Julie Goodale
lucy PRO and founder of Life-cise – Fitness for Survivors
2011 marks 10 years of survivorship for me. It's a big milestone so I felt like it warranted something significant on my part. When I was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer that had already spread to most of my lymph nodes, it was hard for me to think too much about reaching 2011. The enormity of long-term survival seemed just too massive to grasp - so far beyond my reach that I couldn't conceive how I would do it.
Amazingly the years continued to pass. I continued exercising - climbing, skiing, windsurfing, swimming...anything that got me moving. Exercise may not have literally saved my life, but it always kept me headed in the right direction - toward health and toward life. I started a fitness business, Life-Cise, specifically to work with and encourage other survivors.
And then, suddenly, I reached 10 years. While I spent 10 years concentrating on the next step, time was passing and I was getting ever closer to that amorphous, elusive goal - I was surviving. When I look back on the last 10 years, I am overwhelmed by the herculean effort to get here.
So when I thought of doing something big to mark this milestone, I wanted it to be something of equivalent (but potentially less lethal) magnitude. Going from a complete recreational, occasional runner to running the North Face Bear Mountain 50-Mile Endurance Challenge - one of the harder 50-mile races in the East - in less than a year seemed like just the perfect kind of crazy, herculean task.
I saw it as a huge adventure - learning new skills, building muscle, seeing new things, and meeting new people. I understood what a ridiculous, aggressive goal this was. I knew how unlikely it was, but I wanted to try.
So on May 7, I stood on the starting line for the North Face Bear Mountain 50 Mile Race. I stood with no real expectation of finishing, but I didn't care. I would run as far as I could, walk when I had to, and stop when I needed to.
Step by step, I covered the course, always concentrating on the next steps ahead, not the end. I ran with joy and excitement, and I ran with celebration. Somewhere along the way, I realized I was running well. And then I made the first cutoff at 20 miles, so I kept running. And then there was the 2nd cutoff at mile 34, so I kept running. And finally the finish - all 50 miles!
When people ask me why I would try to run 50 miles, I'm never sure what to say. I ran to celebrate 10 years of not being dead. I ran because I love a big challenge, one that's just a little out of reach. I ran because I discovered I really love spending hours by myself running in the woods. And I love proving that I mean it when I say that none of us should be limited by our disease, our treatment, or our survival.
It's all of those things and none of those things. Maybe the reason is nothing more than I ran because I could.
Of course, that finish line was not the end of the story. The finish line is just the beginning of the next thing. So I eagerly look forward to the next 10 years and the next race. I just ran my 2nd 50-miler last weekend, the Vermont 50, which raises money for Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sport. And you know I already have other ideas in mind.
I ran VT50 all decked out in lucy! Propel knee shorts - the best for preventing chafing - chafing is bad! Supernova tank - super comfy on a shockingly hot & humid Fall Vermont day. And my fave bra, the Support Sport Bra - never thought much about sports bras before my mastectomy. Way too many companies don't understand the difference between support & just compression. Love my lucy bra!
Julie Goodale
www.Life-Cise.com
www.FitnessforSurvivors.blogspot.com
