Identical Shoes and Personal Missteps

Doesn't this look like a good shoe? I thought so, too. Apparently, Rachel thought so. And, so did Amy!

We ran 2 miles on Sunday morning at LA Fitness. Monday we were supposed to swim, but I wanted to visit with my mom and sister. Tuesday we ran 3 miles. Last night we rode 15 miles! My muscles are rock hard right now.
It's amazing how heavy your legs feel when you get off the bike. They feel like you are wearing cement shoes and every step requires major effort. I feel like this when I get off of the elliptical machine, also. Maybe my concentration on my heavy feet was what took up my entire attention, so that I didn't notice the sign on the locker room when I walked in. It took me a moment to realize--those people in towels, and nothing else--those are men. Whoops!

A Very Happy Birthday, to me, to me!

Bones, Karen, me, Rachel, Austin, Amy, Gretchen & Michelle

My 30th Birthday was very, very fun! My friends took me to the Shakespeare Tavern, which is a dinner theater here in Atlanta. The cast performed Cabaret and they were AMAZING! The actors were great actors, singers, dancers, and orchestra members! They did it all!

After the play, I opened presents and had a wonderful sugar-free chocolate raspberry cake that Rachel made. So much fun!

Haaaapppppy Birthday!

This has been a very, very busy month. It's been interesting fitting my workouts into the week. I'm working out 6 days a week now! But, this weekend, I will play and visit with friends. I turn 30 on Sunday and it feels very significant that I am training for something so important during this significant birthday.

On Wednesday, I sat with Mary Crist for a few minutes while she received chemo. The Atlanta Cancer Center where she receives chemo is very nice. It doesn't feel clinical. It has faux hardwood floors and comfy recliners sat in circular groups. It feels more like a living room than a medical center--wonderful! Mary Crist is good about explaining her treatments and letting us know what's going on with her, but I have trouble hearing it. Her cancer scares me, a lot, so I appreciated the comforting design of the chemo room.

Before her treatment, she received high levels of benadryl to help prevent possible allergic reactions to the chemo. She said it made her sleepy for a little while, but then it made her legs twitch. She also received rotuxin, which targets her B cells (fast growing cells). This helps the rest of the chemotherapy target only B cells which reduces her physical reaction to the chemo and helps the chemo target her tumors. Her hair is getting much thinner, but she still has it. Despite the thinning hair, Mary Crist is looking more and more like herself again. The swelling that she had from the cancer--both from retained fluid and from the tumor--has gone. It's nice to see this change.

St. Matthews in the HOUSE!!

Since I mailed out letters to folks at home, I have received overwhelming support! With your help, I've raised $1,149.00 so far. I have to give a shout out to the folks at St. Matthews UMC in Louisville, KY. Every day this week I have had a stuffed mailbox with notes of support and donation checks to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Thank you to all of you and Woohoo! to St. Matthews!

Yummy

I was feeling pretty good last night and, listening to my body, I went ahead with the scheduled training: riding 10-15 miles. I rode 10.5 miles on the LA Fitness bike!!! I think I understand now why they call a double training (when you cycle, then run immediately after) a "BRICK." My legs felt like cement when I got off that bike, but I was also buzzing with energy!!! When we got back to my apartment from the gym, we made Rachel Ray's Chicken Satay recipe: MMmmmmmmm, Yummy! (It could easily be made vegetarian.)

Listen

Dr. Sherwood took some x-rays and worked on my back/neck last night. I already feel much better. She said it's fine to keep training as long as I'm very careful and listen to my body. So, last night I went to the team swim practice where we continued to work on kicking drills. My kick is getting much more powerful! My shoulders are still tight today, but there is a definite difference from Dr. Sherwood's attention.

A Small Setback

I'm going to the chiropractor this afternoon to get x-rays of my neck. Friday afternoon, in the rain, I was involved in a 4 car pile-up. This is nothing extraordinary for Atlanta drivers, but it bites, really badly. My car had to be towed due to legal restrictions on driving a car without proper brake and turning lights. My neck is achy, but hopefully the doctor will say exercise is good!

She's a Brick... Knee! (and Old School Ankle)

This is an ACL repair image similar to the x-ray of my knee. I have two screws in my knee, just like that!

I've been to two different doctors this week to check on my health and make sure that I'm okay to continue training for this triathlon. Each said it's fine. The first took a bunch of blood and urine (hope you're not eating right now). The second took x-rays of my knees and ankle. According to my Orthopedist, I've got "a good result on that knee, there! It's tight and secure." Hooray!!!

When he looked at my ankle, he said "Oooo, that's old school, there!" Apparently, the surgery I had in 1993 to stabilize my ankle is no longer done (and really wasn't done frequently in '93, anymore), but, it gave good results. He drilled a hole in the right side of my ankle, wove one of my tendons through it, wrapped it around the front of my ankle, and stapled it onto the inside of my ankle. My new doctor said, "That sucker's stable, too. It's not going anywhere!"

Red in the Face

Rachel and me after 3 miles with our Team in Training mentor, Cheryl. It's our mentor's job to keep up with us and to encourage us in the physical training and in the fundraising. She's great!

Last Saturday, we joined a group run and completed 3 miles. Due to my need for new shoes and trying to be gentle to my knee, we walked the three miles. We joined a group of ladies who have *walked* several marathons and mini-marathons! At first, I thought, "These ladies are awfully slow. They're going to drive me nuts!" But I ate my mental words soon enough. At mile 1 I was barely keeping up with them and by mile 2 they were out of my line of vision!

This week, we've swum 1000 meters, walked 3 miles, and biked 6 miles. We have 3 miles to run tonight, and a BRICK training on Saturday! A BRICK is two events back to back. This Saturday it will be a 10 mile ride followed by a 2 mile run. I wonder if my face will be red then, or if it will be entering shades of purple?

Screen on the Green

We mingled and ate and caught up with friends.

It was very fun! I'd never seen Casablanca before, but knew enough about it to know it was not very action packed and that it was full of classic lines. Every time we got to a classic line, the crowd cheered! We were cheered by our friends' support.