Fall Season Week 19

Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right. - Aldous Huxley

Fundraising Tip
Start sending Thank you letters to your donors right away. Nothing can replace a thoughful note from you, expressing your gratitude.

Training Tip
Pre and Post Race Tips for the Newbie
from The Running Doc at Runnersworld.com

Mission Moment
MO
Living with Hodgkin Lymphoma for 2 years, 11 months
Age: 25

I found out I was pregnant in December 2004. We were so excited and couldn't wait to meet our baby in August 2005.

Then, in February 2005, a huge lump appeared on my neck. I went to see my family doctor and he didn't seem too concerned about it and made an appointment for me to see a plastic surgeon. A couple of weeks later, I met with the plastic surgeon and he seemed more concerned. He said he wanted to know a little bit more about what he was removing so he sent me to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor.

I went to see the ENT on March 21, 2005. I was 19 weeks pregnant at the time. The doctor felt the lump on my neck and under my arms. He basically said, "It's either a virus or it's Hodgkin's and I don't think it's a virus." I had tests done a couple of days later that confirmed that it was Hodgkin's.

I chose to visit MD Anderson in Houston where they attempted to stage me safely and not to interfere with the baby at all. I was staged at IIB. I came home and carried on a normal pregnancy.

Because my breathing was getting harder, we decided to induce at 32 weeks. He wasn't ready and therefore the induction failed. We tried again at 34 but he still wouldn't come. Finally, on July 21, 2005, 4 months to the day I was diagnosed, Hunter came into the world. He was perfectly healthy and beautiful.

2 weeks after giving birth, I had a CT and PET scan that revealed the cancer to be stage IIIB. I had 6 months of ABVD. This ended in January and then I was retested. None of the tests were coming out clear but when they did, I only required 3 weeks of radiation.

I have been cancer-free since July 11, 2006. It was the hardest thing that I have ever done, but it is a journey that I will never forget. My precious son and I will always have a special connection. He was what I needed to make it through this battle and I can't wait to be able to share that with him someday. We are fighters, we are survivors, we are strong.

Fall Season Week 18

I discovered it wasn't a matter of physical strength, but a matter of psychological strength. The conquest lay within my own mind to penetrate those barriers of self-imposed limitations and get through to good stuff- the stuff called potential, 90 percent of which we rarely use. - Sharon Wood, First North American Woman to Climb Mt. Everest

Fundraising Tip
Send a press release to your contacts in the media regarding your training and your upcoming event.

Training Tip
Race Strategy: Getting it right the first time

By John "Penguin" Bingham



One of the most important things you, as a participant, can do as race day approaches is to develop a race strategy. Spending some time thinking and planning can make the difference between having a great time and having the longest day of your life.

Developing a race strategy requires you to look honestly and your training and their overall readiness for the race. Second, it requires you to define your goals and look at them realistically and third, it will give you something against which you can gauge your race as it's happening.

You need three race day strategies:

Plan A would be one where everything went perfectly; you sleep well the night before the race, you wake up feeling rested and refreshed, the day is perfect and you've brought exactly the right clothes.


Plan B would be the one where you show up with most of what you need, you manage to get in a few hours of restless sleep, you wake up grumpy, the forecast is for the chance of rain with the possibility of blistering sun or hail. Its 29 degrees at the start but it's suppose to get to the mid 90's by noon.


Plan C, the "doomsday scenario" strategy is where your luggage was lost and you had to buy everything new at the race expo, you didn't sleep a wink because there was a wedding reception in the room next door, you wake up feeling hung over even though you didn't drink a drop, it's cold and damp or it's Death Valley hot and dry, the wind-chill index is 60 degrees below zero or the heat index is 140 degrees and the race starts an hour and a half late.


There is no right strategy. There is only YOUR strategy. But, it is important that you develop SOME KIND OF strategy. You don't want to see all of your hard work and training fall apart because you failed to have a strategy.

You Need to Know Before You Go
1. Your goals, strategy, and objectives have to work together
2. Be prepared to change your goals on race day
3. Be prepared to change your goals as the race unfolds
4. Keep your objectives firmly in your mind
5. If you can't be well prepared, be well rested
6. There is no such thing as the perfect race
7. Imagining a race is not the same as running/walking it
8. A bad strategy is worse than no strategy


Mission Moment
Amy Griffin Grady
Zebulon, NC
Living with CML for 1 year, 5 months
Age: 31

I'm 30 years old and have Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). Most days I'm scared to death and try to just make it through the day. I just started working and feel a little better.

Fall Season Week 17

Congratulations to Super Byron and to every one of you who are making it possible for him!

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. - Leon J. Suenes

Fundraising Tip
Email your monthly update reminding others to donate. This is a great way to keep people up to date with your training and fundraising progress. It's also a great time to update your potential donors on your honored patients status.

Training Tip
Essentials of Endurance Recovery
#1: Water, water, water:
The backbone of any recovery program is always water - and more specifically hydration! Water alone can give substantial benefit in your recovery, but even greater gains can be found combining it with other nutrients. However, no other nutrient or magic pill will work without water as its backbone. All cellular reactions, including the basis of ATP production (electron transport-oxydative phosphorylation) require water and oxygen. Without water, the entire process of converting nutrients to glycogen and protein is limited. Choose water first, whether by itself, in a formulated sports drink or through foods such as fruits.
Keep in mind that the average fluid loss during exercise: 1-2 liters (33.6 to 67.2 ounces) per hour. Some individuals may lose even more than that during intense workouts/races in extreme heat and humidity!
It is recommended to drink 20-24 ounces of fluid in recovery for every pound of body weight lost during exercise.

#2: Replenish your carbs:
Following water, the second most important nutrient group to consider is not proteins, but carbohydrates. The primary fuel source for endurance athletes is glycogen…period! If you don't restore your fuel, you aren't going anywhere fast, and some carbohydrates are better than others at restoring glycogen to the working muscles. Keep in mind that a window of opportunity exists where your depleted muscles open their acceptance to this fuel, further allowing for maximum replenishment. Depending on what data you reference, this window is somewhere between 20 minutes and two hours following exercise. To keep things simple, always try to start your recovery immediately following exercise. During this time, insulin sensitivity is at is highest. Insulin, which allows sugar to flow into your bloodstream, works most efficiently immediately following exercise. In addition, high glycemic carbohydrates are broken down easily and further increase the flow of glucose into the bloodstream. This glucose can then be converted to glycogen in your working muscles, in essence 'filling your tank.' To ensure you have refilled your glycogen fuel tank to the top, always practice using a high glycemic recovery product/food immediately following exercise. Glucose (also known as dextrose), a high glycemic carbohydrate, is twice as effective at restoring muscle glycogen as fructose, a low glycemic carbohydrate. Whether a carbohydrate is a simple sugar or complex carbohydrate makes little difference on the recovery rate -- the key for post-workout nutrition recovery is the food's glycemic index.(Gonzales, Roberts, Roy) Whether a food is a liquid or solid will not make a difference either, though some claims state that liquids offer more efficient absorption. But remember, regardless of the form, the glycemic index is a direct indicator of the breakdown of the food into your bloodstream and is most useful as a tool to help select foods for post-workout recovery.
It is recommended to eat 1.0-1.5 grams of carbohydrate (ideally high glycemic index) per kilogram of body weight immediately after exercise to promote optimal recovery.

Here is a short list of high glycemic index foods. A more complete Glycemic Foods lists are available at www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
plain bagel, Rice Chexs, baked white potato
dark rye bread, Rice Krispies, pretzels
bran flakes, Total cereal, skittles
white bread, Instant cooked rice, Gatorade
Cheerios, short grain white rice, watermelon
Cocoa Krispies, Graham Crackers, sucrose
Corn Bran, Vanilla Wafers, Soft drink
Crispix, Saltine Crackers, Dates
Grapenuts, glucose, Maltodextrin
Raisin Bran

#3: Protein demands:
Over the last ten years the media, the body building world, fad diets, and new research have made protein the magic nutrient for recovery. Proteins play many critical roles aiding in recovery, including the building of new tissue; as a primary constituent in cell membranes and internal cell material; comprising the enzymes which allow the body to function and breakdown fat, carbohydrates and other proteins; aiding in blood clotting; acting as a critical agent in muscle contraction; and aiding in regulation of acid-base balance. Though protein is critical in many aspects of recovery, it always works better when combined with carbohydrates. A high protein meal or nutritional product with little or no carbohydrates is relatively ineffective for any endurance athlete as a recovery product. On the other hand, protein added to high glycemic carbohydrates can actually further increase the shuttling of glycogen back into the working muscle. Protein is not a preferred fuel source for your depleted muscles, and ingesting too much protein following a workout may actually hinder the resynthesis of muscle glycogen.
Six to twenty grams of total protein is recommended in the nutrition "window of opportunity" following exercise.

#4. Electrolyte demands:
With excessive sweat, the body may also require the replenishment of electrolytes. The primary electrolytes lost in sweat are sodium, chloride, potassium and phosphorus. Electrolyte replenishment typically only becomes problematic for those athletes who consume only water during a long exercise bout in heat, or poorly designed electrolyte replacement and energy drinks. A 'during race' nutrition plan should always contain some electrolytes in order to keep homeostasis. With excessive sweat, body fluids can become hypotonic (low in electrolytes) when not replenished. The key here is to simply make sure what you drink and eat following exercise contains some or all of these electrolytes. Be careful not to drink plain water following exhaustive exercise. Water alone will actually dilute your electrolytes even further, and may cause additional nausea. Most sports drinks contain sodium. The better sports drinks will focus on all of the key electrolytes in doses large enough to help you replenish your lost stores.

Mission Moment
Abby
TX
Living with ALL for 1 year, 9 months
Age: 5

It will be difficult to forget May 9, 2006, yet we have such a hard time remembering the details of that day. That morning, we took our 3 year old daughter in to our family doctor for the second time in 5 days. The symptoms by this time were unmistakable to her doctor: fever, leg pain, swollen lymph nodes and incredible bruises. We were sent for blood work at our local hospital, and were given the results back at the doctor's office...Abby has leukemia. We were immediately sent from our small town to a nearby city, to a wonderful pediatric oncologist. After an initial exam at his office, we checked in to the Children's Hospital next door, which would become our home for the next 29 days.

During that first stay, Abby was found to have Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). At some point later, testing showed Abby also has the Philadelphia Chromosome, which makes treatment very difficult.

Now, after 5 months in and out of the hospital, and many medicines later, we are finally feeling like we can breathe again. We are adjusting to life with a child on chemo (and sometimes steroids!), we have cried at the loss of her beautiful blonde hair, and we have rejoiced each time a FISH test comes back clear. It is still a long road...6 more months of high and intermediate dose chemo, then 2+ years on maintenance. Our faith in God has gotten us this far, and we know that He will sustain and strengthen us until the day Abby is healed.

Fall Season Week 16

And the beat goes on!

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will. - Mahatma Gandhi

Fundraising Tip
Call friends and family and ask for a donation over the phone. Remember, you are asking on behalf of patients all over the world, not for yourself! Be brave and know that you are saving lives with every phone call you make.

Training Tip
Some Things to Think About During Training and Racing 

By Jack Daniels, Ph.D., TNT National Run Coach

The most important thing to concentrate on in training or racing is the task at hand. In shorter, more intense races, you need to be a little more aware of your competitors and how far you are into the race, than is the case with marathons or even half marathons. In these longer events, the intensity of effort is not so stressful, but the duration of the event is considerably longer, so the thoughts that are dominant in your mind may vary considerably from those that are more useful in the shorter events. Still, the most important thing is to concentrate on the task at hand.

This may sound a little controversial, but sometimes concentrating on the task at hand means taking your mind off the race itself; actually letting your mind wander in long races can help pass the time. I will sometimes try to guess when 30 minutes have passed, and then try to make sure I wait at least 30 minutes to check my watch. Some other thought processes that may help you through a long training session or race include the following.

1. Think about how different parts of your body are feeling. Mentally move from the top of your head to your feet, telling yourself to relax your face, relax your jaw, relax your shoulders, relax your back and stomach, relax your hips and thighs and relax your legs and feet. Just going through this process now and then will not only help relax your breathing and all your body, but will take your mind off the physical aspects of the event and lessen anxiety about the distance you have yet to cover in getting to the finish line, of a race or prolonged workout session.

2. As alluded to in point #1, above, often think about your breathing - make sure it is a rhythmical 3-3 or 2-2 cadence (taking 3 steps while breathing in and 3 steps while breathing out, or 2 in and 2 out). Anything faster than a 2-2 breathing rhythm is too fast and means you are not relaxed or you are running too fast.

3. Periodically count your leg cadence. The ideal stride rate is about 180 steps per minute - 90 with each foot. Every 20 or 30 minutes time your stride rate, counting how many right-foot falls you have in one minute.

4. Think about how your feet are hitting the ground - feet pointing straight ahead; landing mid-footed or heel first are usually the most relaxing ways to strike the ground with your feel. Also think about being light on your feet, as if running over a field of raw eggs and you don't want to break any of them - as soon as your foot hits the ground let it rebound quickly into the air for the next step.

5. Don't drive your arms; just them balance your body. Think about your elbows being the end of a pendulum that is swinging easily back and forth as you run along. There are little weights on your elbows that pull your shoulders down and prevent them from being raised or tense. Let your hands relax, with your thumbs resting lightly on top of the fingers right next to them.

6. Learn to be an optimist regarding your running. For example, internalize your feelings about good training sessions and races - you are the person who did those good things. On the other hand, externalize poor training runs or races - that was not really you who had that bad day, it was just a bad day and not representative of your true ability. There is no such thing as a fluke good performance, but there definitely is such a thing as a fluke bad performance.

7. Something that tends to help athletes is to visualize their training or racing efforts. First you relax and close your eyes and think about a very relaxing location - maybe at the beach or in a field of wild flowers. Then you shift your thoughts to a very successful training session or race that you have experienced; go through the entire event remembering why it was so positive. Then shift to the relaxing site and after some relaxation time there, go to a training session or race that was not a positive experience. Go through this poor event and try to imagine what you could have done differently to make that poor effort a successful one. Maybe you should have gotten up earlier or eaten differently or started more conservatively; imagine whatever it would take to turn that poor event into a good event. Then go to your relaxing place again, followed by the positive training session or race, and one more time to the relaxing site, and finally back to the present. Before a demanding training session or race, quickly go through the positive aspects of your successful performance and remind yourself of all the things that made it feel so good, and that it was you who did those things and you certainly can repeat them in any new confrontation.

Possibly most important is to hang on to any positive experiences you have in training and racing and forget the not-so-positive ones. Doubt any negative experiences and believe in the good things, and most of all believe in yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions
WHY IS THERE A FUNDRAISING DEADLINE? Team In Training is first and foremost a fundraising program. The primary goal is to raise funds for leukemia research. In light of this objective, we take your commitment to raise the fundraising minimum seriously. We want all Team In Training participants to be successful in raising at least the minimum, and we have structured the program to provide as much support as possible. At the final deadline date, two weeks before your event, if you have not reached the fundraising minimum, we will place the remaining amount on your credit card. In the event that your credit card must be charged, you will have an additional month to fundraise (30 days after your event). The Society will reimburse you any additional funds collected up to the amount that you personally contributed. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has a national “no deals” policy. The preceding procedures are designed with the intent of maintaining the integrity of the TNT program, and to be true to our mission of finding a cure for leukemia.

Mission Moment
Kyle
Living with ALL for 4 years
Age: 6

Kyle was diagnosed with ALL (T-cell) at age 2, on February 5th. His symptoms began in October of ‘03. After going to his pediatrician several times for a swollen stomach and getting practically ignored by the nurses, he was given the wrong x-ray until I corrected them. I finally listen to my Motherly intuition and took him to a Gastrologist (thinking he was severely constipated). They did one finger prick and Kyle's white blood cell count was 265,000. That is where our journey begins.

Everything changed. I quit my teaching job to care for Kyle, we moved to a different state to be close to family and we quickly learned the true meaning of life. Kyle's leukemia was diagnosed as high risk because it was T-cell and in his central nervous system (CNS). Before he was diagnosed we noticed some developmental problems, but we ignored them because we were so focused on getting him well. After everything started becoming routine we paid attention to some odd behaviors. After seeing many developmental doctors and therapists, Kyle was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. This is sometimes called High Function Autism. This was another hit. Why my little boy? All of this and he is only 3! Why our family?

With God's strength and guidance we found Kyle the help he needed. He began going to a special class to help with social development. After getting that in place, we were into Kyle's 18 month of treatment. Kyle had a regular spinal tap and they found leukemia cells in his CNS. This meant he was relapsing. Why!! It was a living hell, but I had to be strong for my little boy and let him know that everything would be fine. The only time I could not be strong was when he had to receive all the shots of chemo again. I cried every time. After 8 more chemo injections Kyle got into remission again-praise the Lord!!

After Kyle relapsed we found out my husband, Kyle's dad, was diagnosed with Esophagus Cancer. This was just unbearable to hear. Kevin began a 9 month treatment plan. At one point, Kyle was going to radiation in the morning and his Daddy was going in the afternoon. God showed us he was in control. Kyle thought it was so cool his Daddy had a button (port). We made everything a family affair. Kyle saw Daddy get on the 'machine' just like he did. This really helped with Kyle's treatment. However, the sad thing is that this is not what any child should grow up to. My daughter thinks everyday we need to visit a hospital. When she gets a simple cold, she asks to go to "St.Jude". She started feeling “left out” because she did not go to the doctor. That was when it was a little too much.

Today Kyle is 5 and still receiving chemo and going to school on a daily basis, where he receives help for his developmental challenges. My husband is back at work after 9 months of treatment. I am busy during the day trying to show my daughter normal experiences. Kyle will finish his treatment July 07. Please keep my family in your prayers and be thankful if you are healthy.