Hi everyone. You are reading my first “official” blog entry. Yes, there are three other posts previous to this, but they were trial runs, because I really have no idea what I am doing when it comes to web page stuff. I am planning on regularly updating this page every Sunday. I am trying to figure out and learn the best ways to keep people updated and notified, so be patient as I learn how this whole thing works. I am hoping to reach a wide audience beyond my close family and friends.

Those of you reading today, January 6, 2013, are probably either family or friends who clicked my link on Facebook. Hi! But, on the chance there are outside readers who stumbled upon this, I am going to start today by doing a little introduction. I am Andrea. I am 28 years old. I live in Lethbridge, Alberta, but am from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My husband is Dan. He owns the landscape business Healthy Soils. We met while in vacation in the Bahamas in 2007 (Awwww). We have a beagle named Snoopy and two cats, named Faron and Woodstock. Saying I am a fan of Peanuts is an understatement! I teach high school math at WCHS.

I am an only child. My mom still lives in my childhood home in Franklin, Wisconsin. My parents and I took advantage of traveling and getaways whenever possible! Since October 1991, our favorite family vacation destination has been Walt Disney World. We went on six magical vacations together! I participated in track & field since middle school, but started running endurance races during my freshman year of college. Since then, I have competed in 7 full marathons (26.2 miles), 5 half marathons (13.1 miles), and numerous 5/10 kilometer races. My dad has never seen me run in any of my road races. On April 25, 2004, he passed away from a heart attack. He had just finished his Sunday morning run. He was 51 years old.

For the first 3 years after my dad passed away, I had no feeling. I now realize I was in denial, avoiding that this happened. I was in disbelief. After those years of being in shock passed, I felt anger, sadness, discouragement…I didn’t want to talk to anyone, partly because I didn’t know who to talk to. I was scared to talk to my mom, because I didn’t want her to be upset or sad herself. None of my close friends or family had gone through a situation like this, so I didn’t want to talk to them. It has now been close to 9 years and I am finally now finding ways to deal properly with this. I have always let my mind wander about ways to honour my dad in a way he’d appreciate.

For a few years now, I casually would look to see if there were any road races, 5/10/21/42 km, which raised money for heart disease research. There are none. American Heart Association and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada have events like Hoops for Heart, Jump Rope for Heart, bike races, etc. Any of the half and full marathons I entered always had a choice charity to fundraise for. But they were never ones I was deeply passionate about. So I am taking matters into my own hands.

This year, I am embarking on a running journey. I am registering for more half marathon races than I usually run. I will try and participate in more 10km and 5 km races. I am going to join a running club. And I am signing up for the Walt Disney World “Goofy Challenge” in January 2014, where I will run a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday. This race has always been on my endurance race “bucket list” so there is no better time to do it than now. I am going to be raising money for heart disease research during this year. It’s not that I am taking pledges for miles run, or asking others to run with me. I am asking for YOU to support me in this racing journey as I run in memory of my late father, Andrew A. Lammers.

I will be updating this website throughout the year, chronicling my training journey. Like I said before, I plan to update this blog every Sunday, but I may update with short entries throughout the week that have general training information. I will also be posting reflections on past races, Disney vacations, and my dad. Everything strangely ties together. There have also been a lot of events from before my dad passed away and after that have helped lay the path to this very moment. By sharing this with the world, I hope that it will help me heal a little bit more.

Enjoy my site.
Je me souviens-Running in Memory of Andrew A. Lammers-To Infinity & Beyond!