Laura “the Animal” Lewis…Laura is one of our UWMC social workers who joined us during the 2009 spring season.   She  has since become a regular on the Team Transplant  scene and finished her first half with us last November.   For June’s Rock’n Roll Half, you might remember that incredible surge of encouragement you got at 9-miles…well that was Laura Lewis who along with Lenore Miller made up our very spirited race day cheering section!   And this past Saturday she was once again out on the sidelines…this time providing Gatorade and Fig Newtons in addition to encouragement at our 6-mile turnaround water station.   It’s very clear she enjoys spending time with the team and truly looks forward to her long walks with all of you on Saturday mornings. And…it seems that all that hard work is paying off as she went back after practice and completed the super human feat of picking up all of the yellow cones by herself!    Laura…you’re an animal!:-)

Meanwhile back at the ranch…Micah Gwinn and Steve Miller minded home base.  Micah is one of our kidney transplants and is returning for his 4th season.  Steve and his wife, Lenore, joined the team several years ago as a way to support Lenore’s sister who is waiting for a heart transplant.   The three have become regulars at practices and even get together for midweek training sessions around Green Lake.   Their incredible friendship has become a symbol of one of the greatest rewards of being on the team… making new friends and developing lasting relationships!

Gary Lanis! Gary, one of our liver recipients and an original Team Transplant member, took some time off last year, and it seems the break has paid off.  He competed in the Snoqualmie Railroad Days 5k Aug. 21st, finishing the course in 43:48.  That works out to  a very fine 14:08/mile pace…Nice job, Gary!

And…last, but certainly, not least… Lenore Miller.…I know I’ve already mentioned her name a couple of times here, but I had a request to give her her own special Superstar status….and not just because she’s been such an incredible support on the sidelines or because she’s been such an amazing training partner for Micah and Steve, but to recognize all of the improvements she’s made through her own hard work and training!   Her nominator writes…
I cannot express my joy enough over witnessing the progress of Lenore last Saturday.   The expression on her face to feel so FIT AND STRONG was more than a thousand words.  She is feeling great and her form has improved so much. You gotta give her a nod for your Super Star of the week. REALLY !!!

Alysun

Thanks so much to Cindy Weber, our water station helper out at Juanita Beach.   She braved a miserable day and hung out in a mud-puddled gravel parking lot just so she could make sure everyone finished the workout successfully and had water, Gatorade, Fig Newtons, and her own special homemade Granola Bars when they were done.   She’s even passed along the recipe…which I will be passing along to you very soon.   Cindy comes to Team Transplant as part of the Mark Scott, & Co package and has been an incredible supporter of the group for the past 5 years!

And let’s hear for Jennifer Herlihy and Lynne Sloan who managed the water stations last Saturday out at Alki.  Jen’s been on the team now for about 6 years and I think has done more half marathons than I have in that time.  Last year at the Rock’n Roll Half she set her PR of 1:59:48.   She continues to improve through incredible consistency and hard work.   It’s wonderful to see how running has become such an integral part of her life!  In fact, once she and Lynne were done with water station duty, they jumped out on the course and ran their 10 mile workout…That’s dedication!

Lynne, her training bud, is one of our nurses here at UWMC.   Lynne’s been on board with Team Transplant since the beginning and has been a huge source of encouragement and support along the way. She’s an awesome example of a healthcare worker walking and running the talk!   Last year she outkicked Jen at the end of the Rock’n Roll Half….It’ll be fun to see who comes out on top this year!

By Sam Patterson .  I think he’s after my job!

TEAM TRANSPLANT SMILING IN TIMELY FASHION

OLYMPIA,WA (May 17, 2010)- Standing tall amidst a packed Washington Park here downtown, stood the statue of two-time elected Governor John Rogers from the turn of the 20th century.  His face seemed to smile at all the commotion around him.  About five or so yards from His Honor gathered six participants in extraordinary green jersies.  Their eyes had a sly smile about them.  Who swallowed the canary here ? …And what or who on earth is  Team Transplant?

Extending pleasantries, our valiant warriors stretch together, wait in line at the porta-potties together, cheer on half marathon runner LINDA BENEFIEL at the start of her race together, move in unison to the starting area together, stretch one more time together, and line up out on the street…together.

Once more… they check cell phone numbers and directions to the post-race brunch…Got it?  GOT IT!!  NOW GET IT!!!

A horn blasts at the start.  A record number of 5-mile participants rally through the first and second turns of the course.  The climb up Capital Way begins.  STEVE MILLER and his daughter JACQUE are leading the walking pack and setting a brisk pace.  SAM PATTERSON,  joined by native Olympian, JASON STAHL, is close behind.  They will stay neck and neck for two and half miles.   LENORE MILLER and MICAH GWINN are settling in to a comfortable pace.

Meanwhile…in the half marathon…Linda (“Benny”) is cruising along, hanging tough with the other competitors in her age group.

Steve and Jacque are starting to pick it up…50 yards and Steve’s infamous brimmed hat becomes less visible.

Sam and Jason are pacing an unofficial 17 minutes/mile for the first two miles through the Wildwood residential area…

“Sam, I’m gonna stretch it out.  I’ll see ya up the line.”  Jason begins to roll halfway through Wildwood.

The cheering from the townsfolk crescend upon the racers. It’s a perfect day with a cool sunny crispness in the air.

Jacque is now out a good 3 minutes ahead of  Steve and eventually lengthens her lead to nearly 7 minutes, finishing in 56:49. The elder Miller still crosses the finish line in a blistering 1:03.38 clipping off a 12:14/mile pace.  Jason, maintaining excellent posture and form, comes in at 1:23.04 for a beautiful 15.58/mile pace. And Sam taking 17 seconds off his 2009 finish crosses the line in 1:25.10 for a season’s best 16:23 pace.

“I thought it would be nice to finish near 17 min/mile pace since I ve been stuck at 18 all season,”  he says.  ”This really blows me away !!”

Micah and Lenore close triumphantly…hand in hand…at 1:37.51.   The teammates are ecstatic.  Lenore is especially happy.  “I feel great!” she exclaims… eyes sparkling and smile beaming.

Linda, the sole Team Transplant representative in the half marathon, closes the day finishing her 13.1 mile race in 2:06:42.  Despite struggling through miles 7-11, she holds on strong to place 2nd in her age group.   Looking toward the future, she says, “Now it’s on to Rock’n Roll…WOOHOO!”

Shortly afterwards, an absolutely scrumptious brunch was had at the waterfront Bud Bay restaurant by the known finishers. Smiles of satisfaction were noted all the way around the table. No one may know who swallowed the canary this morning, but we definitely known who topped off their meal with Chocolate Mousse decadence…to the victors truly go the spoils !!!

Hats off to Lenard Yen and Maggie Kim who helped with our water stations last weekend.   Lenard, one of our liver transplant recipients, has become an integral fixture on the Team Transplant scene…He has an amazing commitment to training and takes a holistic approach to racing which, make no mistake, he loves to do.  He developed our team website (www.uwmcteamtransplant.com) which does a wonderful job of capturing the Team Transplant spirit!

Maggie is only about 4 months out from liver transplant and is already fitting right in with the rest of the group.  It’s been fun getting to know her (and Seuss) and we look forward to sharing many more miles with her in the future!

…and it turns out that the weekend of May 2nd was a big one for racing…Here are some more Team Transplant results…
•    Jeff Edelman, Vancouver Marathon, 3:53:58, a BIG PR!!!
•    Marty Chakoian, Cinco de Mayo Half Marathon in Portland, 1:52:56…
•    Seth Hennessey, Tacoma Half Marathon, 1:47:39
◦    The only race report I’ve gotten is from Seth who found the less hilly nature and smaller participant field of the Tacoma course to his liking. He also discovered the benefit of a running watch as he used it during the race to control his pace at the start and to maintain it throughout the entire 13.1 miles.  He was also very excited that his wife walked and finished her first half marathon!  Perhaps another Team Transplanter in the making??

•    A huge thanks to Siobhan Ginnane who helped with our water station on Saturday.  Siobhan is one of our UWMC social workers who has been a part of Team Transplant off and on (mostly on) since it started.   Her quick pacesetting has served as a challenge for folks like Mark Rosinbum, Gary Lanis and Terry Way…and her steady commitment to Saturday morning workouts along with her ability to get her friends involved has truly been amazing!

•    Congratulations to Anne Hagerty who set a big PR down at the Eugene Half Marathon on Sunday in what she calls “a great race!”  Anne is one of our lung transplants and has competed in the past 2 Seattle Half Marathons and last year’s Rock’n Roll Half as a Team Transplanter.   Last weekend, aided by “perfect weather” and the magic of starting and finishing at historic Hayward Field, she completed the 13.1 mile distance in 2:46:30, nearly 10 minutes faster than her race last fall!   It’s obvious she’s been doing some serious training..and it’s wonderful to see it pay off!

•    Bridget O’Connor, one of our very own 5E nurses, also set a humongous PR last weekend, finishing the full marathon down in Eugene in a superb time of 3:59:44, her first time under the 4 hour barrier!  Of the race, she says that she “felt stronger than ever” and credits her steady pacing for her big breakthrough.  As with every race, you always leave with a sense of knowing what you need to differently next time.  For Brigid, this means working on her nutrition and hydration regimen….and rumors are circulating that she’ll be back to test out what she’s learned at the Portland Marathon in October..with, of course, the ultimate goal to run even faster…We’ll be eagerly watching to see what happens!
•    And…Dennis Cole, one of our heart transplant recipients, is proving that he is only getting stronger and fitter after taking a few years off from the team.  He and his wife Carol Lynn participated in the MS 5k Walk several weekends ago.  Of the event, Dennis said…”It was an easy 3 miles!”   It’s nice to know that Dennis is back!

Here’s to our super duper water station helpers!   Last week’s crew included Steve Reynolds, Gary Lanis, and Suzanne Billedeaux!   Both Steve and Gary are liver transplant recipients who have both played a vital role in helping our team grow.  Their dedication and commitment to the team has been truly inspirational…and greatly appreciated!  Suzanne is one of our nurses who works in Utilization Review and in the year that she’s been involved, has shown definite knack for sharing Team Transplant team spirit!   Thanks to all of you for a job well done last Saturday!

I also wanted to say a big thanks to Janette Morantes for all the work she put into coming up with routes to meet everyone’s mileage requirements last weekend…and to Julie Sprinkle and Susan Bussell for their re-work of our Capital Hill course.  They made it a much smoother (albeit hillier) route!  Thanks for the extra efforts!

Let’s hear it for our remarkable water station helpers..
•    Out at Alki, Jon McLees made a surprise appearance and managed home base.  Jon joined the team way back in 2002 and had competed in the Seattle Half Marathon every year since then …until last year.  He’s been sidelined with a back injury but is hopefully now on the road to recovery.  It’s always a treat to see Jon so we’re pulling for a speedy return to form.  That way maybe he’ll be able to make something other than surprise appearances—We’d like to expect to see him on a regular basis!   Carla Trulson Essenberg and Laura Lewis were stationed out at Lincoln Park.   Carla’s one of our lung transplant recipients and joined us last spring.  She’s been an incredible addition to the team and is just chock full of inspiration.  She finished last summer’s RnR Half in under 4 hours and then decided to back off on training last fall to do the Seattle Marathon 5k.  I know she’s looking forward to returning to the 13.1 mile distance…and we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do with a year of training under her belt!   Laura, one of our UWMC social workers, also joined us in the spring of 2009.  She completed her first half marathon last fall in the Seattle Half Marathon.  I know it was an incredible experience for her…and it’s been an incredible amount of fun having Laura on the team!  We look forward to cheering her on in June as well!
•    Around Lake Union, we had returning water station helpers, Sam Patterson (yes…the same hockey-playing, 5k-walking Sam mentioned earlier) and Kenneth Bullis who manned the station on the other side of the lake.   We certainly appreciate their being willing to pull double duty to keep our practices rolling!

Let’s hear for our water station volunteers…
Shirley Schultz (and her boyfriend, Martin) provided support at our water station out along the course.  Shirley joined the team last fall and has become a regular on the Team Transplant scene…especially amazing since she lives down in Tacoma!   She completed last fall’s Seattle Half, walking it in just over 3 hours, and if I heard right…she has her sights set on running the Seattle Rock’n Roll in June.   Despite a little setback a couple of weeks ago, she seems to be right on track.  She completed the St. Patty’s Day 5k in Tacoma on March 12th with a time that averages out to a brisk 11:38/mile pace.  I look forward to seeing what happens in June!

Terry and Katy Way helped out at Home Base. For those of you who don’t know Terry and Katy….they’ve been a part of the team for almost longer than I have!   Terry is one of our original team members and Katy’s not too far behind.  They are incredibly dedicated to our group and provide us with lots of good leadership and support.  It’s true what they say…Any day you get a chance to see Terry and Katy…it’s going to be a great day!