$6,000 for LLS - What does that mean?

So, WOW!  We are officially 50% of the way to the 12in12in2012 official $12,000 goal!!!  Thank you to all of you who have contributed!!  You are all amazing! 

So what does $6,000 mean to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society?  Well, before I answer that question, let me introduce you to someone....

This young lady of 3 precious years old is named Megan (yes, it is a total coincidence but one that I believe God firmly had a hand in).  Megan, or Meggie as her friends and family call her, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on April 4, 2010 when she was 18mos old. After a long struggle with recurring illness, her Mom (Kelly) attributed her continuous battles with ear infections and fevers to her introduction to day care. One day Kelly took her for a routine well-child appointment at the pediatrician's office and decided during the visit to have a lead blood test done because they live in a 100 year old home. The very next day they were called and asked to bring Meggie back to the doctor's office because something was not right with her hemoglobin levels. It was discovered after further testing that Meggie had Leukemia.

Two years later, Meggie is still fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. "ALL" is caused by malignant, immature white blood cells that continuously multiply and are overproduced in the bone marrow. It can cause damage and death by crowding out normal cells in the bone marrow, and by spreading to other organs.  Meggie is quite the  little fighter and has gone through Chemotherapy and receives spinal taps to check for Leukemia.  Yes, you read that correctly... SPINAL TAPS. 

The above is not written by LLS or TNT.  I wasn't given a manuscript.  Meggie is my co-worker Stacy's niece.  As I've run these half marathons and raised this $6,000, I've met more and more people that have a connection to Leukemia/Lymphoma.  They are the fighters or the parents, siblings, cousins and friends of someone fighting cancer.  And they are crazy inspiring.  Meggie could be anyone's child.  She could be my niece or my godchild.  Cancer doesn't discriminate.   Meggie will be my honored hero for my San Diego half marathon and you are going to see/hear a lot more about her!!  Her name and picture will be on my jersey and will serve to remind us as to why we are doing this.  Why you all have donated to LLS once, twice or multiple times this year!!   

It is hard for me to not get caught up in the running of this journey.  It's hard for me to not place the running as the #1 priority.  Honestly, the running is easier to do!  Fundraising is hard!   But little girls like Meggie remind me that the Fundraising really is #1.  But sometimes we need a good reminder about what your money is going towards.  So here is of what our $6,000 is doing...

$7,500 Funds a program to educate 200 doctors on emerging treatments for a specific blood cancer.

$3,500  Funds a program to educate 70 nurses on emerging treatments for a specific blood cancer.

$1,000  Provides one week’s salary for a medical researcher who may discover key information for developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

$1,000  Makes possible one-on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

My reminder came straight from Meggie's Mom, Kelly "I can't begin to tell you how appreciative and thankful my family and I are to have people like you supporting the fight to beat this dreadful disease. Keep fighting and running, we are supporting you all the way!"

It's a new tax season folks....  :)

Amazing Women Runners

"They're very tenacious. They're dedicated.  Once a woman decides she's going to do something, she'll probably stick to it. The only problem with women is if there's anything wrong with them, they won't tell you. They'll get out there and run on one leg." Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand Coach

The above quote reminds me of so many women but it definitely brings to mind my running buddy Joelle.  We, not so secretly, call her a running freak of nature!  She is one of those women that can go out and run 12 miles without training or sustenance and at the end of it say 'This was so wonderful, Thank you for letting me join you'.  And she is sincere about it!  If I said that same sentence, it would be dripping with sarcasm.  Joelle is also 7 mos pregnant, due in June.  Tired, pregnant and worn out, she still gets up at 5am to run with me. 

Yesterday, we did a speed workout consisting of running a straight away at 50,60,70% of a sprint to a build up of close to a full sprint.  And she stayed with me during it.  Let me also clarify that Joelle is an OBGYN, so she is fully aware of her body.  Let me ALSO clarify that I was probably holding her back b/c on our last round of our speed work, she told ME to push harder and sprint.   She is one of the many women I know that continually amaze me.

I have another running buddy that also amazes me.  Mayanne is fairly new to running, she did her first half marathon last year, also while she was pregnant!  Thankfully, it was early in her pregnancy and our resident OBGYN (Joelle) cleared her for it!  It has been wonderful to see Mayanne grow in her running ability.  She had never done any long distance running and she jumped into the deep end!  After having her baby, she is getting back into it and getting ready to run her second half marathon in May!  Mayanne is what I call a fast runner in a slow runner's mind.  Because she doesn't fully know her ability, she is still discovering it every run. 

My favorite thing to do with Mayanne is to lie to her.   I lie about our distance or how fast we are going.  I believe that she has in her 'slow runners mind' a threshold that her fast runner's body can easily overcome.  And one of the things that amazes me about her is that she doesn't get mad at me when I tell her that she really did 9 miles, instead of the 8miles she thought she was doing.  What really amazes me is the huge smile she gets on her face when she realizes what her body just did.  Nothing makes you more thankful for your ability to run than running with someone who is just discovering the joys of it. 

I can think of a million other amazing women runners that are supposedly 'regular women'.  A neighbor, who is heartbroken that her doctor recently told her she shouldn't run for a while.  You can feel how sad she is that something she loves so much is temporarily taken away from her.  Running is THAT much a part of her.  My friend Jenfer, who is chomping at the bit to have her baby so she can start running again.  She's so ready that she keeps sending me links to races and reminding me how lucky I am to be able to run!  My TNT mentor, Catrina, who is training for a full marathon and she just does it.  She's steadfast and I've never heard her complain, I've only seen her smile as she jogs off to a 20 mile run. My sister, who much like Joelle, is a freak of nature runner.  She is so good at it.  It seemingly comes so natural to her, but I know how hard she pushes herself. 

Sure, there are amazing women runners that are famous.  But it is the ones that aren't famous that truly amaze me.  It is the ones that push themselves outside of comfort zones, run at 5am because its the only time of the day they can get it in, run pregnant or push strollers.   These are the women that make me smile when I see them out running.  These are the women that inspire me.  And they aren't in the olympics.  They are just down the street from you or a phone call away! 

The Reset Button

The mentality of the Reset Button comes in handy in my life quite a bit.  But the times that I've noticed it's true effectiveness have been during long distance running.  I've always said that when you run a half marathon, and especially a full marathon, you can go through about 7 different personalities during that time span.  Those personalities can range from hopeful, to energetic, to spiritual zen, to bored, to annoyed, to ticked off and then to Mr. Hyde.  Most of the latter ones are brought on by actual events. 

For instance, maybe someone accidentally bumps you or steps on you during a race and it really ticks you off...suddenly you find yourself in a bad mood (furious even!).  Maybe your running buddy becomes similar to a drill Sergeant and you really want to smack them across the face.  Maybe you trip and fall.  Maybe that tag on your shirt that was seemingly harmless at mile 2 has taken off a chunk of your skin and the sweat burns like a mo-fo.  Maybe your body starts to shut down and you can't block out the pain of your screaming calves or hamstrings.  Or maybe your ipod has a robotic bitch that comes on and tells you the name of all your playlists for no reason and you can't shut her up...

OK, so I've mentioned that last one a few times lately if you keep up with this blog.   I was enjoying my beautiful 12 mile run and was thinking of the fact that I could blog about the beauty of trail running for my next blog...oh happy perfect day.  I was thinking 'This run is perfect! I can conquer the World'.  Then Helga, the robotic bitch, started doing her thing.  So, I walked and messed with my ipod.  And the Helga made another appearance.  So, I reset the factory settings.  Freakin Helga came back on to robotically serenade me with all the music choices I had on my ipod.  I powered it off and then back on.  Damn Helga is relentless.  Eventually, I found the magical setting that shut her the f up for good.  Seriously Apple...no one wants your 'Shake to Shuffle' setting or the 'Female feedback' setting.  The only thing I want is a guy with an Australian accent to come on and tell me that I'm kicking ass and looking hot.  Where is that setting? 

By the time I silenced the bitch, I was ticked off.  I had started/stopped many times and was completely out of my groove.  I was angry and moody.  Grrrrrrr... 

Thus the need for the Reset Button.  This isn't my first time to utilize the reset button on a run.  But this is how I go about 'pressing it'.  I literally visualize a reset button and take a deep breath.  I think of all things starting new.  A new run.  A new start.  A new beginning.  I thank God and my body for the miles it has already given me.  But then I leave the past miles behind me.  Let them go.  I shake out my arms and I force myself to smile.   I force myself to see what is around me.  And I press my mental reset. 

Does it always work?  I'd say 9/10 times for me.  If it is a pain situation, it is obviously way tougher than just a mental reset.  It never works as effectively in my personal and professional life as it does during a run.  But it is still helpful to just press reset.  Give yourself another try.  Forgive yourself for your bad mood. Wipe the slate clean and leave the bad behind.  Everyone has the power to change your own mood, you just have to figure out YOUR best way to do it. 

The joy of new gear!

I just ordered some new shoes.  In my defense, I have been running in these shoes for about a year.  Shame on me because I really should have ordered new shoes about 6mos ago. But I finally ordered them from my favorite website 'Road Runners.com' and turns out they were having a sale.  So I also ordered two tank tops and a new visor.  But then I wanted a new running skirt.  So I went to Lululemon and gazed at their super cute running skirts and 'accidently' ordered two.  Then I went to Athleta to look for more shirts and thankfully got distracted with work!


My name is Megan Natter and I have a slight addition to running gear. 

I have three drawers full of workout gear and a section in my closet devoted to running jackets.  Another drawer for workout socks.  Another drawer for gloves, hats and headbands.  A separate drawer in my study for headphones, ipods accessories, gps accessories, fuel belts and gels.  Is this normal?


I'm not really sure if it is normal but I know that I really love my running gear.  I'd much rather buy running gear than a suit.  Running gear feels useful.  Although my boss would probably tell me that the suit is more useful.  So, speaking of running gear, I'm going to now talk about a new trend in running gear...the running skirt.  Boys...you should probably tune out now.

Ladies, I am full on obsessed with the running skirt.  Gasp!  Those of you who have known me for more than 2 years are clutching your chest and fanning your flushed disbelief face saying 'Oh my!' while pretending to faint. 


And you are doing this because you know that I am a straight up Tomboy soccer girl.  I broke a girl's leg once.  They used to put me into the soccer games in order to take a girl on the opposing team out of the game by slidetackling her and hurting her.  It was ruthless and kind of fun.  Nothing gave me more pleasure than slidetackling a girl and later showing off the pancake sized portion of skin that was no longer present on my leg.  Can it truly be that the same girl is running around in skirt?  And a ruffled skirt at that? 


Yes, it's true.  I've gone to the dark side and on that side lies a ruffled running skirt.  And I like it.  I actually love it.  Some of my friends have asked me what I think of the running skirt and I've told them I'll never go back to shorts.  I've said to them in a drug peddler pusher voice 'Just try one and you'll understand'. 


Here's the deal ladies...they are super comfortable.  My ideal running skirt has spandex shorts built in with rubber lining on the bottom to keep them in place.  It has a pocket in the back and pockets on the spandex under shorts for gels or an ipod.  Not only is it functional but it is really cute and it makes your ass look phenomenal because its a skirt.  There are no nasty sweat stains that look like you peed your pants.  This is obviously a win-win situation. 

Regardless of the running skirt or your gear indulgence of choice, I'm a fan of enjoying what you are wearing while you are running.  Why not look cute?  Why not be comfortable?  Why not look like you are a 'real' runner?  Why not look fast?  The worst thing that can happen is that suddenly you are all those things!