Time Doesn't Stand Still......28 days until the Boston Marathon !!!

It doesn't seem possible that we are just 4 weeks away from the day that many of us have been anxiously awaiting and preparing for, but there are so many reminders that, in fact, race day is fast approaching. First and foremost is the countdown calendar on my blog and on my fundraising page which reads 28 days and so many hours, minutes and seconds, depending on when it is viewed. I remember a time when those clocks read 4 months!!! Then there is the training schedule that shows just one more group training run next Saturday. Last week, I received my team singlet that all the DFMC teammates will wear on race day, along with a booklet with all the pertinent information regarding marathon weekend. RSVP's are due for the pasta party to be held the afternoon before the marathon and the RSVP for the recovery zone, a place where all the runners go to following the marathon, for food and the oh-so-welcomed, and needed, massage. The other reminder that really drives it all home, not that the training and fundraising haven't done that, is the email we all received from the B.A.A. (the Boston Athletic Association) advising us that we have been assigned bib numbers. More on this and how you can follow me on race day, if you want, later.

"Lost time is never found again."  - Benjamin Franklin

"It's such a shame to waste time. We always think we have so much of it." - Mitch Albom

I lead off with these two quotes about time because, to cancer patients, time is a commodity many wish they had more of. Whether it be more time with family, friends and loved ones, especially if their particular diagnosis is robbing them of that, or if the time they need is for research to be done, trials to be conducted and cures to be found in the particular type of cancer they are currently battling.

This week, through a Facebook group I belong to, Methuen High School Class of 1981, I read about a fellow classmate, Billy Corso, who passed away last Sunday, at age 50. Another classmate posted Billy's obituary for us to read and although it didn't go into specifics about the cause of Billy's death, the obituary mentioned donations, in lieu of flowers, to either Merrimack Valley Hospice, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, or St. Jude's Children's Hospital. They all have a common denominator.....cancer. Even though I haven't seen Billy in over 30 years, I made a donation to honor his memory. It was the least I could do. Billy's untimely death is yet another reminder that there is work to be done and underscores the whole premise behind the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge motto: the ultimate finish line.....A World Without Cancer.

Lucille Griffith, John Weston, Bill Paquette

Lucille Griffith is someone I've know for almost as long as I've been alive. She is my aunt, my dad's sister. Back in September of 2004, during a visit to her doctor, she was diagnosed with early stage cancer in her right lung. She underwent surgery to remove a portion of her right lung, then underwent radiation and chemotherapy for roughly three months and, shortly thereafter, was cancer free. She had regularly scheduled check-ups every 6 months. Then, in June of 2006, a spot appeared on her left lung. She underwent surgery again and had a quarter of her lung removed but didn't have to undergo radiation or chemotherapy. She also had a brain scan as well. I am happy to announce that she has been cancer free for over 6 years. Below is a picture of her, her husband Bill and her grandchildren Kerry, David & Cody.

John Weston is also someone I've know for most of my life. He is my uncle and married to Yolande, my mom's sister. In 2004, my uncle John was diagnosed with early stage bladder cancer in his early 60's. His doctors decided that the best way to treat his cancer was to inject tuberculosis into his bladder. He wasn't actually injected with TB, but given an injection of the tuberculosis vaccine called BCG or Bacille Calmette-Guerin, which produces an immune reaction that inhibits or treats early bladder cancer. He was treated on an outpatient basis and didn't require any surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. This illness is not true tuberculosis and is not communicable in the same manner as tuberculosis i.e. via airborne exposure. The risk of this side effect happening is about once per one million injections. I was amazed to hear that this was how his cancer was treated. He has been in remission since. He is the father of 5 children and grandfather to 10.

 

 

Bill Paquette is the brother of Dave, someone I had the pleasure of meeting and working with back in the mid-eighties. Dave explained to me that Bill passed away from cancer on March 11th, 2010 at age 52. His liver, pancreas and bile ducts were full of cancer.  Bill chose to withhold his diagnosis with his mother and siblings as he apparently didn't want to burden them with his illness. According to Dave, he never told his family that he was not feeling well, which must have been the case for several months.  It went from telling him family he was going to the doctor for some tests, to being admitted to the hospital, to passing away, all within about two weeks. It was sudden and shocking to Dave and his entire family. Bill never married and had no kids.  Bill had a love and a passion for fish and reptiles. He had snakes and several fish aquariums and continued keeping things like chameleons and even piranhas as an adult! He was an encyclopedia of information, and passed his enthusiasm for these things on to his young nephews. He also played the drums, owned a Harley Davidson and was a big NASCAR fan.

 

My decision to keep a blog this training season was in part to honor those individuals that are currently battling cancer or battled it at one time. I just think it underscores the importance of fundraising and reminding us all that cancer is, unfortunately, alive and well. It also reminds me that there is still work to be done and that people are counting on us to make a difference.

Fundraising: Well, true to form, you have not let me down, meaning that each new posting gives me the opportunity to report an increase in donations from the previous entry. At my last blog entry, we were at $4,800 in donations. As of this writing, we are at $5,370 and closing in on my personal goal. At yesterdays group training run, it was announced that, collectively as a team, we are at the 2.2 million dollar mark, which is right on pace for where the team has been at this time in prior years. As a reminder, the team goal is $4.6 million for 2013. So again, I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have already donated and ask those of you that haven't to consider making a donation.

Training: Training continues in a forward motion but, in all honesty, is consistently challenging each and every one of us. If you have been following this blog on a regular basis, you've read that this year's training has been nothing short of challenging. The irony here is that I am part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge !!!! This is my 6th Boston Marathon, my 5th as a member of the team, and this year, by far, has presented those of us training for the marathon, with more obstacles than we'd care to encounter. However, in the grand scheme of things, these obstacles are nothing compared to what a cancer patient and their families are dealing with on a daily basis.

Last weeks training run was canceled again, the forth time this season, due to the weather. That's one months worth of training! Had the run gone on as scheduled, I would have opted not to join in anyway because I was recovering from a really bad cold, the likes of which I don't think I've ever had before. Instead, I opted last Sunday to run 3 miles on the treadmill and 7 miles on the elliptical just to get some miles logged in. I logged 16 miles during the week before yesterday's group run. Yesterday was the second to last training run, along the marathon course, so I wanted to take advantage of it. The goal was 18 miles yesterday, however, after 10.75 miles, I realized that I was not strong enough to finish the run. Luckily, Matty's parents were volunteering again yesterday, and I opted to throw in the towel, keeping in mind that next weeks 22 mile run was more important. Actually, what's most important is getting to the starting line healthy. After the last runners stopped by the water stop Sandy & Johnny were working, I rode with them back to the gym where we started from. One would think it's a simple decision to stop running, but that is not the case at all, especially with so many runs canceled this season due to the uncooperative weather. To say my confidence at finishing this years marathon is shaken, is an understatement. With only one more group training run to take advantage of, I hope that two 18 mile runs, a 20 mile run and hopefully a 22 mile run this Saturday will prepare me for what it takes to run 26.2 miles on April 15th.  In years past, I've been able to log in at least twice as many 18 milers, 2 - 20 milers and the 22 miler. Couple that with the MCL tear I have, a cold which I've never had to deal with in previous years, and the 2 falls I had back in February, it's no wonder that I am less confident this time around. However, one thing I have going for me, other than the fact that I am running for a very important cause, a world without cancer, is that fact that I have 7 marathons under my belt.

Next weeks training run is entirely on the marathon course. So many out-of-towners would give their eye teeth to have the opportunity to train on the actual course once, let alone a handful of times, like those of us here in the Boston area are able to do. Yesterday, there were hundreds of people running along the course, this Saturday, there will probably be a few thousand, just another testament to the fast-approaching marathon. Below is a picture taken of two of my running buddies, Kerry, Elaine and me, on the portion of the course known as "Heartbreak Hill."  I'm looking forward to our last training run next weekend and all of the support us runners will have.

So again, I ask those of you who have yet to make a donation, to think about doing it in the next few weeks. Each and every one of us on the team are passionate about ridding the world of cancer. We are doing our part, but we need your help too! Please consider making a donation and being a difference maker!

You can click on my link here www.rundfmc.org/2013/stevp if you'd like to make a donation online to my secure web page. Checks can also be mailed payable to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, and mailed to me at 270 Littleton Rd, #44, Chelmsford, MA 01824.

No gift is too small !!!

With gratitude, appreciation and many, many inspired miles......