One does not build a body to take on the Jimmy Fund Marathon Walk overnight–at least not at 60. I thought I was in good enough shape last year–and I was for the first 15 miles. With five miles left to go, I was pushing forward on pure willpower. And every step of the last mile was tough.

But I got to the end under my own power.

This year, I am determined to be in better shape than I was a year ago. I want to get to the end and feel like I could do it all again tomorrow.

So three weeks ago, I started the training regimen the Jimmy Fund sent me. Thursday night, I felt like I was starting to hit my stride. There was speed in my step and a little bit of a bounce as well that has not been there since before Jane got sick.

This morning’s workout called for an eight mile walk to be finished in two hours and 15 minutes–a brisk pace. But it was a nice morning and I felt pretty strong. The sun had gone in and, while it was humid, the temperature was not too bad. So I went for ten. I was done in 2:45.

My feet are a little achy, but my legs still feel pretty good. I could likely do 15 or 20 at this point, but there would be a price to pay for that tomorrow. And since tomorrow calls for another five miles in 1:45, and I’d like to go six in under two hours, I’ll take it easy tonight.

Doing more than people expected–doing more than was asked–was something that was a hallmark of the way Jane and I lived our lives. We were both always trying to stretch the envelope. We followed the quote from Arthur C. Clarke that you do not know what is impossible until you have pressed beyond it into the realm of the impossible. Jane attacked her cancer the same way when she was alive. She attacked recovery from the heart surgery the same way. And my approach to the war on NET cancer I decided I would carry on after her death is the same.

No one could ever tell either one of us that there was something we could not do. It would simply goad us into trying to prove them wrong. Neither of us were willing to put limits on what could be accomplished by hard work, perseverance and intelligence.

But we were also smart enough to know when we needed to ask for help.

If the Jimmy Fund Walk is going to be successful for Walking with Jane, then I am going to need help. As I walked this morning, I mulled over whether or not we could go it alone this year. By that I mean I wondered if we could put together a team rather than walking under someone else’s banner. To do that, we would need to be able raise $10,000 between now and September 9. That way the money could go to the Walking with Jane Dybowski Fund rather than into the general fund at Dana-Farber.

If you are interested, let’s talk. I’ll need to make a decision this week. Drop me a line or make a comment below.