Running for to save lives

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/nikesf08/lchow

one of the most influential people in my life is my friend Lesley "Sam" Chow. but she (and her hubby) went beyond the call when they opened their home to me while i waited for a new heart and recovered from the operation...the span of time was about a year. there are so many little and big things that she has done for me...to numerous to list as i've known her since kindergarten.

her generous, creative and caring spirit (we won't go into her mischievous side as that would take DAYS to explain) has again struck. she is in training to run a marathon to help raise awareness and funds to find a cure for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. when you view her link above, you'll get a feel of her personality as well as her dedication...especially to children. i know i could not have recovered, mentally and physically, as quickly or wholly if i did not have her at my side (and my mumsy too! and my cugina tashi!). please donate if you can.

one of my cousins, Mary Lopez Schell, is in remission from non-hodgkins Stage 4 Mantle cell Lymphoma for the past 5 years. i donated in honor of her and Sam.

in the early part of this decade, Sam trained and ran a marathon to raise awareness and money for AIDS. the marathon took place in Hawaii but her training was in LA. i was "lucky" enough to have visited her during one of her training sessions. we had to get up SUPER early in the morning and drive to Brentwood where the training took place. i was on vacation so getting up early was NOT fun. but i was willing to sacrifice my vacation sleep-in to support my friend...also there might've been a chance to view some celebrities since they were hangin' in Brentwood at the time. ;-D luckily we got some Starbucks before the training, which helped tremendously to brighten our morning. we arrived at the area where the participants broke into their running/walking groups. Sam was a runner...so proud of her (wiping tear from my eye)...unless a pack of komodo dragons are chasing me...i don't run for crap. anyway, i didn't want to look like a total loser so i volunteered myself to help out. the organizers put me towards the end of the route and then were stupid enough to give me a flag! hehehehehe! i was suppose "guide" the runner/walkers WITH MY FLAG by making a circle clockwise with my arm and flag...not counter-clockwise or you could "guide" them backwards.

since i was at the end of the route, it took awhile for the trainees to show up. i was located on a corner and i got worried at one point, when it was just me and the flag, that some car was gonna pull up wanting a little morning "pick-me-up."

when the fast runners started showing up, i had WAY too much fun with the flag. i was waving like i was Miss America/USA. when Sam came into view i had some trouble with coordinating the flag waving and trying to take a photo at the same time. i can honestly say that none of the runners/walkers went off course from my section point.... :-)...but then they've been training on that route long before i came to flag them to death.