In October We Wear Pink

Next month will not only be breast cancer awareness month, but it will be my 12th anniversary as a cancer survivor! After hearing those words “you have cancer” your life is forever changed. I have put hundreds of miles between myself and cancer the last 11+ years on the roads and on the trails. I will continue to bring awareness that life after cancer is pretty awesome!!! #warriorstrong #survivor2021  #cancerfree #breastcancerawareness #GoPinkInOctober #lifeaftercancer #challengeyourself #inoctoberwewearpink

WSP Pink Ribbon Hat

Scored one of these limited edition Washington State Patrol Pink Ribbon hats to be ready for the upcoming month of October! The Washington State Patrol does an amazing job supporting breast cancer awareness each year! I will wear it proudly as both a Survivor and a fierce supporter of law enforcement!! #pinkcopsrock #breastcancerawareness #octoberwewearpink #wastatepatrol #washingtonstatepatrol #survivor

20 Years

The best way I know how to pay tribute to this day is to head to the solitude of the mountains. I completed 9.11 wet and foggy miles to honor the heroism and bravery of the first responders lost 20 years ago! My participation in this 9.11 Mile Memorial Challenge benefits the non profit organization Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund that provides tuition assistance to the dependents of the law enforcement officers and firemen lost that dreadful day protecting our citizens! #NeverForget911 #fallenheroes #firstrespondersareheroes #nypd #nyfd #familiesoffreedom #911milechallenge

Priceless

I will be celebrating my 12 year cancer free milestone next month, so this statement is definitely Priceless to me!!! #12yearsurvivor #breastcancerawarenessmonth #CCNW #WarriorStrong

Awesome Day

As breast cancer awareness month and my 12th anniversary as a cancer survivor draws near, I am reminded everyday what I have overcome! I am very blessed to be healthy and continue to challenge myself daily!!! #challengeyourself #cancersurvivor #12yearsandcounting #fitandhealthy

Challenge Yourself

When I finished my 314th marathon 2 years ago and retired after 30 years of running 26.2 mile races, I went looking for another way to challenge myself. I found my new challenge by hiking for 5-6 hours at elevation high up in the mountains every weekend and it has transformed both my mind and my body! Not only are the soft dirt trails easier on my body, but the quiet solitude of being up in the mountains is a great escape from the craziness of the world! #SurvivorStrong #11YearSurvivor #reachforthesummit #challengeyourself #mountainsarecalling

Quartz Mt Loop

A foggy and wet 5 hour hike up in the mountains today! Loved the cooler weather after the blazing hot summer we have had here in Spokane!!! #challengeyourself #mtspokanestatepark #foggyandwet #5300ft

Det Brian Orchard

I was out of town and missed the memorial sign dedication for fallen Spokane Police Department Detective Brian Orchard. I stopped by yesterday to honor this fallen hero and pay my respects. Det Orchard is buried in the same area as my mother at Holy Cross Cemetery, so when I am visiting my mother’s grave I always stop and thank him for giving the ultimate sacrifice to serve and protect! It gives me comfort knowing my mother has a brave law enforcement officer nearby to protect her! #neverforget #fallenhero #ultimatesacrifice #spokanepolicedepartment #holycrosscemetary #heroinblue #honorourfallenheroes

Go Buffs!

An absolute pleasure to meet up with my good friend JR Payne, head coach of the University of Colorado women’s basketball team! What an honor to receive a tour of her entire team facility on the Boulder campus!! #gobuffs #universityofcolorado #LadyBuffs #Pac12 #fierce #boulder

Colorado Rockies

Awesome few days in beautiful Boulder exploring some amazing and challenging hiking trails in the Colorado Rockies!!! #7400ftelevation #OxygenNotIncluded #getoutside #challengeyourself #beautifulboulder #coloradorockies

University of Colorado

Dream come true to be here on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder!!! Go Buffs!!!!! #universityofcolorado #milehighcity #gobuffs

Coping With Cancer

Honored to be recognized as a cancer survivor in the July/August issue of the national magazine Coping With Cancer!  This issue profiled everyone celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day on June 6th and I was down at the San Diego Zoo that day celebrating with the powerful lions! I am a Survivor, hear me Roar!!!! #NCSD2021 #sandiegozoo #powerfullions #11yearsurvivor #WarriorStrong #SurvivorStrong #cancercreateswarriors #hearmeroar

Happy Birthday in Heaven

Stopped in to wish my Mom a Happy 89th Birthday today and it made me smile when I saw her favorite sunflowers blooming right nearby! And when I returned home to find a Massachusetts State Police shirt had arrived from her home state, I decided it was a very special Heavenly Birthday for my Mom!!! #happybirthdayinheaven #sunflowersformymom #MassachusettsStatePolice #34yearstoolong

Beautiful Sunflower Fields

After covering close to 50 miles of hiking in the last 8 days, we rewarded ourselves with the breathtaking beauty of the magnificent sunflower fields north of Spokane! #sunflowerfields #northspokanecounty #americathebeautiful #milesofhiking #challengeyourself #ReadyForARest

Eagles Car Show

Such a great time volunteering with Inland Northwest Honor Flight at the Eagles car show this morning! It was so good to see my Honor Flight peeps!!! Can’t wait until our next trip to Washington DC with our military veterans! #inlandnorthwesthonorflight #eaglescarshow #LoveMyMilitary #supportveterans

Great day of hiking

What an amazing hike today here in Sitka. We were so blessed to start our hike at the harbor, continue along the river and up into the rainforest! A few trails were closed because of recent bear activity, but there was spectacular scenery everywhere we look!! Loved being in the cool, wet weather! #sitkaalaska #indianrivertrail #sitkaharbor #rainforest #americathebeautiful #lovetheweather #spectacularviews

Sitka, Alaska

Gorgeous weather today to be out enjoying the beauty of Sitka, Alaska! Always wear a life jacket! Safety first! #sitkaalaska #safetyfirst #sitkaharbor #alaskasunshine

Two Mountains Conquered

Conquered two mountains today! Hiked around Shadow Mountain and up to the summit of Quartz Mountain! Found an abundant amount of huckleberries as big as my thumb nail! #mountainsummit #mtspokane #hugeberries #mountainhigh #reachforthesummit

Country Living

Country living!!! Wouldn’t change it for anything! #countrygirl #spokanecounty #amberwavesofgrain #americathebeautiful #santaclarawbb

Mt Spokane Summit

Up at daybreak to beat the heat for an amazing hike up to the summit of Mt Spokane! Even came across some ripe huckleberries to munch on! It is so therapeutic to head to the mountains to get away from the stress of daily life! #lovethemountains #mtspokane #stressrelief #challengeyourself #yummyhuckleberries

Deer Park

Beautiful evening for a drive out north where I grew up to see how the sunflowers fields are doing! This should be a magnificent sight in about a week!!! #countryliving #sunflowerfields #deerpark #americathebeautiful

Corporal Erin Blessing

What a pleasure to meet up with my good friend Corporal Erin Blessing from the Spokane Police Department to give her the Protecting The Blue challenge coin I had been entrusted to pass on to a deserving law enforcement officer! Corporal Blessing is the one who introduced me to Inland Northwest Honor Flight and we have travelled on many trips together as Guardians with our military veterans to Washington DC! Be Safe Corporal Blessing and thank you for your many years of service to our beautiful city! #spokanepolicedepartment #protectingtheblue #backtheblue #staysafe #heroinblue #supportlawenforcement #behindthebadgefoundation

Independence Day

Proud to be an American! Land of the free because of the brave! #independenceday2021 #americathebeautiful #lovemyflag #landofthefreebecauseofthebrave #baldeagles #AmericaFirst

Beating The Heat

Up at daybreak for an early morning hike in the mountains to escape the heat! Beautiful!!!! #challengeyourself #mtspokane #quartzmountain #beattheheat #HeadForTheMountains

Overcomes

I am reminded everyday of what I have overcome!!! #blessed #challengeyourself #survivor #beatcancerlikeaboss #overcomer

Scorching Hot Hike

Scorching hot day on the hiking trails today, but being along the beautiful Spokane River made the heat more tolerable!!! #challengeyourself #getoutside #100degreeheat #nowimpsallowed #fifty7media

Ocean Shores, Washington

Winding down the multi day birthday getaway with an amazing day on the beach on the Washington coast! Scored some sand dollars and legend says that sand dollars symbolize hope and peace! A great ending to celebrate another birthday!  #hopeandpeace #washingtoncoast #oceanshores #sanddollars

Happy Birthday to Me

Thanks to everyone for the Happy Birthday wishes today!!! It was an amazing day spent on the gorgeous Olympic National Park coastline! Celebrating another birthday cancer free is pretty Epic!!! #cancerfreebirthday #livinglifetoitsfullest #youngatheart #betterwithage #OlympicNationalPark

Olympic National Park

Amazing way to celebrate turning another year older by hiking to the summit of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park! Cold, foggy, and snowy for our early morning start, then gorgeous sunshine to greet us at the top! The long and difficult climb was worth the beautiful view from the summit!! #olympicnationalpark #hurricaneridge #celebratelife #WarriorStrong #challengeyourself #snowfields

Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial

An absolute honor to walk on the sacred grounds of the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial on the capital campus in Olympia this morning! A somber visit to remember the brave law enforcement officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to serve and protect in the line of duty! #washingtonstatelawenforcement #behindthebadgefoundation #backtheblue #neverforget #thinblueline #olympiawashington #ultimatesacrifice

Life Is A Blessing

As another birthday and being another year older creeps up on me next week, I am reminded what a blessing it is to be healthy and cancer free! I will never take for granted my health or being fit enough to climb to the top of a mountain like we did today!! #cancerfree #blessings #challengeyourself #oldandwise

Life Is A Blessing

It was a blessing to celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day this past Sunday in San Diego and be counted as a Survivor! Everyday is a continued chance to make a difference! #NCSD2021 #survivor #makeadifference #blessings

National Cancer Survivors Day

Celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day at the San Diego Zoo today visiting the powerful lions!!! Life after cancer is something worth celebrating and I believe a better quality of life for all cancer survivors is worth fighting for!! I will celebrate this day as a grateful cancer survivor! When life kicks you, let it kick you forward to a better life!! 11 years Warrior Strong!!! #celebratingatthezoo #sandiegozoo #breastcancersurvivor #nationalcancersurvivorsday #ncsd #isurvivedcancer #cancersurvivor #beatingtheodds

Play Ball

Last night we attended our first sporting event in over a year!!! Felt so good to have my butt in a seat at a live baseball game! Had a great night cheering on the Spokane Indians to a 3-0 win and celebrating a friends birthday!! Special thanks to Otto Klein and his crew for doing an amazing job bringing back baseball! Avista Stadium was beautiful!! #spokaneindiansbaseball #avistastadium #playball

National Cancer Survivors Month

Welcome to the month of June which is National Cancer Survivors Month! I know what I have overcome and I will continue to Rise Up each day like I have done a thousand times before! I challenge myself daily as a cancer survivor and bring awareness that early detection saves lives! 11 years and counting Warrior Strong! #cancersurvivor #NationalCancerSurvivorMonth #11years #challengeyourselfeveryday #warrior #breastcancerawareness

Quartz Mountain

First hike of the season up to Quartz Mt and Horse Mt! Both summits accomplished and only ran into a little bit of snow on the way up to Horse Mt! #quartzmountain #horsemountain #challengeyourself #overcomeobstacles #mtspokane

Rio Grande River Gorge

Amazing hike today along the magnificent Rio Grande River Gorge north of Taos, New Mexico! Absolutely one of our nations most beautiful areas! #riogranderiver #riogranderivergorge #taosnewmexico #beautifulgorge

Santa Fe, New Mexico

In Santa Fe, New Mexico hiking at some amazing altitudes over 10,000ft surrounded by beautiful aspens! It is not what is on the other side of the mountain that matters, it is the climb and challenge to get there! #aspenvista #highaltitudehiking #challengeyourself #santafenewmexico

Boston Police Department

Scored this awesome new shirt from my Moms hometown Police Department!! She would be proud!!! Love it!!! #backtheblue #BostonPolice #lawenforcementsupporter

Challenge Yourself

We live in a world right now of convenience where you don’t have to get out of your car to get coffee, food, or go to the bank. I have chosen to reach out of my comfort zone and challenge myself daily. Raise your head up and look around, there is a whole word out there to see and take a chance on. #takeachance #challengeyourself #beautifulalaska #raiseyourheadup

National Police Week 5k

It was an absolute honor to be one of the 1500 civilians nationwide to complete the National Police Week 5k and I did so last night in honor of fallen Washington State Patrol Trooper Justin Schaffer EOW 3/24/20. I started at the beautiful canola fields and finished along the Spokane River to represent Trooper Schaffer and all the fallen officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice. It is a challenging time for Law Enforcement and I will continue to support our brave Heroes behind the badge! #npw5k #NationalPoliceWeek2021 #washingtonstatepatrol #ultimatesacrifice #thinblueline #prayforourLEOs #neverforget #NLEOMF

Anchorage Police Department

What an INCREDIBLE opportunity to be here in Alaska with the Anchorage Police Department for a shift Ride Along in this awesome Pink Breast Cancer Awareness cruiser!!! Thank you to Sgt Huston for all her efforts to make this ride along happen and for inviting me to fight crime with her today!! As an 11 year cancer survivor and fierce law enforcement supporter today was truly EPIC!!! I will remember this day for a very long time!!! Thin Blue Line Against Breast Cancer!!! Love it!!! #anchoragepolice #thinblueline #breastcancerawareness

Anchorage, Alaska

Absolutely beautiful here in Anchorage!!! One more sleep until my ride along with the Anchorage Police Department in the Pink Breast Cancer Awareness unit!!! #anchoragepolice #americathebeautiful #49thstate #alaska #chugiakmountains

Point Reyes National Seashore

Great getaway to explore the beautiful Northern California coastline in Point Reyes National Seashore for an amazing hike today! Keep exploring, keep breathing, and keep challenging yourself daily! #marincounty #pointreyesnationalseashore #getoutside #challengeyourself

National Super Hero Day

Celebrating National Super Hero Day as a strong cancer survivor!! #superheroday #cancersurvivor #warrior

America the Beautiful

Life continues to be a blessing with a lot of exploring and adventures! It is amazing the beauty you can discover traveling on your own two feet! #challengeyourself #americathebeautiful #getoutside #exploremore #mytwofeet

Race Gear

Received my National Police Week 5k race gear today for the May 15th event! I am so honored to be chosen as a civilian to participate in honor of fallen Washington State Patrol Trooper Justin Schaffer EOW 3/24/20 and all of the other fallen heroes from 2020 on the back of the shirt! #backtheblue #NationalPoliceWeek #washingtonstatepatrol #fallenheroes #NeverForget #ultimatesacrifice

Run with the Fuzz 5k

Great day participating in the virtual Behind the Badge Foundations Run With The Fuzz 5k along the beautiful Snake River Canyon. This annual event honors law enforcement officers and the families of fallen officers! #behindthebadgefoundation #backtheblue #snakerivercanyon #thinblueline #supportlawenforcement #rememberthefallen

Pacific Northwest

It was a great week having the experience of hiking in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains, but nothing compares to a day like today to explore our amazing trails here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! #pacificnorthwest #myhometown #sierranevada #americathebeautiful #lovemytown #homeiswheretheheartis

Nevada State Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

An absolute honor to visit the Nevada State Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on the Nevada State Capital campus in Carson City to pay my respects! The Memorial is so emotional with the fallen officer being held by a fellow officer! 💙👮‍♀️🙏😢 #nevadastate #fallenoffficers #neverforget #ultimatesacrifice #NLEOMF #carsoncitynevada