Day 36 Salem, IL-Evansville, IN
Katie 13 miles (13.11) 132 team Trash pick up day B on side of road for Tina hard day with humidity Met the sweet community members that served us dinner. Newborn baby Dyed our hair w dance party and practiced 44 more 306 Day 37 service day Slept til 9:30! Service at noon, met patients, news interview #479 of mama Abbott (w laurel) talked to roger and Burke that is a pilot Went to a downtown coffee/doughnut place that was recommended by a local patient Steak lunch! Fair, rides, animals, what are the odds Dogs at host that pick up trash Bonfire Started making baker and mos love story video Anna fell asleep on my arm :) Day 38 Evansville- Salem Tyler 13 miles (13.41) 125 team Ran 2 miles in the morning w Pam (point to point runner) and 2 other girls from the church Ran 2 vans together at same time Dance party (Disney throwbacks and git up) Peach drove us around, jammed out and almost spilt slushie all over herself Katie and I finished last 3 miles at a park Geese rushed us, we ran on trails and hit spider webs (Katie said never take it for granted that I’m not afraid of spiders HAHA) saw a deer Going to get massages “Duck n cover birds and bumps watch heads” -peach Doing cookies in this parking lot (I get my desserts all mixed up We sat on the back patio around a fire on a comfy couch writing letters One of my favorite nights so far-we cuddled 8 people into one bed, and were “visited” by jvoss as gma and gpa. She scared us by showing her shadow then dropping to the floor without us knowing when and where she’d pop up. Cristina jumped like a spider monkey to the middle of the bed out of fear “I just can’t take this anymore” hahahaha Peaches, Anna, and I all cuddled in the bed next door and fell peacefully to sleep We found out the other van side swiped a pole and is now dented and has scratches/paint on it 319.41 Day 39 Salem-Cincinnati, OH Laurel 13 miles (13.34)132 team Amanda “Taco Bell breakfast?!” Right as I was finishing reading my letter “sorry I’m such a squirrel!!” Legs felt good! Ran into Liz’s parents and high school coach and finished 3.3 miles with her coach down by the river trail Saw the Cincinnati bengals stadium and baseball and church that zac Efron filmed at/ Kentucky across the river Finished miles at the church for supper-very big and nice Zoodles Ymca Walked back to the river to swings. Talks w laurel and Liz Day 40 Cincinnati-Columbus, OH Brie 14 miles (14.33) 137 team Lots of stories Long day Met for dinner and met Doug Ulman Stayed at ULMAN’S home-amazing shower and king bed. Lots of cool artwork. His mom is an artist Day 41 Rest day Ran w Doug Ulman 3.5 miles Learned more about Pelotonia Kitties cakes for coffee and breakfast Tim Horton’s for coffee ( jvoss and Taylor loved it) Tour of Cancer Center on Ohio State’s campus Radiation not underground Christmas in July on campus Baker got me a poop bucket for a competition and she loved her pic of me and will put it in her office or house on a board Lunch and walked around north market Went to house #2 to hangout, nap, dinner, went and walked to ice cream after FaceTiming Riley and Jenny in Thailand, danced and learned the “kick” sequence, did our cheer, came back to house #3 to sleep 350.58 Day 42 Columbus-Canton, OH Mad dog 11 miles (12) 113 team Lots of talk about marathons (Richmond) Started our run w 2 miles with our hosts from that night. So fun! Miles went quick Fun pics Everyone awake on drive back to host! Dinner w super cool community. The older lady had the same sarcasm as our team. She had pink in her hair (temporary and has been doing it for about 1.5 years) she had great style and humor. I looked behind me as she was walking by and she said laughing “turn around and mind your own business” haha Taylor’s family surprised her, took everyone to ice cream Hung out at the church, writing in notebooks, chilling Deflated bakers pad and she was ticked haha Sarcastic/savage comments haha 362.58
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Day 29 Seneca-Topeka
Piech 8 miles (8.14) 82 team “No one would dare complain” 2x 4ker for the dedication circle about her good friend that passed at age 11 of cancer “I get to” Liz calls coffee rat poison “Oh my haha” Katie pronouncing Omaha Song 16 and better love Cleaned the vans inside and out-laurel and peach. Fun times Showed up and host van had costume of little rascals w long trench coat and briefcase and showed us around in accent haha (mads and jvoss) Day 30 Topeka-Kansas city (liberty) Taylor 12 miles (12.31)113 team Woke up to baker blaring a song INTO MY EAR DRUM. I accidentally rolled/hit Piech haha last night Anna got up in the middle of the night and scared us..she had to wipe off off brand icy hot because it was burning Hard nap after first leg Beautiful scenery Stopped at Hammerhand coffee when we got to town I drove to town and amber navigated but was dozing off and peaches and I had a good laugh Went to mads home and waited for them to run in Hung out w her fam and chalked a welcome home sign Went to shower at the nice place we are staying (assisted living) and got our mail Met a lady in hot tub whose mom passed away at the age she is now. Wants to provide us breakfast tomorrow and we will run for her Dinner at Mad’s House w her family. Local chicken place Played knockout and whiffle ball. Our team is super competitive and I sweat/ had my highest heart rate of the day Hung out around her bros video game and dogs and went to do laundry Another night with lights on and Katelyn said “close your eyes it’ll be dark” haha 252.26 Day 31 Rest day KC Breakfast at a woman’s house that our team met in the hot tub the night before. Her mom had passed from cancer at her current age and wanted to give back. So generous! Hospital visit at the Research medical center. Wrote cards to patients and had coffee all outside. Sammi was our guide all day and was incredible! She had a service dog named Ruth-9 months old. Ketv came to record. Met a patient w blood cancer. So sweet and positive “just have to trust God” Explored science city and union station FaceTime date #2 w Riley CrossFit type workout at cancer wellness for life-webuild4life. This is Sami’s gym that she opened after working at a precious gym and wanting to help clients she met that were dealing w cancer. Her husband surprised her with this gym. She works in the hospital all day and goes to the gym in the evening. We did teams of 3, with 40 reps of 4 exercises (2x through) medicine ball slams, up downs, air squats, sit ups. This led to the final competition of carrying items to the curb out of the garage door. My team ended up in 1st!! Champs! Wrote on wall of the gym. Motivational quote “you must go through the valleys to reach the top of the mountain” We went to a local pizza place and ate with Madison’s running club and talked w a local reporter. She wanted the Midwest girls to report about. Day 32 Kansas City-Columbia, MO Amanda 15 miles (15.24) 154 team Woke up at 4:50, somehow slept and extra 20 min THREE TEAMMATES rolled their ankles on the curb outside taking their stuff to the host van. It was on a curve and there was a drain but they must not have realized how big the curb was. No one is sure how this happened 3 times (bad things come in 3s?) Tyler Liz and Natalie. They rested in the run vans today It was extremely hot and we hit our heat index of 110 so we drove ahead a bit to where it was just below that. Instant sweat when you get out of the van (like opening an oven) First time I was in a van with mad dog for awhile! Had time to talk about our futures and 4K options Miles flew by and learned this was only the second day Amanda has ran through a town in her running leg The last set of 2 miles is a fake leg (or last real leg is the one before haha) Last pair finished with 2 local runners from a running store. Dumped water on jvoss and ambers heads at the end Amanda is scary when she runs and isn’t afraid of cars She was a premature baby She is a dreamer and her parents are more by the books She is in pharmacy Columbia is beautiful and we are staying at a church next to mizzous campus BEAUTIFUL (sunrise and sunset today) Pizza night paid for by Anna’s parents that we will see tomorrow Walked around the campus 267.5 Day 33 Columbia-st Louis, MO Juliana Vossenberg 13 miles (13.25) fake happy (song) Mads taking apart a pager and making it buzz light up-nerd of the group ;) Ran in wooded shaded area Round about 4 times around haha Muddy shoes “What if life doesn’t get better than this” Met Anna’s parents at Berkshire Hathaway where her dad works-food and drinks-went to roof top. Had one mile left at the college (roomie Cristina) we were staying at but got in trouble for running after drinking so had a call and 7 of us have to sit out tomorrow. Resulted in some drama Went to arch but they were closed and went to a bar and grill for late supper Also van 1 went into the ditch but luckily got pulled out by a towing truck passing by. They all had to crawl out the driver side door Day 34 St. Louis-Springfield, IL host van w Baker Slept in til 9:15 Went to get coffee and breakfast Went to arch for souvenirs. Super hot and far walk Talked all day, personal life Savage comments about us getting in trouble haha $50 to Hyvee on first stop after 2nd coffee shop stop Stay at another college (roomie mad dog) and had a fun meeting, highs and lows, notebooks, and played sardines Local running club members brought us a taco bar and we hung out w the children. The girl continuously hugged baker 280.75 Day 35 Springfield-Salem, IL Katelyn G 12 miles (12.14) 123 team Meeting Iwona in van 2 Liz ran w American flag..through corn and ran out “America” Some ran into river on run, super brown, saw group of people tubing Dogs ran at Katelyn and I twice Our handstand photo Given ice cold water bottles when running Jamming out to country music driving on highway like back home. Reminded Liz and I of home Instant whiteclaws Walmart trip and Applebee’s Iwona hungout w team..Ashley comments 😂 Facemasks 292.89 Day 22 Rest day Billings, Montana for Carrie’s wedding
Watched World Cup in hotel Brunch at the sassy biscuit Tried to get tats but everywhere was busy Ready for wedding-van out to the ranch “My spot was hit” “that hit my spot” Beautiful venue, combined sand, sisters sang, communion as the first thing they did as a married couple, threw bouquet from a balcony 4K team owned the dance floor Cheered the couple out with sparklers Went back to brewing company to hangout Quality time w Ashley at the hotel 1 hour of sleep and off to the airport Rachel and I had the same flight-same row Passes out as plane was leaving ground Day 23 Denver-Yuma, CO Illona Hartman 15 miles 152 team Was picked up from airport by van 2 for 15 mile day Ran in a storm/rain. I found it peaceful, Illona found it scary haha Last 3 miles of the day hard to stay awake HAHA Host van was extremely lucky and was loaded up(especially from Trader Joe’s) authentic Mexican from host and had home stays (BED SHOWER LAUNDRY MOVIES WARM BREAKFAST COFFEE AHHHH) FaceTimed Riley Snap of Baker in a face mask -she also signed my leg today Day 24 Yuma,CO - Arapahoe, NE Cristina Lopez 16 miles (16.36) 161 team (Partner pick) Chaffing in places you shouldn’t chafe “If you don’t go beyond your comfort zone you won’t succeed” Water guns Great talks w Cristina Finished last 2 miles in the town after dinner Baked potato bar Little kids running as we drum roll on the ground (ran into each other face first..about 3 times) Ice bath Fun group meeting w games w Becca Day 25 Arapahoe-Aurora, NE Host van w Liz Thunderstorm last night lighting and hail super windy Breakfast by school cook Woke up at 9:30 left little after 10 oops and walked out to cartoons on the tv Liz slept next to sleeping pad Got close to a flag pole as we backed up to get out of the roundabout Almost hit 2 birds Saw people pushing a car in parking lot Smart car 20 roles paper towels Cristina peed by passenger door that Liz had to get in Asking panera customer if she’s heard she looks like Allie Kieffer (stupid) Baker diving board competition Little girl staring at us crossing the walk to Walmart. Jaw dropped just a tad Semi dude waved to us in stopped traffic New friend Ellie from pool “you are the nicest person ever” “I hope I see you next year” “your tricks and flips were amazing!” Baker chickened out on diving board competition Talk about how our why has changed Partner descriptive drawing competition Minute to win it games (my team was 2nd) Liz received a terrible rug burn Day 26 aurora-Omaha, NE Baker 14 miles (14.1) 136 team For Jamie Roberts (a girl that passed on 4K) Becca ran w us LOTS of butterflies Baker jumped into my arms for a hug!!!! (She doesn’t enjoy hugs) Dinner w Allstate and they donated $5,000 to us Went to a brewery w mom, gma, and Tracy Day 27 Rest day in Omaha Host families Buffett Cancer Center Met Lexi, a patient there and saw all of chihuly’s art work Lunch w family and Illona Pool with Illona and Ella (host family) fell asleep laying out haha Dinner w host family Down time with Jvoss and Illona at the host Day 28 Omaha,NE-Seneca, KS Amber Rehberg 12 miles (12.26) 114 team “You don’t bring anything tangible out of 4K” Hit in face w butterfly Kansas state line Finished run w Tyler, mads Pool, played games, psych Slushie challenge at sonic FaceTimed Riley Could t find how to turn off lights so slept with all the lights on in the gym Prepared for rooster and jvoss’s secret Santa Day 15 Bluff, UT - Durango, CO
Lauren Glase 12 miles 119 team Ran by wild horses Talked about bowling hobby 4 corners Mesa verda National Park Community dinner, talked to a woman who did a marathon in Hawaii, and one who won a 40 miler Baker tried doing a back bend-fail Scared Liz in dark basement of church: fun fact she drops to floor when scared Watched holes and FaceTimed Riley Day 16 Durango-Pagosa Springs, CO Host van w Illona Explores Durango Coffee ;) Hot springs Broke 2 plastic forks at dinner..too strong I guess haha Baker and I had a challenge to see who was willing to stand out in the rain the longest..but it stopped and we walked back into the building through the same door at the same exact time Laundry and saw a full double rainbow Day 17 Pagosa Springs - Alamosa Katie Varela 10 miles (10.15) 103 team Start of my host stretch! Saw Treasure Falls and Continental Divide Liz tried my VIA Starbucks instant coffee and said she would rather eat dog treats again *key word-again* Skipped rocks Photo on train..sprinted out of the area cuz of pickup trucks passing us multiple times haha Lost what are the odds and had to swim in a stream Jvoss left the air horn speaker on the roof of the van and about 5 miles later it flew off Mexican restaurant w laurels mom and free tequila shot Went to San Luis Valley Brewing company for some drinks and stories Polish waiter super cool Day 18 Rest day IHOP breakfast donated Sand dunes..rented sand boards, hiked to the top San Luis Valley Brewing again for dinner Played games “zummi zummi” Baker list, couldn’t talk fast enough, told us she isn’t sure what makes her excited in life Played pterodactyl. HILARIOUS Day 19 Alamosa-Salida Jay Remmers 9 miles (9.08) 84 team 4th of July! Crazy outfits Roughly 80 honks/waves during our run Finished last 3 miles as a team in town Super nice host! Coffee/ parade Jumped in on parade at end and sang 4K cheer Amicas for dinner and drinks (happy hour) Bama waiter Fireworks Walked through park Danced for a couple hours at a pub and started the dance floor to be lit Walk to the church and looked at stars outside until heading in to sleep around midnight Day 20 salida-Colorado springs Mads and mad dawg (M^3) 11 miles (11.02) 113 team Extremely emotional dedication circle for Camden and Kendall..Camden died when we was around 5 months old to cancer..found out when his eyes changed color and could see something wrong in pupil. Had a daughter named Kendall after (they divorced after this) and she asks her dad if he loves her as much as Camden and he says “I miss Camden more because he didn’t have long with him but loves her more because he’s had more years with her and more memories” the dad also fell asleep (he had been used to being awake for his job so it was unusual) in the chair one of the last nights with Camden before shutting off his support to keep him living and he now does a memorial 24 ish hour streak awake w friends/fam in memory. He uses Camden for motivation and desire to live Roughly 9,500ft elevation Started out cold, legs felt like an ice bath Pretty chill running day Olympic training center tour! Iowa gymnasts Left water bottle there I must’ve been too excited Day 21 Colorado Springs-denver Taylor Jezuit 7 miles (7.08) 69 team Ran by rain deer/bucks Left water bottles at Carl’s Jr. Picnic in Parker..walked around downtown w laurel, coffee w Taylor Team went to Rocky Mountain National Park and laurel and I unloaded at the host...headed to Denver airport for Carrie’s wedding tomorrow! Met team NY at Montana brewing company HOTEL Tripped over a spout in the ground and NEARLY biffed it but caught myself with hard feet pounds hahaha dropped everything in the process Day 8 Beatty, NV- Las Vegas
Madison Nasteff 12 miles 119 team Brie called Uber a shuttle On a narrow gravel/dirt road the majority of it Desert Are we going to dance tonight Brie? “Does a fat baby sweat?” Sorority Cappa cappa cappa cappa Candy bras Talked to lady “dressed up” on strip and she was saying a grandparent was going through cancer Day 9 Rest day Las Vegas Skydive 15,000 ft 120mph 14 of teammates Lady that worked there have us her husband’s ashes to spread in cool areas of the country. Very heart touching Brunch Quick nap then went to walk the strip again Wrote notes to ourselves for the last day Day 10 Las Vegas-St. George, UT Jay Remmers 12 miles 180 team 100 degree day-got some chills Lake Mead National Park Valley of fire state park finish mile ran trail Dipped in Echo Bay of Lake Mead Song: twenty one, Sunday candy, uproar Eat cucumber as a team HA Sprayed by host van laurel and Liz Ping pong vs Baker (she beat me 3/4 yikes)and Brie Start of Baker competition Day 11 St. George-Hurricane, UT Brie Naughton (Illona, Katelyn, Tyler) 6 miles 30 team Slept in til 6:30!!!! Hard boiled eggs breakfast!! Teams traveling together Got lost first set so did 3 miles 1.5 pure hill Emotional dedication circle. Previous 4ker who couldn’t run bc he found out he had brain cancer, Leighton 1 yr 3 month anniversary Found a bball and mads and I worked on our “rainbow” soccer move Lerl-name on coffee cup at hurricane ut perks! Splash pad, skate park Get up song Hiked all the way up Angel’s Landing! 5.2 miles, couple hours, 6,000ish feet elevation, pulled on chains on the side of the mountain to get up, and ice bath at the bottom in the lake. BEAUTIFUL! Scrounge for dinner No shower Learned Zion is pronounce like “lion” from the locals Pizza and Olive Garden at 11pm Beat baker in juggling contest (1-1) Day 12 Hurricane, UT to Page, AZ Liz Hoffman 14 miles 140 team Woke up laughing to Anna in the bathroom w a mustache drawn on her face. “Ya, I don’t think this is coming off” “I don’t feel like fighting today” instant tears in eyes, realize why running 4K is for Cancer..cancer patients don’t want to/have a choice to fight either but they have to just to survive Baker and I joked about Flattening each other’s air mats in the middle of the night Cuddle pile Went out for a drink Stargazed Day 13 Rest Day Started the morning with FaceTiming Riley and drinking our VIA Starbucks coffee while reading the chapter in Love Does that talks bout the guy who created it (forgot Arizona doesn’t change w timezone so woke up an hour earlier than planned haha oops) Grand Canyon! Sat on the ledge Went out to eat for Mexican-made it Brie’s bday and heard Amanda’s amazing laugh for the second time Day 14 Page, AZ to Bluff, UT Anna Bax 16 miles 169 team Forrest Gump road!! Hot, rained a little bit around Forrest Gump point Naps Host in middle of nowhere Finish 4 miles together at host, no one left behind REAL BED! But hot so we found a big dusty fan to work after we found out the other shakes extremely bad when it’s on (scared Liz) haha Walk tag Talked to a guy at the host who ran boston and had morning coffee with him Nicknamed Hulk for being able to tear KT tape without a scissors haha Day 1 San Fran-Vacaville, CA
Cristina Lopez 10 miles 102 team Send off -brisk morning Golden Gate Bridge Started running straight from there Running wine country First upgrade hill Brie lost phone 3 times “It’s a dessert” Game at night-everyone falling asleep in chairs Drew on vans “jack jack” We are going to tape ourselves in The Bachelor Huge dinner-took food to women and children’s home No caffeine..yikes In and out donated Becca’s Old McDonald impersonation Tick crawling on us Day 2 Vacaville-Placerville, CA Natalie Korba 10 miles 108 team Van 2 drove to starting point Almost rolled ankle 4 times oops Curvy up hill rocky shoulder in the middle of fields Found a flooded road Lots of cows Finished 2 miles in town-saw a huge beer tower “Hanging” town Teammate fell and twisted ankle All asking about how it’s possible not to want to leave each other in the matter of 2 days Daughtry, team loves nickelback Trying to get on Ellen Day 3 Placerville, CA-Carson City, NV Katelyn Gormley 10 miles 104 team Close to running out of gas-van 1 to the rescue Huge mountainous hills-snow and had to turn around Driving up mountain-to Anna- “thanks for driving” her: “you’re welcome. It was kinda scary” nonchalant Why Circle:4 ish hours Day 4 Service day at Carson Tahoe Cancer Center: good views nice people, heard story and tour Food donations Lake Tahoe Walk around heavenly Watched sunset and talked w Taylor, Cristina, Liz (talked about posture hahah Liz “up back down”) Day 5 Carson City-Bridgeport, CA Caitlin Baker 10 miles 97 team Walk in for bathroom check and Madison goes “oh thank god” needed tp hahaha Ran up mountains, drove dirt path along mountain 9500 elevation gain Max HR reached Day 6 Bridgeport,CA-Bishop, CA Laurel Denny 12 miles 116 team Stuck in sand Mono lake Trail run Goldfish used as cheese on sandwich Schats roadhouse Rodeo, nothing there but live music haha Jammin out/pics on rock “You did the damn thing” Madison’s pencil sharpener move Anna’s singing Jvoss fist in mouth Dance party Guy that works for blue diamond donated a huge bag of smokehouse almonds to us in the mountains Wobble w Brie cheese Day 7 Bishop, CA- Beatty, NV Amanda Murray 10 miles 151 team Biofreeze in laurels eye “I just can’t open it” Biofreeze chest to breathe..it helps! Gatorade powder shots Nickelback CD all day from Riley..8 times through, 8 hours, no one got sick of it He has set the bar Anna swerve for a baby chipmunk Laurel scared me into a jump as I was rolling out my back Ran to pizza on everyone’s last leg Dirt tornadoes Learned about Robert, Baker’s work buddy Mad-dog’s quote: Hotter than a devil’s weenie in fur whitey tighties HA Teammates thought there was a baby foot on the back of van (dirty) Saw donkeys walking the streets I arrived in San Fran on Thursday, the 13th. I met one of my teammates, Lauren, at the airport and we found our way together to the Airbnb we would be staying at with 5 other teammates, and 1 runner from Team Boston. We waited outside the house for about 30 minutes talking and getting to know each other before we had our wonderful 10 minute house tour with the owner, Kevin. After this we met our other teammates at a bar in North Beach called Gino and Carlos to watch the Golden State game. There we talked to a couple older ladies. One told us about her job working with patients who suffered brain damage and the other was handing out pizza to us and even a guy outside. They were fun spirited and extremely caring people. After the game ended we waited outside and were entertained by a homeless? man stumbling around talking about a torpedo. We then went back to Kevin's and spent time with his 20 month old daughter (her name was pronounced Even) and she explored our bags, flossed, and listened to baby shark. She also loves to shake hands!
On Friday the 14th we woke up and ran to the Japanese Tea Garden and de Young museum where we went to the top and had an overview of part of the city. We also saw some Japanese dancers in the park. Our run was 3 miles long (HUGE hills- down on the way there and up on the way back) and I had the chance to run next to Emily Winson from Team Boston and learn some more about her. We decided we would adopt her as a part of Team Baltimore. We then had orientation and met the rest of our team (22 members). We had some ice breakers- we played the game I love my neighbors-and received our numbers for the summer. I am now #16 (was 5, but switched with Illona). Some of us finished our in person CPR training and then went to the send-off dinner. Here we named the taco shells taco sacks and spent an adequate amount of time determining what kind of cookie we were eating (peanut butter??). There was a guest speaker who talked about being a part of the Cancer to 5K program and continuing to be on a 4K biking team!! How incredible. It's amazing hearing even more good stories of what the Ulman Foundation does for those young adults impacted by cancer. We then went to a church that was hosting us for the night and learned to folk dance! It was so fun- intimidating at first, but we caught on! I was able to FaceTime Riley for awhile (he's a trooper, with the time change it was almost midnight in the midwest) until the lights were turned out on me. He was able to say some things to freak me out a little more as I was stuck in the dark on a stairwell in this huge church ;) I made my way back to the chapel where everyone was asleep and attempted to get just a couple of hours of sleep on the thin pew. Saturday we woke up at 6 to go to orientation all day. Mady was sure to show off her incredible cartwheel skills bright and early. We went out driving the vans and practiced food donations (where the hot food of choice was dragonfruit and Matt was named Barb). When we were released we walked to the mall across the street and attempted fitting 7 people in a photo booth. That wasn't very successful but we put up the effort. All of our sleeping pads are arranged right along each other in the wide open gym. Laurel and I played the card game speed and recognized each other’s competitiveness and realized it’s going to be a great summer. Relationships are already forming and I can't wait to see just how close our teams will become over the next 49 days. Shoutout to Illona for her leftover spaghetti as my supper :) “My towel is the size of a postage stamp” Mady (Mady and Cristina both came with “tiny towels” and didn’t check the size of them before coming to Cali) There are many ways the 4K has shaped me into a better person than I was before. I’ve struggled with a lot of things in my life that I have made strides in overcoming during our run across the country.
I remember having the best childhood I could ask for! I was extremely active, happy, and had a lot of friends and family surrounding me. However, that didn’t come without hardships. Most of the challenges I started facing were after a dramatic event in my life. My stepbrother passed away after getting in a car accident and becoming paralyzed from the neck down. He lived this way for about two years and we would go see him frequently at the hospital he stayed at in Omaha. However, he decided he didn’t want to live that way anymore, felt content with his life and decision to wean off the machines keeping him alive, and passed away to heaven. Growing up, I suffered from severe OCD and depression. There were many nights I would stay awake and cry myself to sleep. I remember being comforted by my mom and stepdad in the middle of the night when I was freaking out and crying, worried that my mom was going to get in a car accident on her way to work early the next morning. I would have horrible occurrences where I’d have to turn lights off and on again until I didn’t hear the little voices in my head. I was constantly threatened in my head. I remember times during this period of my life that I never thought I’d get over it. I thought I was always going to have to redo everything I did until I had some sort of temporary contentment. Even though that kind of contentment came with no explanation. The depression came through and I would cry more often than not. I’d get upset over the smallest things, like how my clothes fit. I went to many counselors and tried many antidepressants until I found a combination that worked. I rarely had a “good” day but I still put a smile on my face and stayed strong in front of my friends. I continued playing sports and found that to be my outlet. Through time, the OCD gradually let up but the voices in my head surely did not. I moved in seventh grade from Council Bluffs to Manning and had a hard transition at first but ended up finding my place back in the small town. Throughout high school I kind of had it together, kind of didn’t. I struggled a lot with accepting a new stepdad into my life. At this point many people had come and gone from my life so I was really great at putting up walls. Our family broke a little bit and my brother and I didn’t always get along. I found myself still striving for good grades and participating in many sports and activities, but also going out to forget my problems at home. A lot of times I would let frustration build up and didn’t know how to deal with it, so I didn’t. I was so anxious to get to college and start my life away from all the problems back home. When I moved to college I felt like I was thriving the first semester! I met a ton of new friends and knew I belonged at UNI. I had a couple breakdowns, but that’s normal while trying to figure out the way of college, right? I strayed from a couple friends I made freshman year and got hurt by a boy, but that was typical. I had a sturdy group of friends and couldn’t wait to return to UNI for the next 3 years. I got into distance running after joining club soccer and meeting my best friend Brittney. We both decided to start training for a half marathon and knock that off our bucket list the summer after my freshman year at the Dam to Dam in Des Moines. Success! We made it! I loved every second of it. I decided once I was halfway to a marathon, I might as well not stop and keep training for a full marathon that fall. I signed up for the Omaha marathon and got busy training. I went home for the summer after freshman year and lived with my brother in Manning since my mom now lived in Omaha working at her previous job. This was probably the hardest summer of my life. I struggled a lot. I worked nearly twelve hour days at the pool lifeguarding, teaching swimming lessons, and coaching swim team. I was also busy training for my first marathon and would get up at sunrise to run and workout before I had to work all day long. For someone that knows balance, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But I didn’t. All I thought in my head was “you have to run this much this week” and “you can only eat ‘healthy’ and NO fat”. A lot of distance runners end up finding themselves with an eating disorder at some point. The female triad is extremely common and I found myself heading down that road. I didn’t think it was a big deal and never noticed the weight I was losing. I just kept busy and kept running. I also focused on eating nearly only fruits and vegetables because that’s what they tell you in school. To summarize the summer, I often had breakdowns and my brother would have to talk me through them. I kept training and racked up the miles until I finally moved back to college! When I returned to college I continued running A LOT and eating “healthy” AKA literally only raw fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I’d throw in some protein, but that was minimal chicken or protein shakes that had zero fat. One morning at the beginning of the school year I was out running and met two members of the cross country team. They thought I looked like a good runner and told me I should check out the team. So I did and ended up deciding to run for them as a walk on. I was EXCITED! I didn’t expect this to happen, I never thought I was that good of a runner, and I was thrilled to have my training pay off. But it didn’t necessarily go how I wanted. I trained hard with the team and surprised myself by how fast and far I could go. I even thought I was doing abundantly well when I’d do an extra few miles on my own outside of practice. I performed at a high level for awhile until the adrenaline wore off and I started to become injured. I now know it was because I was 100 pounds at 5 foot 6 inches and had zero fat on my body. I was almost always injured and would even cause myself anxiety attacks on workout days because I was afraid of not being able to keep up with the team. I was looked over by a doctor for my symptoms and was thought to have sports induced asthma, even though deep down I knew it probably had to do with anxiety. But I wasn’t going to tell anyone that. I didn’t want to risk giving up my miles. I then dealt with the disordered eating I was experiencing. I researched myself to see if it was a normal thing that I was feeling/doing. I found orthorexia nervosa and instantly knew I had an undiagnosed eating disorder. My heart dropped when I realized this. I never thought I would end up with this problem. As a kid all I ate was junk food and sweets and didn’t care one bit! But it happened. This disorder is an “excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food”. This led to malnourishment. It was hard for me to think straight or keep a conversation going. I have no idea how I kept straight A’s in college. It was hard to even open the door to the building of my dorm. That was one of the things that stuck out to me when I realized I needed to do something about it. Another time in class we were doing skin fold measurements and I remember having zero fat to even clamp the tool and get a measurement. I remember being happy when I got on the scale and could see the number go down. I remember sitting in the sauna to lose even a couple extra pounds of water weight before weighing myself. I remember everyone commenting on how skinny I was every time I saw them. I got weird looks and didn’t realize it until I found out they were out of concern. There were even rumors going around my hometown that I was on drugs because how else could I get that skinny?! Thankfully, my parents and close friends stepped in and asked if I was ok and made me see a therapist. At first I argued about seeing a therapist, but I went just to make my mom happy. At this point in my life I did NOT cry in front of people. No matter how bad I wanted to, I stayed strong in front of others. But when I went to the therapist, she questioned me and revealed my unhealthy relationship with food. She gradually talked me through things and made me see a different point of view. She made me realize that everyone needs fat on them and I wasn’t going to be able to live like that forever. She also made me realize everything I was missing out on by skipping get togethers that involved any sort of food or going places that might not have the healthiest option. I would also even skip activities out of pure exhaustion or because of a cold that frequently came around. My body was literally in survival mode. There was also a dietician that came to our school that made a lasting impact on me. She retraced our minds back to childhood. We should eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re full. Intuitive eating is a very important concept to me now. She had a great way of using humor and “simple” thinking to quiet the evil voices inside the minds of individuals with eating disorders. Time came around and I moved home at the end of the fall semester of my sophomore year to prepare for my study abroad experience in Australia! Before I left, I worked and ran A LOT. Anything under 13 miles a day was unacceptable to me. I spent as much time in the gym as I could. Was there a reason behind it? Not really. I just loved to run and push myself to no end. I also wanted to burn a lot of calories so I didn’t have to feel guilty for eating. It was a little ridiculous because I was hungry all the time from running so many miles and lifting after every run. During this time I was having a lot of extreme stomach pain. Whenever I ate, it felt like food would get stuck in my stomach and sit there. My stomach felt tight, cramped up, and felt like my insides were twisting. This happened quite a few times at night and I tried everything to help the pain. I went to the ER one time at college and then my mom also took me twice when I was in Council Bluffs. The second time I went in they found the source. My duodenum was blocked off from an artery that was clamped down on it. I had lost the fat pad holding it up so it blocked the food from moving through. In the ER they instantly put a tube up my nose into my stomach to empty it. That was one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to experience. I was then in the hospital for a week without food while the doctors decided what to do. The surgeon contacted gastrointestinal specialists and they came together to tell me their plan. They were going to reroute part of my small intestine to my stomach so the route of food could skip the blocked part. It’s quite complicated to explain and hard to grasp, but everyone thought it through multiple times, asked several professionals, and figured it to be pretty much the only option. I went through the surgery and extreme pain came with it (I’ll save us the time and not list everything I went through).The first day I was out of surgery I couldn’t leave my bed. The next day I stood up and had to lay right back down again. I was on a liquid diet, then a soft diet, then slowly over time began eating more solid foods. A lot of things were hard to digest for a long time. Fiber didn’t work well. Neither did raw vegetables. It was an extremely hard adjustment and recovery period. I often times remember sleeping the day away with pain pills. I was always in so much pain. But over time, I recovered enough (or so I thought) to travel to Australia and study. I spent about 3 months their but then kept having issues healing from surgery. My stomach always hurt and there wasn’t much I could do. I saw a doctor there and she flat out asked me “why are you here?!? You should be at home with the comfort of your family to recover”. I started crying and realized she was right. I was supported in my decision to head home and cut it short. I didn’t want to leave, but I knew I wasn’t living out the great experience that Australia could offer me when I was always in pain. When I got home I had some check ups and had to become patient with the recovery process. Eventually I was well enough to get back into my daily routine and exercise and before I knew it I was hitting the times I ran before surgery. I moved back to college in May and worked that summer. I also ran the Dam to Dam half marathon and was determined to keep improving my times and endurance again. I also ran Relay Iowa that summer and ran a 110 mile week and 60 miles in about 48 hours. That was the most I had ever done! I was back at it full swing! I ran the Omaha marathon in the fall and gained a PR by 16 minutes!! I was about 15 pounds heavier than my first marathon and still cut off an extreme amount of time. This was a great breakthrough for me. I always thought the lighter, the faster. Not true. After this I trained for Boston (since I qualified) and was loving it. I was in the zone and even ran 20 miles on a treadmill, staring at lockers, to prepare for Boston. THE marathon that every runner dreams of. However, I started feeling like running was a job and a chore. I didn’t enjoy it and had a few breakdowns on runs. Don’t get me wrong, I still had amazing runs most of the time, but I was extremely bad about giving my body any rest or recovery. I grew a strong love/hate (more hate than I’d like to admit) relationship with running. It also became worse when I was in pain and became injured. About halfway into my training cycle I got hurt and started having a lot of hip pain. I ignored it and kept running since it’d go away after a couple miles into each run. I got to the point where I couldn’t even walk anymore or lay in my bed without pain. Unwillingly, I cancelled my flight to Boston. If I couldn’t walk two steps without pain, I knew it was impossible to run 26.2 miles. I got it checked out and I ended up having ischiofemoral impingement and a swollen quadratus femoris. I was sent to PT for exercises and she was also concerned about a labrum tear. I was in sheer panic since I was supposed to run across the COUNTRY in two short months and the doctors didn’t figure out the problem until a month before. I went to physical therapy as many times as I could and cross trained for two whole months before my flight to California. I took exercise ideas along with me, as well as tips on how to straighten out my kick/stride and where I landed on my foot to prevent further injury. I also received a cortisone shot in my quadratus femoris the week before I left, praying I’d make it through the summer. I had time for the steroid to kick in before we started on our journey! So off we went and my life was changed. A new passion for running emerged. I didn’t keep track of pace at all during the trip across the country and that was an insane relief. Not worrying about hitting a certain pace?! After almost three years of tracking every run?! Wow. Relief. I also had running partners! Oftentimes I like running by myself as alone time and to be able to push myself. But running with other people makes it so much more enjoyable. Talking and learning about each other made the miles roll by. I could finally have FUN with running and not get so anxious and worried for each run. It didn’t matter the pace we chose to go. It was all about fun and how our bodies felt. I learned to listen to my body. Along the trip I also improved my relationship with food. A lot of times I still freak out about eating but during 4K you eat what you’re served and don’t worry about what the ingredients are. You eat or you go hungry. That’s it. We were also always on the go so we had to live in the moment. That helped me not dwell on what I ate. I ate until I was full and my body was fueled and then moved on. Everyone was supportive without even realizing it. Watching my teammates have spaghetti eating contests and enjoying their food made me realize you can really eat yummy food (and maybe even more than a “normal” portion size) and not gain a ton of weight. I believe our team portrayed the beauty of perfectly imperfect. None of us were the same but all of us showed beauty. We were all perfect in our own ways and embraced our own and each other’s imperfections. Oftentimes we would compliment something about one another and come to find out they were insecure about what was complimented. I realized we judge ourselves and our bodies way more than others judge us. Throughout the trip I became more comfortable in my own skin and realized a sparkly personality beats any gorgeous figure. I was also able to realize the importance of accepting love and tearing down the walls I build up against others. I’m so scared people will leave my life so I take initiative and don’t allow them to get close to me in the first place. However, my teammates became family and I became open about everything in my life just as they did. They are now family and I love them to no end. Even if they live all across the country. There are also some words of advice that I’ll hold with me. There were several talks about love on our trip. One of my teammates said we have to dive in deep with our whole heart and self to find true love. We can’t let the fear of getting hurt stop us from experiencing the greatness of love. Lastly, I found true happiness on the 4K. Yes, it’s quite an easy life getting to do what I love everyday: run, bond with my teammates, and help some of the many people impacted by cancer. However, I found true laughter again. I learned to ease up and choose what battles are worth fighting for. There is no one “right” plan that we need to be striving for. We can’t plan out our lives. I’ve learned how important it is to go with the flow and make the most of what you’re given each day. Laugh, smile, help people who need it, help people who don’t, protect others, and keep your morals straight. Keep your eyes on God and what could go wrong? Finding faith in Him brings so much more joy, peace, and contentment than anything in this world can bring. And in the end, everything is going to be 4K OK! 8/4/18
I’ve been avoiding this post. I’ve avoided it because that means it’s over. The 2018 4K run is over. We’ve ran over 4,000 miles as a team and I’ve ran 520 miles individually. We ran 39 days and had 4 service days, reaching out to those affected by cancer. I’ve never laughed harder, cried harder, or loved harder. I’ve learned that you need very minimal to live the happiest life possible. I would 10 out of 10 times choose to sleep on the ground, shower in shoes in not so clean places, wash laundry in the sink and use the “smell” test to determine what is clean enough, use the great outdoors as a bathroom, wake up at 4:30 A.M. each and every day, eat one of our hundred donations of granola bars or peanut butter smooshed white bread sandwiches, choose to jam out to “wii turn up”, be frightened by an angry dog coming towards us from the yard next to us, lose my voice, cry tears and tears, feel the muscle fibers in my legs “tear”, or climb mile long mountains just to be with my team again and continue on our journey of spreading awareness for young adults with cancer. There were many times we had to rough it but that’s what made it so fun. However, nothing was harder than getting the news “you have cancer”. Nothing was harder than chemo or radiation. Nothing was harder than losing a loved one to cancer. On our last day we ran 21 miles from the George Washington Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge and over to the piers. I ran with Jenny and ran for the Ulman Cancer Fund who brought us together, my whole team and everyone they were running for, as well as everyone we met along the way that had been impacted by cancer and showed us great hospitality and generosity. When we were being shuttled to the starting point, I remember seeing the skyline of New York and bawling. This led Jenny, Carly, and many more to cry and console me at the same time. Seeing the skyline meant we were running to the finish and that couldn’t be right. Time went so fast and I wasn’t ready to leave the love, comfort, and safety of my team. We took off and ran over the bridges with joy. We were also pelted by the rain and became soaked throughout the 21 miles. We only became slightly lost once or twice (maybe three times?). During our run, Jenny and I swapped back and forth a cafe mocha espresso goo for an extra boost of energy. We weaved in and out of people and finally reached the pier. Shania grabbed my hand and we ran through the finish together. She looked over at me as we were nearing the finish, telling me not to cry, not yet. We finished and ran into a group hug. Our team cried and hugged and didn’t want to leave each other. Everyone’s families were watching and anxiously waiting for us to greet them. We split off and I found myself becoming a Taylor. Jenny’s family took me in and even had signs with both of our names on them, along with stick head figures of Jenny and I. It was hilarious! They were the most welcoming family I’ve ever been adopted into. Haha! Of course I cried over this too. After we snapped some pictures we had our awards/closing ceremony. We all received medals and each of us talked about another person on the team. The trainers also received an Ulman stocking cap, which will come in handy this winter!! I won’t ever be able to stop representing this wonderful organization. I put my heart and soul into a lot of things that I am passionate about, but this tops them all. 4K has helped me make a difference and has encouraged me to take this opportunity and run with it. A couple quotes that will stick with me forever: To the world you are one, but to one you are the world. If you don’t commit your whole heart and self to love, then you risk missing out on the greatness and beauty of love. 4KOK Eh, it could’ve been worse. 8/3/18
141 miles Partner: Jame Burden 14 miles ran Dedication: Ulman and my 4K family This morning we woke up to Monica playing New York music and yelling that it’s going to be a great day down the hallway. We all got ready in our dorms and headed out the door. I was in van 2 so we drove halfway to the start and I barely got a nap in. James and I were partners and ran our 14 miles through hills and trees. We talked a lot about faith and our experiences in the church. It was super nice getting to talk about our similar beliefs. We also had quite a few dance parties along the way! We got done in time to make it to the host in New Jersey (a new state!!!) at our “sharp 3” curfew. Sasha and Maeve were meeting us there and we needed to be on time to get everything accomplished that they had planned. Turns out they were the ones 45 minutes late. We wasted time by hitting target and when they arrived we went to shower at the ymca. Everyone made a big deal about our last shower together wearing shower shoes and quick dry towels. We blasted some music and made it a good time. We went back to the host to fill out surveys and have a delicious pasta meal. One of the ladies at the church was the mother of a 4K participant that was supposed to run in 2014 but was diagnosed with cancer before he was able to do so. He passed away and she carries on his legacy by speaking with us and sharing his story. We had our last meeting to go over logistics for the final day and then had a team circle. We talked about our “why” for doing the 4K, our goals and if they changed, what we gained from the experience, and what moments stood out to us. It was so touching and of course I started crying when I spoke. I can’t get over how much this trip has changed me and impacted me for the better. Everyone else felt the same way too. After our circle we wasted time hanging out, stretching, preparing for our 20 mile run to come, and simply enjoying everyone’s company. Some people were privileged to sleep on air mattresses that the pastor blew up for them. I took a church pew and slept right by them. The last night that the sleeping crew slept right next to each other. It was too sad to think about so we made fun out of it and people were throwing around their mattress pads. Haha. We soon passed out without notice around midnight. 4:30 A.M. was going to come early but we were excited to embrace the last few hours we had with each other. Quote by Jenny “Doesn’t it look like we’re in a trumpet right now?!” For the record, I love Jersey accents!! |