Saturday, September 17, 2011

Active for Cancer.

As you likely already know, I lost my dad to cancer (colon) in 1995 and my mom to cancer (leukemia) in 1997. So, participating in events to raise funds and/or awareness about cancer is very meaningful to me. Last Sunday our church organized a Walk of Hope for Ovarian Cancer. Ovarian cancer is difficult to detect early so unfortunately once it's diagnosed, the survival rate is not great. In this picture you will see our Pastor Andy
who lost his wife, Theresa, to ovarian cancer in October 2010. (I ran the Canadian Championships last year in Ottawa with a yellow ribbon for her.) He is cutting the ribbon with two ovarian cancer survivors beside him. The event was very successful; Andy spoke a short message to the crowd, telling us that even though we don't yet have a cure for cancer, we have a cure for death...Christ! Also great was that we raised nearly $50,000. Jonathan was helping w/ food so I walked the 5 km with the kids. Leah was in the Chariot while Seth (age 3) walked nearly the entire route with his brother, cousins, and 3 friends. What an amazing day.

Yesterday at Micah's school, CBA , I participated in a presentation about Terry Fox and running marathons. Boy, it was difficult to speak right after watching an amazing YouTube video about Terry. When he announced, from his stretcher, that the cancer had spread to his lungs and he had to stop running, no words can describe. I had to choke back the tears before I stepped onto the stage. I can hardly imagine what he endured. So, here's a picture of Seth and I joining the students. They ran/walked for 30 minutes straight that afternoon. Another great event for cancer.

So, this morning I finished another great week of training. Total was 24 km for this a.m., and 94 km for the week. Of course I biked twice and swam three times and did some light weights. I am getting in weekly tempo, speed, and interval workouts so am feeling faster and fitter every day. The other night I checked my heart-rate, as I often do before falling asleep. Normally it's about 39. It was 37. So, I must be doing something right. I am slowly getting back to my pre-preg weight but not worrying too much about it. Nursing Leah is a top priority so I won't mess with that.