Tapering

It's been a great few days. Most importantly, I got ahead of that nausea and headache. I actually feel very good - if I didn't know, I wouldn't know. Feeling as lousy as I did makes me truly appreciate how I feel right now, which is very good. Secondly, the weather - it is finally feeling consistently spring-like out there. This is my favorite time of year, bar none, with the buds on the trees showing their reddish-green haze on all the branches just before the leaves start to come out, the bulbs are blooming, and the soil is warming up. It all smells great to me, apologies to you hay fever sufferers. If we could throw in a few shovelfuls of cow manure, it would border on perfection.

The timing of how I feel must be right since tomorrow starts the 2nd 14 days of infusion #2. I'm much more at ease this time knowing what to expect and how the day will play out. If it goes the same as last week, I will feel fine due in no small part to the steroids and pills I'll get in addition to the two chemo doses. Days 2-4 are supposed to be the most trying and they were very manageable last time around. Time will tell. Tomorrow is also the day I'm supposed to find out if I can run the Marathon or not. I plead my case on day 1 two weeks ago by saying I'd walk a minute each mile (or more) and drink the sports drink at every single aid station. I don't know if that bought me any time, or leverage, so I'm contemplating playing the big card. Do I let them know my rowing background? Will that work in my favor as in, she'll be fine, let's let her run, look what she has accomplished, or will it work against me, as in she'll never stop and will push on when she should stop or slow down Maybe I should just let on about the absolutely ridiculous (in a good way) number of doctors who are keeping tabs on me outside my (excellent) MGH team instead. Decisions, decisions.

Since I don't know yet, and exercise is supposed to be beneficial anyway, not to mention keep me sane, I have been following my marathon training plan. To put it more in perspective, today was the last big run, a measly 8 miles, and I enjoyed every single minute of it despite the light drizzle. The best thing about all that training and huge volume which is necessary is that there is a significant taper, 3 weeks worth. (That's way more than I taper for the now in comparison paltry 5k that is the Head of the Charles.) It was really fun to feel the need to throttle back a bit to stay on a good speed and not run faster than marathon pace. Of course, running three times as long and then some will probably see me counting down the minutes as part of a strategy to finish rather than wanting more. It also didn't hurt that I ran one of my favorite loops from home and around Fresh Pond. It took two trips around the pond to reach the correct mileage and as far as I can tell, the training paid off and the taper is working because it felt so effortless. The hardest part was going past 4 women in pink hoodies walking the trail. They're probably in training for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in May. I got all choked up, literally, even before I read their team name, Party of Five. All I could manage was a smile and a wave as I croaked out "thank you," before turning down the path and trying to breath normally. Turns out, some of the toughest exteriors are pretty smooshy on the inside.

That was three. Fourth on the great few days list was another strong effort by my team on the water this past Saturday. Looking forward to our races next weekend in Annapolis on Saturday and New Jersey on Sunday. No taper for those boys till May!