143 days

Last Monday I went for a bike ride with my niece and felt immediately like I was going anaerobic, every muscle burned, I couldn't breathe. It was the worst ride of my life. I was in granny gear the entire time and felt like I was still trying too hard. I knew there was something very wrong on that ride. The next day I had my Herceptin treatment and found out that my RBC count was 2.58 million where the low end of normal is 3.8 million and my hemoglobin levels were 8.8 g/dl where the low end of normal is 11.9 g/dl. These numbers were the reason for me feeling horrible. I decided to give myself a week to heal without pushing my biking especially since I went back to work. I have been feeling really great though the past two days so I decided to get on my bike and just try to see how it felt. It felt great. I didn't really push too much but I also was not really out of breathe either. I am looking forward to seeing what my blood work shows this week and I am really excited that I am going to see it edge closer and closer toward normal every week from here on out since I am done with chemo! I am really happy about being done and becoming me again. On my bike ride today I was thinking about training - I miss having a training plan so much. I have been given a fabulous gift because of my friends Sarah and Jeremiah. I have been given an entry into Rev3 Old Orchard Beach 70.3 triathlon for next August. The people at Rev3 and Sarah and Jeremiah are allowing me to do something that means a lot to me and I am so grateful. I had been worried about how I can go from zero training to a 70.3 in one year but on my bike today I realized how I can do it. Starting tomorrow, September 10, I have 143 days until February 1. February 1 is the first day of my training for the race. This gives me 143 days to get back into a basic workout/triathlon shape, lose the weight I put on during chemo, and get myself able to swim and run with my new body. Then starting on Feb 1st will give me 6 months and 1 week to train for the race and 2 weeks to taper for the race. Starting on February 1st is also significant becasue that was the day I found out that I had something wrong with me - my doctor felt the benign lump in my breast that day which ultimately lead to my mammogram and my cancer diagnosis. February 1st is also my husbands birthday. I know that February 1st saved my life last year but I want to make February 1st show that I am really alive through starting my training plan! What a way to show cancer who's boss! So, this is the plan and I am more than excited about it! I have dreams of crossing the finish line of a 70.3 and a 140.6 again and it is the most amazing feeling in my dream. I can't wait to cherish that finish line again next summer. I also want to say that I went back to work this week. I was petrified to do this. I knew I needed some "normal" but wasn't sure how this would go. I wasn't sure how my students would react to me. I wasn't sure how my coworkers would respond to me. I can say that I am extremely happy to be back in the classroom. We haven't talked about cancer at all but I'm sure it will come up at some point and that is ok. I hope that I can show them that you have an option everyday of your life to get up and try or you can decide not to participate in life. Like the song says - I hope they dance! I do almost everyday and it puts a smile on my face. I hope I can teach them not only science but to be happy because life is good. Even when the situation that you are in is less than positive, there are so many things to be happy and grateful for and life is too short to be angry all of the time. I hope they learn to do positive things that make them happy. Even with all of the crazy new state mandates, I am thrilled to be back at work!