Holiday Posts

Folks- With all the shopping and family time, I haven't had a chance to post in the last few days. Training is going well. I'm back at my dad's house where we have a huge park, so I've been using that for hill/trail training. Though today's weather is not "runner friendly," as its been raining all morning. I'd like to avoid getting another throat infection, so I'll sit this one out and use the treadmill. We only have another 4 months! People have been coming through huge with donations. I'm proud to say I'm almost up to almost $700 in donations!!! Thank you so much to everyone who is donating.
Here's a story I saw in a local news affiliate about a guy who tried to climb Everest after being diagnosed with Huntingtons, to raise money for the cause (I wish I had that gumption). Click HERE for the link.
I joined WeAreHD.org which is a social networking site for those who are affected by HD (patients, family, and friends). I figured this would be a great way for me to show my support and also explain what I'm doing to raise awareness. More soon.

More Research Funds

Hey Folks- Here's a story in a local Illinois news source, about Dominican University receiving $600,000 to research an enzyme prevalent in Huntington's and Alzheimer's. click HERE for the story. More later today. I just thought that was an interesting piece of news.

A Cold Tuesday Indeed!

Hey Folks- My apologies for not writing more. I've been so busy with finishing my grad school applications (fingers crossed I get in!). Training has been going really well. I think the few days off last week gave my body some time to rest, and I've already run 15 miles this week (woo hoo). My marathon beard is coming in very nicely as well.
The Huntington's events are coming along well as well. As you know there's the bowling event on January 26th, as well as the concert in February (TBA). I've met a lot of artists around Brooklyn (and have been playing with them) who are interested in performing and helping out the cause. Check out this article when you have a chance. It is a Q/A with the man who discovered the Huntington's Gene. click HERE
Have a wonderful day and I'll post more tomorrow.

quick note

Ok folks- Just a few quick notes. Training was curtailed by my "ailment" this week. It's slowly going away and I'm feeling a lot better today. With exception to work I was more or less bed ridden all week (but did manage a couple runs... Please don't tell my mother or doctor that). Looks like I had a throat infection, and it is clearing up slowly.
At any rate, nothing huge to report right now. Here's a story from Checkbiotech that talks about the stem cell advancement. click HERE for the link. I will have a lengthy report this Sunday after I make some calls and get some stuff done with fundraisers. My apologies, this cold really ravaged my work schedule and immune system, but I'm back (I think!). More later.

Bronchitis (I hope not!)

Well apparently there is a cold-to-pneumonia thing going around, and just to be sure I went to the company nurse this morning, and the doctor this afternoon. The nurse didn't see anything wrong, but my doc gave me some meds, and took one of those swab samples. Hopefully it should be gone by the weekend. I am going to have to lay off the training for a couple days, but will be back on it soon.
Ok there's no news piece today, but I will post one as soon as I get something good. More soon (sorry for the short entries. they will be more cheery and well thought out when I am back to 100%)

Quick notes

Hey Folks- Still battling this cold, but I did train the last couple days. I'm hoping it's just a cold, but it's seemingly getting worse so I am going to the doctors tomorrow.

The Guthrie Family is throwing a Woody Guthrie tribute in Philly for the Philadelphia Folk Society. Here's the link to the story. I got another $100 in donations over the weekend, so it's definitely adding up!

Ok more soon.

Training

Well- I'm feeling a bit better this weekend, though I am slowly losing my voice. I trained very hard yesterday and today, and pushed my long run to tomorrow evening (10 miles!!! here we come!!!). I've been feeling extremely dizzy the past few runs, and I think my body was simply weak from the flu. My goal is to get up to 15 miles by the end of the month, and we're making good headway.
Ok well this was a great weekend for the fundraisers. I think I have a date, January 14th, for our first fundraiser. It's going to be the Woody Guthrie Night. I'm really excited, as this is also my first performance in a really long time. There's also a bowling event going on January 26th w/ the foundation, which I will be attending. I'm also going to set up a race w/ the Road Runners to raise money as well. Well there wasn't much Huntington's news this weekend, but again let's take a moment to thank those who were in attendance at the 12/6 meeting in DC. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

A big day for Huntingtons

Well Folks, yesterday the FDA advisory board gave its unanimous OK to Prestwick Pharma's drug, Tetrabenazine, which treats chorea in Huntington's patients. This is a great advancement, as it will allow a number of HD patients with their motor skills and more importantly, everyday tasks. Though the drug causes some side effects, its overall benefits outweigh its side effects.
I'm still recovering from the flu so the race tomorrow is up in the air, but if you see some hilarious pictures up tomorrow, you'll know. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'll have a much larger post tomorrow or Sunday to talk about upcoming fundraisers. Here is the link to the story about Tetrabenazine

Hurrah!

Well today was a great success! Tetrabenazine got the backing of the FDA government advisory board. The HDSA and caregivers made a compelling argument as many families seek these drugs from other countries (which is unsafe). Though the treatment has a number of side effects, researchers and the FDA board determined they didn't outweigh the benefits. The drug definitely helps people control involuntary movement. We ran a Bloomberg story on this finding, but have been unable to find stories on the web. I'll link you guys up once I find something good.

Training was halted yesterday and today as I got a relapse of the flu. I'm not sure what I'm doing here that is causing me to get sick, but it might be those frigid night runs. Big chill is just two days away! I have to find a toy to donate to the cause. Anyone have any good ideas? More later, and as always look for some pictures from the big chill.

Asthma Attacks

Well I was doing great last night on the treadmill at the gym, and out of nowhere, I stopped breathing. It's good I keep my hands near the STOP button on the treadmill or I was finished. The person next to me was kind enough to stop her work out and made sure I caught my breath. I have to get used to these inhalers.
At any rate, I'm well rested and ready to go again tonight for some more serious training. On to the Huntington's news... We have a "Secret Science Society" at this bar/venue called Union Hall. I'm trying to host a speaker there next month to talk about the new advances in taking skin cells and turning them in to stem cells and what the implications of that can be. I think a lot of people are excited, but unaware of all the implications of this discovery. I'll keep you NYC folks posted on that.
Remember you DC Metro friends that there is a hearing for Huntington's coming up on Thursday. Those in the area please try and go. They could use all the support you can get. I believe you can see information about that in my November 21st post.
Have a wonderful evening.

And thus a new week begins

Good afternoon Folks- I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The training is going well. I plowed through a race on Saturday, trained a bit yesterday, and back to the cross training today. As mentioned in a post earlier I am running the "Big Chill," at Rutgers this coming Saturday morning.
Oh I have a news alert set up both on Google and my Bloomberg application. If you guys want to know how to build it on Google please send me a note and I'll show you how. Today's big story is how the Buck Institute is teaming up with Neurobiological Technologies to come up with a treatment for Huntington's! This is a protein centralized study/project that they are hoping to move in to clinical trials. Click HERE for the story.
The fundraisers are going really well. We're up to about $270 bucks. I'm going on my first Road Runners run tomorrow, so I'm hoping to recruit some members to Team Little Flower. Oh, and if any of you have any ideas for a team logo or picture, please do submit. More later and hope everyone has a stellar week.

13th Place!!!

Well Folks, I'm not exactly sure how many people were running today, but I did manage to come in (drum roll) 13th place! And I got a medal! It was a great race and I made some friends w/ the Road Runners. I'm hoping to join them starting Tuesday on their team runs.
Here's an interesting opinions post on Art Technica's blog site. Click HERE for the link. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I'm resting up this evening A.) B/c it's very cold outside, B.) I have a long run in the morning. Pictures below!