Pasta with a side of Inspiration!

You all know the tradition of "carbo-loading" before a big race? Well, if you're thinking of this, then that's not quite it:




I won't go into a big rant about what carbo-loading actually is (for that, you can read this great article from Runners World), but I will share with you about my incredible evening of inspiration and carbohydrates at the Team Challenge Pasta Party on Saturday night before the big day!



The Team Pasta Party is a tradition for Team Challenge where all participants and guests get together the night before each race to, well, eat pasta! This year at the Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon there were over 1000 guests at the Team Challenge pasta party - the scene was insane!

Alicia, some of our TCNE mentors, and Coach Dave were part of the greeting crew!

It was so inspiring to see how many people stood when they asked how many people were running (over 600!), how many people had run multiple years, and how many people in the crowd were IBD patients. I was proud to be able to stand as a runner, and to have Nick stand beside me when they asked about patients.

One of the evening's speakers was Saskia Madison, wife of former Miami Dolphin Sam Madison, who suffers from both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (you can see a video of her talking about Team Challenge on NBC 6). After 11 years of dealing with IBD on her own and with her family, Saskia heard about Team Challenge and the CCFA and decided to step out of her shell, join Team Challenge, and publicly share her story of living with IBD.



Her talk was moving, truthful, and really hit home for everyone in the crowd. I think I found myself almost in tears several times. She talked about the pain and embarrassment related to having Crohn's and colitis, as well as the struggles she had having children and taking care of her family with severe symptoms.

Thank you, Saskia, for sharing your story and helping to inspire us to continue to move forward, and to continue our work raising money and awareness for the cause!

The other speaker for the evening was Michael Ginsberg of Team Challenge Austin. Michael shared his sometimes hilarious, sometimes graphic, and altogether inspiring story of overcoming Hodgkin's lymphoma only to find he also was suffering from Crohn's disease. Below is the video of his speech that made me feel so proud to be able to run with Team Challenge in Nick's honor:



We also found out at the pasta party that Team New England (Boston Strong!) was the region to raise the most money out of all state/regional teams - over $400,000! Altogether, Team Challenge raised $2.4 million to help fund research for improved treatment and a cure for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. That means that each mile we run this weekend will be worth over $180,00 for a cure!

Team New England had the top fundraiser in the country!

And, of course, at the Pasta Party - we ate! I didn't take any pictures of the food as I am usually wont to do, but I can tell you it was delicious! For us vegans, there was quinoa pasta with marinara sauce, an amazing and loaded salad bar, some delicious rolls, and sweet tea. I also stocked up on bananas for post-race :)

After all the eating, laughing, crying, and stands of solidarity, it was time to return to our buses to bring us back to the hotel.

Exhausted and armed with more food for thought, we returned for our team meeting where we received our bib numbers and our Boston Strong ribbons for race day :)

Bib #3516

I've never been so prouder to be part of a team, although tomorrow I think will be even better :) I'm off to bed now as we have an early start tomorrow (breakfast at 4:30am!). But I can't even tell you how excited, energized, and inspired I feel right now!

Running Boston strong,
ashley

National Running Day!

I run for my health, for my family, for my future, and for all those that cannot. I run to stay in shape. I run to feel good. I run to have energy and to clear my mind. I run to be a role model and to show others that anything is possible.

This year, I am running a half-marathon race with Team Challenge on behalf of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. I am running because there is someone in my life touched by IBD and he has inspired me to challenge myself and overcome the odds. I run for Nick. I run for Erin. I run for Timmy. I run for the 1.5 million Americans suffering from Crohn's and colitis.

I run for a cure.

What inspires you to run? 

Invincible Superwoman!

I was having a conversation a few weeks ago with a customer service rep at Best Buy about running. I don't know how the conversation started, but we found out we both love running and started chatting about it. I told him that I was currently training to run my first half marathon with Team Challenge and that the training was definitely challenging and we have really only just started out. He mentioned to me that once you pass the 5 mile mark though, anything feels possible.

Since I was only up to 3 miles or so in my current training I had to recall the training I did last fall for the Tufts 10K for Women.  I do remember getting to the 5 mile point and feeling invincible. Wind at my back, I felt like I could run forever when I was out for my daily runs. Of course, I would always wear myself to a good level of exhaustion, but throughout the day I had this feeling of strength and fitness over my whole body. And on race day I beat my goal of finishing in under an hour - although I did feel exhausted to point of collapse afterwards.

But that good feeling - that invincibility - is what I felt a couple weeks ago after our first group long run past 5 miles - 5.4 miles to be exact. I ran alongside my mentor for most of the route until she gave me the go ahead to keep running ahead while she slowed down. I kept up a great pace and finished in about a 10:00/mile pace. I felt amazing afterwards - better than I ever feel after my weekly morning runs. And even better, I felt I could keep running forever! (well, at least another couple miles...)

But lately, I have not felt like Superwoman during my training. Things have been getting really tough. On top of everything going on at work and in my personal life, and my plateau in my fundraising, I've definitely felt a strain on my body from my training: shin pain, lower back pain, general muscle soreness, and a bruise on my pride from worse-than-desired times on my so-called "hard workouts". The last couple weeks or so have just made me feel - physically and mentally - that I just can't do this.

Enter training week 6.

I woke up this morning feeling well-rested and excited about training, but very nervous - would I hurt myself or otherwise be unable to finish? But I got dressed, put on my sunblock, and drove the 29 miles to today's route: Battle Road in Lexington. My team was already warming up when I pulled in to what looked like the middle of nowhere, and minutes later we were off on the dirt/gravel route through Lexington, Concord, and Lincoln.

And WHOA, was it awesome!

I ran the first 2.5 miles or so with Coach Dave, who gave me some great advice and training tips on the way. Before I knew it, I was at the halfway point where Alicia was set up with cups of water and electrolyte drinks. I was cruisin' through the beautiful park scenery, with no ipod or other technology to distract me from the beautiful weather and the fact that I had virtually no leg pain running on the off-road trail. I felt, in a word, invincible.

We will ignore the fact that I was so in the zone that I ran right past our starting point, went a mile off-course, and started having a panic attack when I realized that I was totally and utterly lost, without any form of map or way to call anyone on my team. Fortunately, everyone on that trail is super polite and the first person I came across let me use his phone to figure out where I was and how to get back (despite the fact that my hands were sweaty and trembling). I turned around, and about a half-mile later came across one of our teammates, Ben, wearing his memorable bright orange jacket. We made it back to the parking lot in no time with no problem at all, while Ben shared with me his own fundraising tips and tricks :)

But at mile 7, mere moments before I realized I was in totally the wrong spot, I felt like I could have kept going for miles. I had just conquered a rutted, never-ending hill (that I didn't remember from the beginning of our journey) and still felt great - high energy, pain-free shins, and just the right amount of Vitamin D from the partly-shady, partly-sunny trail. I was so proud to share with my team what I had accomplished, and received compliments on my time when I returned.

Above all, this week's run helped me believe in myself again. Armed with quite a few suggestions of local trail runs to try out during the week, and personal realizations of how I need to adapt my training to prevent injury, I know that I will be able to finish my training. Armed with countless ideas and a renewed vigor for fundraising, I know that I will be able to reach my goal of raising $4500 for a cure. And armed with the confidence that both of these weapons give me, I know I will be able to run Napa on July 21st for Team Challenge with Nick at my side cheering me on.

I am once again the invincible superwoman that I always knew I could be.

Thank you, Team Challenge!


Running strong,
ashley

Team Challenge with our honored hero, Timmy (back row, center), at Battle Road
for today's long run and re-commitment picnic!

A New Kind of Cardio

This weekend I volunteered at Camp Sunshine - an overnight "summer camp" type facility for children and families affected by terminal illnesses such as cancer. Camp Sunshine is located in Casco, Maine. As I was packing Thursday night I looked at the weather report and was disappointed to see a forecast of snow, rain, and a wintry mix for most of the weekend. Being the baby I am about snow and freezing conditions, I expected not to run at all while I was at camp. I brought my workout clothes though in case I had time for weight training or something.

I originally felt extremely guilty that I wasn't going to get my training runs in this weekend. I know I'm just at the very start of my training, but I'm out of shape from taking some time off during this winter's string of snow storms that I didn't feel like I could afford it physically.

However, once I saw the schedule for the weekend I felt much better about leaving my running shoes at home. On Friday night, after the families arrived at camp and we had dinner and the opening ceremony, I spent an hour playing freeze tag with my new 6 year old friends, Lily, Joey, and Maddie. On Saturday, I was assigned to the teen group, and together we spent an hour playing basketball once the rain cleared up, an hour playing nuke 'em volleyball, an hour rock climbing, and over an hour dancing our butts off during the "masquerade ball" after dinner. And on Sunday, we had a half day before the families were to depart after lunch, and played nuke 'em volleyball for another hour, floor hockey for an hour, and even tried out some archery (talk about weight training!).

So, at the end of the weekend, I felt fulfilled. I was exhausted from all the cardio I had done with the teens all weekend, and was so tired when I got home at 6pm that I fell right to sleep. But I also felt like my heart got a workout in another way - I had the opportunity to meet some amazing families that have overcome tremendous obstacles in their lives and that wanted to share their stories and time with a group of rag-tag volunteers, some of which they had just met for the first time. In just 2 short days we built a community of mutual love and support. The families trusted us with their kids who were healthy and/or recovering from cancer treatments, and they trusted us with their stories and their feelings about their experiences.

In many ways, this is how I feel about Team Challenge. We started out as a group of strangers, but every week when we get together for a couple hours we have the opportunity to get to know one another, and to share our stories about how IBD has affected our lives and our loved ones. I am so grateful for this opportunity to build this community of runners and to be raising money for such a worthy cause. Every week when we get together, and every week when we train on our own, we are not just conditioning our bodies for the half marathon that awaits us in July - we are also exercising our hearts and giving them an opportunity to share the experiences we or our loved ones have undergone dealing with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Thank you Team Challenge!

Group photo of all the volunteer counselors at Camp Sunshine this past weekend.