Writer's Cramp

So...not much time to write a post this evening, as I am busy writing something more important than a silly blog post.  Tonight after swimming for an hour practice with my teammates, I finally had "Christmas" and opened all of those envelopes pictured in my last post, so I am writing thank yous to a lot of my family and friends whose gifts will make a big difference in the lives of millions living with blood cancers.

Many THANKS to:

Megan Blackmon

Becky Bollen

Dale and Brenda Weaver

Steve and Denise Cruse

Chuck Stanbery

Pap and Nana Noll

Mike and Carol Hubler

Eric and Tanya Weaver

Clete and Diane Weaver

Paul and Eunice Sensenig

Gil Hirschel

Moffett Dental Center

Timothy and Bonnie Ritter

Barb Noll

Justin Challenger

Simply, thank you.

SWEET....!!!

Are one of these yours?  I have been collecting them for the last few weeks....and have yet to open one!  So, I think over the weekend I am going to have my own little "Christmas" (see - one even has a Christmas stamp on it!) and open all of them and get my first batch of donations submitted.  I am SO EXCITED to see how close I will be to my goal after opening them, and including on-line donations.  As always, you can view my progress here (and donate on-line as well), but keep in mind there is a little bit of a lag time for the checks I receive to be included in the count (since I need to send them in batches for them to be processed).

So, in between some chilly runs, I've been "swimming, swimming, in a swimming pool" (does anyone else sing that in their head, or is it just a 4-H Camp Shehaqua thing?...and points to the first person to "sing" the next line in the comments section).  And, like clockwork, about a day after swimming, I would get a splitting headache on the "knob" of my lower head right behind my left ear that would get much worse when laying down, and waking up was the worst!  In about two-three days it would go away, but then I would hit the pool again and the cycle continued.  I've never had an ear infection, but after Googling, I was convinced that was my issue, but I couldn't figure out why I didn't have a fever or any discharge from my ear.  This Monday, the pain was so intense I couldn't even hold my head straight (I felt like a rabbit with wry neck, and if you don't know what that is, then Google it!).  I had off of work for President's Day, but the day was filled with business appointments with a lawyer and the tax accountant.  In between appointments, on a whim I asked Bryan if we could swing by the doctor's office to see they could fit me in, and if not, I was going to the Med Express that night (that should tell you how bad the pain was).  Luckily, they were able to get me in...and it turns out, no ear infection.  The doctor wasn't positive what was going on, but she decided that perhaps it was muscular (from turning my head to breath while swimming), and gave me an anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxer - - yes, I felt extremely stupid, and I will definitely think twice the next time I "think" I should go to the doctor. I swam Tuesday night, and have been taking the meds as prescribed since Monday, and so far, no pain!  Tonight's swim, however, will be the real test, as Matt, Brian, Dave and I swam at Cedar Crest...and we swam HARD (well, for me at least it was hard) for an hour.  I have to really thank Matt and Brian for pushing me, even when at one point I didn't think I could go another lap in a row.  Brian also noticed that I still have a tendency to pick my head up out of the water when I breath, so that odd movement may have also been contributing to my pain!  Another thing I need to work on is pointing my toes when I kick (I seem to go somewhere between horizontal and vertical while swimming, and pointing my toes will help to keep my butt up, and therefore become more horizontal...and more aerodynamic)...and also trying to breath on my right side.  On Saturday, all of Central PA TNT's Tri teammates and coaches will get together at Messiah for a Swim Clinic - I'm a little apprehensive about that, as I hear Coach Bob is going to "rip our arms off".

So....I guess now I can release my SWEET announcement!  Doesn't the below picture look absolutely delectable?  Well, on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, you can get your own frozen yogurt creation at the Sweet Frog in Mechanicsburg (on the Carlisle Pike in with Petco, Target, Panera, etc.) and support THE LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA SOCIETY!  From 5:00pm-9:00pm on March 12th, all you need to do is mention "Team in Training" or "The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society" and 10% of your receipt will go towards my fundraising!  There will also be a box available for additional donations.  Isn't that AWESOME?!  So, mark that on your calendars, tell all your friends, and bring your entire family in for dinner (yes, I said dinner...because I've been known to have frozen yogurt as meals...and besides, I tend to go with the tart yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola as my favorite creation, which, if you ask me, is quite a healthy meal).

So much to write about!

Whew - there is so many exciting things to write in this post I get exhausted just thinking about it!

Apparently my fundraising letters made it to their destinations because I need to start this post by thanking two very important people who have the honor of being the first to join with me in making a difference by helping to accelerate cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.  As soon as I got to work this morning, my friend and co-worker, Justin, gave me an envelope which contained help to bring hope to the patients and families who are on the front lines of the battle against blood-related cancers.  Later on in the day, my phone buzzed with the sweet sound of an incoming e-mail with "Team in Training Donation Notification" in the subject line alerting me to the fact someone had just donated on-line, quickly and securely, via my fundraising web-page; my Aunt Barb is once again joining with me on this journey, as she also supported my efforts as I was training for the 2011 San Diego Marathon as a member of Team in Training (and, if I remember correctly, was one of the first to do so then as well).  THANK YOU Aunt Barb and Justin!

In addition to donating on-line  or via check, I am very excited to announce another opportunity for you to support my efforts with Team in Training.  Hearts Design at Needful Things is a local business "back home" that I frequented while living in Perry County who specializes in antiques, gifts, and custom embroidery.  Hearts Design at Needful Things has generously agreed to donate 10% of your purchase towards my fundraising goal!!!  To take advantage of this awesome opportunity, you simply need to present a card at checkout, or, if you choose to shop on-line via the above link, simply mention that you have a card for my fundraising in the comments section (you can use the word "run")....the only slight hangup is the cards are on a .pdf file, and I can't figure out how to upload it to my blog - boo!  So, if you e-mail me, send me a message via Facebook, the comments below, text, smoke signal, etc., I will make sure you get the card(s) - you can then pass them out to all of your friends, too, to use over and over and over again!  I can't stress how much I loved stopping in at Needful Things and I never failed to leave without finding something that matched my home decor perfectly  - in fact, I may need to take a special trip to good 'ol PeCo here soon to find some things for my "new" old farmhouse!  And for those of you who Shermansdale isn't exactly local to, I still think it would be worth a special trip to 5800 Spring Road Shermansdale, PA!

Before I leave the topic of fundraising for the evening, I would like to mention that if you would like me to swim/bike/run in honor or memory of one of your loved ones who have been personally touched by any type of cancer which affects the bone marrow, blood cells, lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system, please let me know and I will add them to those who I am personally training for.  Sometimes when I get caught up in the training part of all of this, and I hurt and complain, all it takes is for me to re-focus my thoughts and prayers to the individuals who are the primary reason my teammates and I are embarking on this adventure, and I gain a special boost of inspiration and motivation.

This past Saturday, I joined my Central PA TNT triathalon teammates from the "Lancaster Team" for a run on the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.  Previously, I was part of the "Harrisburg Team", but since moving to Lebanon, the Lancaster Team is much closer for me to train with - especially considering the LVRT is practically my backyard and is where I've done almost all of my running while I was training for the Hershey Half-Marathon which I completed this past October.  A lot of those I've met so far who I will be training with are from the Lebanon/Palmyra/Annville area, and it is always nice to meet new people after moving to a somewhat unfamiliar area.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a morning person, especially not on Saturdays, and I tend to run slightly behind for early morning activities.  I quickly learned on Saturday, however, that my coach and teammates certainly start on time, as I arrived at the Corwall LVRT parking lot at 9:04am with no one to be found!  Instead of heading towards Mt. Gretna, which is my usual route when starting at Cornwall, some others in the parking lot indicated that a group of runners had just left heading towards Lebanon.  I wasn't quite sure how far the team was planning on going for the first "official" training run of the season, but I figured two miles would be a good start for me if I didn't happen to catch up to them.  I haven't really ran since mid-November when I ran the Give Thanks for Lebanon 10K with Mandy and Megan, two friends from work (I still could kick myself for not getting pictures of us that day, especially since Mandy ran her first race ever that day!), and coupled with that, I took a nasty spill while going down steps moving boxes out of our old house about a month ago which resulted in a sprained ankle that I am still fighting with.  It was so cold, and with every somewhat-painful step, I was more determined than ever that two miles was just fine, especially if I would be running alone...until I caught up to Matt (the Lancaster Triathlon coach) and another teammate right about the time my Garmin GPS watch ran out of battery life - which meant now I would have NO CLUE as to how far I was running! (I have come to rely too heavily on that watch, and if it runs out of battery or doesn't have enough battery life at the beginning of a run, I am done...I just can't go...which is pretty sad when I think about it!)  Matt mentioned that a particular bridge up ahead was about 1.5 miles from the parking lot, so at that point I figured I'd rather know about how far I went more than anything, and so that knowledge alone led me to end up running 3 miles.

Training for a triathlon is something completely new and different to me, and rather than just run, run, run, I figured there are other activities I can do on evenings we don't get together as a team, especially until it warms up a bit.  On Monday, after a day of indulging with the SuperBowl as an excuse, my husband, Bryan, and I decided to attempt CardioX (part of P90X - I'd love to do the whole program, but while I'm training, I think I will just use certain of the DVDs here and there to supplement my swimming, biking and running).  For the most part, I could keep up with the exercises....however Bryan couldn't.  Bryan's reason?  He was too busy watching me and laughing, especially when it came to the punching/kicking combos.  I do have to admit, Tuesday morning I was a bit sore, so I allowed that evening to be a day of "rest".  Wednesday evening after work I headed out for an alleged 4 mile run/walk on the snow-covered Stony Valley Rail Trail.

Last evening, we got together as a team at Cedar Crest High School (it is so different to actually have things close to where I live - one advantage to not living in PeCo, I suppose) to swim.  I haven't actually swam since I can't remember when - probably since my days of teaching swimming lessons (translation: teaching kindergartners how to float) at the New Bloomfield pool.  This swimming thing is a whole new ballgame to me, and is the biggest source of anxiety for me knowing that in three months I will need to swim, in open water where I can't touch bottom, for almost a mile.  After doing one down and back lap in the pool (one pool length is 25 yards, I believe), I was completely out of breath which I just couldn't understand since I felt for the most part I am in decent shape cardio-wise...but apparently that doesn't matter with swimming, especially if you have poor technique (which I apparently did).  Last night, two people with a lot of patience and some great explanations on how to improve my swimming helped me tremendously get off to a good start with my swimming.  One was our coach, Matt, and the second was his brother, Brian.  Both Matt and Brian are Team in Training alumni.  Brian, who is training for the Got the Nerve? Triathlon in Mt. Gretna is also an Honored Teammate as he is one of the estimated 502,943 individuals who have, or are in remission from, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).  As I don't know many specifics of his story, he was diagnosed in 2005 with Stage 4 Primary Mediastinal Large B Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  The five-year survival rate for NHL patients rose from 31% between 1960 and 1963, to 69.5% between 2001 and 2007...and today, with the use of a drug developed, in part, with funds raised through Team in Training, Brian continues to personally help us to understand the importance of finding a cure by serving as an inspiration while training and fundraising.  It is stories that belong to faces and hearts, like Brian's, that keep us all training to help find a cure.