This Weekend...

So I had this idea last weekend, and I've decided to keep it going this weekend.  Every Saturday, I pick a quote, a song, and a word for my week ahead.  I do this on Saturday because I do my long runs on these days.  I am planning on running a 50k at the end of March, so today I am upping my mileage on my long run from 16 to 18 miles.  It's beautiful here today, and I can't wait to get out on Lakeshore Path after I make my run to Trader Joe's (not much gets done after an 18 mile run besides a nap and watching the Bull's).

My song this week is American Pie by Don McLean, great fun to run to!

A lot of people that I've met have asked:
   "Why do you want to run 50k?"
   "Why did you do Ironman?"
   "What is fun about running that far?"

...and the like.

I guess when I have to explain it, I feel like it won't be understood.  However, a quote out of Born to Run I think describes it best, and is my quote of the week:

“Suffering is humbling. It pays to know how to get your butt kicked.”


I would also add, it pays to know how to kick your own butt.  There are a lot of kids in graduate school that spend all day studying, in lab, devoted entirely to this process.  I have to say that I am not, nor do I want to be.  I think there is something to be said for maintaining balance in life, and was one of my goals for this new year.  So far, I feel pretty good about the balance I have achieved.


This week was a great week overall.  I was officially extended an invitation to complete my Ph.D. dissertation in my current lab, working under Dr. Le Poole, with my work in the area of immunotherapy for melanoma and LAM.  This is a decision that I will have to consider moving forward, but I am very excited of having the prospect of joining a lab that I have very much enjoyed.


I also set up my second rotation with Dr. John Callaci who works with the effects of alcohol on fracture repair in bones.  My project will deal with stem cell recruitment and signaling pathways during fracture repair, a subject that has not been very well studied yet.  I am also very excited about working in a completely different field in an area that is still very much a "black box" of fracture repair.


Off to run...hope you had a great week!


Cheers