My first weekend off! And a head shaving....

This weekend was my first weekend that I actually stayed HOME and slept in... since the week before Labor Day Weekend!

Quite literally, every weekend for eight straight weekends, I have had some sort of running event:

Victory Headstand after a 22 mile
Long Run out in the Hamptons...
with my custom-made (and edible)
flagel medal!

• Labor Day weekend (August 30 - September 1) - Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon
• September 6 - no running, but spent the day out in New Jersey at Six Flags Great Adventure with my running club, Front Runners New York
• September 11-14 - Ragnar Relay DC - 200 mile relay race from Cumberland, MD to the National Harbor in Washington, DC
• September 19-21 - Long Island - East Hampton/Montauk, NY to do my 22-mile Long Run (pictured to the right)
• September 25-28 - Rock 'n' Roll Oasis de Montréal Demi-Marathon
• October 3-4 - Shark Run 5K in Bay Head, NJ
• October 10-13 - Bank of America Chicago Marathon
• October 18-19 - Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Half Marathon

But it starts up again next week.  I'm working the 2014 TCS NYC Marathon, so those of you who are running, find me after the finish line, at Family Reunions!  I'm supervising a group of volunteers who are manning the entrances to the family reunions area along Broadway between 62nd and 65th Streets. I'll be wearing my commemorative NYC Marathon blue and yellow Asics supervisors' hooded jacket!  Yesterday, I got to participate in the general orientation session for all volunteer coordinators at the Marathon Pavilion, getting briefed from the New York Road Runners staff on what to expect on race day.

And then...the next three weeks will be crazy busy yet again!  Look out for more race reports from me over the next few weeks!  I have 7 half-marathons down already in 2014... I'm looking to finish 7 more before the end of the year, to have 14 in 2014! (Thanks Kimberly Markey for the inspiration of that goal!)  Running will take me from NYC to places such as Savannah, Georgia; Las Vegas, Nevada; Annapolis, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and San Antonio, Texas!

Crowns up for #TeamTing!

One last thing... I shaved my head yesterday!  My good friend, Amanda Ting, is undergoing 4-5 months of chemotherapy treatment at the moment for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) in her right breast, which will be followed by a double-mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in Winter/Spring 2015.  Many of her friends and I have joined in to support her through her fight, forming "Team Ting;" accompanying her to treatment sessions, and wearing our shirts at various events to raise awareness and promote our support for her!  Some of us even took another step of solidarity by shaving our heads.  I told Amanda that if I PR anytime at all over the next month, it's all because of my new aerodynamics, hehe!  My races for the whole month of November are dedicated to Amanda and to #TeamTing! (Update: Today, 10/27/14, Amanda goes in for an ultrasound to check if her tumor, which she calls "Felisha," as in #BYEFELISHA, is shrinking.  Prayers and positive vibes are requested!)