Running Update:
August
2023
Run 66.9
mi 10:46:10
Swim 10.7 mi 2:52:00
This
weekend was to be the start of our fall racing season and fund-raising season
for the Children’s Tumor Foundation. The
deeply disappointing news is, because of a knee injury, I won’t be running for
the next month or so. That means no New
Haven Half Marathon today—the first New Haven Road Race I’ve missed in 14
years. The first New Haven Road Race I’ve
missed since Jane was two.
Even
more upsetting—no Berlin Marathon this year.
My
right knee has been giving me trouble ever since I started training for Berlin
this summer (for reasons I can't understand. It was fine for the Flying
Pig Marathon in May.) After a couple of trips to an orthopedic office,
physical therapy, and a cortisone shot didn’t help, I got an MRI and learned
that, in addition to the expected age-related arthritis, I have a bad meniscus that
isn’t amenable to surgical repair. If I
want to continue running in the long term, the orthopedist’s advice was to cut
back on my running mileage and to cross train as much as possible. In his words, “Maybe instead of running two marathons
a year, you just run one. Or just run half
marathons or 10Ks.” Not words that any
endurance runner wants to hear! With the
orthopedist’s permission, I initially kept training for Berlin. However, while
we were in Canada visiting Todd’s family in August, I was in enough pain during
my long runs that I realized my knee would never hold up for a marathon.
All
summer I'd been thinking I could just push through, given that I'd already got
so much invested in this event—I'd already booked time off of work, we'd already
bought plane tickets, I'd been fundraising, etc—but I finally made the hard
decision to cancel my next few races to give my knee a rest.
I
know this is a minor issue compared with the problems some people have (like those
with NF!) but I confess I am devastated. I said as much to our NF
Endurance captain, Lydia Vanderloo, and she responded:
“I think you actually captured it in
your comment. Although with endurance
fundraising we typically position our fundraising around a specific goal—your
20th marathon at Flying Pig, a big celebration in Berlin, etc—sometimes things
happen that are beyond our control (injuries, pandemics, etc). But that does not mitigate the need to fundraise
to end NF. And the challenges you're
facing with your knee are in some ways a parallel to the challenges faced by
those living with NF, like Jane. Who
knew her latest challenge would be to remove a tumor from her tongue? But she managed it (with her family's support,
I'm sure!) You are managing your own
challenge right now, uncertain as to when you'll be able to run another race,
but with the hopeful target of the Philly Half looming in the distance. I hope this makes sense. Your donors are generous because you ask, they
care about you and Jane, and what you're doing is inspiring. None of that has changed with this injury or
your pulling out of Berlin.”
This
is why Lydia is our team captain! <3
While
we were still in Canada, I took advantage of being on the Lake of the Woods and
threw myself into swimming. Swimming at
the lake is very serene; peaceful even when the water is choppy. You’re gliding though cool black waters, surrounded
by tall poplars with fluttering green leaves and big blue skies. From the cabin, the best landmark for
swimming is an island in the bay—one lap to its shore and back is about 500
yards. I’ve swum to the island for years,
but this summer I enjoyed it more than I can remember. I’m finally confident in my spotting, and
have managed my irrational fear of encountering a sharp-toothed lake creature. I enjoyed it so much that when we got back to
Connecticut, I searched the web for nearby lakes that allow open water lap swimming.
(Yes, living close to Long Island Sound,
I could swim in the ocean. But remember,
I’ve only just managed my irrational fear of sharp-toothed lake creatures—not my less-irrational fear of sharp-toothed ocean creatures.)
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| A view of the island from our dock in Echo Bay |
Just
when I was starting to lament that, with the summer ending, I wouldn’t be doing
much more open water swimming this year, a friend posted that her sprint triathlon
relay team had lost its swimmer and was looking for someone to replace
him. I volunteered! (“When
one door closes…”)
So
in the end, I won’t be running a race
for a few months, but I will be swimming
a race! (Thank you, Bridget!) Watch for us in the Madison Sprint Triathlon on Saturday, September 9!
NF Update:
That
means we still need your donations to the Children’s Tumor Foundation for our
fall campaign!
As you know,
this summer Jane underwent another surgery due to neurofibromatosis to
remove a tumor from her mouth. I am happy to
say she has recovered fully! While we have come a long way
with NF treatments—like the selumetinib that Jane continues to take, the first
drug ever approved for treatment of NF—you can see we still have far to go. Please help us to
#endNF! Donate here:
Jane Update:
Jane
and her siblings are all back to school in this past week. Wishing everyone a very successful school
year!
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| Alec was first back to school, starting his second year at Lafayette College in Easton, PA |
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| Alec showed us one of his favorite places to run, a park right on the Delaware River |
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| Henri liked Alec's raised bed |
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Jane was next back to school, starting her junior year at Daniel Hand High School.
(She's not happy to be waking before sunrise again!) |
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| Helen was the last to start back to school. She was welcomed to her dorm with this nametag :) |
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| Starting her SENIOR year at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA |
