Running for Anna

On December 12, 2010 our family was devastated by the loss of my niece, Anna Rogotzke, on her fourth birthday, to a rare cancer called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. On December 4, 2011, I ran in the California International Marathon to raise money for the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, a leader in the fight against sarcomas. This blog is created to update those interested in my journey and progress as I train for this event and events thereafter.

....And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

As we prepare to celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow, a lot of thoughts are going through my mind:

1) - How eternally grateful I am that I get to experience the joy of motherhood.

2) - The thankfulness to God for my own mom.  It couldn't have been easy to be such a wonderful mom with 8 kids!!

3) - Sorrow for my sister, who has to experience her first Mother's Day without Anna.

4) - Gratitude to my mother-in-law for raising the wonderful man that is my husband.

5) - Happiness for my other sister, Katie, who is experiencing her first Mother's Day as the mother of TWO children.  (This picture is actually her, her son Caleb, and Anna...again, I wish I knew how to post pictures from facebook of the new little guy). 


Happy Mother's Day to ALL moms.  The world is a better place because of you!!

So, onto running!  As earlier posted, I did take a couple of days off, and did not run Wednesday and Thursday.  I ran a very easy 3-miler on Friday and a SLOW 8.5 miler today.  My hip feels pretty good, so I'm hoping to get back to normal training this coming week. 

My husband, on the other hand, did 20 miles today (probably just to show me up).  Late last year, he took up the sport of hand-cycling, and will be participating in the  San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on June 5, as a member of the Achilles Freedom (Wounded Warrior) Team!!  I am very excited for him and even more excited to be there to cheer him on. Go Bill!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!
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8 comments:

  1. JuliaMay 7, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! and thinking of your sister!

    glad your hip is feeling okay...sounds like you had some great runs the past few days :)

    OH! and I am so excited for your garmin! you will LOVE it!

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  2. Jess @ Blonde PonytailMay 8, 2011 at 11:40 AM

    Happy Mother's Day! This post is bittersweet when I see the heartbreak of your sister not having Anna.

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  3. liasmomMay 8, 2011 at 5:58 PM

    Thank you for your lovely post, even if it did make me cry! Happy Mother's day to you! Love you.

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  4. Annette@(running)In the Right DirectionMay 9, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    Happy belated mothers day. Prayers for your sister as that was probably a very difficult day!

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  5. RainaMay 9, 2011 at 9:49 PM

    Happy Mother's day to you! Your blog is very inspiring. So much to think about here. I needed a reminder of what to be grateful for. Had a stressful day as a mom and now I realize, again, how each day with them is a gift.

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  6. JennMay 11, 2011 at 5:04 AM

    Thankyou so much for the comments!! Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day. So sorry about Anna. I lost a sister and I just can't imagine losing a child.
    Yay for your hubby. Glad your hip is feeling good:)

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  7. Michela FamilyMay 11, 2011 at 10:36 AM

    Happy belated Mother's Day, Jen! Hope it's a great running week! At least it's not hot yet :) You and Bill are putting us to shame-ha! That is awesome about the San Diego marathon!

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  8. UnknownMay 11, 2011 at 5:33 PM

    happy belated mom's day to a great mom! I am sure your sister was very thankful to have you during this time.

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