Rock On!

So much for doing blog posts about the shutdown. Truth is, I didn't handle the whole shutdown thing very well. For me, it felt very much like it did when I was laid off in the mid-90s, only this time I didn't have a second income to fall back on. Needless to say, I was REALLY glad to be called back to work the following Monday!

So my latest adventure is playing in a band. I've wanted to play in a band since I was in middle school and asked for a drum set or a tambourine for Christmas. I got the tambourine because it was cheaper and made less noise. But the band dream ended up on the shelf...for decades along with other dreams deferred.

A friend of mine started a band and said they needed a keyboard player. I secretly wanted to do it, but I'm a 'by the notes' kinda player and never learned chords. When she point blank asked me, I said yes but I don't have a clue what to do. Didn't matter, I'd learn to became a Gypsy.

Looking back, the first night was comical. They had been together for a year so they were just jamming it out. I looked like a deer in headlights, picking out a note I recognized here and there. But I attacked it like I do everything...studied a chord chart, viewed YouTube, recorded, and practiced, a lot.

Last night we had our final practice before our gig this evening. We've really come together and are sounding tight. Hopefully the deer in headlights won't make a reappearance tonight because I'm really excited about performing for our friends. Wish us luck!

Furlough Day 1: A Ray of Hope in an Epic Fail Sort of Day

I Love Congress...said No. One. Ever. The nice day makes the furlough a little easier to tolerate, but I'd really rather be doing my job supporting our Soldiers.

So after being furloughed this morning I stopped by a grocery store. Standing ahead of me in line was a WWII/Korean War vet with an Army hat on. He turned to me an said, "I do not believe what is going on in Washington right now." I replied, "Believe it, I just got furloughed."

Then he said, "I have something for you," and reached for his wallet pulling out one of many carefully folded sheets of paper. "This is an application for the National Organization For Women, NOW" and handed me the paper. As he turned to leave, he touched my arm and said "Join...and be sure to vote." 

A bright ray of hope in an Epic Fail sort of a day!

Checking In

Usually I'm too busy with life to bother keeping up this blog. After my epic feat of completing the Free Press Half Marathon last year, everything seemed to pale in comparison. I spent 6 weeks during the first half of 2013 attending training for and doing a job I love...supporting our Soldiers.

This Summer I was among the legions of civil servants who were furloughed. At first, a day off every week was cool, but the impact hurt when paychecks arrived. Thirteen weeks turned into eleven, and finally the furlough days were cut to 6. I, for one, was glad to return full time. Less than two months later, here we are again.

Here's to hoping there is a budget or continuing resolution passed so we don't have to face furloughs again. If not and I'm furloughed, I'll use this little space on the internet to shine some light. On what, I'm not sure, but I'll go where the spirit leads me.

Finally...A Half Marathon Finisher

Yesterday I completed my first half marathon, something I wasn't sure I would be able to do when I started this journey last November.

The weekend was amazing. I arrived in Downtown Detroit mid-morning Saturday to visit the Expo and get my race bib. Then I took a really cool bus tour of the route seeing parts of the city I'd never seen and learning more about its history.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosted an Inspiration dinner Saturday evening announcing that Team In Training raised $170K for blood cancer research for the Free Press event! The millions of dollars they've raised over the past 24 years continues to fund life saving research to cure blood cancers.

After a 4:30 am wake up, we arrived at the 7 am start ready to rock it. I dedicated my run to Survivors Terri Norman, Katie Paulson and Kitty Grund and wrote their name on my singlet so they were with me in spirit the whole time. An emotional moment was when I paused by a fellow TNT runner with "Survivor" written on the back of her shirt. I asked how she was doing and she said "Who would have thought that 6 years ago when I had blood cancer that I'd be running a marathon today!" 

The course included running over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada, running through Windsor, then back through the tunnel into the US. A cool moment was as I exited the tunnel, the announcer said "Deb Drummond of Ferndale"... and something about looking strong and doing great. Caught me by surprise but put some fuel in my tank.

After only having run up to 12 miles in training, 13.1 was another barrier buster so seeing the finish line in the distance was a welcome relief. I was feeling strong so I gave a good kick at the end and was SO thrilled to finally cross the finish line. Even though I didn't start my training intending for the Detroit Free Press to be my first half marathon, I was SO glad it was...everything about the day and the event was absolutely perfect!

24 Hours

Tomorrow morning I'll be running the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon. During this taper down of miles, it feels like I'm not ready but I have to remember all the hard work and discipline I've put in this past year.

This is crazy, but you can follow my footsteps by downloading the Free Press Marathon app at:

http://www.freepmarathon.com/download

Press the little runner guy in the middle of the top line, then enter my bib number:  18373

I'm off to pick up my bib, visit the expo, take a bus tour around the course, then enjoy an Inspiration Dinner with my fellow Team in Training teammates before the big day. I'll keep you posted with a few pix along the way...GO TEAM!

The Countdown

Next week at this time I will be able to say that I've run a Half Marathon. If you had told me that a year ago, I would have said you were crazy.

I started my running journey last November when I could hardly scrape myself up off the sofa during a tough year that included many personal struggles.

Today as I ran my last long run along the course I've logged so many miles on as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, I reflected on how far I've come. I feel really good about starting this journey for something bigger than myself and having raised more than $1,500 for blood cancer research.

The journey to the finish line hasn't been exactly as I had envisioned it, but it will be sweet all the same. It's never too late and my take away is that now I run for me.

57 Days Until the Free Press Half

Training is going well so far, even through the heat of the Summer. I'm still building up in miles for the next month, but looking forward to running in my first half marathon on October 21st.

The one thing I haven't done is turn back on my fund raising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, largely because I didn't really know if my knee was up to it. While I still feel I'm not at 100%, twice a day stretching and other exercises keeps the knee from complaining.

I am blessed to have had so many generous contributors to my first effort and thankfully the bulk of those funds have been transferred to this event. That said, I still need to raise $384 in the next 57 days.

Next Saturday, I'll be working a parking lot at Arts, Beats & Eats for 8 hours which will help, but I'll still be $300 shy. Time to kick things up a notch because until there's a cure, there is NO finish line!