Mark's contamination has absolutely made me reflect onconsideration on everything I do, and my attitude in the direction of it. i have shifted my going for walks dreams for 2014 to mirror this (which i will write approximately later), however i've honestly attempted to make the entirety that I do enjoyable. Mark is usually so nice and so satisfied, even though he has terminal most cancers. If he can keep the sort of effective attitude, i am genuinely capable of it, too. I even feel ashamed for feeling down approximately petty matters (like pace work!).
So nowadays, I determined that i used to be going to revel in my pace work. I selected now not to do periods, and as an alternative, I went for my first-ever fartlek run. A fartlek run is much like intervals, however there isn't any structure to the length or period of every interval. you would possibly run tough to that fire hydrant, jog to the corner, run tough to the cellphone pole, and many others. i've been going for walks for almost 4 years, and i have in no way accomplished a fartlek run!
The temp has been pretty warm here the past couple of days--nowadays it become 34 after I headed out, which felt honestly pleasant. I wore my Garmin, simply due to the fact I idea it would be a laugh to look at the graphs later, but I failed to set it for any type of durations (that might defeat the cause of a fartlek run). I simply began strolling one among my 3-mile routes, after which started selecting out small landmarks to run hard to, and then do a healing jog to. I did some absolutely brief, genuinely hard sprints, some at a semi-hard tempo, and restoration at an clean jog. None of it become notion out ahead of time, and it wasn't at all dependent.
The time went by means of so quickly, and i knew i would gotten a terrific, difficult exercising. I even burned over one hundred calories consistent with mile, which rarely occurs! And certain sufficient, it turned into a laugh to see the graphs :)
The blue chart is my tempo, and the purple chart is my heart rate. There had been more than one outstanding short sprints in which my tempo got into the five:00's! I without a doubt loved my speed work nowadays, and i genuinely plan to do fartleks greater frequently.
I hit a massive milestone halfway through my run these days, too. In January, I set a intention to run a hundred+ miles consistent with month, every single month this 12 months. I did it! There have been a few months wherein I just slightly made it, but there were additionally a couple of months wherein I ran over two hundred miles.
The chart indicates my totals for every month. i'm strolling day after today and Tuesday, so i'm no longer accomplished with December but, however I did reach a hundred+ miles these days, so I hit my goal.
This afternoon, I went to the nursing home to visit Mark. i ended at KFC to get him some bird (he asked Popeye's, but there wasn't one everywhere close to there). He additionally asked for 7Up, so I got him that as properly. Parking on the nursing home is absolutely less complicated than on the health facility. there is most effective one ground, so I failed to get to run up 10 flights of stairs--darn ;)
after I walked in, Mark was napping, however he awoke when I set down his meals. He regarded like he was doing honestly properly--he failed to seem like he was in pain at all, and he was quite talkative for a little even as. He commenced physical therapy nowadays, to with any luck benefit using his hand (his left hand is now absolutely numb--he can't use it in any respect). He said he's going to be there for nine weeks, however i'm no longer certain where he were given that records or how correct it's far.
in the end, we're hoping that he can cross "domestic" to my dad and mom' house below hospice care as soon as he's performed with radiation, however due to the fact we aren't family, it is now not up to us. His best living relative is his nephew, who has to make all the choices, and it does not sound like he wants to try this. but for now, it appears like Mark will be at the nursing domestic for numerous weeks at the least, so we'll see what happens whilst the time comes.
anyway, Mark was tremendous tired nowadays, and after about 15 mins of chatting, he stored dozing off. I study him some playing cards, but he kept falling asleep, so I kept the go to short. I were given out his CD player for him in order that he may want to concentrate to song whilst he napped (the call lights make the maximum stressful beeping noise at some point of the complete building; I do not know how they can stand it!).
One aspect that simply melted my coronary heart at some point of our visit nowadays was after I requested him how he wanted to spend his (what he calls) "pocket cash". He were given a bit bit of money in a few playing cards, and that i informed him that he may want to tell me what he desires to spend it on, and i will cross buy it for him. He notion approximately it for a minute, and then he stated he wanted to shop for pizza, cake, and ice cream for all of the human beings that live in his group home (wherein he lived for see you later, earlier than going into the medical institution). isn't that so sweet?!
i used to be going thru a few photos yesterday, and i found a sincerely nice one of Mark from more than one years in the past. This become at my parents' residence for his birthday:
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Cancer just sucks. It always seems to affect the most kind, caring people.