I had a hard run...

For all of you who know the tune, sing along:

I had a hard run

Runnin' the Peachtree

All day pouring

But not a drop on me

The Peachtree 10K Road Race is very close to the top of my Cancer Revenge List.  I have lived in ATL for 18 runnings of the Peachtree and have only missed it three times--once in 2009, as I was recovering from my chemo + radiation treatments.  So, as soon as the weather gets good enough to run outside, I re-dedicate myself to getting in the training I need to do this run (it is definitely not a race for me).  This year was extra difficult as I struggled with lower back pain and got in only minimal training.  My running partner Jeff (in the picture above) also had very little training.  He is Winnie's son-in-law, and has spent a lot of time lately with Winnie and her family in the hospital.  More on Winnie below.

We caught a big break with some cool, overcast weather on the 4th.  The forecast was for heavy rain all day, but after pouring the entire night before, it didn't rain at all while we were at the starting line or during our run.  It did start again about two hours after we finished and has been raining almost constantly since then.

We managed to run the entire 10K distance, except for the top of three very big hills.  The only people who were more amazed than us by that was Jeff's wife, Deb, and my wife Terry.  They were convinced that if we did manage to finish the race at all, it would be by walking most of it, and with the EMTs close behind us, ready to catch us when we collapsed.

After slogging through a muddy Piedmont park to collect our race t-shirts (which were pretty good this year, for a change), we found our way to the car and enjoyed the "Coldest beers ever" and wondered out loud how in the hell we pulled off running 95% of the course.

After the traditional post-race orange rolls we went over to Winnie and George's for a great barbeque meal.  Winnie was looking good, and very happy to be back home.  She did get tired fast, but was in great spirits.  The reality is that her cancer is not curable, and no further treatments are planned.  Because her cancer is so rare, they don't know how fast it might spread--but they are sure it has.  From there Terry and I went to Jeff and Deb's mountain home and enjoyed the great scenery when we could get out between rain showers.

The purpose of my Cancer Revenge List is to get things back into my life that this disease took away from me for a while--and could have taken from me forever.  So, like it has for 14 or so other years in the past, the 4th of July and the Peachtree Road Race came and went without incident, and my "new normal" as a cancer survivor keeps plugging along quietly.

And, on days like this 4th of July, when I am sweaty and tired, sipping that post-race beer with Jeff,  I am reminded to thank all of you on Team Mike who helped make this new-normal possible.

Mike