Mission Day

Lyndsay and I trying to stay warm

Loreal speaking

Tiffany telling us about
how our money help research.

Mission Day was yesterday.  It was not the best training day.  It was cold and very very very windy.  The wind was blowing at about 20 mph, with gust up to 35 mph.  The temps were in the 30's.  Brrrrr.  The cycling team was riding 15 miles from N. Cary Park, and returning to be able to be apart of Mission Day.  I had already decided earlier in the week that I would run instead of ride on Saturday.  Partly because of the low mileage, and partly because I had a friend who needed riding partners on Sunday, I figured it would work out well....and it did.  I met one of my teammates from doing Disney, and we did a leisurely 3-ish miles.  It was a hard run with the wind.  Then we came back and hung out for Mission Day.  The only hard thing with Mission Day is that we do it outside in the shelter at the park, the wind was blowing so hard that the papers, signs, and all the testing stuff for bone marrow match were blowing all over the place.  Ohh yeah, and it was freezing COLD!!

More of Loreal telling us about
patient services.

The people who spoke were AMAZING.  We had the patient services person speak about where our money was going, and what we were helping people in our area with.  We also heard about the research that is happening with the money that we raise.  We had our honored teammates talk about their stories, and some survivor teammates told their stories.  It was AWESOME.  I never have dry eyes by the end of Mission Day and yesterday was no exception.

From Spring to Winter in less than 24 hours

On Saturday I was out riding with the Team in N. Raleigh in temperatures that got into the mid 60's.  I believe the high for Saturday was 65.  It was sunny and beautiful, and a perfect day for a bike ride, if I do say so myself.  We enjoyed a beautiful ride through the countryside and took in some nice climbs to get us trained up for our 100 mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe.  The group I rode with did a pretty good job of trying to keep a pace line (there were essentially 4 of us riding together), except for on the hills, were there are some clearly better climbers!   It was a gorgeous day.  It felt like Spring, in the best sense of what Spring feels like.  After the ride I went out and got a burrito with some of my teammates, enjoyed some more time with them.

Then I came home and got ready to hang out with friends who are like family.  We had a lovely time visiting with Pahner/Dorff clan and I got to play with my little buddies. (I also ripped my jeans...I sat on a nail and ripped them...hahahaha).

On Sunday I woke up and took Scout for his morning walk, and then went over to a friends house (who has been in the hospital for an accident) and took care of her cat and dog.  Then I came home and got ready to go for a run.  It was already cold and the forecast said it would just be getting colder throughout the day.  It was already wet too, and our rain chances were supposed to get heavier throughout the day.  Ahhh, and it's true.  It got colder and wetter throughout the day.  Chris came over and he and I did a quick wet run through the neighborhood, down to the greenway (I love that we have a greenway in our hood now), and back to the house.  3.29 miles.  Not stellar, but not so bad for a cold wet day.

The rest of day was pretty much spent inside.  I caught up on some sleep....I didn't realize I was missing.  When I woke up I checked the runDisney site to see how the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon was filling out.  UH OH... the 1/2 Marathon was filling up quickly, it was already at 93% full.  I talked to Jason, did some calculations to see how much airfare, hotel, etc would be....and we just don't have the money for it yet.  It was a hard realization that my dream of the Coast to Coast was not in the works for this year.  As it turned out the race sold out yesterday.  No chance at all now.  No worries though, I'll have other years (I hope).

After a little boo hoo fest (yes I shed a tear or two.....I know it's silly), I got myself together.  We watched the weather getting colder.  Made dinner at home.  Went out and got some silly dessert in the rain....that was starting to get mixed with sleet.  Once we got home the snow started to come down.  It was beautiful and white and had big-ish flakes.  It was starting to stick to the cars and the mulch, and even a little to the grass.  I took Scout in it for a minute....it was cold.  I knew it probably wouldn't still be here in the morning, but it was pretty to see.  I

I was right about it not really being here in the morning.  No snow on the roadways, barely any on the grass.  But it's wild to think that we had a beautiful Spring like day on Saturday and SNOW on Sunday!  That's North Carolina weather for you.

Today I'm going to go ride my bicycle (a little later) and see what the day brings me!

Happy Valentines Day....or something.

So I know today isn't Valentines Day, yesterday was.  I don't really celebrate Valentines Day.  It's never really been a big day in my world.  I think the only time I thought it was cool was in high school, when I got an anonymous valentine, and it was cool...a big balloon a stuffed animal (I'm pretty sure it was a cow...it was a phase I was going through), some chocolates....it was HUGE, and I thought I was the bomb-diggity. Well...as it turns out, it was my Mom who did all that for me.  *winks*  I'm not sure I ever told anyone else that before...hmmm, it was pretty cool being that girl...with the secret admirer.  HAhahahaha.  Since then Valentines Day been pretty much ehhh.  My husband and I don't really celebrate (we celebrate every day of our lives!!).  I don't hate on Valentines Day though, I know people LOVE it.  So it makes me happy when I see on facebook that people are posting pictures of the flowers they got, or the candy, cookies, etc.  I think it's sweet.  I think it's sweeter when it happens unexpectedly, not because of a "holiday".  With that being said...I did get a Valentine this year.  One of my friends from TNT, who happens to live in California posted that she was making Valentines and if you wanted in on the action you needed to send her your addy.  I'm all about getting fun stuff in the mail, so I sent her my home address and yesterday I got a sweet and sparkly Valentine from her!  Awwww.

So how did I really spend my Valentines Day??  Well I'm glad you asked.  I worked.  HA!!  Most of don't have a random Tuesday off, and that includes me.  I worked at the dental office (the one near downtown) from about 7:15 to about 4:30, then I headed over to the pool (where I was going to swim, but sat in my car and listened to my book on CD instead, because my swim partner had an emergency come up and I just wasn't feeling a swim...boo on me), then I did actually go into the pool and helped run the first practice for our Special Olympics Swim Team!!  Then I came home to my husband, who made me a yummy dinner (as he usually does...*smiles*), and my sweet puppy dog (who was overjoyed to see me because I think he thought I had left him forever)....ohh and my Valentine Card from my friend in California!  It was an AWESOME day.

So before Valentines Day happened the whole week before it happened...I know that's like totally crazy right?  Here's the re-cap:

Wednesday the 8th:  Got up, finally pushed myself out the door to go for a run.  Did a 5K, cause you know it was something.  It was cold, but the run felt good.  Went to work, saw 3 patients and came home with terrible stomach issues.  Stayed in for the rest of the day

Thursday the 9th: Woke up, thought I was feeling better.  Took the puppy dog for his morning walk.  Was not feeling better.  Called the office to let them know I wouldn't be able to come in.  Stomach felt like I had done a million sit ups in the night (and I know I'm not sleep walking doing sit ups).  I did venture out to deliver some lunch totes to people, but came right back home as I was spent from just driving, walking a few feet, and driving some more.

Friday the 10th: was feeling much better.  Went to work.  Did well all day.  Went out with the girls from work for dinner and a movie. (The Vow - a total chick flick, fun to see with the girls)

Saturday the 11th: Got out and went for a ride with the Team.  We rode up and down Jack Bennett Rd....it was fun! It was a chilly ride that got windy at the end.  Hung out with one of my best friends for awhile.

 

Sunday the 12th:  BRRRRRRR!!!  Was supposed to meet a friend to run at 9 am, but we pushed it back to 3 pm.  It was 23 degrees at 9 am, and it was mega windy.  It was still chilly at 3, but not that cold, and still windy, but not 20 mph winds.  *smiles*  I also went to see my neighbor to give her, her lunch tote and love on my sweet Seven dog.

Monday the 13th: Worked...what, you don't work on Mondays??  Ahhh, but sometimes I do.  I worked in the morning for one of the girls at the Wake Forest office, so I was there from about 8-2, and then I grabbed a quick lunch (it wasn't healthy) and then went over to do a cycle study as part of the ear-bud testing group.  I love that I get to be involved with helping make this technology come to fruition.

There you go...a quick recap of my last week.  It's about to get busy!  *smiles*  I LOVE IT!!

30 miles = 1st step on the road to a century.

Tiffany, Elaine, and Jeanne ready for the ride

Just a quick update.  Today the team got together to do our first actual workout.  While some people on the team have not ridden a bike in many years, and some people are like pro's on the team, it was a fun time had (by all, I think).  We met at Harris Lake and the newer riders did a 10 mile ride to get a feel for what it's going to be like, to see what being on a bike is like, and all that good stuff.  10 miles when you are just starting out seems like FOREVER.  Those of us who are a little more experienced on the bike did a 30-ish mile bike.  We actually did the Raven Rock Ramble 32 mile route.  It was really nice, if just a little hilly.  Of course hilly is good.  I'm going to need hilly.  I think it felt hilly mostly because since the marathon I haven't done much.  SHOCK!!  I know!    I was enjoying some time off from training, but now it's time to get back to it.  My body says YES....and even ouch a little.   

getting bikes ready

This journey is going to be amazing.  I've never had the chance to ride with so many people before.  I've usually ridden in smaller groups made up of mostly triathletes (we tend to ride a little differently).   When everyone gets up to speed and mileage we are going to all be so AWESOME!  Our Mission moment (we do one before every group training) was for Brady.  Brady is one of my teammates long time friends husband.  He has myeloma.  He has recurrent myeloma.  As in he fought it, had the stem cell transplant, did all the stuff he was supposed to do, made it dormant, but it's back.  Today when I was climbing the hills that felt like mountains to me, I was thinking about Brady and how brave he has to be to continue to fight the cancer monster, and if he can continue on, so can I.

cycling apparel doesn't make you look cute.

Our lives are not spoken for.  We don't know what's around the corner.  We don't know when or why things happen.  We can only live in the here and now.  In the here and now, YOU can help with fighting cancer.  Did you know that:

$50 will register 1 person to be a bone marrow donor

$75 will provide HLA (bone marrow) typing for a family member of a patient with a blood cancer

$100 will pay for the cost of 4 patient's chemotherapy drug prescriptions co-payments

$300 will train 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed patients

$500 will provide patient aid to a person with a blood cancer for a year

$1000 allows patients to meet with health care specialists to design and discuss their disease, treatment plan, and prepare them with the info they will need during the treatment process.

$2000 provides patients with a one month supply of Gleevec.

The development of Gleevec was funded by LLS.  Below is some questions about Gleevec answered simply.  But Gleevec isn't just for blood cancers anymore. So raising funds for LLS is helping with cancer research that is helping more than those with blood cancers.

• What is Gleevec? Gleevec, also known as STI571, is a new drug that was approved by the the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of white blood cells and for the treatment of a rare form of stomach cancer called gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). 
• Why is Gleevec different from most chemotherapy drugs? Gleevec represents a new class of cancer drugs and a new way of thinking about cancer. These molecularly targeted drugs are different because they target abnormal proteins that are fundamental to the cancer itself. 
• What were the results of the previous clinical trials with Gleevec? In June 1998, the first clinical trial of Gleevec was launched. This small, initial study sought primarily to determine whether Gleevec is safe in people, not its effectiveness as a cancer drug. However, as the doctors gradually increased the dose of the drug, they noticed dramatic responses in their patients, all of whom were no longer benefitting from previous therapy. 
• What is chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML? CML affects the blasts that develop into multiple cell types in the bone marrow, including the white blood cells (granulocytes). The white blood cells do not mature normally and become too numerous. Immature white blood cells are then found in the blood and the bone marrow. 
• What is GIST? A Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a type of tumor that usually begins in cells in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. It can be benign or malignant.

Please take a minute to donate if you can.