Ran 7 miles this morning and felt strong at the end of the run.  Ran the whole thing at a 6/1 pace until the last mile in which I didn't stop to walk.  I'm thrilled.  I haven't felt this strong in a long time.  Not sure if it's the new shoes or the insoles, but I feel very confident about Sunday's race.  Even the thought of running 3 miles uphill doesn't seem that bad.  I must be losing my mind.

After a long drive to work (although I did rediscover Jeff Buckley's beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".  I can't begin to describe how incredible I think Buckley's interpretation is.  It's just him and his guitar.  It begins in an ominous minor key then subtly changes into the major key and 6/8 time.  You MUST check it out- and the rest of his album "Grace".  Tragically, Buckley drowned several years ago ad never completed another album.  But that's another story).

Where was I?  Oh yes.  Got to work and called Rebecca at the Cf Foundation and was shocked to learn that we're NOT involved with the Malibu Marathon anymore.  However, we will be training for the Orange County 

Good news, the letter is typed.  I hope to send it out early next week after we return from San Francisco.  I am now digging in and researching the Pay Pal method of receiving donations.  My goal is to have all of that information ready to present to Rebecca at the Cf Foundation by the end of next week.
 
It's been a helacious week at work, but I feel great.  I mean it. I woke up this morning more worn out from staying up late trying to catch a rebroadcast of former President Clinton's speech at the Democratic Convention than from my early morning run.
 
I look forward to my jog tomorrow morning.  Can't believe we're getting out of town in two days.  I'm really excited.  I'll have to keep a written journal for a few days on the road.
 
Aloha.
 
PS  I'm experimenting with all of the neat tools the blog site now has to offer. 

I can't believe it has been so long. However, the past couple of weeks have been very hectic both professionally and personally.

There are two important things I must update: I have written my first letter for the fundraising campaign, and this coming weekend I will be running the San Francisco Half Marathon.

Completing that letter was a big deal for me. I felt like it was hovering over me every time I sat down to write something else. In fact, the weekend I wrote it I had to begin a rewrite on one of my scripts (for some producers who optioned it... long story), but I felt I HAD to get the letter done. It just so happens that the day provided me with enough inspiration to put down into words what I have been feeling for the past couple of months. The whole process was very cathartic and I only need to type it up and mail it out. Easier said than done. However, that's my goal for this week.

My motivation that day was hearing about a girl I mentioned last year, Jessica Strisower, whom we met at a CF function I gave a speech at last year. This past winter, her condition was grave due to a deadly bacterium called B. cepacia. She caught the bacteria and it deteriorated her lungs so badly that she needed a lung transplant. Two live donors saved her life and now she has a bright future again.

The news that rattled me, though, was her doctors telling Jessica's mother that the lung transplant is only good for 5-10 years, and then she may die. The girl is in her early teens. She hasn't lived a full life! And of course, I grappled with the thought of Jacob ever having to face this news; how we as a family would face this news.

You can see where I was able to draw inspiration from this story. Finding a cure is more important now than it ever was. It is the ONLY way that people afflicted with CF will be given the same opportunities to live out their life like the rest of us.

And I don't buy into that crap like "well, you could walk into the street and be hit by a bus tomorrow". Yes, that type of tragedy could happen, but the odds aren't already against you in that situation.

I'm not trying to be a pessimist. Hardly. I'm just trying to drive home the pint to any of you out there trudging through my ramblings that this is serious business....


And then there was the half marathon.

We're leaving town on Thursday to go to SF in order for me to run the SF Half Marathon. I have to say that, physically, I feel great. I ran 8 miles on Saturday (after 12 last weekend) and my body has recovered splendidly. True, my damn knee continues to snap every time I walk, but I don't notice it when I'm in the middle of a run. I am really looking forward to the race. More importantly, I am thrilled that we're getting out of town for an extended weekend. Once Sophie begins Kindergarten (!!) in less than a month, the opportunities to skip town for a couple of extr4a days will be slim.

That's all for now. It feels good to be back at the blog. With my formal marathon training beginning a week from Saturday, I feel like I've done enough blog training to jump right back into the daily bore...er... entries like I did last year.

Aloha.

Had a horrible run this morning. This thing with my left shin area is starting to irritate. Of course, it could be that I have to get off my lazy rear and finally go buy new shoes. This weekend. Yes, this weekend, when I plan to paint Sophie's room and possibly do the 135 other house things that need to get done.

The run this morning was slooooow. And when that happens, I begin dwelling on all of the things stressing me out. I also started thinking about my next letter. I have some of my thoughts scattered on pages, but nothing organized yet. But I want to get it out within the next two weeks. When I met with Rebecca on Tuesday and I looked down at the fundraising goals they want all of the runners to reach, I sudden;y got anxious. Can I raise the kind of money I did last year? Should it matter? I mean, the goal is just to raise money and awareness, right?

That's not true. Not for me. If my goal was just to raise money and awareness, I'd just run the half marathon. No, the goal is to raise as much as I did last year. The goal is to try and get people to understand how incredibly horrible CF is.

It was ironic that I found the About A Boy Soundtrack on a friend's iTunes list. There's a track on that record that rips my heart out whenever I hear it. For some reason, it was the song I latched on to when Jake was first in the hospital. It was the track I'd listen before I went in to Children's and when I left. I would be brought to tears, crying my eyes out as I tried to navigate Sunset Blvd.

It still chokes me up.

I don't want to lose my son.