and i should be getting ready to be asleep...
but i was busy - writing the below.
if you happened to give, whether financially, or simply in support, and i may have missed you on sending this, my sincerest apologies, but the below is for you.
album link is at bottom if you want to see updates.
ps - THERES A JOLLIBEE OUT HERE!! FILIPINO FAST FOOD FOLK!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello there!
I'm writing you from San Francisco, where tomorrow morning, at 5:30 AM, I will be on my way to the starting line of the Nike Womens Marathon. I have been all over the place with our team, from the Expotique to pick up our packets with our marathon bibs and tags, to a sporting goods store to pick up things i should have bought previously, to various stores around the Union Square area here. We went to a team meeting, and then off to our Pasta Party, where we were greeted by an INSANE amount of people cheering to our arrival.
This letter is not to recap you on the weekend thus far. This email is to say, that on this journey to this point over the past few months, it has not entirely been easy. There have been aches and pains, there have been stretching manuevers i have yet to master, there have been training days where i was NOT entirely too pleased with what we were doing. And yet, I kept coming back. I joked that it was masochistic of us to have signed up for this. But i have met some AMAZING people.
My teammates - both New York City - Manhattan and Brooklyn teams - shared their personal stories with us all at our team meet, about their connections to Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkins Disease and other cancers. Either as survivors, as siblings, as daughters, as mothers, as friends - but affected in one way or another.
I have been lucky to have not been so close to the cause, but i have met some amazing people along the way that have. I have friends that have been affected very closely. I have those who i've trained with, sat next to, bitched with at training, and had no idea they were survivors, or they were doing this in honor of someone very close to them.
This is for Gusto's Sister.
This is for Courty's Godmother.
This is for my girl Gis, who's not running with me, but who i met early on, and am so glad to have befriended - and am glad she's not here bc she'll be welcoming a new baby in the next months!
This is for Heathers family - who i dont know, but she was my mentor, and helped me stick it through.
This is for Derek's Brother.
This is for Eric's Girlfriend.
This is for the friends, and family members that those of you wrote names in the "In Honor of" Box when you put money into my fundraising.
This is for my TNT Teammates who have been personally affected, either affected
This is for ALL THE SURVIVORS - I'm running with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society tomorrow, but this is for all those who have MADE IT. and CONTINUE to make it.
This is for Auntie Fe, Christian's Mom - Mrs ID, and Lady SG. ( *Smile)
This is for all those that fought a good fight, and have moved on to better places.
This is bigger than the over $4600 dollars that i've raised with your help.
This is bigger than the matching donations that were the help of Universal Music Group.
I'm in tears as I write this because this means so much to so many people, and i am HONORED to be here this weekend.
THANK YOU. for EVERYTHING. FOR MORE than the money. For the support. For those that gave when they couldnt, and for those who couldnt, but supported full force. For allowing me to be here, to run for this cause, and to have made it this far. For getting me to training every week and to the point where I WILL MAKE IT through the 26.2 tomorrow.
This is for all of you.
This is in hopes that we dont have to come SO CLOSE to this cause. This is in faith that those of us that do, can help do something to fight it.
My singlet says IN HONOR. and I am doing this for YOU.
Thank you.
Isis Arias
Nike Women's Marathon FINISHER 2008.
PS: if someone may have given that i may have missed, please send along, and know its only my head that's forgotten, not my heart...
pss: if you'd like to see pics, etc, i only have up ones from the berry camera - isrunssf.blogspot.com or http://www.facebook.com/album.
psss: yes, it does says 'dont stop believin'. Journey's been our theme this wkend. We'll be singing it tomorrow, so feel free to sing along, wherever you are. If you're not up on it - http://www.imeem.com/popvideos/video/t_tj259K/journey_dont_stop_believin/
DO IT !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment