Too many people, too close to home...

Alas, another glorious day for running in beautiful Colorado. Did I take advantage of the fabulous fall weather and fantastic sunset? Of course not. I started my run at 10PM! But, with the debacle that last night's non-run turned out to be, I was not to be deterred. Scary beasts of the night beware, I come armed with pepper spray!

Tonight's run was 45 minutes. I was a little worried at times, but I ended up running the whole way. That brings my weekly total so far up to 8.5 miles. Tomorrow night, as promised, I will make up another 2.5 miles, then Saturday's run is supposed to be an hour and 15 minutes (yikes, that sounds like a long way).

Shifting gears rather abruptly...

I have a brother, who I'll call MexiBoy. He's younger than me, and while he's married and has a stepson, I think I will always consider him my baby brother. Especially in times like this one. Last week, my brother's best friend was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He is 22. He works on a farm and has no health insurance, and is about to begin an 8 week round of chemotherapy. My brother is having a hard time with all of this: he wants to help but feels helpless, as most people do in this situation. But he's begun to organize some fundraising events near our very small hometown, and he's vowed to let his friend shave his (Mexiboy's) head once his friend starts losing his hair. I am very proud of my baby brother for being brave in the face of his friend's cancer, and for doing the things that he can do to help him overcome it. If you live in West TN, please get in touch with my parents or my brother for details on the BBQ on October 20th!

And while my brother's friend's cancer is testicular cancer and not a blood cancer, I am reminded that daily people all over the place get the same news: "you have cancer". No matter how many miles I run or don't run, or how fast or how slow, or how good or bad it makes me feel... the whole point of what I'm doing is to help make these words obsolete.