Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Good vs. Evil - The Mental Battle

I've been in a mental battle over the past two weeks that has made motivation and energy extremely low.  On my last few runs it has been Good vs. Evil comments in my head.  Evil usually appears around mile 5 and has worn down Good by mile 8.  When there are still 10 more miles to go it becomes and exhausting battle in my head.  Here are some of the punches each side has taken:


Evil:  I'm tired
Good: Shhhhhh...


Evil: Your legs feel like lead
Good: I'm light as a feather


Evil: Did you feel that in your knee?  You really should stop because you don't want to injure yourself.
Good: It was only a second and it isn't continuing.  Shut UP!


Evil: Why am I doing this? Really running 2 1/2 - 4 hours on a Saturday is not my idea of fun any more.  You have already completed 17 miles this week, do you really need to do 16 to 18? REALY, what is this 20 mile thing?
Good: SHUT UP!  I run to bring awareness to those I talk to about the importance of the fight against Breast Cancer.  I run to become stronger, healthier and keep my weight under control...and it is working.  So SHUT UP!


Evil:  I've had enough. Stop, stop, just STOP!
Good: I hear you, I really do.  Time for some words of encouragement/chanting/mantra: Stronger, power, courage, strength.  STRONGER, POWER, COURAGE, STRENGTH! STRONGER, POWER, COURAGE, STRENGTH!!


Evil: Done, Done, DONE. I've had enough!!!
Good:  Oh, I give up.  Just walk a bit.  I'm exhausted physically and mentally.


That is right Evil has been winning.  Right now the score is Evil- 6, Good - 3.  It isn't looking very good for me.  Good is still putting up a fight because as I write this I'm telling myself it is a phase.  The past two weeks and next three weeks are my toughest of my training - including 3 - 20 miles runs.  I will success and defeat Evil!


One thing that does motivate me are your donation!  I have raised $1,765.00 of my new $2,000.00 goal.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:
Mom & Dad
Linda B.
Matt, Cheryl & Yuengling 
Jenn & Randy Smith
George S.
Don & Candace W.
Jo Ann P.
Todd N.
Shannon & Stan K.
Ada M.
The Buckner Family
The Wooley Family
The Wolff Family
The Lemke Family
The Perret Family
The Pollitz Family
The Dunham Family
The Leslie Family
The Harris Family
The Hannon Family

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Article in The Washington Post

I want to share an article that was in the Style section of The Washington Post today.  The article was about Geralyn Lucas the author of "Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy" and how Gen-X and younger cancer survivors are changing the attitude about cancer.  Here are a few points I took away from the article: or
  • About 513,000 cancer survivors are ages 20 to 39, according to data from the American Cancer Society
  • TV and movies are focusing on young cancer survivor stories
  • It's time to start focusing on a future where cancers will be prevented and treated as chronic diseases instead of talking about finding a cure
  • Cancer survivors need more support both medically and psychologically - for example what happens after you survive — employment discrimination, fertility, dating
  • We all need to talk openly about cancer with our family and friends 
  • Humor is not a bad thing when talking about cancer
You can click here to read the full article as I am not doing it justice with my bullet points.



The fight against Breast Cancer is a very personal cause to me.  As you know my Mom is a stage 4 survivor and I also know several strong women who have survived.  I will continue raise money each year until the follow statistics are no longer: (statics sited are from BreastCancer.org)
  • Breast Cancer will affect nearly 300,000 women and 2,100 men this year. 
  • Approximately 40,000 women and 450 men will lose their battle with Breast Cancer
  • 1 in 8 women in the United States (12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
  • More than 1 in 4 cancers in women (about 28%) are breast cancer.
  • A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. 
  • About 70-80% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. 
This year I'm raising money for The Susan G. Komen Foundation who works to save lives, empower those living and survived Breast Cancer, ensure quality care for all and provides funding to science to find the cures. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:
Mom & Dad
Linda B.
Jenn & Randy Smith
George S.
Don & Candace W.
Jo Ann P.
Todd N.
Shannon & Stan K.
Ada M.
The Buckner Family
The Wooley Family
The Wolff Family
The Lemke Family
The Perret Family
The Pollitz Family
The Dunham Family
The Harris Family

Monday, September 5, 2011

It has been awhile...

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post.  Life has been a bit crazy.  So lets get caught up on the last week:

  • Hurricane Irene arrived in Maryland Saturday afternoon and decided that we should be one of the first to lose power.  At 4:30PM there as a big bang and then it was dark.  Of course I had not completed all the cleaning I had planned or filled up the tub with water so I was not fully prepared.  When we woke up on Sunday we had little damage - 2 large 12 foot branches fell and a whole bunch of mid size branches; a piece of siding is lose.  Our wonderful neighbor let us hook up our fridge to his generator (which we will be buying one this fall) so we were able to keep everything cold and charge our phones.  We walked the neighborhood and saw some big trees down.  Monday James went to work and I stayed home taking the kids to Linda's to get cleaned up.  Linda then helped with the kids on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Our power did not come back on until Tuesday evening while we were at Paige's soccer practice, however daycare and the school did not get power back until Wednesday. Here are a few pictures:


James finishing his spaghetti sauce Saturday night

Ian while trying to eat his ice cream
Cleaning up the branches in the yard
One street over from our house
  • Friday Paige was finally able to get in her second day of school.  She was so excited to go back!  Of course again she could not remember anything she did all day and "everything" was her favorite part.
  • Saturday was my first 20 mile training run.  I was nervous and excited at the same time.  The goal was just to finish and I did in under 4 hours.  I was able to run all but the last 2 miles where I walk/jogged to the finish.  I was proud of myself and so tired.  I came home and slept for 3 hours.
About to head home for my nap - can you see the exhaustion in my eyes?

I think that catches us up on what we have been up too.  I will be back to posting on a regular basis now that there is no pending hurricane and we can get pack to our schedule.

As you may know, I have reached the fundraising goal of $1,500.00 set by Susan G. Komen Marathon for the Cure.  I'm cannot thank everyone enough for their support and donations.  Because I have reached the goal and the race is still 55 days away I have reset my goal to $2,000.00.  This will beat the amount I raised last year!  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:
Mom & Dad
Linda B.
George S.
Don & Candace W.
Jo Ann P.
Todd N.
Shannon & Stan K.
Ada M.
The Buckner Family
The Wooley Family
The Wolff Family
The Lemke Family
The Perret Family
The Pollitz Family
The Dunham Family
The Harris Family

Friday, August 26, 2011

Paige's First Day of Kindergarten

I'm a day late in putting up this blog.  Yesterday was Paige's first day of Kindergarten and it was a huge success.  She has been asking to go to school for over a year and yesterday was her big day.


Paige woke up excited and ready to go.  She quickly got dressed, put on her backpack and then refused to pose for any pictures (she is claiming she is "camera shy" but I just call it attitude).  Here is my best shot at the house:


So I loaded up the car with the kids and headed to daycare.  I took a few hours off of work so I could walk her to the bus stop and see her off.  Here are a few pictures...
Ian with his daycare "girlfriends" ready for their ride to the bus
Another attempt at getting a good picture of Paige
The sneak attack photo is the best one I got of  her at the bus stop
While the kids wait for the bus, Mrs. Glenda (daycare provider) brought out a jump rope and they all took turns.  When the bus came around the corner everyone yelled, "BUS!"  The next think I knew Paige was putting on her backpack, standing in line and then getting on the bus.  There was no hug, no kiss, nothing.  She held hands with Anna, a girl from daycare, and off she went.  I called out to her and she briefly looked over her shoulder and said, "Bye Mom," with a slight wave over her shoulder.  I was shocked and SO PROUD.  My little girl was off to Kindergarten like a big girl.
Paige putting on her backpack - all Kindergartner's have a yellow bus tag
A quick look over her shoulder and she was off
There she goes - my BIG girl
I went off to work (after a quick stop at Safeway to get water for the pending hurricane but more on that later) so excited for her.  I tried to image what she was doing and how she felt.  Once I got to work a few people told me I should leave a bit early and surprise her at the bus when she got off.  I couldn't resist so I jumped in my car at the end of the day and raced to the bus stop.  Here is what I saw...
Paige coming off the bus
Her surprised look when she saw me
Paige was so happy to see me, but when I asked her about her day she didn't want to tell me.  She said she couldn't remember.  Then she strutted off down the road with the other school kids.  You could see a new confidence in her walk!  After a snack with all of her daycare friends we headed home.  She still didn't want to tell me about her day until right before dinner and here is what I was able to get out of her:
  • She got to sit in her assigned seat
  • They did math with blocks and links that they made into necklaces
  • There as a story time with two stories
  • She colored a picture of a Mom
  • Her class went to the gym and the teacher called her, "a nice young lady" which Paige responded, "My name is Paige."
  • She ate all of her lunch and her snack
  • She had computer work with a boy name William who apparently is "really good" on the computer
  • She raised her hand to ask questions, but couldn't remember what she asked
  • When asked what was her favorite part of the day was when I put her to bed she screamed with joy, "EVERYTHING"
I cannot wait to hear about her second day on Tuesday.  I'm so very proud of her.

So now a quick note on Hurricane Irene.  As of right now she should be arriving East of Ocean City, MD tomorrow afternoon.  In our area we should have tropical storm strength winds, lots of rain and flooding.  We have gotten all the supplies we need to ride out the storm and be fine for several days if we get flooded in.  The most nerve racking part is what will happen after...will be have power (most likely not), will the yard flood (most likely yes), will the house flood (we really don't think it is possible), will we ever get out of Shady Side (most likely in a few days).  James and I have decided to make any final decisions tomorrow morning after my 12 mile run and the weather people can give us a more definite answer on what is going to happen.  I will do my best to keep everyone posted on my blog as long as we have power, but you can also find me on Facebook (Amanda Rosinack Benson) where I will be able to post from my phone.  Wish us luck!

Lastly, to end on a high note, I have reached the fundraising goal of $1,500.00 set by Susan G. Komen Marathon for the Cure.  I'm cannot thank everyone enough for their support and donations.  Because I have reached the goal and the race is still 65 days away I have reset my goal to $2,000.00.  This will beat the amount I raised last year!  If you would like to make a donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:
Mom & Dad
Linda B.
George S.
Don & Candace W.
Jo Ann P.
Todd N.
Shannon & Stan K.
Ada M.
The Buckner Family
The Wooley Family
The Wolff Family
The Lemke Family
The Perret Family
The Pollitz Family
The Dunham Family
The Harris Family