Well, last weekend skydiving. This weekend a half marathon at Disney. Life is good. Leaving Wednesday for round 6 of chemo, not so good.  It’s that much closer to the end. I can do this. I don’t want to, but I can.

 

Inspiration Dinner

Friday night was the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training (TNT) Inspiration Dinner. It certainly was inspiring. To have all of the coaches cheering as you walk in is very moving. Then we had dinner and listened to the guest speakers. The keynote speaker was Ethan Zohn from Survivor who is also currently involved in the fight against cancer himself. Ironically, we grew up in the same town. He ran the Disney half on Saturday as well. Much faster than me but also with cancer and currently in treatment. It can be done. Imagine how well you can do with an exercise plan that doesn’t include cancer?

At the end of the night, my TNT Team gave me a special gift. They gave me a medal from the Miami race most of them ran. It was very meaningful as some of them told me they ran for me. The TNT Team’s commitment to finding a cure for cancer is beyond measure. It is a group of very special people who are doing their part in the fight against cancer and I am truly grateful they are on my side.

 

Was I Really Prepared To Run 13.1 Miles?

I woke up at 3:15 on Saturday to run the Disney half marathon. I have never run a half marathon before, only a full marathon. In addition, I hadn’t trained as faithfully as I did for the full in June because of chemo and feeling bad after the treatments. Needless to say, I was nervous.

When I ran San Diego I felt prepared physically and mentally because of the training I had done. This time I did not have that to lean on. My training has consisted of 3 mile runs when I could and occasional longer runs on Saturdays. I didn’t feel prepared but I was prepared to walk if I had to.

 

The Race Plan

The day before I came up with a race plan which was to run 3 minutes, walk 2. I have never walked 2. During the full marathon, I ran 6 min, walked 1. In my recent runs, I was down to run 3, walk 1 which I thought was even a little much for 13.1 miles that I didn’t feel prepared for.

I met my friend Jenn, who was fortunately in the same corral to start. I talked to her about my race plan and she thought that would work for her too. She has run Disney several times and knew the ropes, i.e., wait a little and use the bathroom closer to the start, how to get to the corral, etc. I didn’t have to think and it was nice.

We both started to keep time for the intervals. Me on my watch, Jenn on her phone. I missed the beep a few times and asked Jenn if she could tell us when to stop and start on her phone. She took over the timing which was so nice for me to not have to pay attention. I am usually looking at my watch, waiting for the time I get to walk. I didn’t have the option and I loved it. Jenn and I ran 3:2’s successfully until mile 9. At mile 9 we changed to 2:3’s. It worked beautifully. I never expected to run as much as I did. I am thankful Jenn was there to help me along.

 

Finish Line!

My finish time for the Disney Half Marathon was 3:05:31.

Along the route, we saw my great friend and LTD member, Kim Martin. She was in 3 different spots wearing her cowboy hat which helped us spot her in the crowds. I guess that counts for 3 cowboys along the route. Kim ran the full today and finished in 4:02. She is a super runner.

Jenn and I also saw Tim and our TNT coaches along the route. What a nice break to see the happy, smiling faces of our friends. After the race, I was truly proud of myself. Waiting for the bus with the medal around my neck I think I was standing taller. I actually ran a half marathon while undergoing chemo. I think that’s big. One of the best shirts I saw on Saturday was “dead last finish is greater than did not finish is much greater than did not start” If you don’t start, how can you finish?

Last night, Sean and the boys and I met a high school friend, Sara, and her husband for dinner. I haven’t seen Sara in 26+ years but because of the wonders of Facebook, we have reconnected. She is not historically a distance runner, does Tri’s, but wanted to train and run Disney.   I’m so impressed with her time – 2:02!  It was really nice to have dinner and catch up.

This morning we were up early to go watch and cheer for those running the full marathon. We saw Kim twice. I was sorry that I didn’t see my TNT friends. I was so impressed with everyone running. They looked so strong.

 

I’m Afraid To Be Too Excited

What a great weekend overall. I will say I am exhausted tonight. My legs feel good. Almost normal, which I didn’t expect. Now I mentally need to prepare for the week ahead. I don’t want to be too excited that I’m close to the end of the number of chemo treatments I need to have but I can’t help it.