Category Archives: running

equilibrium restored, or brief notes on being a survivor

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Emily

This just in: sometimes, life after cancer completely sucks. I try not to spend a whole lot of time here feeling sorry for myself, or bitching about how hard my life has been since my diagnosis. The truth is, most … Continue reading →

Posted in fellow fighters, Life After Cancer, running | Tagged blackness, children, connection, crying, Facebook, fellow warriors, genetic mutation, GI scopes, husbands, illusory, iPods, isolation, running, shit storm, suffering, support, survivorship | 3 Comments

my left foot (or, what’s compulsive after cancer?)

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Emily

Today started with barking, dog wrestling and a power outage. We just spent ten days taking care of our friends’ Pomapoo, who loved to begin each day with a vigorous yet playful attack on our own aging basset hound. High-pitched … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, cycling, Death, fellow fighters, Life After Cancer, running | Tagged adoption, basset hound, buzzing, coffee with chicory, compulsive, cycling, genetic mutation, life expectancy, MS 150 CIty to Shore, mums, neuropathy, Pomapoo, power outage, prognosis, PSE&G, running, Sarah Sadtler Feather, weed whacking | 4 Comments

the invisible hand of first descents

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Emily

Some things are so obvious, we risk taking them for granted. Some things underpin so much of who we are, what we do, that it seems unnecessary, or redundant, to spend time reflecting on their significance. At the end of … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, cycling, First Descents, Life After Cancer, running | Tagged adoption, Caesar, challenge, cycling, evolution, First Descents, Jackson, journey back to life, Moab, oxygen, resilience, Rock 'n' Roll marathon, rock-climbing, running, Stiletto, strength, three-part harmony, training | 1 Comment

enjoy the silence

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Emily

It is an admittedly irrational fear of mine that if I rest for too long, or indulge in too much stillness, cancer will somehow have won. Ridiculous, I know. I am three months shy of the third anniversary of my … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, First Descents, Life After Cancer, running | Tagged bliss, contentment, cycling, First Descents blog, fuel, humidity, irrational fear, joy, laundry, rest, running, silence, sloth, stillness | Leave a comment

JUBILATION

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Emily

It may be that my current state of health and wellness – which I feel more acutely and intensely each time I go for a long bike ride (which I did yesterday) or push through a run when I am … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, Life After Cancer, running | Tagged bowel movements, chronic illness, cycling, health, Multiple Sclerosis, pain-free, running | 3 Comments

back in the saddle, back from the dead

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Emily

This morning, as I rode my bike through the corner of South Jersey that I now call home, the sound of the cicadas in the trees took me back to a very particular place: Main Line YMCA day camp, about … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Cancer, Philadelphia, running | Tagged American Cancer Society, archery, athletics, cicadas, cycling, Fairmount Park, law school, Main Line YMCA, MS 150 CIty to Shore, Ocean City, Red Light Green Light, Red Rover, summer, swimming, theater | 4 Comments

running for my life

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Emily

A huge box hastily labeled “CANCER STUFF” was finally opened today, one of the last from the April move. The room it has inhabited since April 9 is at last turning into the study that I have been dreaming of … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Cancer, running | Tagged (RED), 10K, exercise, Pinelands, rehabilitation, running, stage III ovarian cancer, stamina, strength, Uncle David | 1 Comment

TWO YEARS ON: TO LIFE

Posted on June 12, 2010 by Emily

In an attempt to measure the journey of the last two years, let me try to qualify different kinds of exhaustion. Today, I am, I admit, a bit wiped out. Last night, in celebration of Mike’s birthday as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Cancer, running | Tagged air guitar, beer, Cisplatin, end of treatmemt, fatigue, iced coffee, Iva, Jose Cuervo Tradicional, Lucy, Mike's birthday, pizza, poker, proseco, running, Taxol, videos | 7 Comments

up off my knees

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Emily

This morning on my run, less than ten minutes in, one of my favorite U2 songs, “PLEASE,” came up on the shuffle. As I strode along the now-familiar north side of Cooper River, these lyrics struck me: “So you never … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Cancer, music, running | Tagged "PLEASE", Andrea, Cooper River, encouragement, gardening, Memorial Day, rehabilitation, Teal Ribbon 5K, U2 | 2 Comments

everything that rises must converge

Posted on May 8, 2010 by Emily

This phrase, from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, via Flannery O’Connor, came into my head this afternoon as I strolled through my new neighborhood and thought, as I inevitably do, about First Descents. The words struck me hard, with precision, though … Continue reading →

Posted in First Descents, Life After Cancer, running, Uncategorized | Tagged ascent, Bear, devil's butt crack, discomfort, First Descents, Fridge, Humor, laughter, New Orleans, pain, Phoenix, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, recovery, running, summit, wind | 2 Comments