Obliteride Goal Achieved!

No one who achieves success does so without the help of others.
The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.
Alfred North Whitehead

To my friends and family,

I have surpassed the Obliteride goal of $1,500 and could not have done it without you!  I am truly blessed by the outpouring of love and support given to me during this journey.  The idea of raising money at all is difficult for me.  Moreover, asking others for help; specifically monetary usually makes me cringe.  As you may have read in an earlier post, raising money is not my strong suit.  However, I strongly believe in the mission of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.  Otherwise, I would not have put in 16 years of employment for this institution (wow have I been our of school for that long!  Oy Vey!) 

I was worried that I wouldn’t reach the Obliteride target goal; of course I worry about lots of things, most often things that are totally out of my control.  I would say I am amazed at the outpouring of support, but I am not.  I have been blessed to be able to surround myself with wonderful people.  I have amazing co-workers who are also dedicated to the mission of Fred Hutch and who honestly dedicate a lot more time than me to it.  I think some of them may even sleep there at times! I am blessed to have a loving and supportive family and although we may not connect all of the time, I feel each truly understand the importance of family.  If it’s one thing that my parents have instilled in me it’s, the importance of family.  And I strongly believe if you show love and grace, they in turn will do the same. Finally, my friends.  My girlfriends are my rock.  I have quite a few from different stages of my life.  All are different, with different drive and direction, yet they all have a common thread.  They love me! J  No joking aside, all of these women in one way or another are strong in their faith.  That faith, higher power, spirit, mystical power whatever you want to call it, gives them the foundation as to the women they are.  These women are kind, gentle, yet strong spirited women full of compassion and well sometimes even fire. These are the women I cry with, laugh with, exercise with and trust my children to in times of crisis.  Again, I am blessed beyond words.

It’s funny as I read this blog… I can’t help but smile and understand how lucky I am.

Again, thank you to everyone who has donated to my Obliteride journey.

With love,

Sonia

Balance

It’s amazing how we can balance so many things in our lives; work, kids activities, coaching, exercise… this list can go on and on. What is being balanced? The most modern term would be in harmony, but the true definition is a steady state, a state in which a body or object remains reasonably steady in a particular position while resting on a base that is small to its other dimensions.  So I guess life can be balanced – everything equally proportioned so you are committed in every aspect of life the same way.  Am I really balanced? My children would say they probably don’t get as much time with me as they would like, my job always seems like I am a few days behind schedule, exercise is not the devoted time that it used to be.  So in truth I am not balanced.  Even off balance, something can come and completely tilt you off balance in a different direction.  That something for me is cancer.  I work in the cancer prevention center, I know about cancer, I research ways for other people to prevent it, yet it still manages to stick its nasty head straight in my face.   My mom’s liver cancer is stage 4 adenocarcinoma – lung cancer that has spread to her liver.  Without turning into a cancer lesson, it basically means that the liver is a secondary site, thus the cancer has spread through the blood stream.  That is not a good thing.  So now my life takes a different focus, a different kind of balance.  A balance of  all the items listed earlier plus spending as much time with my mom as possible.  I love this quote – Life is like riding a bicycle, in order to keep your balance you must keep moving.  I will continue to keep moving… keep moving to find that balance whether it’s harmony or just keeping things steady, I’ll do what it takes perhaps not gracefully but with determination and love.

Cancer...

It seems like such a simple word. Meaning the Crab in Astrology. Keywords include gentle, conservative, feeling, nurturing, defensive, and contemplative.  Yet this is not the Cancer that we most often think of. The cancer in my life has key words too -  malignant, invasive growth, division (of cells), destroying.  It is a word that causes anger, frustration, sadness.  It is a word that needs hope, strength love. 

Today I found out that my mom has liver cancer.  I knew the outcome was going to be this, but when you finally actually get that information it’s still hard to deal with.  All sorts of emotions arise and all I want to do is run.  Run until my legs are numb, my lungs are full and my head is cleared out.  But in reality, life is busy, I must work, take care of the boys, I have responsibilities – running will have to wait.  For now I swallow the lump in my throat, look up at the sun to stop the tears from flowing and just breathe. I will face this ugly thing called cancer with the only true powers that I have… love, grace, laughter and prayer.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength

Philippians 4:13

Donation Letter

The Obliteride is fast approaching. Only 114 more days to raise the minimum $1,500 needed for my 100 mile ride.  Here's the kicker - even though I believe in this cause with all my heart, I am always so hesitant to ask friends and family for money.  This goes way, way back.  I had my dear friend Kristy sell my candy bars for Little League, my Dad always bought all my band calendars and I usually just pony up the money instead of asking others.  I know how hard it is to come up with extra cash. I understand that even if I support the cause, funds are tight.  But I also know from working for Fred Hutch the last 16 years (yes it's been that long!) that research cannot be done without the support of our community.  Government funding is limited and continues to be a low priority; so fundraising is a necessity.  So I plan to send the following letter to friends and family in hopes that their support will help me reach my goal.

Dear Friends and Family,

Driven by the goal to end cancer, Obliteride is a new, community-wide effort to raise money to accelerate lifesaving research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. I’m joining a movement of people committed to obliterating cancer that culminates in an empowering bike ride August 9-11, 2103.

Cancer touches all of us - half of all men and one third of all women in the U.S. will get cancer in their lifetime. These figures are shocking, but, I believe we can change the stats by funding lifesaving research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

In honor of my extraordinary family members who are surviving cancer, as well as the amazing loved ones we've lost, I'll be cycling 100 miles on August 10 to raise $1500 (or more!) for cancer research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, whose work I believe in implicitly and am consistently astounded by...and an organization I am honored to call my employer.
 Here's where I need your help. CAN YOU HELP ME RAISE $1500? 100% of every dollar donated will go directly to cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where your donation can make a DIRECT IMPACT on research to save lives faster.

Do this for me. Do this for my mom Dorothy, Aunt Eleanor, Aunt Elaine, Aunt Debbie, Barb, Harold, for loved ones whose fight you've witnessed and whose fight is your own. Do this for your mom, your sister, your daughter, your dad, your brother, your son. Do it for all the people out there who you will never know, but whose lives, like yours, will never be the same after hearing the words "It's CANCER." 

TOGETHER WE CAN DEFEAT CANCER. 

Thank you with all my heart.

Sincerely,

Sonia Kathleen (Yantz) Bishop

Time

I find that there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. I know we all say that, and we all seem to be busy. But lately it feels that the days are about three hours shorter then they used to be. Am I over committed? Perhaps. Am I just not organized enough? Perhaps. Do I know how to say no. Not really. It seems like I have the ability to get everything done for everyone, except for me. It's funny how we (meaning the royal "we" of Mommies) some how push back, or lose the fact that our health and well being is not as important as those around us. Deep down we know the importance, but for some reason it seems to be the easiest to postpone. Perhaps because it's hard work, perhaps because once you stop for awhile, it's really hard and disappointing to see how much you have lost.  This is where I am now. Last year at this time I was running my second half marathon and was in full speed triathlon training. This year, I average about four miles a run. My swimming is sparse and my cycling is two days a week in a spin class. I try not to throw a pitty-party for myself, but it seems easy to do when I reflect back to what I used to be able to do.
So what do I do? Seems like a simple solution...make myself a priority. That used to be easy, now both boys are playing baseball, taking swim lessons, guitar lessons, church responsibilities, volunteering at Mason's school and of course my job. Don't forget packing lunches, cooking dinner and just being Mom.  So I know "me" time is important, and I know my working Mommy friends are on the same boat as me and I know what I am supposed to do...I just need to DO IT!  Perhaps actually writing this in public will recharge me and help me to say, "no, I am not available at that time, that is my me time". That me time will become my run time and my commitment to health time.  As my dearest friend Brenda would say, "you've got to own it".  OK, time to own it!

First Ride of Spring!

Last Saturday was my first outside ride of the year.  It was a beautiful spring day and a great day for a bike ride!  I met one of my best friends, Carla and went on a short 15-mile ride on the Issaquah Plateau.  Carla had to race the next day, so we took it easy and in all actuality for a first ride it was probably enough.  This also gave us time to try out a new little restaurant prior to me heading back home to put on my Mom hat again.  This first ride reminded me how much I enjoy bike riding.  There are always a few cars that make you a bit frustrated and hills that remind you just how out of shape you really are.  But on each hill there is always the chance to fly down the other side.  I think life is a lot like a good bike ride.  At times you are frustrated, at times life is super hard, at times you have to work harder, dig deeper because you know that the reward is so worth it.  Riding my bike removes me from the daily grind of life and makes me stop and look at life around me.  As I rode I took notice of the trees, spring flowers blooming and a little lake called Beaver Lake.  I wondered if there actually were beavers at this lake as it now has many houses around it.   This first little ride reminded me why I ride my bicycle.  Sure I do it because it’s good exercise; I do it for a cause like the Oblideride.  I ride because nothing else matters when you are riding a bike.  I can leave all life’s “stuff” for a while and just enjoy being me! Not Mom, not wife, not coach, not PTA lady, art docent lady, program manager, dog walker, maid, cook, Sunday school teacher…the list goes on.  I am just a girl on a bike! 

Found this poem – not sure who the author is…

Life is like riding a bike.
First you need the extra wheels to support you.
You learn how to ride on your own.
It might feel good at first
Until you go too fast
And fall right on your face.
That is when you will realize
How those extra wheels have been so important to you
And how they have supported you through.
You will ride many streets and trails.
Some are straight and and smooth.
Some are bumpy and narrow.
Some will have obstacles.
But when you reach up to the top of the mountain,
You see the view- such a wonderful view.
Of what your life has been.
Through hard challenges and trials of your life,
You will only know the true meaning
When you cast your eyes upon the view of your life,
And see how far you have ridden.

KING 5 - 100 mile

Here is the nice description of the 100 miles I will be biking on August 10th.

"The KING 5 100 is the perfect blend of urban and rural riding. Pedaling farther out of town than the 50-mile route, the KING 5 100 includes quiet country roads that not even your most knowledgeable riding buddies have found. Toss in a few thigh-burning climbs, great scenery, complete ride support, and on-going cheers to make this the best 4,517 feet you’ve climbed yet. And what goes up must come down. Treat yourself to a mostly flat and downhill run to the finish at Magnuson Park and a great sense of accomplishment."

So…I am basically riding from Seattle around Lake Washington, through Redmond and going in a big hilly circle around fall city and back.  I have come to the conclusion that 100 miles is a really long way and I should probably start getting on my bike a bit more often in preparation.  It’s hard to prepare and ride the bike when it’s so cold outside!  But I have been dutifully attending throughout the winter a spin class twice a week at 5 a.m. So hopefully as the days get longer and a wee bit warmer I can begin to journey out on longer rides in preparation for the big ride.  I am figuring that the Chilly Hilly took about 2 hours (that may have included ferry time, can’t remember) and that was 30 miles, so I am anticipating at a minimum 6 hours of riding.  But I won’t be alone, my friend and co-worker Sarah will be with me.  Sarah is the one who convinced me this ride was doable.  It’s time to focus and think Spring! Which may require many days of riding in the rain!