Not as much fun as it should be
So the 6-mile workout is becoming a standard accomplishment. But that doesn't make it easier. I've only climbed one flight of stairs this evening, (from basement to first floor) and I'm worried about that second one. I'd better not forget anything when I head upstairs a few minutes from now.
I appreciate the fact that I've avoided any injury so far--none of those shin splints, or other debilitating ailments. Tamoxifen is still a rather disgusting and annoying ailment of its own. It completely wrecked "date night" last Saturday, and although the nausea is less frequent, it's still a problem when it hits. Hence, I'll definitely be taking a Tamoxifen holiday at least one week prior to the half-marathon. I had one of those, just before the lumpectomy, and I couldn't believe how good I felt off the poison. Actually, I'm toying with the idea of taking a 2-week Tamoxifen holiday. And yes, you worry-warts, I shall confer with my oncologist before doing this. But I have no doubt she'll be on board.
The serious treadmill workouts do have lots and lots of health benefits. They severely curtail the Tamoxifen hot flashes, most notably. They lessen arthritic and myofacial (muscular knots and trigger points) pain. It might be counterintuitive to folks who don't have those problems, but the aches and pains decrease with workouts.
I did return to yoga class last week. That's definitely staying on my agenda. I always feel so good when I leave there.
And now for the buried lead, the real drama. I'm turning into a point person for the community, in opposition to Montgomery County's proposal to dump a school bus depot adjacent to our neighborhood. They want to plop it atop a closed landfill that's been capped (loosely, vegetatively) since 1982. I'm learning far too much for comfort about the hazards contained---OR NOT CONTAINED---in that landfill, and it annoys the hell out of me that the County thinks it can dump more crap on my neighborhood.
Further, one of the rather diligent researcher-neighbors proposed a solution, and it's a damn good one. There's unwanted property near the path of a freeway under construction. If 30+ acres of that parcel (which is about 65 acres) were used for the bus depot, everyone would benefit. How? Glad you asked. The unwanted property, now being offered for sale cheap by the developer who knows it's depreciated..... would:
--Provide clear access to major transportation routes for those 350 school buses, without clogging up neighborhoods (like mine);
--Be situated in an industrial sector, not a residential one (like mine);
--Enable the 350 school bus drivers to use the Metro to get to their job sites, not cars, which would add 350 vehicles' worth of emissions to my neighborhood.
--Prevent toxic hazard exacerbation at the landfill.
Tomorrow night, I attend my first meeting as a member of the Shady Grove Advisory Committee, which will be quite unhappy to welcome me into their midst: they've endorsed the stupid bus depot plan, and further, think that using the unwanted property to create a park is---in the words of one committee staffer (a county employee) a "no brainer". I'm so hostile already, it's going to be difficult to measure my words. It's going to take serious prep time.
Thursday, I'm on the agenda at the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission to speak about that unwanted parcel of land and why it needs to be eyed as the future site of the school bus depot. I have no clue how I'm going to get 10 minutes of material prepped by then, but I shall do it. I don't think I have time to prep a video presentation, but...... at least I can show some pictures. Visuals always improve an argument.
This is not a task I'd naturally be drawn to, nor is it one at which I have natural ability. I'm an unlikely political figure. But crap, I spent 30 years as a "professional communicator" so if I'm unable to handle this task without embarrassing myself, I'm simply an idiot.
Stand by for updates on that possibility.
I appreciate the fact that I've avoided any injury so far--none of those shin splints, or other debilitating ailments. Tamoxifen is still a rather disgusting and annoying ailment of its own. It completely wrecked "date night" last Saturday, and although the nausea is less frequent, it's still a problem when it hits. Hence, I'll definitely be taking a Tamoxifen holiday at least one week prior to the half-marathon. I had one of those, just before the lumpectomy, and I couldn't believe how good I felt off the poison. Actually, I'm toying with the idea of taking a 2-week Tamoxifen holiday. And yes, you worry-warts, I shall confer with my oncologist before doing this. But I have no doubt she'll be on board.
The serious treadmill workouts do have lots and lots of health benefits. They severely curtail the Tamoxifen hot flashes, most notably. They lessen arthritic and myofacial (muscular knots and trigger points) pain. It might be counterintuitive to folks who don't have those problems, but the aches and pains decrease with workouts.
I did return to yoga class last week. That's definitely staying on my agenda. I always feel so good when I leave there.
And now for the buried lead, the real drama. I'm turning into a point person for the community, in opposition to Montgomery County's proposal to dump a school bus depot adjacent to our neighborhood. They want to plop it atop a closed landfill that's been capped (loosely, vegetatively) since 1982. I'm learning far too much for comfort about the hazards contained---OR NOT CONTAINED---in that landfill, and it annoys the hell out of me that the County thinks it can dump more crap on my neighborhood.
Further, one of the rather diligent researcher-neighbors proposed a solution, and it's a damn good one. There's unwanted property near the path of a freeway under construction. If 30+ acres of that parcel (which is about 65 acres) were used for the bus depot, everyone would benefit. How? Glad you asked. The unwanted property, now being offered for sale cheap by the developer who knows it's depreciated..... would:
--Provide clear access to major transportation routes for those 350 school buses, without clogging up neighborhoods (like mine);
--Be situated in an industrial sector, not a residential one (like mine);
--Enable the 350 school bus drivers to use the Metro to get to their job sites, not cars, which would add 350 vehicles' worth of emissions to my neighborhood.
--Prevent toxic hazard exacerbation at the landfill.
Tomorrow night, I attend my first meeting as a member of the Shady Grove Advisory Committee, which will be quite unhappy to welcome me into their midst: they've endorsed the stupid bus depot plan, and further, think that using the unwanted property to create a park is---in the words of one committee staffer (a county employee) a "no brainer". I'm so hostile already, it's going to be difficult to measure my words. It's going to take serious prep time.
Thursday, I'm on the agenda at the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission to speak about that unwanted parcel of land and why it needs to be eyed as the future site of the school bus depot. I have no clue how I'm going to get 10 minutes of material prepped by then, but I shall do it. I don't think I have time to prep a video presentation, but...... at least I can show some pictures. Visuals always improve an argument.
This is not a task I'd naturally be drawn to, nor is it one at which I have natural ability. I'm an unlikely political figure. But crap, I spent 30 years as a "professional communicator" so if I'm unable to handle this task without embarrassing myself, I'm simply an idiot.
Stand by for updates on that possibility.