Praying for Jenny Crain

Maybe you have seen the headlines already, "Olympic hopeful struck by car" or "Community rallies around injured runner." Jenny Crain, 39 of Milwaukee, is a very familiar name among local and national runners. I had the privilege of meeting Jenny and running with her back in 1996 at the University of Wisconsin Parkside. Jenny, who went to Franklin High School and Ohio University, called my Coach and asked if she could train with us. She was a wonderful addition and inspiration to all of us runners at UWP. The determination and her spirit inspired us all to be better runners. Jenny now lies in ICU with a swollen brain. All we can do is wait.

Jenny helped me qualify for a big race back in the spring of 1996. It was the outdoor track season and our coach had lined up some tough Division I races for us, but we had to qualify with some pretty tough times. We were trying to get to a race at the University of Tennessee – a great road trip. My chance to make it was in the 3000, not one of my specialty races. Our qualify race was in IL somewhere, I can't even remember. Jenny was with us and ran the 5k. My race was about an hour after. My teammate and I had to run 10:13 which was a big PR for the both of us. I was so nervous and not positive at all. We asked coach if Jenny could "rabbit" the race for us and get us on pace. She was so excited to help us. She set the pace for us and coached us throughout the race. I remember her saying, "come on, lets go" and "you are so strong, you can do this" and other encouraging words. She made the race so easy and we both ran our personal bests and qualified for the race in Tennessee. Jenny introduced me to Krispy Kreme donuts on that trip to Tennessee. I remember when she saw the sign, "fresh donuts" she yelled at coach to pull over and go through the drive through.

My last "run in" with Jenny was the Bastille Days run on 2006. I was warming up and ended up running next to her. I said, "Hey Jenny, not sure if you remember me" and she gave me a hug and said, "Of course I do Tracey, lets go do some strides."

That is Jenny. She is so positive and full of energy. She is always so fun to be around and just a strong, amazing woman. She has touched so many peoples lives. The running community is in a state of shock right now and we are pulling for her. People are praying so hard for her and her family and to guide the doctors that are taking care of her.

Come on Jenny, I know you can do it, lets go, you are so strong. Please pull through this. I know I will be running after you again someday!

Happy Anniversary to me! and other randomness.

3 years! Yay! I love my husband so much!

Haven't written in while so here is some randomness:

FINALLY good news. We found out last week that the medications for IVF which can cost up to $5000 will be covered by insurance. That is great news and may also give us enough money to try three rounds of IVF if needed.

This rain sucks! I know we need rain but day after day gets old.

Preseason football has started. This excites me beyond belief. Packers defense has looked good the last two games. What makes me more happy is that Michael Vick will most likely spend this season in jail.

Summer is almost over. Kids are going back to school, football season is starting and the trees in front of my condo are turning red already. I love fall but I hate what comes after - winter. Can't we just go Summer, fall, summer, fall??

I have been doing yoga at invivo wellness and I love it. I never thought I would enjoy yoga or have the patience for it but I feel so relaxed and fresh after I'm done. Invivo is the same place I go to for acupuncture, my chiropractor and physical therapist.

Have a good day!

The Gufs and BoDeans concert

My husband and I actually got out by ourselves this past Friday night to the Wisconsin State Fair to see The Gufs and BoDeans concert. If you are from the Wisconsin area you should know who they are.

The BoDeans formed in Waukesha, WI around 1984 and got their break by playing at Summerfest. They gained National attention when their song "Closer to Free" was selected as the theme song for the TV series Party of Five. My first BoDeans concert was in 1991.

The Gufs, formed by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students, started playing on the east side of Milwaukee in 1988. I was introduced to them, music and in person, in 1992. My fellow athletes from the University of Wisconsin Parkside played soccer against some of the band members and head them play on the east side. I became a groupie right away.

15 years later I still adore both groups. My husband also grew up listening to both bands. When we heard about the concert we bought tickets right away. I will say it was weird having to buy tickets when I have seen both bands for free in the past. But we did get great seats, fourth row center.

As we were walking to our seats I said to Jaime, "Why does everyone look so old?" He laughed and said, "because they are, and we are too." The Gufs only played for about 45 minutes because they were the "opening" band but I wanted more! They were great as usual and Goran is still so stinking cute.They played a lot of their new songs and of course ended their show with my favorite song, Smile. Then the BoDeans came on and I freaked out, Sammy has gray hair! But age was not a factor in their performance. Wow, they sounded great. They played all the best songs and my favorite, Naked.

After the concert I got my cheese on a stick which you have to get at the State Fair and we headed home. It was a nice and relaxing night.

An invitation

I'm just throwing this out there. I have started singing with our Praise Team at our church and I love it. This Sunday I'm really excited, we are singing some of my favorite songs, my bro is singing with the Praise Team too, and there will be a baptism; not just any baptism, our Pastor will be baptizing his newest grandson. If you are interested join us at Brookfield Lutheran (Missouri Synod).
Brookfield Lutheran Church
18500 W. Burleigh
Brookfield, WI 53045

Update on all that T-TTC stuff

We met with Dr. Sherbahn for our IVF consult on Monday. We started our testing to see if we qualify for the shared risk IVF program. If you qualify, you can pick an IVF "package" and have a guarantee live birth or your money back. I had mentioned earlier that we like this option (who wouldn't) and the success rate at this clinic is higher than any clinic in WI.
The appointment started with an ultra sound for me to check the ovarian antral follicle count. In the first 10 minutes of our appointment we knew we were a bust. I only had 11, they wanted 14. No shared risk for us. Oh, and by the way, looks like I have a cyst and maybe even endometriosis. They said it's probably from the clomid I took during our IUIs. What a blow. Dr. Sherbahn was a nice guy and answered every question we had and never rushed us out the door. We got all our answers, I gave three tubes of blood and they sent us home to think about out next steps. I cried all the way back to Milwaukee.
This morning we got another blow - my blood tests came back invalid. They tested my estrogen and FSH levels. The "day 3 FSH test" is done to test my ovarian reserve. I had these tests before and they were fine, not this time. The nurse called and said they were invalid because my estrogen levels were way too high and that automatically makes the FSH levels invalid. They said it was most likely from the clomid I was on last month and my cyst. I have to repeat the blood test (for another $200) next month.
We can still do IVF through all these problems but it lowers our success rate and our chance of getting a package deal.
How am I doing? Not sure I can cry anymore. Oh, wait, yes, I'm sure I can. I just keep telling myself that we can do IVF and there is still a 50/50 chance of getting pregnant using IVF. My husband is still so amazing, strong, positive and patient. I love him so much.
At this point, it looks like we will first be able to try IVF in October.

Time for me to quit running

I can't believe I just typed that.

First of all, sorry, it's been a week. It was a rough week, I'm not going to lie to you. Obviously we are not pregnant and are moving on to IVF. I have been filled with many different emotions. I'm scared to death of the process. I'm angry that we have to do this in order to have a baby. I'm excited that we are moving onto a new process that has a higher success rate. I'm freaked out by the money we have to come up with. And I have fallen in love with my husband even more because he is my strength and such an amazing man. Take all those feelings and the fact that I have cried for two days, I am emotionally and mentally spent.

After talking with my husband about our plan and feelings I told him that I think it's time for me to stop running. Some doctors and others have their opinions on the impact of running and trying to get pregnant. It's hard for me to accept because I know a lot of people that have gotten pregnant while they were training intensely. But every body is different right?

If we are going to fork over lots of money for this procedure, I want to make sure I am doing everything right. I'm going to start yoga as suggested by my acupuncturist. I will continue to lift weights. For cardio I will hit the pool and stationary bike. I may keep up with racquetball a bit too.

This is going to be a very hard change for me. I have been a "runner" since 5th grade. That puts me at running for about 22 years with some breaks in there of course for injury. I love it, I love to run. Not many people say that about running. It's my stress reliever. I feel so free and strong when I run.

But I think at this time in my life I am going have to give it up for awhile. I need to concentrate on my body and getting it ready to get pregnant, God willing.