A race postponed...

Get Well flowers from the NF Endurance Team!
Those folks are the BEST <3

I am very disappointed to write this update—on many levels—but I won't be able to run in the NYC Half Marathon this weekend.  After two years of avoiding it, COVID finally caught me.  I feel so defeated!  Two whole years of working on the "front lines", all the PPE and precaution, and after making it through the Delta and Omicron waves.  UGH!  The kicker is that Todd got sick first--we think that he might have caught it from one of his hockey teammates after the mask mandate was lifted (since he has been working from home for the past two years!)  Miraculously, neither Jane nor Alec have tested positive.  We think either each might have had an asymptomatic case previously, or else they were more protected, having been boosted more recently.  Fortunately, Todd and I are recovering and the worst seems to be over, but I'm trying to resist the urge to do too much, too soon.  I’m also trying to be mindful that this disease has killed six million people worldwide, including almost one million Americans.

On a brighter note, if I had to get COVID, at least it was at the same time as Barack Obama <3

As disappointed as I am about the NYC Half, even more upsetting is that, because of the timing, Helen couldn't come home for her spring break :(  She would have been home when Todd and I were most infectious, so she stayed up at school for the week instead.  Thankfully, she has friends at college who also stayed behind, so she is not alone and is still able to enjoy her break somewhat, but we will miss her.  (Incidentally, she declared her major this month--East Asian Studies and Linguistics.  She's also registered to study in Seoul for her spring semester next year.  We're so proud of her.)

I am still planning to continue with the rest of my spring race schedule, so your donations will not be in vain!  The Cheshire Half Marathon (https://www.cheshirehalfmarathon.org/) is April 10--I should be in good post-COVID shape by then—and the Providence Marathon is on 5/1 (https://providencemarathon.com/).

The good news is that I KNOW I won't have COVID for either of those races :)

In the meantime, you can enjoy this new video from the Children’s Tumor Foundation NF Endurance Team, which includes me (before I caught COVID!)

First post of 2022!

 

Henri after his first haircut of 2022

Jane and Family Update:

A belated Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

I last posted in November after the NYC Marathon, which now seems so long ago.  I guess we should be getting used to how much the world can change in just a few months.  We made it back to Canada over the holidays to visit Todd’s family.  We drove to Montreal and then flew to Winnipeg from there in order to avoid the cost and hassles of flying across the border during the pandemic.  We made it home before Omicron hit and managed to keep everyone healthy.

We had a lovely month with Helen at home, who is now back at school and well into her sophomore spring semester at Mount Holyoke.  Alec managed to submit all his college applications by the deadline of January 1 and hopes to start hearing back from schools next month.  Meanwhile, Jane is excelling in her first year of high school <3

 

NF Update:

We were supposed to go to the National Institutes of Health for Jane’s latest restaging in mid-January, but the trip was canceled due to the Omicron COVID surge.  We had to scramble to get all her testing done at home over the last few weeks—no small task, since it includes blood work, physical exam with our pediatrician, EKG, echocardiogram, and check-ups with ENT, Dermatology, and Ophthalmology.  A big surprise—NIH is not requiring that Jane have an MRI for this restaging!  She had been scheduled for an MRI if we had traveled to NIH, but our team felt that, since Jane’s facial plexiform has been stable for the past year or more, there was no need to schedule one at home.  They felt that the risks of the pandemic outweighed the need for the MRI.  While we’re thrilled not to have to go through yet another MRI, it feels strange.  Jane, now almost fifteen, has never gone more than six months without an MRI since she was a little over a year old.  We still have one more appointment to go (ophthalmology) next week.  Once all her testing is done we hope to have the go-ahead to continue Jane’s medication.

 

Running Update:

Week of 1/3/2022	17.6 mi	2:55:25
Week of 1/10/2022	20.9 mi	3:28:03
Week of 1/17/2022	20.8 mi	3:24:49
Week of 1/24/2022	19.3 mi	3:14:40
Week of 1/31/2022	22.5 mi	3:46:32
Week of 2/7/2022	22.5 mi	3:48:03
Week of 2/14/2022	30.7 mi	5:11:03

I’ve almost got my race schedule settled for the year, and just in time because the first race is coming up in less than a month—the NYC Half Marathon!  Without further ado, our 2022 Events:

NYC Half Marathon—Sunday, March 20

Cheshire Road Race Half Marathon—Sunday, April 10

Providence Marathon—Sunday, May 1

New Haven Road Race Half Marathon—Monday, September 5

Fall marathon TBD (New York or Chicago?)

Philadelphia Half Marathon—Saturday, November 19

This will be my first time running the Providence Marathon, which I’ll run instead of the Vermont City Marathon.  I promised my college roommate, Dara, that I wouldn’t do the Vermont City Marathon this year because it falls during our 30th Yale reunion weekend.  (Yikes!  Which is scarier??)

If you’d like to start donating to our 2022 fundraiser, you can!  Here’s the link:

www.KRath4Jane.com

The NYC Marathon

 

Running Update:  NYC Marathon 2021 Recap

On November 7, I completed the 50th running of the NYC Marathon!  It was my 17th marathon, and my first marathon since the start of the pandemic.  In the past year I’d wondered if a) we’d ever get back to running in-person races again and b) if I could run another marathon after a two-year gap.  The answers are yes and yes!

I started my race weekend on Saturday by stopping in at the new Children’s Tumor Foundation offices in the Chrysler Building.  I met up with the NF Endurance Team leader Angela Dumadag, CTF President Annette Bakker, and several members of CTF’s 2021 NYC Marathon team.  CTF was recording some footage for a new NF Endurance campaign, so I got to participate.

I was otherwise on my own for the weekend.  Our son Alec was having the end-of-season banquet for his Cross Country team.  Given that Alec is a graduating senior this year we didn’t want him to be alone at the event, so Todd and Jane accompanied him.

After leaving the Children’s Tumor Foundation, I took the subway to the Expo at Hudson Yards to pick up my bib…

…then headed to my hotel for the evening.

Requisite gear photo, AKA my “flat runner”

The morning of the marathon was cool and clear (and light, thanks to the end of Daylight Savings!)  At large races like this I can spend almost as much time navigating the starting area as I do running the race itself, which can make for a long day.  I was assigned to the 8:00am Staten Island Ferry (one of the few official ways to reach the starting line) in order to be ready for an 11:20am start.  

The marathon starts in Staten Island then wends its way through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan to its finish in Central Park.  During race week, the New York Times ran an article about the marathon route that very accurately describes what the runners experience in each of the five boroughs:  TheNew York City Marathon Route: A Five-Borough Tour

On the course

Of the more than one million (!) spectators, the ones I most looked forward to seeing were Angela and Annette!  They were waiting for me at mile 19 and were cheering on all the members of the NF Endurance team!

Seeing Angela and Annette!

The Finish Line!

No space blankets for us!
The NYC Marathon gives out lined ponchos
at the finish to keep the runners warm.

All 17 of us running for the Children’s Tumor Foundation finished the marathon, and together we raised over $100,000 for the organization.  Of that total, $23,433 came from donors to Jane and me!! 

THANK YOU to all who contributed—you are helping us #endNF!

 

Running Update, Alec edition:

I have to take a bit of the blog to brag about another runner in the family, our son Alec.  Alec’s high school Cross Country team has had a stellar season.  They not only dominated the regional and state meets, but they qualified for the New England High School Cross Country Championships—the first time his high school has done so in 12 years!  The team placed 14th in New England—we couldn’t be more proud.

Carbo loading with the team the night before the race

Quite the starting line-up

Alec <3

The DHHS Boys Varsity Cross Country Team!

The course was a bit muddy!

NF Update, ICYMI edition:

Late last month Jane and I came up on the PBS News Hour! The show ran a piece about awards to public servants and our NF doctor, Dr Brigitte Widemann, was featured. They showed a picture of her with Jane and me! www.pbs.org/newshour/show/honoring-the-federal-employees-who-are-solving-americas-biggest-problems (We’re at 2:50.) 

 

The New Haven Road Race

 Running Update:

Week of 8/23/2021	20.8 mi	3:28:29
Week of 8/30/2021	16.6 mi	2:43:28
New Haven Road Race 9/6/2021	13.1 mi	2:10:56

Today I ran the New Haven Half Marathon—my 12th consecutive New Haven Road Race.  And for the first time my son Alec ran in the NHRR as well, though he ran the 5K with his cross country teammates.  This is the type of thing that moms get excited about :)

At the start

Alec zipping by!

Alec with his Cross Country buddies

Last stretch at the Green

Done!

The reason I run <3

The bling

Final results

Not bad for running with an ankle that looks like this!  

Three days ago on the last step of my final training run before the race I rolled my ankle—and this was the result.  At first I actually thought I’d have to miss the race, but it loosened up over the weekend and felt stable.

It’s a testament to how much I love the New Haven Road Race that I would run with a bum ankle!  From a running standpoint, it’s enjoyable because it’s mostly flat, starts and ends in the same area, has lots of support stations with water and sports drink, and a time clock at every mile.  From an event standpoint, the New Haven Road Race is enjoyable because it showcases many of the various city neighborhoods—the New  Haven Green, Yale University, Beaver Hills, Edgewood, Westville, Chapel Street, Downtown, Wooster Square, Fair Haven, East Rock, Whitney Avenue—and, most importantly, the citizens of New Haven SHOW UP IN FORCE to cheer everyone on.

 

Jane Update:

Obligatory First Day of School shot

Jane started HIGH SCHOOL last week!  How is that possible??  She’ll be at the same school as her brother, Alec, who is a senior this year.  Helen is back at school at Mount Holyoke in what promises to be a more normal college experience this semester.  Have a wonderful school year, everyone!

CANADA!

Jane and Family Update:

We finally made it to Canada!

After more than 18 months, the border with Canada was opened to the US on August 9th, so at long last we were able to visit Todd’s family!  We faced a number of crazy obstacles trying to get there and back.  Flights into Canada were scarce and astronomically priced, so we instead flew to International Falls, Minnesota and drove across the border.  Three days before our trip the Canadian Border Guards went on strike, threatening to hold up our crossing (they settled the day before we arrived).  Then we had to avoid the forest fires burning along our drive route through Ontario (we saw smoke but were well away from any active fires).  And we had to delay our return home by a day because of a hurricane making landfall in Connecticut (the hurricane was coincidentally named Henri—the same as our dog)!  All worth it, of course :)

Don't let his smile fool you--Henri did NOT like his travel bag.

"Icebox of the Nation"!

Henri saying goodbye to the US

THE LAKE!

Group shot on the dock

Todd on a bike ride with our dear friend, Linda

Grandma agreed Henri is a very Good Boy

Random find: someone made a little dinosaur diorama beside the lake road :)

Helen and Alec joined us a week late (both had to work).  They walked across the border!

Todd's sister, Debbie, liked Henri, too

We discovered a new trail to a hidden lake (though clearly someone had found it before we did). 

Post-hike selfie

Bear in the backyard!!
(Picture taken from the relative safety of the living room.)

Jane catching crayfish

Henri loved the motor boat!

International Falls, MN is home to the largest Smokey the Bear statue (26 feet!)
We couldn't not take a picture :)

  

Running Update:

week of 7/19/2021	16.8 mi	2:49:07
week of 7/26/2021	22.7 mi	3:45:36
week of 8/2/2021	16.2 mi	2:43:46
week of 8/9/2021	27.1 mi	4:27:09
week of 8/16/2021	27.8 mi	4:35:55

I got lots of running (and swimming) in while we were in Canada, so I should be ready for the New Haven Road Race half marathon on Labor Day.  Alec will be running the 5K with his cross country team that day—it will be the first time we’re running in the NHRR together.  I’ll be wearing my Children’s Tumor Foundation shirt as usual, because I never stop fund-raising to #endNF!  You can donate here:

www.KRath4Jane.com