Degrees of separation

I've been thinking about degrees of separation lately. We've gotten help and ideas from some "friends of friends".

As I think about our publicity goals I wonder about the unknown folks who could help us tell people about this terrible genetic disease PKD. I think about who could help us share the message of how America and Americans benefit from organ donation.

Hey, someone knows someone who knows someone and they all could help raise awareness. It's that's easy.

Training - big week for spinning

This past week cold air blew into St. Louis and I flipped my Saturday long run into additional time on the spinning bike. I've been training on the spinner for about 2 months now. I'm convinced that I'll be able to get enough training time in before August. When Spring arrives I'll be eager for the long weekend rides.

I'm running the Boston Marathon in April. I'm not sure how all this cross training on the spinner will affect the marathon preparation. My running mileage is down but my training hours per week are up.

I'm satisfied that I've got my priorities in place.

St. Louis PKD Chapter

Thanks to everyone at the PKD meeting tonight who provided encouragement. There's a lot of possibilities and there's also a lot of work for mom and me to do. I shared a bunch of thoughts and plans tonight. For every one I mentioned be assured there's another 5 bouncing around in my brain. Thanks!

Pikes Peak Marathon in TrailRunner Magazine

The 2005 Pikes Peak Marathon article in March 2006 TrailRunner Magazine. For more information about my photo which they included on page 2 follow this link.

My photo appears in TrailRunner

I'm drinking my Sunday morning coffee and pick up my TrailRunner magazine which arrived yesterday. There's a feature article about the 2005 Pikes Peak Marathon. I open it up and find a photo of myself coming down the mountain in 2005. The photo was taken near the summit, the turn around banner is in the background.

I wasn't in the story. They must have just liked the photo. Very cool and another little hint that I'm following the right path.

I was feeling great at this point in the race. I was a little lightheaded but I enjoyed a great run to the top and was flying downhill. A couple miles later (at about the treeline) I discovered the quad pounding at that tempo was more than I could maintain. I ended up slogging along at a slower pace. Unfortunately I got passed by 20 guys on the downhill. 2005 Race Results

Some help to break the headwind

Well I've got someone to share the road with. My friend and long time running bud, Tim Biscan, has blocked off August 3 - 6th to join me across Missouri. Tim and I have run a lot of miles together in the past 5 years. It'll be fun to ride together. Chances are I'll be doing a lot of training with him. He's moving to Columbia, IL which has a lot of great rides in the Mississippi River flood plain. Neither of us has done a multi-day ride before.

Can you imagine why anyone would do this?

We've got two goals. (1) Have fun. (2) Raise PKD awareness.

More than any other, PKD is a disease that affects families. It's an attack on your opportunity to build a family and live with them.

Imagine being the youngest in your large family. Imagine your mother died when you were 12 years old and your brothers and sisters suffered and died from a disease which you also have. How would you feel? Imagine being married and telling your spouse about the possibilities that your children will inherit PKD from you.

Or imagine that your mother has a disease which will probably kill her. It doesn't register when you're a kid but when you get older you see her develop symptoms of the disease. Your aunts and uncles die. Your mom begins dialysis. You get a phone call and leave to be there when your mom wakes up with a transplanted kidney. And then your mom is there after your son is born. And then she's there when your sister is married. And she's there for you now.

Encouragement from a guy who knows

I talked with a triathlete guy yesterday. Mark Livesay is the race director for the Ultramax series of triathlons held throughout the Midwest. We agreed on a few things. Wind from the west will be annoying. There are no extended climbs. I'm going to have to be smart about eating on the bike. It's a cool idea. Others may want to ride along. Community support would be helpful along the way. As for running Pike's Peak at the end ... well he says I'm a crazy runner with some crazy ideas. I guess we agree on that too.

Finding Your Path

As I get older I've begun to love and appreciate how fate is like the hand of God.

As I debated in my mind the idea of my mom and I riding out to the Pike's Peak Marathon things happened that were like signs encouraging and directing me which way to go. I found a spinning bike at a bankruptcy auction. When I called Tim of the St. Louis PKD chapter to talk about the idea he was great, sending me right up to the national office for advice and help. In December I didn't get a job promotion, which would have killed the trip. The Zebulon Pike expedition of 1806, and the bicentennial group working on 2006. It continues on.

Call it what you will but for me it's wonderful to find hints from God about what to do and encouraging me that I'm headed on the right path.

What is PKD? - How has it affected our family?

What is Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)?
Polycystic means multiple cysts. In effect, PKD denotes multiple cysts on each kidney. These cysts grow and multiply over time, also causing the mass of the kidney to increase. Ultimately, the diseased kidney shuts down causing end-stage renal disease for which dialysis and transplantation are the only forms of treatment.

PKD comes in two forms. Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is the most common, affecting 1-in-400 to 1-in-500 adults. Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD) is far less common, affecting 1-in-10,000 at a far younger age, including newborns, infants and children.

Polycystic Kidney Disease is not as well known as other genetic diseases. Many people are surprised to learn that:

---PKD is the most common life-threatening genetic disease in the United States, affecting approximately 600,000 Americans, including men, women and children of all races and ethnic origins.

---More people suffer from PKD than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, Down’s syndrome and sickle cell anemia - combined.

---People with PKD have a 50% chance of passing this disease on to their children.

---There is currently no known treatment or cure for PKD.

Source: PKD Foundation

How has PKD affected our family? PKD has taken the lives of 7 immediate family members and caused the failure of Pat’s kidneys. Eight years ago a kidney transplant saved Pat’s life. She is a living example of what America gains through organ donation.

Ride In Movies

I set up a spinner bike in my basement for morning training rides. I put a small TV/VCR combo down there and set it up with headphones so I can watch TV while I ride. Here's what I'm watching with the most recent listed first.

Mel Brooks History of the World (Part I)
So many great lines. My favorite this morning was in Caesars court when he asks "What's behind the sheet".

All About Eve (1950)
Bette Davis in a movie about the backstabbing and scheming life of "The Theatre."

Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda (1940)
Not the first time I've seen it. But the first time since I educated myself about the life of Woody Guthrie. There is a movie about his life which I need to see.

Master and Commander
I think about steamboats, steam trains, the tall ships. I think about the Hindenberg, the airplanes of Charles Lindbergh, the era of the Titanic. Technology has evolved. But just think of living in those times. What type of person would you be? The Master and Commander story is set in 1805. The Pike expedition was 1806.

Gone With The Wind (1939)
I'm 38 and I had never seen GWTW. I thought I knew what the movie was about, i.e. Civil War, battles, the south. I was wrong and I loved it. It's about men and women and love and conceit. It's about committed and self-absorbed people. When Butler said "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn" it was a surprise and an incredible set-up for an incredible line.

36 Hours (1964)
James Garner is a WW2 officer captured and psychologically manipulated to discover the site of the D-Day invasion.

On The Waterfront (1954)
I've seen it before but found new meaning in Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy. His famous "Coulda been somebody" line made me think about life's opportunities. Won 8 Oscars!

Syriana (watched on June 30)
Two thoughts. (1) not a good choice to watch between 5 and 7 a.m. (2) did movies get smarter or does exercise make you dumber. With the legal and political and inter-related plots I was getting lost on this one. I had to take the headphones off when the son died. Too intense.

Birdman of Alcatraz
Burt Lancaster in the story of an inmate in solitary confinement.

Biography of Frederick Douglas
An inspirational and charismatic abolitionist from the Civil War era. The first book he purchased was a collection of speeches which he memorized and studied. In his own speeches he drew on personal experiences and attacked the cruelest aspects of slavery. He was an escaped slave. Eventually, his friends "bought" him so that he would no longer fear being killed or captured. He became a US Ambassador.

Sergeant York
Made in 1941. Gary Cooper in the true story of a hillbilly sharpshooter drafted in WW1 despite his claim to be a pacifist, who ends up becoming a war hero. Cooper won Best Actor Oscar and the film received eleven nominations.

Hoosiers
I know the story but never saw the movie. I had no idea there was an alcoholic dad character (Oscar Nomination for Dennis Hopper). When Barbara Hershey and Gene Hackman kissed I was shocked, I didn't see that coming! Quote: "My practices aren't designed for your enjoyment."

Fletch
I was due for a little comedy. No Academy Awards for Chevy Chase for this one but plenty of quotable lines. I forgot Fletch was a newspaper reporter.

Mutiny on the Bounty
Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian who leads the mutiny. He's great as a pompous self important 1st Lt. Several Oscar nominations. No wins. Great and impressive production for 1962 that marvels Master and Commander of more recent days.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Newman and Redford and Burt Bacharach. Guess who won the Oscar. Bacharach won two for best song, Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head and best score.

Hearts In Atlantis
Movie based on the book by Steven King. Book better. Movie okay.

Goldfinger
Sean Connery in an early James Bondmovie where you can sense characters like Q and Ms. Moneypenny are still in cinematic development. Extremely strange to see James Bond play golf against the villain.

The Magnificent Seven
Enjoyable. The music is fantastic and was nominated for an Oscar. Many times during the movie I thought of Flik and the movie A Bug's Life. That's the Disney animated movie about the ant colony that is terrorized by grasshoppers who occasionally come and steal their crops. Then they fight back. Hmmm. Similarities.

The West - A Documentary Film
This one is produced by Ken Burns (although not written and directed by him). Like New York it is also very good. It's has been fascinating contrasting the two in one spinning session. I watched New York from the 1900s to the 1930s and then watched the California Gold Rush of 1849. Back in 1849 Americans complained about Chinese immigrants who were working gold claims. The Chinese were ultimately charged a fee to continue to work their claims. See more information at the online companion to the film.

New York - A Documentary Film
Produced by WNET PBS in New York city this is a really good historical description of the birth and growth of New York city. There are 7 episodes each about 2 hours long. I've been borrowing them from the library. Highlights of my new knowledge are the Erie Canal, occupation during revolutionary war, riots during the civil war, the consolidation of the four burroughs. See more information at the online companion to the film.

The History Channel
I've slowed down on my pace of movies because I've gotten into THC's Cable in the Classroom. No commercials and interesting topics. I watched a bunch of stuff including US presidents, the Spaniards and Incas and the Crusades.

The Great Dictator (watched in March)
WOW!! This is a masterpiece. And a creative idea that few probably understood when Chaplain suggested it. The political dynamics of this movie caused speculation that the movie wouldn't be released. Chaplain stuck with it putting 1.5 million dollars and his independent studio into the effort. Written by Chaplain in 1938 and 1939 while Hitler and the Nazis were persecuting the jews but hadn't blown Europe apart. The following website wikipedia The Great Dictator has a great description of everything about the movie. I am amazed at the creative genius of Chaplain to be able to satirize the Nazis. It's especially amazing now that we know the evil of the Nazis that was hidden, ignored and denied when he made the film.

The Great Dictator is on-line (To get right to the best satire start with Part Four). - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four

The Music Box
A Laurell and Hardy Movie short showing off their comic genius.

Greystoke - Legend of Tarzan
Faithfully based on the book it gave me a new appreciation for the fishout of water dynamic of Tarzan returning to England

Zorba the Greek
This movie is a voyeuristic treat. You feel as though your watching a social experiment as a objective observer. It's really awesome. Anthony Quinn in the role that would be remembered the rest of his life. I can't believe he didn't win an Oscar for it. The movie won 3 Oscars though.

Read this quote:

Basil: I don't want any trouble. Alexis Zorba: Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and *look* for trouble.

War of the Worlds(the Spielberg remake with Tom Cruise)
This is an intense way to start your morning. I'm in the basement watching thousands of people killed by aliens and their alien killing machines. Then add the classic Steven Spielberg emotional family scenes. (the girl in this movie can chill your spine with her screams and her crying)

Father of the Bride(the original)
Spencer Tracy, very good movie really. I enjoyed it. I haven't seen the remake. Probably won't.

The Horse Soldiers
What another John Wayne movie! Yea, kind of a theme this week. This one set in the Civil War. Kept my interest for a while then I had to bail out.

Easy Rider
From Henry Fonda to Peter Fonda. The "cruisin'" scenes are classic. Great tunes. Just love that scene with Jack Nicholson when he takes a shot of whiskey after getting out of jail. Hmmm. I wonder how many similarities there are to our RTPP?

The Green Berets
Another John Wayne movie. Hey what's Commander Zulu from Star Trek doing as a vietnamese captain working with the Green Berets? Entertaining but not a very good movie.

The French Connection
Wow, a lot of dead cops and criminals in this one. The car chase is cool. It's more famous than it is good, though. I love how Hackman's character refers to one of the french suspects as "frog one". "I'm sitting on Frog One." It ain't easy being green.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Pretty creepy. Great stereotypes of the 50s too. The doctors, the writers, the older single woman, the cops .. they all fit their stereotypes so perfectly.

Great backhanded social commentary. Get this scene between the unsuspecting doctor and a clone: "What's going On? I don't know. A strange neurosis ... evidently contagious--an epidemic of mass hysteria. In two weeks,it's spread all over town. What causes it? Worry about what's going on in the world."

And this from Becky: "I want to love and be loved! I want your children. I don't want a world without love or grief or beauty. I'd rather die."

The Warriors
Yes. The classic movie from the 70s. I've always loved repeating the line "Warriors, come out and play-hey". All the gangs have fabulous outfits and weapons. But the gang carrying hockey sticks? What good is a goalie stick going to do in a fight.

Fort Apache
John Wayne and Henry Fonda in the only movie they made together. Fonda is the commanding officer and Wayne is the frontier smart Captain battling the Apache nation. Good old black and white western. At one point Wayne finishes off a whiskey bottle and throws it into a canyon (looks like the Grand Canyon). Hey jerk, don't litter!! Didn't your mom teach you anything!

Escape from Alcatraz
Clint Eastwood as the inmate who breaks out. Okay. Got a little slow at times. I wonder how secure it is to have a carpentry shop at a maximum security prison. They ought to have a triathlon from Alcatraz. In fact I think they do.

Anastasia
This is an oldie. Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner in the story of group trying to find Anastasia the only surviving member of the royal Russian family. They are motivated by an inheritance of 10 million pounds. Seems a bald Brynner is a quick fix for casting anyone foreign. A King of Siam or a Russian general just get that bald actor, thatll work. Im going to have to watch the Magnificent Seven to see what a bald cowboy looks like. Although I guess hell just wear a hat the whole time.

Thats Entertainment and Thats Entertainment 2
The story of MGM and the musicals. Great highlights of Astaire, Gene Kelly. What impressed me the most was Judy Garland. Ive seen the Wizard of Oz and shes great there but kinda like a kid actor. You dont see the way she can entertain. They have a few clips in the movie showing her doing this shoulder shimmy while she sings. Brassy and confident. The other thing is wow look at the sets and production. Spare no expense on some of the movies.

Patton
George C. Scott. Another move I remember from when I was a kid. GSC is great. Karl Malden who plays General Bradley is great too. Bradley Armored Personnel Carrier is named after the guy who was an infantry mans general.

Antoine Fisher
Denzel Washington is a great actor and does a good job. The plot didnt give itself away and it was pretty cool how it worked out. The movie says its a true story. Wow.

To Kill A Mockingbird
Gregory Peck wins an Oscar for Best Actor in this one. The kids are incredible actors too. They get a lot!! of screen time and they do a nice job. Ive got to say I think I could have given a better defense for his client. Wheres the cross examination? I love the scene where the kids come to the jail where Atticus (Peck) is sitting trying to keep the mob from busting in and killing his client. His daughter walks up and starts talking to one of the men asking about how his sons doing. The mob breaks up and goes home.

Solaris
George Clooney stars in this adaptation of a sci-fi novel which must have been well written. Thats the only thing I can think of which would have encouraged Clooney and a movie studio to continue production. They should have realized at some point how boring and self-absorbed it would be. Someone should have done something to kill it before it was finished.

Emperor of the North
The first movie I watched was a flashback to when I was a kid. For some reason I remember this movie, Saturday Afternoon Movies or something. Hobos in the depression are at odds with the engineers and railway men to ride the freight trains. Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine battle it out throughout the movie. It was a little campy but fun. In the final battle on a moving flatcar Marvin takes a fire ax to Borgnines shoulder opening him up pretty bad and then tosses him off the moving flat car.

Blog Thoughts Nov to Jan

Saturday, November 19, 2005
Well after months of bouncing around in my head this idea of riding to Pikes Peak for the Pikes Peak Marathon is looking more and more likely.

Yesterday at work I talked with John and Dawn. They helped convince me that the idea is special. Their enthusiasm helps make me feel better; that it might work to raise PKD awareness.
Mike of Big Shark Cycling gave me a nice breeze west. I visited the shop on Wednesday asking for the name of someone in the touring team and wondering about how to get a spinning bike for training. Mike gave me the name of an experienced touring rider and suggested a bankruptcy auction that was coming up for a health club. I bought 5 spinning bikes {I fixed up and then sold 4 of them to pay for the one I kept}. When I talked with Mike, the rider from Big Shark Touring he thought others might be interested and might be interested himself. It sure would be cool to ride out of St. Louis with a team of riders. Really cool!

January 5, 2006
Well things are moving like crazy now and it feels great. Everything seems to be coming together and it feels as though I am following a path and plan set by God before me. Yesterday I called the local coordinator of the PKD group in St. Louis. I know Tim only a little. I caught Tim at work and unloaded a ton of ideas on him. He gave me a guy to call at PKD Foundation. Id talked Dave of PKD Foundations ear off with my ideas and enthusiasm I felt my voice literally fading.

Mike at Big Shark gave me some great advice and some other contacts for training tips.
Training wise I’m really happy with the spinner bike. This weekend I fixed my set up in the basement and hooked up the cable to the mini TV. I’ve been watching movies while I ride. Waking up to ride a spinner and watch movies is kinda cool. I’m giving up running days for riding but Im still keeping the run mileage high enough, I think.

January 9, 2006
I’m going, real. I met tonight with the local PKD Foundation group here in St. Louis, a small but enthusiastic group that organizes support for those afflicted with PKD. Their encouragement was great. Its one thing to think something might work and another to hear it from others. PKD Foundation in KC is thinking about the big picture but to hear the enthusiasm of these people who suffer from PKD in their families or in their kidneys was enough to confirm for me that I’m going.

At work today, Tim, introduced me to someone as the guy going to Pikes Peak Marathon on his bike. I’ve been keeping it quiet at work telling only a couple people. Apparently its getting out. But Tim was so enthusiastic that any doubts carry less weight. With the support of Michelle and the support of Fox Sports Net I’ve got to go.

Tonight at the PKD meeting I talked a little about our family and PKD. A couple times in my life I’ve had urinary kidney problems. A kidney stone and in another case I had blood in my urine. My doctor requested kidney scans both times which would have identified PKD if I have it. Scans showed no problems but it was almost as if I didn’t want to know. What could I do? We need to support research and efforts to provide something people can do to cure their PKD.

January 11, 2006
Dave Kappas said the PKD Foundation will figure out how they want to proceed this week. I’m anxious. To achieve our goals of PKD awareness we really need their help. This idea is pretty far out there and its hard to know whether PKD Foundation will see the potential and frankly whether they can help.
I’m on the Pastoral Cabinet at Trinity Lutheran Church. We had a meeting tonight and told everyone my plans. I told the guys how it feels like a calling. So many things have happened to put me in the right place at the right time. In our closing prayer for the meeting Pastor included the Ride to Pikes Peak and the hope and prayer for success educating others about PKD and registering additional organ donors. Everyone offered their help. I’m encouraged.

January 17, 2006
The Royals have agreed to provide recognition for PKD Foundation before the game on August 6th. This is a huge boost for the ride and an excellent chance to get some Kansas City area publicity. Its also a great opportunity to continue the momentum thats been going since the beginning of January. A lot has been accomplished but there is so much more to do. In fact the ideas an opportunities seem limited only by the amount of time mom and I can commit to working on them.
Mom and I talked last night and she’s planning to tell the Kidney Foundation in Indianapolis about our plans. I am sending her the overview I wrote so she can share.

January 21, 2006
Caught a cold. Feel crappy. Word is going around the office about the trip. I need to tell my boss I’m going to be gone for 3 weeks. FOX is a good company and I’ve been working here for 9 years. It should work out.

January 27, 2006
Cold lasted 5 days. At least it didn't settle into my chest and I'm back to full speed on training. Unfortunately my son caught it and now I'm home from work with a sick kid.

January 28, 2006
Great day!! Great run this morning with Tom, Matt and Doug. Ran around Castlewood Park, new trails along the Meramec River and up on the bluffs. Hard miles. Rain, slick mud. Good stuff.

I called mom and she shared the incredible news that she's got the trailer RV she has been talking about. Our home away from home for three weeks. It sleeps 5 or so and she can pull it with her Blazer. She's really looking forward to using it for RTPP. She's probably told more people about our plans than I have!!