In This Together

Firefighter hat for show n' tell? Nope. Our kids get duodenal stents and sphincter tomes! Happy Father's Day to an amazing Dad who is the best role model through his employment at  Vantage Endoscopy, leadership to our family at church, love and commitment to his kids and wife at home.

New treadmills at the bright, new Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. Many km's logged here!

Britanie with Chloe sporting her new spiffy Saucony shoes.

Cute racers.

Sometimes little Leah wants up on mommy's lap with Chloe! These two girls are real sweethearts.

Another morning at the gym. Time for home.

Another solid week of training with 170 km of running and about 4 hours of cross training with the pool, bike and elliptical. Monday was a 20 km tempo (total 28 km) on the treadmill, Tuesday was a 26 km Chariot run on the roads and trails, Wednesday was 6 x 1 km on the track, and Saturday was a steady 40 km long run with Clayton, James and Natasha. I'm really getting in some solid work and feeling great. My energy level remains high and I look forward to even more hard work in the weeks to come. My average RHR has been about 35 and weight has been 116 lb so I know I'm doing ok. They are always good markers of my fitness.
I'm starting to get a few, minor aches n' pains here n' there but thanks to Cynthia at Therapeutic Massage Counsel and Sherri at Essential Physiotherapy & Wellness, I am getting all fixed up. Both times the pain has been somewhere in the foot/ankle as a result of tightness in the lower leg. But with stretching, ice and massage, it's healed well and I haven't had to adjust any training.
In other events, sadly we got some more bad news this week. My amazing friend, Britanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. This girl has been through so much in her life, particularly with the fragile health of her special needs daughter, Chloe. You can watch a video about Chloe, here. Britanie and I have been great friends since our eldest boys became classmates at school. We've hugged, cried, laughed and prayed since receiving the results of the tumor that was removed, which was initially deemed unlikely to be cancerous.
Britanie was going to help me out with the kids so that I could train this summer but instead I'll be watching her son a bit more, driving her to chemo, and getting up earlier to train. Plans change but God is good and I'm honoured to help a dear friend in need. The thing that inspired and encouraged me is when Britanie said that her faith would not waiver. I tried to look up scripture that would be encouraging to her and thought Psalm 71 was most appropriate as it talks about God's constant help, how our lives are a testimony of what God has done for us, and how we can suffer hardships but be comforted. More tests will be done to determine the stage and treatment details. Again we've been open and honest with the kids, explaining that Team DuChene and Team Summerhays are in this together. We're starting down another road but we're on it and we'll get there, with them.
I've been asked to be the honorary chair for the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope, September 8. Initially we were planning to be at the Toronto Island Run as a family but I feel I'm meant to be involved with this event instead. I'll take a positive, broad, preventative approach, aiming to represent all cancers like I did, here for another great friend, Stacey, who works for the Canadian Cancer Society in BC. I have been able to see Stacey while racing in Vancouver the last few years and really look forward to this weekend. I can't wait to catch up in person with her, enjoy beautiful BC, and run another speedy half marathon. Here's an article on the upcoming race, "Friendly Rivalry Renewed at Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon".Lanni is also in tip-top form and we look forward to working together and running hard as a trial run for Worlds, Aug 10th.
Better get your copy of the newest Canadian Running Magazine . Ben Kaplan wrote a bit about my faith in his article, "Higher Power" and Natasha Wodak is looking great on the front. Also, you might see a bit more of me in iRun Magazine as I've agreed to write a regular column on life as a mom, registered dietitian, and elite marathoner. Should be fun!