On Saturday night I lay my head on the pillow thinking “AAAAAHHHHH, all I’m doing tomorrow is making some cheesebread and soup for “employee appreciation week” at work.  D and I planned to walk again so that would also be in the mix.  In the morning I was enjoying the morning light and rolling over yet again to talk with whichever kat was  in front of me.  Eventually I heard B say something like “So, wanna work out with me this morning?” He was taking E to his class a couple miles from the gym.

I guess I can’t honestly say that I was kidnapped.  I lay there thinking of all the reasons I shouldn’t go with B, not the least of which were my plans with D.  The next thing I knew I was putting (not enough) things into a bag and I was in the car.  B is a good coach for me.  The two 15 minute periods on the treadmill felt great.  I went about a mile each time, and the first round I jogged for about 1/2 of the distance.  THAT surprised me.  During the second 15 minutes I timed my intervals with B’s, and was pleased that I could keep up with that.  As for the other parts of the workout, I just stuck with whatever he put in front of me.  There I was, feeling pretty cute as he benched like a zillion pounds as I was working with the weight of the bar which is something like 45 pounds.  I WAS doing it and that truly felt great. 

The only time I noticed the effects of chemo was when I was trying the neck machine and my baseball cap kept falling off.  There’s a balance I have not struck yet between sweating and keeping my head warm enough…alas.  I noticed more the effects of the surgery as I worked to do dips and the bench press.  I was conscious of being careful as well as conscious of how good it felt to stretch in that way.  Today my body feels like it’s done something different, but I’m not all stove up (as we say in New England).  On the way home, we were driving down our road and D was heading down her driveway with the dogs.  I hopped out of the car to walk with her.  Trudging through the snow covered parts of our trail just about did me in, but we did it.  I almost called B from the bottom of our driveway to get a lift up the hill!  It felt GREAT to get home, put my legs up and have some water.  Man, I was thirsty.

Thanks B and D for being my inspiration to get and keep my body moving.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I’m not always conscious of the physical effects of chemo, but when the sun light hits my hands in a certain way, or when a scarf is just annoying and a cotton hat is just not suitable, those are the times I remind myself that this will pass.  There have been more comments about my (lack of) eyebrows than anything of late, these coming from loving people who are apparently just caught off guard.  It’s just such an in your face kind of thing.  (or should I say an “on your face” kind of thing?)

I have to say, though, that each day when I wake up my first thought is a happy one…I’m this much farther away from the chemo.  It’s been two whole weeks, and that’s happy making enough for me.  Tomorrow is the simulation.  I’ll be sure to post something about that for sure.  Continued thanks to you all for your endurance.  I/we could not do this without you.