The 3 Day is a Journey, Not a Destination

There seems to be a lot of frustration around the 3 Day community this week.  Cat, who writes the wonderful Fat Girl Walkin' blog wrote about the lack of support coming from some negative corners of her life. Janice of Athena's Armoury is battling with plantar fasciitis in her feet and is concerned about actually being able to walk in the fall.  And I've been dealing with a pretty disappointing turn of events in our team fundraising.  It just seems like the initial euphoria of the 3 Day is starting to wear off and the reality of this huge challenge that we've all taken on is becoming more clear:  actually completing the 3 Day is seriously hard work.

As we all know, there are two huge things that every 3 Day walker is trying to accomplish.  We're each trying to raise at least $2300 and we're each trying to get through those 60 miles.  Along the way, we will all stumble at some point.  There will be some people who fall short of their fundraising goals.  People will need to catch a ride on a sweep van.  Injuries will keep people from participating on the event.  No one sets out to fall short of their goals, but the truth is, stuff happens.  Not everyone will raise all $2300 and not everyone will walk all 60 miles.  That is the reality of the situation.

That being said, just because you may not reach the goals that you originally laid out for yourself does not make your participation in the 3 Day any less important.  As I titled this post, much like life, the 3 Day is a journey, not a destination.  It is in pursuing those goals that we are truly making a difference!

So let's say that you fall short of your fundraising goal.  Every dollar that you raise, whether you make it to $2300 or not, is going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and will be used to fund potentially life-saving biomedical research.  As a scientist myself, I am here to tell you that science isn't funded in $2300 increments.  It's paid for one dollar at a time.  A box of gloves costs less than $5.  A giant tub a sodium chloride, an important component is almost every buffer used in every lab everywhere can be had for less than $100.  Parafilm, eppendorf tubes, Kimwipes and other strange sounding things are cheap but critical things that are used by labs every where.  Labs cannot function without this stuff.  And it goes the other way too - science often costs more than $2300 at a time.  Our microscopes and machines are EXPENSIVE.  The $1500 or $500 or even just $50 that you raised will be combined with all the other money raised by 3 Day walkers to help fund research that not one of us could possibly pay for by ourselves.  In the end, it doesn't matter if you fall short of your fundraising goals.  If you have raised even $5 through your efforts, you have made a difference.  As my mom says, it takes millions of tiny rain drops working together to fill the bucket.

And what about walking the whole 60 miles?  Sure, we all want to be able to say that we walked the whole 60 miles.  That's why we do all this training.  But the whole point of getting out on the streets is to be seen and to raise awareness for this important cause.  We may be more visible for those three days, but that's still only three days.  Most of us will be out training for months, and often for hours on end, provide endless opportunities to raise awareness in the community around us.  Every time someone stops to ask you why you're walking is a chance to raise awareness.  It's an opportunity to have a conversation about breast health and the need for more funding.  You will likely encounter people who have never heard of the 3 Day before.  If those people go home and think about your conversation, you've achieved one of the major goals of the 3 Day right there.  If they look you up online and make a donation, even better.  If they schedule a mammogram or a do a breast self exam because you reminded them about how important those things are, that is an accomplishment to be proud of.  It doesn't take walking the whole 60 miles to do that.  It takes getting out there and being visible in your community, day after day, mile after mile.

Whenever the reality of the difficulties of the 3 Day really starts to set in, it can be helpful to remember to what the REAL goals of the 3 Day are: to raise as much money for breast cancer research as possible and to raise awareness in our communities.  It is great to have $2300 and 60 miles as your goals.  It is even better to set your personal goals even higher.  Without those goals, many of use would never raise a single dollar or walk a single mile.  But in the end, even if we don't get there, it is in reaching for those goals that we truly make all the difference.

"Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars."  ~ Les Brown

Search Amazon.com for Books on Setting Goals

Some Thoughts on My Mom on this Mother's Day

If there is one thing that my mother always stressed to me growing up, it was the importance of education.  It is fitting, then, that the two things that I've learned that have most shaped who I am as an adult, I learned from watching my mom.

The first thing that I learned from my mom was how to be tough.  Mom doesn't get enough credit for it, but she's one tough lady.  She's faced a lot in her life.  She was the second oldest of seven in a family that didn't have a lot of money.  After graduating from SUNY Potsdam with a four year degree in English, Mom embarked on a winding career path that would ultimately include stints as a bank teller, computer programmer, FTZ administrator and finally, self-employed consultant.  At each step in her journey, Mom took advantage of every opportunity that was presented to her, always fighting for the next rung on the ladder of life.  She has started her own company not once, but twice.  When she felt that her original business partners weren't acting in good faith, she stood up to them even when they brought a lawsuit against her.  Her current company, FTZ Consulting, has flourished as a result of her hard work and commitment to her clients.  You don't get to be as successful as my mom without being tough and standing up for yourself when the situation calls for it.

Mom and I at Jen's wedding in 2005

Mom isn't just tough when it comes to her business.  Her strong convictions and determination are quintessential to her character outside of the office as well.  Nothing illustrates this better than how my Mom has conducted herself since first learning that she had an aggressive form of breast cancer in early 2007.  Over the course of the next 16 months, Mom battled through chemotherapy, surgery and radiation with a mental resiliency that is to be admired.  That July, we thought that her surgery was to be the end of her treatments.  When we learned that she would have to undergo almost another full year of chemo and radiation, Mom simply held her chin up high and did what had to be done.  Throughout her treatments, Mom was adamant that her "regular life" would not change.  She continued to work, often times alternating 20 minutes of work with 10 minutes of rest in her bed just to get through the day.  She also kept up her outside commitments, especially as a board member for the Center for the Arts in our hometown of Homer, New York.  Knowing what she dealt with over all those months, I am in awe of her strength.  She may not admit it, but Mom's seriously tough.  Anyone that watched her over those endless months of treatments can attest to that.

The other thing that my mom has taught me is to get involved, especially with the causes that you really care about.  When I was younger, I was involved in everything.  I'm not kidding.  Girl scouts, softball, gymnastics, dance classes, school plays, marching band, choir... you name it, I was probably in it.  And if I wasn't, my brother was.  My parents both felt that it was better to do things than to sit at home and I loved every minute of my busy life.  Alongside us at every turn were my parents.  I watched my mom volunteer for one thing after another, often in support of my interests and activities.  She coached my softball team, sorted marching band uniforms and served on various committees in our school district.  She worked at countless bake sales and concession stands during my gymnastics meets and marching band shows and she sewed too many dance costumes to count.  She is the only person I know that suffered a broken foot from over-enthusiastically pulling out our floor mat before a color guard competition.  Back then, most of Mom's volunteer activities revolved around what my brother and I were doing.  Nowadays, Mom's volunteer work is more focused on her own interests; namely, her work on the Board of Directors for the newly created Center for the Arts.  I can't remember a time when my mom hasn't been involved in some form of volunteer work, something that has had a huge impact on how I live my life today.

When my mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I knew I needed to do something.  I didn't know what, but I knew I couldn't just sit back and watch Mom fight this huge fight without doing something myself.  My childhood friend Mel, who had walked in the Boston 3 Day in 2006 had the answer almost instantly.  She called me up and without even asking me said "That's it, I'm coming down there to Atlanta and we're walking in the 3 Day together.  It will change your life and you need to do it."  And I knew as soon as she said it that it was the right answer.  As I said before, volunteer work is something inherent to who I am as a result of watching my mom over the years.  To be able to advocate on behalf of cancer patients and the biomedical research community of which I am a part seemed like the perfect fit; a very real way for me to help not just my mom but countless men and women that would face cancer in the future as well.  Over the next few months, I followed Mom's lead and learned a bit about just how tough I am.  I pushed through endless training walks by myself and raised over $8000 in that first year.  Along the way, I discovered my passion for scientific advocacy on behalf of scientists and patients everywhere, especially those undergoing treatment for cancer.  Conquering a challenge that requires mental and physical toughness while discovering a passion for volunteer work and philanthropy?  That first 3 Day walk truly proved to me that I am my mother's daughter.

Mom and I at Opening Ceremonies for the 2007 Atlanta 3 Day

This year, my mom has once again had to dig deep into her reserves of toughness.  In January, we learned that my mom's cancer had returned after less than two years in remission.  Pain in Mom's hip led to a series of diagnostic scans and ultimately a biopsy that revealed cancerous lesions on her liver.  Chemotherapy started up again almost immediately.  The road since then has been up and down.  Throughout it all, Mom has remained strong in the face of uncertainty.  She is an inspiration for me about how one should respond to a truly difficult challenge.  When I am struggling to make it through that 57th mile, it will be thoughts of my mom's strength in the face of something so much more daunting that will get me through.  This year, I am walking to honor the memory of Marcia, our team angel.  But it will be the lessons that I have learned from my mom that will truly carry me through those long 60 miles.

I love you Mom!  Thank you for everything you have done for me and for everything you have taught me, whether you were aware of it or not.  It has truly helped me to become the person that I am today!

Mom and I at the 2008 Atlanta 3 Day

If you would like to support me in honoring my Mom this year, I encourage you to donate to the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure in my name by visiting my personal fundraising page here.

(PS - I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my propensity towards volunteerism and philanthropy has also been strongly inspired by my Dad.  But his story is for another day!) 

Friday (Sunday?) Blog Round Up!

We're getting to this a bit late this weekend but I've still got lots of blog recommendations for everyone from this past week in 3 Day Blogville!

Veteran 3 Dayer "60 Mile Girl" of the 60 Mile Thoughts blog wrote a number of very thoughtful posts this week.  I particularly recommend this post about the support of her family on her 3 Day journey and this post about how realizing that relative to what others endure in the fight against breast cancer, the 3 Day is ultimately "just a walk". 

3 Day walker Janine of Athena's Armoury is halfway to her fundraising minimum!  To celebrate, she's hosting a giveaway on her blog.

Cat from the Fat Girl Walkin' blog is building a playlist for training.  Recommend some of your favorite songs here.

This week, I stumbled across DivaKitty's deceptively simple 3 Day training and photo blog.  One photo and a short sentence or two about training for each day.  Highly recommended! 

Kacie of the No Mystery Left blog recounts why the 2009 San Diego 3 Day was the highlight of her year in this post.   

Beth Kujawski of the Finding My Voice blog talks about how you're never walking "alone" on the 3 Day in this wonderful post.   

I have no idea who linked me to this, but I love this music video for "When Pink is Just a Color Again".

Finally, there was a lot of discussion across the blogs this week about motivation.  It started with this must read post from Leanne of Leanne... the Walker where she talked about how she stays motivated during the long lead up to the 3 Day.  She followed up that post with this great piece about the 57th Mile and her inspiration on the event.  

Following Leanne's posts, I started seeing a number of other posts across our blog community that also dealt with this theme.  Some were direct responses to Leanne and others weren't, but I thought they were all worth sharing.  For a dose of inspiration, read on!

First up, Nicole of the One Step at a Time blog responds to Leanne and shares her personal motivation as well as a poem from a friend.  

Cat of Fat Girl Walkin' also chimed in with two posts, the first about her individual reasons for walking the 3 Day and the second, called "How About Possible?" talks about finding motivation from all around. 

Heidi of the blog A Life Changing Journey has been sharing a series of stories about the people that inspire her and her sister to walk.  I was especially moved by Trudy's Story and by Savonda's Story which I was lucky enough to hear in person at the 2008 Atlanta 3 Day.

Jenny of The Big Walk blog is inspired by her choir mate and breast cancer survivor Nancy D., as she explains in this post.

In My Heart Today and Always

One year ago today, we lost our Mag Mom Marcia to breast cancer after a lengthy battle.  She is in our hearts and minds today and every day.  It is with her spirit of relentless optimism that we pursue her goal of one day finding a cure for breast cancer.

We love you Marcia and we miss you everyday!

The Pink Glove Dance!

The employees of the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon put together this video to increase breast cancer awareness. Check it out:

This video makes me think three things:

1. Scientists really shouldn't dance.
2. I really want pink gloves to wear in my lab.
3. Increasing awareness is really important and new ways to spread that message are emerging all the time. Keep passing along this video to help spread the word!

It's Race for the Cure Season!

Hi everyone!

It is now May and in my world, that can only mean one thing: Race for the Cure!

This Saturday, I will be walking (or maybe even running!) in the Atlanta Race for the Cure. The event kicks off at 7:30AM at Atlantic Station and I will be there with my pink shoelaces on! To help me reach my fundraising goals ($100 in five days!), please visit my personal fundraising page at http://race.komenatlanta.org/goto/kscincotta. I have added the link over in the sidebar to make things easier.

As I posted below, my friend and surrogate mother Marcia recently lost her long battle with breast cancer. This year, I am walking to honor her memory. Over the years, Marcia was a strong advocate for breast cancer awareness and she worked very hard to raise money for breast cancer research. This will be the first year in a long time that she won't be doing her own Race for the Cure. She was also one of my strongest supporters in the Breast Cancer 3-Day. It is only fitting that we continue her hard work, especially on Mother's Day Weekend.

In addition to my race here in Atlanta, a team has been formed in Marcia's honor for the Central New York Race for the Cure. A link to the team page for "Marcia's Memory" can be found in the sidebar. Both of my parents are walking as a part of that team, and I have linked to each of their pages as well.

Please, please think about making a fully tax-deductible donation to any of us taking part in the Race for the Cure. I know far too many people who have watched their mothers face this awful disease (including my own). It's time to put an end to it once and for all.

In Memoriam

On April 10th, my friend and surrogate mother Marcia lost her two year battle with breast cancer. Marcia battled breast cancer as she lived her life: courageously and with relentless optimism. She will be missed very, very much.

Thinking about "service"

I was watching the Presidential Forum on service tonight and was thinking quite a bit about what that means to me. As a research scientist, I think one of the most important ways that we can serve our country is to help raise money for biomedical research, as we are doing for breast cancer through the 3-Day.

While I think that there are many ways that we can help others individually, unless you are Bill Gates, funding biomedical research isn't one of them. The type of work that goes into every important breakthrough is expensive. And while the government helps to fund some of that research, they can't possibly it all. That is why organizations like Susan G Komen for the Cure and the recently formed Stand Up to Cancer initiative are so critical. They take all of our individual contributions, pool them together and make sure that money finds it's way to the most promising work being done. It is in this way that we can all work together to change the world not just for one person but for everyone, every where. It's kind of awesome to think about.

Having watched the Stand Up to Cancer telethon on Friday night (when I was very moved by Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge standing with Christina Applegate) and listening to both presidential candidates talk very passionately about service tonight, I am more motivated then ever before to do what I can to help end breast cancer. Thanks for working towards this goal with me.

"Speed" walking is right!

As almost everyone who knows me is aware, I am totally obsessed with the Olympics. Whenever the Games are on, I am glued to the television. I couldn't get enough of the recent Beijing Olympics. One of the events that I was particularly interested to watch this year was the speed walking. Having now walked distances equal to those covered by the speed walkers, I was really interested to compare their speeds with my own to see how I measured up.

Well, it turns out that I have a long ways to go before I become an Olympic speed walker! Those women and men are flying! For example, in the women's 20k race walk, the gold medalist won the race in a time of 1h 26min. In order to do that, she had to be "walking" at an average pace of 8.67 miles per hour! For comparison, Kelly and I covered 11.3 miles today, which is the equivalent of 18.19km. We felt like we were making great time and were able to finish in under four hours (including a lunch break), meaning we were going at a pace of a little more than 3mph. I can't even fathom walking almost three times that fast! I think my feet would fall off!

So sadly, I have had to shelve my short-lived dreams of being an Olympic speed walker. I'll just have to stick to walking in the Breast Cancer 3-Day, a feat in and of itself. I just wish we had a torch.

My first 3 Day blog!

(cross-posted from http://08.the3day.org/goto/kscincotta)

Welcome to my blog where I'll be recounting my various adventures as I prepare for the 2008 Atlanta Breast Cancer 3 Day!

This week was the first official week of training, which kicked off for me last Saturday at the Atlanta Race for the Cure. I walked that 5K with my husband Mike in the morning and then wound up walking an extra 3 miles with my teammate Kelly in the afternoon. Needless to say, by the time we got to dinner that night, I was pooped! Clearly, if the 3 Day was tomorrow, I would need to hop on a Sweep Van. Thankfully, I still have 24 weeks to get in shape, something that I take very seriously.

Speaking of the Race for the Cure, my two favorite breast cancer survivors, my mom and Marcia, my best friend's mom, both walked in the Central New York Race for the Cure this morning. They walked as part of a team that included both Mom's family and Marcia's family as well as their friends, including the other two "Mag Moms" (Diana and Mary Lee). Their team raised over $2000 this year, over twice their goal. I am so proud of all of them and I so wish I could have been there to cheer for them as they crossed the finish line!

Finally, I wanted to share a story that illustrates one of the huge lessons that I have learned in my time with the 3 Day, which is that everyone, everywhere, has been touched by breast cancer. Today, I went with my teammate Kelly to buy her sneakers at one of the official outfitters. The woman fitting her was very interested in the 3 Day and asked lots of questions about how we got involved in the 3 Day. It turns out that she is a breast cancer survivor herself. She was diagnosed last fall and soon thereafter found out her cancer had metastasized to her bones. However, I am thrilled to report that she had her first clean scans last week! I thought it was very fitting that Kelly bought her sneakers from a breast cancer survivor, and we will certainly be keeping her in mind throughout our 3 Day experience!

That's all I have for today, but check back often for updates. I plan to post about my adventures as often as possible!