Pole Clinic & Hike in Sanborn Park

Duane and I packed our gear last night, so we were ready for an early morning start. When the alarm went off at 6:00 am, we showered, dressed and ate breakfast. Duane's getting better about getting up so early on a Saturday morning. I'm somewhat more used to it as I drive our son to school every morning. But still, I dislike eating breakfast so early. I'm just not hungry this early in the morning.

We met at the parking log at El Paseo de Saratoga shopping mall, in front of Le Boulanger. This is one of our team's carpool meeting places. I'm awake enough for a cup of coffee now! After a short wait, we drove over to Sanborn Park. We arrived just as the gates opened, paid our parking fee, and parked our cars.

Sanborn Park is nestled in the hills of Santa Clara County, just above the City of Saratoga. The Youth Science Institute hosts children's summer camps in the thickly wooded park. Since Duane decided that he wanted to do the pole clinic, I decided to do it with him, even though I felt that I needed the hike more than the poles. I went into the pole clinic thinking that poles were optional and that I probably didn't need them.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Our presenter, Jayah, who hikes with the Sierra Club, was very knowledgable and enthusiastic about her subject. She showed us how to use poles and the proper way to adjust and size them for our bodies. Most of the newer poles even include shock absorbers! One of the benefits of the poles include transferring some of the energy and shock from your joints to the poles, thereby saving your knees from some of the stress. It's not a lot, but it might make a difference on a long, strenuous hike like Half Dome. Another benefit is that your fingers don't swell up as much when you have something to wrap them around. When hiking without poles, it is natural for the arms to swing in rhythym with the gait, which pushes blood out to the fingertips where it has to fight gravity back up the arm.

One of the things I have been looking forward to learning about was gloves. Today's pole clinic also featured both regular and fingerless gloves. The trick was to pick the right size of fingerless gloves, which ran very small, so that they would still be the right size when/if your fingers swell so as not to cut off the circulation. The gloves are a very lightweight nylon polyester with synthetic leather grips and padding. I bought both fingerless and regular gloves. It wouldn't be a bad thing to start these early morning hikes with a pair of regular gloves until my fingers warm up. I've also been wondering what kind of gloves we should use for the cable section of the hike. The answer is, it turns out, cheap gloves from the hardware store! What is needed is something with a really good grip that you don't care if it gets cut up or damaged.

After getting equipped with both gloves and poles, we walked off with Jayah in the lead, teaching us techniques for using poles. The poles are adjustable and are lengthened on the downhill in order to avoid bad posture and leaning over the poles. The poles are shortened on the uphill. Uphill is definitely easier than downhill, which appears to require somewhat more coordination, although I'm not sure why. When walking over cement or on a bridge, pick the poles up so you don't dull the tips or get them caught in a crack between planks! Who knew that poles have rules!?

I haven't done much hiking in Sanborn Park. Our son did a science camp there one year. So it was nice to get out and see some of the park's beautiful redwood forests and lush green ferns. Because of the pole clinic, our hike was shorter, but even so I'm glad I went to the pole clinic. I bought the poles that Jayah picked out for me and I learned something new and potentially useful for our Half Dome Challenge.

Rest Day

Well, sort of. I didn't get any exercise in, and it wasn't on our schedule. But I still had a midterm due so I spent most of my time studying, and then taking the exam. Glad that's over!

The more I learn about programming, the more admiration I have for what my husband, Duane, does everyday in his job! And the more I learn that this, though useful, is not something that I enjoy.

Our pole clinic and hike is tomorrow at Sanborn Park in Saratoga. I'm looking forward to the hike, more than the pole clinic. Poles? Do I need them? We have a choice of going on a 3 hour hike and skipping the pole clinic, or going to the pole clinic for 2 hours followed by a 1 hour hike. Frankly, I think I need the hike more than the clinic, but I will defer to Duane.

Fitting It All In

Today was quiet, except for a few errands, but I didn't have time to do much in the way of exercise. I had to catch up on all the homework I missed when I was sick with bronchitis earlier this month. I did get my homework submitted, but by that time it was 9:00 pm and I was too tired to go anywhere or do much of anything.

Nevertheless, I dragged Duane over to the TV and we did two miles together with Leslie Sansone. Although not as good as some days, this was better than nothing at all!

Diet Sabotage

In case I didn't mention it, today is also my birthday. It was a very busy day with lots of errands and things to do, although I did get a 5,000+ step walk in! My neighbor and I set up a standing date to walk on Wednesday mornings. I'm learning a lot about our neighborhood, which we haven't lived in very long.

When I finally got home at 6:30 pm, I walked into the house to a huge bouquet of yellow roses and other yellow flowers. Awww! I've always been partial to yellow roses. It's the flower that my father gave my mother on the day I was born. Sitting next to the flowers and rewrapped, was a set of National Geographic topo map CD-ROMs for California that he had given me some years ago and which have been resurrected now that we have a use for them. This really gave me the giggles! I'm definitely going to have to look up Half Dome!

Duane whisked us both off to dinner at the Mt. Hamilton Grandview, a restaurant about half way up Mt. Hamilton and with a gorgeous view of the Santa Clara Valley, the Bay and the Santa Cruz mountains opposite. The food is good too!

The burning question of the evening's conversation concerned movies. Which is the more classic comedy? The Princess Bride or Blazing Saddles? It seems that the women we talked to at the restaurant leaned more towards The Princess Bride, the men towards Blazing Saddles. I texted my brother Stephen, and even he chose Blazing Saddles. This from the brother who used to "steal" my copy of The Princess Bride for weeks on end until I would find a way to "steal" it back. Traitor! I'll let you decide. I've put up a poll in the right hand column, which will be open until March 18th.

When my birthday falls on Ash Wednesday, as it often does, and I'm supposed to fast and abstain from meat, that does leave me in somewhat of a predicament. I passed on the split pea soup, which contained ham, and I ordered filet of sole, so I managed the "no meat" rule. I was, however, unsuccessful at fasting. Although I did skip breakfast, dinner came with a magnificent slice of blueberry cheesecake. Yum! Definitely diet sabotage! I had a wonderful time! Tomorrow is, however, another day!

Despair, Hope and Transformation

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day on which Christians begin the liturgical season of Lent. Lent is a time of preparation. The word "Lent" itself comes from the Old English word "lencten" meaning "Spring", however the root "lent-" in Latin also suggests the double meaning of a slowing down. Christians traditionally give something up or take something on for Lent as a sacrifice and a means of preparation for Easter. The point of such preparation is nothing short of personal transformation.

So it seems very appropriate to me that this Team in Training project coincides with the season of Lent. I am preparing for the challenge of hiking to the summit of Half Dome. But even if I don't make the cut, this is still about the transformation of lives.

There is my own quest to transform my body and get back into shape. Such a quest inevitably involves self-discipline and perseverance. Don't eat too much. Stick to your workout and conditioning plan and not just when you feel like it, but every day. I have to say "No" a lot more often than I have in the past. But "No" has its rewards and can be just as liberating as "Yes." When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The tough don't sit in an easy chair waiting for someone else to do the work.

This quest also involves patience. You have to take it one day at a time. When I think about Half Dome right now, I sometimes wonder what kind of insanity motivated me to do this at all. But I realize in the next moment that the entire point of preparation is to be ready for something that will happen in the future. Rome wasn't built - or destroyed - in a day. Every workout, every conditioning hike, is a building block and something that will prepare me for what comes next.

There is also trust. If I do everything our mentor trainers suggest, there is the hope that I'll be ready to take on and succeed in this challenge. I'm very frankly grateful for their knowledge and insights. I would have no idea where to begin. Related to this is humility. I have to set aside all of my I-don't-want-tos. I have to realize that "I don't want to" can have a high price tag.

I have to give up the despair that I'll ever be thin. Despair is cheap and easy. It's the polar opposite of the virtue of hope. Nothing changes by despair. Transformation is hard work. Sometimes my muscles are sore. Sometimes I'm hungry when I don't want to be. But with every step, with every stair, with every mile, there is the possibility of losing one more pound, gaining a bit more muscle and getting to the point that I acquire new, healthier habits.

I thought this before/after morphed photo was fun. (How did they do that!?) I was never that heavy and I'll most assuredly never be J. Lo. Even so, twenty less pounds would put me in a very beautiful dress! (I did get my buddy hike in today - over 5,000 steps around the neighborhood!)

Most importantly, this is not just about me. It's about the transformation of the lives of others who are living, suffering and who, in some cases, have died of leukemia, lymphoma or other blood cancers. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS is about finding cures, saving lives and supporting patients living with these diseases. That's a mighty tall order, but in the 60 years that this organization has been in existence, it has funded over $600 million in research targeting blood cancers. That research has paid dividends:

The five-year relative survival rate has nearly quadrupled in the past 48 years for patients with leukemia. In 1960-63, when compared to a person without leukemia, a patient had a 14 percent chance of living five years. By 1975-1977, the five year relative survival rate had jumped to 35 percent, and in 1996-2004 the overall relative survival rate was slightly above 50 percent (51.2 percent).

Leukemia Facts & Statistics, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Depending on the type of leukemia, the survival rate can be as high as 76.2%. That's a number transformed - and hope for patients and their families!

A Three Mile Sweat

Today was a busy day. Appointments in the morning and didn't get home until almost 3:00 pm. Tonight's gear clinic was at 6:30 pm at REI in Mountain View, which meant I had to drop our son off at the babysitter's by 6:15 pm. That left less than three hours to fix my son dinner, help him finish his homework and complete some household chores. Could I squeeze in some walking?

Leslie Sansone to the rescue! I popped her DVD into the player and away I went! After one mile, I had worked up a pretty good sweat, which is impressive for a walking video done at low impact speed. I also held a 3.5 pound weight in each hand. I'm going to need more upper body strength to help me on the cables at Half Dome. I completed three miles today.

I really don't care to sweat. It makes you stinky. You have to wash in the middle of the day. You have to change your clothes. It's inconvenient and it takes too much time. So it's weird when my t-shirt reveals sweat marks. It is, however, definitely getting easier to move. I don't feel as much like an uncoordinated dork as I did when I started this adventure. I notice I have somewhat more energy. I need new blue jeans. I may have to break open one of the boxes of "too small" clothes that I put in storage. That would be a nice reward!

After taking care of chores and dropping our son off at the babysitter, I headed over to REI for tonight's gear clinic. We sat and listened to an REI representative give us information on the best kind of socks, underwear, boots, over wear, hats, poles, packs and more. I tried on two more pairs of boots tonight and wasn't thrilled with either of them. These ones were wide enough, but not quite long enough. I gave up for the evening. I'll try again later.

I also discovered something called Superfeet. This is a very supportive insole that you can buy to replace the insole that comes in the hiking boots.

One of the packs that our REI representative showed us was the pack we had already purchased, pictured at right, above: a Venturi 30. This pack will hold approximately 30 litres of gear and a hydration bladder. I especially liked this pack because the only thing against your back is a mesh. The pack is actually held out from your back a few inches by the frame. This gives your back plenty of breathing room, keeping your back cool.

Duane found the sports beans tonights. These are Jelly Belly jelly beans, which are loaded with electrolytes. They're lighter to carry than a bottle of Gatorade G2, even though you still have to sip water when you eat one. They are reportedly a bit hard on the stomach if you don't dilute them. He bought several packs of these, one in each flavor, to try out on our next conditioning hike: this Saturday at Sanborn Park in Saratoga.

Back to the Future

Tonight it was back to Communications Hill - and I owe it all to Duane, who really is my best motivator.

I spent most of the day studying MySQL in an attempt to catch up on all the work I didn't do when I had bronchitis earlier this month. No walking for me, but I did get a lot of homework done.

I had dinner ready and waiting when Duane got home from work, but I had a meeting to go to at 6:45 pm. I didn't think I would have time to get my walk in, but we all finished dinner and, with half an hour before I had to go to my meeting, Duane suggested we try to get the incline walk done. Why not? We jumped into our cars and headed back to the hill, which is fortunately only a few short blocks away from home.

We had time to do the stairs twice before I had to leave to go to my meeting. 446 steps! Our son, of course, beat us both times (not surprising, but fun for him)! I'm noticing that it is getting easier to do these stairs and I'm not so out of breath when I get to the top. This evening I tried going up every other step, in an attempt to simulate the large granite steps that we will be climbing on our way to Half Dome. That's definitely kicking it up a notch and I couldn't continue for long.

We tried Duane's new tiny Canon Digital Elph camera at the top, so hopefully I'll have some new photos of the view from the staircase (when he downloads them onto his computer).

An Easy Walk in the Garden

Today was our day for an easy walk. That said, it was pouring down rain from about 10:30 am on. I was anything but motivated to do my walk in this downpour, despite the fact that I just bought a rain poncho.

It's getting to be that time of year when I start thinking about my garden. When I went out and looked at it for the first time in about two and half months I discovered that milkweek, the spearmint that the previous owner did not plant in a pot, and other weeds had completely taken over my 6 foot by 24 foot plot of land and were now about 3 feet high. No the picture at the above left is not my garden, which is not in a planter box, but it gives you a good idea of what it looked like.

Horrors! Neither rain nor sleet nor snow nor anything else could keep me from remedying my garden's terrible condition! Okay, I confess that walking for walking's sake does not thrill me. Did I mention I am allergic to exercise? But I'll walk a mile for my own fresh basil!

Fortunately, I have some very good free advice. One of my amateur radio friends happens to be a master gardener. When I see him at lunch on Fridays, I take my opportunity to pump him for information! He suggested that I solarize the garden. This involves putting down plastic sheeting, getting it fairly airtight, and leaving it there for six weeks. Okay, I won't get my garden planted until the beginning of April, but that's okay. I really need to get rid of the weeds and prepare the earth.

The first thing to do was to pull up all the weeds. We had a break in the weather, so I took my opportunity. Milkweed is a tough one to pull up because it breaks off above the roots. This did give me an opportunity to explain to my son why it's called milkweed. (The broken stem oozes a milky white sap.) I got my shovel and I started turning over the roots. I guess that's fairly good exercise, even if it isn't a walk. The ground was sodden from so much rain, which made this fairly heavy lifting.

Although the rain restarted, I stayed out anyway and got the entire garden turned over and uprooted. About an hour and a half later, I could see dirt! Duane and I took out a wheelbarrow heaping full of weeds. Although my son pulled a few weeds, he also a lot of fun collecting beetles and other bugs and put them in his bug jar (which definitely stays outside!). By the time we were done we were soaked and our shoes were full of mud.

After a shower and change, we went off to OSH and picked up the clear plastic and u-shaped stakes necessary to solarize the garden. We didn't get that done today, nevertheless, I felt it was a pretty good workout, all things considered.

First Ascent

On Saturday, our Team in Training Hiking group did our first actual on-the-trails practice hike. Two hours dashing around the hills of Edgewood Park, on the ridge between 280 and Redwood City, just north of Canada College.

The expected rainstorm held off for half a day, so we enjoyed sunshine instead of a drenching on this first hike. We woke up at 5:30 am (very, very early for me) to meet for carpooling at 6:45 am and and the whole team at trail head at 7:45 am.

I'd driven past this park many times but had never stopped there; didn't even know there was a park with trails. We both wore our new backpacks, and Christina her second pair of new hiking boots. And I tried out our new tiny camera. As directed, I drank lots and lots of water on the way to the hike. Bad idea!

Where's the bathroom??!! By the time we all got underway at 8:15, I badly needed to go, but there was nothing around except bushes. Uh Oh. Maybe there is a proper facility at the other end of the park, where the main public entrance is?

We divided into three groups, depending on what hiking pace we expected to match. Those of us who hope to qualify for the Half Dome hike were told to get into the fastest-pace group led by mentor Debra. We dashed off, with me trying to keep up. TnT hikers have a motto 'Hikers don't run!', but this was not walking like I'd ever done out in the woods. More like the fastest heal-to-toe scamper you can do without running, a bit like the Olympic walking race event.

We stopped at every trail intersection, to practice reading trail maps and getting un-lost. At our first break, another guy ran into the bushes to relieve himself, but I was too embarrassed to join, and we were soon on our way again. Debra reminded the group that we should aim to synchronize our pee breaks, so that we didn't need to wait for just one or two at every break. Two stops later, a second guy scampered into the bushes to pee, and I decided that just peeing was maybe better than nothing, so I found my own bushes and went. And went. And went. Longest pee in a couple of years. Ahhh, the relief! Thankfully, the need for #2 was now gone and I enjoyed the rest of the hike. I could even sip more water and try out the energy bar trail snacks.

I learned that this park is famous for massive displays of spring wildflowers and for butterflies. This early in the year, I spotted just isolated examples of four kinds of flowers: Lupine (Christina called these "blue ploopins" as a child), Hounds tooth, an unidentified tiny ground-level blue star, Indian Warrior. None of use knew what any of these were, but this page has helped me. We also saw a large jackrabbit 60 feet off the trail.

The fast hiking pace makes it hard to see what there is to see. If it weren't for the goal of getting up to Half Dome this spring and raising money this way, I would definitely not choose to be so hurried. I gather that TnT aims for a fast pace in the Half Dome hike partly because of the long duration of that hike, but mostly because of the traffic congestion that happens at the bottom of the final 45-degree 1050-ft-climb cables near the summit. We have to reach that point before the summertime crowds arrive: early birds, rush hour begins, and metered on ramp.
And so, I'll make a game of seeing what I can at speed, and stealing quick photos of what I've found. Others are already helping me at this.

Today, we both kept up with the fastest, fit hikers in our fastest group. It helps a lot to have long legs. This will hopefully get easier to sustain, as we drop weight and get in shape. I've lost 5.5 pounds of my -35 pounds target. Christina began earlier and has already lost even more. Fitness wise, I can already see and feel a huge difference from where we started and even since last week. No aches the day after! But I did have a three hour nap when I got home.

They Made Me Wear This Silly Hat

Duane and I arose at 5:30 am for our first Team in Training hike! For those of you who know Duane, this is HUGE. He gets out of bed for work grudgingly, but on weekends, don't even think about stirring him before 10:00 am. We got into our hiking clothes and I fixed us both some oatmeal with dried blueberries. We're supposed to eat breakfast 1-2 hours before the hike and drink some water. So we did.

We had laid out our clothes and fixed up our packs the night before. For this hike we were supposed to bring 40 ounces of water. We used our new hydration system and filled it up to about half full. Rain was still possible, we we made sure to include a poncho. For clothes I was definitely "stylin'" this time! I had my purple long sleeved undershirt, my Team in Training t-shirt, and I found in my closet an old pair of black workout pants that I had previously missed. My hiking pants won't arrive until next Thursday. But at least I wasn't displaying colors of fluorescent yellow, red and sky blue. Ewww!

We had stopped at the local Safeway the night before to purchase an assortment of trail mix bars. We read the labels on all the packages to find the product that contained as little soy as possible. Soy, while high in protein, is also a phytoestrogen. Soy raises breast cancer risk in post-menopausal women and is implicated in thyroid cancer. I wanted a few calories, and some protein, but without the soy. We bought several boxes of fruit and nut bars to try them out. My sister-in-law Rose, the personal trainer extraordinaire, has recommended a couple of good bars, but I haven't had time to pick them up yet. These will do in the meanwhile. I put two bars in the side pocket of my pack, as well as one bottle of G2 fruit punch, for electrolyte replenishment.

We arrived at the carpool area by 6:45 am, dropped off Duane's car, and then drove up to Edgewood Park together. The photo above is of our team assembling at the trail head. Right before the hike awards were handed out. Duane won a purple and green pedometer for being the third highest fundraiser of the week. Then our social event coordinator asked if anyone who hadn't previously hiked with Team in Training was wearing two purple clothing items. I was, so I raised my hand. For wearing team colors, I received a green and purple party favor. Since next Wednesday is my birthday, our social event coordinator pulled out this goofy fool's hat for me to wear while hiking. The incriminating photo is on right. So much for my fashion consciousness!

Today, I also packed my amateur radio. I taught part of a ham radio Technician license class right after the hike and I was hoping to give my students a demonstration of the power of ham radio while on the trail. The class was occurring at the Silicon Valley American Red Cross in San Jose, and I would be speaking to them from the trail in San Mateo, right off Highway 280. Not bad range for a handheld transceiver running 5 watts!

We did a few stretching exercises and away we went! So far, one of the most valuable exercises I have learned is the calf stretch. When I stretch out my calf muscle properly, I have no pain at all in my Achilles tendon.

The trail gently sloped up hills, through meadow and chaparral woods, in some places steeper than others. But what goes up, must come down and it was easy on the other side. Along the way, we stopped to admire the panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay, and the many wildflowers that dotted the landscape with color.

All of the steps we have been doing up Communications Hill must be helping, because I was ready to go on another hike after we got back to our cars! Go Team! Hike On!

Aunt Toni

Mary Antoinette Sciutti was my aunt. My first real memory of her was on the day of her wedding. I was her flower girl. I remember getting my hair done up. Everyone else was swimming and playing in the pool at the hotel just before the wedding, but I wasn't allowed to get my head wet because it would mess up my hair. I remember watching my uncle and aunt walk down the aisle and how pretty she was in her wedding dress. Many years later, Aunt Toni's granddaughter, McKenna, was my flower girl.

This photograph was taken a few years later at her baby shower in 1969. My cousin Lisa was on her way! That's me seated with my back to the camera, and my cousin Karen with a bow in her hair sitting next to me.

Aunt Toni's life was spent in the service of others. Her family was her first calling, but she was also a registered nurse by profession. Aunt Toni was one of the most beautiful and courageous women I have ever known. If she thought we were doing something wrong, she was never afraid to tell us, even after we grew into adulthood. She always corrected us with kindness and an abundance of charity. She was a devout Catholic and I believe that was a source of much strength for her.

She was someone who radiated an inner strength and peace even in the most difficult of times. When she was diagnosed with acinic cell carcinoma, a tumor of the salivary gland, in the late 1990s, she fought it for almost ten years with grace and dignity - even after it metastasized to her jaw, and then her brain. Surgery left her with a massive scar, but even so, surgeons were not able to remove all of the tumor. Gradually over the years, the tumor robbed her of the ability to eat and affected her speech, before finally taking her life.

Aunt Toni was undaunted. She made chocolate truffles, and other goodies, for our family get togethers. When she could no longer eat, she created homemade perfumed soaps and lotions as gifts for us. We always looked forward to the butter lamb that she would make for our Easter dinners.

I miss her gentle yet courageous spirit and her sense of humor. As I hike these next several months, Aunt Toni will never be far from my thoughts.

Up the Hill.... Again

Up and down the hill three times tonight. Duane tells me that this is half of the final climb up Half Dome. Maybe next time, we'll do four times?

We're getting faster. The first time we did three, it took us almost an hour. Tonight's climb took only about 25 minutes.

More progress on the hiking gear front. I located hiking pants that will be ready for pick up at our local REI next Thursday. Duane also returned his boots today. We found his size (wider) and will pick those up at the same time as my hiking pants.

Veggie Day

This morning the boots went back (after making sure that the soles were clean) to REI! I tried on yet 5 more pairs of boots. The Asolo boots seem to give my feet the most support without cutting into my Achilles tendon. Having more support is good as that will put less stress on my Achilles. The Vasque boots seem to have a bulge in just the wrong place, cutting across my tendon. And indeed, as one of our mentors suggested, the men's boots are a bit wider than the women's boots. I settled on a pair of gray/black boots. Unfortunately, the men's selection didn't have the same sale price as the women's selection, but I will probably be a lot more fashionable in basic black/gray. It also turns out that both Asolo and Vasque are Italian-made boots. Cool!

I didn't get my easy walk in today. I got caught up with running errands and my son got out of school at 12:30 pm. We went to lunch with some friends and I went off my diet for that meal. I stayed on it for the balance of the day so the damage to my caloric intake was minimized, but I was still over my limit. Bummer, but I had a good time. I'll have to get my easy walk in on Friday during the day.

The rest of my day was spent getting ready for a meeting and getting dinner together for my family before leaving. I wore my new boots, complete with two pairs of socks, for the rest of the evening, and these seem to fit more comfortably. They aren't pinching me across the foot like the previous pair. Saturday will be the real test as that is our first hike!

Boots & Packs

Every hiker needs good boots. Today, Duane and I went to REI and tried on about 5 or 6 pairs of boots each. It's amazing how many different kinds of boots there are. Some have flexible soles, some are more stiff. Some are more lightweight than others. Some breathe more than others. Some of them are quite stylish and others are downright clunky.

REI has a pseudo-rock on which you can try out the boots you are wearing. You walk up one side and check to make sure that your heel isn't coming out of your boot, and down the other side to make sure that your toe isn't jamming at the front.

But it's not enough to just try on boots. You also have to put on the right kind of socks. I picked out a pair of silk liner socks, and then a pair of acryllic socks with the thickest padding. One saleman suggested I get wool socks. He was less eager to sell me wool socks when I told him that I was allergic to wool and the last thing that I wanted was foot rash while hiking up Half Dome. Once I picked out and put on the socks, I tried the boots once again.

I finally settled on a pair of Asolo boots. They came in two different colors: rust red or brown. Since the red ones were $70 less, I figured I'd continue to make a fashion statement. Duane picked out a pair of Vasque boots, in a nice earthen shade of brown.

Since our first hike is on Sunday, we also picked out backpacks. The packs need to be small for a day hike, but able to carry the largest hydration system possible, which is 3 liters. The packs are designed with air gaps between your back, so that your back can breathe, as well as a padded belt with pockets at the waist, so that you don't have to take your pack off for every little thing. We tried out the packs, loaded with 15 and then 20 pounds. I think I have discovered that the less weight I take on this hike the better. I'm aiming for 15 pounds total, and the water I take with me will be about half of that. I'll let Duane carry the new tiny Canon Digital Elph camera. We both settled on the same rust red color backpack, the only difference being size. Unfortunately, once I took the tags off the backpack, I wasn't able to tell them apart. Perhaps Duane can figure out which one is the medium and which one is the large. While there, Duane also found some hiking pants and I found a couple of shirts. And all of this just in the nick of time! Our first Tuesday night workout was this evening.

I dropped our son off at the babysitter where we also met up with a friend of mine, Victoria, who has also decided to join Team in Training and attempt to do the Half Dome hike with us. Way to go Victoria! Victoria, who is from Chile, was a South American champion in the shotput and javeline. Wow! I'm impressed!

We arrived at Foothill College at 6:30 pm. I had my hiking boots on and my pack on my back with some water, snacks and an exercise matt inside. It was enough to give it some weight but not much. Just right for a starting workout. We did a couple of laps around the track, then stretching exercises and up and down the bleacher several times. We did a team building exercise in which, every time one of us got to the back of the line, we had to walk fast to the front of the line while answering a question about ourselves. It was fun and we got to learn a little bit about our team mates.

After an hour and a half, we were relased for the evening. Best of all Victoria enjoyed her first workout! I'm really looking forward to the first hike this Saturday. By the end of our workout, however, my feet were killing me. The boots were too narrow across the foot. But this is the way you find out that you need to return them. Tomorrow they are going back! One of our mentors suggested that I buy a man's boot as they usually come a bit wider.

The diet continues to go well. I've leveled off at a 10 pound loss. Some of this is due to building muscle, which weighs more than fat. And some of this is just because I'm a pre-menopausal woman during that time of the month. Eventually, the scale will edge downward once again. I can't wait!

Rain or Shine

It was pouring today. The workout schedule today was our incline walk. So we waited for a break in the rain and at about 1:30 pm, we got it. We headed back to Communications Hill and its 223 steps. We managed the stairs twice before it started pouring again.

We got to the top of the hill and there, as if waiting for us, was a rainbow. Awesome!

Easy Walk at the Great Mall

Today's workout schedule called for an easy walk, about 45 to 60 minutes long. The only obstacle was that it was pouring down rain all day. Not that I'm complaining because we're currently in a drought and need the rain. But who wants to get wet while walking?

So we went to the largest mall we could find: The Great Mall in Milpitas, about 1,300,000 square feet and over 200 outlet stores. I think a lot of other people must have had the same idea, however, because it was so packed that it was difficult to walk with any speed. So we ambled along, doing two circuits of the mall. I logged about 8,000 steps today on my pedometer.

We had an early dinner at Outback Steakhouse and I managed to stay on my diet, resisting the lure of steak and the bloomin' onion. I had a shrimp caesar salad, dressing on the side. After yesterday's Valentine's Day repast, staying on my diet today was absolutely essential!

Our Team's First Workout

The alarm went off at 6:30 am this morning. Ugh. Neither of us really wanted to roll out of bed. I supposed that is to be expected on a Saturday morning when it is barely light outside. We got up anyway. Our first order of business was to eat a breakfast rich in carbohydrates, so I fixed us both a bowl of oatmeal with dried blueberries. Then a quick shower and dressing for our workout.

But what to wear? I own very few workout clothes because I've never really had an affinity for sweat. So I put on an old pair of red track pants. My white and black tee shirts happened to be in the wash; the only clean tee shirt I had was sky blue. Because it was raining, I wore the yellow nylon pants that I usually reserve for skiing over my track pants. I looked like a fluorescent Christmas tree ornament. I kept my red jacket zipped during the entire workout in order to keep from blinding my teammates. I can't wait for the upcoming gear clinic!

We grabbed our mats, water and a snack and headed out the door at about 7:15 am. The drive to Foothill College was puncuated by rain, but at least there was little traffic. We saw a rainbow on the drive, always a reminder for me of God's promise. We arrived at the track and field right on time at 7:45 am and, after feeding the parking meter, we walked on to a very wet track.

After a few more introductions, our first task was to walk twice around the track to warm up. After two leisurely laps, we split up into teams and then did stretching and conditioning exercises. We went up and down the bleacher stairs eight times. After doing 669 steps on Communications hill, this was a piece of cake. What was difficult about this was that we did half of them sideways. Have you ever walked up and down stairs sideways? It's not as easy as it appears, but it's very much like doing a grapevine step in country western or middle eastern dancing. Then we did a series of stretches: calf stretches, knee stretches, arm stretches. We twirled each ankle ten times in both directions. Then we skipped, did heel walks, "butt kicks" in which you walk kicking your legs backwards at the knee with each step. Fortunately, we got to skip the mat work because the ground was so wet.

Next we did an icebreaker. We split into teams. One team is doing the 3 day Grand Adventure hike at the Grand Canyon. Another team is doing the 1 day rim hike at the Grand Canyon. The rest of us are hiking Yosemite and hoping to make the cut for the Half Dome team. Our team is huge, so we split into two. Each team grabbed a backpack, using it as a baton as in a relay race. The goal was to walk around the track four times, picking up some necessary hiking item with each lap. First, an hydration pack, then some snacks, then some rain gear, and lastly some electrolytes. As we walked each lap, we had to pass the backpack down the line and learn each others names. That was a fun exercise.

The final exercise was to walk four laps around the track, timed. Since making the Half Dome cut depends on speed, Duane and I kept ourselves in the front of the pack. The last sixteenth mile saw a bit of competition with various participants breaking into a jog. We finished with a time of 15:35, and first in our team.

After the workout, many of us drove to Oregano's Wood-Fired Pizza in Los Altos. Lunch reservations had been made and Oregano's donated 15% of the proceeds back to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We put all of our names into a hat to see who would get the donation check to be credited to one of our fundraising accounts and when the name was finally pulled out, it was Duane! We had a good time getting to know our team mates and enjoyed lunch with them.

Spot

"Brain tumor" are just about two of the scariest words you could ever hear. In September 2005, that was my diagnosis.

In June of that year I began to have seizures. Because I also have epilepsy, my neurologist's opinion was that it was merely a recurrence. But I hadn't had seizures in over a decade and, although I couldn't explain it, these seizures were different. For one, they were more frequent, coming at a rate of once per month. And all of a sudden I was having auras - the warning signs that precede a seizure.

After 5 months of being misdiagnosed, I demanded an MRI which revealed a meningioma in one of the frontal lobes - probably the best possible place to have a brain tumor. Apparently the frontal lobe doesn't do much. Since meningiomas are almost always benign, this was also the best possible type of brain tumor to have. If "best" is really the right word to describe such a situation.

But even so, I can't really begin to describe the terror that I felt. There were a few days before I knew the tumor was benign and all I could think about was that my son was two and a half years old. The prospect of leaving my husband a widower with a toddler frightened me more than I could say. I clammed up. I was in such shock I didn't tell anyone what I knew for two entire days. Fortunately, as it turned out, my brain tumor was not a death sentence.

My life changed dramatically overnight. I stopped driving a car - and didn't get behind the wheel for almost a year. I couldn't pick up my son from preschool. I couldn't do the grocery shopping. Just about everything about my life got rearranged. Several very good friends pitched in to help me pick up my son from preschool. God bless Marion, Kathleen, Elaine and the other women who pitched in to help.

My husband Duane kept me in good spirits. He suggested I name the tumor. I looked at him like he was insane and said, "What am I going to call it? Out, Out Damn Spot?" He looked at me and said "Spot!" and we both started laughing. And that was how my brain tumor came to be named.

For many months, I was bored silly and stuck at home. Thankfully, my mother, who is on the board of the To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation, told me that the organization was looking for a new webmaster on an emergency basis. (More on this great organization in a later post.) This gave me something to do to occupy my time. I was able to take a Dreamweaver class at the local community college, and Outreach, our local paratransit, provided the means to get there. The project kept me focused on what I could do, rather than what I could not. It took my mind off, well.... my mind.

Ultimately, with a new neurologist and neurosurgeon, surgery was scheduled for December 5, 2005. But first, there would be a preliminary procedure in which a vascular surgeon would cut off the two arteries supplying blood to the tumor. This would cause less blood loss during surgery, and involved snaking a tube into my femoral artery, up through my aorta, through my carotid and into the arteries of the brain. Microsponges were then shot into the tumor arteries with a whoosh, thereby closing them off. What was weird about that is that I could hear the whoosh and feel a little bit of pressure, although it wasn't painful.

One week later, with a dying tumor in my head, I went in for the resection. The five and a half hours of surgery was successful, during which I lost only two ounces of blood. The really big decision in all of this was whether to shave half of my head or all of it. Now that may sound like a really small thing, and it is, but it was nevertheless the most difficult of all of the decisions I had to make. O Vanity of Vanities, all is vanity! I hemmed and I hawed and finally, right before they wheeled me in I thought, "What am I going to do with half a head of hair? Wash half my head?" That sounded like a lot more work than I needed with a big scar on my head. So I told the surgeons to just shave it all off. For what it's worth, I do not resemble Persis Khambatta, Natalie Portman or Sigourney Weaver. I do not look good bald.

The recovery time was unbelievably short. After three and a half days I was released from the hospital. I had staples in my head, but other than that I felt pretty good. Although I tried to keep my son from seeing them, because it really did look pretty scarey, he walked in on me one day when my hat was off, took one look at me and walked away. Without missing a beat I got him to come back and told him that I had Thomas the Tank train tracks on my head! He thought that was really cool.

The worst part of having a brain tumor were the medications I had to take, some to keep me from having seizures and some to prevent brain swelling after the surgery. The side effects of these medications were to increase my appetite and to make me sleepy. I gained nearly 30 pounds in one year. This is all that remains and it's time for the added weight to go too.

It's been about three years now. I have an MRI every year and I am still free of recurrence. I was blessed with great doctors and an amazing family and friends through it all. I am walking in honor of my two neurosurgeons, Dr. Mitchel Berger and Dr. Michael McDermott, without whose pursuit of excellence in both their education and in their practice, I might not be here. God bless them both for saving so many lives. I am also walking in honor of Dr. Bruce O. Berg, my pediatric neurologist and my "white knight in shining armor," who helped me and my family through so many difficulties as a child growing up with epilepsy, and who helped me to find a good neurologist when the brain tumor was finally discovered.

For all of those who are dealing with cancer, including those with blood cancers, this walk's for you too!

669 Steps

That's a few more than 39. Yeah.

We went back to Communications Hill today. We did the stairs twice - 6% of the elevation change of the Half Dome hike. We looked up at the stairs and then decided to do it one more time. So we're up to 9% It gets easier every time we do it. I'm a little less out of breath each time.

The view of the city is truly beautiful. Tonight as we were descending the stairs for the last time, we had a special treat. I looked up in the sky and saw a blimp fly quietly by, lit up from below by the city lights. Every time we get to the top of the hill, I lament the fact that I don't have a camera with me. My digital SLR is far too big and bulky to bring on the hike. Duane has had his eye on a new smaller, lightweight digital camera. He ordered it tonight.

6% of the way!

Tonight, we returned to the long outdoor staircase at Communications Hill. Roger, our car's GPS, said the elevation difference between bottom and top is 150 feet, not the measly 40-50 feet shown by Google Map's topo lines. And it totals 223 steps up, and 223 steps down. We went up and down twice, for a total climb of 300 feet. That's about 6% of the elevation we'll need on the Half Dome hike. For ballast, we were carrying a full tummy of lasagna. We both felt that climbing it twice today, was easier than our single climb on Sunday. Our son did enough additional zippy back and forths and ups and downs that he was tired (for a moment) too, the first time I've seen that happen this year.

Others on our team will be building their leg muscles by doing bleacher steps at some local college stadium. Our view on Comm Hill is much better!

Walking in Place

Today I used Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home - 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk. I did the first two miles and worked up a good sweat, at a 5 mph pace, holding a 3.3 pound weight in each hand. I've never been one to do group aerobics. The idea of doing this in a place surrounded by mirrors so that I can see just how ridiculous I look is completely unappealing.

1% of the way?

On Saturday, we met our coaches, and others like us doing this kind of event and fundraising for the first time, and some people who have benefitted from the blood cancer research funded by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. And got more details on what the training will entail.

One piece of bad news for me, was that we'll be meeting at 6am or so on Saturday mornings to travel to our hike locations in local hills. I'm definitely not a morning person. :(

Today I found a pedometer for $1 at an everything-for-a-dollar store. Cool! I like finding a cheap way to do things. Unfortunately, it reset its count many times during today's walk, so apparently that exhausting long steep stairway at Comm Hill was only some 17 steps. Hmmph. Christina urged me to toss it and buy a proper one whose reset button is protected. Instead, I hacked off the protruding button with my pocket knife. I think that will do it.

According to Google's topo map, that stairway only gained some 46 feet in elevation, or maybe the equiv of going up 5 floors. Or 1/100th of the elevation we'll have to do at good speed to succeed at Half Dome. We have a lot of strength and endurance training to do. Next time, I plan to count the steps (myself and with the pedo) and try out a gps unit, to calibrate that staircase more accurately.

The view from the top of the hill was awesome, with the setting sun making a fan of rays of light over the western hills.

We've Found Our Incline Hike

One of the walks we are supposed to do on our own twice a week is an incline walk. When you live on the flat and any mountains are a half hour's drive away, that makes accomplishing this task somewhat more difficult. But.... there is a rather large hill a few blocks away from our house, so this afternoon we drove over to investigate. The hill in question is Communications Hill, the central high point in the City of San Jose. It gets it's name from all of the antennas on various towers at high points on the hill. (I wonder if all of those people with expensive custom homes on the top of the hill realize that the first thing that gets destroyed in any kind of attack is the communications systems? But I digress....)

We parked at the bottom of the hill and found a quite lengthy staircase going nearly to the top. Duane tells me that the elevation is around 50-60 feet, but that seems much lower than it looked. (For those of you who went to school at the University of San Francisco, think Lone Mountain.) Our son came with us and he bounded up to the top, no problem. We followed behind, stopping only once, but by the time we reached the top, our legs were burning. The view at the top was, however, quite panoramic. We rested at the top while our son went up and down one more time. When we can do what he did, I'll know we're closer to being ready for Half Dome!

After the stairs, the incline was more modest as we approached the main antenna tower. Shortly after that, we came to a playground and, of course, had to stop while our son played for a few minutes. We then found a bicycle path that wound it's way back to the staircase, and we then descended. All in all, a good one hour incline walk. And decline. What goes up must come down!

Today was supposed to be our easy walk, but I guess we'll just switch today for tomorrow. You can see what my exercise regimen is going to be on the Workout Schedule to the right.

My diet is so far successful. I'm down eight pounds. I'm both feeling better and I'm into my "thin" jeans! I'm using The Daily Plate to track my calorie intake, my calorie expenditure (exercise), my weight and my BMI. This is a really great website. As long as you have internet access, you can track your intake anywhere. The database of food is substantial and there's rarely anything I eat, that isn't already in the database. Tracking my food like this keeps me honest.

Kickoff!

Today was our first meeting. Many expectant hikers showed up at the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Center in Palo Alto, fresh and ready for a challenge at 9:30 am. Our campaign manager gave us an overview of the program, information about fundraising, a training calendar, and directions to all of our conditioning hikes. We also got a nifty exercise jersey. Strength training and exercise will be taking place on Tuesday evenings. Friday is a day of rest and all of the other days are "YOYO"s or "Your On Your Own". That's not quite as bad as it sounds, as our training calendar has suggested workouts that we can do on our YOYO days.

We were also introduced to our honorees: people who are living with blood cancer, four of whom were there today. Some are young, some are older, some are in remission and some are not. But all of them clearly are fighters with a great attitude!

Our group of about 40 people is split into several teams. Our team leader is Bowman, who has done a Team in Training hike before and is now mentoring the newcomers. There are a few people who have done previous hikes, marathons or other events, but they do not seem to be many. He will be leading us on our conditioning hikes.

We finally got information about the Half Dome hike, which involves a 14 mile hike with a 4800 foot elevation change. More information is also available at the National Park Service's website. Can we do this? Even the idea of doing this is daunting, but we are going to give it our best try. Who knows? With diet, exercise and training, perhaps we can do what it takes. There is a deadline and if our trainer decides that we aren't ready, we won't make the cut. We have to raise money AND be fit. It's not an either/or. If we don't make the Half Dome cut, we'll be doing a different hike in Yosemite more suited to our abilities. But I'm still shooting for Half Dome!

Our Tuesday evening workouts will be held in at a local community college's track and field area. I've been told that we'll be doing a lot of up and down the bleachers. I really can't say that this sounds like a lot of fun, but perhaps this will be a good lesson in humility?

Elizabeth Burkhalter Ruyle

Over the next few months, I'm going to write a few words about the different people for whom we are walking in memory.

"Lizzie" was one of my dearest friends in college. I met her during my Freshman year at the University of San Francisco. Lizzie was elegant, beautiful, intelligent, and possessed great common sense, a rarity among most first year college students. She had a great sense of humor. Most importantly, she was a devout and faithful Catholic.

In our junior year of college, we both chose to do a year abroad at Oxford University. This was the first time I had ever travelled so far away from home. Lizzie knew one thing I didn't: How to cook! She quickly taught me how to make pumpkin pie, and how to freeze dollops of whipped cream so that you could take out just one and put it in your coffee. Often with an additional shot of Grand Marnier, if we were having an evening coffee together. Yum! Lizzie cooked our Thanksgiving dinner and it was fabulous!

Four USF students went to Oxford that year: Monica, Lizzie, Michael and I. I noticed that Michael and Lizzie began to spend more and more time together. By the end of the year they were both deeply in love and they married a few years later.

After that year, I transferred from USF to Holy Cross so that I could finish my studies in Greek and Latin. Lizzie and Mike stayed in San Francisco. When I came back in 1987, it turned out Mike and Lizzie were living only a couple of blocks away from me. We kept in touch over the next few years, but then I moved to Santa Clara to study law and we lost touch.

Years later, I found her again. By that time, they had two beautiful boys and were living in Montana. During our initial telephone call, I asked her how she was and she told me that she had been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. I don't know if it was the pile of asbestos fibers sitting in the living room of the building that we lived in (I kid you not). I don't know if it was because her father might have been a shipbuilder in the Navy (if memory serves). I don't know if it's because USF decided one year to remove all of the asbestos in some of their buildings, while we took classes in them. I guess I'll never know, but in these matters, I've always thought "Why?" was a stupid question.

Elizabeth passed away a few months later at the age of 40. She was survived by her parents, her husband Michael, and their two boys, age 5 and 7. I miss her intelligence, charm, wit and great good sense.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. May all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

We Did What?

Please send Duane and Christina packing - to the summit of Yosemite's Half Dome! What better way to get in shape, lose weight, and raise money for a good cause all at the same time?
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training organization has agreed to train us in fitness and endurance hiking. Our goal is to hike from valley floor to the summit of Half Dome on June 20, 2009.

The catch is, besides getting fit, we each need to raise $3,200 in donations for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We ask for your help in this challenge.

Your donations will make a difference in many lives. And, this is a high-leverage deal you cannot pass up; it is far better than a Ponzi scheme! Duane's employer Google will generously match your gift (to Duane only). And our federal government guarantees you a 30% return on your investment in one year! Your gift grows three times larger:

For a $100 donation, your net cost after taxes is about $65. Your $100 plus Google's match becomes $200. All of this will go to cancer research and patient services; we've handled our training costs.

We'll be hiking in honor of:

• Loren Sand
• Christina & Duane's Mom & Dad
• Louise Sciutti
• Rose Capurro
• Peter Gnemmi
• Gene Berman
• Dr. Mitchel Berger
• Dr. Michael McDermott
• Dr. Bruce O. Berg
• All of the incredible volunteers of the To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation

We'll be hiking in memory of:

• Elizabeth Burkhalter Ruyle
• Toni Sciutti
• George Berry, KC6ULT, SK
• Sara LaBoskey

Please make a donation to support our participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

We hope you will visit this blog often. We'll be posting updates on our progress. Thanks for your support!