Running and surviving go hand in hand

I ran 3.2 miles yesterday in the Gainesville, Florida Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. What a day it was. Surrounded my family, friends, survivors, and supporters, I felt right at home in the sea of pink that spoke volumes about a disease that has reached epidemic proportions.

Yesterday's run was a thrilling one. The weather was perfect, and the energy around me was exhilarating. The pain in my legs had all but disappeared, and the names I'd written all over my body were a testament to all who support me in my cancer endeavors. Those who ran beside me -- our own fitness guru Fitz and my Godson Joe -- powered me forward, and those who walked and ran before and after me helped me stomp out the very disease I have survived for almost three years now.

In November, I will have lived for three years beyond my breast cancer diagnosis. Yesterday, I made my third Making Strides appearance. For me, the two will always go hand in hand. Each year I run, I will also have survived another year. A perfect combination, I think.

Three years down. So many more to go.