Where To, Bud?

Yes, I know it's not an original idea, but it is a personal one, so this week I made it official: Every step of the Atlanta marathon next year will be dedicated to Alzheimer's victims and their loved ones everywhere. As I mentioned in a previous entry, the last one I ran I finished just 12 minutes before it ended at 4 hours and 48 minutes. Even though I'm 11 years older, my goal this time will be to finish at 4 hours and 30 minutes or under. I can do this and I will do this because I think it is important to show we still are your friends, your family and your neighbors and we don't need you to feel sorry for us or "write us off". We want you to stand by us and help us obtain the funding needed to research and cure this terrible disease. My counsellor Suzette has been notified of my decision, and in the coming months you will see information on planning and how you may participate if you wish. My mind is weak (ening), but my legs are strong. Please give m...

.......my SSDI hearing is scheduled for February, 2011. About time, right? So I guess between now and then, we'll be getting all my documentation together (Dr's records, etc) and generally just preparing (which for me, means reading everything I can get my hands on, on how such a thing is conducted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've been following the blog, you may have heard me mention the bicycle ride we completed in September, called C2CR2C and you may have followed us as we prepared and rode the highways from Texas to Georgia. If you did, then you may have gotten to know "Team C2CR2C", consisting of myself, my wife Dondra, BillDL of Scotland, his friend Becky of California, and our friend Marty Neese, who was the co-manager of the ride and whose duties included, driving the support van, navigating, repairing the bike and giving me the moral support I needed. In the last post, I wrote that Marty l...

Hey Y'all Dondra and I were saddened when one of my counsellors, Danelle, informed us of the passing of Mr. Jim Patterson, an Alzheimer's victim and very good friend to all who knew him. Jim and I belong to a support group called "Forget Me Not" and every month on a Wednesday we all meet at various restaurants in the metro Atlanta area for lunch that Suzette, Danelle and Kathy arange for us. Jim and his kind, friendly manner will be missed by all of us, and Dondra and I add our condolences to his family and friends. Also this week one of the C2CR2C ("Carrollton to Carrollton Ride to Care") teammates, Marty Neese, lost his 28 year old daughter Brandie to cancer. This is the second child he has lost. His 10 year old son Joshua died of muscular dystrophy several years ago. No child should precede his or her parent in death. Marty was an essential part of the team and we could not have succeeded without him. Although she was very ill, she insisted that her dad g...

I last ran a marathon in 1990 and finished in 4 hours and 48 minutes. (That's 12 minutes before they start taking up the cones, by the way! :-) ) Since the ride is done, and since I don't have plans to do another, I need something to keep me busy and in "planning" mode, so I've started training in addition to cycling (working all sets of leg muscles). As you might guess, I'll be starting off with "baby steps", i.e. walking and working my way up to running 5 and 10k's and adding mileage from there. If you're into walking and want to join me virtually, I recommend the cd's "60's walking (or 70's, 8's, 90's etc.) by a company called Workout Music (not affiliated). The pace begins at 3.0 mph and the music is geared to BPM (beats per minute) so that every time your foot hits the ground, you're walking in time to the music. The next level is 3.2, which you should do when you feel comfortable at 3.0 and can carry on a c...