, I was starting to feel the same fatigue that I felt the first time I ran this course and it scared me! If I was going to beat my 2008 time of 4:28, this was not a good sign. During my training runs, even my longest, I never felt pooped out at 13. I did a lot of deep breathing, tried to find a good mental place and kept going. Passed through Wellesley College, Wellesley Center (Mile 13, 14) and was starting to struggle. I knew that my friends Danielle and Tim were at 15, so I just wanted to get there. Then I made a surprising decision--I walked. I have a strict “no walking allowed” policy, but it was not a choice. Nausea, fatigue, general dis-ease. FFFFF!!!! So, Danielle and I walked a few hundred feet and then I was on my way.

I knew Regan was at 17 and she was going to jump in and run with me. That got me through. I was hurting. Hit the wall early...with so much race to go. Regan was an amazing running partner--it was so nice to have moral support and someone to encourage me with every step. We saw Dad at 19 and Danielle and Tim bounced along the race course to a few different spots. The inebriated crowds around BC and BU were screaming “AMY! AMY! AMY!” thanks to Regan’s shirt...which instructed them to “Yell for AMY!” I walked intermittently until 23 and then made a commitment to myself to finish this thing out running. Which I did!!! Finishing time: 4:53

At first, I was disappointed in my time. I had fully expected to beat my 2008 time. I trained SO well and felt so great for every long run. But by mile 15, I realized that this race was going to challenge me in a way that I didn’t expect. That was very humbling, but in a good way. I have to be proud of myself for training for 16 weeks one year out from having Alice, my third c-section at that.

It has taken me almost 2 weeks to write this entry because I just couldn’t figure out the best words to describe my experience, especially what happened at the end of race day. Regan met up with me at the team headquarters and we hobbled back to the car to make the drive out to Rockport, where we had a whole crew waiting to celebrate with us! After running the 2008 marathon for Dana-Farber (on the day mom died, no less) Regan and I saw a rainbow on our ride home! It was magical and amazing and really felt like it was mom saying, “Way to go!” So, on this year’s ride home, I brought that up. The sky was strange--it had been a beautiful day. Partly sunny. But all of a sudden, the clouds were alive and strange and mysterious. As we made the 45 minute drive home, I obsessively stared up at the clouds. Regan joked that she was driving with only one eye on the road. As the ride was coming to an end, Regan said, “You know, I don’t want this to turn into a disappointment if we DON’T see a rainbow. It was so cool that we saw one last time and we KNOW mom is with us.” I agreed, but kept my eyes out.

As we made one of the final turns home, there it was. Huge, bright and laying right out in front of us! I screamed, “HOLY ****!!! PULL OVER!!!” Regan swerved to the right and stopped the car. We clutched one another, staring at the sky in disbelief! We noticed that this rainbow was right over the ocean, so we jumped back in the car and sped ahead about 1/4 mile to the end of the pier. Mom was there again! Winking at us. Letting us know she was there. That she was proud and happy. I was so lucky to have captured the rainbow on my phone because when I ran back to the car to get my camera out of the trunk, I turned back to take the picture and the rainbow was gone.

So, another Dana-Farber marathon on the books!! During the pasta party, I was inspired by those teammates that have done this race 5, 10, even 15 times! So, I think I am in for 5. Two down, three to go! My fundraising total jumped by like $2K in the week leading up to the race--currently, I am at $8,900! My goal of $10K is within reach! Donations will be accepted until August. If you are so inspired, please go to www.rundfmc.org and click “support a runner.”


My decision to run the 2010 Boston Marathon was born out of my fear of this race. I remember sitting on the couch in the fall faced with the application. Do I or don’t I? It was so hard in ‘08--can I really take this on again? Training is practically a part time job and now I have one more kid? Then, I thought about my mom. She had no choice when she battled cancer. She took the disease head on and really fought until the finish. Her (and my) dear friend Jody shares that it was only after her doctors made the decision to stop treatment that my mom finally surrendered. Mom cried and said, “I never believed I was going to die.” For this reason, I ran and will run again.

XO