UNTITLED CHAD DARNELL PROJECT

The NYC Marathon

So you're probably wondering about the NYC Marathon.

I flew to NY on Friday, October 30th.  Stayed with my beloved Dasha and Sonora in their spectacular Upper West Side pad.  We went to see ROCK OF AGES (thanks to Jillian Armenante and Constantine Maroulis).  Met up with my buddy, Yvonne for cheesecake.

Woke up the next morning to do an "easy"  run with Lance at Niketown.  And ONE BLOCK from Niketown, got stopped by a commercial shoot.  Lance and the runners took off.  

(You can't tell in this picture, but that's Lance getting into a cab after the run.)

Picked up my present from Livestrong.  Walked back through Central Park.  Saw the finish line.  Met up with Dave Holmes at the expo to collect our packets.  Walked around Chelsea.  (There's a three hour story about trying to find Gu... but whatever.)

Saw my friend Greg Endries and his new place in Chelsea.  Saw the amazing photos he shot of my friend, Michelle Clunie.

Made it back to the upper west side.  We went down to the Village, where we met up with my dearest Laura Berrios and her husband, Sean.  Great fun at a party.

Went home.  Got a great night sleep.

Woke up.  Got dressed.  Went to the train station, where apparently subways don't come as often on the weekends.  A HALF HOUR LATER the train came and took me to the ferry.  I walked in, hopped on the ferry and off to Staten Island I went.

It was extremely emotional all morning.  I cried on and off for the better part of three hours before the race.  It was exactly a year to the day that I had discovered the lump and now I was running a marathon.  And I was going to finish it by any means necessary.

And it was DAMN COLD.  I was blue - like Rebecca Romijn in X-Men, blue.  Like a giant Smurf, blue.

And we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited.  And somehow I wound up next to Sal Masekela from E! Daily 10 for two hours.  I would go to the port-o-potty, and somehow his camera crew was right there.  For the first three miles, I couldn't shake him.

But finally we started.  And I couldn't stop tears for the first two miles.  I was so happy to be here and doing the marathon.  And before I knew it, I had clocked 3 miles.  I kept my pace.

Next thing it was 8 miles down.  And my right foot started to ache.

Then 9 miles... and I thought... you know, something's not right with my knee.

Then came 10.  And that was it.  My left knee and my right foot turned against me.  With 16.2 miles to go, I knew I wouldn't finish it.  I could walk it, but I would seriously injure myself.  I knew that I had to fly back to LA the next day and the flight would kill me and I knew that IF I did attempt to finish it, I wouldn't be able to walk for a week.

So I quit.  It was the hardest thing I did all year, but my body just would not allow me to finish.

In the medical tent, (where you had to check out, or be expelled from any future ING Marathons), the medic said my IT band had snapped and he was surprised I was still walking.  He wrapped it (which is awesome, having a leg you can't bend... going up and down stairs in subways all day long...) and I was on my way.

After showering and resting, we cabbed it Cafeteria in Chelsea, where my body decided it wanted a bacon cheddar burger, fries and macaroni and cheese.  Combined later with a red velvet cupcake (or two), my body would decide later it did NOT want all of that.  And blessed be, that was 3,500 calories I didn't have to work off

The next morning, Laura invited me to the set of 30 ROCK, where I saw my old friend from high school days, Jack McBrayer (who plays "Kenneth") and his co-star for the day... an up and coming young talent named Al Gore.  I met Tina, who was so kind and sweet.  And I met Cheyenne Jackson. 

Eventually I made it back to finally see the Bethesda Fountain, after many failed attempts over the years, then did the subway, to the train, to the airbus, to the airport to the bus, to the terminal to the gate.

I was wide awake on the plane.  Landed.  And then went straight to the hotel and worked for 8 hours.

All I did this week was work, sleep, and pass out.  There was some eating at times.  On Friday, I gorged on a large bacon pizza from Pizza Hut and discovered my body processed that amount of food much easier after vomiting all day from chemo.

I got a text message from Pauley after the marathon "the sermon was about you today!"  Which had me nervous.  But I finally heard it this week (on-line here.. the sermon on 11/1) and I'm so honored and flattered.

Again, I can't thank everyone enough who sponsored me and Team Livestrong.  I gave it my all. I did the best I could do.  My body just didn't want to go any further.  And finishing the additional 16.2 miles wouldn't have really changed the journey.

I discovered today that the documentary I worked on last year apparently premiered tonight in San Francisco.  I would be lying if I said I was pissed that a) I was not invited and b) I didn't get credit for it.  I did my job.  I fulfilled my duties.  But for whatever reason, the producer/ director decided to withdraw my name and credit.  Whatever.  Onwards.  Upwards.  Karma is a bitch.

I'm really looking forward to this next chapter in my life.  I'm not sure what it is just yet.  But I'm looking forward to finishing my script (the producers read the first act and love it).  

I'm looking forward to new adventures.  I made a conscious decision earlier this year to rid my life of drama and complicated people.  Amazingly, those people fell from life like water, dripping off a sleek raincoat.

Maybe it will be casting in Atlanta.  Maybe it will be casting in Los Angeles.  Maybe it will be something all together new.

But for this week, I'm all about the rest.  The naps.  And the quiet.

Team Shirt!

All Clear!

The blood markers came back and I'm still clear!  Which I guess means I really do have to do the marathon now.  I have to say... not a day goes by, nay, not four hours a day goes by that I don't think the cancer is back.  And with the cough, I was convinced it had metastasized in my lungs.  I've been so tired and lethargic.  I guess it's just the fact I wasn't getting any sleep.

But, still in remission, which is awesome.

Ran the Silver Lake Reservoir and made the mistake of leaving my iPod at home.  Won't ever make that mistake again.

Had a very busy day dealing with the cast of the top secret thing, dealing with the artwork, talking to various people.  Between 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM I had over 300 e-mails.

I also made a decision today - that I'm going to let play out till the end of the year.  

I'm going to go back into casting.  

I know.  Peel yourself off the floor.

I've officially given up on television.  I'm not going to wait another year for another fellowship.  It's difficult with television as a new writer.  There are limited ways in.

You either sell your own pilot.  Which I came close... but no cigar.

You start as an assistant and get bumped up.  Which again, would have happened, but I came in on JORDAN's last season.  Had I taken an assistant job on HEROES, I could have been a producer level writer now, assuming I got bumped up.

You enter through a program or fellowship - but the only program that I'm technically eligible for is Warner Bros, since all the others are "diversity."  I'm not black.

You fit an ethnic quota the studio needs to fill.  (Again, diversity hires.  When I was in casting, we also had to do weekly reports on ethnic breakdowns as to who we hired.  And keep in mind... it's all based on STORY... I never understood these reports, but I guess it was a way of tracking.)

Or you are sleeping with the right people, and apparently, I am not.

I gave it four solid years.  I'm disappointed, but I'm not giving it five.  I can still write features and still do casting.  But as Joni Mitchell said, "I've seen both sides now."  And I'd rather be back in casting and doing something I'm really great doing, then working as a vampire in a field I don't care anything about.

I don't have a time frame.  I'm not pursuing anything until the end of the year.  I have to get passed the marathon and then shows start to barrel down toward the end of the year.  So maybe the first of the year.  If something were to give way sooner, I'm all for it.

It's funny though.  I was talking to a friend the other day and I was talking about the level of stress that I went through in casting while I was in it - as opposed to where I am today and that's really a lifetime ago.  The sheer insanity of the documentary last year made casting look like a propohol induced dream.  And after going through cancer, I really feel like I can do anything.  

So, we'll see.  I'm putting it out there.  We'll see if it bites.

-C

Hello Again

I feel like I've been buried for the past month and a half.

First off, I have so many people to thank.  Laura Berrios, Adrienne Bramhall, Maria Bradley, Nancy Villaneuva, Cindy Nam, Janis Jones, Janice Henson, Jennifer Hofman, Tracey Harmon, J.T. Chestnut, Linda Hutchinson, Eden Weltman, Jennifer Westerland, Jenni Moore, Stephanie Conti, Charles Meagher, Jon Barrett,  Yvonne Sims and Dasha Synder.  And of course, my guardian angel who has supported me for so many of these crazy marathons and such.

I hope I didn't miss anyone.  Thanks to everyone, I have made my goal of $3,500 for the Livestrong organization!

I don't think I've fully adapted to this new lifestyle as a vampire.  I'm at the hotel from 11 PM till 7 AM (of course, my morning relief is late 4 out of 5 days.  When Alyssa gets here on time on Mondays, I can be home by 8 AM.  Those other mornings when it's "someone else" it's between 830 and 9 AM).

Usually I fall asleep within five minutes and sleep until between 3 PM and 5 PM.  Then I take a quick nap for a half hour before leaving to do it all over again.

This week has been great, since I haven't had as many inebriated guests.  I've gone from trying to be patient to zero tolerance.

I've been running.  I'm up to 5 miles, which doesn't sound like a lot, but the cough has made it very difficult to train.  The cough has improved.  I'm just trying to take it easy and wish I had never signed up to do this marathon.  

Tomorrow I'm going to do 6 miles (or Thursday...).  I joined 24 Hour Fitness again, which was cheaper than Gold's and has more locations between home and the hotel.  Now that I supposedly have an immune system again after 8 months, I think I can be safer around germs.

I also paid off all my cancer bills, (except for the pending CT scan that no one seems to know what is happening).  That was a huge feeling of accomplishment.  Now I can start it all over again next month, but I'm thinking about finding a new oncologist.

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to even think about this little blog.  I've been covering the history of my church for a book that they are putting out next month for the 100th anniversary.  I've been working on my OWN book, WE MAKE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL.  

Cynthia Stillwell and I are attempting to get THE BODY FARM off the ground.  We are sending it out to attach talent this week.  Amanda Mason has worked wonders for me that I can't really talk about now, but needless to say, I'm so thankful for her.

I've also been working so hard on trying to market the workshop in Atlanta and hoping it comes together.

And there have been a lot of other things.  I promise to write more.

I just had to get out there my thanks to everyone that has supported me for the marathon.  

Thanks.  More later.

Last Day of Freedom

Sadly, today is the last day I gave myself of rest before starting to train again.  My cough has improved and I think I may have discovered the cause of it. 

Starting Saturday, I will have exactly 3 months before the marathon.  In the traditional training I've done in the past, I've lost a lot of time.  Oh, well.  (I also did Dublin and didn't train for an entire 3 months BEFORE the marathon and I still finished that one.  Though I wanted to die.)

I plan on running for at least an hour every single day and some days increasing mileage for two or three hours.  I've decided I'm not going worry about mileage.  I'm just going to try to bank hours.  Some days maybe two hours.  Some days maybe three,  I think I constantly worry about the actual MILES, so I'll just have to let that go.  I'll do a few extended long runs.  I'll take a day off here and there.

And I'm going to get back into great shape.  Yoga.  The gym.  Kick boxing.

I read this article in Metro Source about your washing machine.  Over time, your detergent can build up and cause spores.  You might notice an odd smell to your clothes.  I've noticed an odd smell to some of my t-shirts, but never really gave it much thought.  I just assumed it was the cheap detergent.

TURNS OUT, if you have no immune system (thanks to chemo), these spores can get into your lungs from your clothes.  Our machine is oldish (we've been in the house for 8 years and I have no idea how long it's been there) but seeing as how these allergens just as from your clothes can get into your lungs, maybe THAT'S what it has been all along.  I'm bleaching the machine tomorrow, so we'll see.

It's improved, but hasn't cleared.  But I've got to start running again.  My body needs it. 

I think I'll run on the beach (the hotel is a block from it) in the mornings on my long runs, (to avoid traffic) and run in Griffith Park in the mornings before I go to bed for my hour runs.

No one should be under any impressions that I'm going to finish NYC in any sort of fast time.  I'll just be happy to finish it.

I'm so happy to have the rest of Friday off and not have to work again until Sunday night!  I worked 6 nights straight.  Grateful for the job, but tired.

The Lottery

There must be something wrong with Typepad, because I'm missing posts that I KNOW I wrote and they aren't anywhere... drafts or posted.

I didn't win a bib in the NYC Marathon lottery that was announced today - thank God.  (I already have a bib from the Lance Armstrong Foundation and if I had won one today, I would have been out $100 from when I applied to be in it months ago.)

So for some reason, the post thanking everyone is missing.  Thank you so much to my cousin, Ashley Sargent; my former middle school and high school principal, Charles Meagher; my dear Dasha Snyder; my publisher, Jon Barrett; my peeps, Yvonne Sims, Nicole Nohr, Janis Jones and Lisa Fine and the lovely, Zen Gray.  And of course, she who shall not be named :)

Thank you all so much, and I apologize for not thanking you earlier!  I've already raised close to $1,800.

Every little bit helps and the proceeds go to benefit Livestrong.

4 Miles

Catie and I ran 4 miles today, which justifies the dark chocolate bar I just ingested and chicken alfredo.

And So It Begins - 3 Miles

I finally did it.  I started.  Less than 6 months to go before New York.  I wanted to start on May 1st, but the cough was killing me.

I still have a little bit of the cough, but it's getting better.

My quads were not thrilled to wake from their 7 month slumber.  I've done some hiking and some running, but today was the first venture I would actually call "running" since October.

Oh, Right - I Have a Blog

Sorry - I have completely neglected my blog.  I'm in a weird place where I know I should be totally excited to have meetings next week with FOX, Warner Bros, and ABC for staffing possibilities, but at the same time, I would rather have a steady job.

On the one hand, I'm thankful that I'm able to sit in a coffee house and write during the day.  Thankful I can wake up at 10 AM and go to bed at 3 AM.  Yet - would love to have a steady paycheck and be able to plan trips, buy furniture and not scrape together to pay off cancer bills and have to call every single day to the accounting office of the freelance writing gigs and say, "where is my check?"

I'm working on several new things.  THE REVIVALS, which all these companies have loved in pitching, is so hard and so complex in the research, that I opted to start a novel instead.  And then I decided today that the novel would make a better movie - so I'm writing both versions.  It's called TO LIVE AND DIE IN COLMA.

I was supposed to have started training for the NYC Marathon last weekend, but thanks to the cough that will not die, I couldn't start running.  So I went to my doctor today and was diagnosed with a "persistant cough."  Go freaking figure.

He put me on Advair, which is a purple disk you suck on twice a day.  It's already helping.  I hope to be running by Friday.

He mentioned that "chemo cough" is thanks to the cilia in your lungs which are killed during chemo, so now that they are growing back, they are passing everything along.  Kind of like when smokers quit smoking.  I'm just looking forward to having an immune system again.  This past Sunday, we have the Lord's Supper at Church.  I didn't partake, out of paranoia of the dozens and dozens of hands that would have dipped their bread into the cup.  I told Mark, "I love Jesus and all, but I'm not having supper with him for the next eight months."

And thanks to my donors, "she who shall not be named" and my cousin, Ashley Sargent for their donations.  Ashley's husband, Chris Sargent, just left for six months of basic training before joining the army.  Thoughts and prayers to his safety and Ashley's strength and sanity.

Starbucks Inspiration

 

"People say, oh I could never do that! But when you meet cancer patients you understand the bravery and spirit those people show each and every day. Their struggles motivate and inspire you to test the limits of your endurance and to cross that finish line. You’ll be surprised by what you can do."

– John Kellenyi

 

And a big thank you to Nicole Nohr, Zen and my anonymous angel for their donations.  You guys rock.