It’s kind of a nice place to be…you should be close to recovery… enjoying a little extra time…immersed in holiday cheer…and hopefully still floating on some of your big accomplishment high!

…and why not?  Race day was an amazing day…from our gathering at 6:45am to take a team picture to the crowded energy and buzz of the start line to winding through the dreary…yet somehow adrenaline-pumping… streets of Seattle to celebrating with your teammates in the Victory Recovery Area to the spectacular post-race party where I got hear all about your experiences and plans for the upcoming year…It really was an awesome day!

And…while I was busy mingling at the party…trying to touch base with all of you….I found myself talking to one of our new members who was quick to tell me how much she enjoyed the training and the event and getting to know everyone…She said that she felt like she’d discovered a whole new kind of crazy!   A kind of crazy that involves getting out of bed early on Saturday mornings to train; learning to tolerate Gatorade and Power Gels; allowing Thanksgiving weekend to be swallowed up not with a 20# bird, but by a 13.1 mile running/walking event that wound its way through some of the hilliest streets in Seattle on what was predictably a chilly, wet, dreary day.

But as crazy as all of that is…I think there’s yet another kind of crazy we should recognize here.  It’s all of the crazy things that this team accomplishes every day….the unexpected…those things that take people by surprise and change the way they view the world…that people hear about and say…Crazy!  I can’t believe it!   Things like…you had a transplant?  and you say you just did a half marathon?  huuhh…It didn’t take you all day?  your family joined you?   you trained with other people who’d had transplants??  and you lost 10 pounds? your blood pressure improved?  …excuse me…did you just say it was fun??!   That’s CRAZY!!!

Honestly…the world could use more of that kind of crazy….more defying the odds..more working together…more believing in the power of teamwork…more encouragement…more appreciation…and more just getting out there to give it a try!   Each one of you I’m sure has had some doubts about what you were doing at some point…if not this year…11 years ago…and it’s easy to think that you hung in there because you wanted to tell people that you ‘d done a half marathon…but really I think a big part of it was because you found that you were improving and getting stronger…. learning new things and feeling better about yourself….getting to know new people and investing in their lives….and being willing to step out and take those kinds of risks…well…it’s true…it’s just plain crazy!

And when it gets right down to it…we’ve got a lot of examples of crazy on our team…just take a look…
•    Of the 20 UWMC transplant recipients participated in the 2011 Seattle Marathon events…3 had received their transplants in the last year:  Gloria Roberts, Greg Eisen, and John Martinez
•    Our top runner, Alvin Valencia who was on track to run the race with us, was called in for a kidney transplant 2 weeks before the event…so he sat this one out.
•    All totalled, the 20 transplant recipients who joined us for our post-race festivities, had together completed over 140 half marathons!
•    In the 11 years of Team Transplant, 80 transplant recipients and donors have participated on the team!
•    The training is becoming a family affair with Rachel and Chaz (Chuck) Bauman, Patrick (Mark) Scott, and Corey (Pam Magnuson) Anderson all joining in along with us!
•    Mark Rosinbum and Tami Sadusky have been doing this for eleven years!
•    Carla Trulson Essenberg walked a 5k in Hawaii last month…while on VACATION!
•    You want to stay involved with the team even when you have reasons that you can’t train…Jonathon Baird, Turner Prewitt, Ron Adkins, and Shari Jones!
•    This thriving business…it’s not just about running and walking half marathons….IN ADDITION to running and walking half marathons….It may include baseball (Mari Jo Fraser) or hockey (Sam Patterson) or playing the accordion (Maggie Kim) or bowling (Allen Vary)!!
•    You’ll even make the effort to travel to events and team practices…Dan Tenant (Tacoma); Jason Stahl (Olympia) and who could forget Lenard Yen and his long journey from Vashon Island!
•    …and you’re making new friends and building a community of support around you that encourages your healthy lifestyle…Micah Gwinn, Lenore and Steve Miller; Vanessa Whitacre and Colin Rines; and TEAM HOPE!

Thanks to all of you…It was a wonderful season…an incredible year…and I think that what we’re doing really does make people step back and adjust their views on organ donation and diet and exercise…It’s pretty remarkable all that we’ve accomplished…and as one of the people who’s been around for the full 11 years of Team Transplant…I can tell you….it really is pretty crazy!

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And some more thank yous….
Everyone who volunteered at the expo...Sam Patterson, Marty Chakoian, Sam Patterson, Susan Marx, Shari Jones, Mary Meister, Allen Vary, Cindy Weber, Dan Tenant, and Jason Stahl!

Our Roanoke Cheerleaders…Mikki Dailey, Susan Bussell, and Luann Majeed!

Our Half Marathon Finisher Recovery Sepcialists who took charge of our table in the Victory Recovery Area….Ida Boecksteigel and Ron Adkins...

Our post-race party planners….Janette Morantes, Tami Sadusky, Susan Marx, and Jonathon Baird for his fabulous gluten-free desserts!

Homeland Security for their faithful Saturday morning support...Janette Morantes, Tamar Solomon, Susan Bussell, and Julie Sprinkle

Everyone else on our planning committe who have provided such incredible assistance throughout the years:   Annie Otto, Ron Adkins, Ida Boecksteigel, Mikki Dailey, and Mark Rosinbum!

And finally…a really big thank you from me to all of you for the generous gift…The chair is absolutely beautiful and I look forward to finding the perfect place for it in my house!  Thanks to all of you, my home has become a very warm and comfortable place…full of incredibly inspriring and wonderfully crazy memories!

***…and a quick disclaimer…if I missed someone in here, please let me know…I want you to make sure you know ho w much we appreciate your help!****
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Future Plans…
•    The Seattle Rock’n Roll Half Marathon is June 23rd…http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/seattle
•    Big Backyard 5K Who Knows Their Fitness Team Challenge is May 20th…http://www.bby5k.com/
•    Be prepared to kick up the training again in March…you know I’ll be in touch!

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From the News Desk…
Exercise and Brain Power!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com:80/2011/11/30/how-exercise-benefits-the-brain/?emc=eta1

Calories burned:  Walking vs. Running

http://m.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-311-8402-0,00.html

Fitness vs. Weight loss?

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/heart/articles/2011/12/05/fitness-may-lower-death-risk-even-without-weight-loss

Team Transplant article in Columns—It’s out in print.  Still waiting for the online version….if you’d like to be on the lookout for it, the website is…

http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns-magazine/

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Let’s hear it for our Big Backyard Captains!!

Alex Cantafio, who stepped up in the last month to lead the Green Team!  It was so cool to have him and his wife participate in the event with us… The shirts and green head bands totally rocked!

Jonathon Baird, the captain of Team Spare Parts…you gotta love the Farside cartoon and buttons…and, of course…you absolutely have to loooove the homemade chocolate chip macadamia nut oatmeal cookies that he brought to share after the race!
Tami Sadusky…Captain Fig!   What crazy luck and how amazingly appropriate that she received a kidney transplant the weekend before the race!  Luckily she had  Mike “Second Fig” Anthony who was able to step in and very capably provide guidance and leadership to the team!!

Mark Scott…Who didn’t love the name Bakery Buns??   I think they had the most members on their team…unexpectedly…the Latimers from California really did show up to participate!

Shirley Schultz…Captain of the Spring Organ-izers….who…along with Janette… got so excited about competing for her team that she forgot that it was all about the pacing!  Love the enthusiasm, however!
Allison Enstrom...of the Replacements….who has been juggling training, family…and having Tess follow her around with a camera all season!  Thanks for also taking time to lead the Replacements!

Nicely  done, everyone!  Thanks for making our first attempt at team competition such a great success…. I look forward to honoring The Green Team’s efforts in MY BIG BACKYARD on June 25th at our Post-Race BBQ!!!!

Let’s hear it for our water station helpers last week...Tamar Solomon and Vanessa Whitacre! This is a repeat performance for both….and we certainly appreciate their willingness to come back and help out a second time!

….and a very special shout out to Lucky, Abby, Jack, and Scooter whose joyful unbridled (until forced to be bridled) play in Volunteer Park was a reminder of what exercise really should be all about!

Jennifer Herlihy and India…Jennifer is one of our liver transplant recipients who is featured…along with Allen Vary and Maggie Kim in the new UW Medicine marketing campaign (maybe you’ve seen the picture? http://www.uwmedicinestories.org/stories.html#story_1) and who has now done more half marathons than me!   Thanks so much for taking a break from your busy training schedule (word is…she’s working on her speed this summer and shooting to improve her times in some shorter races) to help us out.  It’s always fun to have you join us…and we, of course, always love a chance to catch up with India!

Susan Marx...Susan is one of our adminstrators in the transplant surgery department who occasionally shows up for a Team Transplant practice and helped with our post-race party in November. She played a key role in helping us get our cell phone back in service!!!  Thanks so much staying on top of it and realizing how important it is for us to have the phone!
Mark Rosinbum…If you ever have a big pile of old fence wood sitting in your backyard, and it mysteriously disappears…well…it could be magic…or it could be Mark Rosinbum!   Thanks to Mark we now have space in my backyard to celebrate after the half marathon!

THE GREEN TEAM!!!!

Here are the overall results and the differences between predicted times and actual times for each team:

1.) Green Team……………..12:00
2.) The Replacements……..25:45
3.) Team Spare Parts………27:23
4.) Team Fig Newton……….28:48
5.) Spring Organ-izers……..36:54
6.) Bakery Buns…………….49:00!

Congratulations to our Green Teamers…

Alex Cantafio, Nina Cantafio, Colin Rines, Julie Sprinkle, Rebecca DeBoer, Jennifer Herlihy…and Gary Lanis who got the ball rolling!

I know it was truly a team effort!!!

Nicely  done, everyone!  Thanks for making our first attempt at team competition such a great succes…. I look forward to honoring The Green Team’s efforts in MY BIG BACKYARD at our Post-Race BBQ!!!!

Let’s hear it once again for our water station helpers, the Rakitas and Annie Otto!   Thanks for being such reliable, consistent volunteers!

And…thanks to Ajit and Nishaant Limaye, who helped with our water station during our Gasworks/Lake Union workout.  Ajit is one of our infectious disease doctors and Nishaant is his son.  It was wonderful to have them join us, and we look forward to having them return for a practice next month!

More!!

Sam Patterson
Sam has now been officially appointed as one of our warm up leaders.  From what I’ve seen over the past few weeks, he’s going to be an impressive addition to our crew!  For those of you who haven’t been there when Sams’s shown up…it’s been pretty amazing.  He actually has been getting everyoone to stretch….You don’t know what a wonderful site that is for my eyes!   Sam, one of our heart recipients, has been on the team for 7-ish years now…and I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to discover this hidden talent of his!  I, for one, am so totally excited that we finally did!

Jennifer Herlihy
Jen decided to sit out of the Rock’n Roll Half this year and to focus her energy on the Vancouver Half instead.   Held last Sunday, Jen has nothing but raves for her experience up in Canada!

Vancouver was beautiful – in everyway!     The course was gorgeous and super fun – I loved running through downtown, and the water/mountain views through Stanley Park were amazing.
The spectators were fabulous – great crowds out cheering us on.
The day could not have been more perfect – beautiful blue sunny sky, slight cool breeze;  running with my great friend who always makes me forget (at least for the first 10 miles) that I’m running and not just having a Sunday morning chat with a girlfriend.

Our clock time was 2:06, chip time 2:05.
I felt good the whole run, and felt pretty good the next day!

Two thumbs up for Vancouver!!

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If you are interested and haven’t let me know, please do so so that I can get you assigned to a team…There’s already a lot of energy and smack talk going on amongst our captains…you don’t want to miss out!

If you’re wondering what in the world this is all about, here’s a quick review….
•    The Big Backyard 5k is our midseason event with the goals of :
◦    testing your fitness before you do the half marathon
◦    providing a shorter event for those not participating in the half
◦    increasing exposure for our team
•    As an additional incentive to participate, we’re hoping to put together a little team competition.  The race has a team competition in which the team with the fastest cumulative time (based on the top 5 finishers from each team) wins…We’re planning one for our own group based on predicting finishing times.
◦    Each team will have 5 people (we may expand this if there’s enough interest) and so far we have 6 captains:  Shirley Schultz, Allison Enstrom, Jonathon Baird, Mark Scott, Tami Sadusky, and Gary Lanis
◦    If you sign up by March 31st under your team’s name, you will get…while supplies last… either a pair of gloves or a water bottle.(I know!  We’re cutting this close!)
◦    Team assignments were sent to captains last night so you should be hearing from your’s very soon!    If you’re interested in participating and haven’t let me know, please do so that we can get you on a team!
•    There will be a prize for the team that comes closest to its overall cumulative predicted finish time.
•    For more information on the event, go to: http://www.bigbackyard5k.com/
Let me know if you’re interested…and if you have any questions!

Happy training!
Check this out…In addition to her interview on Patient Power last fall, Jennifer was asked to submit pictures and video. They’ve now compiled everything into a 5 minute program posted on the Patient Power website.  I think you’ll enjoy it…and find it very inspirational!

http://goo.gl/9erIf
Excellent job, Jen…

Thanks for being such an awesome example of healthy living!

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