In early April I decided to step way outside my comfort zone and do something that I never thought I would do. I decided to run a race! I told you about my decision to run this 10K when I first wrote about it. It turned out to be a harder goal than I thought! Every Saturday morning, the Moms In Training team met in various parks around the city.
My group met in Madison Square Park with an amazing trainer, Meri of Mommy and Me Fitness, who had an hour-long workout prepared for us. We walked, jogged, ran circles in the park. We did squats, lunges, planks, jumping jacks, push-ups and other concoctions that she would throw at us. We worked hard, and had fun while doing it!
Lindsey, a fellow Mom In Training, described the way I felt very well when she wrote about her experience with Moms In Training, “Somehow I left my comfort zone behind and decided to join. With the help of a wonderful trainer, Meri, and the support of the other moms, I trained for the 10K. On the day of the 10K, I was joined by another mom who stuck with me through the entire race and definitely kept me running WAY longer than I thought I would or could.”
I met so many wonderful new moms, all of us with a single goal, to complete a 10K race on June 8th, and raise funds and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). I met Lucy, Alex‘s mom, who is the toddler super-hero who motivated us to keep going. You see, Alex is currently fighting very hard to beat leukemia. Research funded by LLS has led to huge advances in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. For example, the survival rate for childhood leukemia has climbed from 4% to over 90% in the past fifty years thanks to the funding of LLS. So, Alex has a really good chance!
I trained for two months for this race. I started off not being able to run a block, and after a few weeks found myself going for almost a mile without stopping. I never thought that would be possible!
Then a few weeks ago, I went out for an evening jog, I got three blocks (about a quarter of a mile) and felt an explosion in my hamstring. I couldn’t even put pressure on my leg at first. I decided to “walk it off” and ended up walking 3.5 miles. I applied ice and tiger balm, but it didn’t completely heal. Every time I tried to jog on it, it would flare up again. But I was determined to finish what I had started.
Last Saturday was our race day. The energy created by 5,595 women was electrifying as we gathered by the starting line waited until the buzzer went off. I choked up a little as I was thinking about how much was accomplished over the last two months.
Kristen, one of the founding mothers of Moms In Training (and my amazing mentor) put it best, “In one word – inspired … Inspired to do more to find a cure, inspired to run harder, inspired by the parents who face watching their children battle cancer, inspired by team members who all gave it their all … I know our whole team felt inspired that we were truly making a difference and that was the best part of all!”
I speed-walked all the way. Every time I felt a little confident I tried to jog, only to have my hamstring remind me of why I was speed-walking instead. So I just continued… I passed some women who went out too fast, and I got passed by most. And I just kept going on. I knew as the mileage markers kept passing, that I was that much closer to the finish line. And when I turned that last bend in the road and saw the finish line – I jogged to the finish!
The last mile was hard, but seeing the finish line and my family cheering me on gave me that extra bolt of adrenaline to get me to the end. I finished with a smile and a medal! And then we found out how much we raised. As a team, we raised more than a QUARTER OF A MILLION dollars!! That’s a quarter of a million dollars closer to finding treatments for ALL cancers, and that is something that I can run to the finish for!
Betsy, a fellow mom, summed up the experience well: “The enthusiasm and amazing spirit of the women I met over the last 8 weeks was inspiring and beautiful. There were women coming out who were leaving tiny babies at home to come run for this cause. I loved loved LOVED being part of something bigger than me, something that is a force for good in this bad old world. We raised a quarter of a MILLION dollars! That is so amazing to me! I think it might really make a difference, I hope it will. AND I RAN ALL THE WAY, I didn’t have to walk, I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I indeed ran all the way through to the finish line, and I couldn’t have done it without being part of this wonderful team.” 🙂
Have you ever stepped outside your comfort zone? What was your motivation?
Great news Moms! Moms In Training is going national in the USA and Canada (and hopefully international soon after that). If you are interested in starting a local Moms In Training group to support LLS please feel free to contact Helena at helena.scott@lls.org.
It’s not too late to add a contribution. If you would like to make a donation to help this amazing team and LLS (and help me make my financial goal) please click here.
This is an original post for World Moms Blog by Maman Aya of New York, USA.
Photo credits to the author.
Such a motivating post Maman Aya – I loved reading it. Sorry to hear about your injury, hope you heal so you can keep running more miles! (And congrats to your team for raising all the money for such a good cause.)
Thanks Eva! I enjoyed it so much that I plan on doing it again in the fall 🙂
You did so well! I can well imagine the energy and inspiration of training and running with other women, and for such a great cause. Yay for you all!
Thanks Karyn! It really was a blast! 🙂
Congratulations on finishing your race and completing your goal! And all for a wonderful cause! I hope you heal quickly.
Thanks Amy! Every day it feels a little bit better 🙂
Your post brought tears to my eyes … wow what a triumph to win on so many levels – over fear of the unknown (getting out of your comfort zone), over physical injury, over leukemia & lymphoma and going the full distance without giving up!! 🙂
Here in South Africa we’re currently preparing for our National Cupcake Day for Kids with Cancer (which will be held on 28 September). Last year we raised half a million rand in just one day and ALL the proceeds go to aid families with whatever they might need for the care of a child with cancer.
In our own small way CAN ALL make a difference!!
Thanks Simona! So true…. every little bit helps.
Simona, I LOVE the idea of having a day put towards such a great cause. You are so right that we can ALL make a little bit of a difference.
I just approached my boss about setting up something similar in our office one day. I like baking and this is an excellent use of my skills and it saves me from eating them all, too! 🙂
Thank you for the inspiration!
So inspiring — way to go mama! I would love to do something like this one day. Though I’ve never been a runner, I decided to challenge this idea of myself and have been doing the C25K program over the last few months. I’m nearly there and am really proud of sticking with it. I’m even thinking of doing a real 5K when I’m in the US this summer. Thanks so much for the extra motivation! Sending healing thoughts your way.
Thanks Shaula! Way to go YOU! It’s so scary and liberating at the same time to go outside of our comfort zone and challenge ouselves like this. Good luck with the 5K – let me know how it goes! 🙂
Congratulations on your race! That must have been so rewarding, and for such a good cause!
I just completely my 3rd 5K obstacle course mud run, which is outside my comfort zone. But like you, I did it with friends and the money went to good causes, so it was fun for all of us.
Cheers to you, and I hope you continue to push the boundaries 😉
Wow Tara! Those mud runs are so difficult – well done! I def will continue (in fact we are planning the next race now). Congrats on your race!
You go, girl! That is fantastic! I can only imagine the courage it took to step out of your comfort zone.
It sounds like this won’t be the last time you stretch either. It is amazing the gifts that we receive when we allow ourselves to grow and be challenged. Out of this you have new friends, confidence, and have given someone some much needed medical help. That is something to celebrate!
Keep growing!
Thank you so much Vera! No, it def will not be the last time since it was such a wonderful experience. 🙂
Maman Aya, congratulations!! I enjoyed following your story, and you are inspiring me!!! And what a great cause that inspired your team — and the results — way to go!!!
Jen 🙂
Thank you Jen! We were all blown away by the results. We first set a $100,000 goal and blew right through it….and kept blowing through the goals until the end. It was amazing! 🙂