Praise You.

This year will be the 20th anniversary of my mom’s death.  Amazingly enough, it falls on the same day as the 2014 Boston Marathon--April 21st.  Over the past 20 years, I have had many instances when I feel certain that my mom is present.  Too many to count.  Sometimes it is in the form of dreams. Sometimes it is a strong feeling in my stomach. Other times, it happens when I hear a particular song.  

Whenever the song “Praise You” by Fat Boy Slim plays when I am running, I feel like my mom and I are giving each other high fives.  The chorus goes like this:  “We've come a long long way together, through the hard times and the good. I have to celebrate you baby, I have to praise you like I should.”  I feel like she is saying this to me and I feel like I am saying it to her.  

Living almost half of my life with out her has been quite an adventure.  MANY bumps in the road.  Lots of tears and heartache.  But somehow, I have gotten myself to the age of 41--married, three kids, great job--so much to be grateful for.  When I hear that song, I think she is saying, “Way to go, Aim!” 

When I listen to that song, I also think of my mom’s life experience.  She lived a full, rich life before her death at age 47.  She and my Dad celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary just weeks before she died.  She has 3 amazing kids who love each other dearly.  She has so many people that care about her--friends who have become such important people in my life.  It makes me sad to think about what she has missed out on over the past 20 years.  Weddings, grandchildren, retirement.  Life.

For these reasons, I want to Praise her like I should.

XO

All Running...All of the Time

A friend just asked me what I was doing this weekend.  My answer—running. 

Really, that’s about it.  Oh, and napping.  I am in the thick of my training.  Every weekend for the next few weeks, I will be running back-to-back long runs.  This weekend, I will run 12 miles Saturday and 14 miles Sunday.  Training reaches its peak the weekend of 3/29, when my longest run is 22 miles.

Training for a marathon really is a part-time job.  Thankfully I have a cooperative, supportive family that puts up with me while I am gone running for hours and then gone for a few more hours napping.

I wanted share two entries from my blog last year.  Enjoy!

 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.”

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. Mom says she thinks they saw him a few times over the years after his release.

XO

The Thing About Goals...

Goals are important.  They keep us moving forward.  When training for a marathon, I like to break the ultimate goal (26.2 miles) in to 18 weeks of smaller goals.  Over time, the weekly mileage increases to condition us for race day.  I keep a print out of my training schedule handy and find it very satisfying to cross off my daily runs/workouts.  A visible, tangible record of my accomplishments for the week.

For the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team, my teammates and I have an additional goal.  We are charged with raising money to benefit the Claudia Adams Barr program in Innovative Cancer Research.  In a nutshell, the Barr Program is critical for conducting basic research, which is not eligible for federal funding until well along in proof of principle. The program enables leading-edge, highly-innovative research up to the point that it may be possible to attract government or private support. Barr Investigator awards help advance the professional development of Dana-Farber’s newly appointed Instructors and Assistant Professors who otherwise lack seed funding to test hypotheses and bring promising studies forward in completely new areas of research.

I am proud to report that, over the course of my 4 DFMC races and my 2014 fundraising to date, I have raised $50,367.55!!! 2008: $10,245.55; 2010: $10,001.00; 2012: $13,686.00; 2013: $15,440.00 I am more proud of these totals than any of my marathon finishing times.  Losing a loved one to cancer is a very powerless feeling.   It has been so amazing to actually DO SOMETHING to honor my Mom and my In-Memory Partner,  Jonathan Smyth.

So…this all being said…I have set a lofty goal for my 2014 DFMC fundraising--$15,000!  We have done it before and we can do it again!  As of today 2/28/14, my Barr Program total is $995.00.  I have a lot of work to do over the next 1 month 20 days and 21 hours!  I realize that, in reaching out to you,  I am “tapping the same well” as I have over the past 4 races.  You have all been so generous!   If you can, please consider a small donation to help me reach my goal! 

And if you have already donated, THANK YOU!

XO

Dreadmill

Three treadmill workouts in a row.  Truly dreadful.  The “dreadmill” (props to my friend Dawn for that moniker).  This winter is KILLING ME!  It is supposed to be WARM this weekend (if you call 40s warm), so I will get outside and finally get in some outdoor mileage.
I wanted to pass along some exciting news! First, a little history…  The DFMC has a program in which runners can partner with families who have lost a child to cancer and run in their memory.  Last year, I partnered with the Smyths—a family formerly from Sudbury, MA (like myself).  Their son Jonathan lost his battle with neuroblastoma in January, 1998 and is buried 2 gravestones down from my mother, Patty Shields, in Wadsworth Cemetery in Sudbury.
   
Last marathon season was such a special experience as I had the support of not only all of my friends and family, but of the friends and family of the Smyths. Marie, Jonathan’s mom, and I maintained regular contact over the course of my training and I was thrilled to have Katie Smyth (Jonathan’s older sister), a graduate student at MIT, as my guest at the DFMC pre-race pasta party.
 
For the good news… Katie Smyth has joined the DFMC team this year!  Although the Smyths have been part of the Partner/In Memory program since 1997, this is the first time the family has had a runner of its own!  I am so excited for Katie as this will certainly be an amazing year to run her 1st Boston in memory of her brother. I am crossing my fingers that Marie and family can make the trip to Boston this year to cheer us on!
 
Please keep Katie, Jonathan, Patty and I in your thoughts over the next few months as we gear up for April 21st!

XO AMY

After The Apocalyspe

This past week has been a challenge.  Due to an ice storm, my family lost power, heat and hot water for 3 full days.  Kids were out of school for three days.  Scrambling to get to work.  Strategizing how to even get a shower.  Running has not been on the top of my priority list.

“Flexible” is not my middle name.  I like things to be a certain way.  I like predictability.  I often eat the same thing every day.  When it comes to marathon training, I follow the same training schedule year after year to a “T.”  This training season has been humbling.  Rain, Ice, Slush, Snow, Black Outs.  Mother Nature, not Amy, is at the wheel for sure.

I often catch myself in a panic.  “I haven’t run all of my training runs this week!!!!  Will I be able to finish the marathon????”  Then I collect myself and realize, “Yes.  I’ve done it before.  I’m training and doing the best I can.”  Plus, I have two guardian angels pulling me along!  This training is not about me.  This training is about my mom, Patty and my In-Memory Partner, Jonathan.  I can cope with the elements.

XO

WEATHER!

Snow.  Ice.  Rain. Fog.

So far, it has been a very tumultuous training season , weather-wise.   I have even been driven inside and onto a treadmill.  Egads!  Not a piece of cake, but…we soldier on!  Many miles to go before the big day on April 21.

For most of you, this is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th even 5th time I come to you in the name of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.  I wanted to extend my most sincere appreciation to you and let you know that every single one of your contributions means the world to me.  I realize that everyone has a cause close to their heart and it is so important to me that you have considered supporting mine.

I will keep this note brief today… more news and updates to come.

XO AMY

December 16th is fast approaching!

Next Monday (December 16) marks DAY 1 of my 2014 Dana Farber Boston Marathon Challenge (DFMC) training.  It feels like it was just yesterday that I crossed the START line in Hopkinton.  I prefer to think about the excitement and adrenaline that I felt at the start of the race, rather than what happened at the end.

This year’s race is monumental in so many ways.  The whole city/country/world will be tuned in to show love and support for Boston Strong!  I can’t even begin to imagine what race day will be like…  For me, there are several special milestones that take place on race day--April 21, 2014.  First and foremost, it will be the 20th anniversary of my mom, Patty Shields’ death.  I can hardly believe it has been that long.  My participation in the DFMC has been my way to celebrate my mom’s memory and do my part to battle the disease that took her from us too early.

Second, it will be my 5th running of Boston on the DFMC team.  As I sat at my very first DFMC pre-race pasta party, I was so swept up in the positive energy of the event that I declared that I would do this race 5 times.  Third, the 2014 race is the DFMC’s 25th anniversary.  It feels amazing to have such an incredible organization be part of my life.  Fourth, if all goes as planned and I reach my 2014 fundraising goals, through the generosity of my family and friends (and their family and friends), I will have raised over $60,000 for the DFMC.  100% of all donations go to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research.

I am excited to share that I will again be running in memory of my buddy, Jonathan Smyth.  For those of you not familiar, Jonathan was my In Memory partner in 2013.  Jonathan was a very brave “little dude” who fought cancer like crazy, but lost his battle in January of 1998 at the age of 7.  What makes Jonathan extra special to me is that he is buried 2 headstones down from my mom in Wadsworth Cemetery in Sudbury, MA.  Whenever I visit mom, I can visit Jonathan.  I believe the two of them kept me safe during last year’s race.

You will certainly be hearing from me throughout the next 18 weeks as I run the cold, dark streets of Lower Merion, PA.  Your continuous love and support is what keeps me going!

XO AMY