I didn’t wear any nipple protection on my three-mile jog tonight, but on account of the cooler DC temps tonight I hardly perspired at all. Thus, no nipple chafing and no bleeding. My run was a success. I’m planning for my next run to take place early on Wednesday morning in an effort to keep the temperature down while I’m on the streets. Once again on Wednesday I’ll brave the conditions and free-nipple it up and down Eisenhower Avenue, but I do plan on investing in some ‘body glide’ prior to Saturday’s longest run yet of eight miles.
I’ll also admit that I rediscovered the wonders of ice tonight. I know that sounds foolish, but like the time that I ignored stretching and set myself back for a week in pain, I’ve also conveniently forgotten to ice properly after all of my runs. Tonight however I wrapped my left knee in a big bag of ice after I returned, and my soothed extremity has been thanking me ever since.
I’m learning to run by trial and error. As I plan to douse myself in lube before my run on Saturday, and ice down shortly after, I have no doubt that eight miles are easily within my grasp.
Running
I never would have guessed that I need a product from nipguards.com, but after a painful run yesterday my left nipple needs help. Yes, my bloody part was my left nipple, which experienced extreme chafing in the balmy DC heat. As you can see for yourself on the aforementioned website this isn’t a problem unique to me. In fact, it didn’t even take me by surprise. I was forewarned by my sister Cheryl’s husband Phil that male nipple chafing is a common problem among distance runners. Either because I didn’t believe him or because I didn’t want to believe him, I ignored the warning. My left nipple now wishes that I hadn’t been so stubborn. I began to fail the pain after about four miles of my six mile run. After 4.5 miles the pain manifested itself with a faint trace of blood, and after five miles I was forced to run with my right hand in my shirt to protect my nipple from the punishment that it was enduring. Perhaps I’m being stubborn yet again but I don’t think I’ll wear any nipple protection for my quick three-miler tomorrow. However, with a five-miler and eight-miler looming later this week, I plan on addressing the problem sooner rather than later. So, nobody guessed from where I was bleeding, but I think it’s better that way. I would have thought you were very strange if my left nipple came to your mind.
Other
On account of my throbbing knees, which obviously don’t like the sitting position that I am in, I am going to keep this very brief tonight. Please just allow me to report a few quick things.
1) I completed my six-mile run tonight without major incident.
2) I’m not nearly as nervous for my eight-mile run next Saturday as I was for my six-mile journey today.
3) One of my body parts returned home from the run tinged with blood. Any guesses? I reveal the answer tomorrow night.
Other
I could go on-and-on about how great Tom Brady and the Patriots offense looked in the first half of play tonight, but if you’re interested you can probably gather that information elsewhere. Instead, I’m going to keep this entry short and store all of the energy and focus I have for the task at hand tomorrow. Saturday calls for my first six-mile run. I hope I’m ready.
Other
Included in my efforts to remove all negativity, anger, frustration and other not-so-nice emotions from my world, I’ve made a concerted effort to eliminate jealousy from my existence. It’s not healthy to want what others may have that you don’t. In this case however, jealousy has won. My little sister-in-law Emily has just reported for her freshman year at Syracuse, and while I’m insanely happy for her in hopes that she tops my record for all-time greatest collegiate experience, I’m also extremely jealous. To me, there isn’t a happier place in the world than the campus of S.U.
Moving on, I completed yet another three-mile run today after logging four miles yesterday. I’ll rest tomorrow (and enjoy the Patriots at Redskins preseason game at FedEx Field instead), but my first-ever six-mile run is on deck for Saturday. I’m excited, but nervous. Nobody should be jealous of me.
Oh, to be a freshman in college again…
Other
On the day of the sorrowful passing of Senator Edward Kennedy, the last of four great brothers and men who gave so much to the country they loved, brain cancer sufferers across the globe can choose to look his death in one of two ways. We can either accept the traditional news media’s coverage of the story and hear how this dastardly and reported ‘incurable’ disease took Senator Kennedy’s life just 14 months after his diagnosis, four months shy of the median survival mark, or we can have a different outlook. I’m choosing to see it differently. When I see Ted Kennedy I see a warrior that lived to the ripe, old age of 77, who should serve as a role model for all cancer patients. We should all be so lucky to live to 77, and to be able to live and work with passion on our own terms. I’m not focused on the last 14 months of his life, but the total 77 years of it. I’ll admit this right now…if I could sign on a dotted line and guarantee that I’ll be around for another 48 years but not a day longer, I’d do so in a heartbeat. To paraphrase the old Michael Jordan Gatorade commercial, “like Ted, if I could be like Ted.” May God bless the soul of Senator Kennedy and see to it that all of us live to be 77 years young.
GBM
I used to think that running a marathon would be difficult, until I read this … http://www.azcentral.com/sports/azetc/articles/2009/08/08/20090808spt-badwaterrace.html
Suddenly 26.2 miles doesn’t seem so far.
Other
Not because I wanted to, but because I had to, I reluctantly returned to my local oncologist’s office today. It felt particularly weird, as I feel stronger and healthier than ever, and the other ‘patients’ in the office definitely don’t fit into that category. While I’ll always feel a special kinship with cancer fighters across the globe, it doesn’t make it any easier to see. For that reason I avoided the chemotherapy room and kept my wandering eyes fixated on Jessie or an inanimate object so as not to make eye contact that I felt would be awkward. How can a simple look convey my deep thoughts? How would my eyes say ‘I know what you’re feeling, and I’ll be praying for you, because God-willing there is light at the end of this dark tunnel’?
While it was strange to be there, and I had difficulty managing the situation, we nevertheless left with great news as always. My neutrophils have rebounded as expected to 2.4, which falls well within the normal range, and though my WBCs are still flagged as low at 3.7, they are also on the climb. 4.6 represents the lowest ‘normal’ mark for WBCs, so I still have a way to go, but I’m confident that I am getting there.
Additionally, our suspicions were confirmed and I have gained weight as I tipped the scales at 180 lbs. today. I was proud. Also, during the regular check of my vital signs, while my temperature and blood pressure were cold and low as always, my heart rate was significantly slower than usual. At 54 beats per minute I had them a bit alarmed at first, until they learned of my marathon aspirations and regular running routine. They explained that runners at rest have a slower heart rate than average. Who knew?
On the home front I logged three more miles tonight with relative ease, as the marathon picture is starting to take focus. I’ll run four miles on Wednesday, three on Thursday and six on Saturday…all in preparation for my first organized race in just over a month. On October 3rd I’ll take part in the 2009 Army Ten-Miler through the streets of the nation’s capital. I can barely contain my excitement.
Other
I’d post photographic evidence of my new look if I could, but our internet service is currently malfunctioning so I am unable to do so. Thus, you’ll have to take my word for it. My beard, which was a shaggy mess a few hours ago (the product of weeks upon weeks of wild growth), is now barely visible. I intended to trim it this evening with the trimmer setting dialed in at a ‘3′, but after inadvertantly setting the trimmer to a ‘1′ I now find myself almost clean-shaven. I considered ridding myself of the beard completely, but we’ve been through too much together for me to just discard it in such a brisk manner, so despite my face’s feeling of nakedness, the beard remains…barely.
Anyway, I’ll return to work tomorrow after a week of vacation. I suppose I’m ready, but it will be hard to wake-up without hearing my Dad soon ask ‘what do you want for breakfast?’.
I’ll also return to the oncologist’s office tomorrow for my monthly check-up. In all honesty, since my every-other-month MRI at Duke isn’t for a few more weeks, I’m not at all sure why I have to go see the local oncologist tomorrow. Jessie said that I must though, so we’ll make our way there together at 4:15. Boring as it may be, trust me that details will follow.
Other
As my vacation nears its end, so too ends my week of ‘fives’.
First, Monday-Friday of last week represented my first five consecutive vacation days off from work since our honeymoon last September. Granted, I stubbornly did a bit of work while I was away, but doing work in a bathing suit and flip flops somehow doesn’t feel like work.
Second, I recorded my first ever birdie on a par-5 (get it, five?) hole when I golfed on Friday, as I was nearly on the green after shots, chipped within striking distance of the hole on my third shot, and putted in for my first-ever par-5 birdie after that. I subsequently did a little ‘birdie dance’, which I won’t do after every birdie that I record from now on, but seemed appropriate for my first.
Finally, after thunderstorms cooled the North Carolina air to a comfortable temperature this afternoon, I logged a five-mile run tonight, as my throbbing knee and sore right calf will attest. I have to admit I am proud of myself, but not nearly as proud as I’ll be when I complete my first marathon. After my relative success today, I’m more certain than ever that it will soon be within my grasp.
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