For Uncle Joe, Dave, Phil and Rick

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

For me, this cause is intensely personal. I’ve had four close family members diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, 3 in the past year. One survived, one did not and two are currently undergoing treatment. Without the research done by LLS, the odds would have been much lower. 15 years ago, lymphoma was a death sentence. Now those stricken have a really good shot of survival.

Quite a few years ago my uncle was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Thanks to stem cell transplants, he went into remission for a number of years. To celebrate, he did a walk for LLS in the 90s. Uncle Joe passed away from a different strain of cancer but the lymphoma never returned. Many years later his son-in-law was also diagnosed with lymphoma. He also received a stem cell transplant and was cancer-free for a while. However the cancer has recently returned and he’s undergoing a second round of chemo.

In March of 2010 my brother-in-law succumbed to lymphoma at age 55 after an intense 5 month battle. He was one of the most generous people (and one of the most effective fund-raisers) I knew and his loss was a blow to his family, his colleagues and his community. While I can’t bring Dave back, I can help perpetuate his memory in the spirit of giving.

More recently, my cousin’s longtime partner was diagnosed with lymphoma and has just started his recovery journey. So far, so good. His attitude is good and I’m hopeful for his recovery.

Inspired by my uncle, my daughter (who ran the Long Beach Marathon for Team In Training) and a number of other family members who participated in “Light Up The Night” in New York, I questioned how I could best honor these four brave people. I can’t find a cure for cancer and I don’t have thousands of dollars to donate to LLS. But I do have two good legs, good health and a good dose of enthusiasm. So I’m participating in the San Diego Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon to raise funds for LLS. Maybe one day the survival rate in my family, or yours, will be closer to 100%.

I know that money is tight in this economy. But every little bit helps and together we can make a difference. Great lakes are created one drop of water at a time.

My training starts on 2/5. Stay tuned to this web site to keep track of my progress.

2/6/11 - 16 weeks to go!

Welll, here it is, day 1 at 6 AM. The kickoff meeting was yesterday at Veteran's Auditorium in Culver City. A sea of purple-clad similing faces and cheering. Those of you who know me know that I'm not the cheerleading type. My emotions were a combination of skepticism and sheer terror (mostly terror). What did I get myself into? How am I going to get up early, rain or shine, and walk for 60 minutes? How am I going to give up my Sundays for the next 4 months??? Most of all, how am I going to do my part financially?

Then one of our honored teammates spoke about her strugge with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It was a poingient reminder that I'm doing this for Phil, Rick, Joe and Dave and they don't get a day off from their struggles. Cancer doesn't take a vacation. EVER

We met with our coachs and mentors and I left with a new found hope that I CAN do this, one day at a time, one step at a time.

So this morning I was awake at 6 AM and did 35 minutes of brisk walking with my sometimes-unwilling walking partner, CJ. She's not going to have a choice in this matter. For those of you who don't know, CJ is my dog AND a cancer survivor.

2/13/11 - Three Miles and I Lived To Tell The Tale

Miles this week - 9 miles

Total miles - 9 miles

Well, I arrived at the Santa Monica "home base" this morning for the first "LSD" (long slow distance). I was beginning to wonder if I wasn't taking it when I agreed to this. Thank goodness I found a few other "old fogies" like me, including one or 2 that I would love to get to know better. Whatever they say about the advantage of training in a group was right on. I started out the morning hoping just to finish before they send the straggler wagon out. Imagine my shock when I finished the three miles and they told me that I had done a 15:00 mile which is at least 2:30 faster than I've ever done. I'm starting to believe that I really CAN do this. But we'll see if the pace holds when I'm doing 7 miles in the Santa Monica mountains.

2/20/11 - The Most Graceful Face Plant EVER

Miles this week - 10 miles

Total miles - 19 miles

Four miles today, which is more than I've ever walked in my life at any one time. We were walking north on Ocean and were turning onto San Vicente when I didn't see the curb. I'm told I did a ballerina-imitating leap and then gracefully landed on my side. The only thing bruised was my ego. 17:00 mile pace, which is right where I want to be.

2/28/11 - Famous Last Words

Miles this week - 11 miles

Total miles - 30 miles

Well, I knew the honeymoon was not going to last. My ribs have been really sore all this week. There was a time in my life that I would have gotten a case of the "screw its" and given up. But I came to the conclusion that some sore ribs are no match for the discomfort of chemo. So I've kept to my training schedule and the check marks are piling up. That really gives me a sense of accomplishment. This week I was not happy with my time but I know why my time was so bad (the wrong orthotics) and have taken the steps to correct it (take out the orthotics). Even if I do a 18:00 minute mile, I'll still finish in the time allotted.

If I say it every day, it will not be often enough to thank you for your generosity.

3/6/11 - Getting Better All The Time

Miles this week - 12 miles

Total miles - 42 miles

Wow! I've walked to Castaic.

I'm amazed to be doing things that I never thought I could do. I walked 6 miles today, which is more than I've ever walked at any one time in my life. AND I did it at a 17:00 pace, which is right where I want to be.

If you happen to read this, say a few prayers for my cousin. He's been in and out of the hospital lately and I don't know what's going on with him health-wise.

3/14-11 - 7 miles, beautiful scenery and circling falcons

Miles this week - 13 miles

Total miles - 55 miles

I've walked to Pyramid Lake. Yesterday's walk was difficult but I managed it. For those of you who have never done it, the trail off Westridge Rd. in the Palisades is amazing. Who would think that such majestic scenery would be at the backdoor of residential houses? You can even take your dog on-leash. I'm definitely going back with a camera. But the best part of it was walking with one of our honored teammates. Her optimism never ceases to amaze me.

Miles past 2 weeks - 27 miles

Total Miles - 82 miles

I can't believe I've had to type this in three times already because I keep pushing the wrong button!

'm half way between Frazier Park and Mettlin, wherever that is. This has been a watershed 2 weeks for me. First of all, I notice that I am walking further on my mid-weeks in the same 30 minutes. I feel lighter and stronger. But the biggest change ahd been mental. My mid-weeks and Sundays have changed from something I did reluctantly in order to reach a goal to something I look forward to doing in and of iteslf.

Yesterday I walked my first race EVER. Per usual, I stressed about it the day before and, per usual, the object of my stress was food-related. I was frantically IM-ing my daughter, an experienced marathoner, about what I should eat and when. She replied "Mom, it's only a 10K. Don't do anything different." I got up at 4 to make sure that I was at the venue at 6:30 (THANK YOU, CARL). Ugh, I haven't been up that early on a weekend since Dara's soccer tournament days!

Nothing could have prepared me for the exhiliration of waiting for the race to start. As we're walking to the start line, Coach Chris makes the offhanded remark "By the way, mile 5 is a killer." NOW you tell me! I figured how bad could it me after doing 7 miles in the Santa Monica Mountains? Luckily one of the other walkers from Team Westside was there and we did the first 4.5 miles together. So the first mile was downhill and the second mile was pretty level. Mile 3 and 4 was a slight uphill but it was steady. The we got to the turnaround and turned onto a private road. By the way, the scenery was amazing! Who knew that Aroura was so rural? There were more horses than spectators for most fo the race.

Well, we round a bend and there was this narly hill staring me in the face. Somehow I knew I could do it because I did it 2 weeks ago. I took one step at a time and before I knew it, I was at the finish line. The people cheering...I actually ran the last .2 miles jsut to work off the adrenaline.

In my haste I forgot to bring my watch, which turned out to be a good thing. This way I could concentrate on the race and not get stressed about the time. Imagine my shock when I checked the results after the race and I finished in 1:42:20, or a 16:30 mile pace. The only time I'd done 16:30 it was on a treadmill with no incline. And I did it on a hilly course sustained over 6.2 miles.

I'm actually starting to believe I can do this!!!

May 7, 2011 -

I'm in total shock - almost two months of journaling somehow got erased. that'll teach me to write my entries in Word first.

By my estimate, I have walked a total of about 200 miles, have endured sore feet and rain and a chance meeting with Dara's old soccer coach on the beach.

The end of the road is in sight! In exactly one month I will be fulfilling a lifelong dream of participating in the San Diego Rock and Roll Half Marathon as a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It’s mind boggling when I think of how far I’ve come. When I started I could barely do a mile in 20 minutes. Last night I was able to complete a mile in 14 minutes. Three months ago I could barely finish 3 miles during my “long” walks. Last week I did 11.5 miles and sprinted the last few tenths. I completed a 10K in 1:42 and didn’t die. I lost 10 lbs without even trying. But the best part is that I’ve developed habits that I don’t think are going to go by the wayside when the race is over. My mid-week walks are something I look forward to rather than something to be endured just to reach a goal.

I was told in the beginning that this would be a life-changing event and it has been but in ways I NEVER expected. I met an amazing group of heroes who share a common bond with me – being touched by leukemia and lymphoma. I met people who have beaten the disease (more than once), people who have lost loved ones, and people who haven’t given up the fight but whose outcome is uncertain. I met people who went for chemo on Friday and were out running with us two days later. I shared the joy of a bubbly twenty-something who just found a bone marrow donor so that she had a fighting chance to see thirty. I met someone whose husband was cured by a then-experimental treatment with the only other patient being the Shah of Iran (he wasn’t so lucky). All these people are MY heroes and my inspiration.

I am putting the names of all my loved ones on my jersey come race day so that their courage can be close to my heart. I will also add the name of anyone designated by you donors. If you haven’t designated anyone and would like to, please drop me an e-mail.

June 4, 2011 -

I leave for San Diego in 1 1/2 hours. You can't imagine the butterflies that are doing summersaults in my stomach. But the feeling is exhilarating! What's so incredibly cool is that I feel so much a part of something bigger than myself. This week has been spent off my feel completely to nurse the plantar fasciitis and the rest of my aches and pains back to health.

June 7, 2011 -

13.1 in 3:46. This had to have been one of the most emotional and rewarding weekends of my life! It was exhilirating, hard, exhausting, satisfying - and that was within a 10 minute time period. I wrote 17 pages in my journal which detailed the events and the emotions that went along with them. But for those of you who still want to donate, you can do so for the next 2 weeks.

Thank you to all who helped my on my journey.