This is Andy

This is Andy McMillan. He lives with Multiple Myeloma.

This is me. I run to support the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation for Andy.

This is you supporting my run for Andy.

www.active.com/donate/triplec4mmrf

Endorphins in the Old Growth

Dan and I spent six days in Northern California to attend his younger brother Aaron's wedding and hang out with family. We got a good dose of family-time, beach-time, and redwoods-time.

Old Growth Trail Running
It was easy to find a long trail to run down south. There are multiple state parks and a national park nearby Trinidad, the town we were staying in and childhood home of Lauren, my new sister-in-law. Dan spent seven days in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park with a group of teens a few years back, and raved about the place. We decided to run a trail that started at the edge of the park and ended at the ocean.

Fern Canyon
I would happily spend weeks running and hiking the trails in this park. The air is fresh, the trails are soft, and the old-growth redwoods are absolutely amazing. We ran ten miles out the coast and back through fern canyon, a spectacular place overgrowing with ferns. Running through the redwoods is different than running on trails here in the foothills of the cascades. It's almost totally quiet. Hardly any bird song. Very little movement. At times I felt like I was running through a photograph. Crazy.

Runner's High
During the last three miles of the 10-mile run I got jolted with the good stuff: endorphins. I felt invincible, energetic, and overwhelmed with happiness: the runner's high. I managed to avoid getting Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) last winter for the first time in seven years, which I attribute to my new long-distance running habit. For me, the high that I experience running can last hours, or even days. When people complained about the dark, cold, and wet Pacific NW winter and spring this year, I didn't understand. I felt completely okay with the weather the seasons brought.

So, the last three miles of my run felt phenomenal. I flew up the remaining hills with a smile on my face and felt like a superhero. Thank you Prairie Creek!

Finding Balance

Apparently running up too many hills in too short a time period can be a bad thing. After running up Tiger Mountain I became a hill addict and ran all the hills I could find during the week. Then, my heels started to hurt a little bit, which felt like the beginning of a common running injury called plantar fasciitis, an irritation and swelling at the bottom of the foot.

Dr. Jeff
I knew that the first step to healing my heel pain was to stop running for a little bit. I could do that. I also knew that I needed to loosen up my lower calf muscles and heel area. That's where Dr. Jeff came in.

Dr. Jeff is a chiropractor that works at Elite Sports and Spine in Bellevue. He's been giving me crazy intense massage treatments called active release technique (A.R.T.) for my arthritic left big toe off and on for the last six months. Ten years ago, a podiatrist told me that I needed joint replacement for my toe if I wanted to continue running, and that I should never run a marathon. I decided that advice didn't work for me.

So, I went to Dr. Jeff on Monday for some A.R.T on my calves. Though the session was painful, my calves felt better the next day (though they were both bruised from the treatment). Thank you Dr. Jeff.

Yoga as Balance
Though I cut back on running, I continued following my training plan with some modifications. I added four yoga classes into my week to help improve my flexibility and strength. One class was a blindfolded yoga workshop taught by my friend Kat at Two Rivers Yoga in Carnation. Have you ever tried balancing on one leg with your eyes closed? It's hard!

Speed, Run, Long, Slow, Run
Regardless of my heel pain, I did two good training runs this week, which included one speed workout and one long, slow, run. Dan and I did the long, slow, run together during a short window of dryness during today's rainstorm. Dan will be running the 25K trail race as well, so we've been following the same training plan and supporting each other along the way. Today was one of the first days I didn't want to run because of the weather. Meeting up to run in the afternoon kept both of us accountable and made the run enjoyable. We even raced the last 1/4 mile, and tied.

The Journey Continues
After three weeks of training I'm feeling strong, motivated, and inspired to continue this journey. I'm doing my part. Are you doing yours?

I'm constantly reminding myself why I am training for this race. It's for Andy. For Multiple Myeloma. For a cure. It's because I am healthy. Because I can. Because I care.

So far we've raised $300 for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. That's awesome! In the next four weeks we're going to raise $1,700 more. Because we are healthy. Because we can. Because we care. Click here to join the journey. And, thanks for your support.

Mountains to Strait

It's Always Sunny in Sequim
I worked in sunny Sequim yesterday, a place that gets an average of 15 inches of precipitation per year. I decided to get a dry-weather run in, knowing that it would be raining in Duvall (which averages 48 inches of precipitation per year) for the rest of the week. I drove down to the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and ran along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This place rocks.

Aloha
Running along the bluffs and the beach brought me back to Hawaii. Dan and I spent a week there right after I ran my first marathon last October. Nothing compares to running along a beach listening to waves. The Dungeness Spit is a 5-mile long naturally-formed spit at the refuge. I wasn't allowed to run on it since it is an important nesting and resting place for lots of wildlife. I stuck to the beach, the bluff, and the forest trails.

Wildlife Survey
Running at a wildlife refuge is a perfect place to spot wildlife. During my run I saw or heard the following species:

• Hutton's vireo
• Pine siskin
• Gulls
• Spotted towhee
• Purple finch
• Bewick's wren
• Marsh wren
• Golden-crowned kinglet
• Savannah sparrow
• Song sparrow
  
• Northern harrier
• Rough-skinned newt (in the middle of the trail)

Noisy Ravens
The highlight of my run was seeing a large common raven's nest with a few noisy nestlings. I ran right under it! It brought me back to my summers spent in Forks climbing old-growth trees and looking for crow and raven nests. Shout-out to the corvid crew of 1998-2000!

I am Tiger Mountain

Today I became one of "those crazy people". You know, the ones that run past you as you are hiking up a mountain. Today I went from hiker of mountains to runner of mountains.

Potluck = Running Fuel
I spent the day in Olympia at a section meeting with a Mexican Potluck theme. It was fun hanging out with great people and eating chicken enchiladas, tortilla soup, chips and salsa, and various desserts. The great thing about training for races is that you can look at all foods a running fuel. I'm pretty sure I adequately fueled myself for my evening run.

Too Much Running Fuel = Stomach Cramp
I started out my evening run of the West Tiger 3 Trail at the base of Tiger Mountain, off of I-90. Within two minutes I had a cramp in my right side. The hypochondriac in me thought, "Lower right quadrant, could be an appendicitis. If it is an appendicitis, where is the nearest hospital? Did they finish that one at the Issaquah Highlands yet?" Crazy thoughts continued to flood my brain: "What if an off-leash chihuahua came after me and attacked my calves? What would the recovery time be for a chihuahua bite? I bet they have sharp little teeth."

The logical mind stepped in. "The cramp in your lower right quadrant is probably from that second brownie you had at 4:00 pm." Right.

I am Tiger Mountain
As I ran up the mountain, my active brain kept chattering. I tried to think of things I was grateful for, focused on my breath, and observed what was around me. It didn't work. Running up the mountain felt difficult; my breath was labored, my heart rate was high, and my legs felt tired. But, I kept going.

Then, something happened. My mind quieted. My breath felt better. My energy returned to my legs. I noticed the whiteness of the trillium flowers, the varied thrush song, the burned out snags, and the shape of the red elderberry leaves. I became my footsteps, my breath, my heartbeat, and my legs. I thought, "I am the trail, I am the forest, I am the mountain."

I am Tiger Mountain.

And after 3.5 miles and 2300 feet of elevation gain, I reached the summit and realized why "those crazy people" run up mountains.

We Are A Cure
If I can be a mountain, we can be a cure. Andy recently sent an email update. He says that he is doing "relatively" well and taking two drugs that control the myeloma without making him feel too miserable. He still gets nausea and fatigue and doesn't know how long he can be on the drugs before they cause his body too much damage.

Currently, there is no cure for multiple myeloma. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation is working to change that. As the top myeloma foundation and one of the top-ranked charities in the country, they are our hope for a cure. Each donation we make to the MMRF is one step closer. We are a cure.

http://www.active.com/donate/triplec4mmrf