One Day to Go

In almost exactly 24 hours, a few thousand of my closest friends and I will start our 26.2 mile journey through the streets of DC. The race begins near good ole RFK Stadium, heads toward the Capitol and down Constitution, followed by a loop in Northwest and Northeast, and ending with a loop around Southwest. The reality of what I’m about to do is hitting me like a ton of bricks and I’m starting to get nervous. Last night my mind was racing --- what if my ankle doesn’t hold up? What if I catch a terrible cold in the next 24 hours? What if the electricity goes out in my apartment and I oversleep? Needless to say I don’t exactly feel rested this morning and the nervousness and worrying continues.

What to do?

Well, besides taking lots of naps, I need to stay busy today, especially since I decided to take the day off work. Tradition holds that I watch a movie to psyche myself up, and normally that movie is Rocky I, and why not. You have the great music, the scene of Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, and of course the story of a long shot going the distance with the champ. But I’m thinking about breaking with tradition this year and going a different route. We’re in the thick of March Madness and this afternoon I’m going to be glued to the tv watching wall to wall games, including Syracuse making a run at their second title (Go Orange!). I can think of no better movie that melds March Madness with athletic determination than Hoosiers, the 1986 classic based on the true story of a small town Indiana high school overcoming the odds to win the Indiana High School Basketball Tournament. No one gave them a chance --- a washed up coach leading a small team from a small school --- yet through hard work, determination, grit, and teamwork, they won the state championship.

Tomorrow when I’m struggling a bit, and I will struggle at some point during the race, every marathoner does, I’m going to think about all the people who have believed in and supported me, who displayed amazing kindness and generosity as I raised money for pancreatic cancer, and who told me to keep my chin up during the really tough times when I was recovering from surgery. Will I win tomorrow’s race? Of course not, but in my own way, finishing the race will feel like making the game winning shot.

One Week to Go

It’s hard to believe that the last eight months have gone by so quickly. Back in July 2008, I could barely run more than 5 or 6 miles; the thought of completing a 26.2 mile race was a bit overwhelming, though the fact that I had so much time to train and prepare made it seem that this day would almost never come. Well, it’s almost time and I’m ready. I’ve logged the miles, done the training, lost the weight, and have stayed healthy. There have been a few aches and pains along the way, but overall I’m in a much better place than I was even a year ago.

Today I did a light workout with Anne at Gravely Point, and other than a handful of 20 minute jogs over the next few days, the training is essentially over. Now I just need to rest and relax, and look forward to next week.

Perspective

Most of us go through life looking forward to birthdays, anniversaries, and key dates that mark important events and milestones in our lives. We take for granted the fact that we’ll celebrate a birthday next year, go on vacation with our family, and endure another mediocre season with the Redskins. Some of us even look forward to running 26.2 miles. This is part of the normal rhythms of life; it’s something we all take for granted.

Perspective is everything. What we celebrate and take for granted has a much different meaning when you change your point of view. Kate makes this point so eloquently in her most recent blog post. Suffering from a horrible disease makes it difficult to look forward to birthdays, holidays, and the future in general, when the present is filled with so much uncertainty. Yet, despite every reason to despair, Kate endures, moves forward, and works through these challenges. She has hit some bumps in the road, yet refuses to give up. She remains optimistic and more committed than ever to win her epic struggle against pc, and does so with great wit and a sense of humor.

In three weeks when I cross the finish line near RFK Stadium, I look forward to celebrating with Kate. But I will not be celebrating the accomplishment of running 26.2. No, I will be celebrating Kate and her accomplishments, her spirit, and the inspiration she provides to all of us. Knowing Kate, though, I think she’ll want to celebrate the fact that I finished the race without tripping over myself. Perspective really does matter!

Kate and Pancreatic Cancer Research

After a bit of a hiatus, Kate returned to the blogosphere a few days ago with a new entry on her blog. Kate was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago, and is still fighting strong. You won’t find a more inspiring and courageous person.

I have a special plea: to those who have not made a contribution to support pancreatic research, I hope you will consider making a donation. Kate needs your support. The 37,000 people in the United States who are diagnosed every year with pc need your support. The men and women working tirelessly for a cure need your support. One day, hopefully in the not too distant future, scientists will get a handle on this horrible disease, one that kills more people in the USA every year (34,000) than AIDS (14,000). Incredibly, your United States government only spends $73 million per year on pancreatic cancer research, yet sees fit to dole out $2.5 BILLION for HIV/AIDs research. We don’t have pancreatic cancer quilts, high impact public relations campaigns, celebrity spokespeople, movies (think Philadelphia), or the media behind us. No, we just have the devastation and destruction wrought by pancreatic cancer, a disease that kills 90% of its victims within one year of diagnosis. It’s an outrage and quite frankly offensive that some people’s lives are valued more than others by our so-called elected officials. It’s offensive that some people are given priority over others based on political standing and/or political correctness. And it’s completely outrageous that Kate and people like her are essentially left to fend for themselves. This has to change. This must change. I hope my little effort can help in this regard.

One Month to Go!

That's right boys and girls, only one month to go until race day. It's hard to believe we're almost at the end. Before you know it, I'll be crossing the finish line behind RFK Stadium. Training has gone as planned. Fundraising to support pancreatic research has exceeded expectations. I'm healthy. I'm fit. And I'm ready to go. The only real outstanding issue is determining where I should eat the big post-race dinner. I'm thinking Ruth's Chris in Bethesda. What say you?

Home Stretch

It’s hard to believe, but the big race is less than five weeks away, 31 days to be exact. It’s been a long road back from surgery and rehab. Less than a year ago, I was running for just a few minutes at a time. Now I’m doing long training runs; this past Saturday I did an 18 mile run, the farthest I’ve run in over two years. The first four miles were uneventful, but then at about 4.5 miles, I felt a sharp pain in my right ankle. I had to stop running. Panic set in and I started to freak out big time. The pain felt eerily similar to what I experienced two years ago and almost in the exact same place! Thank goodness I was running with Anne. She calmly assessed the situation, had me do some stretches, and did a little Mr. Miyagi action on my ankle, and as quickly as the pain came on, it disappeared and we were able to do the remaining 14 miles without incident.

These days I’m feeling very optimistic. The 18 mile run was tiring, but I felt strong throughout and finished with energy, not exhaustion. For the first time in a while, I could actually visualize myself finishing. After two years of injury and pain, surgery and rehab, doubts and worrying, I’m finally starting to believe again: I’m starting to believe I’m a runner, not an injured runner, not a runner recovering from injury, not a runner who is out-of-shape or a runner trying to get back into the swing of things. No, I’m just a regular runner who is able to go out and run without worry. This is such a huge relief. In the darkest hours and weeks after surgery, I wondered if this day would ever come. Now I’m coming down the home stretch and those dark days are but a distant memory. Brighter days are ahead, and for that I am truly grateful.

Training Rut

I’ve hit a rut in training, something not totally unexpected, but very frustrating. I’m trying to do all my runs, but it’s quite difficult these days. First, the weather has been absolutely lousy. Over the past week here in the DC area we’ve had snow and sleet, freezing rain, and the biggest enemy of any runner, particularly me --- ice. I admit it, I have an ice phobia, and for good reason. In January of 2008, I slipped on black ice and fractured my left radial bone (left elbow). This was a particularly nasty, and painful, injury as the elbow cannot be set in a cast, nor immobilized for extended periods of time. The pain of pt for this particular injury was worse than even rehabbing my ankle. So anytime I even catch a glimpse of ice, I'm homebound.

The second impediment to training over the past couple of weeks has been a lingering sinus infection. My nose is quite stuffy, my ears ache, my sinuses kill me, and my balance is a bit off --- not exactly a recipe for going out and doing a 7-8 mile mid-week run, let alone a long training run on the weekend. I’ve probably missed about 50% of my scheduled training runs over the past two weeks.

None of this is the end of the world. My sinus infection has finally started to clear up, and the weather seems to be improving, though the forecasters are predicting snow showers tonight and possibly tomorrow, with “minimal” accumulation. My motivation, though, is a bit lacking. I’ve spent the last year getting back to my old running self, and I’m probably 75 to 80 percent there…the last bit shouldn’t be that hard. My fitness level has dramatically improved, my legs are strong, and my endurance is improving by the week. Mentally, though, I’m struggling to find my motivation and I’m not sure why. I have so much to run for, but when I don’t feel well and the weather is less than desirable, my first instinct is not to lace up my shoes and power through, but to hit the couch and watch ESPN.

I will break out of this rut; I always have in similar situations in the past. I just need to find my groove again. A week of decent weather and good health would help, but irrespective, with less than 50 days to go until the big race, the fact that I will soon be running 26.2 miles is motivation enough.