Recommitment, and meeting my first Honoree.

This week was recommit week.

For those of you unfamiliar with Team in Training, recommit week is a pretty serious week.  It means that you have to lay your credit card on the line, and back up your desire to make the run.  Putting your money where your mouth is, so to speak.

So, as of today, I'm on the hook for $2598.  Oy.  I guess I need to get fundraising - please click here for a link to my fundraising page to donate.  Anything helps.

I'll never let anybody tell me that I'm a commitment-phobe ;)

On the plus side, I'm now registered for the marathon, have a flight and hotel booked for the week (Yep... am taking a week off following the marathon to relax on the beach, do some surfing, diving, and maybe play some golf.  I think that there's a strong chance that pina coladas and mai tais are in my future.  Mmmmm.

A special, inspirational meeting

I actually had an opportunity to meet one of the TNT honorees last week, and it was really special.  His name is Greg, and he's a 17-year old guy with Leukemia.  Greg came by the track at Stanford last Thursday after our training session.  The abridged version of his story is that he was diagnosed with Leukemia about 5 years ago, and was treated at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital with a drug that was developed with funds coming from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (which is the charity for which Team in Training raises funds).  He's alive today directly as a result of people like you who donate to the cause.

In any event, he was treated with this drug (I can't remember the name of the drug or the family), and it put the cancer into remission.  He had a year as a healthy adolescent, then the cancer recurred.  He went on another drug and had a bone marrow transplant, after which he became allergic to cats [aside: this is interesting.  I've never heard of such a thing before].  So, here's this kid, who has been through two rounds of putting poison into his body, had a bone marrow transplant, and he's cool enough to come out to say hi and offer inspiration to the people who have the ability to affect his life, and the life of others.

He hobbled out onto the field under his own power with the use of a cane - having walked more than he'd walked in the entire month prior.

Honestly, it brings a tear to my eye thinking about it.  The stories of survival are incredible.  If you know someone who's battled with any sort of illness, talk to them about it.  Their struggle will change your outlook on life.

I'm going to call it quits for now.  I have much more content to add, but I'll let you noodle on it, as will I for now.

Dave