Four forty five AM right before the race jitters

Dani & Diane Race Results - We did it!

The weekend passed like a whirlwind and I savored each moment in the beautiful wine country, my old home. We started our Napa trip with visiting Jeff Miller, an old friend from one of Andras's previous jobs. He was an operations man with a couple kids whom we would ski and run and socialize; a tall, handsome man with a perpetual kind welcoming smile and wry sense of humor.

Andras moved on with his work and Jeff divorced and found another job, and semi-retired, began working at a winery with a brilliant semi-retired physicist named George Hendry. The land was his parents and he grew grapes there and sold them to local wineries. I first met George 14 years ago that we visited the winery to celebrate Jeff's 50th birthday and I recall seeing his big old cyclotrons in the barn. Honestly, how many people do you know with cyclotrons in their barns?

That the also the last time I visited George and Jeff and the vineyard. This time, Jeff was a little grayer, happily remarried after a sad divorce, more laid back than I recall and as warm as the summer sun at daybreak. We didn't hike through the vineyard this time. Over the years, they had constructed a beautiful winery and tasting room. We got the complete tour in 45 minutes. I learned that running a winery is one huge expensive time consuming labor of love and a small price to pay for immersing oneself in beautiful wine country land. This was the land where we were going to run our half marathon the next day.

After visiting Hendry Winery, we drove 15 minutes south west to a Garden Park and picked up our bibs, pins and start-time instructions. Then, we drove another 20 minutes north to Rohnert Park where we checked in to our hotel and attended a mandatory team meeting. Next, we drove another 20 minutes north to our secret dinner destination which was right outside my first employer, HP's, now Agilent's, entrance gates on Fountaingrove Parkway in Santa Rosa. We had a lovely buffet style meal on the golf course, followed by a motivational presentation about the Crohns and Colitis Foundation and what fund-raising means to those suffering and coping with the diseases.

We returned back to our room, prepared for a race wake-up call at 4 AM and went to sleep. We didn't sleep very well; jitters, anticipation, strange bed... morning came quickly, then team photo shoot, quick snack and off to the race start in the buses.

The weather was perfect. The race began with a short uphill, then long down. Dani and I ran the first 10.5 miles together. The first 9 miles were good. We felt good and maintained a good pace; around 9:30 min/mile. Then, my feet really started hurting, so I tried walking, but they still hurt. I tried slowing down, but no difference. I'm not sure why they hurt so badly at the time, but in reviewing the elevation map, I learned the first 9 miles, although mostly rolling hills, was more downhill, which means more pounding. The road condition was not good and I had to watch my steps much of the way, but I kept going. Dani urged me along. She was very strong.

I had wanted to finish in around 2:15. Dani looked at me at mile 11 and said she could make it and would go ahead to finish in that time for me. I urged her on since I had slowed. She finished in 2:14:47 time. She had finished 7th/24 in her age division (W10-20). I hobbled in after her with a 2:21:07 time. I was 46th/109 in my age division (W50-54).

I was wiped but warmed by Dani's smiling face and big hug at the finish. We had lunch, met local news celebrity, Ross McGowan, distributing Kombucha Tea in the CCFA tent, cleaned up, and spent the afternoon watching a Juventus Barracuda's soccer game with Dani's Club Team. No, she didn't play. The weekend was full.

After all, I am very very proud of our accomplishment together on this priceless weekend in the wine country. We did it for CCFA. We did it for each other and we did it for you and all the people who generously donated to our fundraiser. We did it!

Napa Half Marathon - mission accomplished

Feet were screaming sore and what makes me laugh when I see these photos is I know I was wincing at the end, but photos all look like a smile.

Our Last Official Training Prior to the Event

IBS versus IBD

I have IBS. It's different from the disease my daughter has and it can be quite annoying at times of stress. It's one of the reasons I quit running regularly years ago. When I am stressed my stomach and bowels gurgle, become gassy, to name a few symptoms. It's no fun running with sensitive bowels.

In the past, worst case scenarios have included knocking on strangers doors requesting to use a toilet or pulling off the freeway at random exits stalking any gas station or fast food restaurant toilet. I've since learned tricks to cope with this hypersensitve condition and it's something I've learned to live with over the years.

IBD takes bowel problems to the whole next level and a key differentiator is that symptoms don't/can't self correct. They just get worse. Irritation leads to inflammation which leads to constipation, diarreha and bleeding ulcerations of bowel linings. Inflamed and ulcerated bowels lead to malabsorbstion of nutrients, weight loss and general poor health. Steroids and/or immune suppressants are required for healing and left untreated, people can die from complications, easily.

I didn't know much about this until my daughter became ill. Because of her illness, I truly understand the differences between IBS and IBD and am a better person for it. It's a privilege to be healthly. It's a privilege to be well enough to train and run for the benefit of all people fighting IBD today. I look forward to July 18th and our 1/2 marathon run; it's right around the corner.

Best Participant Award despite the ups and downs

Pleasure at Shoreline...

That's exactly what my fortune cookie said last Friday night, "You will experience pleasure at the shoreline." So, Saturday morning, I woke up to head out to Shoreline "Park" for a 10 mile run. I haven't run 10 consecutive miles in... decades. It was already hot at 8:30 AM when I started off at around 10 min. mile pace with Carrie. The breeze off the water was a saving grace and the beauty of the restored marshlands with flocks of large birds, another bonus. The wind wicked the sweat right off so I didn't feel the burn. Unfortunately, stomach was not very cooperative and I was grateful for the restrooms at the halfway marker. Note to self; no more Chinese food prior to long runs.

Danielle finally returned home after finals last Thursday. She will be joining my training this week. Finally, training together, yeah!

What the Doctor Said...

Iliotibial Band Syndrome and some hip bursitis as a result. RICE, or rest, ice, compression and elevation and stretching should help alleviate further pain and inflamation.

He said my backing off and resuming strategy was good and I could keep running and walking as long as pain was manageable. He also gave me a referral to their in-house sport medicine specialist if I wanted additional expert advice.

I'll be taking some OTC anti-inflamatories, cross-training and strengthening and massage to the effected area as needed. I was thrilled to run 5.75 miles without pain and found a consistent rhythm and a zone - very slow, but not walking - ha!

A special thanks to Deanna, Katie and Twyla for supporting me along the route yesterday. I love you all!

Team Challenge After the 9 Miler...

Managing Hip Pain...

Last weekend we ran 8 miles at Stanford Loop, which is two trips around the campus west-end. I walked the first loop and jogged slowly through the second. Later that day, my hip was quite sore again.

Overall, each consecutive day feels better. Each week, hurts less, is more generalized and the pain passes quicker. So, I believe I am healing slowly. Tomorrow with be the moment of truth where I verify with an orthopedist exactly the cause and best course of action for the upcoming month and half prior to the race. I may have to walk the entire thing.

Anyway, I will do it. Please wish me luck in this recovery...

Harold, this years official CCFA Honoree for Northern California sent me the sweetest message of encouragement to continue on that closed with a lovely quote from a Persian Poet, "In the hour of adversity, be not without hope, for crystal rain falls from black clouds." I know, with help, I will overcome this painful hip.

When Danielle is healthy, she plays soccer...

My iffy hip and lesson of getting shoes right

Three weeks ago, I ran four days in a row and it probably wasn't the best idea. My body wasn't ready and I started developing pain in my right hip.

So, I backed off a few days, felt better, then started up again to renewed hip pain. Ouch! I backed off again and decided to investigate new shoes... off to Roadrunners, a complete gait analysis, custom insole and new shoes. Fortunately, I was able to refund/credit my original shoes within their 60-day return policy window - yeah! I then took the remaining week off running and walked 14 miles instead. I hope to start running again this Monday.

Did I mention... my personal goal is to run the entire 13.1 miles. I haven't run a 1/2 marathon in twenty five years. So, I'm raising money to help a group of wonderful people with digestive challenges, including my lovely daughter, plus, on a more personal note, celebrate 25 years with Andras and running in the county (Sonoma) where I used to place in local road races regularly. Deja-vu, maybe, sentiment, absolutely. Who knows, I may run into some of my old, but young at heart, running colleagues. I am so proud to be a part of this entire experience.

What it means to have UC...

Good article that illustrates what it's like.

Our Graphics Added to Spirit Cape Corner

Diane Models the Spirit Cape

Earned Spirit Cape this Week!

The spirit cape is awarded to someone who made a significant contribution over the previous week; either performance, meeting fundraising goals or providing support for others. This week, I earned that award... COOL!

Now, sometime between last Saturday and this up-coming Saturday, I need to find/create/design a graphic for a section of the spirit cape. Then, I'll sign mine and Dani's names to that design and it's ready for the next person.

Dani wanted me to mention her school, UW, for school and team support. However, I hoped to make the design more personal (piece of intestine, red running shorts, angel), or whimsical (life-saver, hot-dog, running-toilet), or maybe I should combine all these wild concepts together into some interesting cartoon figure. Anyway, I have three more days to figure this out.

Running last week went well. I tried running consecutive days. By Sunday, my hip bothered me a bit so I backed off yesterday, plan to cross-train this evening and resume running tomorrow night at Stanford Track.

Dani trains at UW with the women's soccer team and has run up to a maximum of 7 miles at one time. So, we know she's good for that distance. She'll need to up the mileage prior to July. Her per mile pace is significantly faster than mine, so I expect it will be fairly easy when she joins me in June. We can decide then, our strategy to complete the entire course. I can't wait to train with her.

Running for HP at Corporate Cup in 1983

Running with my shadow...

If you ran competition at any point in your life, you will always compare yourself to what you used to be. It can't be avoided. Yet, decades later, I really have to let that go and be kind to myself along the way.

Yesterday, I ran 6 miles with only a few momentary breaks. I averaged a 9.5 minute mile. When I was 24, I ran my first 10K and averaged a 7.25 minute mile pace over the 6.2 mile course. Then, I had been training for 4 months. I am at the one month mark this week.

I knew this would hurt and wanted to keep the run social and hoped someone would go out quickly with me, but no takers until Sam joined me at the 2.5 mile mark. It was getting hotter by the minute and I wanted to complete ASAP.

In the first mile, I heard some voices behind me chatting away and thought maybe it was my group. When they finally caught and passed me at the second mile mark, I realized they were another running club made of younger adults and it brought back memories. When they passed, one woman commented... "Nice pace." I said "Thanks." Yet, in my mind, I think my shadow (the runner I used to be) is so way ahead and you'll never catch her and neither will I.

In that regard, I envy the folks who never ran before. They don't constantly compare themselves to a standard set decades ago.

Danielle graduated High School in Spring 2009

Running so far, so good...

I started running on March 27th with Team Challenge at San Thomas Aquino Trail. My calves tightened after and I could barely walk the next day. Welcome back body. I'd always been a toe runner, so I made a conscious effort to land mid-foot versus toe, which helped. The first run lasted three miles and I was pleasantly surprised my sensitive hip did not flare; must have been all the boot camp over the Winter.

My second run was at Sawyer Camp Trail. It had rained that afternoon and the trail was nearly empty. I dialed U2 on my iPod and started running, one foot after another. I didn't wear a watch and didn't want to be pressured by time. I wanted to feel my body's response to sustained pounding, deep breathing, sensitive stomach and sweating. I ran four times that first week, 3x4 miles and 1x3 miles with Team challenge.

My second week, I ran 3x4 miles, completed a step class and a 23 mile bike ride as well. My third week, I ran 1x4 miles at Sawyer Camp, 1x2 miles at the track, 1x5 miles at San Thomas Aquino Trail and took a total body conditioning class at the gym.

I can feel changes; digestion and circulation improving, muscles strengthening, and it feels good overall. My hip bothered me a bit after 5 miles, but nothing a few ibuprofen couldn't resolve. This week I'll make the track workout again and try to up the mileage at Sawyer Camp Trail during the week day.

I know from experience, the only way to make 13.1 miles as comfortable as possible is to slowly work up to at least 25 - 30 miles a week for two to three weeks prior to the race.

Oh no, I need orthodics...

When I had quit running a few years back, I had visited an orthopedic doctor who recommended I talk to a podiatrist who fitted me for my first orthodics. She also told me to get better shoes for my flat and over-pronating feet, so I had officially graduated from stability shoes to motion control shoes.

I don't like orthodics. Am I the only one? They remind me of girdles and tight uncomfortable clothes, restrictive and binding, and I sort them into the don't-like-to-wear them category. Still, doctors are supposed to be helping us, so when I walk, I wear my orthodics, but when I run, I just wear my motion control shoes sans orthodics.

I have sloppy ankles; you know, the type the suddenly give under you when you step on something uneven. They work best when I am stronger, but I need to get stronger without getting injured first. It's a little like the chicken-egg story. So, I tell myself I will be careful during my training runs. I will wear good shoes (without orthodics) and I will get strong enough to make the 13.1 miles without injury.

Uncle Don, the best Uncle ever...

The last time I saw my Uncle was at our family gathering last X-mas at my sisters home. He was 77 years old, and even at his advancing age, he had a wonderful uplifting tone in his voice when he greeted you."... great to see you, how ya'doing?" he'd ask as he gave you a great big bear hug. I can hear his voice in my mind at this moment. I will miss him.

Don passed away last weekend of congestive heart failure. I got the news during the nutritional lecture after our weekly Saturday morning Team Challenge run. Gratefully, Don didn't suffer very long, had a sharp mind to the end and lived well beyond what the doctors said he would twenty three years ago. I recall back when we visited him at the hospital; when he was first diagnosed with colon cancer, had a large section of his intestine removed and told he would be living with an ostomy for the balance of his life. The doctors also diagnosed that he would require heart surgery over that same year. I recall them saying, "If you were a smoker, you'd be dead." He was 54 years old that day; the same age I am today.

Don's mother, Mary Rodrigues, my maternal grandmother, had also died of colon cancer complications at age 65. She was diagnosed too late and never treated prior to her death. So, when I run the half marathon in July, I will think of my family, Don, Mary, and Danielle and I will be surrounded with many many people who share a similar family history regarding colon health.

If it's Fall, it's time for Prednisone...

Fast forward, Diane's Training...

I used to run a lot. I mean I used to compete in 5K's, 10K's and Corporate Cup Races before I had kids. In fact, I first met my one only father of my kids and husband, Andras, after I had just completed a 1/2 marathon, the last 1/2 marathon I recall running. In fact, much like the one we are fund-raising for right now. So, I stopped running when the kids were small; just too too much with working full time and maintaining a household. Then, I started running again when the kids were more independent and I was facing the big Four-Oh and I ran uninterrupted for a few years, even ran a few races. Then I managed to have a nasty ankle sprain, then some chronic back-pain which I later learned was fibroid tumors. A few years and a few surgeries later, I didn't like the direction my numbers... you know, the ones doctors watch, so I embarked on something a little less stressful to the joints; walking. Later, I tried boot camp, then step classes and spin classes, then biking Sundays with Andras... which BTW was a walk in the park for him. Then, just last month, Danielle said, "Mom, can we run the CCFA half marathon fundraiser... together." I thought about it for around 10 seconds, then said, "Sure".

Not stomach flu, one ER visit later...

Danielle took the prescribed antibiotics as directed by her doctor and a week and a half later she said she felt worse. That wasn't right. Then she confided a very embarrassing fact; she had blood in her stool that would not go away and she'd had it for over a week now. I immediately took her to the ER. The doctors assessed her situation, which included testing her for possible internal pancreatic damage that could have occurred during the car accident. They admitted her to the hospital overnight where she was prepped for a colonoscopy in the AM. I stayed with her all night and the next day prior to her returning home. The colonoscopy would reveal that she had many bleeding ulcers in her colon. She was given doses of mesalamine (Asacol) and prednisone (steroids) and a restricted diet of soft non-scratchy foods. She was very ill and remained home from school for eight weeks.

The accident... continued

I soon discovered that the reason the Instructor had not called was because he broke his arm trying to grab the wheel when they were hit headon by an oncoming vehicle who had crossed the center line. The Instructor left in an ambulance. Danielle was visibly shaken with no broken bones. Later, she said she didn't feel well and a few days later we took her to the pediatrician who treated her for stomach flu.

In a good way now, but not when it started...

If I stop to really think about what this means to me, in so many ways, I am simply overwhelmed with emotion. My mind floods with so many memories. So, the best way to express, for me, is to keep moving forward, one step at a time, toward the goal making this world a little safer place for people with hyper-sensitive digestive tracts.

This all began when my second daughter, Danielle, was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in the late Winter of 2007, when she was only 15.5 years old. It started with a phone call from her cell phone during her second Driver Training lesson. She said, "Mom, I've been in a car accident." The first thing that entered my mind was... why isn't the Training Instructor calling me instead of my young daughter... where is the adult? She told me where she was... Polhemus Road in Hillsborough; a narrow two lane road through the canyon east of HWY 280 in San Mateo county.

I jumped into my car, just five minutes away from our home, and was shocked to find the road blocked with Fire Engines lights swirling... continued later...

Thanks to Danielle Boross, my daughter, we are doing this together...