Sept. 28

Leo’s 60th birthday and the focus was the office visit with his oncologist doctor and the results of the recent PET scan. We were a bit on edge even though we were trying to maintain the positive factor. The doctor entered the room and said “good news…very good news” and that’s about all we heard! The relief and joy we felt were immeasurable! The doctor did say that the original PET scan had a factor of 30 with active cancer and it was now down to 1.5 with 1 being perfect and he was not concerned with the .5 part. The tumor was gone and he was declared in remission…sweet words! He suggested we get a second opinion from a doctor at the Med Center in Omaha and then said the follow up would be another PET scan the very end of December to make sure all was well. So they pulled out Leo’s picc line and he got a hug from a favorite nurse there!...and he was a free man! Boy, did we have lots to celebrate!! We had packed a picnic lunch and off we went to Nebraska City to have a celebration picnic complete with wine…for Leo’s birthday and his new birthday!! We had such a happy day…so thankful for everything! It was a very emotional day for Leo as he talked to all of the kids telling them of the great news. Their support has been nothing short of fantastic throughout this whole process. It was just one sweet day!

Sept. 23

Got up early and went with Leo to the hospital where he had his follow up PET scan. This will tell the results of the chemo treatments. We’re hoping for good news. We won’t hear until next Monday on Leo’s birthday. While Leo was having the PET scan I got a cup of warm milk with some vanilla flavoring and about 1 hour later I had another gallbladder attack that lasted for about 30 hours…not fun at all. I think a stone must have been stuck in a duct. I’ll condense this down to one day as an entry in the blog…but actually I was out of commission (training) for 10 days…dealing with elevated liver function numbers, elevated bilirubin, had blood work done several times and had another ultrasound. In the end, all turned out ok and I have chosen to postpone any gallbladder removal surgery that has been recommended by my doctor & surgeon. One disappointing thing…I had to cancel out of running the half-marathon in Omaha because I was not able to run at that point due to doctor’s orders. I really would have liked to have done that…and I felt bad because Rachel was going to run with me…but I had no choice at that point.

Sept. 22

Did 5 miles in 75 min (15 min/mile)

Sept. 20

Andy decided to go on my Sunday morning run with me and Leo gladly volunteered to watch Delia. Andy had already given me the high compliment that I walked fast enough now to keep up with the DC folks. So we started the 3 mile walk/run and off we went. When it came time for my pace watch to beep…and time for me to break into a run…I thought I would leave Andy in the dust…but no. Andy not only kept up…but he didn’t even have to break into a run…his long legs just moved faster…at a fast walk pace for him. I thought, Oh, I see how it is! Anyway, we enjoyed the 3 mile walk and did it in 47 min. (15.7 min/mile). We had a fun rest of the day by all going up to Omaha to visit Laura and John and then head to Iowa to pick apples at an apple orchard. Delia had fun carrying her own bag of apples. They head home early tomorrow morning…it has gone by so fast!

Saturday, Sept. 19

The last two days have been wonderful...we have had such a great time with Andy and Delia. I got up early this morning and was at the Mopac by 6:30. Met Rachel & we headed out. I was supposed to do 14 miles but decided on 12 - I didn't want to be wiped out with Andy & Delia here. Rachel & I went out to the 6 mile marker & turned around. I felt good today on my walk/run - I'm glad I backed off a bit during the week. I feel like my energy is back. Just past the Walton grain elevator (mile 9) Leo, Andy, & Delia came by to say hi. Delia had been practicing saying "Go, Grandma, Go" but then decided not to say it - ha! She definitely has a mind of her own! It was nice for all of them to meet Rachel, my wonderful coach! I did the 12 miles in 3 hours 6 min (15.5 min/mile) so I was pleased with that. I only took 1 bathroom stop.
Sara went on her team bike ride & did an AMAZING 76 miles! Wow!!! She has so much guts to do that after not training much for 5 weeks or so!
I took my ice bath & relaxed a bit and then had more fun with Andy and Delia.

Sept. 16

Went with Leo and he had his blood work done - all looks good - numbers are coming up slowly. I went for my walk/run and again, it felt even worse. My legs just didn't want to do anything...I don't understand...I've been eating good and feel good otherwise...but I just don't have any "oomph" in my legs...it's like they are weighted down with lead. I did 3 miles (instead of the assigned 4) in 48 minutes (16 min/mile). I came home and Andy and Delia were awake and Leo took the day off so we had a picnic with Sara close to her work and Delia got to play on the playground. To say Delia is an amazingly cute, brilliant, personality PLUS, sweet, and cute as a bug little girl...is an understatement (you know this is Grandma talk!). We had so much fun today...every minute was pure delight!! I emailed Rachel and asked her what I should do about my run tomorrow...I don't want to overtrain and I'm wondering if my body has reached it's limits. Rachel said for me to take off tomorrow and Friday and have fun with Delia, and be rested for the Saturday run of 12 miles. That sounded like great news to me! It also gives me more time and energy to spend with Andy and Delia!

Sept. 15

I started off and it didn't feel very good. My legs felt like lead and didn't want to go into the run mode. I was not looking forward to doing my assigned 8 miles today due to the first 1/2 mile. I decided to cut it a bit short and give my body a break. I felt like I was going to be on a horrible pace of 17 min/mile or so, but I finished 5 miles in 78 minutes for a pace of 15.6 min/mile, so it wasn't as bad as I thought...although it felt horrible. I went to work for the day and then in the evening we all went up to Omaha to pick up Andy and Delia. We are so excited about them being here!!

Sept. 13

I'm not sure how I did it but I did my usual 3 mile Sunday walk in 45 min (15 min/mile) and it felt a little rocky in the beginning...my pace felt a little off...but it worked out in the end. Leo came along and did a brisk 2 1/2 miles...he definitely improved his pace today!

Sat. Sept 12...owls, possums, and 20 miles!!!

Woke up at 5:30 and got my gear ready (snot gel...I did 2 flasks today...one with 3 packs of the gel mixed with water and the other with 3 packs of gel with caffeine for the last half of the walk/run). I rigged out the gel flask carriers with Velcro strips instead of clips...one came close to falling off a time or 2 so I didn't want to take any chances. I prepared the electrolyte water flasks, recovery drink, protein drink and put them in a cooler, Cliff bar bites, Kleenex, tp, drivers license, cell phone...I think that's it. Anyway, it was supposed to rain today according to the weather forecast so I wore my old shoes so I wouldn't get my new ones muddy (this turned out to be a mistake because it didn't rain and my feet did not like those old shoes with their totally worn out insoles!). It was still dark when I met Rachel at Walton on the Mopac trail. We met there because there's a porta john (ick!) there and it gave more options for the long run today. It was still dark and when I got out of the car I was greeted by a hooting owl near the grain elevator. This picture of the grain elevator at Walton was taken later in the day:

It was really nice of Rachel to even be there because she had tickets to the Nebraska football game today (her first time going to a game!) and so she said she would walk the first 14 miles with me and then I was on my own. I told her she could leave after the first 8 miles because I was doing fine, but she insisted on staying with me...she's so nice! I couldn't ask for a better coach! It was cloudy pretty much the whole day and we saw 2 opossums crossing the road at different times early on in the run.
From Walton (at about the 3 mile marker) we went east for 4 miles then turned back and came back to mile 3 then went west to the start of the trail and back to Walton. At that point Rachel had to leave so I went back to mile 0 at the start of the trail again and then back to Walton to my car. WOO HOO...I DID IT!!! 20 MILES!!!! I'm not going to say it was easy, but I did it! The first 10 miles I kept a pretty good pace ...about 15.4 min/mile but by the time I got done - a total of 5 hours and 15 minutes...non-stop except for one bathroom break and 2 water fills...my final pace was 15.8 min/mile...a great improvement over my recent long runs...so I was very satisfied with this. I kept my pace of 2 minutes walk and 30 seconds run the whole time...even though I ran out of steam a bit the last 5 or 6 miles (it was the running that was hard!).
The walk was pretty as usual on the Mopac. There were the usual signs of bikes crossing the path and horse crossing signs...



…. and I did see horses crossing the trail today.


But my favorite sight of the day on the Mopac was this sign:

Nebraska…you gotta love it!

Drank my recovery drink and protein drink in the car before heading home. Did the drill at home…ice bath, lunch, and I added ibuprofen today…I wanted to take all the preventative measures I could today. Later on in the afternoon I drove Leo out to the trail and we hiked in about ½ mile so I could show him the tractor sign!
Took it easy the rest of the day except for a trip to the grocery store. My hips and legs were sure stiff this afternoon…especially after sitting down for any length of time. I was ok once I started moving again…but ooooh…that initial several steps after sitting…ouch!!
So total miles walked/run this week= 34 !! Total miles for my entire training period =

371 miles!!!!!!! Wowza dowza!!

Sept. 10

I did 4 miles in 60 minutes (15 min/mile). I have my really big walk/run coming up this Saturday...20 miles...I can hardly believe it! But this time I'm mentally prepared for it...I'm also prepared to be wiped out for the day!

Sept. 9

Leo had blood work done today and it's looking much better...he's feeling better and stronger. I missed my run today but I'm ready for tomorrow.

Sept. 8

Did 7 miles in 109 minutes (15.6 min/mile) and went to work. I'm having to get up in the dark and start my walk just as it's getting light...and then barely have time to get ready for work.

Sept. 6

Did my usual 3 mile Sunday walk/run and it really felt good. Leo came along and did about 2 1/2 miles today so that is great! I really pushed myself today and did it in 44 minutes (14.7 min/mile). Came back and Leo and I mowed the yard for a further work out.

Saturday Sept. 5

Got up at 5:30 to get ready for the team run today with Rachel. As I drove to the Mopac it was really foggy and still dark out. The stop lights looked like Christmas ornaments dangling from the sky as you couldn't see the post it was mounted on because of the thick fog. It was dark when we started at 6:30 and the fog stayed on til about mile 11 when the sun tried to peek through a bit. I did 14 miles in 3 hours 46 minutes (16.1 min/mile) and for some reason it seemed almost as long as last week's 18 miler. ...but I did it. Came home and Leo had hung the banner up...it's football time in Nebraska!

I went through the usual routine of drinking my recovery drink in the car after my run (kept in a small cooler) followed by a protein drink. Then at home, the necessary ice bath followed by lunch= solid food (unlike the snot gels and electrolyte drinks during the near 4 hour run).

Sept. 3

Got up early to do 5 miles. I did it in 80 minutes (16 min/mile) then went to work in the morning until after 1:00 and then drove Sara up to Omaha to catch a flight to Canada. I was half way back to Lincoln when she called saying her flight was cancelled and they were putting her up at the Hilton overnight and then she was flying out at 5:00 the next morning. She was not a happy camper. I went back to the airport and by the time she finished standing in line to get things in order, it was too late for me to drive back to Lincoln so I spent the night there, too, and got her to the airport at 3:45 on Friday morning.

Sept. 2

Leo had blood work done today and it was alright, but his white blood cell count was pretty low, his hemoglobin was low and his platelets were down. This final chemo treatment had a kick to it, it seems. So it's red meat and raw spinach for this week to bump up the hemoglobin and hopefully the neulasta shot will kick in by next week. I skipped my run today...I was just too tired. I did go to the Running Company today and bought new shoes and a new pair of socks since I ruined one on Saturday. My new shoes are the same brand (Brooks) but Ann put me in a half size larger...she said as you run your foot flattens out and gets wider and longer...great! I've got boon docker feet already! Hopefully these shoes will have more room for my poor toes. She showed me a way to lace up these new shoes to keep it tight around the ankle and heels so it doesn't slide (because of the extra half size). When you lace them you make a loop out of the top 2 holes and then loop through that loop and then pull it to tighten it around your ankle and tie it. Well, it's easier if I show you:

The top shoe shows the loop (untied) and the bottom shoe is tied to show how it tightens the top of the shoe.

I took a nap in the afternoon and ran out of daylight for my run.

Sept. 1

I skipped Sunday's 3 mile run because I was just too sore to think about it. So after a 2 day rest I was ready (well, mostly..I was still sore !). I got up early today & did a 7 mile. Sometimes it's hard to grasp what 7 miles is - so for those of you from Lincoln - here's a visual: I parked my car at Shopko on Hwy 2 & 27th st & my walk/run started there. I went from there to Old Cheney & 16th (by Heidelberg's) then back to Shopko (27th & Hwy 2) then east (parallel to Hwy 2) to 40th St - then back to Shopko (27th & Hwy 2) - then north past Sheridan Blvd to Van Dorn & then back to Shopko = 7 miles. I did that in 1 hour 49 minutes (15.6 min/mile). Went home - ate breakfast, fixed my lunch, took a shower, and went to work for the day.