Silent Sixty

Today was the Silent Mile get-together for the Fall Teams for Team in Training Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Charlottesville. The cycle, marathon, and triathlon teams all gather for this, and coaches talk about some of the things that the money raised is going to. One of the ladies on the Richmond team has already raised over $11,000, which is amazing! Then some of the patient honorees say a few words of thanks, and every one does the first mile or so in silence - reflecting on the mission, the goal of curing cancer, and those fighting the hard fight to survive their ordeal. With my sister's recent death, I was reminded of her over and over again this morning. I listened to the wood thrushes singing in the forests along the route. It was one of her favorite birds. I miss her so much.

It was also my Big Six-O today, and so I got a card signed by many present, and also there was a "Happy Birthday" poster made by the LLS staff. That was pretty cool. What a great bunch of folks to see on my birthday morning. I decided to try walking a bit, and walked almost five miles with my friend Nicki. She was married a couple of months ago, so I got to hear about her wonderful wedding. Afterwards, there was a potluck breakfast, which was really good. It also felt good to walk this far - the longest distance since I got plantar fasciitis nearly three months ago. I've come to the conclusion that I have to start walking and just see where it leads, with a sixty mile walk only 10 weeks away.

Here is my birthday poster, using a photo from my last TNT event, the Seattle Half Marathon in June, 2010.

Let's kick cancer's butt!

Some of the team starting out on the "silent mile:"

Reminders of why we work so hard to train and raise money:

This poster, with Coach Chuck in the background, features a message from my friend and teammate Ed Stone, and from yours truly. Ed is currently battling melanoma, his fourth bout with cancer at age 41.

Nicki and I first met through TNT about five or six years ago. She is a 14+ year lymphoma survivor, alive by means of a bone marrow transplant. She is awesome!