The Marathon Goddess is tired. Go figure! But seriously What an exciting last 3 weeks it has been. From Boston to Big Sur to Orange County. If I keep this up I can do the 52 again, maybe not. It’s time to take a little time off to recover, rebuild and regenerate. Boston was beyond words, Big Sur was majestic and Orange County was awesome. Oh and let’s not forget about the LA marathon and Modesto just a few weeks prior. My last race experience in Orange County was great. I set out to run a sub 2 half marathon and completed it in 2:04. We said we would eat hills for breakfast, but the hills actually ended up eating me. My good friend Carolina went out and had a PR and so did so many others. I’m told if you want to get faster you need to do this thing called training and cut down on your marathons. Who knew? Well, I guess it’s time to step up to the plate and put the hard work in. It’s been a little over a year since I completed the 52 and I know, it’s time for me to build back up and get faster again. I can feel it in my soul. Most recently I ran in honor of Virginia Heskett and in memory of Larry Conger. Virginia a pancreatic cancer survivor who is fighting like a champ, she completed a 5k last weekend. Wow! Her daughter Shawn just completed her 12th marathon in 12 months in the fight against pancreatic cancer and very fast I might add. Shawn qualified for Boston 5 out of the 12 marathons. I also ran in memory of Larry Conger who passed away on Christmas in 2012 from this dreadful disease. His beautiful wife, daughter and grand daughter drove all the way out from Ventura to see me finish. It was so touching and made our hearts happy. We walked, we talked we hugged about an amazing man who lived life to the fullest. I felt like he was there with us and I wanted to have beer and listen to Elvis with him. I am sure he was smiling from heaven above. At the last minute I was asked to come speak for the We Run Orange County’s Kids (WeROCK). Funny story, it was so last minute I didn’t check dress code and showed up in running clothes and everyone else was in black tie. Cutest kids ever, but I had to go hide. Luckily I was saved and a friend brought me a dress that happened to fit perfectly. It was great to speak to this kids, inspire and see the possibility in their eyes as I told them the story of my 52 marathons, made one marathon seem so much less daunting. Lesson learned, always dress up! I ended up selling and signing a ton of Spirit 2 DVDs and met some of the most supportive parents, coaches and energetic kids you could ever meet. What a group! Truth be told, I had a lot fun before the race and after but seriously during the race I was tired and I’ve been doing too much racing, and not enough training. Go figure. So with the past 3 weeks of thrashing my legs but fulfilling my heart, I’ve decided to take a good 3 weeks off so my body can recover and we can start some serious training for a PR in New York. Yeah! I am playing with the idea of having the LA Marathon 2015 be my 100th marathon, which could mean a PR in NY #85 and 15 more marathons till LA which will mean a slow time, but gratifying since it will be #100. Quantity or quality? We will just have to wait and see. But in the mean time, here are some fun pictures to enjoy. So even though my running performance was not the best, the joy I found in seeing my friends and meeting new ones along the way, made it all ok. Also now that I am running on behalf of Team for Life and the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, it gives me such a gratifying feeling to know that all of the money I raise is going directly to helping all end stage cancer patients have a chance at life by getting them to clinical trials, in the hopes we find a cure now. It doesn’t get much better than that. And as far as my running, well as much as we would love to PR and place all the time, it doesn’t always turn out that way. A lot of people say finishing is winning, well I say just getting to that starting line is winning. Believe me, I know what it takes to get there to and get there healthy. So remember, whether you’re in the front, middle or in the back of the pack, just make sure you are having fun and enjoying the journey, because that my friends is what it’s all about! Next up the Kona marathon on 6/22 and you know what? I may even do the half and that’s ok. Take care of yourself, respect your body and love yourself. Please consider making a donation on behalf of my efforts to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation. So others less fortunate may continue to live a happy, healthy and hopefully cancer free life. It’s about LIVING. We got this!