Happy Birthday, Mom

March 29, 2007. Five years ago today, my mom celebrated her new birthday – Day One of her new life. At OHSU in Portland, after several days of chemo and radiation, Mom received an infusion of healthy stem cells from an anonymous donor. The "Tabasco sauce-y looking” cells (as she described them) held the hope of recovery and remission after her nearly 3 year battle with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. The day was spent in hopeful celebration with my brother and dad and some friends. The transplant itself was a success. All traces of the leukemia were eradicated. 

Unfortunately, the after effects of the transplant and overall recovery from such a physically harsh procedure were too much for my mom’s body to handle. She passed away on September 3, 2007. I truly miss her more and more every day. My mom was courageous, energetic, positive and an encouragement to everyone she came in contact with – even in the midst of her own fight for her life.

As you may know, Dan and I are working hard to prepare for our first triathlon on June 24th. No, this is not some wacky New Year’s resolution. We have undertaken this challenge in partnership with Team in Training, a fundraising organization for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Our goal is to raise just over $6000 together by April 12th.

To my friends, family and associates, thank you for getting us to where we are now – just about 40%! We would love to be well over half way by the time we sign our recommitment (point of no return) paperwork with Team in Training on April 13th. So if you haven't given yet, please click on the Donate Now button to the right and give generously! All contributions are tax deductible.

Please continue to visit our blog to watch our progress and please leave a comment so we know you stopped by!


Tonight is swimming with the team. Tune in soon to see how THAT goes!  


-- JAM

Dwight

On behalf of some very good friends, we would like to honor another courageous patient in whose honor we are training.  

Let us introduce you to Dwight.  He is the stepfather and stepfather-in-law of Marc and Heidi in Texas. He was diagnosed with leukemia last year and is still rockin'!


Knowing that he is greatly loved by those in his family, we continue to work to help provide services and funds for research through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is not at all far fetched to believe that the money we raise through your support will be the funds that make research possible for the treatment or, better yet, the CURE that makes all the difference for loved ones just like Dwight.


Keep up the fight, man! We are pulling for you!


And thank you, Marc and Heidi, for your support!


-- JAM

Sweaty Pie

Can you see how SOAKED I am in this picture? No, it's not because I was running in the rain. I wimped out and ran my 7 miles this morning on the treadmill instead of with the team - partly because of the weather forecast and partly because I need to prepare for the onslaught of numerous 12 and 13 year olds coming over this afternoon for Carson's birthday party. 

Take a look at my back! And my hair! I was dripping all over the treadmill today. I'd say this was because of the distance, but honestly I'm like that all the time. So if sweating is any sign of a good, hard workout then I'm really working my tail off! 

Now time for a crazy birthday party with lots of rowdy kids followed by a nice glass of wine...

-- JAM

Our Lucky Charm

The last four times in a row that Hailey has gotten the mail, there has been at least one donation envelope in the box. Yesterday there were two envelopes. A few days ago she brought in FOUR donations! So she has become our official mail retriever. 

However, she will be out of town visiting her cousins over Spring Break. What do you think? Should we wait an entire week to get the mail?

-- JAM

Hill Training for Swimmers

Because of a school event for Hailey, Dan and I had to get in our swim time last night rather than participating in the Thursday night team swim. So our coach posted the workout and we followed the plan on our own. Coach Jill decided it was time for hill training this week. Hill training? Ummm, last I checked most pools are flat. I understand running or biking uphill, but swimming…?

We warmed up with a couple laps as usual, then practiced that elusive “race stroke” again for 4 laps. Then began the “hills” - kinda like spin class in the water:

UPHILL –              50  meters slow pace

                            50 meters medium pace

                            50 meters fast pace

DOWNHILL –       50 meters fast pace

                            50 meters medium pace

                            50 meters slow pace

Repeat for a total of 3 hills – 18 laps or 900 meters

We got a 30 second break between each 50 meters, then a 90 second break at the “bottom” of each “hill.” The 90 seconds felt great, but I really could have used that break at the TOP of the hill!

I was really trying this time to eliminate or at least shorten the amount of time I pause to catch my breath at the far end of the pool. On the slow and medium pace laps I was able to complete each lap with just a couple seconds pause, but the fast laps about killed me. I had to pause at the far end and on a couple I didn’t make it back without flipping over onto my back.

So now you know how to swim like a salmon!  : )

Training Update

What an exciting week! We have exceeded 25% of our fundraising goal and there are possibilities of corporate donations on the horizon! Thank you to all our family, friends and colleagues that have given so generously. We have a long way to go, but it is so encouraging to see that percentage bar rising and working its way toward 100%!

I must say that last week’s swim training session was much better than the one before. Our workout included the usual warm ups and then several laps at our “race stroke.” I don’t actually have a race stroke yet, but with lots of pausing to catch my breath I did complete the laps. Next we were assigned 10 sprint laps. Swim one lap as fast as you can then rest 60 to 90 seconds. And repeat. Ten times! I don’t actually swim a full lap without stopping quite yet, so I have to take a little break at the end of the pool before heading back. Without that little break, I invariably end up on my back or sidestroking half way back. And gasping.

I completed the sprints at a slower pace than most people warm up. I muddled through the one lap stroking with just my left arm, then one lap stroking with just my right arm. Who came up with THAT idea? Anyway a few more laps of exercises with the kickboard and such, then we finished up with a couple slow laps. I was still last out of the pool, but not by nearly as much as last time. 1100 meters. Whew!

On Saturday, we got to take our bikes out on the road for the first time. The Olympic distance participants were to complete a 12 mile ride. It was a perfect day – sunny and cool. We went out 6 miles along Hill Road and felt so good that we kept on going. In total, we completed about 17 miles. Dan did lose his chain once, but was able to put it back on quickly and get back on the road. And then pass me like I was standing still! I guess all the spin classes have really paid off by getting us prepared for the road.

This week we have two spin classes to attend, a 3 mile and a 6 mile run to complete and hopefully we’ll get to swim twice as well. We will be missing most of our team trainings because of school and work commitments, but we always keep up on our own. We’ve got a long way to go and don’t want to arrive in Sunriver unprepared!

Thanks everyone for your continued support! And please let us know when you visit our blog! With no comments we kind of feel like we are talking to ourselves…

Patient Honoree Potluck

This is Byron, one of the speakers at the Patient Honoree Potluck we had last Saturday. He is a familiar face to everyone in Team in Training because he has trained for many events and mentored many participants over the last several years.
He told us his story. He was hugely overweight, smoked 2 packs a day, and was a heavy drinker when he was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. There is no cure at present, but it is also a relatively slow progressing blood cancer, so he decided to change how he was living. His doctor said he would die much sooner if he didn't lose some weight and get in shape, so he did it. He lost 150 pounds and started training for half marathons, then marathons, then triathlons, and now is planning to run a full ironman this summer, which by the way consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26 mile run! Five years after he was diagnosed, the doctors found cancer in his spine, and he received a chemotherapy drug developed through the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. He was told to expect it to take at least a year before he could start running again, but he ended up struggling through and finishing a 10k run 10 weeks after chemotherapy.
Byron is a great example of someone who knows firsthand the impact that Team in Training has in bringing hope to those affected by cancer.

-- Dan

Just (try to) Keep Swimming

When I was 11 or 12 years old, I developed asthma. My symptoms were primarily brought on by exercise so all through junior high and high school I used an inhaler when I was active in PE, dance team, etc. If you’ve ever experienced an asthma attack you understand that panicky feeling of being unable to fully inflate your lungs. No matter how hard you try to pull in air, you just cannot get a good breath. A raspy, wheezing sound escapes from your throat which leads to coughing and more gasping. It’s a terribly claustrophobic feeling and makes physical activity nearly impossible.

One of the activities that particularly brought on my asthma was swimming. Having to control my breathing while being physically active, topped with a dash of fear of the water was the perfect recipe for severe asthma symptoms. As a freshman in college I took a Learn to Swim class. I thought it was high time I get this swimming thing figured out! Well, good thing it was a pass or fail class. I did pass, but between the fear and the breathing it was a struggle every day to keep myself together in the water.

Since my early twenties, I’ve not experienced any issues with asthma. I’m not sure if that is because I moved to a drier climate or if I just grew out of the condition. Thankfully, I’m able to run, bike, ski – participate in pretty much any physical activity without  any asthma symptoms. Last year with Dan’s help I even overcame some degree of my fear of the water by learning to SCUBA dive. I never thought I’d be able to complete the tasks that are required to become a diver, but in October I completed my open water course and am now a certified diver!

So now we are back to swimming and breathing is still the challenge I experience. I can’t even begin to think about form or technique when I’m gasping for every breath of air. I’ve been feeling like I’m progressing each time I swim and that I will get there eventually. However last night was a different story. Part way through my swim I started to get that old familiar feeling. It was more than just shortness of breath.  Hanging onto the edge of the pool between lengths, I felt like I could not get enough air into my lungs and even felt a little of that old wheeze coming back.

As usual, I was the last one to complete our training for the evening – 950 meters. But this time everyone was LONG gone by the time I finished. I was so frustrated and began to feel like maybe I really can’t do this! Maybe there’s something about me that makes swimming just plain impossible.

I’m not sure where to go with this or what methods I need to employ in order to overcome the swimming monster. I knew swimming would be a challenge, but I didn’t expect this much of a struggle. But it is the struggle that makes this all worth doing and makes our endeavor worth supporting.

I guess I will just keep swimming. And gasping. And sputtering.  


-- JAM

Whatever happened to date night?

When Dan and I had a free evening we would often ask each other, “What restaurant should we go to tonight?” That has changed. Now the question is, “Which gym should we go to?”

Once we arrived at our destination for a date night, the question used to be, “Should we order steak or fish? Or maybe pasta?” Now we ask, “Shall we swim tonight or cycle? Or maybe just run?”

So here is my typical training week these days:

Monday  – Spin class at 5:30 am

Tuesday – Afternoon one hour run outside while my daughter attends acting class

Wednesday – Spin class after work

Thursday – Team swim time in the evening

Friday – Work out with weights during lunchtime or rest day

Saturday – Morning distance run with the team

Sunday – Swimming on our own

Dan and I are still spending lots of time together. And since our gym membership costs the same whether we go or not, we’re actually saving money by skipping the restaurants! Our apologies to all those local, tasty spots we used to support regularly.

-- JAM