HAWMC Day 28: Followers

I feel that today's task is very redundant. We have discussed the topic of social media repeatedly as well as promote those that are our favorites. But given I have only done a select few I will share my top 10 follows on twitter for WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Challenge Day 28!


@MGHcancercenter
@DanaFarberYAP
@UlmanCancerFnd
@LIVESTRONGCEO
@AKPfoundation
@marleneruns
@FirstDescents
@LeanGrnBeanBlog
@runaroundsara
@JonnyImerman

These are in no particular order but they are all ones you should check out and follow for yourself!

HAWMC Day 4: Care Page

When I was first diagnosed I wasn't really looking for too much information except the basics of general information on Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma and the type of treatment I was undergoing. So for that I went to these places...

The American Cancer Society:
www.cancer.org

Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center:
http://www.massgeneral.org/cancer/

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society:
www.lls.org

The Lymphoma Research Foundation:
www.lymphoma.org


Mass General served two purposes, first to help orient me with the cancer center as well as my medical team through their online profiles. Second was exploring the information they have on there about my lymphoma.

After my treatment I was looking more to connect with others like me and figure out the recovery/survivorship aspect of cancer. For that I turned to some other outlets.

The Lymphoma Forums:
www.forums.lymphoma.com

LIVESTRONG Foundation
www.livestrong.org
Specifically to get their guidebooks to begin with and then to have as a resource for many other things throughout the cancer journey.

Stupid Cancer:
www.stupidcancer.org

First Descents:
www.firstdescents.org

AKP Foundation:
www.AKPfoundation.org

Immerman Angels:
www.immermanangels.org

I would suggest across the board to definitely check out the website of whatever hospital or cancer center you are having your treatment because not only is there usually information about different types of cancer but also about different services that are offered in different capacities.

There is so much information out there so it is hard to tell where it go. So here is a little list to help get people in the right direction.

If you want to get in on this healthy activist challenge check it out. Even though it's already started you can still join in! http://info.wegohealth.com/hawmc

I'm a Triathlete!

If anyone had asked me last year if I would do a triathlon I would have actually I did laugh out loud and say, "No!" However I was very wrong. What can I say my friend Sara can be very convincing! See she did the Title 9 Women's Sprint Triathlon last year and literally the since the day she did she was saying, "You're doing it next year with me." most of the time I would just roll my eyes at her. But after MONTHS of her persistence I finally agreed to do it. At the same time I decided to use this as my challenge for my Team FD fundraiser. I was hoping I would get to my goal before the triathlon. That began the training process!

We trained for months however neither of had actually registered for the race. I think for me it was because as long as I wasn't registered then I didn't have to actually do it. However I started telling everyone that I was doing it so I think either way it was bound to happen it just wasn't as finalized yet. I finally registered on July 14th. Now mind you this is something that registration opens for in January! Sara wasn't having a great day so she opted to not jinx anything would register tomorrow. Well tomorrow turned into a week later at which point she was kindly told the triathlon was sold out and she was put on the wait list. 

OH MY GOD I AM DOING THIS ALL ALONE! was my first thought I started freaking out slightly a lot. On August 6th we found out that she was in fact not excepted and therefore I really was doing it alone. I had come to terms with that and started to really get myself ready!

Now it is race day! September 9th, 2012 Hopkinton, MA.

Logo belongs to Max Performance

I got into the actual park at about 6:30am however by the time we got to park, get the bike off the car and make sure I have all my bags we were just starting to walk over at 6:50am.

This was the first glimpse I had of any part of the tri as we walked across the dam from the parking lot.

I went through the check in at the transition area getting written all over my arms, hands and legs with sharpie! It was mostly my race number except on my calf where they write your age. Then I went to find a spot in my row to setup my transition area. I have to say I felt pretty prepared for this part, I knew right off the bat that I needed an adapter for the bike rack because since Sara wasn't doing it and I don't have a good bike I borrowed not only her bike but also most of the other gear from her. She told me I would need an adapter. As I was walking a volunteer asked if I needed an adapter I of course said yes and she came with me and got me immediately setup so I was good to go! 

A really cool thing this year was they gave you towel in your race packet that was the perfect size to setup the transition area. I was in the mind frame of minimal. When packing the night before I really thought about what I was actually going to use and that is what I brought. After I had everything setup I went over to the "fence" to talk to all my friends and family before I needed to head out.

I was pretty relaxed, everything was going well...to well. When it was time to get ready for the prerace meeting I discovered that my Garmin was not working. I had no idea what was wrong, it was just frozen so I walked over and handed it to my husband. There was no way I had time to deal with that. Guess I would be timing it with my Sportline watch. I got ready and started to walk out of transition. I didn't get far because I then found my friend Elizabeth who I had only just learned a few days before that she was doing the tri. Then of course we felt we needed to rush out cause we took up time chatting.

Tim the race director gave the prerace talk and then we got into our wave groups (by swim cap color) and started the long painful walk to the boat house where we would get into the water for the start. I say painful because the pavement was hard and bumpy and I wasn't wearing shoes. It was not a good idea to have hurting feet before I even started.

I was completely calm at this point because I knew I could do the swim so I was just chatting with my fellow newbies while the waves started and we waited our turn. As we were waiting Sara came running over to give me my Garmin. She and Lewis had been able to fix it. I was so EXCITED! Now I would have hopefully an accurate time and a map!

Then it was time for all us white caps to get into the water! We only had to wait a minute or two and then...

we were off. The swim seemed to take forever. Every time I looked up to make sure I was going the right way it seemed as though I wasn't passing any buoys. But I kept going, it didn't help that the water was murky cause I got hit and kicked a few times but I finally made it to the end and crossed that first finish mat.

Swim 1/4 mile (Garmin says 1/3 mile): 13:34

Then it was on to my first transition!

There is one thing I learned about the transition from the water to bike is that when setting up your area you should untie your sneakers. That is one thing that really slowed me up. I decided to wear my tie died LIVESTRONG shirt because let's face it without their cancer transitions program and LIVESTRONG at the Y program I would have never gotten to where I am today! I had to sport my support!! 

I was pretty well prepared for everything else thanks to Sara's advice and newbie night! I double checked that I had everything and got out to do the bike...which was my biggest fear. I felt more prepared thanks to the AKP foundation but I was still very nervous!

Transition 1: 4:36

I walked my bike out of the transition area to where we needed to mount our bike and then I was off. I will admit the start even though it was on a hill was not as difficult as I had thought. I was hopefully that was the case for the rest of the course as well.

I had the misfortune mistake of not doing the course before this. Although Sara and I did go drive the course so I would know a little and then I looked at it online with the topography chart so I knew the hardest hill was within the first two miles so as long as I could make it past mile 2 I would be ok. I'm not gonna lie I had to stop twice within those two miles but I did not get off my bike! I made it and continued on. I remembered to refuel at mile 5 so that way I wasn't totally exhausted for the run. There were however quite a few more hills after that and in total I ended up stopping 3 more times in the remaining 8 miles. Once we made it back into the park it was all up hill until right before it ended. As we were riding there were people who were running out for the 5k course. After the 6th person or maybe the 20th (who really knows) told me I was almost there and it was the last hill I decided they were all liars! The hills seemed to never end until that final left turn and then it was downhill. I had made it all the way through!!! Halleluiah!! I could not have been happier to see that dismount sign.

Utter relief on my face right there!

Bike 10 miles: 51:34

I knew I was home free at this point. Make no mistake I still had work to do but I only had 3.1 miles between me and that finish line!

Transition two was a lot easier and quicker. Put the bike back, take my helmet and camel pack off, grab my visor and go!

Transition 2: 1:27

I knew I needed some time for my legs to adjust from riding to running so I had already planned to walk the first five minutes. Well the start was also uphill and who wants to run uphill? Certainly not me! However I walked for longer than 5 minutes because my legs were in pain. They felt as though with one false move I would be having one of those monster muscle spasms! I got to about .75 of the first mile and decided to give a running interval a shot. It wasn't so bad. I continued to to run 30 seconds walk 1:30 intervals, unless it was down hill then the run was a little longer. I made sure to drink Gatorade at the first water stop and I also ate a small balance bar right before  the 1.1 mile mark so that I didn't loose any energy. By almost mile 2 I was feeling good again. But come on with only a little over a mile left who wouldn't feel good?. As I started my run back across the dam I knew I was almost there. I could see the beach and then I checked the time, wow I might actually make it before my goal of 2:10:00.

There were many people who were already done and leaving so I had lots of last minute encouragement as they passed. Then I got across the beach and was met by the first wave of my cheering section; my mom and her friend Roni. I ran from that point on until I crossed the finish line where Sara, her mom Janet, Lewis, my friend Meaghan and her husband Chris were all waiting for and cheering me on.

I DID IT, I AM A TRIATHLETE!! 

Run 5k: 45:38

I was so excited to have crossed that finish line and get my medal! I couldn't believe I had done it! I was greeted by everyone with congratulatory hugs and great jobs. I am pretty sure at some point I started crying but there is no evidence of that! 

 You gotta love their signs too! Sara's was three in one mainly reminding me that I wasn't done yet, until I was actually almost done, HA.

Then my friend Elizabeth found me so of course we had to take a picture together as triathletes with our medals.

After all was done I went over to check my official time and rank. 

I had to take a picture of my posted time with my watch because my official time was exactly (down to the second) the same as my Garmin time which had NEVER happened before, it is always off by seconds or minutes.

Final time: 1:56:47

I am so excited that I was able to complete the triathlon 13:13 faster than my goal! 

There are so many people and organizations that I need to thank I am not even sure where to start. I guess first would be Sara for her constant confidence in me and for pushing me to even do this. Then would be my husband for his constant love and supporting all my training and aspirations! My mom of course for her belief in me and her support. And many other family and friends who were always behind me 100%.

I have to send a huge thank you LIVESTRONG! Their program Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment was what started it all. I learned everything I needed to know to start a healthy me and deal with everything that came after having cancer the "new normal". I was then able to continue that with their LIVESTRONG at the Y program! I support LIVESTRONG 100% and would be happy to help any way I can with any cancer survivor find LIVESTRONG programs near them.

In conjunction to LIVESTRONG I want to thank everyone at the Greendale YMCA who ran my LIVESTRONG at the Y program. You are phenomenal and gave / continue to give me great support. Special thanks to Jenn and Walter for everything during the program and beyond. And Walter for taking the time to check over my inept mountain bike and getting me new tires. Even though I ended up not using it in the race it helped me to train, so I truly appreciate it!

I would like to thank First Descents. I only just learned about this amazing organization this summer but the week I spent white water kayaking changed my out look on life. I realized there was so much I thought I couldn't do and it was because I never tried. I wish every young adult cancer survivor could experience this! I would also like to give a quick Thank you to Brad Reiss and his family for being my largest donor for my team FD fundraising. Your support is phenomenal! I would have sported some Team FD gear as well but I don't have any yet. But when I do you better believe I will be showing it off!

I would also like to thank the AKP foundation. I was able to go on a biking retreat with them in mid august and although it was challenging it also showed me that I had made lots of progress in my cycling abilities. It gave me renewed confidence that I would be able to bike the triathlon after having spent that weekend in Vermont! I have also been approved for a grant to help with a new bike. I am so excited and just goes to show that the future will hold even more unexpected. Thank you again for everything!

and of course I need to thank Max performance, the race directors and volunteers were all absolutely amazing! Everyone was overly helpful, everything was organized to the T. All the course were laid out with volunteers at every turn as well as police to help with high traffic areas. I felt safe the whole time and knew that there was relatively no chance I was going to get lost, miss a turn or veer off course at any point it was phenomenal! So a special thanks to all those involved!

Now who wants to do it with me next year? :)

Always Keep Pedaling!

This has a back story as most of my adventures seem to. I went to the young adult cancer survivors conference at Dana Farber in Early March. While there I met Jon Wilson a fellow cancer survivor but also the founder of AKP (always keep pedaling foundation). The foundation offers grants to cancer survivors to get out there and challenge themselves after diagnosis. You can apply for a grant for adaptive equipment, training sessions, or other adventures.

Shortly after I went I decided I wanted the Title 9 Sprint Triathlon to be my challenge. There was only one problem I don't have a bike to use to train or ride for the race. I also don't have the funds to get my own. I thought of AKP and went to take a look at their site. I ended up submitting the first application and then the second. Unfortunately something went a miss and my application was never received (probably something on my end, it usually is user error) so when I email Jon in mid July asking about it he kindly had me to them again and said the review committee would be meeting the end of August to make a decision. But that in the mean time they were hosting a bike retreat the weekend of August 10th in Vermont. I was very hesitant to even consider going mainly because biking was my least favorite as well as least successful triathlon sport. But some how I convinced myself that I had to at least try worst thing that could happen is I wouldn't be able to do it and would walk or get back in the van.

I am thrilled I made the decision to try it! There were a few of us from about the same area that were able to arrange a carpool so on Friday morning we headed out for our adventure!

About 3 hours later we arrived at our fantastic accommodations! We would be spending the weekend at the river road barn. It had a gorgeous view of the mountains and of course a pool!

We were greeted by Els (a friend of Jon's as well as a member of AKP's board and fellow cyclist). She was kind enough to show us around and get us situated. Jon arrived shortly after 

and again checked in with us and gave a little run down of how the day was going to go. Everyone else proceeded to arrive for the next couple of hours. We all gathered together and went over what we were going to be doing for the day as well as the weekend. 

Vermont biking Tours was kind enough to donated not only all the equipment we needed for the weekend but a guide, vehicle, gas, etc. for the weekend! So Chris our guide from VBT went over the bikes with us and got us all fitted. This is the point where I almost freaked out a bit. Els showed us the maps on our bikes of the course we would be riding and at the top it had the mile 17.9.

 I honestly might have stopped breathing for a moment. I have not ridden more than 12 miles outside and almost 18 miles on the first day SCARED me! But I reminded myself that I needed to try so I got myself all ready. After doing all the waiver signing and such we headed out!

I am pleased to say that I survived all 17.9 miles well actually it ended up being 18.3 miles because we missed a turn. I'm not gonna lie I got off and walked a handful of time but I always got back on the bike and I never got back on the van. That was a win for me!

When we got back to farm we headed to the pool, where I discovered I had forgotten to pack my bathing suit, but I improvised! While we swam Jon, Els and Simon (Els's finance and Jon's long time friend) got dinner ready. Then it was time to eat!

Smoked Salmon, pasta salad, asparagus and salad. Although it was not my normal dinner it was still very good. After dinner some stayed up and played games but I was tired and just laid down on my bunk.

Day two was just as much fun. We had the pleasure of being able to do a yoga class at 8:30am. I was thrilled to have this offer. So we all were up and in the gym for 8:30am.

It was nice to have a good stretch after Friday's 18 mile ride. I was also happy to know that my yoga abilities had improved. I was able to pretty much keep up. It was both energizing and relaxing at the same time!

Then Jon's mom was kind enough to come and make us breakfast. I don't know about you but I love blueberry pancakes! 

After breakfast we all got dressed, collected our gear and then Chris our VBT guide did a gear shifting clinic for us. 

He was fantastic the whole weekend. Sharing his vast cycling knowledge, providing assistance with the bikes, giving us snacks and of course rides when we were tired.

Jon and Els then gave us all our maps of the days course. Today was only going to be a 13 mile ride however it started with a 3 mile 750 ft climb. They gave us a choice we could do all 3 miles, 2 miles, 1 mile or start at the top.I really had a lot of thinking to do, in the end I decided to do two miles. I did end up walking some of it but I did it none the less. 

The rest of the course was mostly down hill. We were able to stop and an old query and go down to take a look.

It was quite beautiful. We did some minor rock climbing, some people went swimming in a small pool between rocks and then we got to eat lunch there. Then Jon uttered the these words, "Do you guys want to do some more or are you all done?" We all felt pretty good so we said, "Let's do it!" he did warn us that there was one hill, we later discover Jon's idea of a hill and ours (yes as a group) are VERY different.

We rode for a little while longer and then turned onto a side road and started our climb. I rode maybe 1/6 of mile up and then just couldn't do it anymore. My Garmin was blinking at me that my heart rate was over 185 so I got off and walked. Chris once again came around checking to see if we were ok if we wanted a ride up. I refused to ride I was getting myself up the mountain. That's right it was a mountain not a hill! :)

There were a handful of people behind me. I got back on my bike and rode the last little bit to the top. As we waited Chris came driving up with everyone who was behind me in the van I was thrilled that I made the decision to do it myself!

Before we left Jon told us that he had something special to show us after our ride. So we piked back into the van and left for our second adventure. Chris pulled over, we climbed over a guardrail and walked through a field. My first thought was, 'ok this is the part where we are all murdered.' I could not have been more wrong, Jon is a teacher as his full time job and he took to see where the Vermont mint used to be. He told us all about the history of Vermont becoming part of the colonies and therefore the mint was no longer needed. It was really beautiful!

At dinner that night Jon invited some friends of his. They were also cancer survivors, they were married and both of them had been through cancer. Their story was astounding yet inspiring. I loved that they were there and we were able to chat freely. They were perfectly willing to answer all our questions.

The next day was Sunday August 12th. 

I thought it was very fitting that our final course for the weekend was on the two year anniversary of my diagnosis. I had come so far since then and this was the perfect way to display that! We got an early start because we all had to head home after. Again we had a choice at what course we took. We could either do a 12 mile course or a 21 mile course that went into New York and back again. 

Once again I adopted the I need to try theory so I decided to do the 21 miles! It was a great ride! I was thrilled when I got to the New York border. I knew I could do the rest! I continued on and we all stopped and ate lunch at a cute little covered bridge! Even though I was in the group that was in the middle of the pack we got the bridge first because Jon had missed a turn so his group did an extra couple of miles.

It was beautiful there and great atmosphere to eat lunch. There were actually some people there on vacation from the Boston area I thought that was pretty funny. 

After we were done eating we got a group shot on the bridge. We are a good looking group if I do say so myself!

We headed back and finished our 21 mile ride. We might have completed this adventure but it definitely gave me the confidence to keep searching for new adventures!

I really can't thank Jon, Els, Simon, Chris, Andrew (another friend of Jon's), the river road farm owners, VBT and everyone else involved with AKP enough for this weekend. As I said in the beginning my challenge was to train and complete a triathlon. Before this weekend I was overly worried about my ability to complete the bike portion of triathlon. By Sunday I was completely confident that I will be able to successfully complete the 10 mile bike. My famous last words to Jon were, "you made me hate biking a little bit less this weekend!"

Else and Simon were actually getting married the following weekend. I don't very many people who would give up the weekend before their wedding to do something like this. But that is what this foundation is made up of great people who care! Please be sure to check out their site, donate and of course spread the word to other cancer survivors. This is an experience I will never forget!

Take the road less traveled by it is usually the most fun!