Thursday, July 24, 2008

Rice Street Mile/ Mayo Clinic

Rice Street Festival: small town community event, including One Mile Race and parade ... right in the midst of the city of St. Paul. Wednesday evening ... women's race at 6pm, men's race at 6:30. Families ... lots of kids of all ages, babies, toddlers, cute little 3-year-olds, school age kids ... the smell of bratwurst cooking and not so much the smell of cigarettes anymore ... lawn chairs lined up along the street ... people cheering the runners ... and then watching the parade.
After running, we walked along the street and people stopped us to ask "How long was the race?" Interested, curious, encouraging...

Below: glasses for all participants.

4am Thursday (today) morning we were up to go to Mayo Clinic for Don's myeloma blood tests and appointment with the doctor. Lovely sunrise on the drive down, a little later than than when we went in June, as the days are already getting shorter.
We were hopeful of great response, but results showed little change. Don should have a report up on http://myelomahope.blogspot.com/ in a day or two.
Shopped for turmeric, produce, nuts and gluten-free items at the Good Food Store in Rochester.
We had good day and celebrated precious time together.

Friday afternoon storm in Stillwater ... wind rocked the car, picture through the windshield.

10 comments:

Dori said...

Mile long races are fun! I did the TCM one-miler through downtown Mpls. one year. Ran as hard as I could; it hurt but I got the result I wanted.

Congratulations on both you and Sweet Pea getting into the much coveted TC 10-miler.

Backofpack said...

Have you seen "The Last Lecture" on YouTube by Randy Pausch? I watched the lecture,then got his book from the library and read it too - both were bittersweet, heartwarming and inspirational. Makes me think of you and Don. Your family is so focused on the positive, and working hard on all the right things. I love that you combine a trip to Mayo with a street festival and a race - that's the way to live! I think of your battle often, and have nothing but hope and admiration for you both.

Amytrigirl (aka Amybee) said...

WOW. Living in Minneapolis, I had never even heard of the Rice Street Festival. Pretty sad.

Sounds like it was fun, though.

Looks like we'll be doing the same event this fall: TCM 10 Miler!

good luck to Sweat Pea. I'll keep my figers crossed for good results.

Anne said...

Sounds like a neat race. And like getting a glass for a premium. More useful than a cotton T sometimes!

Had to laugh about the cigarette smoke observation. A very good sign. Come to San Diego, where it's essentially illegal to smoke in public and, most recently, in a car occupied by anyone under 18.

Oh, and stay positive!

rocketpants said...

Community runs are sometimes the best.

I'm sorry to hear that the results of Don's tests didn't change too much. I do hope that they will continue to improve in time and the new regime continues positive results.

Vickie said...

A 6pm race?? I would die of heat stroke at that time of day! Glad you got out there and enjoyed it! And nice swag for your effort. The good news is that while there was little change in Don's bloodwork, it didn't get worse.

CewTwo said...

fun!

I did a 15 mile run Saturday that went very well. I have changed some things and seem to be doing better.

In Denver, all hospitals are now totally smoke free. It is a good thing, except the smokers cross the street to the public park I run in. The one corner is a hazard to my health sometimes...

Umm... Err... That sure seems like a First "Glass" premium to me!

(hehehe)

wendy said...

very scary pictures there of the weather!

good luck to sweet pea!

Nancy said...

I've never done a miler. Sounds like fun. And at 6pm. What a treat. Hope the news is good for you.

Susan said...

Best of luck for better results in the future!