Moving on up, moving on over... (and as ever, Shout-outs)

Well my friends, family and other curious strangers... (and don't be a stranger for too long. I'm friendly. introduce yourself!)

Here's where we stand: My not-broken toe has hindered my progress. I've found all sorts of clever ways of working out without, say, running on it (or at least running on it much). I can still do my favorite ass-kicking work out at the gym and it's entirely possible without bending the middle of my foot- I don't have to stand on the ball of my foot, heel stays to the ground. But it's not marathon running. It's practice for a marathon. It's working out. It's kicking butt. Plus, I heal well. I am nothing if not lucky. Cheers to that. Now what does one DO with good luckiness? Whatever good I can do. Karma will smell like kimchi if you just leave them there. I gotta keep on moving, paying forward, etc.

So practice I shall continue to do, but my marathon run is now officially postponed until May. Sadness set in. The optimism rebounded! There's still a marathon, there's still fundraising to END blood cancers. There's you and me making good things happen.

So that's where we stand. Running, running, running. Raising, raising, raising. Blogging... blogging... And I will refrain from singing " Ain't nothing gonna break my stride... Nobody's gonna slow me down... Oh no, I've got to keep on moving..." Hellllp! It's stuck in my head and I can't get it out!

Anyway, more good things to come. And less cheesy music. (Good music: ever try running to the band Tally Hall? I recommend it. But always, always, always start your workout with Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey. The cowbell is the best. kickstart. ever.)

Shout-outs go to Shanna Weinberg. I didn't see her name when I last updated my list. And GoGoPedro who is incomparably kind. Also, talented and fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

-the most grateful version of chel yet. version 2.0 to arrive soon.

Shout-out to Marxie!

Another Shout-out goes to the fabulous conglomerate Marxie! Seriously, the two of you are amazing. You should get married or something.

xoxo

Progress & Anonymous. And Shout-Outs!

So my toe ain't broke. I can keep my record of "never broke a bone in my body" which either means I'm tough as nails or I don't really do anything interesting like snowboard.

But like the nurse said, the pinky toe is one thing but all the other bones/ tendons/ ligaments & muscles in the foot are pretty related. A pinky toe injury means that somehow the top of my whole foot gets bruised when I run on it. BUT it bruises less every time I work out now. Don't worry I've found a way to get some serious, low-impact cardio in as I re-build my foot's running capacity.

So running is picking up again now. It's crazy how quickly the body can fall apart and rebuild. It wasn't long ago I could run 14 miles and shortly thereafter I couldn't (well, did, but it turned out to be a Very Bad Idea) walk that distance. And this morning I felt like a rock star the gym. I felt GOOD when I was done. I feel capable!

But actually most importantly: shout-outs. Thank you to both of my Anonymous donors. If there were more people like you, I'd be less inclined to panic. You are amazing and you know who you are.

much love,
chel

shout-out!

shout out to allison duncan-- who is sweet, has the same color green eyes as my little bro (her beau) and donated even though she's a broke college student. what a superstar!

xo!

progress & shout-outs!

Happiness!

In San Diego now at the hosting of the ever-supportive Kate, where I will be able to run (& skip & play & hike aka "cross-train") as soon at the thrice-annual rain stops. Seriously, it never rains in southern California... except for now. What gives?

It didn't rain, however, in Palm Springs. I'm not a desert person *at all*, but the fact it's February didn't hurt and the company I've had this past week has inspired me in so many ways. I needed to run a lot of miles, but I also had people to run with, so I'd generally pre-run then return to the hotel and meet friends to run again. Friends & fellow TEDsters to run with included the afore mentioned Dan, Leigh & Jennifer but also grew to include the absolute sweetheart and thoroughly talented author Evan Schwartz who is great company in so many ways. AND he get a shout-out for donating to Our Cause. One other shout-out goes to Eduardo Frias (another TEDster) who jumped at the chance to pitch-in and cheer me on in this aspiration.

Again with the optimists of fellow TEDsters from Palm Springs I have a few more partners to propel forward on the journey: Glenn Gleason (survivor extraordinaire) who loaned me his Live Strong band without blinking- the one he's worn through his trials and tribulations- so that I may have some of his strength when I run) and Lisa Honig Buksbaum of Soaringwords who is partnering with us to give signed blankets to kids with cancer so that we may say: "we are working to make your life better, that it will be complete and want to wrap you in all the love, happiness and joy of support we can give."

So much to do, so much to do. Feel free to help me in any way you can, especially fundraising ;) Deadlines loom, fiscal challenges are getting dire for me to participate. The chart doesn't show it, but I'm fronting college tuition money as a "hold" until I get somewhere fast!

Blessings,
chel o.

making the jet lag work for you!

hey waking up early is a side effect of flying west! i ran twice this morning! once at the treadmill here at the hotel (they call it a resort but i have trouble saying that... it sounds uppity. but it IS a little uppity)-- then once more with my friends here at TED. so my shout outs this morning go to:

dan
jennifer &
leigh

thanks for tacking on some mileage.

i didn't like running in the desert when i lived in arizona, but it's not so bad in palm springs in february. i'm counting this business trip as a blessing too, so thanks grey. i'm blogging from www.greyatted.com all week...

future perfect

hey y'all, time for another update.  didn't get to run my long distance on saturday because i was prepping for my day of travel (flight to palm springs with brief layover in san fran... AND i'm checking luggage for what i think is the first time ever... please oh please arrive with me...) and the obligatory Freak Out that i'm going to TED@PalmSprings.  i'll be blogging from there too, www.greyatted.com. you will not get to hear about me getting out-of-breath and kicking butt on the treadmill at that blog, but it will still be a fun read, i hope.  

and now (drumroll please) it's time again for shout-outs.  ok, get this.  john cooper, my music prof from college in maine, sent in a donation while on sabbatical.  of all the things one is not obliged to do while away from school is think about students he had a dozen years ago and support their endeavors.  he kinda supported me a lot already, ya know?  awesome then, awesome now.

next: clare anderson i used to babysit you!  you're so grown up now- so very grown up (it was very cool to hang out with you in nyc when you visited and we went to see the Cangelosi Cards play their jazz music...). so very grown up i felt a tad old that plus x years since i 'sat for you means that you and i both are plus x years older.  thank you for your contrib.  that's very cool of you.

lastly and largely, john anderson, for sending my blagging email to the college of the atlantic community.  that had some results, didn't it?  it was unnecessarily great of you to send it forward...

also, a thank you to cora rose lewicki for taking care of my apt while i travel.  and for promising to help a little with the fundraising.  we rock stars gotta stick together...

one two three and off i go to train from the desert for a little while.

as ever, thank you for helping so much i can't even thank you all enough.

blessings,

chel

Shout-Outs in a neighborly way

A long time ago, in a town far away, I lived on the corner of a busy street and a tiny one. On the tiny one there were just a few houses, but in one of them was Dawn Radke.

We live a thousand+ miles apart now-- she's down in Florida, and she just made that big seem like not a distance at all. She's very neighbor-like.

She donated to the marathon fund AND got her boss at MacLan Corp to donate too. Hot damn, that was a lovely envelope to come home to in the mail. Plus the note said "Kick some cancer ass" which has a nice ring to it. I'm putting the checks in the LLS fundraiser bucket and the note on the fridge.

Rock on,
chel

Shout-Outs (there's always more to be thankful for...)

This morning I woke up to an email saying I got a donation from Kerri & Brad West. They're amazing because not only did they donate, thus furthering the cause of fighting Leukemia/Lymphoma, but because they've already given... in the form of supporting their (successful!) cancer-defeating daughter-in-law, Steph West. You may remember that Steph is the person who I am honoring with my run. She's amazing and blows me away with her strength. She wasn't born a West but she makes a great one: you are a strong and good-hearted people. Thank you!

Also, another thank you and for this I say, "duh, Chel, how could you have forgotten to mention before?" Todd Scheifele, for the music. He helped with my running-music-library after that Unfortunate iTune and iPod Issue We Don't Like To Talk About. But the thing is with Todd is that he's just one of those people who's always there for you. I can always count on him for a little emotional support and I hope I can be as good a friend to him. Thanks, Todd. Your music is just one of many ways your support here is appreciated.

Today: Workout & SHOUT-OUTS

About a workout, is it wrong to say “not so good” after logging ten miles? Only when you’re training for a marathon.

(Last week I wussed out because it was around 3 degrees so I felt justified… and humbled by my teammates who DID run outdoors anyway!)

This week my favorite running partner, Karen, and I did indoor running to see if the temperature went a little easier on Karen’s asthma, which it did, which is great. Alas a marathon on a treadmill is NOT a marathon on the street, so it can’t be the only training, but it’s nice to go easy on the knees sometimes. Also, Karen’s a great cheerleader so running with her is a treat. Who wouldn’t want their own personal “you’re awesome” running next to them? I try to return the favor as often as possible.

Anyway, this week was a run, but since I didn’t make all ten miles running I feel badly, or behind. I am a tortoise not a hare it seems. I’m also going to figure out how to manage my calories better because I hate eating before exercising but the more we exercise the more we need to eat, just a little before at least. Karen’s Luna Bars to the rescue!

Drum roll please… it’s time for this week’s Shout-Outs!

Here’s how cool people are:

Mom & Pop are loaning me their iPod nano with the video so I can watch TED talks on treadmill days (when I’m not doing it in person woo-hoo!) Who says hours on a treadmill are boring? (Pretty much everyone, actually, but to them I say ‘la la la I can’t hear you la la la I have headphones on’.)

Christine Hart wins the prize for biggest donation (as of yet) because she’s… Christine. I’ve known her since we were *this* big and if you did too, you wouldn’t be surprised that she’s generous either. Just thankful, like me. Also, she's uber talented.

Sarah Howell donated even though I haven’t seen her in a month of Sundays and that’s a sweet way to stay in touch (though I wouldn’t mind buying you a beer when you come up to the city next)!


It’s funny as I was walking home from my practice-then-errands how much there is to be thankful for and how everyone around you gives you a little push when you need it. And, no, I’m not talking about boarding the 6 train. I don’t know where my shout-outs begin and end. There are my fiscal supporters. (Keep it coming guys! We’re fighting cancer!) My emotional supporters (I *heart* the rah-rahs).

And then there are the people who make my life easier and in so, remind me that I have a life good enough to pay-it-forward. There are the people who go a little out of their way to help me when I’m tired. (Sample checklist: strange woman on the street helped me find a cab just to be nice; hairdresser who let me sleep in her chair this morning after I zonked out post-run today; Matt at the video store who cut me a break because ‘I likes the cold and you like to run so we’ve got to be nice to each other.’)

Summary for a Saturday that isn’t nearly over yet: happy, tired, encouraged. That’s a good way to start a weekend.

Love,
Chel

Weekend Wrap-Up

It's been a long weekend and I totally wussed and ran INdoors on Saturday morning. It was a lovely long run but I missed running with Karen and cheering each other on. It was warmer than 10 degrees in my gym though, so that's a plus.

It is a slightly nice feeling to be on my treadmill when someone gets on the one next to me... and still on when he's gone and the next person shows up, and then still going when she's gone... I wish I could read and run at the same time. Or watch TED talks, but my iPod video has gone the way of the NYC sticky-hands club. Shuffling through my anonymous library isn't bad, it's just a different kind of fun.

Our team has been having weekly bake sales at the office (thousands of dollars to go, one awesome cookie at a time...) so I spent a large portion of time making granola bars and popcorn balls. There's GOT to be an easier way. But I didn't sign up for easy. I signed up for kick-ass. So there we go.

Speaking of kick-ass, another round of Shout Outs (there should be a musical theme for this, no?):

Jack Benedict. Thanks for donating!

Also, more music library contribs- Dante Desole, Andy LaPlant & Ryan Hobler endowed me with James Brown, Sleater Kinney & Sunroom and more).

More later,
chel

Shout-outs (even more!)

You know what's cool? Randomly finding out that people are making donations to the cause. Thanks to my cousin Kath, my sister Cricket (I mean, Barbara)...

For contributions in other ways... I have to thank Don McNally for juicing my iPod shuffle with some Beatles because things were really hard after The Incident Involving A Dead External Drive Containing My Music Library That We Don't Like To Talk About. If you ever don't feel like going for a run turn on Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey. It will change you.

We've been doing these crazy bake carts at the office. People who aren't even involved in the process are volunteering to bake! To my talented co-workers: Coleen, Patrician, Mary, Caroline, Jessica, your work doesn't go unappreciated- you are wonderful and we thank you!

Shout-Outs, Part Deux

It's time for some friendly neighborly shout-outs:

My cousin Mary (who is cheerful and encouraging)
My Aunt Barb & Uncle Mark (merry christmas!)
My friend Christi (who is an amazing teammate)

Thank you all for bringing me closer to my goal-- especially since my goal is bigger than what I'm doing, it's what we're doing, all of us, for the individuals who fight leukemia/lymphoma and their families/friends who struggle with them. We can all rise to our challenges.

Rock on,
chel