Everybody needs a Vacation

Last week, I went to Atlantis in the Bahamas.  If you’ve ever been, you know it’s a wonderful place – it’s not only a beautiful hotel, but it includes gorgeous land, water parks, tons of pools, and more delicious food than you can imagine.  We had an amazing 5 day vacation and never left Atlantis once (except during a run). 

My family has been going there for years.  Since my mom could never ski or do adventurous trips because of her back and joint issues, vacations were generally in warm weather places and involved lots of laying by the pool.  Believe me, I’m not complaining.  And with her more recent psoriatic arthritis diagnosis, they’ve been even more key.  For her, the psoriasis part is very minor and is mainly concentrated on her scalp.  But she also gets sores on her arms and legs that benefit from being in the sun, and some doctors even recommend certain UV treatments for patients.  Plus, everyone just feels better when they get some time in the sun.

I felt a little bit guilty about booking a vacation the week before a race when I knew it would involved lots of eating…

 And hanging out by the pool and beach...

 And, let’s be honest, a few drinks in there too. 

Oh, and did I mention lots of food?

Then I realized that to complete this challenge I have to run a race a month.  That means that I can’t do everything perfectly leading up to a race.  So I relaxed and we all had some fun, and I spent some time that I'll remember forever with the most important people in my life.

But I wanted to let all of you know that I did go running…twice!  Adam, Kristen, my dad and I went out one day, and then Kristen and Adam joined me for another run later on in the trip.  Neither were very long runs, but I always taper before a race anyway so that was fine.  It was great to have company and people to keep me on track before my race.

As you can see, it's no secret that I live a very blessed life.  My parents worked very hard to make sure they could provide my sister and I with everything we needed to lead successful, happy lives.  For that, I couldn't be more grateful.  But I have no doubt that any member of my family would give it all up in a heartbeat to see my mom feel better and to be herself once again.  And that is why we are doing this challenge.  My dad has volunteered to donate $13,100 to psoriatic arthritis research in hopes of finding better treatments and helping those who suffer from the disease (if we can get the donation match, so let's get going!).  I put a ton of my time and energy outside of work to this challenge, and my sister is doing the same.  And Adam and Matt have put in more effort that I could have ever dreamed of, as well as tons of family and friends who have supported me and run races and kept me motivated.