Triathlon for Bandipur!

I want to tell you all a story. Until recently, I never considered myself an athlete. I was the one struggling for the 100 yard dash, who would role her ankle just playing tennis and huffed and puffed when doing anything physical.

That has changed for me recently. What made me change? A sappy Nike commercial and wishing for a trip to Nepal. It is the trip to Nepal I want to tell you about…and ask for your help.

Several years ago my friend Jeannie went on a trip to the small town of Bandipur, Nepal. Since then she has raised money for plumbing for their school and a new home for an elderly couple who were walking two hours to and from work every day. I’ve dreamt of going with her, but there was one big obstacle—the trip requires a long walk up a mountain and I was out of shape.

So last year around this time, I started running. My goal was to run a mile without stopping. It took me over two months. In May of last year, I ran a whole mile. In November, I ran my first 5K. In just two weeks, March 14—just a year after I started on this journey--I’m doing my first triathlon.

For some of you, this may be no big deal. But for those who know me well, I’m not a petite woman. This is a very big deal for me. And I’m doing it as a means to an end—to get in shape so I can get up that mountain in Nepal.
But here’s the next challenge. I don’t want to go to Nepal empty handed. So, I set another very ambitious goal. I want to raise $10,000 to take to the town of Bandipur to help them buy books, supplies and provide better structures for their schools. My goal is to raise it in time to go this coming November.

This is where I need your help. If everyone who reads this note sends me $15, then I can raise $10,000! And to what other organization can you donate where you know the person who is actually making sure it goes where it is supposed to go?

So just reply and let me know that you’re in right now. I’ll find you and remind you to send it when it is convenient for you. And no guilt if you can’t do it--I totally understand.

Thank you. And if you’ve ever doubted about the power of goals and dreams, then let me remind you that anything is possible.

This Sucks (aka How to Care So Much Without It Consuming You)

Okay, so there is no possible way to describe what is happening besides --this Sucks! Kailey has cancer. It's changed her world. It is changing our world. I'm trying to not let it affect me too much, but I'm finding that very difficult.

First of all, you have to understand who Kailey is for us. We "found" each other on Halloween 7 years ago. I was a cow, she was Dr. Kevorkian, jokes were exchanged about her killing me and BAM--she was our babysitter and adopted daughter. She's been over to our house 2-5 times a month ever since--sometimes to babysit, sometimes to hang out, sometimes to take the kids to do something amazing that their parents would never do. We have a gecko named after her. She is somewhere between a daughter, friend, sister and drinking buddy. She's a very strong, independent, BEAUTIFUL young woman who it has been more than our pleasure to watch mature and find her unique place in the world.

And she has cancer. Ovarian. With some spread to her back. And it sucks so much.

She told us and I freaked but then kind of went into denial. It wasn't until she came over for dinner, described everything in her matter-of-fact Kailey way that it was in our face and we couldn't deny it. A week later she moved back to the neighborhood with her dad, which puts her a block away from us. We're walking her dog, having dinner with her, hanging out and helping her how we can. In a way, it is great to get to spend so much time with her. I wish it weren't under these circumstances.

On the one hand, she is so strong and dealing with this so well. It is fascinating to watch this from a 22-year old's perspective. How to handle wearing a mask while dating. Handling 3 guys who are interested in her at the same time. Fitting in college courses inbetween chemo.

On the other hand, it is incredibly hard for anyone and she's had her share of ups and downs already--and it is just beginning. Changing diagnoses for the cancer in her back--the radiation is off, it's on, it's off again. She's had her second lumbar puncture and gotten meningitis from it each time. The chemo affects everything. She has to wear a mask which has prompted INSANE comments. And she's shaving her hair today because it is one way she can take control over losing it over the next few days.

My role--I've been trying to play plenty, but which ones are needed? Friend? Mother-figure? Nurturer? Someone to keep it light? Support only where needed? Food provider? Source of organic fruits and vegetables? Someone to keep her from getting lonely and scared? I want to be all of these? But I don't want to smother her. And I know I can't solve it. And, it doesn't help anyone if I can't focus also on my life--my work, husband, kids, life.

So, to my grounded, pastoral-based friends out there--how do I stay supportive, acknowledge the hugeness of this in our life and help to truly make a difference....but not get totally consumed by it?

Should We Be Doing All This?

OK, before I even start typing, a MAJOR disclaimer. I LOVE my friends and family. I want them to be healthy. I want everything to be done possible to make them healthy. The following rantings are broadly philosophical and overall ethics and not about specific individuals.

Okay, this has been quite a few weeks. First you have to hear me rant about the back story. But I'll tell you that the overall theme is people being made physically miserable by medical efforts to make them healthy. Not the illnesses themselves, but by the medical interventions RELATED to the illnesses. That is the topic of my ranting.

1. My uncle Dave. Had a liver transplant several years ago. Kidneys are not doing well and on dialysis. But major issue is four blocked arteries. Had a quadruple bypass and was in the hospital for many days, feeling miserable. (Mostly his legs hurt from where they took the arteries). The surgery was necessary to prevent a serious heart attack.

2. My friend Dave. Has colitis. Had a combination of medicines that made him so anemic that he was hospitalized for several blood transfusions. In the hospital for days. Missed a lot of work. It wasn't the colitis that ultimately caused the hospitalization--it was the combination of medications.

3. My friend Terri. She is HIV positive and her counts went down dramatically a couple of weeks ago. She was incredibly lucky to find a very famous doctor who is working on advanced treatment for HIV/AIDS in Africa who put her on an experimental treatment. But for the first week, her body was doing everything it could to reject these awful chemicals. She basically lived in the bathroom, slept with her head on the toilet with her body rejecting this in every way it could. It wasn't the HIV that had her sick, it was the life-saving treatment.

4. Our babysitter (and "adopted" daughter) Kailey. At 22, she's been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. (Yes, let's all acknowledge that this sucks beyond all belief). She's had one round of chemotherapy and has given us all the grisly details. Puking, no energy, no strength, everything tastes like metal, can't eat anything "unreal". Plus she gets something called "chemo brain" which makes her forget the sequence of things (like she got dressed and THEN got in the shower and turned it on!). The cancer isn't affecting her yet. This is all from the treatment.

5. My mother. She had a tightening in her chest and pains down her arm. Because she has every single risk factor for heart trouble, they admitted her for three days, ran lots of tests, poked and prodded and bruised her, and at the end of the day let her go saying there was nothing they could do and her arteries aren't clogged. No heart attack, but plenty of trauma to find that out.

First of all, YES--these are all within the last two weeks. Second of all--notice that these all have one thing in common. All of these people are suffering. But they are NOT suffering from the illness that is the root cause. They are all suffering from the TREATMENT of said disease. The treatments are so harsh that people are puking, collapsing, bleeding and showering with their clothes on.

For me, I have to wonder if our goal of saving everyone, curing everything and defying mortality at any cost has gone too far. We are putting cell-killing chemicals into our bodies, creating toxic healing "cocktails", putting cameras into hearts, medicines that make us sicker and our organs onto machines just to heal us. Our earth is getting more and more populated and we're working harder and harder to keep it that way.

I don't have the answer--just a great big question. Should we be doing this? And, again, please refer to the first paragraph. This is very much a NIMBY (not in my back yard) question. YES--I want all this to be done for MY loved ones. But I have to ask--as this is all being thrown in my face--is this really the humane way to treat humanity?

My First Brick

I know. I thought the same thing. What's a brick?

My friend Deb is the absolute best. She's the one who got me into this. At a cocktail party (I love that word) last year, she innocently asked me if I was interested in doing a triathlon. I didn't even let her finish the sentence before I said "YES." I don't know why. I had consumed a few drinks, was feeling cocky and I said "YES." Ever since then, she has been a recruiter, cheerleader, trainer and life coach for a number of women she's recruited to the cause.

She called me yesterday and said "I just realized you're a month out. We've got to start working." Well, I'm five weeks out, but she effectively freaked me out. She and all her other girls aren't doing thier tri until May--but my first one is March 14th. She told me that I need to stop drinking (well, ok), drink lots of water, eat more protein (but I'm vegetarian!!!) and start doing Bricks.

Bricks are Biking and Running Combinations. We can do these different things separately, but the secret to the triathlon is that they all go TOGETHER. Going from swimming to biking isn't that tough because swimming is mostly upper body and biking is mostly lower body. But going from biking to running is a different matter. So, I did my first one--half of what the race is going to be--6 mile bike and 1 mile run. I also got to practice the transition--what do I need to take off after the bike (shoes, helmet, gloves) and put on for the run (running shoes, water belt). I wasn't expecting how HEAVY my legs felt after the bike. But I ran 1.25 miles. And I think I could do two. I'll be finding out in the next couple of weeks.

Aren't you glad to know all this stuff???

Run Around The Universe

Our third 5K. They're almost becoming normal now. That is actually very cool for me.

This one was pretty awesome because it was held at Universal Studios. We started in the bus parking lot, ran through City Walk, ran all the way around Islands of Adventure and then through the back lots of Universal Studios and then through the "streets" of Universal Studios. We ran out the front gates and then ended right in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. All along the route were Universal employees with cute signs, cowbells and cheers. It was very easy not to think about the run because there was so much to look at along the way.

But what was cool about this one is the role that Eric had. He came with us because Robb was gone for the day and I had to do a training afterwards--I didn't want him home alone. So, he said goodbye to us at the starting line and then was walking to where the race ended. But I ran into him about a third-mile in waiting to cheer us on. I passed him and said "C'mon, Eric, run with me." He got this big surprised smile on his face and said he would. About another third of a mile, he turned to me and said "When should I stop." I said "Don't stop. Run the whole thing with me." His face lit up again and he decided to go for it.

Now, this is big for Eric. He was impressed with what Kyle and I were doing, but he didn't think he could do it. He didn't want to "train." He didn't think he could run. But before he knew it, we were half way through. Poor kid was running in his jeans with a big, bulky sweatshirt, but he was running. And he had to stop and walk sometimes, but luckily for him, I'm a really slow runner so he could walk a little and then run and catch up. We talked along the way and I made sure to tell him several times how proud I was of him. It was a real treat to see his face light up when I said that.

We finished at 42.10. That is 15 seconds longer than my last race. But considering that I ran a little slower for Eric, I consider that a great success.

For the triathlon, I feel confident that I can do the run. And I've done 15 mile bike rides a couple of times now without much problem (a sore butt the next day). I'm working on the swimming. Tonight I had my second swim this week and I think I can do the 1/4 mile.

Yesterday, I officially signed up for TWO triathlons-- a short sprint (1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run) in March and then a full sprint in May (1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike and 3.1 mile run). I need to get the swim going, but I don't think I'll die.

The training continues. But I'm really enjoying it!

AC/DC or Bust

Many of you who read this blog also followed this journey on Facebook, but I wanted to save it for posterity. Kyle and I went on a road trip to Charlotte, NC for an AC/DC concert on Thursday. This started several months ago when, after many years of trying to figure out what he was "into", Kyle decided he dug rock music. It has been such a joy to help him discover what he likes--Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Journey, Boston and the likes. But his favorite was AC/DC--the ultimate cliche in rock music, of course. And then he found out they were going to be touring. Unfortunately, the closest concert was either Charlotte or Atlanta--we chose Charlotte. (Interestingly, several weeks later, they decided to add a Tampa show, but by the time we found out the only tickets left were in the nose-bleed section almost behind the stage.) The deal was that he had to earn the money for the ticket, a t-shirt and a portion of the gas--$150. I'd let him skip school and we'd go.

He was looking forward to the concert, but I was looking forward to the road trip. He was so grateful that I was taking him, he said he'd talk to me the whole way. 16 hours with my 13 year old just talking and sharing--that is gold!

The road trip was AWESOME! 8 hours straight of AC/DC music. He set up my new iPhone and we read about AC/DC on Wikipedia on it. We learned about the history, the musicians and odd ways of dying (the old lead singer died by choking on his vomit while drunk). The night before we went to the dollar store so that on the ride we could munch on cookies and he could drink fake Mountain Dew. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to save money on Fast Food. He updated my Facebook page with cheesy puns of AC/DC titles. And we played the music really loudly.

After checking into the hotel (thank you Marriott points--the golden lining to all my traveling), we went out to dinner and we made a rule that--for that night only--we were not mother and son, just two people going to a concert. He told me stuff that I'd never heard (nothing dangerous, just more of a glimpse into the life of a 13 year old middle schooler). And we laughed. I let him drink Red Bull (I NEVER let him do that) and he let me try some in my beer.

And the concert--it was loud. Really loud. But the theatrics were fun, the music was decent and the staging was amazing. The concert was sold out and all the 40-something rock fans were in heaven. No one sat down the whole concert. The show was full of rock cliches--devil horns, rock trains, guitar solo tricks, video clips of babes and sexual innuendo.

Our ears were ringing after, continued ringing the whole trip home and Kyle's were still ringing today, 2 days after. But another memorable moment came on the way home when my son--after 24 hours of being an adult rocker, asked in his sweet, tired and kind voice, "Mom, I know I said I would talk to you, but do you mind if I just tune out and watch a movie?" I said fine. His choice after a hard day rocking and rolling? Disney's The Incredibles. Ahh....13 years old.

Reindeer Run Rules

So yesterday was our second 5K race and it was good! I had a crazy week--two projects in two cities, about 80 hours of work and a midnight flight home from NYC on Friday. But I was up naturally about 5:30 before my 6am alarm.

The big challenge was that it was COLD. Those of you up North will laugh, but it was in the low 50s and it was very cold for us. But I didn't want to overdress because as soon as my body warmed up I would be cold.

I was excited about the Reindeer Run because they give really great shirts. It was a long sleeve Under Armor kind of shirt. So that was going to have to do.

My goal with this race was to run--more than what I did on the last one where my times were pretty embarrassing. I wanted to lengthen my stride a little bit more and pick up my feet more.

We got off to a good start. I got kind of paranoid when just a little into the race I heard something drop on the ground and it was my car key that I had tucked into my sports bra. After that, I kept checking my bra, making anyone who was watching possibly wonder what was happening.

At the first mile, I was thrilled to see my time. 13.25. For those of you who run (who are some of the only ones who read my blog), this will make you laugh. But for me, it was a full minute off my time during the last run. I was thrilled.

The run went through some gorgeous home areas in Maitland. Once my body warmed up it was a PERFECT temperature to run. And no turtlenecks or santa hats this time--just comfy running clothes.

There were lots of people dressed up--like elves, Santa, snowflakes, etc. But the highlight was the Orange County firefighters who ran the whole race in their fire gear with heavy tanks on their back. For the last 20 minutes, one of them ran with Kyle (who was ahead of me, of course) and told him that Kyle wasn't to let him pass him. He especially encouraged Kyle on the last stretch to give it his all. He did and came in at 37.51.

For me, each mile was almost exactly 13.25. My second mile was at 26.5 and my third at 40. I ended up the race at 41.55. As I came across the line, they said "And here's Christine Haskins from Oviedo, FL" which cracked me up.

My lungs felt this race, which made me feel good. I didn't want to coast through it. I felt better about this race than the last one--ironic. Even more ironic since I had such little sleep and a flight the night before. I felt real good.

By the time I found Kyle at the food table, he had eaten at least 5 Rice Krispy Treats (of course). I had a banana and then we had to rush home because the poor kid had a football game for an hour as soon as we got home.

2 down. More to go....