Ringing in 2011

Ready to ring in the new year?  Already have?  I'm certainly looking forward to it.

It has been a challenging year with recoveries from breast cancer and reconstructive surgeries, significant work issues, and helping the kids navigate "growing up" events.  The successes earned during all that adversity have sparked a new year that is sure to be full of life, health, productivity, and learning.  I'm looking forward to so many exciting things in 2011.

Life

• I am honored to join podcasters and other members of the run net community at the Poco Loco in Boston on April 30, 2011.  We'll meet each other, run the event, and hang out all evening at a pub/restaurant.  It will be great to meet these people who I only know online. 
• My 7th Race for the Cure is on May 14, 2011.  I should be well trained from the Poco Loco!
• After the Poco Loco, I'll spend the rest of the year training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  Although I could never be mistaken for a princess, Becky has convinced me to run this all-women event with her in January 2012.  I've only run the 13.1 mile distance once (2008) so it will not be a walk-in-the-park for me.
• We'll be helping my parents get their retirement house ready by assisting with the construction of a new garage on the house they bought in Ohio.  They plan to move from Nebraska to Ohio in 2012.
• A family vacation will be planned for the summer, possibly to a lake in Canada again.
• As the kids get older and more responsible, Ken and I are able to get away more often to spend quality time, even if just for a few hours.

Health

• No more visits to the plastic surgeon!  I've decided to forego the optional reconstructive steps and will not get the nipple creation or areola tattoo this year.  I just don't think I need them and am worried they would get in the way of comfort/modesty while swimming and wearing braless outfits.
• My physical therapist group (Lymphedema specialists) is moving to a much more convenient location in January and I pledge to use their services more regularly in this new year.

Productivity/Work

• The second week in January, I will welcome a new manager to my team at work.  Welcome, Christina!
• A reorganization of my department has begun and the result will be more people to do what I have been trying to do alone.  We didn't actually get more people, but the work has been reorganized to add business analysts who will make a significant difference in our ability to select the best solutions and get the job done more effectively. 
• I am cautiously optimistic that I'll be hiring the other manager position on my team during the first quarter of the year.  I'm worried the budget shortfalls might cut the funding for that role, though.  I hope not!  The reorganization was designed with that role and doesn't work without it.

Learning

• Once we get the new organizational structure functioning effectively at work, I plan to finally put in the time required to learn about new technologies we can use to further the aspirations of OSU.  I've got a long list of things I need to research.
• Ken, the kids, and I will continue to learn together as we navigate through Valerie's early teenage/Junior High years and Jason's move to Middle School.
• We'll also learn much about basketball and travel baseball since Ken will be assisting Jason's coaches this year.
• I'll continue to learn from my OSU staff, colleagues, and leaders as we strive to simplify our processes and more effectively develop and leverage our talented faculty and staff.
• And I expect I'll figure out that I know less than I thought I knew about some things . . . and more than I gave myself credit for about other things.  That's the joy of continuous learning and challenging myself to be open to discovery in both the new and familiar.

It feels wonderful to toast the successes of 2010 and to move on to the many happy times 2011 will bring.  Cheers! 

From Valerie

Hi everyone!  It's Val.  I'm taking over Mom's blog for this post.  I would just like to start out by saying that this is my first time on a blog and to post something world-wide.  So I hope everyone likes it.

I would like to tell everyone that being an early teen is great, fun, exciting, cool, and amazing.  Sadly, that's not exactly correct.  Sure there are times where those things are true, but other times it's the exact opposite. 

Being 12 and a half, I've had lots of experiences.  One of them being friends.  I've learned that some friends are real, and others give you fake compassion.  Some friends will always be there for you and like you for who you are, others, not so much.  But let me tell you, that even when you get into fight with a friend, try to be the better person and try to make things better.  I have lots of great friends, and we always have each other's backs.  I'm very grateful to have friends like them.

Another experience that I've had is, life with my bro Jason.  Sure we fight sometimes, but we still love each other.  One time when we were real little, I hurt his feelings and wrote a note to him and tapped 4 quarters to it.  We've been getting along alot better in the past couple months.  We're starting to understand each other better.  Even though he can get on my nerves, he's my bro and I love him.

Just recently I've learned that in 5 more years (not counting this year) I'll be graduating High School and getting ready to go off to college.  In 5 years my childhood is over and I start early adulthood.  I have to admit that I'm pretty nervous going out on my own into the world.  No.  Wait.  I won't be alone.  My friends and I have been talking and we all are planning to go to Ohio State University.  Well, I already had my college picked out for me since I was a baby.  See, both of my parents work at OSU on Campus, so I get 75% off the price if I go there.  I want to though! They've got a great facility and a good amount of classes.  My brother and I swim on a swim club there called OSSC or Ohio State Swim Club, so we're on Campus a lot.  Going out into the world will be scary but fun.

I got to go now. Thanks of reading my post and I hope everyone liked it.  I might write another time.  By the way, "when life gets tough, the tough chose to go on".  That is a quote from some where, but the next one is one that I made up and it sums up this post.  'Life is an adventure, for which I am up for'.  Thank you again!!! Bye!!

Poco Loco in Boston on April 30

I had a great workout today.  The weather was crappy and about to get worse, so my brother took us to Cottonwood Recreation Center where I ran on a tiny track (17 laps = 1 mile) and swam.  I ran most of 5 miles (only walked once during the 4th mile) and the splits were 10:17, 9:59, 9:40, 10:10 ,9:41, and 10:10.  The 5 mile time was 49:57, so I ran just about a 10 minute pace for the whole thing. That's really good for me, even in a track setting.

After the run, I swam laps in the pool and put in 1200 yards which is almost 3/4 of a mile.  The swim was slow and easy, though, with lots of resting at the 50 yard intervals.  I swam almost half of it freestyle, a quarter of it breaststroke, and the other quarter backstroke.  I attempted a 25 yard fly, but it was pitiful and I would have disqualified myself if I'd been officiating - I slipped in a breaststroke kick several times.  However, it wasn't all sad because I think I did a couple of legal competition backstroke turns.

The others took advantage of the inside ice skating ring while I was running and we met up at the pool afterward.  The kids played in the fun pools and went off the boards, but Ken made them do a few laps before we left.  Val did a 450 (mostly free and back - and a 50 breast).  Jason did a 250 (breast and fly - and a 50 free). 

I feel 100% better after the workout. I even felt pretty good during the workout, too. So why was I dreading doing it?  I really don't understand this motivation thing.  You'd think I'd be psyched to workout all the time since I almost always feel better when and after doing so.  Yet, about 80% of the time, I have to drag myself to change into workout clothes and to the venue. 

Today, it was a little easier to kick myself out the door because I'm officially training for the Poco Loco in Boston on April 30, 2011.  I'm so excited to be running this event and meeting up with others in the runnet community!  To get the most out of the weekend, I need to be adequately trained to run 6.55 miles without walking and fast enough to hang with others doing the event.  I know I can do it.  What a great feeling that is!

Running in the mountains

We're in the Salt Lake City area visiting my brother and his family this week. They live in a beautiful gated community on the side of a mountain and have spectacular views of the mountains from their house.

Today I decided to run and take in the scenery so I got all bundled up in a fleece, gloves, stocking hat, running tights, and shorts. After just a mile, I stopped to swap the fleece for a long sleeved tee and pocketed my gloves and hat.  It was in the mid-30's, windy, and spitting snow/rain, but it really wasn't as cold as I expected. It was actually really nice.

I took off from my brother's house and was drawn toward the wonderful mountain view.  It wasn't immediately obvious to me that in doing so, I was running up hill.  And the up part got more and more pronounced as I got closer to the large mountains. On the way up, I had to walk quite a bit. On the way back down, I walked just once. As a result, my miles were very erratic:  11:40, 11:25, 13:43, 9:11, and 10:12. 

I'm pleasantly surprised I got in a 5 mile run today - and surprised I did so in about 56 minutes.  Initially I was very discouraged because I didn't realize I was going up a very long hill and I blamed the elevation and poor fitness for my pitiful performance.  It was very discouraging initially, but got much better later.  I'm sure the elevation played some role in my run today, though.  At Ohio State, I run at an elevation of about 765 and the elevation at Bryan's house is about 4,900. 

Tomorrow, we'll be skiing at a local ski resort with a base elevation of 7,700 that rises to11,000.  I'll never get to the top.  As a novice, I'll be on the bunny hills.  And I'll probably be overdressed again.

I think the elevation is messing with my lymphedema. My hand has been pretty swollen since I got here. I wore the custom glove and wrapped an ace-type bandage from my hand to my elbow during my run today. I'll probably do the same on the ski slopes tomorrow.

So sore!

As predicted, I was able to workout while the kids were at swim team practice yesterday.  I ran 4 miles with a few walk breaks and then walked a 5th mile.  The whole process took an hour and I was warm and toasty on the RPAC indoor track.  My miles were 10:28, 10:33, 10:29, 11:00, and 17:28. 

I followed up the track workout with 20 minutes of stretching and another 20 minutes of upper body weights, mostly benching and curls.

Today I am so sore - everywhere.  My legs are wobbly, my back is stiff, my abs hurt when I laugh, and my arms don't want to move any directly very quickly.  What a wimp!

We're packing today, going to church tonight, having a family Christmas in the morning, and then we're off to Utah to see my brother and his family.  My parents are meeting us in Utah where we'll have an extended family Christmas/Hanukah celebration.  We'll also be celebrating my nephew's birthday and the New Year.  Party central at Bryan's house!

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a new year full of hope, health, happiness, and love. 

Vacation starts today!

I'm now on vacation until Jan 3, 2011.  Yea!  Work has been insane lately and I certainly can use the down time.

With the extra hours at work and holiday preparations, I've really let my running slide significantly.  On Sunday, I played 90 minutes of volleyball, but other than that, I haven't exercised in a week.  Yikes!

Today I got in a 5K on the indoor track at RPAC while the kids were at swim practice.  Tomorrow, I'll be taking them to practice too, so I may be able to run again.  It seems like it always works like this for me:  I can't squeeze in a run for days and then I have several days in a row when I have the time and opportunity.  It's the perfect recipe for injury. 

To be safe, I stopped at 5K today even though I had time and energy for another mile or two.  My miles were 10:11, 10:18, and 10:06, but I had a few minute break between the first and second mile (off the clock) to stretch and work out the kinks before finishing the run.  I also took about 20 minutes after the run to stretch and do a little ab work before picking up the kids. 

Steverunner is talking about doing a relay running event in Boston and I'd really love to go.  We'll see if he has room for another "poco" runner and if I can make the date they pick.  It would be really cool to do that.   

5 miles yesterday

I put in 5 miles on the indoor RPAC track yesterday. 

Using the run-walk-run method (3 minutes running to 1 minute walking), I ran the distance in about 53 minutes.  I wasn't really speedy, but it was a good run and I'm glad I went the longer distance instead of stopping at 5K (3.1 miles).

My running has been very inconsistent lately, which is evidence of the kids' inconsistent attendance at swim practice.  We've been busy with holiday concert practice and performance, extra hours at work, basketball, homework, swim meets, and Christmas shopping and planning.  It's the same for everyone right now, I'm sure. 

In addition to the time crunches, winter has hit us hard.  It has been snowy and in the single digit temperatures every morning this week.  Even before these insane temps, it was too cold outside for a fair weather runner like me.  I look for upper-30s and sunny before I get excited about running outside.  So I've been inside when I have been able to put in any miles. 

The kids made it to swimming tonight, but Ken took them.  I had to stay late to get a bunch of work done.  I have deadlines to meet before I go on vacation to Salt Lake City for Christmas.

New Albany swim meet

I haven't been getting much exercise in these days.  I ran on Wednesday this week and put in a 30:40 5K.  My miles were 9:33, 9:42, and 10:19.  I walked a little during the second and third mile.

Today I played 90 minutes of hard volleyball.  We played two teams and won against the first but lost against the second.  I was running all over the place and felt a step behind all the time; out of shape, no doubt.

The big sports news for us today, though, was the swim meet.  Both kids swam in a B meet, which means the participants' best times have to be ABOVE a BB time to swim.  Therefore, all of their friends who have qualified for State or are close, couldn't swim in this meet.  The results of the meet are on the New Albany Aquatics Club web site and a summary of the Orr performance is below.

Jason is age 9 in the 9/10 age group and beat all other 9 year olds in every event except IM:

• 1st in 200 Free Relay (swam first leg)
• 2nd in 100 Free
• 4th in 50 Free
• 4th in 50 Back
• 4th in 100 IM (another 9 year old beat him by .1 second)

Val is 12 in the 11/12 age group and was seeded first in her 4 individual events - and she delivered:

• 1st in 50 Free (by 3+ seconds)
• 1st in 50 Breast
• 1st in 100 Breast (by 2+ seconds)
• 1st in 200 IM (by 16 seconds - really, 16)
• 2nd in the Free Relay

The blocks were really low and the pool and air were quite warm, so it wasn't a really fast pool today.  Even so, Jason beat his personal best in the 100 IM by almost 2 seconds.  Val slightly bested her times in the 50 Free and 200IM.

Annual appt & Lymphedema treatment

My first ever annual appointment with my surgical oncologist was very uneventful, as anyone would hope.  He did a physical exam that lasted maybe 3 minutes and then was done.  He didn't find anything and said he'd see me next year unless I found something of concern between now and then.  I guess I should be doing self-exams, though it seems overkill with no breast tissue.

The more impressive part of the visit was with the Lymphedema specialist.  First, I must give the James breast center huge KUDOS.  I didn't have an appointment to see the Lymphedema specialist.  I'd been meaning to make one for months.  So I called them from the waiting room and told them I was in the office for an appointment with Povoski and they squeezed me in immediately after I saw the doctor.  They were fabulous! 

The specialist (who is a physical therapist) did all the measurements and said everything looked really good.  I was slightly down from the last time I'd been in (which was . . . gasp . . . September).  She said I had been managing the swelling very well and that I was due for a new glove in February.  She did a really long treatment on my hand and arm which consists of a massage technique designed to activate the lymph system and get the fluid moving.  It really helped and when she was done, you could hardly tell my hand was swollen at all.  On my self-created swelling scale, it's probably a 1 out of 10 now.  Going in to the appointment, it was about a 2 or 3.  For some reason, I'm not very swollen this week.  I have no idea why.

The PT and I talked about their group's pending move to the campus area which will be much more convenient for me.  She also talked about the workout room they will have, the extra PTs, and some other services I may be able to get there, including some upper body workouts tailored just for me.  I'm really looking forward to seeing them next time in mid-January at the new facility. 

Ken noticed a sign in the doctor's office asking for volunteer survivors to give feedback to the James.  The location for the feedback interview is in the same building where we work.  I'll call the number tomorrow to see if they want to talk with me.  I've got quite a bit of feedback to offer.  I was much more impressed with Riverside's holistic assessment and consultation (that's where I got my second opinion) than the James' linear process (which I thwarted by making appointments I was advised not to make).
 

Tomorrow's appointment

Tomorrow I have my first annual follow-up appointment with my surgical oncologist.  I've been so busy that I forgot about it until today.   I have no idea what to expect. I know I'll have a physical exam because I can't have mammograms anymore.  We'll probably talk about the lymphedema but I don't expect to learn anything from him about that.  It may be just a quick check for lumps that might be hiding in any breast tissue he left behind.  There should not be any breast tissue left behind, though - that's the whole intention of the bilateral mastectomy, after all.

This will be my first post-mastectomy appointment with a doctor who is not my plastic surgeon.  It will be strange to have someone else seeing my breasts now.  The scars are large and still very prominent, which means they will probably always be that way.  It's been more than 6 months since my last reconstructive surgery. 

Thursday and Sunday

On Thursday, I ran while Val was at swim team practice.  I wimped out and ran inside on the track because it's cold outside now.  I know it's not too cold to run outside this time of year (20's and lower 30's), but I'm really a fair weather runner.

I decided to run a 5K and then stretch a bit, so I ran the whole thing instead of alternating running and walking.  I did the 5K in 29:41!  That's fast for me.  My miles were 9:40, 9:42, and 9:16.  I was winding down very quickly the last half mile, at least, but I hung in there.  Then I stretched for 30 minutes which was really helpful because my back has been acting up from tight hamstrings, IT bands, and hips.

Today Val had a birthday party all afternoon, so I only had the hour that Jason was at swim practice to get in a run.  I ran inside on the RPAC track again (cold, snow, and lack of time were all factors in that decision).   I put in 4 miles in 40:23 using the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute method throughout.  My miles were 10:13, 10:04, 10:05, and 10:01.

My back is still bugging me a bit and needs stretching.  I'm headed to volleyball tonight which might make it better or worse, I have no idea. 

The great news is that my hand has significantly reduced in swelling.  The Lymphedema was running a self-reported 5 or 6 on a made up 10 point scale.  I'd say it's down to 2 or 3 today. 

Light workout

My back has been a bit sore from my crazy run on Sunday.  I broke the 10% rule and jumped from 6 miles to 8 miles for my long run this week.  I wasn't training for anything, it was just a beautiful day and I had the time and interest to keep going and going. 

Today I took it easy and warmed up with 15 minutes on a rowing machine.  Then I stretched a little, ran a mile, stretched a little more, ran another mile, and ended with a 30 minute stretching session.  So I only put in 2 miles today but I was working out for about an hour.

We are behind on Christmas planning and shopping, as usual.  It's the busy season at home and work these days.  Tomorrow, we expect our first snow showers.  They won't stick, but it will be fun to see some big, fluffy flakes.  'Tis the season.

8 miles!

Ken took the kids to swimming today and I got to run in my neighborhood again.  I've been running primarily at OSU campus while the kids are at RPAC, so it was a treat to mix it up a little and get back into suburb (vs city) running. 

Today was beautiful.  When I went out, the temp was 38 or something like that, so I had on tights with shorts on over them, a stocking cap, long sleeved shirt, and my 13.1 (half marathon) gloves.  I thought the gloves would encourage a long run and they must have done their job despite being put in my pocket within the first mile.  I put in 8 miles today.  Actually, I did 8.43 but the decimal was all walking and stretching for a cool down.  When I got home, I took off my shoes and spent probably 30 minutes stretching before hitting the shower. 

My miles today were 10:24, 11:02, 11:00, 10:03, 10:46, 10:23, 11:30, and 10:45.  I didn't catch my 5K time, but my 10K time was 1:05:30.  I did the run-walk-run routine again with about 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking, though I varied it a bit to walk up hills and sometimes just because I forgot to keep an eye on the time.  I don't have the Garmin set to alert me other than at each mile so I'm doing the interval thing manually right now.  I've thought about getting a gym boss to buzz me at intervals but then I'd have to carry yet another gadget.  Still, it is small and might be worth it.  I could probably do the same thing with an app on my Blackberry, but then it would interrupt my Steverunner Intervals podcast and I'd have to mess with the alarm all the time.

It felt really good to get out there today.  I'm tired and hungry now, but I looked at my face in the mirror when I got out of the shower and I saw that glow and realized I looked much happier and healthier than before I went out.  Sometimes it's tough to take that first step out the door, especially when it's cold out, but about 2 miles into it, I'm most often very glad I'm out there.

So now I can enjoy the rest of the day.  I can feel good about getting some exercise in and doing something for myself.  I'll probably be a lot more fun to be around, too.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  We had a wonderful holiday weekend with a full house of family and friends, wonderful food, and lots of football, including the Buckeye's big win over rival Michigan.

I didn't get out for the Turkey Trot on Thursday morning.  It was pouring rain in the morning and I was warm and dry inside making chili and prepping the house for the big day.  I am very impressed with the brave souls who ignored the weather and ran the 5 mile race anyway.

I had a good run on Monday.  I put in 4 miles while the kids were at swimming before it got dark.  I didn't have my Garmin, so I had to guess at the mileage based on time.  I also did about 15 minutes of arm weights (pecs and tris) and 20 minutes of stretching.  I was actually sore the next day from the stretching, which wasn't a good plan because I was on my feet constantly Tuesday through today with all the cooking and cleaning and such.  I had to stretch my hamstrings out several times because they were pulling on my lower back and making it very sore.

Although it was Thanksgiving, I don't think I ate way too much food or sweets.  I did have 2 pieces of Jan's fabulous pumpkin pie though - one last night and one today.  I think the standing for hours in the kitchen for several days and walking around with a baby all day today was a good to balance out the extra food.  We also walked quite a bit for about 2 hours at the zoo last night.   It was cold, but we dressed well for it and went inside several buildings along the way.

I should have gone out running this weekend, too.  It was a chilly weekend - the first we've had that was consistently cold this season.  However, several days it was sunny and looked beautiful outside.  If I dressed wisely, running would have felt great, I'm sure.  Oh well, it was better to spend with the family and be hostess.  I enjoyed orchestrating all the meals and snacks and schedules.  It was great seeing everyone and having a break from our daily crazy schedules.

Somehow in the craziness I almost missed a milestone.  I was reminded by Ken and Jan that a year ago I was just out of surgery.  I had just chosen the bilateral mastectomy and had the surgery on Nov 23.  Although this was certainly a significant date in my life, the real anniversary for me was the day I found out about the cancer.  I'm not sure why that day was more important for me to mark than the surgery.  Maybe I'd just rather forget the surgery ever happened.  Or maybe since I was on pain meds and pretty much "out of it" for several days around this date, I don't remember much about it anyway. 

Anyway, I haven't had time or focus to dwell on what was going on last year at this time.  I suppose that is good.  It certainly is a much better time this year.  I've come a very long way since then.  Thank you all who have helped me do so!

Swim meet

We had a very busy week and weekend.  Our first OSU-sponsored swim meet was this weekend and we were at the pool from about 11:30am to 9pm on Saturday and Sunday.  Friday we were at the Worthington pool for a relay-only swim meet from 4:30pm to 8:30pm. 

Since I officiated, I was on my feet a lot and my back has been complaining quite a bit.  I tried to run a little today before the meet and realized I couldn't/shouldn't.  My back might have loosened up if I'd kept at it, but after just a block, I decided it wasn't worth making it worse right before I had to stand on deck for 8+ hours.

The kids did very well at the meet.  Val has the advantage this year because she is 12 in the 11/12 age group.  She made it to the finals and placed (earned points for her team) in every event she swam (free, fly, breast, and IM).  She also improved most of her times.  Most notably, she took 2.5 seconds off her 50 breaststroke.

Jason is 9 in the 9/10 age group and there are 5 boys in his age group who are ranked at the state level.  And those 5 are all OSU Swim Club members (our team).  There were also state ranked boys from other clubs who attended this meet.  Very tough competition for the 9/10 boys! 

Jason beat most of his previous swim times.  His most impressive drop was almost 4 seconds on his 50 backstroke, which was already his best stroke going in to the meet.  In his back and freestyle events, only 1 or 2 nine-year-olds beat him.  Unfortunately, the meet only took the top ten 9/10 year olds for finals, so Jason did not get to swim in the finals.  He was an alternate (#11 and #12) twice, though; for the 100 IM and the 100 free.

We have to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week and then have 24 coming for Thanksgiving on Thursday.  We'll have a crowd, but everyone is bringing something, so we should be just fine.  We're setting up 4 tables for 6 and putting the food out buffet style. 

I'm really looking forward to the long holiday weekend with no work, no swimming, no church school, and no basketball.  It will be good to get a break after such a tough week.

5 miles and ended strong

Work has been getting me down lately, so it was great that I got out to run this evening.  Though it was getting dark by the end, I was glad I decided to run outside.  It was a bit chilly today, so I broke out the running tights for the first time this year.  I wore a long sleeved t-shirt and gloves and a hat.  The gloves came off before I finished the first mile and the hat lasted just a few minutes longer. 

It turned out to be a good run.  I was surprised during my last 15 minutes or so because I got in a zone and felt like I was running with momentum.  I usually feel like I'm forcing myself along in an ungraceful fight against gravity and the urge to walk.  But toward the end of the run I was just gliding right along.  And it wasn't just downhill, either; most of it was flat but I also ran up a couple small hills. 

My miles today were 10:39, 10:38, 10:47, 10:01, and 10:13.  I could have run a couple of miles further at least, but it was already dark and time to cool down, get a shower, find something to eat, and then pick up Val from swimming. 

By the way, I'm impressed with the food at RPAC.  It's semi-healthy and very good.  Tonight I had a Mexican style salad with a full grilled chicken breast on it.  Yum.

10K in 1:07:22

I did another 10K this week, but it was a minute slower than a few weeks ago.  Today my miles were 10:50, 10:58, 11:07, 10:54, 10:41, and 10:57.  My 5K was 33:50 and I hit 10K at 1:07:22, so I was fairly even paced for each 5K.  I did a walk-run-walk pattern at 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking throughout. 

On Thursday, I put in 3 miles, but I walked most of it.  I was nervous about running 3 days in a row, especially given the fast 5K I put in on Wednesday.  I think it was a smart decision.  I wish I had gotten out to run a little on Saturday, but we spent the day at OSU.  We went to the OSU Marching Band's Skull Session before the game and then hung out with friends.  It was a beautiful day.  I probably walked 3 miles or more at OSU, so I suppose that should count for some exercise.

If I was more consistent with my training, I'd increase distance or speed, I'm sure.  However, my life schedule is anything but consistent, so I'm doing what I can, when I can.  Besides, I'm not a very effective "maintenance" type person, so my personality doesn't lend itself to the daily run routine, either.

We're headed out in a few minutes to put in 90 minutes of volleyball.  My legs certainly are getting a great workout today.  I'll probably be a step slower on the court tonight because I was pretty tired after my run.  Also, my knee was acting up a bit toward the end.  Hopefully all the parts will cooperate tonight and I'll have a good game.

Ken is tired too because he spent the day cleaning and doing home repair/upgrades on our basement.  He sanded some length off two very heavy solid core doors and painted the stairs.  Aside from taking the kids to swimming, buying Jason a Beyblade stadium, and running, all I got done was cleaning the oven and I did most of that last night.  Oh well. 

Great 5K

I was able to run while the kids were at swim practice tonight.  Since it was dusk already, I kept to the stadium and ran around it 6 or 7 times to get in a 5K in 30:50.  I didn't watch the clock at all, but I heard the beeps as my Garmin counted the miles.  Later when I downloaded the stats, I learned my miles were 10:00, 10:05, and 9:55.  That's really good for me!  I set out to run just the 5K, so I didn't walk at all this time.  I ran the full 5K, which included 6 little but steep hills and was otherwise flat.  The weather was perfect too; sunny/dusk and upper 60's. 

After running, I stopped off at the weight room and did about 20 minutes of upperbody work - some benching (just the bar), biceps, and triceps. 

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and OSU is closed.  The kids have the day off, too.  I'm really looking forward to sleeping in.  Ken was talking about maybe going to the Hocking Hills area for a hike.  At some point, we should also begin some planning for Thanksgiving.  We are looking forward to a large group of family and friends celebrating with us at our house this year.

Motivation

Well, I didn't get to run on Monday as I would have liked, but I got out there today.  It was an incredible day, sunny and 67, and it felt good to be out there again because it's been almost a week since I last ran.

The run itself wasn't much to write about though.  I felt like I weighed 20 pounds more than I felt last week.  I was just pulling myself along and getting winded quickly.  I did the run-walk-run method with 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking pretty much throughout the run.  My miles were 10:39, 10:35, 9:59, and 10:14.  The 5K was 32:00.  I followed the run up with a 10 minute walk and put in 4.5 miles overall.

Work has been very busy and no end to the craziness is in sight.   I've got a lot on my plate because of a reorganization which resulted in 2 new manager positions that are unfilled and much transition work between staff members who are changing roles.  Until the new managers are in place and the staff is trained on their new positions, I'll be providing direction, supervision, training, and doing much of the work that others will eventually take independently.  In the meantime, I also need to be doing my Director job which has significant responsibilities and expectations.  Obviously, I won't be able to do everything well.  I'll just have to do what I can and hang in there until we can get past this transition.

I've been a bit stressed about it all and want to relax when I get home, but things are busy here too.  The kids both have swimming, church school, and regular homework.  Jason is also starting basketball.  I feel much more relaxed and on top of it all when I can get out to run regularly.  Since I know that's true, why is it so difficult to force myself to take the time?  A friend told me today that I need some motivation for running.  With no races or challenges scheduled for at least 6 months, and then it's only a 5K, I'm not really training for anything right now.  I'm afraid to commit to anything, though.  However, maybe that's exactly what I should do.

Insane weekend

Friday night wedding reception for Ken's trainer at the gym; a good time had by all.

Saturday and Sunday mornings (and Saturday late night) we had to work on a major school project for Val.  Then in the afternoons and evenings the kids had a swim meet and I officiated.  Val improved her time on 50 free, 200 IM, and 200 free.  Jason improved his time on 50 free, 50 back, 100 IM, 50 breast, and 100 free.  Both kids had some major time drops, too.  Val dropped 12 seconds on her 200 free.  Jason dropped 8 seconds on 100 free and 13 seconds on a 50 breast.  Usually time improvements are less than a second. Even 3 seconds is a big time drop. 

The competition at this meet was fierce compared to most meets we've attended in the past.  The top 4 or 5 heats of each event had very little difference between the swimmer times.  Val was close to the top 25% in 50 breaststroke and 50 free and in the top 40% in 200 free.  She was about in the middle of the pack for the other events.  Jason is only 9 in the 9/10 age group.  He was in the middle of the pack for every event but when we look at only 9 year olds, his stats are quite a bit better.

It was a tiring weekend and now my week looks just as bad.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I'm book solid all the work day, including meetings over lunch.  Thursday we have off for Veteran's Day.  I'm looking forward to that day off! 

I didn't get any formal exercise in all weekend.  The dancing on Friday night should count for something though; as should being on my feet for 7 hours officiating the swim meet.  I hope I get to run tomorrow during swim practice, but I have a 4:30pm meeting, so I might not make it to RPAC with time to run.  We'll see how it goes. 

Losing count on laps

Since I ran a 10K on Sunday and then played 90 minutes of volleyball, I decided to give the joints a break and lifted weights while the kids were at swimming on Monday.  I did 35 minutes of rigorous weights, mostly upper-body, but a little leg press and core work.  I'm still just benching the bar, but it's easier and I can do several sets (5-6) of 10 repetitions pretty much back to back.  I wasn't sore on Tuesday afterward, either.  So I think I'm making some progress.

On Tuesday, I took the day off from exercise and instead met up with a friend I haven't seen in over a year.  She saw Ken in the grocery store and learned about my cancer scare and subsequent surgeries.  She has had her own issues this year and we caught up on all that was going on.  It was great to touch base again.  We won't let another year go by without getting together, that's for sure.

Today, I ran a 5K.  Well, at least I think I did.  I got out of work late and had to hurry to get in a workout before the kids were out of swimming.  So I did the most expedient thing and ran inside on the 1/8 mile track at RPAC.  I think I did a 5K in 29:43, but I might have been off a lap - I lost count.  If I was off a lap, then I did 3 miles in 29:43, which is still movin' right along for me.  I know I did the first full mile in just over a 10 minute mile but my last 1/8 mile lap was at a little more than an 8:00 mile pace.  I think I was speeding up all the time throughout the run. I didn't wear my watch, though, so I was just sporadically watching the digital clocks hanging over the track. 

It wasn't a great day at work today, so I really needed to get the run in this evening.  It helped quite a bit so I'm glad I didn't skip it.  Work is a bit unstable right now as leadership/direction keeps changing and it's tough to strategize next steps with this dynamic landscape.  At this point, it feels more like luck if I'm headed the right direction or not.  I used to figure out the lay of the land by listening and envisioning and planning.

I'm interviewing candidates for a new manager position in my area and even that is a bit tough.  Again, the vision for the future is unclear, so I hope I'm making the right decisions about what skills to hire.  The budget situation is going to be tough for OSU next year and hope the position we got funding for is the one we need the most right now.  I guess that decision is really out of my hands - I have nothing to do with funding of FTE, so all I can do it make the best, most versatile hire. 

The update on the Lymphedma front is less encouraging than last week.  I was noticing a drop in swelling last week, but it's back to a 4 or 5 out of 10 most of the time now.  My pointer finger has decided to get back in the swelling game, too.  It must have felt left out as I was typing about it's neighbors.

10K in 1:06:14

Today's another Sunday with much activity.  I took Val to swimming this afternoon and ran a 10K in 1:06:14.  My miles were 10:55, 10:47, 10:52, 10:42, 10:27 and 10:51.  I used the pattern of running 4 minutes and walking 1 minute throughout the entire 6.2 miles.  I usually run 3 and walk 1, but it was a bit chilly out and I was in shorts and a t-shirt, so I needed to do a bit more running to keep warm. 

I felt great during the whole run today.  I didn't have to do the pleading with myself that I often do when running: "Just 45 more seconds and you can walk a minute, hang in there."  There was no time when I just wanted to stop short of the 4 minutes.  I think I cut the walk short once - I assume during the 5th mile since it was faster than the others - but I don't remember why - some environmental reason like dogs or cars or something annoying me. 

After the run, Val and I went shopping and got her a bunch of sweat pants, a shirt, and some ski pants.  We couldn't find a winter coat that worked.

Tonight, Ken and I have volleyball.  I'll be running around for 90 minutes, trying to get the second hit of each play, so I'm sure I'll get a second great workout in today. 

I haven't given an update on the Lymphedma in awhile, so I should tell you that a couple of times this week, I would rate the swelling in my hand as only a 2 or 3 out of 10, which is much better than it has been in a month or so.  It had been running consistently at a 5 or 6.  To fight the swelling of the past month, I've been wearing a compression glove or wrap to bed each night and much more often during the day, too.  I took off the custom glove after my run today and it hasn't gotten any worse this afternoon.  I'd rate it as probably a 2 or 3 today.  My pointer finger rarely swells anymore.  My middle finger is still an issue, but not too bad today.  Most of the swelling now is in the back on my hand, from the bottom of my fingers to my wrist.

I went to out dinner last night and visited with some friends who I haven't seen in a long time. It was wonderful to reconnect.

Running in Bexley

I put in 4.23 miles today.  My miles were 11:11, 10:45, 10:10, and 11:10.  I ran in Bexley, my favorite place to run in Columbus.  Bexley has lots of shade, not many cars on the side streets, and great houses.  It's also where I had my first job in Ohio (Capital University in 1988) and bought my first house (1994).  Ken and I lived there for a year or two after we got married and we used to ride our bikes throughout the neighborhood.  That's how I found my favorite street, Parkview.  My good friends, Jeff and Jen, still live in Bexley and I love to go visit them.  I often park at their house when I run in the area.

Today, I parked at Capital University and ran North past Jeffrey Mansion on Parkview.   I started by running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute, but that didn't last long.  I had to stop at the light at Broad Street and also lost track of time looking at houses and such.  Thus, my walk breaks weren't at even intervals, as is obvious by my splits.

I saw the Bexley High School boys' cross country team several times during my run.  During my third mile, they came up from behind me, engulfed me, and then left me behind - all in a matter of 10 seconds or so.  It was weird; like I was a rock and they were the river.  They were running easily and relaxed, but fast.  And they were talking and moving around to change who they were running and talking with.  I'm a solitary runner so it was foreign to me to see them running together like that.  Surely some of them are a lot faster than others, yet they were putting in lots of miles together as a group.  I got nervous as they approached and I worried that I was in their way.  But it didn't seem to bother them at all that I was on the sidewalk and going slowly.  They just ran around me and were nice and relaxed and comfortable with sharing the space.  Interesting.  I have read and heard about community aspects of running but I had never really seen a running community in action until today.

Geeky old lady in the weight room

I thought I was coming home after work today, but right before running out the door this morning I decided to pack my gym bag, just in case.  Then it turned out that Jason had lots of homework so Ken took him home from swimming early and I waited at RPAC for Val. 

Since I was at RPAC anyway, I decided to do a weight-training workout.  In my gym bag I found my compression shorts but no shorts to go over them.  I also found the above-the-ankles socks instead of the shorter ones.  Great.  Oh well, I decided I wouldn't be a slave to fashion (or embarrassment), so I went to work out anyway.  I wore my longest compression shorts (almost to my knees), a short-ish OSU v-neck tshirt, above-the-ankle socks folded down, weight lifting gloves, my Ironman watch (I thought I might run afterward), and my running shoes.  I laughed as I walked into RPAC knowing I'd be "that geeky old lady in the weight room." 

To match my geeky outfit, I decided to listen to the Wicked soundtrack on my Blackberry during the workout.  I did all upper-body work, including several (5 or 6) sets of 10 benching the bar (45 lbs).  I also did lots of curls, some triceps, obliques, and smaller arm muscles.  As I was finishing up, Dan, one of my staff members, came over and said hi.  He had seen me at the bench press.  Great.  Dan is 20-something and very strong, athletic, and active.  So now I'm the geeky old boss lady in the weight room.  I was quick to tell Dan that I used to bench 105lbs but since they cut both pecs in half, I've just started benching the bar.  He was great and said "Well, hey, you have to start again somewhere."   You are so right, Dan.  Thanks for being genuinely supportive.

Aside from my attire in the weight room, the "funny" for the day was Val's conversation with a friend.  Her friend asked what Val's favorite subject was in school.  Val said she liked Language Arts/English the best. Then she qualified that statement with "well, except I don't like the words."

Busy weekend

Happy birthday to Michelle Z and Lee Ann!

I ran on Thursday this week, but didn't get a chance to log it because of the mad dash to get the basement ready for carpet installation on Friday.  I ran while the kids were at swimming and had to force myself out there.  I really wasn't up for it, so I decided to do 30 minutes easy and outside.  I didn't realize it was incredibly windy and that half of the run would feel like running up a steep hill as I fought the wind.  Yeah, I know, I'm a wimp.  Anyway, on Thursday I put in 3.37 miles by running around the stadium 6 times.  I ran the 5K distance with the miles at 10:22, 10:13, and 9:48 and finished the 5K in 31:21.  Then I walked 5 minutes or so as a cool down.

Today I ran slower and longer.  I put in 5.32 miles with the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute pattern throughout, except for the last mile in which I walked more.  My miles were 10:57, 11:06, 11:20, 11:15, and 11:42.  My legs were pretty sore and my hips tight toward the end.  I wore cushier shoes this time, though, so my feet didn't hurt.

As I was getting out of the shower after my run, I realized that I have to play 90 minutes of competitive volleyball tonight.  And we've been playing a 5:1 (5 hitters and 1 setter) with me as the setter.  So I'll be running like crazy all over the court.  Oh well, I need the exercise.

So we did get the basement floor completed this week.  We haven't gotten the furniture and such put back in place yet, though.  Yesterday I was shopping for a big TV stand/console for a big screen TV we don't have yet.  Ken is out researching the TVs today.  We'll be getting surround sound and a blue ray and I don't know what all else, too.  So it will take awhile to research before we pull the trigger.  We did decide on the furniture piece though.  Our TV stand/console should arrive in a couple of weeks.  We bought it discounted at American Freight.  I hope we can get all this stuff done before Thanksgiving.  We expect company and it would be great to watch the football games on our new system in our almost-done basement.

Yes, I know, we've been working on the basement for years and years.  Probably 13 years.  It's getting close now.  We just need trim/baseboards, some doors sanded, and finishing solutions for the stairs, stairway wall, and ceiling area there.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy birthday, Dad! 

For Dad's birthday, he witnessed the ground-breaking on a college facility that he was instrumental in bringing to our small town in Nebraska.  Dad is running the county's community college presence out of a small office tucked away in the public library and he begs and borrows classroom facilities where ever he can get them.  This new facility is Dad's legacy to the community.  Although the credit for it will go to those who raised the money, he was the one who sold the college on the need for it and laid all the groundwork. If all goes as planned, he will manage the new facility for a few months after it opens next year and then he'll retire and move to Ohio.  The timing of his retirement is not set in stone, so I hope he'll get some time in the new office since he has worked so hard to make it happen.

I did a tough run today.  Though I would normally lay off running the day after a fast 5K, I had the time and the weather was perfect for a "long" run this evening.  I ran 5.5 miles in an hour.  My miles were 10:51, 11:04, 10:46, 10:24, and 11:13.  I did the distance with a 3 minute run and 1 minute walk pattern throughout until the last few minutes which I walked as a cool down. 

Since I've been running while the kids are at swim team practice, I've been running at OSU quite a bit.  When the weather is bad, that's great to be at OSU because I use the 1/8 mile track in RPAC and am quite cozy while my suburb friends are fighting the rain or running on treadmills.  However, when it is nice, I'm often uninspired when forced to run on campus.  It's just too city-like and full of people and cars and such.  So today I decided to do a longer run and set out on the Olentangy Trail through the Tuttle Park, Clinton and Northmoor areas.  I just did a simple out-and-back plan:  I ran 27 minutes away from RPAC on the trail and then ran back to campus and around the stadium to finish up a full hour of running. 

Val was beginning her post-swimming dryland workout when I returned, so I headed over to RPAC to do a few weights.  I benched the bar (which isn't 40 lbs as I previously asserted, but 45lbs.) 10 times and did 3 sets.  I also did some obliques and curls before cleaning up and picking up Val. 

I haven't eaten well lately, especially today, and it caught up with me.  I wasn't feeling great after the workout and Val took care of me when I got home.  I picked up some comfort food (broccoli cheese soup from Panera) which helped some.  Then a little later Val surprised me with a glass of hot chocolate and told me to put my feet up and read.  She takes good care of me.

The bottom of my feet were sore during the last mile or so - and are sore even now as I walk around in my socks at home.  I guess I'm unaccustomed to 5 miles.  I think I'll go take my daughter's advice.

Volleyball and 29:45 5K

Ken and I started our volleyball season last night.  It was great to be on the court again and I got a trial by fire, certainly.  We had a more experienced group, so Ken suggested we run a 5x1 - that would be 5 hitters and 1setter all the way around.  Any guesses who the setter was?  Yep, the short one.

I ran all over the court getting the 2nd hit almost all the time and setting up the balls to be whacked over by the hitters on the team.  It was really fun - like old times.  We lost the first one by 4 points, but were rallying toward the end.  The second game we won by 8 or so.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time after just a few minutes in the third game, so we had to take the loss since we were down something like 4 to 2.  That's okay, though.  It was our first time playing together and it seems like we'll be a pretty competitive team in this league.   

I didn't wear a glove when playing volleyball and my hand didn't swell noticeably any more after or during playing.  It's swollen all the time now from the lymphedema. 

Today it was cold and rainy while the kids were at swimming, so I ran around the little track at RPAC.  I ran a 5K in 29:45 and only walked a little when I stopped to get a drink of water from the water fountain after my first and second miles.  I was pushing pretty hard the last mile, and especially the last half mile.  I was just trying to hold on to the pace which was on target for the sub 30 minute 5K the whole run.  I was listening to music which helped keep me moving.  Still, the last mile, I had to be intentional about distracting myself from the desire to slow down or walk.  I was very happy with the success of this run which was probably my fastest or at least my second fastest 5K ever.  I followed the run by a mile walk as cool down and a little stretching.

I wore my custom glove when running and afterward I noticed a bit more swelling in my middle finger than before, but it went back down to normal swelling after the walk cool down.

The back of my hand, my wrist, and my middle finger are always swollen now.  I'd rate the swelling overall as a 5 out of 10, sometimes reaching to a 6 when the middle finger gets really tight above the middle knuckle.  The palm of my hand seems to be a little swollen too, but that may come and go and is difficult to see.  Ironically, the pointer finger which started all this mess does not get swollen much anymore.  I guess it has delegated that responsibility, perhaps pointing here and there where there is room for more fluid.

Ran yesterday

I ran yesterday but didn't get logged in to the blog to do a post.  I was at RPAC while the kids were swimming and it was so nice out that I decided to run outside even though I forgot my Garmin.  I know . . . how sad is that?  My first thought was that I would have to run inside because I didn't have the Garmin.  Then I thought how silly that was.  Who cares how far I run?  It's not like it's a training run, just maintenance.  And even if it was a training run, I could estimate speed and measure time. 

So I ran 35 minutes (I had my ironman watch) and I'd guess I was running about a 10:15 pace or so overall because I did the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute routine.  I ran around the stadium over and over again.  I'm not sure why I did that.  I intended to do a lap around the stadium and then head on out into the rest of campus, but I got stuck in the lap rut.  I guess my mind was occupied because I was catching up on Steverunner podcast episodes (Intervals and Phedippidations).  I've been running with music sometimes lately and have gotten behind on what's going on in Oxford, MA. 

I took the kids to swimming today too, but I couldn't workout during that time today.  I had to officiate a mock swim meet for the younger swimmers on our team.  I was impressed with the group.  Even though it is pre-season and many of the young swimmers are inexperienced, they did a very good job overall.  We didn't have nearly as many disqualifications as in the summer league or even as in the official B meets early in the season.  Go OSU Swim Club!

My lymphedema hasn't changed much.  The back of my hand is still swelling, along with my knuckles and middle finger.  I think the palm of my hand is getting into the game too.  I've been wearing a glove or wrap almost all the time except in the shower and when preparing food or washing my hands.  And the swelling doesn't seem to react to anything in particular like exercise or eating habits or sleep or wearing the custom vs. cotton glove vs. wrap.  I can't find anything that consistently makes the swelling better or worse.  I got a wide Velcro support for around my wrist since the glove is too big there, but that hasn't made a noticeable difference either, regardless of how tight or lose I make it.  I know I need another appointment with the PT.  I'm just discouraged with it all.  The appointments don't seem to be make a difference either.

Bench Press Victory

I benched the bar today.  That's 40 pounds.  And I did it after completely tiring out my pecs (pectoralis major muscles) by benching 6 sets of 20 with 10 pounds, 1 set of 5 with 15 pounds, and 1 set of 5 with 20 pounds.  Even my tired pecs could bench the 40 pound bar 10 times despite spending the previous 30 minutes doing significant upper body weight training.  That's really great!  I almost cried when I benched the bar.  I've been so afraid to even try it.  When I have a spotter around, I may put weight on the bar next time.  Woo Hoo!

To understand my reaction, you'd have to know that I've always been really strong in my pec muscles and upper body in general.  I've been able to serve a volleyball over-handed since the 3rd grade.  My best swimming event was breaststroke.  As a sophomore in high school, I beat a star football player in a fingertip pushup contest (real ones, not with the knees down).  More recently, about 6 years ago, I could bench over 100 pounds.  Then I got breast cancer and in addition to losing both breasts, the doctor had to cut my pec muscles clear through to put the expanders behind them.  Now my pecs are no longer along my chest wall.  They are now curved over my B-cup sized implants.  So, in addition to the trauma of losing my breasts, I also lost a significant source of pride; my upper body strength. 

So it was great today to see that I'm starting to get some strength back.  I'm sure I over-did the upper-body workout today.  I'll be really sore tomorrow.  However, I'll be smiling.  I benched the bar. 

Worldwide Festival of Races

Almost.  But I blew it.  I went out too fast and didn't have the mental toughness to hang in there.  Today, I did the Kick the Couch 5K for the Worldwide Festival of Races in 30:26.  Just 26 seconds slower than my goal.  And I walked twice in the last half mile.  I was so spent - just done.  When I saw I wasn't going to make it, I gave up and walked the last 10 yards or so to the finish.  My legs were wobbly and I walked another half mile afterward to cool down. 

My mile splits were 9:27 (unheard of for me!), 9:55, and 10:01.  Dang, 30:26.  So close.

It was hot today so I waited until the sun got low enough to allow the houses to cast shadows on my route.  It was still hot, but shady most of the way.  I've been having a lot of hand swelling caused by my lymphedma, so wore a custom glove with an ace bandage wrapped around it and up my forearm to my elbow.  During the second mile, I couldn't stop focusing on the heat under the wraps and the throbbing.  The throbbing may have been perceived and not real, but it annoyed me.  My mind was not cooperating with the mental state I needed for this race.  During the last mile, I could only think of hanging on . . . and instead of believing I could, I was pretty sure I couldn't.  If I could have distracted myself, I know I could have made up the 26 seconds because I would have been able to run more and walk less.  Grrrrrr.

Oh well.  It was a good run.  Today was probably my second fastest 5K race ever, just behind the Race for the Cure in 2008 when I finished in under 30 minutes.  Actually, my run today was among the 5 fastest 5Ks I've ever run, including in training, so I know I should feel pretty good about it.  And I do.

Earlier in the day, I put in a good hour or more of volleyball.  We played parents against Val's 7th grade volleyball team.  The parents won the first game and kids won the second.  We didn't get to play a third because it was time for pizza and the award ceremony.  The awards were a certificate and a patch with Ridgeview Jr High around the outside and a volleyball in the middle.  They didn't have individual awards because it's a team sport.

After I ran the 5K and got my legs to stop wobbling, I changed out of my soaked clothes and mowed half of the lawn.  I had to stop because it was dark. 

Whew!  What a long day.  Now it's bedtime.  Good night!

Progress at work and home

I took a vacation day today and worked on home improvement projects.  I intended to do office work too, but didn't get around to it, so this will be a full day's vacation.  It was worth it, though.  I got so much done.  I helped Mom and Dad finish the insulation project in their basement and then we went to a carpet place and chose carpet for our basement.  I can't believe we'll have finished floors in our basement by the end of October.  It's been a long time coming.

Mom and Dad took the kids out for ice cream and Ken was out at a friend's surprise birthday party tonight.  So, I stayed home and got in a run.  I did 5K in 32:02 using the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute pattern throughout.  My miles were 10:28, 10:35, and 10:10.  I finished up with a 6 minute walk for cool down. 

My Lymphedema has been a problem for several weeks now.  My hand is swelling and not going back down.  I've been wearing different gloves almost all the time (even during sleep) and trying different combinations of gloves.  Tonight when I ran, I wore the custom glove, wrapped the wrist with tape because it's too big, and then put on the ace bandage wrap around my hand and up to my elbow.  The wraps seem to help during the run, but after I take them off to take a shower, my hand swells again.  Now I've got the glove with the bean bag back in it to push down the swelling.  It usually works pretty well on the flat part of my hand, but not on my joints that attach my fingers.  Grrrrr. 

Oh well, other than the swelling, everything is very good.  We're moving along with a much needed reorganization at work and I'm very hopeful we will be more effective and productive as a result.  Work is always much more fun when we are doing well as a group.  Tomorrow is Val's last volleyball game of the season.  Actually, it's several games.  We have a tournament that starts at 8am.  That's almost as bad as a swim meet!

Go Tigers!

Val had the big rivalry volleyball game tonight.  Pickerington Ridgeview Jr. High played at Pickerington Lakeview Jr. High.  Although they beat us in a tournament last week, we won tonight.  The coach started our top six players for each of the 3 games.  Val came in very early in the 3rd game, though and played the rest of the game.  She played well, had several hits, got her serve over, and even made the winning point.  I didn't stay for the 8th grade game, but Val reported that they won in 3 games, too.  It was a great night for Ridgeview Jr. High Volleyball. 

After the game, I intentionally had an easy run this evening.  I did the 3 minutes run and 1 minute walk pattern for 2 miles (10:21 and 10:23) and then LeeAnn called, so I walked another mile and a half at about a 17 minute mile pace and chatted with her awhile.  In all, I put in 3.6 miles in 48:55.

Mom and Dad are visiting from Nebraska right now.  We're working on their house and our house both this trip. Their house is getting insulation in the basement and some lawn work.  Ours is getting a new light in the pantry and a head start on some flooring in the basement.  We're going to try to use Allure vinyl planks that look like wood.  We'll buy some boxes and put it down to ensure it doesn't look cheap next to our nice kitchen and other finishings.  If we like it, we'll go with it for the floor and then get a huge bound carpet for the center of the family room. 

Ran again

I know I shouldn't have, but I did.  I ran again tonight.  It was a cool night but with no rain, so I ran Valerie's overdue book to the library and then detoured around the neighborhood to put in at least 30 minutes on the road. 

I did a 5K in 31:02.  I ran the first mile (no walking) in 10:13 and then walked 1 minute.  Then I ran another mile and walked another minute. I'm not sure if I walked during the third mile or not.  My miles were 10:13, 10:10, and 9:44, so I'm guessing I didn't.

Now I'm sore.  Actually, my quads were a bit sore before the run.  My calves were also tight.  Now my calves are very tight.  My quads loosened up a little, though.  I guess my IT bands took their place because now they are saying "uncle."  I know I shouldn't run two days in a row when I'm not used to it.  I also shouldn't run 3 miles every time I run.  I should go back to the measured 3 minute run and 1 minute walk to avoid injury.  But, hey, it was a great night for a run.  And it felt pretty good.  And it was a little chilly for walking.  I'm sure I can find all kinds of excuses for the poor choices.  But, hey, I usually have excuses NOT to run, and today it's the opposite.  I'd say that's progress.

My hand is still swelling a lot.  I'm rotating gloves and wraps to try to switch up the pressure areas.  Each glove/wrap has its advantages, so I'm trying to get the best compression out of each of them at least once daily.  Tonight I'm wearing the full wrap again.

Val had a great volleyball game tonight.  She didn't miss a serve.  And she served 5 in a row before the team got a side out.  We won tonight in two sets.  Wednesday is the big game, though.  We play the other Pickerington team (dreaded Lakeview) who beat us pretty bad in the Volley for the Cure tournament that didn't count for league play.

5K in 30 minutes

I did an indoor track workout at RPAC today and ran a 5K in 30:00!  My miles were 10:00, 9:50, and 9:13.  I walked three times, but only once for a full minute.  The other two walk breaks were about 40 seconds or so.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've run a 5K in 30 minutes or less.  I did it once on that same RPAC track while training for the Race for the Cure in 2008 and then during the actual race.  And I did it today, despite including a little walking.  I'm not even in serious training.  I haven't been doing speed work or anything.  Well, hmmm, maybe this run-walk-run thing is sort of like speed training for me.  I don't intentionally push the speed, but I have been running faster when I know I get to walk in just a few minutes. 

Today I listened to music instead of podcasts, so I'm sure that sped me up a bit.  Although I intended to do an easy run, the music and the digital clock hanging over the lanes at three places over the track, encouraged me to do otherwise. It felt great.

My hand has been swelling more this past week.  I'm always at a 3 out of 10 and sometimes a four or five.  I'll wear my glove more consistently this week and see it that helps.  I stopped wearing a glove at night, but will probably reinstate that practice.  I may even do the full wrap thing tonight.  Yuck. 

Yesterday I returned from another fabulous HR Technology Conference and now want to find time to synthesize all these ideas and learnings into goals or actions.  I really need to slow down a bit and take some time to think and organize and plan.  I'm getting caught in the do-do-do-do cycle and can easily get caught up in the busy and forgot the important. 

One year

It's been one year.  I found out that I had breast cancer on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.  I'm not sure whether it's time to celebrate, reflect, or lament.  Maybe a bit of all three.

Below are the top 10 things I've learned since then:

10.  Blogging can connect people who need each other.

Beth in Colorado found my blog. She was going through a bilateral mastectomy just a few weeks before me and was a great source for learning and encouragement. I also found great insight and knowledge in other blogs. Personal stories are much more meaningful than research statistics. So, here's a big thank you to the thought leaders at HR Technology Conference and Steverunner who inspired me to stop lurking in the new media world and start contributing.

9.  Just because they find cancer early does not mean it will be easy.  As a top 100 fundraiser for the Race for the Cure, I'd been to many events celebrating the advances in breast cancer research.  I thought I knew a lot about it.  I thought getting the cancer out was easy if it was caught early.  I had no idea I'd get a bilateral mastectomy with cancer that was barely stage 1 . . . and Beth was stage 0. 

8.  ILC is hard to find and often hides until it's big enough to spread.
Not all breast cancers are easy to detect.  Luckily, my digital mammogram showed grouped calcifications which warned my doctors to do a biopsy.  If I had chosen a lumpectomy, a recurrence of ILC could go undetected until it had spread beyond my breasts. 

7.  Healthy, active, young women can still get breast cancer.
This year, I've read about many healthy, active women in their 20's and 30's who had breast cancer.  I also have a friend whose wife was diagnosed in her 30's.  It's not as uncommon as you'd think.  I was 43 and a runner.

6.  There are different types of breast cancer and different risks for treatment options.
Breast cancer does not have one obvious treatment.  Statistics are all over the internet and different doctors present them differently too.  No one had a clear cut, obvious data set that I could use to make treatment decisions.  I did lots of research, got a second opinion, and even stepped out of the linear process the doctors wanted me to follow in my decision-making.  In the end, it came down to this:  I put myself in the place of a woman who had cancer spread throughout her body.  And I heard myself begging "Can't you just cut it off? Get it out of me, now!"  Well, that was the opportunity I had.  And I took it.

5.  Deciding to lose both breasts is a tough, emotional decision.
Many said it would be a no-brainer for them.  If they got breast cancer, they would cut them off.  I'm a poster-child for that concept.  I don't wear makeup.  I'm a feminist.  I spend 20 minutes getting ready in the morning and 15 of that is in the shower.  So, I was unprepared for the emotion involved in this decision. Even now it brings me to tears to realize that a year ago, I still had my real breasts, with working nipples and everything.  I still look very similar in clothes, but very different getting out of the shower.  I wonder when my reflection in a foggy mirror will not cause me to wince.
 
4. We all react differently.
In my mind, surgery was by far the best treatment option, especially if I could avoid chemo, radiation, and 5 years of Tamoxifen.  A friend who has cancer was fine with chemo and radiation treatments but terrified of surgery.  Physically, we react differently, too.  Although I was not a high risk for lymphedema and just 6 lymph nodes were removed, I developed lymphedema in my left hand about 5 months after the mastectomy.  I have no idea how or why this happened.

3.  I am strong and resilient.
As a comment to my first blog post, my parents wrote that they had all the confidence in the world that I have the tools needed to get though this myself -- "strength, wisdom, determination, and goodness."  My brother also told me that he thinks of me as an incredibly strong woman.  I was able to reach deep inside and find the strength my family knew was there.  Now I know it is there, too. 
 
2.  I am blessed with incredible family, friends, and colleagues.
Thank you to all who have helped me get through these challenges.  I had advisors, listeners, food preparers, care givers, pray-ers, and many people who just helped me get on with life.  My boss was incredibly supportive, as were my staff and colleagues.  Friends (including Lee Ann, Michelle, Jim, Eunice, Bethany, Becky, David, and many others) were instrumental in getting me though this.  Family sent cards and called.  Michelle, Jan, Jim, and my parents, Don and Rosemary helped care for me and my family when I most needed them.  Thank you all!!!
 
1.  I have the best husband and children in the world.
Yes, I know I'm biased.  But I also know I'm right.  My children are wonderful - caring, loving, supporting, strong, and helpful.  My husband is beyond amazing and he loves me for who I am and finds me sexy and beautiful with each set of breasts I've had this year (real, expanders, and now implants).  I thank God for my family each and every day. And, through this ordeal, I have learned that I should never wait until tomorrow to show them I care and I will never take them for granted.  I love you, Val, Jason, and Ken!

Anniversary is this week

Tomorrow I'm headed to the HR Technology Conference.  Last year, I was at this conference when I learned I had breast cancer.  Between sessions, I called the James Cancer Center at OSU to learn the results of my biopsy.  I fully expected to hear good news.  I did not.

Although I had no idea what was ahead of me, I knew it was something I needed to journal about and share with others.  I credit thought leaders at the HR Technology Conference and podcaster Steverunner as my inspiration to join the world of social media contributors.  When I returned from the conference, I started this blog that very weekend. 

On Thursday, I plan to post an anniversary blog post.  As you can probably tell, I usually write my blog posts in one sitting, often without edits, sometimes with a spell check but usually without.  For this anniversary post, though, I've already written a couple of versions.  I don't know why it's important to me to mark this date, but I guess it is.

5K in 31:50

I'm writing two posts on my blog today.  I got home from grocery shopping and was still in such a high from my swim today (aren't endorphins great?), that I just had to get out and run.  The weather was perfect: 60 degrees and dusk. 

So, I ran a 5K in 31:50 and that included taking the 1 minute walk breaks after every 3 minutes of running.  My miles were 10:22, 10:29, and 10:07; followed by a 5 minute walk cool down.  I was pushing during the run, but it felt great.  Actually, when I first started running, my lats hurt from swimming and I thought, "Hmmmm, is this such a great idea?" But I got over that pretty quickly and loosened into what is a very good pace for me.  Yea!

Hang in there, Jan!

Ken's mother had a shoulder replacement surgery on Friday, so he and his sister went to Cleveland to support her.  Her surgery went well and she went home today.  I guess she's in a lot of pain now, though.  Jan is a retired surgical nurse, so she certainly knows the score with these things.  I'm sure it doesn't make the pain any easier to handle, though.  Hang in there, Jan!!!  I wish we lived closer and could check in on her daily for awhile.  I'm sure Jim will be a great caretaker and perhaps her brother and sister-in-law will be able to visit. 

Today I took the kids to RPAC at OSU and we all put in a swimming workout.  I swam about 1200 meters (about 3/4 of a mile).  I did most of the workout in freestyle; however I put in some breaststroke and backstroke lengths, too.  Tomorrow, I bet I won't be able to put my arms over my head.  I'll be soooooooo sore.  My lats are already feeling it. 

Initially, I thought it would be good to put Val and Jason in a fast lane and let them do a workout together.  However, Jason got very discouraged and was completely giving up and down on himself.  Then, he came to swim with me and I got him back in the swing of things.  We did a 200 free and he beat me by 25 meters.  He's 9.  I know, it's depressing.  But, hey, freestyle is his favorite stroke and I'm obviously getting my money's worth because he's doing so well.  I can give him a tough race in breaststroke, though.  That was my favorite stroke and his least favorite.  I didn't even try the fly.  I couldn't do more than a terrible 25 fly before these surgeries.  Now, I don't think it's wise to even try.  Butterfly requires a range of motion and significant strength which I just don't have right now.

I didn't pay close attention to the time, but I think we swam for 45 minutes or so.  Then I stretched a bit and loosened up my back which had been tight for a few days.  The kids played for about 30 minutes in the leisure pool while I got a shower and then we got them cleaned up and headed home. 

Ken got back this afternoon, he took Jason to baseball practice. Jason will be wiped out after swimming and baseball. 

The kids both were mildly sick with a cold or bad allergies or something last week.  They are still a bit stuffy, but getting better.  I got it late this week and have been on Clariton D during the days and Benadryl and cough drops at night.  I think I'm on the upswing and have lots of energy today.  Ken doesn't feel well at all though.  I tried to get him to let me take Jason to baseball practice, but he wanted to be there. 


Tuesday, I'm off to a conference and will be gone until Saturday early evening.  I really love this conference (HR Technology) and it's great to see many of the same people there year after year.  We'll be hearing from the leaders in HR technology and seeing many software demonstrations.  I've got my list of vendors to visit on the exhibition floor so I can keep up with what is going on in Talent Management (a passion of mine).  Of course, I'll also be attending the parties sponsored by the vendors and various meet and greet events which run late into the night.  I expect Knowledge Infusion's 5th year anniversary bash will be the primo vendor event this year.  I'm really looking forward to the knowledge-tinis (martinis with green LED lights in them).  Last year, I brought home a green LED plastic ice cube for each kid and put it in their milk at breakfast.  It was a hoot.

Run, vball, swim, & work

I ran a 5K this morning.  It was humid, warm, and a tough run because I've been so inconsistent with exercising lately.  My 5K was 33:47 and the miles were 11:01, 10:58, and 10:54.  I did this run with a consistent 3 minutes run followed by 1 minute walk.  I shortened the last walk to 30 seconds, though because I needed to get in quickly to get to work on time.

Valerie had a volleyball game tonight.  She's on the Jr High team and plays on the second of two teams.  The coach has the first team play the first game and the second team play the second game.  If the match goes to three games, whichever team wins their game (usually the first team, but once the second team) gets to start the third game.  Tonight the first team won and the second team lost.  So the first team went out for the third game.  A few points into that game we were losing and the coach substituted Valerie in for one of the players.  This is the first time she's played with the top group.  She didn't get much action since she only got the chance to bump the ball once the whole rest of the game, but she was always in position and was a positive influence on the others.  I was proud of her, of course. 

Jason is also doing well with his 5th and 6th grade volleyball team.  He's an incredible server and hustles a lot.  He also seems to be having fun.  He has a more competitive nature than Valerie and cares more about doing really well and about winning.  And I really like his coaches - his dad and our friend, Jeff.  They are supportive of all the players and really know their stuff. 

Swim team started for the kids this week, but we weren't able to go at all due to Val's volleyball schedule.  I contacted the coaches and they were okay with it.  I'll probably take the kids to the RPAC pool at OSU on Sunday to have them put some time in the water.  I don't want them to get too far behind on conditioning because the coaches took care to get the kids into the right levels based on speed and conditioning.  If Val and Jason start a month later than everyone else, they are likely to get run over and discouraged.  I was getting pretty stressed about the logistics of getting the kids to swimming practice, but Ken talked me down from that.  It shouldn't be much different from last year and we made it work most of the time then.  This year Ken will probably take them to swimming more often than I will because their swim days coincide with the days he leaves early to get them off the bus. 

Work is going to be really busy for me for awhile - even more so than normal.  Until I can get two new managers in place and contributing, I'll have to continue to do what amounts to almost three jobs.  I'll be managing all but 2 staff members, performing business analysis and project management work, training staff in new roles, interviewing manager candidates, and doing my regular Director duties.  Obviously, I won't be able to do a stellar job at any of those things.  My AVP is very supportive, though, and has offered to take some of my OSU-wide Director roles while I'm putting more focus internally to my department for awhile.  We'll have to figure out what I can hand off and what will just wait for me for a later focus.

Ran Saturday

Saturday I ran 4 miles with the run-walk-run method at 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking.  My miles were 11:02, 10:56, 10:55, and 11:05.  I wasn't nearly as fast as last week.  I also walked most of a 5th mile at 15:25.  My 5K was 33:40, I think.

It's been a good weekend with lots of family time and time to clean the house and read a book.  I even found time to attend the swimming officials' recertification meeting today. 

I didn't make time to run today, Sunday, though.  I know I should have done so.  I had the time, just not the desire, I guess.  I know that doesn't make much sense since I was really ready to get out there - and I really enjoyed the run on Saturday. 

My hand has been swelling a lot the last couple of days.  I don't have the custom glove back yet, so I wrapped it in the finger/hand wrap and the ace-type bandage to run.  After the run, my swelling was about at 4 out of 10 and most of the weekend it was a 3 or 4 out of 10.  I wrapped it some of the weekend, used my un-custom compression glove with the bean bag in it some of the time, and some of the time I left it unwrapped.  The bean bag glove seemed to make the most difference.  It brought down the swelling in my hand but left my knuckles swollen.  My middle finger has been worse than my pointer finger this weekend, which is unusual. 

I hope my compression glove arrives tomorrow.  I hoped I'd see it in the mail on Friday, but no such luck.  I think I'm having swelling problems because of cyclical reasons and now would be the most important time to have some effective compression defense.  I expect it to be a problem throughout the week and into the next.  I guess I'll keep using whatever I have handy to keep on top of the swelling.  From a fitness standpoint, I should have run today.  However, not running was probably wise from the Lymphedema point of view. 

Priceless

Pretty much nothing positive is happening in the realm of exercise, fitness, and weight control this week.  Well, almost nothing.  We've equipped our office with exercise balls so we can switch out our chairs for a few hours at a time to get some mostly passive core work in during the day.  I tried it for an hour two different times today.  I found that it was easy to slouch and defeat the purpose, so I had to consciously straighten my back and roll back my shoulders to keep good posture while sitting on the ball and typing away on my keyboard.  I'll keep trying it off and on to see if I notice a difference.  I'm still very wimpy in the core and upper body compared to what I was prior to the surgeries.

On Sept 29, we start a Hit the Road with the Buckeyes event for which I have to track each step I take and log my miles weekly.  I'm on a team with four other colleagues and we are competing against hundreds of other teams at OSU.  I always get a head-start on this event because I spend the first few days at a conference in Chicago and walk everywhere. 

I haven't exercised much this week, unfortunately.  Things have been incredibly busy at work, but I'm not complaining because they have been good-busy.  We had a breakthrough on a reorganization project my boss, a colleague, and I have been working on for many months.  We finally figured out funding for a new position in my area which will allow us to hire some knowledge and skill for which we have been deficient for years.  We also realigned some staff to make better use of peoples' skills across the organization.  Today we unveiled our plan to some of the staff who are affected and they shared our enthusiasm about the opportunities this new structure will allow.  We still have some specifics to work out and have LOTS of work in training and work distribution after the changes are made, but it's all worth it.  I really feel like I made a positive impact on OSU today.  What a great day.

And to top it all off, Valerie sent me a text today in which she sent a picture of hearts and a recording of herself singing the prose from the card she gave me on my birthday.  It was very touching.  What a great kid.

We just got back from pizza and beer (the kids had soda pop, of course) at Kingy's.  Jason has a friend spending the night - Kemper is a great kid and fun to have around.  On the way home from the pizza joint, we turned up the radio to an insane volume and everyone rocked out.

Days like this . . . priceless. 

Morning run

I did the walk/run/walk thing this morning before work.  With the 3 minute run to 1 minute walk ratio, I did a 5K in 32:35.  My miles were 10:41, 10:48, and 10:14.  I followed with at 10 minute walk to cool down.  My allergies were really acting up this morning.  Drainage mostly, but was somewhat annoying during the run.

On Monday, the PT agreed to send back the custom glove and ordered one with a REALLY loose wrist band.  I hope this idea works.  The wrist part will be a full inch larger than before.  Since I didn't have the glove this morning, I ran with the full manual wrap on this morning.  It's a two layer process that involves wrapping my hand and each finger separately with a thin cloth strip and then wrapping an ace-type bandage over my hand and up my arm to my elbow.  It worked well.  My swelling today is between a 2 and 3 out of 10, even right after the run.  I didn't wear a glove all day after that. The back of my hand is a little swollen.  My fingers are actually very good today.

We've been busy with the kids' volleyball games, homework, and our school year flex work schedules these days.  One of us is home when Jason gets off the bus at 3:45.  To accomplish that, our work schedules have been adjusted from the summer schedule to the school year schedule.  I really value that flexibility! 

Swell weekend (pun intended)

After doing two 5 milers this week, I thought I'd better take it a little light this weekend.  I don't want to get injured.  And my hand is swelling more now.  Saturday, I did a quick run before Jason's volleyball game.  I put in 2 miles, 10:13 and 10:03.  Because I knew I was short on time, and because I planned to run a short distance, I decided to run the whole time.  I didn't take the 1 minute walk break after every 3 minutes as I've been doing on longer runs.  Interestingly, my miles weren't any faster without the walk breaks.  After running the two miles, I walked another .33 home to cool down.

Jason's volleyball game was fun.  He is playing with the 5th and 6th graders (he's a young 4th grader).  Ken is coaching the team with a friend of ours, Jeff, who has a 5th grade daughter.  We decided to have Jason play up so Jeff and Ken could coach together and Jason wouldn't have to play on teams with his 4th grade girl classmates.  Besides, he filled in for Val's 5th and 6th grade team last year when we had two injured players.  We knew he could hang with the group.  And he did.

He had a great first game.  His serve is wicked when it is in bounds.  He has a bit of trouble with control, but it's a strong overhand serve that kids at that level can rarely handle.  At one time up, he served 5 times over in a row and then they make them rotate so the games don't get stalled with just one kid serving the whole game. Another girl on our time had the same success. 

Jason's team won all three sets and then he and Ken went to the OSU game while I took Val and a friend to a movie at Easton.  Actually, I dropped them off at the front door and they bought their own tickets, refreshments, and went to the movie (Flipped). 

While they were at the movie, I went to Starbucks and had iced black tea and read my book.  I also went to Victoria Secret to look at bras.  I finally had enough courage to let someone measure me and she pegged me for a solid 36B.  That's what I was before the cancer and surgeries, so that's good.  The 36B bras at Kohls didn't really work.  However, the wireless ones at Victoria Secret were fine.  I bought two.  They aren't the fancy ones you think of when you hear "Victoria Secret," though.  These are the bras at the back of the store by the dressing rooms.  The ones in drawers and without much marketing or style fanfare.  No wires or push-up padding.  I can't use those things anymore.  I don't squish that way.  Although 90% of the bras in the store were off-limits to me, I left feeling much more positive about my plight than I have in a long time.  I'm a 36B and I have two bras that pretty much fit. 

I'm not feeling great about my hand, though.  It is swelling this weekend.  After my run on Saturday, I wore the cotton glove with the bean bag on the back to press down my swelling.  It kind of works.  The swelling overall goes down, but some places stay puffy so it looks strange when the glove comes off.  Tonight I'm trying my compression glove again - with the folded up pieces of cardboard that serve to loosen the wrist band.  We'll see if that helps or not.  I've got another PT appointment at 9am tomorrow morning.  I hope they will listen to me this time and request the wrist band be made significantly looser, like maybe a 1/2 inch or more.  Last time they disagreed with my assessment and were reluctant to change it.  They only requested it to be 1/8 larger and ordered a wider wrist band thinking that might make it more comfortable.  Nope.  Didn't work.  Let's try it again.  I hope the third time is a charm and not a strike.