Yesterday’s 16 mile training run sort of sucked.
I’ve been dealing with hip pain related to my sciatic nerve for the past two weeks and I’m seeing a physical therapist. As a result, I’ve had to slow the pace of my training down a bit, but… the NYC marathon is in five weeks, and I need to stick to my running schedule.
The run started off poorly and really didn’t improve: I had a late start so it was warmer than I prefer; I was compensating for the pain in my right hip which resulted in a cramp in my left calf; I could feel hot spots on my feet where blisters were starting to form. But I really needed to get the miles in.
I had to dig deep.
I had to remind myself why I was running.
I watched my friend CJ fight stage four ovarian cancer for seven years. When I signed up for the marathon as a member of Fred’s Team, I agreed to raise money for research on a cancer of my choice and I chose ovarian cancer. This disease is particularly heinous because there is no accurate, standardized testing like there is for cervical or breast cancer.
Early detection is important for many reasons:
- 7 in 10 women die within five years of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer
- When caught in its earliest stages, treatment for ovarian cancer can result in survival rates as high as 90%
- Because early symptoms are difficult to diagnose or go undetected, nearly 75% of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed in advanced stages
- The long-term survival rate for advanced ovarian cancer is only 10%
I kept going yesterday because ovarian cancer sucks way more than running.
