Sharing the Mission

Dori continues to feel better, but her cough remains. I'm battling something, too, now ... raw breathing, headaches and less energy ... but nothing like whatever I had in February. Still, it's the crums.

Tuesday night, I ran six miles to and from a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society meeting to sign up Team in Training members. It was a wonderful night for running, warm but dry. On the way to the meeting, I stopped to catch up with our friend Chuck Hargrove, who was running down Belmont Boulevard, one of the city's best streets for a run.

At the start of the LLS meeting, a young lady I immediately recognized walked into the room. Elaine! One of Dori's great nurses at Vanderbilt on 11 North. Elaine had a special affinity to Chuck Hendry, Dori's good friend on 11 North, AML survivor and recent half marathoner. Elaine, who stays in touch with Chuck, is planning to fund-raise and run the Marine Corps race this fall. Good luck, good friend. Speaking of Chuck Hendry, it was nice to get a call from him this week. He's hung up his running shoes for the moment and is focusing on other things.

I attended the meeting to share a "Mission Moment" to connect the runners to their task. I told my family's story, including the long summer at VUMC, Dori's difficult transplant, my reason for fund-raising and the great ending at last year's Nike, when Dori ran the last three miles with me.

I would have run today, except for the cold. It would have been nice to get to 28 or 29 miles today, then run 11-plus on Saturday morning for a 40-mile week. But the body says no, and we'll see where this goes. Hopefully, I'll ride the bench for a quarter, not a half.