I have a lot of fun stuff to report today. Most importantly, I want to talk about the virtual run that I – WE! – are doing with the 10 runners from Ulman Fund/Rev3 to raise $100,000 for Ulman Fund programs to support young adult cancer patients. These 10 amazing runners are running for 21 days from Oceanside, CA to Washington, DC, covering a total of 3,080 miles! They began on March 26 and will finish April 16th. In support of these runners and Ulman Fund, I started a team to complete a “virtual run” in which we will run each day they are running and record our miles. Teams may also fund raise to add points to their score. At the end of the 21 days, the virtual team that has the highest score wins. My goal in doing this is not to win, but to show as much support as possible for these people that have trained so hard to do this incredible journey as well as raising awareness for the Ulman Fund. Right now we have 20 team members running daily. With only a partial report for day 3, we are already up over 50 miles!!! I can’t wait to see how much distance we cover by day 21.

If you are interested in joining in on the run, just let me know. I don’t think it’s too late to add you. All you have to do is email me your miles on the days that you run. If you don’t want to run but want to support our team and Ulman Fund, you can donate using the link below. Just be sure to mention Team Supergirl.

http://rev3tri.com/america/donate/

I got to “meet” one of the runners over email, just by chance, and it turned out she had blogged about my story. Her name is Laura and here’s a link to her blog:

www.wifemotherathlete.com

Yet another amazing woman that is inspiring me these days. Go Laura!!!

In other fun news, I just got finished designing the men’s and women’s triathlon gear for Team Inspiration. I’ll have more to report on this soon and ways in which you can get your hands on some of this too. As a child I fantasized about being a fashion designer, so this was just too cool of an opportunity. The irony of where my life has gone as a result of cancer never ceases to amaze me.

For a little medical update which involves a slightly gory detail for those who love this stuff … I have yet another rash. It is actually just a continuation of the first rash from January that went away and has now made a feisty return. The dermatologist feels that it is still the drug allergy and gave me a tub (literally) of anti-itch, rash-clearing cream to try. Neither he nor my oncologist were particularly impressed with this scaly, itchy infestation covering most of my body now. Although it is great to be unimpressive, it’s also a little deflating given that it feels so traumatic in my own head. I’m partially kidding. I know it’s nothing to spend a lot of time stressing over, but it’s not comfortable and is definitely spreading. If the cream doesn’t work, my doctor will try changing the med that is the suspected culprit.

Okay, now for the good news/bad news … my hair is starting to come in BUT … it’s white! I have some dark hair mixed in with it but the thicker fuzz that is beginning to cover most of my head is as light and white as snow, no joke. What’s interesting is that some of the longer dark hairs were actually white at the tips. I’ve had hair on my head for a while now that is about a 1/2 long, but I have to keep trimming it because it is so sparse. So I am hopeful – okay praying – that the white fuzz will turn a sun-kissed blond or even brunette. It feels a little like a kick in the gut to go prematurely gray at 36 after all of this. I’m not fretting over it because I have read many stories about hair coming in one color and completely changing to something different. I just hope it does it sooner than later. I’m getting really sick of my hats. But I am grateful that it is starting to grow.

Now, in all seriousness, I do want to say how grateful I am right now. I have spent a lot of time these past few weeks being really caught up in stress, anxiety and some depression over various symptoms and some things going on in my life. Nothing terrible is going on but true to old habits, I quickly got wrapped up in worrying about things that weren’t that important. As I mentioned in my last post, there have been a few things that helped get me out of that rut. I am grateful that I am able to see a lot more clearly now, and most importantly, I am grateful to be alive and in remission and to be surrounded by my always amazing group of friends and family.