Do something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team in Training Home Page.

For the better part of the past eleven and a half years, David and I have been battling, living with or recovering from cancer in one form or another. Most recent was David's diagnosis of follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which has now been in remission for two and a half years.

But being in remission is not the same as being cured.

After completing my first marathon in May, I am now training as a proud member of TEAM JON for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco on October 18, 2009. Together with my teammates, I am raising funds that will go to research, clinical trials, education and patient services for people like David whose blood cancers are, at present, incurable.

Please make a donation and help find a cure!

Your donation is tax-deductible; confirmation will be sent by email.

With love and many thanks for your continued support,

Elli

TRAINING LOG

13.1

Today was race day! Collectively, Team Jon raised over $50,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Right now I am feeling very happy and tuckered out, the best way to feel after a job well done. Stay tuned for race photos and a hint of things to come... okay, I'll just tell you: a Century Bike Ride (100 miles) around the Lake Tahoe next summer! Thank you again for all your support!!!

Life is a pure flame, and we live by an invisible Sun within us. ~Sir Thomas Brown

Near and Far

Up in Seattle, Yael set up a CaringBridge page to keep people updated on Jon's progress post-transplant. Here in L.A., the team ran in Marina del Rey while I opted for a neighborhood run closer to home, just me and my thoughts. A cool breeze carried me along the hills as I ran. One week till race day. Seventeen days till the life-giving stem cells Jon received will engraft.

Go as far as you can see; when you get there you'll be able to see farther

~Thomas Carlyle

Heroes

We each have our own ideas of a true hero. People who sacrifice something of themselves to help others is one definition. But what of those who battle for their own lives, who are on the front lines even as I write this? Jon had his transplant Friday. 23 minutes of life-giving stem cells entered his body after nearly two years of war. Every one who fights for life is a hero in my book, whether it is for someone else's life or for their own. Sometimes those heroes are children. This is what makes me run.

I must lose myself in action, lest I wither in despair ~Lord Alfred Tennyson

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Sunday was our last long run before the race and even though I was with my team, I ran on my own without using run/walk intervals. I just ran. I had a lot on my mind... Jon entered the hospital on Friday the 25th. It was exactly 3 years ago that David began chemotherapy. Ironically, it also happens to be my father's birthday, so it's a date I will always remember. I'm not sure what it is about running that is so meditative, but when I hit my stride, I fall into a peaceful reverie, a place where the noise of the world fades away and the street stretches out before me like the horizon at the water's edge. It is then that I feel the deepest gratitude for all that is and can be.

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Common Ground

I did not run with the team this morning. Instead, I had the pleasure of running after sundown with a family friend (Hi Ariela!). She wants to run a marathon in the spring which means I got to talk about my favorite subject, TNT, while we ran. Life keeps moving, so I figure it's probably best to keep moving along with it.

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. ~Samuel Johnson

Still Running

My knee acted up half way through this morning's run so I walked a few miles with Dave. He is a Hodgkin's survivor who went through three years of continuous treatment before a stem cell transplant saved his life. He's been in remission four years now and joined Team in Training to give back to the organization that helped him so much. Meanwhile, the Galinsons have moved into their sublet in Seattle and at the end of the month Jon will begin a treatment protocol that will culminate in his transplant. So the pain in my knee... well, it's just pain.

Great work is performed not by strength, but by perseverance ~Samuel Johnson

West LA

I ran with the Westside Team today for the first time since training began. It was great to see my original team, all the friendly faces! Laura, one of our honored teammates from last season spoke to the new team. Her daughter was married over the summer, something which she wasn't sure she would live to see. We did an easy six miles down the Santa Monica Boardwalk. My knee acted up around mile five, so I walked an extra two miles to make up for not running. There are only six weeks left till race day but with school starting, readjusting to city life and the upcoming holidays, it feels far away.

Go as far as you can see; when you get there you'll be able to see farther ~Thomas Carlyle

Moving Day

Yesterday was moving day. I left the heavenly alpine peaks of Lake Tahoe and returned to the hot, smoke-filled desert of Los Angeles. And the Galinson family left their home in Berkeley and moved to a temporary house in Seattle. They will be living near Hutch for the next few months while Jon undergoes a stem cell transplant. They were unable to find an adult donor match so he will be receiving a cord blood transplant. If you have not joined the registry, please take the time to do it now! All it requires is a cotton swab to the inside of your cheek. We are all connected and need to care for one another. Besides, we can never know who will be next. Looking for a donor when you need one is too late. The more people who register, the greater the chance that the life of someone you love will someday be saved.

What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well. ~Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Seasons

In Southern California there is really only one season. Sunny year round with the occasional exceptions of June gloom, Santa Anas, a few raindrops, and hot, still days commonly referred to as 'earthquake weather'. But in the mountains, there are four full seasons. This week marked an early end to summer. Yael and I ran together in the rain this morning along the Truckee River. We were supposed to run six miles, but my IT band had my knee buckling again after just three. We walked the rest. It was beautiful, cold, crisp and clear; the leaves on the deciduous trees already turning a rich amber. I went to the lake alone to watch the sun set this evening and was greeted by an ocean: wind-swollen waves crashing against the shore. Seasons come and go just as people do.

i imagine that yes is the only living thing ~e. e. cummings

Grit

This morning I ran just shy of eight miles through Squaw Valley and along the Truckee River. I set out early while it was still cold. The first five miles were wonderful. The sun lit the meadow, wildflowers were in full bloom after weeks of thunderstorms and the river rapids were a rushing, living song. And then out of nowhere, my knees nearly buckled under me. A sharp IT band pain first hit my right knee, then, as I favored it, my left knee joined in. I slowed down and fought hard to get through the next few miles till I was walking more than running. I finished only because I was so determined. And the words of a great poet sustained me as I climbed that long hill to the end.

The best way out is always through ~Robert Frost

Climbing

There are places in the world where we find it easier to be the best of who we are. For me, one of those places is right here, in the mountains that circle the alpine lake. I run better, think better, feel better... I simply am better here. The mountain helps me focus my physical strength; the lake mirrors my inner landscape, granting me greater access to the shadowlands of my thoughts; and the sky seamlessly meets the earth, inviting my imagination to soar freely. It is only coming down the mountain that I fully realize the strides I have made since climbing. I ran seven miles this week. Slow and steady distances, building toward something greater than myself: building with the very essence of what is inside of me.

We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Poetry in Motion

This morning I ran 6 miles along the lakeshore. It was a brisk, cool morning and the first time this summer I have gotten up early for a run. Late last night there was a magnificent thunderstorm on the mountain, the whole sky lit up with flashes of lightening, followed by powerful bursts of rolling thunder. I sat under our skylights and witnessed nature's awesome show, feeling grateful to be alive.

We are the music-makers, and we are the dreamer of dreams, wandering by lone sea-breakers, and sitting by desolate streams; world-losers and world-forsakers, on whom the pale moon gleams: yet we are the movers and shakers of the world for ever, it seems ~Arthur O'Shauhnessy

The Waiting Place

Every few weeks during training we have a 'recovery' week, a time when we back off a bit from the mileage, rest a bit more. I am supposed to be in that phase right now, only for me, once again, it is recovery from something specific. Somehow I managed to tear the muscles in my calf and have to stay off my feet till I am fully healed, hopefully just a week. Rest is one of the things I yet to master. Up here at the lake, it is even harder than in the city. I want to be out enjoying the vast playground of the great outdoors! But this is the time to relax on the beach and listen to the waves crash against the shore, the soundtrack of eternity. A little extra time to read, to think about life, to remember exactly why I am training in the first place.

He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything. ~Thomas Carlyle

Old Friends

This weekend I went to my hometown and spent a great evening with some old friends. Then I came back up to the lake for my long run, 6.5 miles. I ran a 4:1 interval because it was hot and late and I was tired before I even started. I ended up running a 10:30 mile for the entire run. It was a total pleasure and I feel like everything is finally coming together. My injuries from the marathon have healed, my form has improved, my mind is quiet and I am feeling strong. It is a great place to be.

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake. ~Henry David Thoreau

Love Story

In the late 80's I was walking through a small college town in northern California and happened upon a thrift shop where I found a well cared for copy of Erich Segal's novel, Love Story. Just inside the front cover, in beautiful script, someone had written the following words: All things pass; Love alone remains. Jon got news this week that the chemo he has been on is not working. He is beginning a new protocol and is heading for a stem cell transplant in the near future. Every dollar raised here helps save the lives of people like Jon. If you haven't already, please make your donation today.

There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Summer Days

Happy Independence Day! We spent the weekend at our friend's beautiful lake house playing in the sun, racing around on jetskis, watching the fireworks over the lake and having a great holiday. Today in the late afternoon, I finally made time to run my miles. As I reached the end of my run, the hot sun joined forces with the altitude and lack of sleep, trying to get me to call it a day. But I looked down at the jersey I was wearing and thought, "I am a Team in Trainer. We never quit. We never give up." And I didn't.

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. ~Epictetus

The Mountain

Behind my house is a mountain that rises 10,000 feet above sea level into the sky. To walk the meadow is to be very close to the heavens, to climb to the summit is to be closer still. This past week I spent a lot of time on that mountain. I hiked down one day, past impossibly giant boulders and swift creeks to the center of the village. Another day I climbed up to a rushing waterfall, making my own trail as I went. Up there, the noise of the world falls away, thinking clears and a natural meditation prevails. The music of one's own soul sets the pace for each step and there is a stillness within, a deep and abiding peace. On the mountain there is time; time for everything under the sun.

To unpathed waters, undreamed shores ~William Shakespeare

High Altitude

I am incredibly fortunate to call Lake Tahoe my home for the entire summer. And it happens to be the perfect place to train for San Francisco; the hills here are easily as steep, the lay of the land is inspiring and the views are magnificent. My half marathon training schedule starts now. Tomorrow is my first official run!

Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. ~Louisa May Alcott

The Story

Here is an article that appeared today in our local paper that tells the story of how I came to be involved with TNT and LLS.

We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. ~T.S. Eliot

The Beginning

Yes, it's true. Just three days after San Diego, where I was honored to give the inspirational speech at the pasta party (posted by my coach, Chris Wilno, whose hand shook for the first minute before passing the camera off to Craig, so keep watching!), I signed up for another race. This one is half the distance, 13.1 miles. Why, you might ask, would I want to do this all over again before I have even had a chance to catch my breath? Well, why not?

With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere. ~ C.S. Lewis