2013 Year in Pictures

Happy New Year! I'm a bit late for the calendar New Year but I'm just in time for Lunar New Year. Whoo hoo for the Year of the Horse!

 

2013 was a big year full of a lot of races, a bit of travel, a lot of doctor's appointments ... and best of all a wedding! The wedding and surrounding trip to Maui was the highlight of my year, and I'm excited to be starting 2014 as Mrs. Allen.

 

 

2013 Races

In 2013 I ran five 5Ks, one 4 mile run, one 10K, two 15Ks, 3 half marathons, 2 full marathons, and was the runner in one triathlon relay.

January - Resolution Run 15K
(first race during chemo)

 

 

 

 February - Cardiff Kook Run 5K

 February - Mermaid Half Marathon
(first long race during chemo)

 (Cardiff Kook & Mermaid Half Recap)

March - LA Marathon 

(Marathon #19, first during chemo)

 (LA Marathon Recap)

June - San Francisco Half Marathon

 (San Francisco Half Marathon Recap)

 

June - Los Angeles Brain Tumor 5K

July - Coronado 15K

 

August - End of Summer Fire Run 4 Miler

(first race with Devika!)

October - San Diego Brain Tumor 5K

(Team Mokie representing!) 

(Brain Tumor 5K Recap) 

 

 

October - Long Beach Marathon

(20th marathon, 2nd during chemo)

October - Long Beach Marathon with Barb

(Long Beach Marathon Recap)

 October - Esprit de She Triathlon Relay

(participated as the runner)

(Esprit de She Recap) 

November - Silver Strand Half Marathon

(Team Minion for the win!)

(Silver Strand Half Marathon Recap)  

November - Hagerstown Turkey Trot 5K

December - Jingle Bell 5K

 

 

 December - Hot Buttered Run 10K

We made the news!

I also participated in one non-endurance event called Over the Edge which involved rappelling 365 feet down the side of a building while raising money for brain cancer research.

 

 

Over the Edge for Brain Cancer Research 

(Over the Edge Event Recap) 

2013 Giving

Speaking of fundraising, in addition to the $1225 that I raised for Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure for the Over the Edge event, Tara and I also raised $2310 for brain cancer research for the Kesari Lab, and also returned for the fifth season as a $500 Mile Marker Sponsor for the Girls on the Run San Diego 5K via our tutu business Glam Runner.

Selling Tutus at the GOTR 5K 

2013 Travel
This past year I traveled a lot less than usual, and visited:

• San Francisco, CA (2 times)
• West Allis, WI (1 time)
• Las Vegas, NV (1 time)
• Nashville, TN (1 time)
• Maui, HI (1 time)
• Shepherdstown, WV (3 times)
• New York, NY (1 time)

 

 

Easter in San Francisco 

 

 

 Carlson Reunion in Wisconsin

(Two Weeks in Wisconsin recap) 

Stupid Cancer Conference in Vegas

(OMG Cancer Summit Recap)  

Getting Married in Maui

Marrying the Love of My Life

 (Wedding Recap)

 

Wedding Celebration Part 2 in West Virginia

 (Wedding Celebration Part 2 Recap)

2013 Cancer Fun

I spent the majority of this year going through treatment for my wonderful brain cancer, and had bi-monthly blood tests, monthly (and then some) doctor's appointments, and quarterly MRIs. Over the course of the year my tumor managed to slightly shrink (~5%) and as my body adjusted to each cycle of chemo I got more used to things and felt better each month.

Blood Tests, Blood Tests, Blood Tests

Pills, Pills, and More Pills

 

 

 

December Celebration Dinner

(David's Birthday & My Last Night of Chemo)

 

 

 

Christmas Cookies for My Oncologist

 

 

 

2013 Hair Watch

Most important of all this year ... my hair started to grow back! Half of it was shaved for my Oct 2012 brain surgery and then another ring of it fell out the following month when I went through 6 weeks of radiation. The shaved part started to grow back right away but the part that fell victim to radiation didn't start growing until a few months later. Over the course of the year I had hair extensions to make up for most of what was missing and in November after 11 months of extensions I finally took them out, chopped my hair off (several inches longer than the length of shaved hair growing out underneath), and dyed it back to my natural color. As much as I loved maintaining my full, long hair, I just couldn't deal with the extensions anymore. Neither could my wallet. My shorter hair continues to grow out underneath and I'm hoping that by the end of this year everything will be even again.

 

 

My Hair Sloooooowly Growing Back

Radiation Hair Grew Back in Curly!

Hair Extensions Out, Cut, & Color

2013 Crafting

I dabbled in crafts this year and went to a Paint Nite event with Tara and also relearned how to knit over the holidays with David's mom. My grandmother would be so proud! I obsessively worked on a knit infinity scarf over Christmas and am now the proud owner of a beautiful merino wool creation of my own!

Paint Nite with Tara

Future Picassos

 

 

My First Big Knitting Project

 

2014 Outlook

This coming year will be full of more races, more travel, but fortunately less doctors appointments. I've finished chemo for now and I've started the quarterly MRI "wait and watch" protocol. It is such a relief to be done with chemo, but absolutely TERRIFYING to be going through no treatment at all. At least while I was on the chemo I knew that something was working for me in my corner. Now I have nothing ... but healthy eating, healthy living, exercise, and a good attitude. Which together, really isn't nothing, it is everything I have.

 

I'm looking forward to a great 2014, and hope you have one too!

Team Minion Half Marathon

Last year after my friend Tara ran the Silver Strand Half Marathon, she told me how much she hated the course and how she'd never run it again. Much to my surprise, she signed up this year and asked if I wanted to sign up too. Wait a minute, I thought this was a boring and ugly race? Apparently it was a bit boring but it was also flat, and the perfect scene for a new half-marathon PR. Tara signed up for the race along with a number of my other running friends, and when they were trying to talk me into it I said okay, but with one condition... we had to dress up like minions! (From the movie Despicable Me.) Not sure why those characters came to mind, but I thought they were cute and would make a good group outfit. I was expecting everybody to protest and I would just skip on the race. Nope! Everyone agreed and before I knew it I was registering for the race as well. 

Team Minion Party

No running costume is complete without a Glam Runner tutu, so to outfit Team Minion with a set of blue tutus Barb invited us all over to her house the weekend before the race for a Minion Party. A what? A minion themed party where we made tutus and watched Despicable Me while the guys played poker in the other room and asked themselves how they all fell in love with a bunch of grown women who habitually run around  in public wearing tutus. 

Who Doesn't Love Minions??

Minion Tutu Making

The following weekend on the day before race day David and I went to Road Runner Sports to pick up my race bib and to check out some new running shoes. I have been wearing the Nike Structure Triax for all of my 8 years running marathons, but was finally interested in trying something new out. I had been thinking about giving Newtons a try to see what all the hype was about, but in the end decided against the $175 shoes and bought a pair of Saucony Guide 7s.

Newton Running Shoes

Holy Heel Striker Batman!
(Old Nikes on the left, new Sauconys on the right)

The night before the race I laid all of my gear out and made a last minute decision to race in my new shoes. You know how they say you shouldn't do anything new on race day? Whatever, I wore the shoes anyways. (They ended up being fine aside from one blister.)

Minion Outfit Ready to Go!

Team Minion met near the start line before the race to assemble for our group picture. Seeing all 14 of us together at once made the effect of the costume so much cuter! What great ideas I have! 

Team Minion Pre-Race

Soon we were off and it was time to run the race. I hadn't run a half marathon since July and wasn't sure what to expect for my time since I've been so tired this year training in between rounds of chemo. I was also running with two friends who had never run a half marathon before so I was ready to just let the morning work out any way it would. 

Running Along the Strand

The course was fairly boring and looked the same for the majority of the race which really seemed to make the miles drag, but finally one by one we were ticking them off. I was excited as usual to see David a few times on the course (best race support husband ever!!) and again at the finish line along with the rest of Team Minion.

Running With Kerri's Tutu For a Bit

Team Minion Gang Signs

While I do love flat races I don't particularly like boring ones. Parts of the race were scenic and were along the water, but other parts were just boring as we plodded on down the strand. I'd probably do this race again if someone asked me to, but I doubt I'd sign up on my own. 

Congratulations to Kerri & Kristen
on their First Half Marathon!

Next up are a couple of fun Christmas themed 5Ks and it is also time for me to start training for my next full marathon ... Napa Valley in March!