An attitude of gratitude: Mile 6

I realize my faithful readers (all three of them) may be getting tired of these daily posts where I go on and on about all of these different people and how great they are and how I never could have had this level of success without them, but this whole experience--of getting so many of my friends and colleagues involved in the knock-down drag-out fight to beat the everlovin' snot out of lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma in all their horrible guises--has reminded me of something essential. No matter how independent and self-sufficient we think we are, no matter how much we insist that we don't need anyone for anything, that we can do just fine all by ourselves, it's simply not true. Anything difficult, anything worthwhile, and anything that matters requires the combined efforts of dozens, hundreds, thousands of people. We need other people like we need air and water. It's when we come together that the magic of life happens. Holding ourselves aloof and apart, turning away and ignoring each other out of fear or ignorance or hatred is the surest path to death by stagnation, by a thousand slow-bleeding cuts, a million lonely nightmares.

I really need to get more sleep.

Let's have a look at the latest race-day weather report, shall we?
May 16 Sunday Considerable cloudiness. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

YAY on the considerable cloudiness! Perfect! But Saturday night's lows are only in the mid 50s. Seriously, Mother Nature, would "low 50s" throw the universe out of whack? Three or four degrees fewer at the start line--would that really be too much to ask?

I attempted a bit of exercise today. The leg is slowly getting better but it is still not 100%. I went to the gym and spent 10 minutes in the spa to warm and loosen my muscles, and then I spent 15 minutes pool-walking. It was rather dull and I think I only walked 4 or 5 laps (out and back) in all that time, but it made me think about learning to swim better. (I can do a decent sidestroke, and that's about it.) Maybe I'm a triathlete and I just don't know it yet... After that, I hopped on the treadmill and ran, taking it reallllly slow. I didn't leave myself enough time before agility class, so I had to quit running after only 1.25 miles. The leg did not quite hurt, but I just noticed it more than I should have, if that makes any sense. I made sure to get in the full repertoire of stretches afterward and dashed home to change for agility class.

Yes, I went to agility class, despite the fact that it keeps trying to cripple me. I spent the ride there with ice packs on my leg, and I was very careful not to sprint on any of the exercises tonight. I was doing OK until the very last exercise when I had to do some turns with my right leg planted, so I called it quits. The instructor let me borrow this interesting device that sends teensy electric currents through an injured body part. It's supposed to ease the pain and speed healing. I tried it after I got home and I did actually feel the current. It seemed to help a little. I will keep using it--it can't hurt and I can use all the help I can get.

Oh, and I also got two more donations today! I really wasn't expecting anything more at this point, but it is very nice and much appreciated. Thank you to Janet and Angie. You two are terrific.

OK, on to tonight's group of helping hands, the fine group of people to whom I dedicate Mile 6. When I ran the ten-mile race a few weeks ago, Mile 6 was a real turning point for me. I slurped a salt packet and some Gatorade at the Mile 6 water stop and the afterburners really came on! I just seemed to get faster and faster from there. It's probably too early in a half-marathon to hope for afterburners at Mile 6, but what I really want at that point in the race is a nice steady flow of strength and energy. I want to still feel fresh and in my groove, moving forward effortlessly without wasting energy or feeling weighed down. I want to have the same happy look on my face as I did at that point in the ten-miler.

Tonight, I dedicate Mile 6 to some colleagues who have really turned on the afterburners for me in various aspects of my career. First, there's Klaudia. She was actually my student in a class I taught...um...I think it was about ten years ago now. From the start, she had a wonderful writing style. She could make words sing, even if they were nothing more exciting than a set of shipping documents. She was a delight to teach, although she needed very little actual teaching. I knew she would go on to do great things, and indeed she has. Now another successful professional in her own right, I happily refer jobs to her when I can, knowing they will be in good hands with her.

Next, a big thank you goes out to Eva, who not only does the same thing I do for a living, but also is a true dog lover. She has two dogs she takes on long daily walks out in the country and has the warm, compassionate, caring personality you'd expect from someone who loves animals so much. Her grandmother had leukemia after getting treatment for thyroid cancer (unfortunately, leukemia or lymphoma can actually be brought on by chemo and radiation to treat other types of cancer!).

My colleague Silvia sent me a lovely handwritten note with her donation, which of course I have managed to misplace in the interim so I can't quote anything from it. I still have the envelope, but not the note. How frustrating! I met Silvia back in the days when I was an in-house project manager and worked on a number of projects with her. Thank you for your kindness, Silvia!

The last two folks on Mile 6 also overlap in multiple areas of my life, which is very cool. They are both in my line of work AND they are both runners. I did not know either one of them ran until I sent out my fundraising letters! Angela was actually fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as well. She had her big day at the end of January and ran an absolutely incredible race! I should also mention she ran a full marathon, so she went twice as far as I'm going! She and I both donated to each other, which was kind of funny. She has also given me some good advice about running and training--she turned me on to Hammer gels, for which I will be forever grateful.

I've known Melissa for close to a decade now--I seem to recall having a very intense and interesting conversation with her in a food court in a mall in Atlanta (?) at the conference where we met. She has also discovered the joys of running and has been a very welcome presence on the blog, popping in now and again to leave a nice pick-me-up comment (trust me, you can never have too many of those!). Because we share the same job and the same love of running, I feel like she really understands what I'm going through with the training schedule. We'll definitely have to run together in Denver, whether it's on side-by-side treadmills or through the city streets!

Thank you so much! Klaudia, Eva, Silvia, Angela, and Melissa, Mile 6 is for you!