San Jose Half-Marathon Recap and Thank You!

I can't believe that the race was just two weeks ago! The day started at 5 AM for me since I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep because I was so nervous. I went to Eunice and Wonki's house to carpool with them and a few other members of the team. If you ever run this race, seriously consider taking public transportation because we were stuck in the off-ramp traffic for half an hour. This is not good when the race is starting at 8 AM and you are still on the ramp at 7:45. Somehow we made it off the ramp and drove to a parking structure close to the start line. Because Sophie was with us, we were able to park in a handicapped spot, which made it possible for us to catch the other members of the Cure CMD team to take a photo before we all ran to the start line.

While we were stuck in traffic, we all compared notes to see what songs we had on our various Apple devices. I had loaded on H's iTouch all my favorite Korean gayo dance songs and the songs that my FB friends had recommended, including both Eye of the Tiger and the Theme from Rocky. When we ran to the start line I took out the iTouch and put the headphones into my ears. I tried to start my playlist. I looked and looked and then suddenly realized that I HAD THE WRONG ITOUCH! It was R's iTouch, not H's! (Don't think my kids are spoiled; we didn't buy either of these devices, one was a gift and another was won at a golf tournament raffle.) And of course the only songs on R's iTouch were their favorite Laurie Berkner CDs, Victor Vito and Whaddaya Think of That, and Dora's World Adventure. Somehow I just couldn't run while listening to these songs so I put the iTouch back in my Gu pouch.

It really was a good thing that the race was the Rock N Roll Half-Marathon because there were bands every few miles that helped break up the monotony of running. It was also a good thing that Stewart met me in mile 7 and gave me turbo boosts whenever I started feeling tired. Having someone push you from behind when you're running uphill helps immensely!!!! I finished the race in 2 hours and 16 minutes, only 11 minutes slower than I had run as a 22 year old. I thought of Sophie and how I couldn't let her down and ran the entire way. By the time we got to the finish line, I was so tired I had no kick left. When I was 20-something I always had something left at the end of a race and would speed up to finish strong. As a 30-something mom of two kids, I was glad just to finish!

After we crossed the finish line, Stewart helped me walk to the bag check. I didn't see any other Cure CMD team members so I started walking with Stewart to where he had parked the car--at the mile 7.5 mark. I knew if I sat down I would be demolished. This turned out to be the smartest thing I could have done. After my previous long races, the next day I wasn't able to walk and my legs took weeks to recover. Because of the long walk back to the car (it was only 4 miles from the finish line because of how the course was set up), I was tired and had a bad headache that day, but the next day I felt pretty good. I could walk without support!

I am proud to have run this race as a member of Cure CMD. When I received Sophie's thank you video, I knew I had to share it with everyone who had sponsored me and contributed to the effort. Thank you! Your donations will help find a cure for Sophie and all the other children with Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. Every dollar makes such a huge impact because this is a rare disease that does not get much attention or funding. Thank you for helping Sophie!

San Jose Half-Marathon October 3rd Run, Walk, Hobble, Crawl

UPDATE: I ran a 10K and didn't die! I even came in four minutes ahead of Stewart who had to stop and walk several times due to his bum knees (several combat tours will do that to you, my friend). The boys had a chance to catch up with Sophie the same weekend. Such silliness---it made me all the more determined to put on a good effort in this race for Sophie. Thanks to all my friends, family and readers for your support! I definitely could not do it without you!

Three things I've learned so far during training:

1. Do not have your husband drop you off 5.5 miles away from your house so you will be forced to run home if the route includes several stretches where there is no sidewalk or space on the road for you to run.
2. Do drink water before running a 10K because they might not have water stations till mile 3.5 and you might be near fainting by then.
3. Don't buy running shoes that are too small for you because they are on super clearance sale.

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On Sunday October 3rd I will be doing a half-marathon. Notice I don't say running, because there is no guarantee that I will be able to run the entire race. Of course that is my goal, but it has been 11 years since my last marathon and half-marathon. Any woman who has had kids can tell you that a 30-something mommy body is less cooperative than a 20-something single woman body. If you've been following my blog and my posts on the LA Moms Blog, you know that a 5K that I could run easily with minimal training back in the day, now knocks me out for over a week. Since the 5K in February, I didn't run much, but when I got an email from friends Eunice and Andrew asking me to join the Cure CMD Team for the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon on October 3rd to raise awareness and funds to support CMD research, I knew I had to do it.

Eunice and Andrew's daughter Sophie is battling a rare genetic disease called Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD). It is the most common type of CMD, a group of neuromuscular disorders that currently have no cure or treatment. Kids with CMD are born with serious muscle weakness, and their muscle tissue breaks down faster than it can repair or grow. Some children are never able to walk, others inevitably lose this ability by their teens, and all must eventually rely on respirators to breathe. The disease is often fatal by the time a child reaches his 20s. If I knew that H or R would die in his 20s, I would be a complete wreck everyday, thinking that some little thing might be the beginning of the end. Eunice and Wonki are definitely made of sterner stuff than I am because they have fought this fight with Sophie from the beginning with more grace and strength than I could have thought possible. I think that has translated into Sophie's personality, because she is sweet, funny, smart and generally in good spirits. Considering how difficult it is for her even to walk a single step, Sophie is truly an amazing little girl. Watch this video of Sophie walking:



I have joined the Cure CMD Team to raise funds to find a cure for Sophie and the other children with CMD. I started training at the end of July in time to run the BlogHer 5K and have been adding mileage slowly but surely every week. In a couple of weeks I'll be running a 10K in order to prepare my legs for race conditions. As a member of the team, I have committed to raising at least $500. So here's the pitch, if you are a regular Random Mommy reader, would you please consider donating $1 or more to help me reach my goal? I will give you a complete money-back guarantee. I may not run the entire way, but if I don't finish the race, I will return every cent of your money. I will track the progress of my training and my fundraising till race day. If you knew Sophie, you would agree that she deserves to have a full, rich long life. She was born just one month after H, and I joked after taking this photo that they would be prom dates as well as crib mates. Please help make that a possibility. If you need any more convincing, here is Sophie singing Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me:



Thanks everyone! You can donate under my name (scroll down) via Paypal on the Team Cure CMD site here.