Tag Archives: weSPARK

5K #8 (or I Conquered The Big Hill)

Posted on November 12, 2013 | Comments Off on 5K #8 (or I Conquered The Big Hill)

This past Sunday was 5K #8, the weSPARK 5K at Universal Studios. This was my 3rd year doing this race, so I felt pretty prepared for it. This was also the end of my crazy 2 weeks doing 3 5Ks.

On Saturday after my work shift, I drove out to the valley to pick up my race number.

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I noticed while I was picking up my number that the race course was different from the past 2 years. This year, I wouldn’t get to walk past Bates Motel/House (where I worked at Halloween Horror Nights for 3 years). There was also some changes to the giant hill. The start/finish in the past were right next to the hill, so you went down it at the start of the race and up it at the very end. This year, the hill was toward the end of the course. You went up it and immediately down it toward the finish line. Also, in the past there was a flat street that you walked on in the middle of the uphill, this year it was during the downhill.

I was a little annoyed by the course changes, but since I knew this course had the hill, I wasn’t planning on worrying about my time so much this race. I got my PR a week prior and this time all I wanted to focus on was taking one break on the uphill (the last year I took 2 breaks).

The morning of the race was very cold, but bright and sunny.

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I knew it would warm up quickly so I wasn’t wearing a sweatshirt or long-sleeved shirt. Before I knew it, the different groups were getting organized by the starting line. I found the area for 5K walkers and got a quick before picture in.

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The race this year started by going next to the LA River. It isn’t very pretty, but it’s relatively flat. Next we went past Amblin/Dreamworks. There were security guards yelling at everyone that there were no pictures allowed, so I couldn’t get a picture of the E.T. crossing sign like last year.

Next, we headed to the backlot sets. We went past the courthouse from “Back To The Future” and there was one of the DeLorean out there for a photo-op. There was a huge line, so I took a photo while walking past it.

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We did more walking around the backlot and sound stages (I was focused on walking and didn’t take any pictures for this part). And before I knew it, the giant hill was approaching.

It starts out like this.

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You go around a corner and think you are getting close and then there are about 4 sections that look like this.

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It was a much longer hill than the past years (due to not walking through the Bates Motel/House section). We also walked up to the top of the hill instead of stopping toward the top where the finish line used to be. My hips were killing me and I was pretty out of breath, but I kept going. And before I knew it, I saw where everyone was turning around. I seriously appreciated the cheering section at the top of the hill by the water station. I turned around to go back down the hill without ever taking a break!

On the way back down, I noticed a golf cart heading by me. Lea Thompson, who was the celebrity who started the race, was in the back of the cart and waved right at me. Of course I took the opportunity for a picture while I walked behind her.

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I’m kind of curious to see how the official race that was taken at this moment will look.

We walked through the little Europe section and I knew I had to be close to the finish line. I looked at my watch at realized that I was going to finish either right at or right under an hour. That’s significantly faster than I though I could do with the hill.

Finally, I made it to the end! My watch said 59:37, but I know that I started it a little early and stopped it a little late. So I went over to where the printed official race results were posted (which, by the way, I love that this is being done at the race now).

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59:27! Another 5K in under an hour! It’s only about a minute slower than the Hard Rock Cafe 5K and that one was on a very flat course!

I got a quick victory photo with my medal.

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I’m so happy that I got 5K #8 done and with an amazing time! My next (and probably last) 5K for the year isn’t for a few weeks, so I have time to recover and hopefully get a bit faster. But for now, here’s to #8!

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By the way, there’s still some time to help me reach my fundraising goal for this race! Donations are being accepted though the end of this month!

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Posted in Celebrations, Fitness, Fun Stuff

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Cancer Questions (or Hopefully This Will Help Someone Else)

Posted on October 2, 2013 | 2 comments

Ever since I posted on here about my mom having breast cancer, I’ve gotten a ton of support. This is so appreciated because my family is going through uncharted waters here. Nobody in our family has had breast cancer before and even though most of my family is in the medical field, there is still a lot of unknown for us.

I’ve also gotten questions from people who want to know more information about what is going on. Some of the things are private, but I want to share a bunch of stuff on here. When my mom was diagnosed, I did a lot of searching online for support and what to expect. I had to be careful where I looked because there is a lot of crazy scary information and I don’t need to become obsessed with what’s out there.

So here are a couple of questions that people have asked me and that I hope will help anyone else going through what my family is going through.

What is my mom’s treatment plan?

My mom had her mastectomy during the summer and is pretty much healed from that. She believes (and I agree with her) that the surgery probably got all of the cancer out of her body. But as a precaution, she is now having chemo. My dad goes with her and since our family dog is a therapy dog, he can go too (I don’t think he has gone yet). She will have a few months of chemo and then finish with some radiation to get rid of any cancer that may be left. I’m so optimistic that this treatment will result in her being 100% cancer free in the end.

Has my mom lost her hair?

As I am typing this, she has not lost her hair. With the type of chemo drugs that she’s getting, she will probably lose it. But she already has an amazing wig and will be wearing that. She actually wore it to my brother’s wedding and I think it looks amazing (she thinks it even looks better than her real hair).

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Am I going to get tested for BRCA (the breast cancer gene)?

This was one of the first things I asked my mom once I stopped crying when she told me she had cancer. I wanted to know if I needed to be tested. As of right now, I’m not being tested. It doesn’t really work like that. First my mom and I are going to take an online class about what it means if you get tested and test positive for the mutation. Then my mom has to meet with a geneticist. After that, my mom gets tested. If she tests positive for the mutation, then she will share that with me and I can decided if I want to get tested (I think that if it comes to this, I will). With my family background being Ashkenazi Jew, I already have a 1 in 4 chance of having this mutation. But if my mom tests negative for the mutation, the chances of me having it are extremely slim so I would not get tested.

Is there anything that people can do to help my family?

This is one of the most common questions people have asked me, and it is one of the most wonderful things that people could ask. As of right now, no, there is nothing that my family needs. My mom is doing amazing and my dad is there to help with anything she needs. If anyone would like to do anything, I ask that you donate to weSPARK. They support people with cancer and their families, and donations help to keep all their programs free of charge. I’m trying to raise $100 before the 5K in November and would love any help you would be willing to give to help me reach that goal.

I hope the answers I’ve given help you understand more of what my mom is going through and see that despite a cancer diagnosis, my mom is kicking as much butt as usual. And if you have a parent with breast cancer and want to chat, feel free to reach out to me. I’m more than happy to connect with people who are in the same boat.

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Posted in Family, Health, Tough Stuff

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Signing Up For More Races (or Hoping To Make It To 10)

Posted on July 26, 2013 | Comments Off on Signing Up For More Races (or Hoping To Make It To 10)

So I totally conquered my goal of 5 5Ks this year. In case you don’t remember the 5 that I did, here are the races (and links to the posts):

And now I’ve got an awesome collection of medals that look like this.

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And I’m going to be adding to my collection soon! I’ve signed up for 5K #6, #7, and #8 and I’m hoping that some of you (at least those of you who are local) can come and join me for one of them!

As of right now (because I might be adding more races) 5K #6 will be the LA Cancer Challenge 5K. I’ve never done this race before, but it’s Halloween themed so I really like that! This race is on October 27th so I’ve got a while before the race to try to get my time down some more (and maybe add in another race or two).

The next race that I’m signed up for is the weSPARK 5K that is at Universal Studios. I’ve done this race before, and I’m excited to be doing it for the 3rd time! The first link that I’ve shared for this race will link you to my fundraising page. I’m hoping to raise $100 this year for the cause, so if you can donate even a dollar it will help me out! You can also register to do the race at the link as well.

And finally, I’ve signed up for the Santa Monica Venice Christmas Run. This one is in December, and I’m thinking it is most likely the last race that I will do in 2013. So hopefully this race will end up being #10 instead of #8. This is another race that I’ve never done before, but I’ve heard from friends that the course is very flat, so I’m happy about that.

I’m so excited to have 3 more races coming up this year! I’m on the lookout for the races that will help me get to 10 total, but I’m having some trouble. A lot are on days that I can’t do one (due to my work schedule). And there are a few that I really want to do, but there is a time limit for the 5K and I know that I’m not that fast yet.

Fortunately, as I register for more and more 5Ks, I get added to more and more email lists that let me know about more races. So hopefully something fun will be in my inbox in the future.

I hope that some of you can donate to the weSPARK 5K, as this is a fundraiser for an amazing organization! Also, please let me know if you are going to also do one of the 5Ks I’ve listed because I always love running into people I know at the race!

I still can’t believe that I’m this excited to do 5Ks when only a year ago I was stressed about doing 2 or 3 in a year!

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health

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Another 5K Done (or I Did It Again!)

Posted on November 5, 2012 | 9 comments

Yesterday was the weSPARK 5K at Universal Studios. Even though I had done 10 or so 5Ks in the past (and this one last year), I was so nervous. I was going to do this one by myself. I’ve always had a buddy or two to talk to and distract me or push me to keep on going. This time, I had to push myself, and that’s not something that I’m great at.

On Saturday, I went to the bib pickup location to get my race stuff. The swag bag actually had some great things (anyone want my coupon for a free haircut?), and I got my number.

I’m the sort of person who looks for signs of things, and I felt that this number was a good sign. My favorite number is 9, and this number had a 9 in it. And the other 3 numbers added up to 9. I might be reaching for something positive, but I needed it to calm my nerves.

I also made myself a playlist to listen to. I have some music that I listen to when I workout, but I wanted something special. Since I worked at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios for 3 years, and the race began and ended very close to the area I worked in, I made an HHN mix of music. It was a collection of music from the Bill and Ted show that goes on during HHN and the music that the musical trolley would play when it would take us from where we got ready to our work area.

On race day, I got up early (but it didn’t feel too bad due to Daylight Saving Time), and headed to Universal. As soon as I got there, I ran into my friend David, who was running the 10K and was also going to give out the medals during the awards ceremony. David is awesome, BTW. He’s maintaining a weight loss of over 165 pounds!

Then it was time to get into our corrals. It was organized by 10K runners, 5K runners, and 5K walkers. We had to wait for all the runners to start first, so I got a before picture.

Finally, my group started and I started up my playlist. The hardest thing about this course is that the first mile and last mile are on hills. So you go downhill for most of the first mile, and uphill for most of the last mile. It’s tough, I hate it, but I knew I could do it. My big problem are my hips. My hip that has been operated on hurts going downhill and the hip that hasn’t been fixed yet hurts going uphill.

After the first mile was over, we got to go to one of the most restricted areas of Universal.

To get down there normally, not only do you have to make it through security at the normal gate to get on the lot, you have to make it through the security at the gate to get to this section. I also got this picture (please ignore the sweaty face).

Finally, it was time to go up the horrible hill. It is broken up a bit by the area that was Wisteria Lane for “Desperate Housewives”. My goal was to only take a breather once on the first half of the hill and once on the second half. And I did. I also got a bit of a boost because on Wisteria Lane, I saw David go by. He was running strong and gave me a high-five as we passed.

After conquering the killer hill (where I whispered choice words under my breath), we made it to Bates Motel/Bates House where I worked during HHN. I tried to get a picture of my old workplace.

And what I loved was when I was rounding the corner to Bates Motel, my playlist started playing the theme from “Psycho”. Loved it!

Finally, I crossed the finish line. My time was 1:03:18. Not my best, but considering my photo ops and the killer hill, I’m happy.

Of course, I got a victory picture with my medal.

I’m crazy proud of myself. I did something that scared me, and I did it pretty well. I’m totally going to do this 5K again next year. It’s a fun one and I think that I might have some family members trying to come to LA around that time so they can participate too!

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weSPARK 5K (or Come and Walk with Me!)

Posted on October 24, 2012 | 1 comment

Last year, I participated in the weSPARK 5K walk. I can’t remember how I heard about it, but I was so excited because it was on the Universal Studios backlot. I used to work on the backlot during my 3 years working Halloween Horror Nights, so I wanted to go back and visit my old home.

I like 5Ks. They are a doable distance for me, and I feel accomplished for finishing one. This 5K is a bit more of a challenge than most because the course isn’t flat, so it makes me feel like I’ve actually done a bit of a workout and not just walk on flat streets.

David (from Keep It Up David) was running the 10K last year, and my friend Emily walked with me. This year, I believe both David and Emily are running, so I’m walking solo for now.

Unless some of you fabulous blog readers want to walk with me! It’s a very fun low-key event. You get to walk all around the backlot before the park is open. You get to take fun pictures like this:

You aren’t forced to raise a certain amount of money (which I appreciate). All you have to do is register and pay the registration fee (you can register here).

You get a t-shirt and everyone who completes either the 5K or 10K gets a medal like this:

(please ignore the dumpster behind me)

I’d love to have some walking buddies at the 5K this year. If you decide to join in, make sure to let me know so we can look out of each other.

But even if I’m walking by myself, I’m going to do it no matter what. I’m going to try to do better than I did last year. The final uphill was a bit tough for me, so I had to stop to take a quick break. I’m hoping this year that I can do the entire uphill without stopping this year. I might pay attention to my time, but because I am planning on taking pictures on the course again, the time isn’t my main concern. I just have to focus on finishing no matter how long it takes. That’s the most important thing to me.

And if you don’t want to walk or don’t live in LA and still want to participate, you can donate to weSPARK on my fundraising page here. I have a goal of raising $500 and would love to reach it!

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