Getting myself out the door

As a working parent, my life can get a bit time constrained. Add that to the fact that I HATE BEING LATE, I've got a nice set up for brilliant excuses for not running or getting to a yoga class or doing my core workout, especially during the week.

I've also got a nice set up for getting hurt again.

One of the great pieces of advice from Jack Fulz in our #DFMC25 training guide was to sit down with our plan each week or so and really look at what was working and what wasn't and adjust accordingly. So after realizing my long runs for the last two weeks were longer than the total mileage for the rest of the week and that my hip wasn't ever "feeling better" it was time to revisit and refocus things.

First goal: return to getting 4 "run" workouts in a week.
One thing I have found this year is that the first run of my week after the long run on the weekend is one that I avoid doing on the road, so I've made it officially an inside workout: 5-6 miles on the elliptical and preferably in the morning. Get her done! Those following me on Twitter know this week the am workout did not happen, then the run didn't happen, but the workout still happened, just at 8pm. Never again. Morning it will be.

Second goal: yoga, yoga, yoga. I am not a weightlifter, hate doing my core, detest the "pre-rehab" that I know I should be doing, but get me into a yoga class and I feel like all of that is taken care of, along with my mind too. Finding classes though, that didn't again require me to arrange for kid care or a crazed morning routine was getting hard at my favorite studios, so I bit the bullet and bought the semester fitness card so I could catch classes at work. Even so, it's SOOOO hard for me to kick myself out of the office mid-day even for something I know will make both my body feel better and likely get my head back into gear for a good afternoon's work. I have 3 classes identified: made one this week. A step in the right direction, but 2-3 classes would be even better….and allow this old lady's poor bones and tendons to survive the miles.

Last, but not least, I've finally admitted that swimming in the winter time is just not my thing. Yes, it's indoors, but I was just not getting to the pool. Ever. So trying a few other things to fill in 2 out of the 3 "non-running" days. This week - skating w/a little hockey moves thrown in today and earlier this week: biking and…drumroll please…10 minutes on the erg! A first for me in over 2 years of dealing with this SI joint misplacement. Will start inching that up over the next few weeks…in hopes that rowgirl will start rowing again, when this #DFMC25 adventure is over.

So 7 "workouts" this week, rather than 4, a body that has recovered better than past weeks, no sore hip, and seems to be ready for next week, rather than dreading it. I think the re-haul might have made some good changes worth keeping.

Now, if I could only get my taxes done. :-)

Why is the DFMC funding so critical?

Last night I got together with a group of Vermont healthcare innovators and it came out that I was training for the DFMC and running the Boston marathon in April. Per usual, folks were pretty excited and supportive, but since this was a group of Vermont innovators, the questions arose: what's the DFMC and what does it fund that's worth running all winter for?

Happily I had an answer that this group understood fully: it's one of the few funding sources that funds initial new experiments in cancer therapeutics or diagnostics. It fills a funding gap that allows a "crazy" idea get traction, get data, and then proceed along the bumpy, long path of drug or diagnostic development.

Now, plenty of folks, I'm sure, hear about that "drug development" path, but unless you are a part of it, I don't think people really understand what it means. Two great resources explaining it, came my way this year and if you have the time, take a look.

The first is not about a cancer drug, but does nicely describe how a set of pre-clinical compounds (yes, haven't even gotten into humans yet) went from an initial basic science discovery of a potential target to finally get in the hands of the clinical trials folks at a large pharma company.

http://cen.acs.org/content/dam/cen/92/3/09203-bus2.pdf

The second is a Thompson Reuters ad for its research and IP databases and how those help guide the folks involved at each step in the drug development pathway for a cancer drug. Yes, an ad, but it really does a good job of showing the numerous steps and work it takes to get from "discovery" to drug.

http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/09/22/video-highlights-the-innovation-lifecycle/

So there you have it.

Now remember that nothing gets into those pathways without enabling those with the initial idea to do those first experiments, gather the first data, see the first results. As the DFMC site says:

"The Barr Program exemplifies the power of philanthropy in propelling completely new lines of research. It plays a pivotal role in the development of early-career scientists who work on a broad range of research investigations in order to yield new clues about cancer. It is also critical for conducting basic research, which is not eligible for federal fundraising until well along in proof of principle. The program enables leading-edge, highly-innovative research up to the point that it may be possible to attract government or private support, allowing Barr Investigators to bring promising studies forward and make major scientific breakthroughs."

This is why I run.

Thanks for any support you can give.
rundfmc.org/2014/rowgirlgoesrunning

January 24th Julie Kelliher Appreciation Day

Last week's mid-week runs were uninspired or avoided and I finally came up against the fact that it was Friday and I had put in 4 miles since Sunday's 10 mile long run.

Not good.

Somehow though Friday morning my body woke me up at 4:30, I wandered downstairs to the ready coffeemaker (thank you wonderful Nate for making coffee every night!) and by 5:30 I was ready to go - still too cold and dark to run, so I headed up the hill to UVM and my friend, the arc trainer, for 5 miles.

Slowly, but surely the fog that had been hanging over me that last week lessened and I watched the sky lighten at 6:40 over Mts. Lincoln and Ellen in the Green Mountains. Say what you will about UVM's sports facilities, their rec fitness center has one of the best views in the world, especially at daybreak.

Then this song came on:
http://youtu.be/fQ3wpjdYMqk

Kind of wish at that point that I was on the road.
So much easier to cry when the wind blows the tears away.

It was good.
It was exactly what I needed.
A "run" and a moment to touch the love they left me.

And later that day I got this email:

Today is Julie Kelliher day!  By virtue of the Official Proclamation made by our esteemed and fearless leader, ACCD Secretary Lawrence Miller, January 24^th is Julie’s day.  So, maybe take a moment, read the attached Proclamation, admire the beautiful images of Julie, her husband Rick and daughter Riley, and reflect on how we live – here and beyond our work.  And how Julie was a shining example of the way we touch so many lives, and that every encounter with another person is an opportunity to impart a measure of goodness.

In Julie’s honor, enjoy the day, as she would have.

So I did.
And may you.
PS - thanks Lawrence....

S T A T E   O F   V E R M O N T

AGENCY OF COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

A   P R O C L A M A T I O N

WHEREAS,    Julie Kelliher on June 21, 2004 was appointed, and has served loyally, faithfully and meritoriously as General Counsel for Vermont’s Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development through January of 2013; and

WHEREAS,    under Julie’s skillful leadership and expert advice, the Department has delivered exceptional service to the people of Vermont across a variety of housing, community development and historic preservation programs, particularly through her steady counsel and oversight provided to the Vermont Community Development Program and the Community Development Board that annually award millions of dollars in grants to municipalities to help strengthen their housing, economic and community development resources and opportunities; and

WHEREAS,    Julie’s passion for her work was evidenced by her tireless dedication to upholding laws, regulations and policies intended to protect the interests of Vermonters, often some of our most vulnerable citizens facing significant threats to their homes from both natural disasters such as flooding, as well as man-made causes such as environmental hazards and inadequate and unfair operation; and

WHEREAS,    the Department and its Division for Historic Preservation are particularly indebted to Julie for her effective counsel provided to the Vermont Downtown Program and the Downtown Development Board on behalf of many of Vermont’s historic downtowns and villages as well as Vermont’s historic sites and resources; and

WHEREAS,    Julie’s service to the people of Vermont has included numerous acts above and beyond the scope of her official duties, including developing guidance documents to help better inform the public and regulated communities on significant legal matters and giving presentations thereon; and

WHEREAS,    Julie brought to the Department her keen mind, her courage to take on all challenges, no matter how great or novel, her engaging personality that impressed and won over many a legislative committee, her Irish passion and humor, and a compassionate ear for anyone in need of wise counsel,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Lawrence Miller, Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community

                                                 Development, exceeding all power and authority of my office, hereby proclaim January 24 as

                                                JULIE KELLIHER APPRECIATION DAY in Vermont.

Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of Vermont this

24th day of January, A.D. 2013.

_____________________________

Lawrence Miller

Secretary

 

Ice Ice #BTV

I'm a little tired of ice. Don't get me wrong, I love to skate, I've played some hockey in my past, and nothing beats you, a frozen river, and the feeling of flying on water.

I ran my first ice run in early December on the bike path when a half inch of fluff decided to thaw and quick freeze into a black ice layer on the untreated pavement. I joked that it was going to be the first of many ice runs this winter, but didn't understand how true this was going to be. #VTIce13 hit later that month and we just can't get rid of the stuff. We have an almost two inch layer in our driveway ice rink and with this cold even good Kahtoola microspikes just skate on the top of any trail, let alone our sidewalks….

I'm a little tired of ice.

Give me snow. Give me cold. Slushy, messy roads. I can deal, I actually thrive in that stuff. Ice though, that's just waiting to snatch me up and land me hard on a hip or a knee.

Hmmm, maybe I should try running in my old hockey pads….

Until then, the arc trainer and elliptical have been my friend during many of these week days and so far, my Sunday long runs have been in the 30's. I've had no problem running through the slush for 10-12 miles, but then it all freezes hard again.

I'm a little tired of ice.

Rowgirl goes running again #DFMC25 #Boston2014

It seems that I've been getting steady traffic to this blog recently, so I'm going to post my #DFMC25 email draft so you can say "I saw it first…" And thanks for any support you can give. 

I hope this finds you and your family doing well. As you may know already, I am a member of the 25^th Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team (#DFMC25), a team of over 700 runners raising money to benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research, which is located at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, MA. Our team goal this year is to raise $5.3 million dollars for the Barr Program and personally, I hope to raise $10,000 while training to run my 2^nd marathon on April 21, 2014 at the 2014 Boston Marathon.

In 2001, I was introduced to the DFMC while rowing at Riverside Boat Club in Cambridge, MA by a rowing friend who arranged to have a group of us rowers row a marathon on the Charles River and raise funds for the DFMC. I rowed all 26.2 miles alone in my single and ended up with one sore butt, but also knew that 100% of the dollars I raised were going to give cancer a kick in the butt too by supporting new and innovative cancer research by gifted and determined scientists at DFCI.

For me, the fight against cancer has always been connected to basic, preclinical research. When my younger brother Brian was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 1993 and receiving treatment in Boston in 94 and 95, I was a student and undergrad/graduate researcher in labs at UNH and Tufts. Now I support the efforts of those researchers to get basic fundamental discoveries through the 10-15 yr clinical translational process from lab bench to bedside. In 1995 I lost Brian - my quiet, funny, incredibly talented and wonderful brother, just shy of his 18^th birthday. Eighteen years later, I still miss him terribly, but am constantly reminded of his joy in what was important: his family and friends, his home town, sports, being outdoors, and keeping a sense of humor, even through tough times. And it was this joy and love that I took to the 2009 Boston Marathon where I ran my first marathon and raised over $10,000 for the DFMC.

This time though, I’m also running for Julie.

When I was 5 months pregnant with our daughter Brynna, our Cilley Hill neighbor introduced me to Julie Kelliher, 6 months pregnant with her daughter, Riley. We connected immediately and as we relayed our stories over the next 4 months, hiking to the outlook behind her house and walking the woods of Underhill, we realized our lives had crossed many, many times prior in NH, at UNH, in Boston, but it took VT and our girls to actually bring us together. Over the next 5 years, Julie was my sounding board on all things – work, parenting, living in VT and often those conversations went on over the dirt roads of Underhill as we ran together. In late 2012, Julie received an initial diagnosis of MS that seemed to explain her increasing fatigue, nausea, and dizziness, but initial treatments didn’t make a dent. In fact, she was getting worse, and a CT scan in January 2013 showed the real culprit, a glioblastoma multiforma (GBM) brain tumor that was inoperable. We lost Julie February 10, 2013 and VT, the world, lost a smart, generous, beautiful soul.

I was achingly sad.

I was incredibly angry.

So I started to run again.

Julie and Brian are just two of the many incredible individuals I have known and know who live or lived with cancer. I know you also have your family, friends, and colleagues living or you have fought a form of this disease yourself. Too many of us find ourselves, our loved ones, confronted with a cancer diagnosis, and while years of study have brought amazing therapies to many types of cancers, there are still more that need their cure brought to light by new research and new therapies. This is what the DFMC team runs for and is why I am again taking on the challenge.

Although there are many incredible efforts out there to support the fight against cancer, the DFMC and the Barr Program are one of a few that support efforts at the basic and very fundamental levels of research. In addition, 100% of any donation you make goes directly to those research efforts, since the Barr Program is fully supported administratively. This means when you give to the DFMC team you are directly funding experiments that could be the foundation of the next chemotherapy, the next diagnostic, and the next therapeutic treatments that we aren’t even aware of yet.

I hope you will join me in supporting innovative research and new understanding of all types of cancer. You can make a donation either at my DFMC webpage or through the mail. Checks should be made out to "Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge" and sent to me at 35 Crombie St, Burlington, VT 05401.

Thank you so much for any amount you can give and for supporting my run and the DFMC team.  In addition, when you make a donation, I will attach a ribbon to my singlet in honor of an individual of your choosing. Their strength and courage will help carry me through the race.

Finally, you can keep track of my training progress on Twitter @rowgirl2012, on Google.com/KerryElizabethSwift and on my blog at http://rowgirlgoesrunning.blogspot.com. I’ll be in touch at least once more before heading to Boston and will make sure you all get a race report after the race. And if you are near the course on the 21st, please come down and cheer the DFMC team on – I’d love to see and hear you!

A Race Schedule

After 7 months of working and not working at repairing an old rowing injury that came back to haunt me last August, I'm finally running pretty pain free again. OK, let me amend that: I'm run/walking pretty pain free, but the running is getting longer, the walking getting shorter, and I'm getting faster....relatively. ;-)

So, it's time to plan the race schedule and I think I've got it set through October.

6/9 Champ Run - Charlotte 10K 
http://www.racevermont.com/champ-run/
6/29 Huntington Race for Sundaes 10K
http://huntingtonrace4sundaes.weebly.com/
7/7 Mad Half  13M
http://www.madmarathon.com/HMRegistration.html
8/10 Irasberg Half 13M
http://www.kingdomrun.org/
9/21 Common to Common 30K 18M
http://www.gmaa.net/schedule.php?raceid=CC2013 18M
10/13 GMAA Half 13M
http://www.gmaa.net/schedule.php?raceid=GMM2013 13M

The July half might be pushing it, but the Mad River Valley is just gorgeous and I've got the 8/10 NEK race to go for if it really doesn't look like the miles are getting up there by June. This is also a test of my head for long miles again - it's been really hard to push past the 6 mile marker on my own, but I'm going to have to. Or at least run with her in my head and my heart. Maybe even fly for a few moments with the sound of her laugh next to me and her smile shining through my tears.

Miss you so much.

Dancing with Cancer

Sitting on the sidelines of cancer, it's so easy to dive into the fight, delve into the science,  figure out the options, but sometimes you just have to step back and look at it as just another path to the end we all face. Even if it's sometimes way, way too early for the rest of us. And just sit with it. Or dance with it as Ezra of Teaching Cancer to Cry says below.

I like that picture. Taking the last few months to dance with cancer and with all the people that make your life so special. To be blessed for a few last months. To be loved. To be strong. To be.

That doesn't mean I can't cry about it tho'. I do. A lot.  Or keep on searching and supporting those looking to make this a bit less of a horrible disease. I do and I will.

For those of you who would like to meet Ezra and his beautiful writing (and bikes!) take a look here:
http://www.teachingcancertocry.com/

Until then a quote from his post of 12/8/12. http://www.teachingcancertocry.com/?m=201212

For quite a while I’ve had something that I’ve wanted to say, or talk about somehow.  I have touched on it in the past but never really taken it head on.
You would all do me an amazing service if you would entertain the notion that the fight metaphor may not be the most helpful one.  Or maybe it’s not as helpful now as it was in earlier stages.  It’s difficult to change the language around something when it is so engrained.  “Fighting cancer..” “died after a long battle with cancer..”  etc.  But this implies that there are winners and losers.  That if we die we have lost.  But we ALL die.  No one makes it out alive.  That shouldn’t make us all losers.  The most pernicious part of the fight metaphor for me is the notion that if someone dies young from cancer they simply didn’t fight hard enough.  That if someone decides to forgo treatment, they have “thrown in the towel.”
I don’t see any grace in the desperate clinging to life that we call fighting in this metaphor.
Maybe instead I’m having a slow dance with a handsome and charming mad man who has made it quite clear that eventually he’ll have to USE the straight razor that he’s holding to my throat.  I believe him.  He doesn’t seem like a guy who lies.  Why he has to cut my throat isn’t clear.  In the mean time, it’s a warm embrace.  I’m holding him, he’s holding me.  He’s whispering the most beautiful and insane shit to me, all wise, all true.  I’m trying to enjoy the dance as much as I can, trying to learn as much as I can, trying to stay present despite the knife at my throat.   And now he’s starting to cry.  You dig?
Don’t get me wrong.  I’m a fighter all right.  I have been from the start.  Walking around barefoot with fists cocked.  But this isn’t a fight.