Adventure #24 - Part One the half Marathon April 30, 2011

Well the encouragement to do a half marathon came in January from Joanne, who sent me an e-mail about the Illinois half marathon.  I put it out of my mind as I was training for Hustle Up the Hancock and was trying to beat a sinus infection.  After completing Hustle Up the Hancock, the race was revisited so on March 5, 2011 I signed up and began the whirlwind training for a half marathon as I had never run more than 4 miles at that point.
So with weekly work-outs on the treadmill focused on running, I slowly added miles and time until I was able to run for 90 minutes on the treadmill which roughly translated for me to 8.5 miles.  So the week before the half marathon, APril 16th Ben agreed to run the Rock Island Trail with me for my long run of 10 miles.  Ben was very gracious as my run for him was a slow jog.  Ben talked to me for the entire run to keep me going and at about 10.5 miles I wasa done.  The thought that crossed my mind was "and I have 3 more miles to run - you have got to be kidding me!" 
Easter Sunday I woke up feeling really funny and by Monday I had a full blown sinus infection.  I was able to see my MD on Thursday after work and told him that I had a half marathon to run on Saturday.  Dr. Miller's response was "So I have 2 days to get you better - this should be interesting."
Joanne, Amanda and I travelled to Champaign on Friday after work, had dinner on the road, picked up our packets and went to stay with the Crusade staff in Champaign as they had graciously opened their home to us.

Aftere coughing all night as I had been doing for 3 weeks,  Saturday arrived and I felt terrible.  So I was resigned to just finishing, even if it would mean walking.  the race provided free pacers so I decided to join the 11:26 pacer and just see what would happen as I figured that I would not be able to run my 11:00 pace.  So the race started.  When we reached the 90 minute mark, my pacer, Beth, told us that we only had an hour left and I thought I am feeling good apart from using a kleenex every mile but another hour seems impossible so I turned on my i-pod to listen to music.  As we approached mile 9, Beth told me that the plan was to speed up for the final 5K and I said "you have got to be kidding me - there is no way that I can do this."  She told me that I could and to try but I was not planning on it.  At mile 10 however, she slowed down a bit and so I went ahead and slowly began to speed up so that my last 5K was faster than my first one.  As I approached the 13 mile mark, I was teary just with the realization that I was going to complete the half marathon.  It was an overwhelming thought since in April of 2007, I had my worst month  of chemotherapy treatments because at the beginning of April, one of my treatments burned my blood vessels, I had phlebitis, and never had a good week.  My parents would check on me at night to be sure that I was breathing and doing OK.  God has been gracious to me over these 4 years so that despite the loss of 30% of my lung diffusion due to chemotherapy, I am still able to be active and able to enjoy living life and trying new things - like a half marathon.  Even if I could not do these things - God is still good. 
So at 2:28:54 I crossed the finish line under the 2:30 mark and well under my planned 3 hour goal. 

So now begins the full paced training for the full marathon in Dublin in October.  Exactly 6 months away. 

April 20, 2011 Adventure #1 - Get a Spray Tan!

Ok - I wanted to see what I would look like with a skin color other than red or white.  I do not tan at all and have learned over the years to just liberally apply sunscreen and a good hat is a must.

Shannon wanted to participate in one of my adventures before moving  on April 28, 2011 for 4 years.  So she called around to a few places to see if any times were available on April 20th as this was the only date available.  We found Corpo Bello Spa and Salon.

So adventure to date has provided the most laughter.  First of all, Shannon went first and I could hear her down the hall just cracking up!  She came out really really dark. 

So then it was my turn.  So I stepped into the brown cave like plastic area and the spraying began.  Up one side and down the other and several rotations later I was told to stand in front of the fan for 10 minutes to dry and to keep rotating for maximum even drying.  Then I looked in the mirror and just laughed knowing that I was headed to choir practice for the evening.

We stopped at home and my mom said "I have two African daughters that have a white mother and father!"

At choir no one said a word until after practice when Carol Hornbrook and I just looked at each other and laughed.  Mura and Don both laughed and wondered what I had done and I reminded them of my blog.  Ben looked at me and said "you got your spray tan!"

Thankfully the next day, the excess dye washed off in the shower leaving me less African looking.

At work, I had a dietitian staff meeting and in the middle of the meeting my former boss Karen looks at me and says "Holly - you are tan what did you do or where have you been?"  The dietitians had already asked so we all just got a good laugh.





easter sunday - 4 days post fake bake and it looks like a bronze tan



 

The thoughts that I had afterwards were related to my BSF lecture questions that week - Where does God need to do a make-over in your life?  My spray tan was temporary and just an external show that would wash away.  God's makeovers are internal and result in a change in heart and then outward actions and attitudes that make me more like Christ.

April 16, 2011 Adventure #6 Serve Those in Need - Walk for Life

Life!  What a gift!  Today was an opportunity to walk with friends from Bethany for the Esther House and for the life of the unborn.  The day was very rainy yet the walk went on.  After a few laps, I was soaked even with a hood on my water proof jacket.  Memorable!

Adventure #11 - Try a New Ethnic Food - Lebanese Sunday April 10, 2011

So Ginger sent me a note to attend the Lebanese Food Festival to check another item off my list. 
I checked with Denisse and Hassan to see if they planned to attend but they were not.

Ginger and I arrived and after getting our food, we set out to find a table.  Ginger says to me "Holly how many people do you think that you will know here?"  My response - "no one since Denisse and Hassan are not coming."  I should know better than to make a statement like this as within 30 seconds I hear "Holly, Holly."  I look over to see Rachel Haynes and some of her friends.  Then at the next table were some of my parent's friends.  As we were leaving I saw Jimmy Lahood. 

 Ginger and I just laughed about this the entire time wondering who else would show up.  So at the end of the day, I knew people at 3 tables

Adventure #11 - Eat a new ethnic food each month March 10, 2011

March is an appropriate time to eat a new ethnic food celebrating the luck of the Irish."  So Ginger and Julie joined me for an evening of fellowship and Irish fare. 
I ordered Irish Trio Platter which included Shepherd's Pie, Cabbage Casserole and Mashed Potatoes along with Irish Soda Bread.
The food was quite good but the fellowship made the evening.
Irish food had to be an item on the list given that some of my original ancestors in the states came from Ireland, although at this time we are not sure of the actual location due to a name change upon arrival in the states.
Unexpectedly, Karan and Natasia arrived to have dinner after attending an opera as Shepherd's pie is one of Natasia's favorite dishes.

Adventure - random places to sleep

This was suggested by a friend after hearing about several of the random places that I have had the opportunity to sleep in the past few months.  The fun part of this suggestion is that I did not try to have these things happen, these events just occurred and provided some rare sleeping locations!

I am officially a stranded airline traveler and it occurred at Christmas time just a week before Christmas.  Enroute to London from Geneva, my plane experienced an electrical failure in the instrument panel preventing a landing at London Heathrow and instead we were diverted to a small regional airport and bused to Heathrow where we arrived to utter chaos due to snow all over Europe.  Since British Airways forgot about our flight and did not make other arrangements for us, we were left to try to find our own way home and to rebook our own flights.  After hours in a line, British Airways closed their agent windows and left for the night, leaving thousands of passangers stranded.  So after rebooking my flight via skype to American Airlines in the States, Malia and I joined the other passangers in sleeping on the floor at Healthrow.  I slept on my bacakpack, holding my purse and covered up with my coat, fleece and other items and using my PJs as my pillow.  Finally, employees brought us British Airways blankets.  God was gracious as I was on the last flight out of London the next morning and all other passangers were stranded for days.



My bed for the evening the table in the RD office



Snow seems to be the theme of sleeping adventures.  February 2, 2011 was a major snowfall in the Peoria area.  At lunch time the snow began to fall and our offices closed.  I was asked to report to the manager of the dietitians and foodservice.  I was sent home to get my things and returned to work.  I was assigned to pass trays for dinner, pick up trays and work in the kitchen preparing for the next morning's tray line.  The dietitians decided to sleep in the dietitian office.  So I slept on the table in the dietitian office on my sleeping bag.  We ended up with 13-15 inches throughout the city and I was released to return home at 3 pm the following day. 



Dietitians hard at work in the kitchen preparing trays



Lauren, Km, Hannah and I are ready for bed - the RD office (a new kind of slumber party)



Adventure 27 - Hustle Up the Hancock February 27, 2011

It began as an idea spraked by a conversation with a drug rep who had just completed the 2010 Hustle.  So after looking up the details, I signed up to get additional information and shared the idea with a few friends who are always up for a challenging adventure.

In November, sign up started for the 4000 Full Climb and Half Climb Spots for 2011 Race and the spots closed in 1 hour and 15 minutes on November 1.  So when the lines closed, Ben Hobbs and I were the two that had been able to get a spot for the full climb.      
With good intentions of training well, I decided instead to travel the month of December and then was sick for most of January.  Thus crash training began in February.

The weekend was delighful in Chicago.  I was able to spend some time with Karen and Michael and the boys.  Dinner with Karen, Michael and Ben at Elwood's was amazing and the BBQ chicken was delicious!  In addition, I was able to see the 25th annivaersary of Les Miserables, the musical. 



Pre-Hustle Photo with Ben

 Sunday dawned with the Hustle.  I was given a 12:15 wave time and Ben had the 1:30 time slot.  I arrived early as requested.  Ben joined me to wait in line around 11:30 for my start.  It was awesome to have someone there to encourage and cheer me on at the start!


Thankfully a woman behind me had experience and gave me some good advice - take you time, don't look at the numbers on the floors and just keep your feet moving and don't stop.  You will have sore legs and your lungs will hurt but keep going. 
So began the 94 floor climb to the top.  Round and round and round I went, not prepared to become dizzy as I went up the stairs nor was I prepared for my ears to pop and to have some influence of a little altitude, as the stairmaster definately does not prepare you for ascending 94 floors.  I did think about the germs that would be on the railings and the need to wash my hands at the top!  My legs got tired and I was shocked by the lung pain and the coughing that awaited me the rest of the afternoon (and continued for a few days).  By floor 70, I was exhausted and it took sheer will power to keep going and I was thrilled to get to the top even though I was completed out of breath!  After some time on the cool observation deck and wandering around to catch my breath, I went to wait for Ben since his start time was an hour behind me, which really just gave me a head start!
Ben did great and he too was a bit winded at the top.  Ben is gifted with natural athletic ability and terrific endurance especially in longer races and other stamina related activities.  He also thought the event was a challenge, which made me feel good because he is in such good shape.  His time was impressive with a finish in 16:18, placing him 293 overall - yes for the entire field of Hustlers!  Amazing!



Post Hustle photo

 My unofficial time was 23:31 and I was thrilled as my goal was to finish under 30 minutes.  I had been told by my primary care MD, that the loss of lung diffusion with my chemo, bleomycin in particular, would always limit my physical ability and that I have most likely gotten back the function that I can already.  (I went from a lung diffusion of 115% pre-treatment to 85% after 5 months of treatment and my oncologist then removed the drug for the last month so that I would be able to do some physical activities that I enjoy and also so did not end up on a ventilator after my final treatments for a while!)


Post Hustle 2011

  In other words, I will never be really good at many endurance things again and will peak long before I would like.  But I will continue to train with the understanding of realistic expectations.  My official time was 23:28. My overall placement was 1728 out of roughly 2900.  I finished 668 of 1435 women and 182 of 395 in my age group.  I was really pretty surprised and encouraged.  

The line to take the elevator was long and we were a part of a group that got to take the service elevators down to the main level.  The elevators went from floor 94 to 44 and then we had to exit to get on another elevator to get to the main level.  So we got to see parts of the Hancock reserved for service personnel, which was much more fun!

Adventure 8 - Try Snowshoeing

We had quite a snowfall this year.   We received 13-15 inches on Tuesday February 2, 2011 in the Peoria area.  This much snow however does allow for lots of fun snow activities!

Kristin got out her snowshoes and I was able to try them out in my backyard.  I was a little concerned that I would start out this adventure by face planting in the snow but was pleasantly surprised by how easy the snowshoes were to navigate.  It definately made snow travel much simplier!

Extra Credit item - Skate on a frozen body of water January 30, 2011

Ice fishing and ice skating went together today!  Kristin and I headed to her parent's house in Morton for an afternoon of winter fun.  Kristin's dad drilled holes in the pond for fishing while Kristin and I took turns shoveling a circular path on the pond for us to skate!

The fish were not biting.  Kristin and her dad each caught a fish.  I however, caught a fish but in the process of bringing it up through the hole, hit it on the side of the ice and it got it's freedom!  Oh, well.  It was still exciting. 
After and hour of being really cold.  Kristin and I went to warm up by the fire before trying again. 

After another 45 minutes of fishless time, we decided that we were done fishing and got out our skates.  I put on my ice skates while Kristin laced up her roller blades!  We set off along the bumpy path on the pond just laughing and having a good time as we watched each other stumble along.
Kristin's dad prepared the 2 fish and then defrosted some fish from the freezer for a fish fry for dinner!  Yummy!

We had to shovel our own skating rink for this event.  Kristin and I shoveled an oval shaped rink that was the width of 2 shovels.  It was a lot of work as the snow covered a layer of ice.  The rink was definately not smooth and we needed a zamboni to come to our rescue!



Kristin on rollerblades









                                                       

Adventure #16 - Serve those in need in the community at least once a quarter. January 27, 2011

It is easy to become wrapped up in our own lives and to miss out on serving those in need in our communities.  Sometimes it is easier to give money rather than time to help those in need.  However, spending time in service opens the eyes to those needs in our community and to respond to meet these basic needs thus granting the privilege of also providing for the spiritual need for Jesus.

I first heard about the Midwest Food Bank from a dietitan who serves on the Peoria board.  Marjorie was the dietitian that I worked for at the Cooperative Extension Service the summer between my graduation from Bradley in May of 1993 and the start of my internship at Barnes in St Louis in August of 1993.  When I returned to Peoria in 2004, Marjorie and I were now a part of the Central Illinois Dietetic Association together.  During 2010, I first heard about Tender Mercies program at the Midwest Food Bank.  Volunteers allow the Midwest Food Bank to use their resouces to meet the needs of those in the community with very little overhead cost. 

I received an e-mail that the Career Impact Thursday night Bible study planned to go and serve by making Tender Mercies packets.  So even though I did not attend this Bible Study, I e-mailed to see if there was still room for me to join them.  This was a special privilege to join with my brothers and sister to serve while meeting the needs of those who would one day receive this food packet. 

Tender Mercies is a mixture of TVP, beans, rice and a high nutrient flavoring that is able to feed a family of four.  All that is needed is water and a heat source to prepare this meal. 

So our team spent time putting together these packets.  What was impressive to me was that most of the volunteers were men.  It was great fun watching them enjoy one another's company as they filled the bags, tried to increase efficiency (can we say engineers), laughed and modeled new and fashionable hairnets!  I was blest just to be with them and watch them at work.  During the shift, our team put together 800 packets of food which would feed 3200 people.

On February 14, 2011 for Valentine's Day, the dietitians hosted a bake sale at Methodist to benefit Midwest Food Bank and the Tender Mercies program.  We raised $615 for Tender Mercies.

Adventure #11 - Eat a new ethnic food each month - January

Turkey provided the opportunity to try new dishes.  Some of the items were not new because I had tried them at Shannon's Turkish teas.  The food was so much better than the food in Europe.  It was less salty and had less fat.  There were lots of vegetables and local fruits available at all meals.  Yes - even vegetables at breakfast.  I loved the tomato and cucumber salads that I could eat for breakfast and missed them when I returned home!
Part of the unique dining experience at this 5 star hotel was the additional meal time guests - the 2 cats!  The cats would rub up against your legs and just look at you and Meow!  Occasionally the cats would hiss and spat at one another.  It was a little disconcerting to also see the birds sitting on the fresh bread that was put out for all meals.  Definately a new dining experience!

Adventure #36 - Winter Swim in a Body of Water January 1, 2011

Happy New Year from turkey!  So instead of participating in the Peoria area polar bear club by jumping into the frozen Illinois River.  I rang in the New Year by jumping into the Aegean Sea in the winter.  The outside temperature was around 40 degrees so the air was chilly.  Not what you would think for being along the sea.  The water was not frozen but it too was chilly. 

Pastor Lyall, Kevin, Dorothy and I were joined by 6 of the MKs and one parent to take this morning swim.  We all jumped together!  What fun!  We were definately awake after this swim!

 

Adventure #16 - Missions Trip December 25, 2010-January 3, 2011

Adventure 16 - Missions Trip
This open door took me to Turkey.  The trip was to support a mission organization's conference for European missionaries and their families.  Our purpose was to provide the children and youth programming for the families by loving on them, teaching and providing cultural experiences with the goal of growing their walk with the Lord.

If you have been reading my other posts, you will then know that my trip really began in Geneva in early December.  Really I consider it God's confirmation that I was to be a part of this team and trip for God's glory.  Only God could orchestrate the meeting of a missionary with a team member from the States while in Geneva as he was teaching at the school where my friend attends for the week.  God really is that big and in these moments God himself is clearly seen.  Malia and I laughed that she was getting to be a part of my trip as she was able to hear Mark teach about Ephesus before I even stepped foot in Turkey or heard the teaching myself.    Also God enabled me to get home so that I could depart with the team rather than departing after a few unplanned days extra in England. 

God calls all believers to be involved in missions - either to go or to support those who go to tell all over the world.  At this point in my life, God's call for me is to find ways to support those who he is sending to the field.  This was such an opportunity to serve. 

My brother, a Christian school teacher in Nashville, always reminds me that just because kids are in a Christian school does not mean that they are believers and that they are still in need of the life changing ministry that comes from the application and living out of the gospel in our daily lives.  As our team taught through Ephesians, we too had the opportunity to speak the truth from God's Word found in this book to these MKs and to assist them as in their walk with the Lord.  God's word too also was at work in my own heart as I spend time studying Ephesians 3 for my time teaching.  God is still using this chapter to challenge my own daily thinking and application in my life.

Adventure 22 - Prague December 12-16, 2010

Prague - the adventure started with the flight and the need to use my limited medical training for the man with the seizure.  Prague also represented the blessing of spending time with Janna and the unexpected blessing of seeing Mark.  The time spent listening to two missionaries share about their service to the Lord in Czech was encouraging and to actually see where Janna is serving was a blessing.

The city itself was amazing!  I had been told this by many people but was not prepared for the city's rich heritgae, culture and beauty.  It is a must see gem for a European travel adventure.  I was able to see the Charles Bridge, The Prague Castle, Old Town Square and it's various buildings and churches, The Jewish Quarter (which was amazing).  I would have loved to have more time to see buildings, hear concerts and tour museums. 

Pictures are worth a thousand words!



Old Town Square and Christmas Markets



              

St. Nicholas Church in Old Town Square

                                                                                                                                                             

 
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Mozart played here and introduced Don Giovanni



Adventure 11 - Eat a new ethnic food every month December 9, 2010 and December 15, 2010

December 9, 2010 Malia and I set out after her classes finshed and took a train to Morges to investigate a Christmas market.  The Switerland tourism site recommended this Christmas market and it was a short train ride from Geneva.  Lesson learned - Never assume based on a title. "Christmas market" to both Malia and myself meant that there would be booths selling Christmas items.  Not so!  It was a glorified craft show and flee market and there were very few traditional Swiss items.

However there was traditional Swiss food being served.  Malia was not sure what some of the food items were either so she talked to a couple about the sausage and cabbage dish that they were eating.  She told the couple that I was looking to try some traditional foods so the woman cut off a bite of her sausage and added some cabbage and gave it to me to try.  It was pretty good.  So Malia and I each ordered one.  We, really Malia, talked with the couple in French.  Then the gentleman brought over 2 wine glasses and they shared their wine with us. In reality for me, it was a very gracious and generous form of hospitality given by this couple to welcome us to Switzerland.   (Now the not so fun part was that sausages are often so high in fat that they disagree with my gut and I was in the bathroom within the hour!)

December 15, 2010 Prague

In prague, I had the opportunity to eat many different traditional foods which was very fun.  Two of the restaurants spoke English so this was helpful.  One of the restaurants was in Rick Steve's book on Prague and was recommended by one of Janna's co-teachers.  In addition, I was able to eat lunch with Mark and I had fun watching him enjoy his favorite Czech dish from one of his favorite Czech restaurants in Old Town Square.  The last evening provided the most fun with food!  For my last evening in Prague, Janna and I went to the local tavern for some traditional Czech food.  Our waitress did not speak english and no english menu was available, lending itself to a very fun food adventure!  So I decided to just pick an item off the menu and try it.  I tried to use common sense to figure out some of the words and my limited Russian vocabulary for food items from my job in St Louis.  So I ordered an item using my best Czech pronounciation possible and actually got a thumbs up from the waitress.  What arrived, you may wonder?  It was a surprise to me too.  I ended up with red peppers filled with a melted salty cheese of some kind.  The peppers were good and I eventually just scraped off the cheese.  It was fun however just to order.