Name: Christine A. Thorp
Nickname: Chrissy
DOB: 1/17/67 48 years young
Occupation:Part-time Monitor for Sachem East High School ( great job because I am off all summer and I can camp and run when ever I want..lol)
Married: 23 Years
Children: 2 Handsome sons, Allen 22 & Thomas 18
Hobbies: Crocheting, making Jewelry, crafting and Camping aka “Glamping” at Smithpoint Beach in my 1979 Glamper ☀My happy place! ( I will be there during my warrior week 21-27th)
Ok, where do I even start.. I always introduce myself to fellow warriors as Debbie Franchi’s sister! So, I am Debbie’s sister! We always tell people the other is older but she really IS older then me!! Lmao! 2 years & 2 weeks exactly! Lol..
I have 2 other siblings a sister younger then me (46) and a brother (29) and step brother and sister as well that reside in California. We grew up in a single moms household..There was never extra money & at times it was dis-functional! I will leave the drama out because my mom has since passed (April 11th) and even though she drove my sister and I nuts, we miss her so much!
Ok, so, I was never into any kind of sports growing up. I did try the MYO Basketball ( Moriches Youth Organization) because I was following what my sister and her friends were doing. I didn’t like it!! Lol.. I was more your chubby kind of girl who got more thrills eating cookies and cake! Lol. (Still do.. Lol) I was always the taller bigger one then both of my sisters. I grew up with a self hatred for my size which grew into eating disorders.. I eventually got help for that I but it’s still a battle but the difference now is that I know not to let it control my life or relationships! I have been really thin and thick. I now try to enjoy my life because life is too short to be worried about eating a extra cookie or two! Lol.. I have always been a walker and walked miles and miles to keep the weight off! Eventually the walking was not getting the heart rate up enough that I started running a little here and a little there. Not a serious runner..Did I mention I was smoking the whole time! A Heavy smoker! Pack plus a day at times! My sister told the same story (not plagiarized Lou..lmao) how we were at a Wake service for our childhood friend and in walked her Aunt with a oxygen tank. I remember Debbie and I sitting there with our Mom (listening to her heavy breathing too) scared crap that that could happen to us. We left there saying we were gonna quit. I did right after but I went back to it. I was always catching every cold and virus out there! One February I got so sick and was in the ER for the night that I came home and decided that was it! I quit for good and its 4 1/2 years now and I sooo don’t miss it! Yuck! I love the new healthy me!
Through out the years I guess you can say I have definitely abused my body. Through excising compulsively and smoking! I also have asthma! I would literally take a puff of my inhaler with every cigarette! ( I know, sooo bad) I have severe stenosis in my neck with a pinched nerve as well as in my back with 2 bulging disks. I do pain management and get shots because surgery scares the !@&! out of me! I swear that the old saying “move it or loose it” is really true because if I don’t do anything, everything hurts! Lol.. I know when to push through and when not to..
So back to running.. I ran my first 5k with my sister in the Stan Wong 5k in East Moriches in 2012. I was elated and was so excited when I finished. We then signed up for the Diva 1/2 in 2012. My foot was acting out and I had been to a foot DR who told me that my running days are probably over because I have a torn planters plate which has now caused a hammer toe! As well as a small neuroma. He wouldn’t advise me to keep running. I did the 1/2 marathon anyway and finished in 2 hrs 40mins ( I walked a lot.. Lol) and found a new DR afterwards! I had surgery in 2013 and my foot is much much better! I wasn’t gonna listen to that Doctor and let him break my spirit because I really loved running and how it made me feel! Mentally and physically!!
My sister kept talking about the Selden Hills. I was like, “ugh” “Really Deb??” Thats all I ever heard out of her mouth until I finally came one Sunday morning last year in Aug! Ever since, I do the same thing now! Lmao! I tell everyone about this group! I have met the nicest people! There hasn’t been one warrior that I haven’t liked! We all have one common interest. Running! I have found this group to be so encouraging! I can’t tell you how it feels to have Lou or KC run past you and say “Good Job” it means the world to you as you are trying to get up that hill and them say that to you!! I don’t run the fastest but I am out there and thats all that matters to me! I am putting in the work..(ok, I know I need to get to Track.. Lol..) My hills running is getting stronger and I am looking forward to better times. I am a runner not a jogger (as per Lou) lol.. I AM a Selden Hills Warrior!!! Hehe! I look forward to each and every event we all attend and gather together under our tent with our proudly flying flag This morning we are to do the Joe Koziarz 5k in West Hampton Beach.. Come join us ✌