Success for 18 miles!

Did someone spike his coffee? Wow! My coach was a different person! He was cheerful and smiley and looked so excited when I came in to my water stops. At first it was kind of weird, I felt like I should introduce myself. I thought about looking around thinking there must be someone behind me but since I usually am alone I know that couldn't be the case. Did he have a little gin in his latte? Well, nonetheless, I accepted his high fives with enthusiasm because when its cold, rainy and you have been out there forever who cares!

Another oddity was that I suddenly acquired two running buddies...hmmm. Was there a plot going on...again, who cares, I rather enjoyed my two new running buddies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pitty party - I actually really began to enjoy my solo running. I started to get into my head and then time started to fly. But I have to say, I also really enjoyed meeting two people on my team. The first person just appeared. She usually runs up front with the bunnies and I thought she was already on her way back to the parking lot. Nope, she said she wanted to run slower today - nice. Turns out she is a NICU nurse and having flown with many a NICU nurse I have a special fondness for them in my heart. She was warm and interesting and we even knew some of the same nurses.

Then the handoff occurred. Next Miss Yackety Yack showed up. She told me she was a talker and she wasn't kidding! For those of you who know me, I am sure you are laughing because usually I'm the yackety yack but since I can't talk and run this show was hers. Before I knew it Miss Yakety Yack and I were bonding as well - in a very different way than Miss NICU nurse.

Overall the run was fairly uneventful - as uneventful as 18 miles gets....did I just say that!!! It doesn't even seem real that I did 18 miles much less act so blase about it! This running thing is so wierd.

Anyway, I acquired two "new" found friends who I have a sneaking suspicion were there to keep me from running miles and to "help me" stick to my time. (Again, I decided to go with the who cares motto.)

So on to next week where I'm hoping that we might acutally have a run that isn't in the cold, rain and wind. I'll probably have to pour water on myself so it feels normal!

"Nobody said it would be easy; they just said it would be worth it" ~Unknown

The countdown begins...

We are into the home stretch! 5 weeks to go and I hope to never NEVER talk about a marathon again! I have realized that I am never going to be the poster child for running. I am never going to love it, embrace it, or want to be one with it. I haven't even had visions of playing the saxaphone this time around! What I am glad for is what it brings to Lew - I hope you have heard his good news - if not, here it is:

his "CD3+ T-cells 71% donor origin (29% host)
CD33+ myeloid cells 100% donor origin (0% host). Additionally, I was told that myeloma cells (the cancer cells) are undetectable in my bone marrow by flow cytometry. I think this is very good! I don't believe it means I am cured, but it bodes well."

When I heard this news, I immediately asked Lew if I could quit running now and he said, "NO!" Darn, I would have gladly gone outside and thrown my running shoes into traffic!


OK, so this week is a big one! We will be at the Orting Trail going for 240 minutes - this should translate to 18 miles! Yikes, I'm a little nervous given my last weeks events but I am going to try and put all that behind me and move forward - really, what else can I do?! By the way, I did get an apology from my coach for my last big run so I am really hoping things will go well. Thank you to everyone who called, emailed or FB'd all your support - I am truly hanging on your every word to get this done!

I just realized, by the time we get done training I will have done 6 half marathons-wow! Amazing!

Today was an exceptionally good training day. Tuesdays can sometimes be hard if Jack wants a little more attention during my treadmill time. Today my run was going great and he was doing great as well. I had my ipod on because somehow Sid the Science Kid or Little Einsteins just doesn't exactly inspire me to run. I saw him run out of the room and then come back. Hmm. I wonder what he was doing? Again he runs out and comes back a short time later...this time not wearing any clothes. OK, things could be worse. A naked 3 year old isn't the end of the world. He even went potty all by himself (I sure hope he washed his hands!) My run is going so good, right now I don't care if he wants to watch the rest of Little Einsteins totally in the buff. Then he leaves the room again. This time he comes back with my make-up brushes in his hands rubbing them all over his butt, "Mommy, is it OK if I rub these on my bottom?" I just smiled and said, "sure". Note to self: get new make-up brushes and it was worth one great run!

The good, the bad and the pissed off...

The Good: Well, its Rose and Lew, of course! My very dear good friends came out and braved the cold and torrents of rain to cheer on my entire team! Today was our longest run yet and Lew and Rose started us off with a pep talk and explained how the funds we are raising really do benefit patients just like him. Lew's doctors have told him, "we just need to buy time so we can make this a chronic disease, not a deadly one". Exactly what we needed to hear to get us going and mentally get us to that spot to succeed. (I was taking it all in, so much so, that I didn't snap a single picture!) Lew and Rose were next off to the water stops. It was wonderfully cheerful having them supply us water, Gatorade and salt. Rose, the eternal optimist, was also sprinkling us with "drops of sunshine"! She is a hoot! My asst. coach, Laura, has always commented on what good friends I have and today once again proved I am blessed in so many ways!

The Bad: Rain, cold, wind and shoes filled with water and pebbles. It's hard to complain when you've got such good friends cheering you on - so enough of the bad!

The Pissed Off: That's me, the pissed off one. I had hoped to be blogging about my successful 16 mile run. Unfortunately I cannot . Why you ask? Was it because I was unwilling? NO! Was it because I couldn't do it? NO! Was it because my legs fell off or the sidewalks closed down or the earth stopped spinning? NO! NO! NO!
It was because my coach, David, sagged me at 14.5 miles! What, you say?! Sagged on your practice run? Sagged while preparing your mental game?! Sagged with energy to spare?! What's up with that?!!

Good question! I have that same question! His excuse: "time's up" and then he went on with this: "it could be detrimental to your body to be on your feet this long" (oh please, I did 52 hours of labor - all standing!) His next line: "I could get in trouble as a coach if I allow you to go on" "its Team in Training national standards of coaching". Whatever-not buying it! I think the worst part is that my coaches have spent a significant amount of time telling us that we are getting down to the mental game and then the jerk sags me! Why didn't he just come right out and say "you can't do it" or "I just wanted you to get a taste of what the sag wagon will feel like at your marathon" - jerk.

Never, in my life, did I ever imagine I would be begging to keep running! But also, never, in my life, did I ever imagine I would feel like a failure after 14.5 miles. I also never imagined that I would be so mad after a practice that not a single muscle in my body hurt - the only pain I had was to the psyche.

The rest of the season is going to be interesting...

Did I pee on myself?!!!!

Post Run delirium = bright pink socks, plaid pajama bottoms, brown shirt and Grey sweatshirt, oh yea, no bangs. Quite the picture! All this loveliness with an elevated knee on the couch and a bag of ice. Running is kicking my butt! Wow! My goals were simple when I got home: 1) take a shower 2) Make it to the couch. These goals did not include fashionable attire - So success was had.
My goals for the marathon are pretty much the same and are also simple: 1) Don't have chest pain 2) Finish upright 3) Beat the sag wagon - (I'm beginning to get nervous about this one. I honestly can't figure out how I am STILL so slow.)

Today we ran 14 miles. How do I know this since I usually only pay attention to time? I got this fancy new watch, the Garmin 301, that tells me EVERYTHING! Way more than I want to know, including my heart rate. Having a watch that tells all can be problematic for the out of shape runner. Ignorance was bliss. Now, unfortunately, I am aware of how close to a heart attack I actually am! Yikes! I had been doing the 3:1 interval but today had to take that down to a 2:1 now that I know what my heart rate really is (don't ask)! Turns out this fancy Garmin is also rude. The alarms are always going off: Heart rate too high, slow down! (translated: slow down chubbs) immediately followed by: Pace too slow, speed up! (translated: speed up slacker!) So far the alarms are the most used feature. Rude, just plain rude!

At about mile 8 I get a phone call from my mentor from last season's Nike race, Courtney. She is also on the Orting Trail running with the Seattle Rock and Roll Team and they are done with their practice and are back at the parking lot. I thought she was calling to offer me a ride (which I would have taken!) but instead she is calling to tell me they are about to tow my car! WHAT?!But don't worry. Her team picked it up and moved it and I can read about it on Facebook! I love that girl and that team - they saved my bug and the pictures are great!! Go to facebook to see some TNT teamwork in action!!

When I finally get back to the parking lot my legs feel like lead and bricks and cement. My knee hurts, my bursitis hurts, my hair hurts! My whole body is numb. I have my fake smile on and I am beginning to wonder if I will make it to my car. As I'm limping to the Beetle, with my fake smile on, I began to have the oddest sensation on my leg...it's starting to get my attention! I started to panic just little thinking this is way worse than I thought...I think I just became incontinent - did I just pee on myself? Oh my gosh! OK, don't panic, there is no way my bladder fell out! Did it? If I can't run 14 miles withouut losing my bladder how am I going to run a marathon? Am I imagining this? More moisture on my leg...I stop in my tracks. I'm starting to panic just a little more thinking, how am I going to tell all those generous people who gave me money to run that I can't run AGAIN because another organ fell out. Then...ohhh.... I breathe the biggest sigh of relief...I put my water bottle back upside down and it's leaking down my leg! Oh, thank God!

Now, for an update on Lew's transplant (which is a thousand times harder than a wimpy 14 miles!) sent from Lew's letter:
"We recently received the results of the latest bone marrow biopsy. It's been 28 days since the transplant using my brother Bill's stem cells. The news is good. His cells are engrafting. Measured in a couple of different places his cells make up either 67% or 56% of the cells located there. The transplant team would have been happy with any number over 50%. The take home message is that Bill's cells are moving in! Right now I'm a mixed chimerism individual with my own marrow cells still working and Bill's new cells moving in next door and setting up shop. Additionally, the count of myeloma cells (bad buggers) in my body is markedly decreased on this biopsy, though the variance could be mostly where the sample originated as the distribution of myeloma cells in bone marrow is not homogenous.

I've gotten through the first month with very little symptoms and side effects, mostly an upset (and at times rebellious) gastro intestinal tract. I had some cardiac arrythmia, but a change in drugs seems to have eliminated that pesky problem. We are required to stay close in the Seattle area for 100 days post transplant. As Bill's cells engraft and set about creating an immune system, the danger to me is that his cells might see me, or parts of me, as foreign and mount a response to attack my cells. This is called graft versus host disease (GVHD) and it can prove fatal. The biggest danger of GVHD is in the first few months (hence the 100 days post transplant), and the most common organs attacked are the skin, liver and kidneys. I am taking drugs to protect against most of the common problems associated with this type of transplant. Believe me it's a lot of pills everyday!

The other potential problem area is infection in general. I remain very immunocompromised and susceptable to infections and viruses. We do all we can to avoid those who might be sick, and just in general large crowds of people.

Rose and I continue to appreciate all your kind thoughts, prayers, and good wishes. I'd like you all to know that you are helping me in ways you can't even realize. As I pass the one year anniversary of dealing with this cancer, I feel uniquely blessed to have you as my friends and family."
Lew

Love ya Lew! GO TEAM!

The measure of a true friend!

What does a great friend look like?! She donates money to support Lew in honor of her mother who died of breast cancer. She leaves inspirational messages that say, "I'm there for you" and she means it! Remembering her message and knowing that I needed to change my attitude on running I called Mel 3 days before my 180 minute run. "No problem", she says, "I'm there!" So after working all night at Airlift she shows up at 8am ready to go. She's smiley and enthusiastic, doesn't even bat an eye at being there. She is super patient when I want to walk more than run and she is loads of fun! So what does this saintly friend look like? She wears a pink bandanna and thinks it is so much fun to run across the Narrows bridge! She looks like this:



Mel, you are a Saint, and I love ya girl - thanks for making running fun and shifting my attitude!

What a differene a week can make!

Wow! Maybe I should have been a blubbering idiot on the streets of Tacoma long ago. I feel great! It kind of reminds me of the movie with Holly Hunter who starts out every morning with a good cry and then goes about her day happy as a clam. I doubt I could muster a cry every day but I could run out on the street once a week....maybe I'll pass on this one.

This week's running has been fantastic! Even my Saturday run of 100 minutes was pretty spectacular - well, by my standards anyway. Nothing hurt, no organs need to be removed and I did not get lost. I guess I should tell you that I ran in my neighborhood and my sweet #1 fans, John and Jack, were with me so that probably helps with the whole attitude and navigation thing but still I had a pretty good time. I think there are visions of playing the saxophone in my future. I keep waiting to get back to that day when I was training for the Nike and had a small tinge of euphoria and think I may be getting pretty close to that day. Wohoo!

I've started working on my core too. Our coach says that its the last 5.6 miles that take most marthoner's down. He says it's because of a weak core. He says you are so tired at the end you begin to slouch because your core is too weak to hold you up and this throws everything out of whack. Makes sense to me! I start doing a core workout . This isn't so bad and in my head I am looking pretty good! Apparently not as good as I thought. I see my darling 3 year old sitting on the couch with his curious George. He is staring at me with a quizical look on his face. You may have seen this look - head cocked to one side and one eye slightly closed - he says to me, "Mommy, what are you doing?" I don't reply because I have a sense that my image of me is about to change - he says, "Are you dancing?" Did he really just ask if I was dancing?! WHAT?! Dancing?! Is my dancing really that bad that it imitates a strenuous core work out?! What do I look like when I'm dancing? Red faced and sweaty like I'm having a bowel movement?!! Yikes! It's probably a good thing I've been getting drunk all these years when I'm out dancing. Visions of Elaine from Seinfeld pop into my head. Next time I'm getting a babysitter.

The $10 Run!

This almost makes me want to cry...wait, do I always cry anyway? Ask my dear friend Donna Reddell who says I am "stone heart" and can get through anything without crying...ahh, the good old days of not crying... Well, anyway, that was a long time ago and this was Saturday and my 130 minute run! OK, so I'm still a little out of shape (I know, I know - you ask, "how can she STILL be out of shape and have been training for soooooo loooong?! I don't know!! Well....maybe I do know...something about a whole lot of wine and potato chips).

Did you ever notice my brain is like a pinball machine? It just goes from one thought to another to another, well, that is whole another story and I am trying to tell you about my run on Saturday. OK, I'll try again.

In case you haven't noticed I have been a little doom and gloom. I can't seem to motivate myself, to run or anything else for that matter. So Saturday I showed up for 130 minute run and I was already mad. I knew I would be running totally by myself and not a bathroom in sight. I would just be out there on the street by myself after feeling guilty for leaving my sweet family at home because this season is totally different than last time and they just can't come and just feeling blah.
I arrived late. When I got there I found the Seattle Rock and Roll summer team at practice day 1. Wow! My old coach and 8 of my Nike teammates were there! What should have inspired me made me sad. I wish I was on their team. After hearing what turned out to be an inspiring story we headed out for our run. I found a port a potty and headed out for I thought would be over 2 hours of blah. Nothing was changing my bad attitude - not Lew, not Casting Crowns, nothing. Then I saw all these people running. It was the Rock and Roll people! They had their first run at 30 minutes so they had already turned around and were coming back at me. Then I saw Courntey and Jessica and Robin and I just started crying and crying and crying. Can you still have crazy hormones after a hysterectomy?! I cried for everything right there on the streets of Tacoma. For what could have been...a marathon already completed, a baby come and gone, for still being out of shape, for running by myself, for world peace... you name, I cried it! Look at the picture - my body is swollen from running ( and potato chips and wine) and my eyes are swollen from crying. I think I had a mini attitude adjustment. I ran on.

130 minutes is a long time! I sometimes get lost on these long runs. The truth is since I started running out of Point Defiance Park I almost ALWAYS get lost. So I kept running and running and running. (I even had a mini Forest Gump moment when I saw a pile of smashed dog poopy -(s*!% happens) on the road -yikes, I wonder who stepped in that?! I was just glad it wasn't a steaming pile on my man shoe!)
ANYWAY! I went left when I should have gone right and before I knew it I was enjoying the view. Incredible homes and the Puget Sound. Wow! And most importantly a little old man in his front yard taking care of his plants. Since I run so slow its easy to hear people strike up a conversation. The sweet old man asked me what I was doing? So I told him I was running for Lew and what multiple myeloma is and about fundraising and being out of shape and lost. And then he gave me TEN DOLLARS! I could cry thinking about it! This sweet old man (who was hard of hearing, by the way - thank God I am loud!) reaches into his wallet and gives me TEN DOLLARS!!!!!!! OK, I AM crying thinking about it! And off I go, running lost on a Tacoma street with a serious attitude adjustment!!!!!!! After that, I listened to Casting Crowns "In Me" over and over again and had another attitude adjustment. I even made it back 5 minutes early!!! My coach was astonished! Since he didn't see me at the water stop he just assumed I quit and went home. WRONG! I was busy being led by the holy spirit having, yet another, attitude adjustment!

Here are my top three reasons to have attitude adjustment:
1. A little old man on the streets of Tacoma gave me TEN DOLLARS!
2. ALL OF MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY gave me $4,186.00 to run a marathon!
3. I am running a marathon in Canada so if I drop on the course its means socialized medicine and its FREE CARE!!! .......Until I pay Airlift the $20,000 to get me to Seattle.....wait... Ed Eroe is gone and Airlift will do the right thing.....(remind me to tell you that story one day!)

So here I am. One day post 130 minute run and my quads are hurting and I am FEELING GOOD! On to the next week! Let's cure Lew AND run, run, run!