Pertussis, anyone??

Well, the saga of my recent illness continues... I ended up being out of work for about 10 days altogether! I tried to go back after a week, but I only made it through half the day. I went back to work last Thursday, and aside from a cough I can't seem to kick and being REALLY tired, I seemed to do okay. On Friday, we got some concerning news though; one of our receptionists had been sick during the same time as me, and she was diagnosed with Pertussis (Whooping Cough). It's one of the things that we are all immunized against as babies, but it can wear off over time. So anyway, it's really contagious, and since I was the only one that was THAT sick around the same time, I had to be tested as well. I can't go back until I can prove that I am pertussis free (just FYI, the chances of actually having it are really small-- I would not have gotten much better after the last course of antibiotics that I took). It's just been a pain in the neck; I've had to miss more work. I just can't seem to kick this cough, but for the most part, I feel better than I did.

Our training continues-- Dan is doing so well!!!! Last weekend, he did 8 miles with the group at Valley Forge Park. I did 4 miles, since none of us thought it would be a good idea to push too hard. I am still struggling with the "half vs. full" issue. I have talked to my coaches, to my family, to my friends, and it seems everyone is just as unsure as me. I get a lot of different opinions. I think, though, that I have come up with a plan. I am going to practice for the full marathon until our re-commitment date (when we commit to our fundraising goal of $9,000) in mid March. If, at that point, I think I will be unable to complete the full marathon, then I will opt to finish the half. For now I am just going to keep one foot in front of the other and work really hard!

I am getting back on track this week with training. We are going up to Cape Cod to visit my grandparents for my Grandpa's 79th Birthday this weekend, so our weekend training will be up there. Next week, we are back at Kelly Drive in Philadelphia.

Team In Training had our big kickoff celebration last week-- it was great! We met our team heroes, patients and their families who have been helped, or are continuing to receive support from the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. It sounds cheesy, but it was a really inspirational night for me. Hearing some of our heroes' stories made all of us laugh, cry, and remember why we want to do this. The bottom line is, we could train for any old marathon- but we're doing THIS marathon to raise money for a very important organization.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to our fundraising efforts thus far! If you haven't gotten one already, we will be sending out individual thank you notes. We really appreciate your support, and want to make sure you know that your contributions will make a big difference! We still have a long way to go to reach our goal, but we're confident that we'll make it! Thank you all so much!

-Sara