Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Buy 17 Miles…get 1 Free! February 7, 2010

Filed under: Marathons, Training — Kelocity @ 5:44 pm
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Last night, I got up totally mentally prepared to do a long run in the rain. I had my clothes all picked out and a rain parka ready to go and everything. Part of me was pretty excited to run in the rain because I thought it might be good practice for Boston (realistically, it could rain during the Boston Marathon! Gosh, I really hope it doesn’t though!)

But this morning I woke up at 5am and we looked outside and saw it was going to be a beautiful day! I laid in bed til 5:30a before finally getting up. It was so nice to enjoy breakfast and check some emails before I headed out to run. 

I met up with my Dana-Farber teammate, Peter and we started our run! It was a little chilly, but when you get a gorgeous day like this, you just have to enjoy it!

We ran at Balboa Park which is actually is a flood basin, so all the roads around the park were closed to traffic. It was awesome being able to run in the middle of the street. It felt so rebellious. There’s nothing better than a wide open street to run on. It was very exciting. 

My plan for the day was 15 miles (per my training schedule), but Peter convinced me to just do the whole 18 with him. He’s nuts, but he knows what he’s doing, so I committed to the full 18. Eeek!

We stopped a few times to use the restroom and shed some layers, and at one of the stops, I snapped a few photos. hee hee.

(sorry, couldn’t rotate the picture!)

We stuck to our trusty 5:5 intervals for the whole time. For the most part, it was pretty easy to maintain. I struggled a little bit around mile 12-14, but then I got a second wind. If I can do 18 now, what’s another 8 for the marathon right?! It was a huge confidence booster. 

Because I can’t do math in my head after running 18 miles, we ended up overshooting and did a total of 18.25 miles. I was DONE with a capital “D” at the end. I felt great, but very happy to be done. 


We did 18.25 miles in 3 hours, 52 minutes and 58 seconds with an average pace of 12:45.

Here are the splits:
Mile 1:  11:57
Mile 2:  11:31
Mile 3:  11:29
Mile 4:  13:58
Mile 5:  14:43 
Mile 6:  11:31
Mile 7:  12:42
Mile 8:  12:45
Mile 9:  11:35
Mile 10:  12:45
Mile 11:  12:45
Mile 12:  12:28
Mile 13:  12:14
Mile 14:  12:20
Mile 15:  13:29
Mile 16:  13:01
Mile 17:  13:07
Mile 18:  13:42

After the run, I ate my 20 Gram Protein Bar, guzzeled more water, took a shower, and then a nap. :) And I feel great. I dont even feel like I ran today, not a tinge of soreness. Maybe it will sink in tomorrow, but all in all, I feel like a million bucks.
Speaking of a million bucks, I am getting closer and closer to my fundraising goal for Dana-Farber. I appreciate everyone’s support! This is such an amazing cause, and I am proud to be on the team. Donate Here! 

And if you’re in the LA Area, there’s still room to sign up for my awesome Scrapbooking Event on March 6! Click here for details! Everyone is welcome! And let me tell you….. there are some AMAZING raffle prizes that will be given away at the event, and you WON’T want to miss it! Email kelocity@gmail.com to RSVP.

 

A Kick Cancer Yard Sale! February 1, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Kelocity @ 8:52 pm
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This weekend, I had a yardsale to benefit Dana-Farber. Thank you to everyone who gave me stuff I could sell!!! A lot of my co-workers and friends donated stuff and I am so grateful!!

Thank you to my friends Chely, Ashley and Niki who helped me!!! You guys are amazing!!!

Representing the Dana-Farber Team!!

Chely and I! Posing with some of our yardsale merchandise!

Ashley and I! (She’s a yardsale selling MACHINE!)

HAHAHA I love this picture. I’m just patiently waiting for people to buy stuff. haha

You wouldn’t believe how many clothes we sold!!!

After the yard sale was over, I loaded up my car and donated the rest to Good Will. It was only 2 bags of clothes and some books left over. Not too bad!

All told, we made $210!!!! Thank you SOOO much to everyone who helped. (And to Chely’s parents who let me use their house! And even made fresh guacamole for us!)

Didn’t get a chance to come to the yardsale? You can always donate here!

 

10 years ago today…. January 31, 2010

Filed under: Run DFMC, Uncategorized — Kelocity @ 3:00 am
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On this day, exactly 10 years ago, my life changed forever. I was an excited high school junior, completely immersed in school, work, field hockey, clubs and friends…. until we got confirmation that something was terribly wrong.

A bump on my scalp was removed, assumed to be a non-malignant cyst. The cells were then analyzed and then sent to a hospital in Boston to be reviewed.

And on January 31, 2000, we were told the “cyst” was actually non-hodgkins lymphoma.


Of course when you’re 16 years old, this news, although devastating, is completely overwhelming, and I chose not to know the details of what was actually going on. I underwent one protocol year of chemotherapy as if it was just a part of life. Afterwards, things just continued as if nothing was wrong. I never really talked about it or brought it up in conversation.

I am extremely grateful to the doctors and nurses over at Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund clinic who worked so hard to save my life. Even if I didn’t realize it at the time. I think in my head, at 16 years old, I felt invincible. I understand now the severity of cancer, and how fragile life can be. 

It wasn’t until recently that I became curious about what exactly cancer was and how it worked. I suddenly became really anxious to learn about the cocktail of drugs I had be given, and how the battle against the disease was fought…and eventually won.

I had my whole file faxed to me, and I spent hours scouring it, reading every detail, completely amazed at all of it. 

There were so many things going on that I was unaware of. Words like mitochondria, cytoplasm and nuclei brought me back to High School biology class. It was crazy to be reading it, knowing those were my cells they were talking about.


A year later, we got the best news you can get:

It really is thanks to the doctors, nurses and researchers who dedicate their lives to finding a cure for cancer. I am so lucky to have my health back, and I will never take that for-granted. When I go out for a run, I can feel the air rush into my lungs (at one point during treatment, I was functioning at 25% lung capacity), I can feel my legs pounding the pavement, and I feel like I have been given such a gift.

I am running the Boston Marathon for all those people who can’t. For the ones who are still bravely fighting with strength and courage, and for my friends who passed before the cure could be found. 

I will be so proud to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon in that Dana-Farber shirt. Thank you to all of you who have supported me in this amazing journey. It is definitely making a difference.

Join me in celebrating 10-years of cancer remission, and help us continue the fight against cancer. Click here to donate to my personal fundraising page.

 

New stuff around the house! January 30, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Kelocity @ 5:54 pm
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We’ve been on a “to-do” list kick lately, trying to get some stuff checked off the list. A few weeks back, we finally went out and got some new pillows for the living room!!


A little homier, right?


Hmmm… what else is new? I got new running headband! (My life is very exciting, I know!)
 
 This week, we also got our wedding canvas! We had such a hard time deciding on a photo to print, and ultimately, we decided to make it more of an “art” piece. 

HAHA! I’ll post more pictures when we get it on the wall. But we just adore it!

 

The Nixon Library! January 30, 2010

Filed under: Los Angeles — Kelocity @ 5:45 pm
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A couple of weeks ago, it rained poured in Los Angeles, so we headed down to the Nixon Presidential Library to be “tourists in our own city” for a day. It took us a while to get down there because of the rain traffic, but it was worth the visit. 

But back up a little, before we got there, we had a great lunch at the Roadhouse Grill. It’s one of those “eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor” type of places. It was great! We got way too much food…including some big drinks!

I got a rootbeer float… part beverage..part dessert. :)

Then we headed to the Nixon Library. In the lobby, they had a HUGE legoland display set up. Everything on it was made out of legos! How cool is this!


The library was built on the property of Nixon’s birthplace. His house is still there! Too bad it was raining!
 
They usually let you go inside his house and see how it looked when he was born, but it was closed because of the weather. Instead, they had a “dollhouse” set up so you could imagine what it really is.




Here is what the house looks like from the back. The rain let up for a few minutes so we went out real quick to take a peek!

 
Mr. and Mrs. Nixon are buried in the backyard.


The rest of the museum is really incredible, and we were sad we didn’t have more time in there. There is so much history that happened during his presidency. We really liked looking at the exhibit about Russia because we recognized a lot of the places in the pictures.

There was also a pretty awesome exhibit on Space Travel. A lot of really cool stuff to see.

All in all, a really great place to visit. Highly recommended!