Canserversary

Today was my 2-year checkup and I'm overjoyed to report that my CT looked "really great" according to the doctor. I met one of the newer doctors at NIH who gave me the results before the doctor officially told me and I was very appreciative of that. It's always a relief to hear good news. I really liked this doctor. He had a great sense of humor and he chatted with us about how I learned I had cancer, but more on a personal level than a clinical level. I would hang out with this doctor and have a beer - he is that cool. When we left I thanked him for having a good sense of humor because when I had been sick, I really just wanted someone with a sense of humor to lighten the mood sometimes. It's bad enough to have cancer, but sometimes I just needed to laugh and he would have been awesome to have around back then.

I also had an echocardiogram to measure the strength of my heart. I had that test before I went to the clinic so I kind of had an inkling that there was nothing serious lurking in my chest because the technician didn't find anything during the echo. Mike and I saw my heart on screen and heard it beating away - so contrary to what some people may think I DO have a heart. ;)

I graduated to CT exams every 6 months! So, for years 3 & 4 it will be every 6 months. Then in year 5 I will have an exam every year (not sure if CT every year or general exam with blood work).

Night Before First 8K Race

My big race is tomorrow - the Rockville Twilight 8K. The festival begins at 7pm and my race starts at 8:45pm. My goal is to finish in less than 50 minutes (or a 9:30 minute mile). I've been training for a couple of months now and we did a practice run of the course last Saturday so I think I'm ready. During last week's practice run, I noted a couple of *@#!* hills in the middle of the course that I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. We complained heavily during the run that whomever came up with this course is not a runner - what a jerk! The good thing about race day is that the 1,099 other runners keeping me company will motivate me to do my best and keep going when it gets rough. I just hope I don't end up near the juggling runner guy that Meghan encountered during one of her races. I mean who can juggle and run a race at the same time? That would just annoy me! I'd have to run up and try to trip him or something. :)

I hope it's not too hot tomorrow night, but I'm drinking my water as I type so I will be sure to be properly hydrated (and I'll probably be up all night in and out of the potty!) I am looking forward to seeing how I perform. YEEHAW!

Mike and I joined Shuk-kwan, Andy, and several other volleyball friends tonight for Shuk-kwan's 40th birthday. She was kind enough to share her celebration with me since we discovered last month on the way to the volleyball tournament in OC that we both turned 40 in July. Of course, I thought she was much younger than me and not just by 4 days! It was a great night filled with yummy food, good company, and topped off by a sky-high chocolate cake and bread pudding (with 10 spoons) for dessert.

Fabulous 40s

It's almost here. I am 39 years and 364.5 days old. So long 30s and hello 40s. Has it been 10 years already since I turned 30? Where did the time go? I had a mostly great time in my 30s - went to Hawaii twice, learned how to water ski, tried to learn how to SCUBA, took up rock climbing, started running, got fit, had cancer, got fitter, went to Vegas and the Grand Canyon, took a cruise to Key West and Mexico, went to Maine, found a career, witnessed Mike and Dad's college graduations, saw my little brother and my cousin both get married, went to Jamaica, and learned to embrace life. I packed quite a bit in this past decade - and I hope to pack in even more over the next decade.

Here's to my next FABULOUS decade.