Happy Birthday to ME!

Well I am 26 as of today. It has also been exactly 4 years since Paul first told me he loved me. What a long way we have come! I had a great birthday, and a fun pre-bday weekend in Vegas with my Dad and Tish. I skipped out on my long run to enjoy family time, but paid for it today with a difficult and sluggish 3 miles. I will be pushing myself all week, up until October 5th, in preparation for the Long Beach Marathon. After the 5th I will relax a bit and prepare myself for a 13.1 mile race!

As much as I love all the attention from having a birthday, after all I am an only child, they seem to be more bittersweet the older I get. I am only 26 but since I turned 25 I have felt as though I am "middle aged" if not past that. I think of my Mom at this age, and remember how her tumors started growing completely out of control around this point in her life. She went from being an active typical young Mom, to being completely bed-ridden within a few very short years. I am my Mother, I have felt that way for a long time. If you compare our MRIs at specific ages, we follow similar growth patterns. I am doing everything within my power to break the cycle, to stop the growth. I'm taking propolis, eating healthy (fat feeds tumors) and running to keep my body strong and raise research money at the same time. There is not much more I can do! I take that back... I can hope. As long as I still have hope, I am still winning the battle. So Happy Birthday to me, and "many more..."