Liam Update, I Kick My Own Ass, and Team Workouts Begin

Liam update:

As you know from my previous post, Liam Witt, the amazing little four-year-old boy I'm dedicating my marathon to this year, had to go into the hospital on Friday for exploratory surgery. Though his blood tests were cancer-free, there was a spot on his kidney, the site of his original tumor, that needed to be tested. Well, they tested it, and while it is 95% "junk," the doctors discovered a few rogue cancer cells that need to be, in their words, "mopped up." So Liam is probably facing two more rounds of high-dose chemo, which will cause him to lose his appetite, lose his hair, and lose his energy. But one thing about Liam, says Gretchen, he will not complain.

And what makes Gretchen equally amazing is her drive, spirit and attitude. This is from today's blog entry:

As anyone who knows neuroblastoma understands, this certainly is not characteristic of the disease to do nothing. If I take a glass half empty view, this would be unbearable. If I take a glass half full view, we are incredibly lucky to have caught whatever this thing is in such an early stage that it doesn’t even register on any test. This is a manageable bump. This we can deal with. This we can handle. This, though, also serves as yet another reminder of how much we need to take e-v-e-r-y day as an incredibly special gift. Time is the most precious commodity and it needs to be celebrated and savored. And not knowing what the future holds, something none of us knows but that has a special poignancy with us, we’ve decided we need to step up our commitment to raise money for pediatric cancer research and cherish even more every day we have with Liam and Ella. This news didn’t defeat us, it rededicated us.

What an amazing woman Gretchen is. She co-founded Band of Parents, and you can click on that link, or the one to the right of the page, and read about what they do. She's the one who had the idea to have BOP bake and sell 96,000 cookies for Christmas and give the proceeds to MSKCC. And they did.

And as she has re-dedicated herself to raising funds to help MSKCC eradicate pediatric cancer, so too am I re-dedicating myself. Not just in raising money, which is hard enough, but in rededicating my desire to run the best marathon I can, because Liam deserves no less.

So, if you are a dear reader and want to honor Liam and his fight by contributing to my marathon effort, please click here, or on the link to the right or bottom of the page. It means so much more to Liam -- and all the people at MSKCC -- than a dollar sign.

Whether or not you can donate, please send friends and family the link to this blog. The more people contribute, the closer we get to not just imagining a world without cancer, but living in it.

Speaking of which, here are the latest members of the FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL:

John Felix

Carolyn Jacobson

Fred Weiner

Elissa White

Bringing my total to an impressive

$1355

I have a couple of unprocessed checks still to add, which will bring me a little closer to the $6,000 I'd like to raise this year. Those wonderful people will be added to the next scroll of the Roll.

We've had our first few Team workouts, but the week before I organized the first Felafel Run. There are a few people on the Team -- okay, Rich and Harrie -- who have differing views on what felafel place is the best place in the city. So last year we said, let's do some runs that end at a felafel place, and then we'll vote. But we never did it. This year I, as unofficial social director, revived the notion of the Felafel Run, and the first place we were to visit was Sido, on the Upper West Side. Now, there are two Sidos on the UWS, mere blocks apart. I didn't know which one to go to, but I charted the course -- starting at the 79th Street entrance, a clockwise loop, and then out and to one of the Sidos. Alas, neither Rich nor Harrie showed (losers!) but David, Sara and I give Sido a big thumbs up -- very good and also very inexpensive. Mamouns in the Village is next.

I missed the first Team long run because I was in DC visiting Laura, who will always be known as my roomie, even though she is no longer in the apartment and will most likely never return for more than a week or two every other year. She will be heading to the Ivory Coast -- excuse me, the Cote D'Ivoire -- next month as part of her new career in the US Foreign Service. Right now she's in DC learning French. So I went down for a weekend visit and we did the monument and memorial tour. I took no pictures, you can see pictures of these monuments, oh, everywhere, but wow are they impressive in person. The size, the scope, the symbolism. The Korean War Memorial is particularly moving; it's a series of soldiers on the march. And the Vietnam Memorial is beyond words. Laura was a good tour guide; she had info on a lot of the stuff we saw, plus her own memories of visiting them as a child (she grew up in VA.) I really miss Laura, but I'll get to visit her, and that's a more interesting vacation destination than, say, Boca.

The first Team hill workout was a little crazy -- Cat Hill was wicked crowded, between us, the other teams, last-minute NYC Triathlon training and the Philarmonic concert. I took pictures, but I haven't loaded them up yet. I call Cat Hill the "Zipper Factory" because at its worst it reminds me of the Zipper amusement park ride, which rotates up and down in a tight oval. It's also the only ride I ever tossed my cookies on, but that's another story. And it's a factory because it's so crowded you have to jump into any opening you can find and join the throngs running up and down. We did six easy repeats. I did two at a time to make it a little harder, which worked. Normally I can do three at a time, but it was really hot. Saw a spectacular bike vs. pedestrian crash, and I mean spectacular not in the good sense of the word. It was an older woman, they both went flying, she and the bicyclist. Both were at fault -- he was going too fast, she stepped out in the street without looking to her left. Thankfully neither were too hurt; the cyclist got scraped up and the woman lost a stone from her ring. The cyclist was super-apologetic, and we felt bad for him, since he was doing the Tri that weekend and scrapes and bruises wasn't going to make it any easier. Between the economy and gas prices and everything else, there are a LOT more people staying in town this summer, making an already crowded Park even that much more crowded. Coach Jeff observed that the Parks Department should post signs or extra personnel on the days when the Philarmonic is playing in the Park; it might help avert some of those accidents.

On Thursday I missed the first step workout because my school decided to test at my speed (for those of you new to this blog, I'm studying to be a court reporter. I'm in the final speed class and I need to pass six more speed tests before I can graduate. Testing is a good thing!) and I wanted to take advantage of it. But I wanted to get that workout in, so I went to the steps (the ones by the Bethesda fountain) at 6:00am Friday to get it in. Now, I don't know if I was harder on myself than Jeff would have been -- hard to believe, I guess -- but I kicked my own ass. I forgot how hard this workout is. It's probably the same kind of memory loss they say women get after the pain of childbirth, they forget how hard it was, so that they'll have more children. Same thing. My hips were so sore the rest of the day I looked like I had just stepped off a horse.

And then Saturday, not 24 hours later, two loops of the Park. My hips were still achy and it was super-humid by 8:00am (we started at 7:00) so this run was not much fun. I had to stop at every water fountain. I don't know how some of my 'Mates can skip a fountain or two. I'm old and can't deal with the heat as well as they can, I guess. Still, I was at about 1:47:00 for the run, not counting the water stops, so I'm happy with that. Unfortunately, no rest for the wicked after that, I went to see the final studio rehearsal for Cape Playhouse's "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," helped them load out of the hall and into the car, then went to meet my parents for dinner.

Sunday was the NYC Triathlon. We had a lot of Teammates doing it, so Ashley and I went to 72nd Street and West End at 8:30am to cheer them on for the start of the running portion. It was a lot of fun, and I confess I got a little jealous. I think I'd like to try a triathlon one day. I can't swim, and I don't own a bicycle, but other than those two minor issues, I'm game. I really should suck it up and learn to swim properly and ride a road bike and just do one. I'd like it to be the NY one, just to say I swam in the Hudson. Most of them got bit by jellyfish this year, which was unexpected. And the men started so late, it was nearly 10:30 by the time we saw David come through, and we didn't even see Joe or Yan. Joe's wave started so late, and the current was so strong at that point that the police boats pulled them out of the water after 45 minutes and took them back to shore, no DQ, because they weren't moving. After seeing David, Ash ran up 72nd with him (she was in flip-flops!) I tried to keep up, but I had a coffee cup and a bag and I wasn't as fast. It's so sad that I'm slower than David after he's swam and biked, but whaddya do?

I shoulda done something yesterday but I was still too achy, plus which I had my first day of rehearsal for "Leader of the Pack" for the Cape Playhouse and school later that night. Bad excuse. I'm mad at myself for not doing something, but after a full day of rehearsal and school I didn't want to hit the gym at 9:00pm. So I'm trying to forgive myself and remember this Sunday is the Nike NYC Half, and I want to make sure I'm good for that because I'd like to race it.

Tonight's the first Team speed workout, and I'll keep y'all posted.

Contests coming soon!!

If you are the praying kind, please keep Liam and his family in your thoughts.

More anon.
MG

Important Update

My friends,

There is so much to tell you about -- the First Annual Felafel Run, the first Team workouts, the latest members of the Honor Roll -- but I need to share this with you instead.

As you all know, I'm running my third NYC Marathon this year in honor of four-year-old Liam Witt, an amazing little boy I met last year who has been battling neuroblastoma. Thanks to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research and the money donated on behalf of Fred's Team runners from generous people like you, MSKCC has developed treatments that is helping Liam win his battle. As recently as twenty years ago, a boy Liam's age with neuroblastoma had a zero percent chance of survival.

Here is an excerpt from his mother Gretchen's latest blog entry, posted yesterday, about Liam's latest round of tests.

"I wanted to take a minute to update everyone on what we have learned this week as it relates to our dear Liam. During his routine follow up scans (every 90 days) an abnormality appeared on the CT scan. Further review and a look back at his April scans revealed that this small abnormality, that looked like nothing more than a shadow, was present then as well but had not grown in the interim. The fact that it was not seen on his April scans was not ideal but because it had not grown since then it is considered a good thing. It was enough of a concern though to his doctors that they ordered two additional types of scans to see if there was truly something present and if so to try and determine what it is. The scans all confirmed that there is some small growth present on his right kidney but they were inconclusive as to what it is. The concern stems from the fact this is the same kidney that was entangled in his original tumor, and though only about 3% of kids relapse in the original tumor location, its existence is unexpected and unwelcome. All of the other markers monitored to look for signs of relapse were negative and show no signs of new disease. Yet the fact is all of these markers can show negative and new tumor growth can be present, so for this reason Liam’s team of doctor’s feel it is necessary to go in and see exactly what this 1-2 centimeter spot truly is.

You might wonder why such an aggressive approach is being taken if no other signs point to a relapse. The reality is Liam’s type of cancer is very aggressive, as many of you know, and the doctors at MSKCC do not take anything for granted when fighting this beast... The surgery is scheduled for this Friday and Liam will be in the best surgeon’s hands. We are fortunate in that Dr. LaQuaglia will be doing the procedure and is considered one of the best pediatric surgeons in the world. He is the same surgeon who operated on Liam for 11 hours straight to resect his tumor last summer. It is likely Liam will be in the hospital from 3-7 days depending on how everything goes. If Liam has anything to say about it I think it will be closer to 3. Your support and understanding during this very difficult time will be appreciated more than you will ever know. We expect this to be nothing more than a small bump in the road; anything else is just simply unacceptable for all of us. Please pray and and send good wishes to Liam as our dear prince endures yet another unfair challenge. A challenge he is far to young to endure alone and one that breaks our hearts to see him have to face just as he was making such amazing progress on so many fronts and so full of wonder and energy."

It doesn't matter that the Marathon is in November; it is more crucial right now, for Liam's sake, to support MSKCC and the Aubrey Fund. I know that nothing I am doing in my training can begin to compare to what Liam and his family are facing, but if running myself into the ground -- literally -- is enough to get somebody to donate to my marathon effort, it will be worth it.

So please keep Liam and his family in your thoughts and prayers, and if you are so moved to support my marathon effort on Liam's behalf, please click on the links either to the right or bottom of the page. You can also read Gretchen's blog about Liam, "Prince Liam the Brave," and the organization she co-founded, Band of Parents, by clicking on those links.

Fred's Team Kick-Off Party, Broadway Bares, and more!

Ooh, boy. Lots of stuff to tell you about.




But first off,



THE LATEST MEMBERS OF THE FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL!



MARIE SASSO
SALVINA SCERRI
MICHAEL & LISA MOSSBERG
URSULA STANTON
and THE GUY WHO BOUGHT MY EXTRA NIKE+



bringing the total to


$1,145



I am running this year in honor of Liam Witt, an amazing little boy who has been waging war against cancer for the past year. Thanks to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research and the money donated on behalf of Fred's Team runners from people like you, MSKCC has developed treatments that is helping Liam win his battle. As recently as twenty years ago, a boy with Liam's cancer, neuroblastoma, had a zero percent chance of survival. MSKCC recently hosted a reunion for childhood neuroblastoma survivors. Three hundred people showed up. So if you think your donation doesn't make a difference, there are 300 families who can tell you otherwise.

Won't you help give MSKCC and Liam the chance every child deserves to live a full life? Simply click here, or on the link to the right and bottom of the page, and make a donation to my marathon effort. It means a lot more to Liam and his family than a dollar sign.


Kicking off the season also means that my blogging will hopefully become a little more regular, and maybe I'll even get to that long-awaited podcast. I gotta say, trying to record a podcast is a lot harder than it sounds. I've been trying, but it just sounds terrible, I "um" and "er" so much, and I blither. I'm too lazy to write a script, not good enough to talk off-the-cuff. Hmm....



First off, Broadway Bares was this past weekend. What a great show. 250 performers, 30 or so stage managers, and a whopping $874,372 raised for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS! A new record. Broadway Bares, for those who don't know, is basically a strip show for charity. There are about a dozen original choreographed numbers all built around a theme (this year's theme was "Wonderland," loosely based on Alice in Wonderland." Very loosely.) It's at Roseland Ballroom for two shows in one day, a 9:30pm and a midnight. The show features Broadway and other professional dancers, loads of celebrity cameos, and ends with everyone go-go dancing for tips along the runways. There's straight strip, gay strip. drag strip -- something for everybody!

Here's a picture from the event, from the Living Art of Armando number. They're a Vegas act that comes in every year. They do crazy aerial stuff that's always gorgeous. This year was no exception. If you click here, you can see pictures from the event. My job was to run one of the four rolling panels that we use as part of the set. Yes, very high-tech. We stand behind them, flip them from black side to white side and roll them around on cue. I love doing this show and I love being up on the stage with the show (as opposed to being a runner or standing in what we call Pervert Alley -- the section on the floor where dancers enter and exit off the right side of the stage. It's curtained off, but some intrepid audience members sneak over there and try to pull up the curtains to sneak peeks, hence the name.) When the set was a wall with three doors in it, I was the "towel girl" where I basically stood backstage and when the newly-stripped dancers came offstage, I'd give them towels to cover up with. Usually. Anyway, it's a really fun show to work on as well as watch.

Two small problems marred the event for me. First off, I ran over my right big toe with my panel during the 9:30 show. It didn't break, but man did it hurt. It bruised really badly; in fact, it's still bruised. Secondly -- and this wasn't a problem until the next day -- we are, how to put this, encouraged to drink. It's a Broadway Bares tradition, stemming from 18 years ago when Jerry Mitchell and six other dancers jumped up on the bar at Splash and raised $3,000. They did one show, and the management brought them tequila shots to encourage them to stay and do another, since the line was around the block.

And no, I will not be dancing on a bar to raise money for Fred's Team. Isn't running a marathon enough for you?

So, liquor. A vodka shot for the SMs before the first show. A bottle of vodka for the SR SMs. I kept a small water bottle full in my pants pocket. A trip to the VIP bar during the brief rest we had between shows for a free drink. The aforementioned tequila before the second show. More vodka during the midnight show. And lastly, at the after-party at Therapy bar, more vodka. Couple this with not really eating that day, and spending the majority of the weekend at Roseland working and not really sleeping. I got home at 4:30 Monday morning, fully intending to go to school that day. I even woke up at 7:00am. And then I made the mistake of standing up. I spent the next four hours becoming very intimate with my toilet. Needless to say, I didn't make it to school.

Between Bares and my post-Bares recovery from injured toe and alcohol poisoning, I didn't get a lot of running in over the past few weeks. Not so great, since this weekend we should be up to 11 miles. Oops. Shoulda read that training chart.

Yesterday was the Fred's Team kick-off party at MSKCC. It was, as usual, great to see everyone, and it's always a treat to see people not in running clothes. Normally the parties at MSKCC just have cookies and whatnot, but this one had sushi and a veggie plate. Hey, if they're catering workouts, I'm there! Hee hee! Sad that Matt F. won't be running with the Team this year, but happy to see so many returnees, and so many more newbies, including my old friend Bill from Gods Love We Deliver! Bill was my driver for one of the weirdest delivery days ever, but that's a story for another day. Dr. O'Reilly, the head of the pediatrics unit, talked to us about the Aubrey Fund and its importance to MSKCC. He told us about some patients who came into MSKCC with cancers that would have normally been death sentences, who are alive today thanks to research and treatment funded by the Aubrey Fund. Brothers Rich and Harrie Bakst, who joined the Team last year, spoke movingly of Harrie's journey through MSKCC last year for treatment of a rare salivary gland cancer. Harrie finished cancer treatment in June and ran the marathon in November. Not only did he train throughout his treatment, he also graduated from NYU. Words aren't adequate. I have to say, one of the amazing things about being on this Team is that you meet people like Rich and Harrie, who have gone through so much, and are willing to share that experience with us. Makes you realize the importance of what you're doing, both for MSKCC and for yourself.

Team runs begin next weekend, but we're all meeting up tomorrow AM for a non-Team Team run, if you know what I mean.

Lastly, two things. First, I volunteered at the NYRR Father's Day races. In order to be eligible for guaranteed admission into the 2009 NYC Marathon, not only do NYRR members have to run 9 qualifying races, they must also volunteer at one. I've volunteered at races before, and I kind of hate being told I have to, but I admit, it's a lot of fun, primarily because you get to say all the things to runners you want to say when you're running the race -- YOU'RE IN THE WRONG CORRAL, MOVE BACK TO YOUR CORRECT CORRAL! -- RUNNERS, STAY IN THE REC LANE! -- WALKERS, MOVE TO YOUR RIGHT! Love it! I worked the corrals at the start of the race, and the finish line at the end. One kid ran the race -- he only had one leg and was using crutches. Since we were about 100 yards from the finish line, we're all there screaming, "Finishing kick!" to the runners. This kid came around the corner, we started yelling, "Finishing kick," and I'll be damned if he didn't have a one-legged finishing kick! Amazing.

My job at the finish line was to cheer the runners on, watch for potential injuries, and finally to help direct traffic, because the race participants and spectators needed to be shepherded out of the rec lane at the finish line to make room for the bicyclists. There's an excellent article in New York Magazine this week about the dog vs. bike vs. runner debate called "Who Owns Central Park?" with lots of great comments. I guess you know what side of the debate I fall on. I remember two years ago a biker had wiped out towards the bottom of the Great Hill. There was an ambulance there, and bikers had spaced themselves out all the way up the hill and were screaming at all oncoming bikes, SLOW DOWN! ACCIDENT AHEAD! None of them did. Not that runners are always blameless, but at worst we're annoying. At worst, a biker can be life-threatening.

The reason I picked this race is because there were kids races, and c'mon, is there anything cuter or funnier than watching a bunch of two-year-olds try to run in a straight line? They look like miniature drunk people. They only go about 50 feet, but that's enough. The age groups for the kids go up to 11, I think. After that, they can run in the real race.

Finally, for you stenography fans, I passed my final 180 literary test on Thursday! Hooray!