65 roses

a little background info:
when i saw a woman promoting the 1st annual 65 roses 5k at the beach 2 beacon expo back in august, there was no question i would be running this race. "65 roses" is what some young children who have cystic fibrosis call their disease because thats how they hear the words to pronounce their life threatening illness and its easier for them to say. in the description from the CF foundation- "making it easier for children to say does not make CF any easier to live with". no kidding.

i am a respiratory therapist for a reason. his name is aaron. back in 2006 i started school (again) in hopes of becoming a nurse. i was on the waiting list for nursing clinicals and taking pre-reqs when i met tyler and his brother, aaron. within the first 6 months of dating tyler, a bout of pneumonia got the best of aaron and he was hospitalized in the intensive care unit at mass general, basically on life support. for most, a small pneumonia is just a bump in the road. but aaron has CF. he had already had a double lung transplant at that point in time. this pneumonia could kill him.

spending a few days with the sterling family in the hospital i learned a lot about nursing, a lot about myself and their family, and a lot lot lot about respiratory therapy. we all have our very own "aaron" in our life, but i immediately felt in my heart that i wanted to help more people like him and his family, and the rest is history. (good thing things worked out with ty, huh?) :)


the 65 roses 5k was a huge success, bringing out 200 runners, walkers, friends and family for a great cause. im surprised i somehow managed to stay awake, but im glad i did.... i won my age group AND got a new 5k PR! i knew i wanted to run fast because, well, the faster i ran the sooner i would get to go home and go to bed (i worked the night before). little did i know that by running as fast as i could would actually keep me there longer, haha.

the course itself was pretty hilly but having lived in portland i knew the roads and what i was capable of. i started right on the starting line and took off, staying close with the front of the pack. there was one woman ahead of me and about 5 or 6 men. a few more men passed me along the way, and then an older woman. i knew i was still in the lead for my age group (19-29). then, it happened. i got passed by someone i knew was too near my age not to be in my age group. so oh well, there went my chance at #1 (i was actually more concerned with staring at her as she ran by and being jealous of her body... helped me keep pushing along... not that i hate mine... really just kept me awake.... my fiance seriously thinks i like girls).

as i neared the finish line, i knew i was within the top 20 runners. i looked behind me and saw a girl gaining on me, so i stepped it up a bit to make sure i finished before her (gotta get competetive at the end!) the last part of the race was a downhill to the finish so i gave it all i had and crossed at 23:24. a new PR!! i was runner #15, so i got a red rose when i finished (the first 65 finishers got a rose... i felt like i was on the bachelor! yes i will accept this rose). i cheered on the rest of the runners and walkers, including my friends elizabeth and rachel (her first 5k ever!!), and then we all went on down the hill for water, an apple, and pizza! (at 10am, go figure. still so awesome. clearly i had a piece).

when the results started printing out, i checked to see how i did. as i had thought i was #2 in my age group. best ive ever done in a race, but only the top runner wins an award. i didnt really care, but i stayed around to see the ceremony because i am very interested in the cause and wanted to support as much as i could. much to my surprise, they called my name when they did the top age group award.... what? i went and picked up my gift certificate, still pondering what had happened, when the race director announced the other chick the overall womans winner of the race with a time of 21:00. holy fast! but thanks to her, i was the winner of my age group since she couldnt win two awards :)


this will definitely be a race i will do every year if i can, and i will recruit and try to make it huge!!! i am very passionate about helping people with CF as it is so close to my heart.

wedding update: invitations = longest.process.EVER.
make sure guest list is complete (like really complete, cuz im not adding anymore. if you havent made the cut yet, sorry. feel free to crash after 7pm though... two words: open bar). collect addresses that somehow youve lost since sending out save the dates. collect addresses of new people that have been added to guest list that didnt get a save the date (sorry about that... if you really want a STD and didnt get one we will be happy to give you one... er... um... never shortening SaveTheDate again). number the rsvp cards incase people forget to write their names on them (im not a mind reader here people. that big M followed by a line is not just for show. tell me who you are thats coming to eat my $50 meal). develop spreadsheet for who is number what on said rsvp cards. print off spreadsheet incase my computer crashes (wouldnt that suck?!). are you coming to the rehearsal dinner? super, you get a separate invitation! stuff proper envelope with RD invitation. are you from out of town and havent checked our website? you get an extra card with hotel info.


totally worth it. and im really really excited to get mail for the next few months.

me? versatile? sweet!
(for the record, i had to look up the definition of versatile. whatever.)

so the 5k prize was not the only awesome thing about my day... lindsay from http://lindserella.com/ sent me "the versatile blog" award and i must say i am SO pumped for this first blog award!! to me this pretty much means my blog is full of random shit that people continue to read but probably care as much about as the fact that many of their salad dressings in the fridge are probably expired.

so thanks lindsay!! ill continue to try and keep you somewhat entertained.


rules for winning this award:

*thank and link back to the person who gave you the award (lindsay... see above link. or if youre lazy like me just click here!)

*share 7 things about yourself (this blog doesnt tell you enough random crap about me? isnt that what this award is all about?....)

1. i have almost perfected my homemade alfredo sauce. its got LOTS of ingredients in it that are horrible for you. yummy.
2. i went to the bathroom at work tonight around 1am and realized i had my underwear on inside out. this happens to me approximately once a month.
3. i went from 12:00am on january 1, 2009 - 12:06am on january 1, 2010 without eating a single potato chip. this is probably one of the first new years resolutions ive ever made that i stuck with. im pretty sure it backfired on me though because i have probably gone only a handfull of days this year without eating chips.
4. chips are not complete without some sort of dip, or cheese, or avacado slices. hellllllo weight gain. its a really good thing i enjoy running.
5. when i take my tshirts off to throw them in the laundry basket i pull them off in such a way that they become outside in, and i dont fix them. it drives tyler insane when he goes to fold the laundry and has to inside out them before folding. this may or may not explain the underwear issue.
6. i begged and begged to get my new verizon cell phone early (before my 'new every two' contract was up, even though it meant paying extra) for the sole reason i was madly in love with the 'pen' option (little drawing pad where you use your finger nail to draw out the letters you want to write in the text). i got the phone early. i have never once used the 'pen' option.
7. i keep checking our registry. on a daily basis. and i will continue to do so until the "want it: 1, got it: 0" reads "want it: 1, got it: 1" next to our kitchenaid.

*pass the award along to other bloggers who you think are fabulous

sarah- a new adventure

andrea- tri and catch me
jeri- jerbear shares
katie- run this amazing day
courtney- i can do this
jess- jess runs
jenniferleah- miles, muscles, & mommyhood

happy monday everyone!! 6 days til the dreaded 26.2. i may or may not only be doing the full distance because katie told me i would be her hero having not trained for it. im hoping my legs dont fall off at the hip.