It’s been an interesting year so far. And when I say interesting I mean shitty.
It’s not a secret but up until now only people we see or talk to on a regular basis know that Marc has cancer. Actually I hope that’s past tense since he finished his treatment (radiation and chemotherapy) two weeks ago. So hopefully it’s gone but we won’t know until he has his post-treatment scan in about 3 months.
In early March he was diagnosed with HPV related oropharyngeal cancer. Specifically, Stage 3 cancer of his tonsil and spread to the lymph nodes.
Did you know that the vast majority of sexually active adults have been exposed to HPV? If you or someone you love is eligible and hasn’t received the HPV vaccine yet please get it.
The good news is the HPV related version of this type of cancer has a good prognosis versus the same cancer that may be due to smoking and drinking. The bad news is the treatment is painful and can result in an inability to eat normally with the possibility that food will never taste the same again. Plus there's all the potential short and long term side effects from chemo and radiation (both poison). But if the treatment works you live, so it's worth it, right? Hard to watch but even harder to go through. Fortunately Marc is strong and I wouldn't be surprised if he comes out the other side of this even stronger.
So of course this year the focus is getting Marc back to health. But I'm still getting out on running adventures as much as I’m able.
February: Hagg Mud Double -- 50K: 6:25 25K: 3:00
To be honest, I never thought I'd run a race at Hagg Lake again. But when I found out it was Karen, Teri and Laurie's last year as race directors I wanted to go out and support them and experience the double one more time. Considering how wet, cold and muddy our spring turned out, it was a beautiful weekend with relatively dry trails. I ran the double one other time back in 2014 and saw this weekend as a way to gauge my fitness now that I was on the downward slope of my 50's. After the 50k I looked back at my 2014 results and saw that I ran about the same time as 2014 - 1 minute faster. So my goal for the 25k was to run at least 1 minute faster. We'll it turned out that I ran it 20 minutes faster and almost broke 3 hours. Not bad for an old gal! This race was also great for seeing some old friends that I had lost touch with during the pandemic. I also got to run the whole 2nd loop of the 50k with the illustrious Bushwacker and a lot of the 25k with Paula and Annie.
March: March Pacific Rim One Day 45 miles
This race was a carry over from 2020. I might not have registered for it otherwise but Pac Rim is always good for a long run. Right before the start I spied my old running friend Bret who had signed up last minute. We said a quick hi and I thought we'd be able to catch up on the loop. Well the funny thing about the one mile loop at Pac Rim is that if someone is a similar pace and you end up on the other end of the loop, you might never see them. During the first few hours I passed or was passed by various people I knew and we were able to say hi or even run/walk with each other for awhile to catch up. But then I realized I had never seen Bret. Finally when I was on one side of the lake I caught a glimpse of him on the other side of the lake. I wondered if I should either speed up or slow down to catch him. Next lap I saw that he was just a little behind where I had seen him on the last lap. So I decided to speed up. It took me a few laps but I finally caught him. His goal was to get to 20 miles and then walk it in for a 50k. He was a few laps until his 20 mile (I was a lap or two ahead of him) but once he got to 20 he kept going with me. We'd walk the corners and run the straights. I hadn't seen Bret in person since before the pandemic started so it was fun to catch up and get in some good miles with a friend.
After Bret peeled off I continued on. It was a pretty nice day despite some early rain showers and wind gusts. Thanks to Bushwacker for saving our canopy! I had a loose goal of 50 or 60 miles. But as the sun started to set I realized I wanted to get home to Marc before dark. So I finished up with 45 miles and headed home.
May: Smith Rock Ascent 15M 3:13 2nd in my age group
This was going to be a family trip with Marc and Bart running the 4 Mile and me running the 15 Mile (I might've chosen the 50k but that was held on Saturday). Once Marc received his diagnosis he dropped out but I hoped Bart and I could still go. I had never run/hiked up Gray Butte but I had heard it was steep. However I really wasn't expecting it to be THAT steep. Ha! I had so much fun bombing down the other side - I still have my downhill legs. Without really any basis I had hoped to get closer and maybe beat 3 hours, but overall I'm pretty happy with my race. The really fun part is Bart getting into trail running. For now he likes the shorter stuff but I think he might try to bump up his distance one of these days. He's run the 4 Mile twice before and was happy that he got a PR, but motivated to keep training and improving too.
June: Strawberry Fields 10k 1:01:26
Before Marc's diagnosis I had registered for the Wy'east Wonder 50 Mile. I've completed the 50k twice as well as a self-supported 50k there in 2020 when the race was cancelled. The timing didn't work out well with Marc's treatment so I joined Bart for the 10k at Strawberry Fields held the same weekend. Short races are so hard and painful. Waah! But I did okay. Out of 42 finishers Bart came in 5th overall and I came in 10th overall and 3rd woman. Second woman was 63 and also an ultrarunner too. Let's hear it for the old gals! I feel like I'm still holding my own at my advancing age.
Strawberry Fields pics by The Beast
Upcoming:
This Sunday I'm running the Hellz Bellz Ultra, a 42 mile race up in Washington's Yacolt Burn State Forest and put on by Bivouac Racing. The course is a lollipop up Bells Mountain trail and around the Tarbell Loop, skirting but not summiting Larch Mountain as well as Silver Star. I've been on most of the course and (fingers crossed) the weather looks good for racing - not too hot or sunny. If I finish it will be my 69th ultra and my 99th of marathons and ultras combined. I'm closing in on 100 total endurance races which is a fun milestone considering back in the day I thought maybe I'd run 10 marathons.
No comments:
Post a Comment