Happy Cancer Anniversary

“You have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” That’s what a doctor said to me one year ago today. Instead of wallowing in sadness, I walked/ran 5K and Mike ran 10 miles in downtown DC along the beautiful (and soggy) tidal basin with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom event. Today I shake a fist high in the air and celebrate victory over Priscilla. I’m grateful to be alive and kicking after a dark and scary year learning more than I ever wanted to know about cancer. I never imagined I would ever have first-hand knowledge about cancer, but life throws a few curve balls out at you and you just have to arm yourself with information (and great medicine) and fight back. I am also thankful to be alive now in 2008 when doctors are making great strides towards combating cancer with medicine that helps people live longer and fulfilling lives.

Today's race would have been nicer if we had gotten yesterday's near 70 and sunny weather, but instead we got the shaft with cold, wet, miserable weather. We ran into Sandy, one of our volleyball friends, at the metro and rode downtown with her. She and Mike were in the same color starting group so they ran together. I tried to watch them start, but there were nearly 20,000 runners so I lost them quickly in the crowd. I'm so proud of my 5K today. I planned to walk and maybe run if I felt like it. I was near the front of my 5k group and realized I should've been in the back if I was going to walk. However, once we began I started jogging and decided it wasn't so bad because the ground was relatively flat. I ended up jogging most of the first mile, most of the second, and about half of the third to make up the total 5K. My goal was to finish in one hour and I crossed this finish line at approximately 40-43 minutes (we didn't have the clock - that was reserved for the 10 milers). Mike and Sandy finished about 1:42 and I actually saw them cross the finish line - it was so cool!

It was crazy downtown with racers and specatators everywhere. Even in that large crowd I ran into Evan before and after the race. I also spotted one of Mike's Team in Training buddies. We went to the Expo yesterday to pick up our bibs and t-shirts and ran into even more Team in Training people there. I'm considering doing a 10K run/walk in June in Annapolis if I can figure out how to work it with my schedule. I had fun today and I like the option on not having to run the whole thing! I am just so proud that I was at the Tidal Basin today and able to run when a year ago my whole world changed and I didn't know what I could expect from my future or if I had one. Go me!

Happy Birthday today, Mom - sorry I ruined it for you last year. I'm glad we can celebrate it this year. :)