Celebrating a Survivor

Today my mom underwent a successful double mastectomy. The surgeon removed all the cancer, and it had not spread to the lymph nodes. We are all very relieved! She may be released from the hospital tomorrow, and then will be recovering at home for 2-3 weeks. We are very thankful that she caught this early.

Thank you all so much for all of your support, both of my mom and our family, and of my fundraising for blood cancers and Karen's fundraising for breast cancer. You've heard me say it before, but cancer sucks.

Please join us in celebrating our mom and our grandmother (another breast cancer survivor) in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on November 6th in Tempe. Sign up for our team! No registration fee and no fundraising minimum. We are just going out to raise awareness and honor some wonderful people. And maybe wear pink.

I and several of my friends will also be running the Women's Half Marathon the following day in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Come out and race or cheer us on!

Here's to "a world with more birthdays"!

I Tri-ed.

1 triathlon down. That's all I have to say.

Pictures:

See Jane Run Tri September 2010

And videos:

Beautiful Bay Area

Sailing last Friday night:




(The sailing still sucked.)

Moonrise over the City:

Segregation

This has been all over facebook, so I'm sure you've seen it before, but I just have to comment. The Bay Area is in the article as a BONUS: relatively mixed area.



Take a look at the City of San Francisco - the top of the peninsula over on the left. Let's see - there's the Asians in Chinatown, the Sunset, and the Richmond; the blacks in Bayview and Western Addition; the Hispanics in the Mission; and the whites in Marina, Pacific Heights, Lower Haight, Cole Valley, Twin Peaks, and the Castro.

This is relatively mixed? Good grief!

(Not that I can talk, living in the Castro and all. But I am still a minority here!)

Apparently I'm a Runner.

Have I mentioned I'm doing my very 1st triathlon on Saturday? Probably a few times.

Here is proof of how much of a Tri Newbie I am:

On Sunday during my training ride I had some trouble with my gears (got out of 3rd and couldn't get back in), so I decided to take my bike in to the shop this week and have the derailleur adjusted. Of course on my ride to the shop, I discovered that I had no problems shifting at all. I figured since I was by then right next to the shop, I might as well just stop in.

So I explained to the shop guys that I had had a shifting problem but it seemed fine now, but could they just please check it because I have a race this weekend.

One of the shop guys promptly asked - "A triathlon?"

Yes, clearly I am not doing a road race on my ancient bicycle.

He followed up - "Are you a swimmer or a runner?"

Clearly not being a swimmer (feel free to ask my family about that), I found myself being forced to tell him that I was, in fact, a runner. A runner? How strange. That doesn't really seem to apply to me. I've only been doing it for a bit over a year.

But I guess soon I'll be a triathlete. Maybe I'll even buy a new bike and learn to shift gears properly so I don't break the dang thing. Of course, that's if I make it through this first race.

And then the week after that, I'll become a sailor (even helmswoman). So I guess in the last 1.25 years, I'll have added three new titles: Runner, Triathlete, Sailor. You know what they say: Jack of all trades, master of none!

(In case you were wondering, the shop guys proclaimed in bike in fine shape and sent me off with no charge. The other customer wished me good luck! It reminded me why I love local shops, although in the past the shop guys there seem to be more interested in drinking than actually working. Oh well.)

Weekend Adventures

5.7 mile (550 feet elevation gain) run in the rain. Check.
40 minute swim. Check.
Boot camp. Check.
16 mile bike ride in the rain. Check.
Packet pick-up for triathlon next Saturday. Check.

Bring it!

Ridge Trail Cruz

One of our neatest recent Groupon purchases was a membership to the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council. They are planning and building a 550 mile trail to circumnavigate the entire Bay Area. About 325 miles are completed, and we had yet to hike any of them.

So we also used our Groupon discount to sign up for the organized Ridge Trail Cruz, and joined a 13 mile hike on Saturday. We found friendly people and gorgeous scenery - just 1 hour from the City and very close to the highly populated centers of the Peninsula. Hooray for Open Space!