Even if you can't come, you should watch this video. Very entertaining. Well done guys!
Special Message From The O's from CF Concert Series on Vimeo.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
In Dallas? Join us for this sweet event!!
We're here for the second year in a row to take part in the CF concert series here in Dallas, TX. We had a great time at last year's event and are looking forward to another successful event this time around. If you're near or in the Dallas area, we would LOVE for you to swing by and say hi. If you can't make the event, contact us (ronnie@cysticlife.org) anyway and maybe we could do coffee or something.
Anyways, here are the event details:
What: CF Concert Series
Who: Rhett Miller, Ben Kweller, The O's
Where: The Granada Theater 3524 Greenville Ave. Dallas, Texas
When: November 6th @ 6:30pm VIP or general admission at 8:00pm
How (much): VIP - $75 General admission - $25
Why: Why not?
CF concert series info:
The CF Concert Series was started in 2007 as a small effort organized by a few local music fans with a personal interest in helping to find better treatments and a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis, or CF, is a life‐threatening genetic disease affecting approximately 70,000 children and adults. However, there is no government funding for CF research. All research and progress towards finding better treatments and a cure rely on funding from community events and fundraisers.
The series, held annually at the historic Granada Theater in Dallas, TX, aims to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis with an emphasis on adult research. Since the first concert in 2007, the CFCS and its participants, such as Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s, have helped to raise almost $100,000 towards the cause.
The CF Concert Series is put on by the Breathe Easy Foundation (BEF). The goal of both the CFCS and the Breathe Easy Foundation is to help raise awareness of the disease and funding for the great strides being made towards CF research. All BEF proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Hope to see you there!!!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
What the _____?: November 4th, 2010
A while ago we started a little contest on this blog in which I post a picture and whoever comes up with the most clever/funny/witty/etc caption gets put into a drawing for prizes at the end of the year. Still don't have everything figured out as of yet, but we do know a couple of things 1) There will be multiple prizes 2) I love the participation so far 3) If you think your submission is inappropriate for others to see, you can always email your answer directly to me at ronnie@cysticlife.org :) 4) I've literally LOLed all weeks so keep it coming!
Alright, what do ya got!?!?
Last week's photo with the winning caption:
1st: "Ladies and gentleman get out your protection, this is the big one. As you can see the head of the storm is penetrating the gulf coast. And if you can follow along the shaft here you will see that much of the Midwest is being directly affected by this storm. As we head into the evening we shall see the storm softening until morning."
submitted by Robin Johnson
2nd: "Must not be a cold front!!"
submitted by Katy and Justin Toole
3rd: "As you can see, there's a lot of PRESSURE building up in this general area. That, combined with the strong HEAD winds BLOWING in from the south, means that we may GET LUCKY and have some nice T-bags... I mean T-storms this afternoon"
submitted by Jenny Livingston
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Running Buddies Online?
**Post written by Mandi (I'm really messing things up this week. Post on Saturday, post on Wednesday, but slacked on my Mandi Monday!)
BUUUUUT for those of us who aren't lucky enough to be there in person, Rock CF and CysticLife has teamed up on a new concept so we too can participate! The concept: Out Run CF Virtual Run. It's the race of the future! You can run this race from anywhere in the world. So the race is a way for everyone to participate, get some new "virtual" running buddies, and get into shape. Anyone and everyone is invited to participate: Fibros, Cysters, parents, spouses, friends, extended family, you name it! I mean, if you can now find love and make BFF's online, you might as well be able to make running buddies online too! Right?
Participants will find a route or race by their house; report back to their fellow virtual runners online as they train; and then on March 20, 2011, EVERYONE will lace up their joggers and hit the road in their Out Run CF shirt (which you receive when you register for the race).
And here's the best part (in my opinion) people choose their mileage. 1 mile? 5K? 10K? 10 Miles? Half Marathon? Marathon? It's doesn't matter! Nothing is too short or too long, too fast or too slow. The goal just to get the entire CF community out of the house and into their running shoes on the same day.
So again, here are the hard facts:
Who: EVERYONE
What: An Out Run CF Virtual Race held by Rock CF and CysticLife
Where: ANYWHERE
Why: Because anyone can run – whether it’s for a minute or a marathon! Together, we can Out Run CF.
How: Register at http://www.active.com/running/anytown-mi/out-run-cfvirtual-run-2011
Helpful Sites to Get You Started:
DailyMile.com – Make an account and join the Rock CF/CysticLife group to track your miles and keep track of others!
Facebook.com – Join the Out Run CF group to see just how many people are outrunning CF and connect with them!!
Runnersworld.com – Get inspired, find training programs.
So definitely check it out. Ronnie and I will both be training for the race using dailymile.com and connecting with other runners on CysticLife and Facebook. And so far there looks to be a decent group - people are already registering and there's a growing group on the Out Run CF Facebook page. I'm just excited to have an "excuse" to run, and I have to admit, I'm really excited about getting an Out Run CF T-shirt - maybe not the best reason to run...but hey, whatcha gonna do, right?!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Block Everything Else Out
Lately, as I've been challenging myself to tackle longer distances when running, I've found myself blocking out almost everything else while I run. I can't hear myself breathe. I put a halt on all of the crazy thoughts that jumble around in my head. I even manage to block out Eminem's voice rapping into my ears. It's not easy however to achieve this. Generally when I run, I'm in a 20 minute to hour long battle with myself. I'm usually pleading with myself to stop and thinking about all of the ways in which I'd be justified in doing so. I'll work my way from my feet up slowly identifying each and every pain I feel with each pace. Sometimes, my voice wins and I'll stop running and let myself "catch my breath" while walking it out for a minute. Funny thing is, when I run, it's rarely my breath that is the issue. Yeah, it's not easy to breathe and I REALLY have to focus in order to maintain a consistent breathing pattern, but most of the time I give into the pain or the tiredness in my legs. It's only in those few moments, those not too often runs, that I'm able to block all of that out and just put one foot after the other.Today was one of those days. I was inspired by fellow cyster and awesome runner, Karen Vega. If you don't know who she is, you should and you should follow her story. Some of you may remember a guest post of hers about what inspired her to run and what amazing results she's had so far. What inspired me today however was an article recently written about her and her upcoming attempt to run a marathon. I already knew her story, but reading it again gave me the kick in the pants I needed today to lace up my shoes and hit the road. Not only that, but I used it as fuel to push myself beyond my usual 1.8 mile loop. I set out on a new route, not knowing the distance, only knowing that if I set out on it I would not stop until I was finished.
That's not to say it was easy. In fact, today's run was harder than most. I don't know if it was the pizza I had for lunch, or the fact that I had a cough that wouldn't quit, but I was barely able to not throw-up for almost half of my run. But I was not deterred. I kept going. I thought about Karen's story and how hard she must of pushed herself from going from having twins, to an all-time low lung function, to preparing for a marathon. I thought to myself, if she can do that, there's no reason that you can't finish this run strong. And that's when it happened, every sound, object, person, car and footstep didn't exist. I was in the zone. I could feel my pace quickening, yet I wasn't uncomfortable. I would cough, and my breathing pattern was uninterrupted. I'm sure I was in pain, but I didn't feel it. All I knew, is that I had about a quarter of a mile left and I wanted to finish strong. Nothing else mattered. All that mattered was the finish.
As I rounded the final corner heading into my driveway, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. Not that the run was over (3.17 miles), but the way in which I battled through and was able to block everything out and just run. It rarely happens for me, but when it does, it feels incredible. I wish I could give you guys an inside track on how to get into this mindset when you run. Unfortunately, I'm a rookie when it comes to this. I'd actually have to turn the question back to some of you. Do any of you experience this during a workout or a run? If so, how do you get to that place? Any tips for me? I'd like to get back there as often as I can. It would make my runs so much more enjoyable. And I have a feeling if they were more enjoyable, I would run for longer and if I ran longer, it be better for the old airbags. So help a fibro out, let me in on your secret!
Funny thing is, when I was doing my cool down walk my neighbor was getting out of his car and shouted "Man, I saw you running down the street and I thought you weren't going to make it". To which I responded, "You have no idea!". Little does he know, I HAVE to make it, I give myself no other choice. See, I didn't choose to run because I love it, I chose to run because I love my life. Live to run? No. Run to live.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Halloween 2010
We had a little block party last night for Halloween. By little I mean just that, as in just us and our one neighbor. Apparently this year was better than years past, yet we still have candy left over which is never a good thing in our house. We only took 7 pictures the entire night and I've posted 5 of them. Enjoy!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Pumpkin Carving Bonanza
Tonight we had family and friends over for some pizza and pumpkin carving!! Well, we ate the pizza and carved the pumpkins.
