Friday, March 14

Well, I have not posted in a while. Yes, I did finish the marathon. I was able to do it within the goal I had set for myself. It was great to participate in the Team In Training Marathon on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Since I have participated, more individuals have come to Dan and myself and are letting us know they have leukemia or they have been recently diagnosed with leukemia. This disease is hitting more and more individuals every day.

After the marathon, my sister, Annette, joined me in Phoenix for a few days of fun. Monday after the marathon she picked me up from the hotel and had to take me to urgent care, because I ended up getting an ear infection in one ear and fluid on the other. After our trip to urgent care, we went to the arboretum and did some hiking on the paths and then up the high path into the mountain. We took many photos and had a great time. On Tuesday, we drove up to Sedona, through Cooperstown and Jerome. Once we arrived in Sedona, we took a Pink Jeep tour. The jeep drove up into the mountains, over large boulders, and off trails. It was great. We were able to experience something new. Annette and I have never taken a trip together before and we found we actually had a good time. We may even think of doing it again.

I took a break from walking for a few weeks, but I have now started up again. I enjoy walking and Dan and I use to walk all the time before I came out of remission and started going through treatments. The walking is great to release stress and just get some time outside.

I started walking before Dan, Don (my brother) and I traveled to Albuquerque. I thought I would be able to walk there, but I only was able to get on the treadmill one night. We did walk through Old Town and then took a tram ride up Sandia Mountain. The three of us had a great time, touring a small area of Albuquerque.

I just returned from Phoenix from a work trip. In Phoenix, once again, this time I stayed at the Hilton Tapatio. It is a resort set in/on a mountain. The few days I was there, I was able to get out and walk. The first day, I walked up the road that led to a restaurant on top of the mountain. The concierge said this hill gave even the best athletes a battle. Well, he was right. On Sunday, I friend from California joined me. We decided not to walk all the way up to the restaurant, but if you get to the bottom of the hill that leads to the restaurant, you have done the worst. On Monday and Tuesday, another individual from UW Whitewater decided to join me. We walked the entire hill on Monday. On Tuesday, we did not finish the last part up to the restaurant. We decide to walk one more trip around the hotel area where the roads were not as steep. The view from the top of the mountain was beautiful. Walking up just for the view was worth it. While we took in the view, we could catch our breath before starting the journey down.