Summer Fun... (Yes, Sheldon, that is Sarcasm)

Sometimes you set yourself up to meet expectations.  I certainly did today!

I left the house just after 7, I know, late for a longish run, I was figuring there would still be decent shade on the way back and I'd be home 9:30 at the latest, 11 miles.  I have no doubts in my mind I can run the 11, can I run it at my usual 5 mile pace, now? Ha, hardly.  Eventually, with work, yes.

Doesn't look THAT bad...

By the end of the first mile, just on Mechanic Street, starting to really sweat, oh this is not going to be good, why isn't CC O'Brien's open? Well at least no one tried to kill me in the crosswalk, so I've that going for me!

Slogging on, there was shade and I did feel pretty good, albeit a little tired (went to bed late, maybe should have only had one beer, not three) and when I was done with this run the rest of the day would be mine and it wouldn't even be 10 a.m. how cool was that?

If it hadn't been for the family walking 3 abreast along Greenhaven I wouldn't have, or is it of, done the out and back on Riverside Drive.  Why?  Who knows, I musta not wanted to pass them? This gets me to about 5 miles and I had reconciled myself to 'finishing up this shit show at the beach tonight' ok so I'm a little hard on myself.  I debated the 2 mile out and back on Stewart, it is shady Beth, and there might be a breeze, you will get to see Ernesto (the steer, a friends son has one named Ernesto so now all steers are named Ernesto, it works in my mind ok?)  no dice, even the road bikers racing up Greenhaven didn't  motivate me to make that left turn.  I waited for them to pass and took the right onto Mary Hall and just as I was back on River Road, maybe a 1/10th of a mile past Mary Hall, there were the road bikers.  Woosh, Woosh, Woosh....

Between miles 8 and 9 were bargaining, walk the shade run the sun, run the sun walk the shade eventually turning into run a song walk a song and why the heck do I NOT have In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Iron Butterfly) on this iPod?  THAT would be the PERFECT walking song.  Then again, what if it came up as the running song?  Hmmm....

Through the shady Wilcox Park and stop and wait for the WALK

Ok, so it wasn't snowing, but makes you feel a little cooler, no?
Image horked from:  http://www.dennisflood.com/photos/2006/750/snowy_crosswalk_signal_2666.jpg

And I ran (ok it was more like a fast walk) up the hill to home.  I'm a glutton for punishment that way...

Nothing ever felt so good as the cool vestibule.  In reality this is one of the hotter 'rooms' in the house, what with the sun beating in on the front porch and all.  To me it was delightful.  Then I went into the three rooms we have Air Conditioned.  So happy Hubb and I wrestled that thing into place last night. Remember the signs that used to be above the doors of shops that had air conditioning?

Yep, these!

It was bliss.  I yanked the frozen towel from the freezer and stuck it under one pit then the other, nice, cool and refreshing.  Grabbed some water and did a little walk up and down the block with my frozen towel, ah.

Oh and here are the gory details, and thanks Strava, no achievements on this run, really? I think the achievement is:  I didn't die.  Right JoAnn?



Sincerely,
Beth, concerned that it isn't even 90 and I'm melting... this truly is sad.

Camire's Firecracker Four Miler - Recap

To those of you who made it through my tome of July 3, 2013, congratulations, and thank you!

Special thanks to John for his comment before this a.m.s race that I write nearly as well as JB.  Truly a compliment.  I enjoy Muddy's's style and humor. And NO to your last blog post, you should not have backed off on PT and core strengthening.  Have to admit when I don't hit my minimum of 3x per week on mine I wonder if you are keeping up on yours. 

Today's race was a four miler for the fourth, the 20th year and last year of the race.  It was an out and back lollipop.  I really do like these kind of races. Why? to see who is going to be the front runner...   Matty P in this case. Nicole was clear this was going to be our regular Thursday run.  Awesome, a nice 10:30 pace.  Crutch gave me the low down that this is a deceiving course, even though they are rolling hills (relentless is more like it, but not steep, just never ending) there is a gradual down hill for the first two miles then it is up hill till the finish don't start out too fast.  We are clear this is an out and back, right? So the down hill becomes an uphill.

Best race shirt EVER!

First mile (10:26) - Nicole and I caught up on her camping trip and I told the story of Hubb and my first camping trip, as a couple.  It involved a tornado, monsoon rains, the tent taking flight, and a trip to the emergency room.  We've camped since and even married him, not being one to shy away from adventure.  Fortunately Nicole's first camping trip was not as exciting.

Second mile (10:56) - And we spied Matty P and several other people we know, Justin, Jeff, Mike, John, Peter, Claire, Matthew, Allison, Jackie clapped and cheered them on!  Great job!!!  This always makes me want to speed up but I remembered, pace yourself. 

Third mile (10:56) - Nicole said "go on, I need to walk"  so this is where you wonder if the rule of threes apply.  No, she was serious.  Immediately each of us regretted our decision.  She kept me in her sights for a while and ran with another runner, Wayne who has run over 900 races!  Holy Cow!  I forged on.

Fourth mile (9:50) - There we go, one mile left and just go Beth, go.  The sun was starting to come out, the breeze was gone (as pitiful as it was when it was there it was very welcome) the humidity seemed to be spiking.  So very grateful for the people out with hoses.  Finally, I saw that damn finish line.  I swear that is THE longest part of the race and that finish line keeps inching forward DARING you to cross it!

42:10  (10:33 pace)  I'm happy with my time.  And I had negative splits.  While I still wanted to die the last mile, it wasn't as hard as it could have been!

See slowly down then slowly back up with some 'rolling' hills

Nicole, Jackie, and I had some breakfast and great conversation!  

Happy fresh faces from 1) being done and 2) endorphins!

Hubb was just getting back from his bike ride when I got home.  He got home first, so he gets the shower first and decided to torture me by fiddle farting around.  Thanks hon.  Well I did need to stretch.  My hip is tight from my SI joint alignment issues and I can feel the numbness down my left thigh.  Ugh, I only took a week off from the PT exercises well that and two 12 hour days driving and a bed I'm not used to didn't help.  I know I can't right it in a matter of days, slow and steady.  I did what I needed to do and things feel better for it.  The dogs helped, of course.

As we don't have AC or any parties to go to Hubb decided a matinee fit the bill for the afternoon.  Yeah!!  Despicable Me 2, HYSTERICAL and Hubb commented they perfectly captured what I looked like in the a.m.  Awwww what a guy, puffy heart!

Not the guy on the left...
Horked from:  http://cdn.morefm.co.nz/morefm/AM/2013/6/14/7606/despicable-me-2-evil-minion.jpg

Happy Fourth of July to everyone!  Hope your races or runs went well!

Sincerely,

Beth Thankful to live in the home of the free because of the brave

Wordless Wednesday This is Not!

Today’s lunch was a short run.  It was 78 degrees F, with 87% humidity, and the sun magically appeared oh yeah… 

Taken at 11:45 a.m.

Even the downhill back to the site was a slog.  I really need to start getting up early and running before work.  I got back to my desk, we sit in open plan, and there are three of us facing inwards at each other.  Number One Smart Guy (#1SG) got back from his lunch about 30 minutes later, he took one look at my still pink face, which is NEVER pink, and said, rather tentatively, “How was the run?”  I said “Hot”  #1SG looking a little concerned “You are the color of your shirt (it was pink).”  I said “You aren't going to buy it being a little sun burn?”  #1SG “Um, no. You never come back from a run looking anything other than more relaxed than when you left.”   3.3 miles I really really needed to run.  It had been since Saturday I laced up. 

The only running I got in on Tuesday night were errands. (Monday I spent all day in the car) God love the hubb (the capturer of bats) he managed to buy salad and veggies while I was gone for 4 days, so he didn't starve or live on Pop Tarts (I think he relishes my time away so he can go buy and devour a family size of Strawberry Pop Tarts, I’m sure we all do these things when the spouse/partner is away, admit it).  Anyhoodles, we were out of beer, cottage cheese, and oranges.  The latter two being my breakfast and probably the MORE important things on the list, however I put them in alphabetical order so one didn't appear more important than the other.   

Tomorrow is a local 4^th of July Race,  Camier’s Firecracker Four Miler.  I hemmed and hawed about signing up, did I really want to do this? Nicole posted she was.  I took the bait; she knew I would.    We usually run together on Thursday so it seems logical.  I hope she doesn't want to race this.

Not the logo but I thought this was cute

Marine Corps Marathon training kicked off on the 24^th.  It is not going as stellar as last year.  Fortunately it is 17 weeks out and I have another chance this weekend to redeem myself with a long run and I have the Jamestown ½ on the 13th.  I know myself well enough that I scheduled a few ½s and other distance races during training to keep me motivated and check in with different clothing or accessories as well run a double or two. 

I’m a little over the fuel belt option and I really liked the back pack hydration I used for the Ice Age 50.  Thing is all the names on the back of my race jersey won’t be visible so I need to figure a different option.  NOT carrying water isn’t really one of them.  It is a security blanket to me, plain and simple.  Although the bottles are MUCH easier to refill and there was water damn near every mile on the MCM course last year.  I may try one of the half’s without carrying water and see how it goes.    I did get aFlip Belt and used that on my run in MI and found that a water bottle fit nicely in there along with my iPhone so I may consider that as an option.  Then again, plenty of people run marathons without carrying water.  Obsess much, there Beth?

Names on your race jersey. Anyone get stuck on that part?   I run with the Lung Cancer Alliance’s Team Lung Love (TLL).  They formed about 4 years ago as an idea Julia, who lost her mother to Lung Cancer and had been actively involved with Team in Training, had an idea to form an endurance sports training program that raises awareness and funds for the fight against lung cancer. She approached the Lung Cancer Alliance with her idea to raise funds and awareness said they said sure let’s see how it works.  Well it has!   This is what the Lung Cancer Alliance does with the funding they raise through TLL and other events:  

As part of my fund raising, I collect names in honor of and in memory of for my race jersey.  It is very powerful to see all these names.  

We lost Ann Visloky in March of this year, RIP Ann

Lung Cancer is the number one cancer killer, 158K people yearly.  It is second leading cause of death (heart disease is #1 with nearly 600K people yearly).  Lung Cancer kills more than colon (52K) breast (41K), pancreatic (35K), and prostate (36K) cancers combine.  One more statistic, bear with me, data junkie here.  Of the probable 220K people diagnosed with lung cancer 50% will not live more than 1 year.  Of the remaining 110K only 15% (16.5K) will still be alive in 5 years.  Miserable statistics, yes?  To put it in a different perspective, assume all your Facebook friends were diagnosed with Lung Cancer, for me that is 270, 135 will make it the first year, 20 will be around 5 years from now.  I would be hard pressed to pick which 20 FB friends I’d like to have around in 5 years…   I’m still scratching my head how I possibly know 270 people…

So why are the statistics so poor?  Well it gets caught late, very late, after it has spread and people only have months to live.  A college friend of my parents’ had a miserable cough for months and finally went in to get it checked out, Lung Cancer, all over, he was dead in a few months. There isn't the tell tale lump.  There isn't bleeding where there simply should be no bleeding.  The ‘traditional’ signals the body gives off that there is something wrong simply aren't there.  As with most soft tissue cancers, like Pancreatic, the signs just aren't there. And then there is the stigma. 

The stigma; there is a HUGE stigma associated with Lung Cancer.  The first question is the dreaded smoking question. There is a woman in my mom’s cancer support group who completely abandoned her job because she didn't want to face the smoking question. She was so absolutely embarrassed and felt so guilty about her past smoking history she can’t tell anyone what kind of cancer she has, or in some cases that she has cancer.  If the person smoked does that mean they deserved their disease?  What if they quit 20 years prior?  The American Lung Association says that 20 years after quitting your chances of getting Lung Cancer are that of a never smoker.  And well, that doesn't mean your chances as a never smoker are zero.  If you have lungs you can get lung cancer, it is pretty simple.  The statistics are scary, 79% of never (18%)  and non smokers (61%) were diagnosed with Lung Cancer the remaining 21% are current smokers.  Pretty freaking scary isn't it? 

Oh and smoking is the number one risk factor in all cancers.

So why are current smoker diagnosis so low?  Many many people have quit.

Regarding the stigma, a little food for thought.  Would you ask the skin cancer patient if they sunbathed?  Does that mean because they sunbathed they also deserved their disease?  Over the weekend my mom and I talked about cancer.  I asked her that question as well as telling her I put in an application to attend a seminar on Lung Cancer Advocacy hosted by the National Lung Cancer Partnership.  She stopped cold and looked at me and said she had never thought of it that way and why on earth would I want to become a Lung Cancer advocate?  Good question! Well quite simply there aren't enough lung cancer survivors.  See my little statistics ramble a few paragraphs back. There were breast cancer survivors to advocate for themselves bring attention to the disease and make dramatic and drastic changes to the treatments to get breast cancer to a near 100% survival rate.  That and well boobies are cute, lungs, not so much. 

And oh yeah, the question, my mom smoked.  She was 23 years post quitting smoking, nearly to the day she felt the first pain that is the lung cancer tumor on her spine and ribs.    Her doctor didn't even consider cancer let alone lung cancer for this bizarre pain.  It was chalked up to shingles she had a year or so prior.  Not until the lump could be felt did anyone suspect cancer.    I think the torture she put herself through having smoked, and subjecting her children to it (my father also smoked, he quit the year after she did) is enough blame, don’t you?  Yeah, sure there were warnings on the cigarette packages, but youth is, as many know, wasted on the young and it isn't until you hit that 40 mark, when things start to go downhill  exponentially that makes a person realize life is way too short and what can they do to reverse the post 40 exponential aging process. 

And my hubb the bat capturer.  In the wee hours of Tuesday a.m. the lights went on in the bedroom and he said, “Get something flat so I can take this bat outside.”  Apparently yours truly had slept through the whole process of him capturing the bat from the air to the floor in a pair of shorts from the laundry basket.  Rather ingenious, no?  I managed to think straight enough to go downstairs and grab the dust pan from the mud room and he scooped up the bat and we let it outside into the night, where all bats should be.  They are lovely creatures, we prefer them to live outside.

During the day hubb kept hearing a chirping noise, the chirping noise bats make.  Guess there were two and the other one was missing its friend.  He finally located this one and it was snuggled up in the steam radiator.  He used the shop vac to suck it out and then let it free outside.  It was a little stunned what with the daylight and getting sucked into a shop vac, however flew away to find a place to roost until it was actually time to get up.

Alive a little dusty and a little pissed

Sincerely
Beth, looking forward to the Firecracker Four Miler, hoping there are no more bat friends, and glad you stuck with my cancer story till the end.