Almost two full weeks have gone by since my last post (whoops!)….so I thought I’d sneak a really quick one in before the weekend.

I haven’t made a big deal of it…more so for my own good then not wanting to share….but I started taking my tamoxifen pills again.  I think part of me believed that if I started taking the pills without really telling anyone or making a big deal of it, I may not notice any of the side effects that I had such terrible issues with a few months back.  Because there is an odd number of days in the week and I’m a notorious over-achiever ( :) ), I’m taking a pill every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I figured this was the type of situation where “rounding up” was the better choice.

Good news is that I don’t think I’m really seeing any side effects yet.  I’ve been really hot when I sleep lately, but I think that has more to do with all of the running that I’ve been doing in preparation for my marathon then a change in my hormones because of the pills.  Bad news is that because my dosage was cut in half and I only take a pill every other day, I probably haven’t gotten enough of the drug in my system to really see any side effects yet.

We’ll see how the next few months progress.  At the very least, I have the weather on my side.  It’s winter and definitely chillier out then it was a few months back when I tried my first go around on Tamoxifen.  I’m hopeful that over the course of the winter, my body will have the necessary time to adjust to and regulate itself to the lower hormone levels…and by the time summer hits again hot flashes will be a thing of the past.  Lofty goal yes, but a girl can dream right?!

I have the first of my two big races this winter on Saturday…..the Thunder Road ½ Marathon.  If you would have asked me about the race last weekend, I would have told you I was ready for and really looking forward to the race.  Last Saturday I had a really good 20 mile run.  I felt SO MUCH BETTER than my first 20 mile run 3 weeks ago, and had a great 13 mile marker time.

Flash forward to today, 2 days before my race, and I’m dreading it!!  I came down with a nasty cold on Sunday and have been fighting it all week, which means my running this week has been essentially non-existent :(  I’m still not feeling 100%….coughing, sneezing, running nose…but am hopeful my body is going to make great strides in the next 36 hours towards full recovery.

I’m a little disappointed because with all the training I’ve been doing in the last 3 months, I was feeling really strong and confident that I’d meet my goal of finishing under 1:49:59.  Now, I think I’ll just settle for finishing the darn race!  Thankfully this happened the week leading up to my ½ marathon and not my full….because I would be one very unhappy person if that were the case!!

Wish me luck on Saturday (because I’m definitely going to need it)….and please say a prayer that all the nasty germs I’ve been housing the last 5 days finally find a new home

Photos from 51 weeks post chemo are below….