Bad Bad Example

I have been a bad example...why? Because I have NOT, I repeat NOT started traning. Last Sunday when I should have been at the Lake running I was in bed watching re-runs of Runs House. Went and had lunch, took Patch to the doggie store and bougth him a cookie and a toy and then we landed back at home. I plopped on the couch and watched TV til it was time to go to bed. *SIGH* Work has been stressful, I will not write about it here but most of you who I talk to on a daily basis know the situation. I think we've come to an agreement and soon that stress won't be one and things will be back to normal. I am turning 30 on Wednesday and I am having issues with that. I am not quite sure why but I am. We are also having doggies issues and instead of coming home to relax we come home to an insane house. I want to run away :o( You'd think that I would want to get out and train because it's kind of a stress relief but no instead I just want to crawl into my bed and sleep til things are back to normal.

This weeks training scheule is pretty much like last weeks except I'm suppose to run 8 miles next Saturday but since it's the holiday weekend and we have a bunch of stuff planned I have a feeling eating will take over working out. GEESH what is wrong with me...boo, hoo!

Sunday Run

I am suppose to start training for the Disneyland Half on Sunday. My plan is to run at Lake Merritt while Rocky teaches Kali. It's about a 3.2 mile run and I'm suppose to do 3 so that works out perfect. I'm gonna head out there around 9ish before it gets to hot.

This week:

Sun - 3miles
Mon - Strength Train
Tues - 3 miles
Wed - REST
Thurs - Track Workout
Fri - REST
Sat - 5 miles

A pretty easy week. Have a great weekend!

Training Time

Well, it's time to start training again. No more excuses. My allergies are much better now and I've sat on my couch long enough. The Disneyland Half Marathon is 2 months and 4 weeks away which means we need to start training this weekend. I am going to be following a more advanced schedule and although I plan to go to Disney and have fun maybe just maybe I'll PR and have my best half marathon time. We'll see. I am doing Disney with a bunch of friends so I think until the Fall Season starts we'll try to train together or train on our own. Kick Off for the Fall Season is July 29th, Olivia and I are Team Captains :o) that should be fun or trouble...haa, haa. I am also considering doing the Pacific Grove Triathlon although I am not sure yet. I am goign to cross train and ride my bike and swim but I think I'll decide on that when it gets closer. It's a week before Disney and I'm not sure if I want to do all that 7 days apart. If I don't do Pac Grove the I may do the Treasure Island Tri which isn't til November. I am looking forward to getting back to training, I've been eating way too much :o(

Going to see Brenda

Today after work Olivia and I are going to see Brenda. I can't wait to see her. I've talked to her several times today and she sounds so much better than she did Tuesday morning. She's had an icky headache again from a spinal tap she had done last night but other than that she seems to be doing okay. I am going to pick up her son Jarrett on my way there, he really wants to see his mommy. He's such a cutie :o) and it sounds like he's looking forward to the ride to SF in my Mustang...hee, hee. Tomorrow night Olivia and I have doggie walking duty so I think we are going to take Patch and take all the doggies to the park and wear them out.

Jarrett at the Coached Run last Saturday

This weekend will be a little hectic once again. Rocky, Phil and a few other friends are doign the Tri 4 Fun in Pleasanton. Olivia and I are going to go out and cheer for them. Rocky and Phil are dedicating their race to Brenda. I met Brenda exactly one year ago at the Tri 4 Fun. I was out there supporting Rocky and Brenda was there supporting one of the nurses that had take care of her while in the hospital. I had never met Brenda but had heard lots about her. I had my TNT sweatshirt on and she asked what team I was on and who I was there to see at T4F. I knew exactly who she was right away. The rest is history and we are now friends. She has not only touched my life but the life of many many people and we can't wait til she is all recovered and back out on the trails, pool or bike with us.

Brenda Update

I just spoke to Brenda and she was pretty groggy :o( she was trying to eat some breakfast as well. Her chemo was started last night around 11pm so the icky medicine to kill the icky Leukemia is now in her system. She said that other than some headaches from some of the medicines and her arm hurting from where her line is she is feeling okay. She is just amazed at how much LOVE she is feeling from the TNT Family. She has gotten so many emails and phone calls in the last few days. I will probably stop for a quick visit tomorrow while I am in SF and Olivia and I plan on going there on Thursday evening as well. Here is the latest blog entery from her myspace blog:

Hi my lovely family, friends, supporters, teammates, interneters:

I'm now blogging, watching Seinfeld, getting chemo,waiting for vicodin to kick in, writing in my journal, talking on phone and being blanketed with love. (TNT angels brought me a lovely blanket along with other amazing gifts tonite..thank u...thank u 100,000,000,000 times).

Actually, the pharmacy is mixing up the chemo now as I sit here in bed and wait for it to kill that nasty Leukemia. Docs today told me there was 20% Leukemia in the marrow.

Here is my plan:
6 days of chemo and 22 days of recovery
Hair falls out in 2 weeks or so (I just got a cut and color - copper brown)
Target discharge date: 7/10/06
Home for one month to rest
If donor found, back for allogeneic transplant. (Donor will be found)
Home to recover
Train with Team and smile ASAP

Sounds easy, eh?

All I can say tonite is that I feel the love pouring through my hospital walls and out of from the ceiling. It feels magical. Mostly, I feel completely overwhelmed and foggy. Hard to process emotions and believe that I really am doing this.

The best part of today (yes there was a best part) was when I went to get an electrocardiogram to make sure my heart was strong enough to accept the chemo.

After moving her sonogram wand around my chest for a couple of minutes, the tech said, "This is the prettiest heart I've seen all day." (Wonder if she says this to everyone) It made me feel good.

And, oh yeah, when Mom and Dad took me to get admitted to hospital today the admittance employee sang us a couple of Peter, Paul and Mary songs at his desk. Cute - I think.

CANCER SUCKS!!!

Update Monday, June 12 10:00am

Well I got to see Brenda this weekend. If you've read her blog you know that she was sent back home on Friday. We were all shocked especially when she told us it was because the hospital didn't have all it's ducks in a row. She was sent home and told to enjoy her weekend. Very strange but because Brenda is so full of life she tried to enjoy it as much as she could. On Saturday she came out to Danville to the run teams coached run. She brought her husband and kids and WOW did she feel the love. Not only was the team out there but quite few Alumni stopped by to support her. It was awesome to see once again just how awesome our run team family is. Over $1000 was donated by everyone so that a goodies could be bought for Brenda to enjoy while she is in the hospital. As Brenda says "she has ADD" and needs to keep busy so that money will go to things to keep her busy and entertained while she is in treatment. Lots and lots of good wishes were sent to her on 3 big posters that will be hung in her room. It was amazing to see how everyone has come together to help in anyway they can. I think at some point I'll be doing some doggie walking for her doggies. I'm sure Patch will enjoy it too since he'll have his buddy to play with. Her parents have also come in from Chicago and they will be at the hospital with her until Saturday the 17th. She will be sending her kids to Idaho for the summer so that they can still have a good summer and not have to spend it at the hospital watching thier mom be sick.

If all goes well Brenda will be admitted today into UCSF. I will keep posting on here as I find out more info. I know many of you would like to visit her. She will have internet access so feel free to send her an email and some virutal hugs and love.

Update 2:51
Brenda is at home right now packing and getting ready to go back to UCSF, she will be admitted at 5pm and start her first round of Chemo right away.

This is an update that our Run Team Manager just sent to us:
Hi again.

I just spoke with Brenda and she is desperately in need of a bone marrow donor. She has NO match right now.

If you aren't already in the national bone marrow donation registry - you can join TODAY! Go to: http://marrow.org/HELP/join_the_registry.html for more details. TNT will have a bone marrow drive at our Summer Cause For Celebration, but that is about 8 weeks away from now. It can cost anywhere from $52 to $100 to join now - but what if you are the match for Brenda? Think about that if you are pondering the cost.

Please pass this on to your family and friends as well - the more people we have in the registry, the more lives we will help save.

Thanks, Monica


Update 1:20pm

She will be at UCSF starting today. They will be starting her first Chemo treatment today at 5pm. Brenda will be spending the next 3 weeks there. She knows we all love her and support her. She is carrying that with her.

Brenda's biggest concern is not for herself but for her family. All of their family is in Chicago so they just have us here.

She would love to get emails from everyone so let's get the ball rolling and make those t1 lines smoke!

Most of all, Pray!

from J.H.

I just got the most horrible and sad news. My friend Brenda Donato has relapsed. She had a bone marrow biopsy a few days ago and she got the results today. We are all very very sad. Brenda is an amazing woman so full of life and love. She (well no one) doesn't deserve this. She has to amazing little kids and a husband. Please keep them in your toughts and prayers. I do not have much details to share as I just got the phone call from her. She did say though that she needs a donor. So if you aren't a registered bone marrow donor...think about doing it. You could save Brenda's life or someone else's.




This is the bio I had of her when I first shared here story with you:

In January 2005, I began to feel very exhausted and weak, but continued on with my normal routine as a working mom with two boys ages 8 and 4. One day, I became so weak I could hardly walk up the stairs without my heart racing. I was diagnosed with AML on February 11, 2005 at the age of 34.With the overwhelming support of my family, friends and community I have gained the strength and courage to fight this disease with all my will. On June 30, 2005, I received a stem cell transplant at UCSF Medical Center after three rounds of high dose chemotherapy.Today, I am in remission and await routine checkups. I am enjoying more energy now than I have had in almost a year and recovering on schedule.I love to run, bike, swim, hike and everything fitness. Can’t wait to get started again soon.

New York HERE I COME :o)

I got into the New York City Marathon...woohoo. The only way to get into the New York City Marathon is to enter a lottery. This year they had over 90,000 people enter and I got picked. I am so excited. I will not be running the race this year though, I am going to wait until 2007. Because I got in this year I have a guaranteed entry to next years race. I still have to pay the fee this year and next year but it'll be worth it. I can't wait. There were a few of us who signed up for the lottery but only 2 of us got in :o( boo, hoo. We are hoping though that the rest get in next year so that we can all train and do the race together.

The ING New York City Marathon The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world's great road races, drawing more than 85,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the more than $500,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and 260 million worldwide television viewers. As any one of the 672,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime.

History of the ING New York City Marathon
Around the world, the word “marathon” is synonymous with New York City. Before the New York race began, marathons were modest events attended and run by a few athletes and sports fans interested in the limits of human endurance. New York Road Runners and marathon co-founder Fred Lebow changed that. Today marathons are huge media events that take over entire cities around the globe. None is as prominent or overpowering as the ING New York City Marathon, but all are modeled on it. Modern marathoning owes its start—and its world-class status—to New York.

The first New York City Marathon, though, was a humble affair. In 1970, 127 runners paid the $1 entry fee to NYRR to participate in a 26.2-mile race that looped several times within Central Park. Fifty-five runners crossed the finish line.

When Lebow redrew the course through all five New York boroughs six years later, not many could appreciate his vision. But 2,090 runners lined up at the start for the chance to run through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The expanded course attracted two-time Olympic marathon medalist Frank Shorter, along with reporters and television cameras. Thousands of spectators lined the streets and cheered the runners. By reconfiguring the course, Lebow had drawn the city together and attracted recognition around the world.
The New York City Marathon’s unique mix of athletics, neighborhood spirit, and international media attention soon attracted the world’s best runners to the annual fall race. By the late 1970s, the running boom was exploding and New York was at the center. More than 9,000 people participated in 1978 when Norwegian Grete Waitz set a women’s world marathon record, finishing in 2:32:30.

Several men’s and women’s records fell in the early years, but the New York race was soon about more than speed. When international sanctions against South African athletes were lifted in 1992, Willie Mtolo chose to run New York. He bested the field and was granted media coverage around the world. When Tegla Loroupe broke the tape at the Central Park finish in 1994, her win proved that African women were on par with the African men in their ability to run the 26.2-mile distance. She did it in New York, and the world took notice. Soon Kenyan women were invited to distance races in scores of other cities.

In 2000, NYRR added an official wheelchair division to the marathon. Now the ING New York City Marathon has grown to become one of the most competitive wheelchair marathons anywhere in the world, with more than 140 wheelchair and handcycle athletes. In addition, a wide variety of ambulatory athletes with disabilities participate.

While the marathon has always been an exercise in community spirit, with more than two million New Yorkers lining the streets to support the runners, that aspect of the race was most apparent in November 2001. Less than two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the New York City Marathon became a race of hope and renewal for participants, spectators, and all New Yorkers, and patriotism ran high as the marathon hosted the men’s and women’s USA Marathon Championships.

New York has continued to lead in race management. In 2002, NYRR created a separate start for the professional women as a way to highlight the most competitive women’s field in race history. The leading women continue to start 35 minutes before the men and the rest of the field.

In 2003, ING became the title sponsor of the race and joined with NYRR to initiate grassroots running and fitness programs among the city’s youth. The ING Run for Something Better has contributed over half a million dollars to the City Parks Foundation and to the New York Road Runners Foundation Running Partners program, which together put running-based health and fitness programs in city parks and schools year round.

Thirty-six years after its start, the ING New York City Marathon continues to grow in size and to be the leader among marathons around the world. In 2005, 36,856 people crossed the finish line, making it the largest marathon of all time. Also in 2005, a record 87,625 people worldwide applied to run.

The ING New York City Marathon continues to evolve and serves as an example to marathon organizations the world over.

Escape from Alcatraz

This weekend is the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, anyone doing it is crazy if you ask me. Okay, crazier than us who do both marathons and triathlons. I don't think I could ever bring myself to hop on a boat, get taken out to the middle of the bay and then jump off that boat and swim to shore. I admire those who are brave enough to do it. We'll be going out there on Sunday to cheer on those crazy people which happen to inlcude Helen, one of my mentees, and a few other teammates. It looks like the weather is going to be nice for them so it should be a fun day. I emailed with my mentee this mornig and she said she's going through days of calm and then days of nervousness, nausesness and worry. There is a 1 hour cutoff time on the swim and she isn't quite sure that she'll make it which means she'll be taken out of the water and brought back on a boat :o( never fun. But she is (I am too) very proud of herself for even considering doing this and just getting on that boat on Sunday is a huge accomplishment.

GOOD LUCK to everyone!