Hitting the RESET Button!

I’ve spent the last few years thinking about how to best keep the “Patness” going.  I have not forgotten my promise to Patrick, nor have I forgotten what a horrible disease esophageal cancer is. During this time I’ve been distracted by other things in life (as we all are): jobs that have come and gone; the loss of our Alpha cat, Shirley; and the sudden and heartbreaking loss of my father. I’ve found one constant in my life to help me deal with life and that is running. Specifically, marathons.

Since 2012, my husband and I have run five full marathons.  We spend our summers getting up at 4:00 am on Sundays so we can beat the heat on our long runs. We spend our money on running shoes and headlamps and compression socks (that reminds me, I need to get a pair of the Tom Brady performance PJs, STAT!).  And we plan all of our vacations around half and full marathons. And one that has been on my bucket list since my days at NYU is the New York City Marathon.  But that’s a tough marathon to get into – it’s a lottery system and I don’t know many people who have gotten in.  And I would need two entries, one for me and one for Billy (I’ll write a future post about Billy’s obsession with keeping score on races).  So I started looking at the charities and one popped right off the page:  The DeGregorio Family Foundation.  Providing funds for research grants for esophageal and gastric cancers.  And they had NYC bib numbers. It was as if Patrick himself was tapping me on my forehead saying, “McFly!  MCFLY!!!  This is the one. THIS IS THE ONE!!!”

Billy and I are running the NYC Marathon on November 5th as a part of team DFF.

I couldn’t be more excited.  It’s like the stars aligning – the perfect story – the trifecta of awesomeness!  We each need to raise $2,500.  I think we can do it.  Oh, and we each need to train for a 26.2! We can definitely do that, we’ve done it before.  And I’ve decided to blog about it – the running, the fundraising, the food, all the laundry, the struggling to lose weight and the stupid conversations people have with each other when they’ve been together for over 20 years but are running in 80 degree heat at 5:00 am for 3 hours.  I promise, the posts will be entertaining and short.  And, of course, shameless plugs for donations 🙂

We kind of officially started our training for our training this week – I managed three runs and two strength days and Billy got in four runs.  Our “long run” yesterday was four miles.  Yes, that’s right – just four miles.  Listen, you gotta start somewhere!!!

Thank you for all of your support! I hope you enjoy reading about our ridiculous antics.  Below are our donation links.  Since I have a bigger network than Billy, I would ask that if you are going to donate to see which of us needs the money more and donate there.  It’s all the same cause and will help us to keep our minimum.

Shannon:  https://www.crowdrise.com/the-degregorio-family-foundation-nyc-2017/fundraiser/shannondowney3

Billy:  https://www.crowdrise.com/the-degregorio-family-foundation-nyc-2017/fundraiser/billyhutchinson