Eleven Years Ago

The deluge of Houston continued on Sunday, so no cross training, but I did go to the gym to do an upper body workout (BEEFCAKE!). Monday was, well, busy, but I did stick to the HoustonFIT plan and do 35 minutes easy at the park. Unfortunately, all my running shorts were dirty, so I wore regular workout shorts (cotton! HORROR!!), and all my running socks were dirty, so I wore white, cotton socks (shut up Jonathan, they made me slow!). Even worse, it was hot and I was distracted; I wasn't really into the run. I suppose the fact that I did the run in such a state of "blah" is a good sign; maybe that shows a little bit of dedication.

The idea with this weekend's post was that it was time to explain why it is that I decided to run for ACS, why I choose MD Anderson over United Way, and why I wore my Lance Armstrong wrist band all weekend. The story was going to be about my personal experience with cancer, my Father's death from prostate cancer, and as he actually died on Father's Day, eleven years ago, the timing seemed right. I think the story is a bit too personal, and some of my reasons a bit too selfish (I'm always trying to convince myself to be more involved with cancer charities, and I think I was using the idea of writing the story to motivate me to do more), so I decided not to share it here.

Our mortality, particularly on a blog that I try to keep light and entertaining, isn't a fun topic, but it's real life. The important take away is to remind people to make smart decisions about their health, get screened when they should, and to pass the message on to those they love. I'm hopeful that our generation will succeed where the previous one did not, that we will discover breakthroughs in prevention, treatment, and even cures for some cancers (I even know of a couple of freshly minted PhDs who might enter the molecular battle!). To get there though, a lot of work needs to be done. I'm struggling with whether I want to continue doing what I've been doing, raising money and maybe going on an occasional blog rant (sorry!), or whether I want to try and do more. Today I learned that work might move me to Fairfax, to take a job outside of IT with the our Downstream business. It's a little hard to figure out what I want to do with my professional life when my professional life is in flux! Sorry. Had to vent a little :o)

Maybe change is what I need though. I did just change shoes and socks, something I never thought I would do. Maybe more change would do me good.