subconscious to me: don’t marry strangers

Posted on by
Reply

 

You know what’s not a nice way to start Thanksgiving morning? Freaking out and waking up from a nightmare. Especially since I usually do not have nightmares. Hell, I rarely remember any dreams.  This one I’ll def remember.

<dream>
It’s my wedding day.  And don’t ask why I’m dreaming about weddings; it’s not an event I foresee taking place any time soon, so this wasn’t one of those worrying-about-a-real-life-event dreams. (Seriously, don’t read into it.  You’re wasting your time.)

Everyone’s hustling around, I’m in a too-good-to-be-true dress, and you can feel that big event buzz in the air.  I was with my dad and we were making sure all the little last minute details were taken care of.  Also, we had to take a helicopter to the wedding site… (again, don’t ask; apparently I dream big).

As I go to make one last pre-nuptial pitstop at the ladies’ room, I realize I have no idea who my husband-to-be is.  And that’s when that  I run outside and ask my best man.  (Yea, also, I guess I have a best man, not a maid of honor.  I would.)

He shows me a picture of my fiancée, and I don’t recognize him at all.  He’s not a friend, not an acquaintance, not even a face I remember seeing at a bar.  ”Who is this??!” I ask my best man.

He starts rattling off details about him and how we met. But he could offer me no details about me and him, mostly just details about him that my best man knew through a friend of his.  It was pretty much as effective as Facebook stalking.  Cue panic.

</dream>
And when I woke up, at first I thought “WTF Candice? A wedding dream… really?”  But it’s relevant, I guess.  I mean, marriage is a something I’d like somewhere down the line.  But I guess my subconscious has a good point.  Don’t marry strangers.  Stranger danger.

I dunno.  The initial shock of it has now faded, but it was the scariest nightmare I’ve had in years.  And frankly, it was enough to get me back into writing for myself; that in itself just might make it worth it, yea?

 

Season 3 w/TNT: The Same, but Different!

Posted on by
Reply

Yep, I’m at it again, folks. But this season… well, it’s different. This season, it’s personal.

What’s the same?
Yes, the Sunday ritual of waking up to attend practice while others sleep in will be the same. Yes, the miles, the TMI conversations, and the unstoppable appetite that come with training for a marathon will be more or less the same. And I find myself once again lucky enough to be a part of a support staff that gets the privilege of guiding an entire team of runners and walkers to new highs (including the elusive runner’s variety), countless personal accomplishments, and of course, raising thousands of dollars for a cure!

So what’s different?
In 2009, I originally joined Team in Training (TNT) to run a marathon. That was it. And if we’re being completely honest, when I attended my first TNT practice, I didn’t even plan on joining the Team. I just showed up because I told my friend Lori (@LJ3000) I would.

That was nearly 2 years ago. Fast forward 6 marathons, 10 half marathons, and countless miles of training runs later, and I find myself approaching this next season in a new light because my family has been touched by cancer once again.

Just over a month ago, my Uncle Rodney (my mom’s brother) was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), and before I knew it, my family was tossed into the whirlwind of doctors, hospital visits, timelines, and a collection of medical terminology most of us could barely pronounce. (Luckily, my Auntie Kathy is a pharmacist, so she interprets a lot of it for us.)

Both of my mom’s sisters, my Auntie Karen and Auntie Kathy, have battled breast cancer in the past, but for some reason, I never thought of my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) fundraising as being directly connected to the fights they endured. However, over the past seasons, I’ve learned that cancer is cancer, and when we find a cure for one, it means we are that much closer to finding a cure for all cancers.

The bottom line
Initially, I was skeptical about embarking on my third Team in Training season in three years. But my Uncle Rodney’s diagnosis and current battle is a very real reminder that cancer is one bad motherfucker and if it’s not going to stop, then neither am I. And neither is my Team.

I will be completing this season of Team in Training to benefit the LLS in honor of my Uncle Rodney and to train for the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World on January 7-8, 2012.

http://tnt.candicemyee.com

Donations of any size are truly appreciated. No contribution to the cause is too small (nor too large)! :D I hope you will check back often to see updates on my Uncle Rodney and my training – both of which I hope to be predominantly positive!

Thank you in advance for your support!

#whywerun: It’s so much more than physical

Posted on by
1

Most people look forward to Fridays because it signifies the end of the workweek. I look forward to Fridays because it’s usually the beginning of a weekend, which usually includes a long run.

This week, I noticed a hashtag among the running community that had some really awesome responses: #whywerun. It got me thinking why I run miles on end, why I don’t sleep in on the weekend, & why I treat 26.2 like it’s the normal thing to do. Here are a few of the reasons I run…

#whywerun: I run for me.
I run because I love it & it’s the only time that is all mine. When I run alone, I never feel lonely because it’s me & the miles. When I run with others, my running partners and I manage to be alone & together at the same time. I’m never alone when I run.

#whywerun: I run for those who can’t.
At the same time, I run for those who are not able to. For my honored teammates, I run to raise awareness and funds to beat what is keeping them from running. I run to show them their cause matters to me; I run to remind them that the human body is capable of doing amazing things. It is only a matter of time before we beat cancer. This is something I learned entirely through Team in Training.

#whywerun: To surpass all my own expectations & to prove myself wrong.
When I finish another race or PR, I am always, always, ALWAYS surprised at what I have accomplished. Never fails.

#whywerun: I run so that I believe.
For me, the benefits of running extend far beyond the physical. When I feel like life’s just a mundane routine, all I need is a run on a beautiful day at the beach to prove me wrong. When it feels like life’s nothing more than a pointless rat race chock-ful of disappointment, running reminds me that hard work does pay off, you can get results, & perhaps most importantly, you are more capable of doing amazing things than you will ever know.

Running Solo

Posted on by
Reply

Excuse me for waxing poetic, but it seemed all too appropriate that I ran my longest solo run (thus far) on the eve of my first single Valentine’s day in years. Got me thinking about why it is a challenge (at least, for me) to run solo, be it on a training run or in life.

I remember a friend of mine telling me during a race that simply thinking “I’m alone” can be detrimental when running. And I think the same can easily be said for life.

Running alone is definitely something I haven’t had to do often, and for a number of years, the same could be said for relationships.

But today, instead of dreading the 3hrs alone with myself (after all, I’m pretty sure some countries consider it cruel & unusual punishment), I chose to embrace it.

(Ok, it wasn’t really voluntary… was more like a combination of my stubborn drive to continue training coupled with unavailable running partners. But let’s just pretend it was voluntary & not related to my running addiction…)

And of course, as only life would have it, as soon as I decided to be okay with spending 16 miles sans-posse, I realized I wasn’t alone at all.

And since life=running=life, it seems that the same can be said about my non-running life as well. It took some time thinking I was alone & lonely to realize that even when my friends are not physically with me, they are always with me. They are my real Valentines this year. I love you guys (you know who you are)!