"In order to save my life, they'd have to almost kill me."

As promised...

One of my Teammates in Training presented us with a Mission Moment before we embarked upon our mini-triathlon on Saturday. Joe is a young bloke, big cyclist. Upon seeing him initially, you wouldn't think he'd ever had cancer. However, he was diagnosed with Burkitt's-- aka non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Apparently it's super rare and after exhausting all other options, he was left only with an experimental treatment. Can you even start to imagine the emotional intensity of that situation?? Honestly, it blows my mind. Anyways, he decided to give the experimental treatment a shot. He said it was essentially taking the amount of chemo someone should receive over two months and administering it over two weeks. "In order to save my life, they'd have to almost kill me." The most remarkable part of it all? The experimental treatment worked. Joe is now participating in the Chicago Triathlon and has done many cycling events prior. The research that LLS is conducting to find these new treatments is hardly some clowns goofing off in a laboratory tinkering around with chemicals. And it also isn't an organization that gets nowhere in its research. The research that is being done is to actually find cures, and the things they find are working! How exciting is that? How can that not motivate you to support their pursuit of a cure? I am blue in the face from preaching about the quality and integrity of LLS, but there's just something about hearing it from someone who has experienced their success first hand that really drives it home.
Joe made another important point: it's because of organizations like Team in Training that a lot of the research LLS is able to conduct is possible. On Saturday we learned that the Chicago Team has raised over $100,000. That's phenomenal and I am so proud of all my donors who have contributed to that!

We are definitely in the home stretch of fundraising. The last leg is always the hardest. We are sitting strong at $1,455 (two checks are being processed, that is the discrepancy from the website). That leaves $545 to raise before the 4th. Let's push through and finish this strong. Let's enable LLS to continue their extensive research that will find more answers in the realm of blood cancers. DONATE today.

Below are some pictures of the mini-tri from Saturday. They're very telling.


This was our transition area. Note the grassy knoll-- not a beach. Whatever, I don't hold a grudge.

Getting ready... ...Panicking...

Herky-Jerky Hip Coach addresses the TEAM. Find my facial expression, it's worth it.

Headed down to the water... "Sometimes I wonder what the hell I got myself into..."

The 'stampede'.. haha

Humble Pie II: Open Water Swimming

This morning we had a mini-triathlon to get an idea of what race day will be like (minus the 7,000 other participants...). So, we all headed down to Ohio Street Beach to 'race.' We were told to get there by 7:15am, if not earlier, to set up our spot in the 'transition area.' I'd never been to this location, so I paranoid-ly left at 5:30am because I didn't want to be late. I got there painfully early at 6:08am. So I waited... by 6:55 no one else was there yet and I was getting nervous that I was waiting in the wrong spot. I finally spotted a fellow TNT-er and we stood for a few minutes before we saw a different guy that said 'our group is over there...' in a little grassy knoll off yonder. I take "Ohio Street Beach" to mean the actual beach.. but who am I? So I was kinda cranky that I didn't get the time I wanted to like mentally prepare as I set my stuff up-- I still had a few minutes but the location issue threw me off. So I set up my towel rather haphazardly. The whole idea is to set things in a super organized way that will enable you to dawn whatever equipment you need as quickly as possible when you are transitioning. I'd never transitioned before so I had no idea what order to put things in. I watched a seasoned triathlete and did a poor imitation of his towel. Then I went to retrieve my wetsuit. Oh, wetsuits. I wore one exactly four years ago and it was great. This one-- not so great. It's meant for racing, so obviously it's going to be tight. But I was not alone in my lack of attractive-ness... even the skinny mini's had backsides the size of Texas in those things. I worried that my continental backside would hurt someone!

OPEN WATER SWIMMING. Holy holy holy holy cow. We walked into about our knees, it wasn't too cold which I was happy 'about-- those wetsuits do a good job (at one point I was even like 'man, I'm too warm!'). Then one of the TNT coaches shouted "OKAY GO!" We were to swim seven and a half minutes out, and then come back for a 15 minute swim (very mini triathlon...). So even though we were in knee deep, people just like flopped on their bellies and started swimming... I chose to wade in to my waist as I didn't want to scoop the bottom of Lake Michigan with my stroke. Then I noticed I couldn't breathe. My wetsuit goes all the way up to my neck, past where my clavicles meet and it feels like it is pushing on my neck and choking me. I lifted my head up sputtering. I could get a breath in sort of, but when I put my face back in the water to breathe out through my nose, I couldn't! So when I would take my three strokes then turn to breathe again, I still had the air from the first time stuck in there. VERY DISTRESSING. I kicked and flapped... stood up a couple of times, coughed and coughed and coughed, and tried to keep going in a Dory-esque fashion ('Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....) 'I am going to be the one to drown. All these yahoos can swim in open water, but I am going to drown.' I pulled my my face up and coughed some more then looked to my left where another TNT-er was with her face out of the water, too. "I can't even breathe in here!!!" I shouted to her. I was so grateful when she replied "ME EITHER!!!" Somehow knowing that I wasn't alone in my respiratory distress was comforting. I decided I needed to get comfortable breathing while I was horizontal-- for some reason that was when everything went awry in the inspiration/expiration process. So I kicked on my side for a couple of seconds with my face out of the water so I could breathe freely. Once I realized that I could breathe while being horizontal, I tried swimming like a swimmer again. It took a couple minutes, but I got into somewhat of a rhythm. I could breathe at least; a step in the right direction. There were no major issues from there. I just felt like I wasn't going ANYWHERE. At one point I saw the bottom of the lake and I thought 'Victory, I'm done!' However as I looked up, I realized I was just at the retaining wall... still very far from the shore. Any technique I'd used in any pool, any sort of power I'd ever had in the water was absolutely gone. Between my FULL ARM wetsuit (that was a mistake!!!) and the wavy and murky water... I was hardly efficient and probably went like 400 yards in 15 minutes. It was a first, though... can only get better from there. We have another opportunity to practice this Wednesday at a group training, and hopefully I'll get out there a couple more times before race day.

So out of the water I had the joy of tearing off my wetsuit as I scurried to our transition area. Many non-TNT-ers looked as we all stampeded up the beach. I am so grateful for my teammates as misery does love company. I wiggled out of that wetsuit and threw on my TNT dri-fit shirt. I'd worn my 'triathlon shorts' and my swimming suit under my wetsuit so all I needed was a t-shirt. Once my shoes, socks, and helmet were on, I was off.

If you have ever been on the Lake Shore Trail, you know that Saturday mornings are CRAZY crowded. The coach had prepared us for this aspect, saying this training session was for the transitioning experience, not necessarily to go as fast as you can. (Psh). In that, he was essentially saying 'be safe on the trail, it's crowded.' And he was right. I was reminded of the Shamrock Shuffle, a 5k run in the city. It is SO crowded that instead of experiencing the euphoric endorphins brought with exercise, one (I) gets extremely angry because there are people in the way preventing optimal performance. That was seriously frustrating, but I really couldn't do anything about it, so I tried to use my irritation for something positive-- (what? I'm still not sure). We biked 15 minutes out, then came back for a 30 minute ride.

Once off the bike, I removed my helmet and strapped on my mock race number. They wanted us to feel exactly what we'd feel on race day in regards to equipment and what not, so they gave us our race belts and a mock number. The belt is an elastic band that clips together and you snap your number onto it. The last thing I need around my waist is an elastic band, my word! Whatever, I didn't win the spandex war, so I knew I probably wouldn't win this one, either. So I strapped it on and started running. Ten minutes out and ten minutes back for a total of 20 minutes. The run was fairly uneventful. I've noticed in the few times I've run right off the bike that my kneecaps go screwy. I have Patellar Femoral Tracking, so they essentially move around when they shouldn't. My right one has been giving me the most trouble which is surprising since I recently broke off part of my left knee. It does make me nervous as the race will be a significantly longer bike AND run... but we'll see. I'll pre-medicate with Advil and what not.

I finally finished. It was pretty warm and I was a lot more tired that I expected or wanted to be. During the run I remember thinking 'I don't know if I could run 6.2 miles right NOW much less if I'd just biked 25 and swam 1!' So I learned that even though I feel like I'm totally ready, there's still training to be done and it needs to be done OUTSIDE. The heat is such a big factor and when I workout in a wonderfully air conditioned gym, it's more comfortable, but I'm setting myself up for FAILURE. I also need to figure out how to eat on the bike and to stay hydrated. I don't have a water bottle cage on the Iron Horse, so I'll have to figure that out because I will need to be drinking during the bike in order to have any sort of fluid/electrolytes left for the run. I am a sweater.

As I downed Gatorade after the run two conversations stand out in my memory:
1) Random Man: "Did you see the lifeguards telling people to get out of the water? The E.Coli level is too high."
--EW! OMG THAT IS SO DISGUSTING. I was swimming in E.Coli laden waters and I want to shower myself in bleach. I definitely swallowed water in my near-drowning escapade. I feel so DIRTY! I showered IMMEDIATELY when I got home and scrubbed!!!

2) Herky-Jerky-Hip Coach: "...Did you have a rough night... you don't look so good. You look really tired..."
--- Sometimes there are just those people who always say the wrong thing. It is true though, I didn't look super hot. I decided to go without mascara for the first time since like 6th grade and my eyes were super blood shot and puffy from my goggles. Not a pretty sight, but also not what one wants to hear... ever.

I rode my bike back home and when I got home I had the worst stomach ache ever. I was super nauseous and belched a couple of times... I thought I was going to ralph. 'That E.Coli is fast acting...' I thought to myself... Then it grew to sharp abdominal pains as I panicked about the terrible timing as I don't have insurance yet and I didn't know if they'd let an E.Coli clad nurse work again-- ever. After I showered I went straight to my room and started typing this bad boy and have slowly started to feel better, but I don't know, something funky is going on in my abdomen.

All this before 10am! Crazy. Next week: open water swim (yucky!) on Wednesday, then the South Shore Triathlon on Saturday. Keep donating! When I feel better, I will write about the person who spoke before this morning's escapades, very very touching story about how he's been affected by blood cancer.

Humble Pie

Wednesday we had another track workout. The workout consisted of a ten minute warm up jog, 1x400--recovery lap
1x800--recovery lap
1x1200--recovery lap
1x1600--recovery lap
ten minute cool down.
The goal of this was to keep the same pace. So, the time you ran the first 400 should be the pace of each real lap thereafter... the 800 time should be double the 400 time, the 1200 triple, etc. I stupidly went out kinda fast on the first 400. I was 4 seconds off for the 800, which is almost 'okay', but the time gap of where I should have been between where I was grew with each set. It was frustrating, I won't lie. Something was weird, I was just NOT feelin' it that night. Honestly, I started the 1600 and for the first 200 meters all I could think was 'I do not want to do this anymore, I want to stop.' Two things prevented me from becoming a quitter: 1) My Teammates in Training-- there were a solid 30 other people there and I got dubbed as an 'athletic person' and I didn't want to quit in front of them, and 2)I kept thinking about people with blood cancers. I can't imagine how many times they 'do not want to do it anymore.' The consequences of their quitting are far greater, however, than looking foolish in a crowd. The fact of the matter is that they have no choice but to continue fighting. Certainly if they can continue to fight their blood cancer battles-- I can certainly finish this workout. So I finished. Not nearly as strong as I had in the past and not nearly as well as I'd hoped, but I didn't quit. It was very humbling though-- one man goes "geez, what happened to you??" Super humbling-- espeically since I was still on a 'first-place' cloud from previous group running adventures. Not only am I embarrassed at my poor performance, but also my attitude. As of late I have just been kinda apathetic towards training appropriately for the triathlon. So far I've been 'doing my own thing' and up to a point that was okay. But it's at the point where the workouts are legitimately challenging and I NEED to get on the program, but there is something lacking within me and I can't put my finger on it which makes it that much more frustrating. My one thought as to why this is all going down is that I started my job this week and it is just exhausting. I am in orientation, and this first week has been purely classroom stuff, but it is just insanely overwhelming and draining. I leave at 7 and get home around 5:30-6:00. The last thing I've wanted to do when I've gotten home is to workout, which is a complete 180 from who I am. I have even lost my appetite which is weirdER-- I'm a vacuum usually and now I'm just... meh. I'm hoping that a weekend off from work will snap me outta this funk, cause it's unacceptable!!

In better news-- a couple more donations have come in which is super encouraging. Another soccer teammate, and two native Salem-ers that I went to high school with all chipped in to help cure blood cancers. I am just so shocked that we've raised $1,405! I am so proud o everyone who has helped out in any way. August 4th is JUST around the corner-- nine days. If we can get $66 in donations per day, we'll meet the deadline. Keep spreading the word like the Plague and we'll be set. My dad continues to shout it from the rooftops; he sent out an email to everyone he works with telling them about this great opportunity to donate to LLS. My parents are pretty adamant about the fact that while they support me in the things I do, they (understandably) don't want to rope their friends into my fundraising efforts. So I am very grateful for the publicity my dad has created!!

Tomorrow morning our group training consists of a super-mini-triathlon. I think it will be like 30 minutes total. The goal is to just get a sense for what the transition will feel like and that sort of thing. A trial run, if you will. Also, I signed up for the South Shore Triathlon which will be next Saturday. It is a super-sprint. Despite my begging, no friends wanted to do it with me, so I'll be alone-- I'm really quite nervous. We'll see what happens.

Please donate!!

TWO WEEKS

Happy July 22nd. Glance over at your calendar and you will see that there are just two weeks left until August 4th. "So what?" You ask? August 4th is the deadline for fundraising! We sit strong at $1,310-- leaving $690 to go in just 14 days. This comes out to $50/day. WE CAN DO IT!
If you've put off donating to a more convenient time, your next paycheck, or for whatever reason, the time has come. Carpe diem and donate TODAY!

I'm off to run outside (I grounded myself from the treadmill...) before starting my career! First day of real work today-- yikes!

More to come regarding training later today!

I think this city is more humid than when I left it. However, I will contain my complaints in this regard as I knew I'd feel the watery-air more so after having been out of it for 9 glorious days.

I returned on Saturday afternoon after what seemed like eternal traveling... I woke up at 2:30am west coast time.. left by 3 to get to the airport shuttle by 3:15 which ended up being 3:30 as it was in a different location than we'd thought... to the airport by 5:00 for a 6:45 departure. Arrived 30 minutes early at noon to hop on the Orange line of the El, transferred to the brown line and get off at the Western stop and trekked the 0.6 miles to my front door at 2:00pm.

Despite extreme travel exhaustion (which is one of the things in life that irritates me most-- why does traveling make you so tired.. you are just SITTING there!), I was absolutely jubilant when I got home. I had a hefty mail pile which held not one, but TWO donations for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!! Woohoo! My aunt and a former On Goal coworker contributed to this insanely legit cause bringing our grand total up to $1,310!! That means just $690 to go before August 4th! I'm loving the consistent progress we're making, it keeps my hopes high both that we'll reach our $2,000 goal and that a cure to blood cancers will be found sooner than later!

After a long nap on Saturday afternoon, I ran to North Park to retrieve the bike my friend is lending me for the triathlon. Unfortunately when I got there the tires were deflated, so I walked it back to my apartment where I had a tire pump. Yesterday I took it out for a spin on a GLORIOUS bike path that I had no idea existed. It's a solid 6 miles away, but once I get there it is actually NATURE. It even smelled like nature which is just astonishing in this city. I rode seven miles out and seven back, then the 6 miles home, for a total 26 miles. Just over the 24.8 that I'll do for the triathlon. I'm still getting used to the bike. It is so lightweight and has super skinny tires, and the seat height can even be adjusted-- what a treat! The gears are kind of funny, though and they don't go very high which creates extreme inefficiency in pedaling-- I'll be pedaling crazy fast but getting essentially nowhere. So we'll see about that. I absolutely love that trail, though, and plan to return for the rest of bike training (minus spinning class). It is great because it's not nearly as crowded as the lakefront, and it's through forest preserve (meaning it's super shady!)

Another new thing I embraced on my bike ride yesterday (new route, new bike, new...) spandex. Aye carumba. Positives: not uncomfortable when riding, the maxi-pad-esque padding in the crotch was actually quite effective for its cushioning qualities, no one fell over in hysterical fits of laughter as I rode by. The world of Spandex is completely foreign to me. My shorts are longer so they end just above my knees. At the end of them, there is a rubbery elastic ring right at the bottom, probably to prevent them from creeping up. However, this aspect is very unflattering, as well, my thighs are a little softer there, so it is just super unattractive! And humbling. When I got off the bike back at my house and was walking it to the basement, that cushioning was super uncomfortable! What an awkward place for stitching. I'm nervous to run in those after the bike... we'll see I guess! All part of the adjusting process, right?

I am hoping to get in the lake this week. My TNT mentor offered to go with me so I don't drown like a fool my first time out. I also hope to get my wetsuit from the office before... no one likes to be hypothermic.

I'm still nervous about running. I really need to pull myself off the treadmill and get outside. It's SO HOT, though! I have a hard time motivating myself to get to the gym, much less outside in 90 degree weather with 100% humidity! I really need to do it though or else I'm going to have a super rude awakening come race day. Running shoes have topped my Triathlon List in priority, though. My current ones have holes that grow with each step:

Unfortunate, really... I get attached to my running shoes. These carried me through the half marathon and my best time ever at the Shamrock Shuffle. Can't forget their showing at the Wacky 5k.. that was ..wacky. Ah nostalgia. Hopefully though, new shoes will remedy a new pain that popped up in my bum knee while at home. It hurts mostly on the bike, but new shoes never hurt anything but a wallet. These are the shoes I will be getting. In a different color, of course.

Okay, the rain has finally let up and I've procrastinated far too long. Donate donate donate! $690 is small compared to $2,000, but it's no small task!

Hallelujah!

So many exciting things have happened over the past week-- I don't know where to start!!

*FUNDRAISING: Holy toledo-- we have made leaps and bounds! We've received some hefty donations and are now sitting at $1,235!!! That's over half way! I am absolutely thrilled with this progress and grateful beyond belief. It's crazy how many people have been affected by blood cancers in one way or another, and absolutely admirable that they turn that around and donate to LLS. It blows my mind how significantly people have been affected, and until their donation, I had no idea. My grandma, a teammate's family, and a roommate's sister are among the latest to contribute. Everyone who has donated or muttered a prayer for LLS is SO appreciated by not only me, but also everyone who is participating in the fight against blood cancers. WELL DONE!

*BIKE WOES: Great news! A friend of mine who competed in the Chicago Triathlon with Team in Training a couple years ago has offered to let me use her bike! (Cue the clouds opening and the heavenly choirs bellowing praises). Since I've been at home, I haven't been able to check it out yet, but I have no doubt that it will be exponentially better than the Iron Horse (...sorry, girl.) I can't even tell you how exciting this is, and I can't wait to start training on it! I am confident that the Iron Horse would have broken down before or during the race. She probably would have wheeled up to the transition area that morning and then keeled over in a "Hell, no!" fashion. This fine friend of mine also offered her helmet, bike pouch, and sunglasses!! My triathlon list is DWINDLING! I am so excited to get my hands on this equipment as it will help me to feel more prepared for race day. Mentally feeling prepared is half the battle after all.

*RUNNING: I dropped 27 bones to get a temporary membership to my home gym while I've been home. VERY WORTH IT. I love that place. The treadmills, however, perplex me. I am convinced that they are positioned so that the runner is going at a slight downhill. I say this because I noticed too rapid improvement this winter break while training for a half marathon, and I noticed it again when I went to run shortly after arriving home. Please remember that I was struggling to hit 5 miles consistently in Chicago. On my first running attempt here, I went 0.2mph faster and went 8 miles with no problem. The only thing that stopped me is that my legs weren't used to going that long without a stretch or anything and my quads started cramping crazy bad. Otherwise, I felt wonderful. While I know I've been working hard at training and everything, I don't think that a legitimate improvement like that one is possible. So, I have started putting it at a 1-1.5% incline and that is bringing back some of the challenge. I still go 0.2mph faster, though-- I don't want to give that up! =) It's been interesting, and it does feel good to be able to run farther and faster. It is unfortunately tainted by my suspicious-ness towards the treadmills though. I guess one may suggest that I just run outside which is what I need to be doing anyways... but I'm being a child and doing what I want.

*RANDOM: My family got a new dog while I've been home. He's a black lab and very cute. I like him and kinda wish I could take him back with me. But I doubt he'd appreciate being bound up in my apartment all day, and I doubt my roommates would be as in love with him as I am. It'll be fun to come home to him when/if I get to visit home again!! Also while I've been home I got to meet a friend of my mom's who is training for the Ironman-- the crazy crazy long triathlon-- 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run! That's a full marathon after two crazy hard races!! It was neat to hear about her training and preparation. Very humbling too! I asked what distance she was at in training for the running leg and she said 17 miles! That's daunting. Makes my 5 mile victory a little less triumphant. But I know it's apples to oranges.

I return to Chicago on Saturday. It's definitely bittersweet. I'm excited to continue training and eager to get to that bike, but home is home-- "the land of plenty" as my roommate appropriately put it. It's been exactly the 'vacation' I needed to rejuvenate and get the energy back I'll need to not only do this triathlon, but also to start my first real job!

In the meantime, keep telling everyone you know about this blog. I am so encouraged by our fundraising progress-- we have just $765 left to go before August 4th. I am confident that we can do it together! Donate today!

My Hips Don't Lie

(Sidenote: I am writing this as I wait for my flight home (!!!), and some guy sitting next to me goes 'are you writing a book over there???' I think that's the universe's way of telling me I get too wordy...)

What better airport activity than blog updating?

Yesterday was an absolutely crazy day! It started off with “Hard Core Abs with Benny," then I went straight to spinning where I skipped the cool down in order to be on time for babysitting. The kids I hang out with are really good—but really active! I get pooped… I swear I feel like such an old woman whenever I am done babysitting any kid—no matter how good they are! It’s always fun, though. From babysitting, I boarded IH again to go lift. Ever since I upped my weight on the bench press I have been extra enthusiastic about lifting! It’s always something that I’ve advocated (ever since I learned that the more lean muscle you have, the faster your metabolism!! .. yes please!) I finished at 6:07pm which was perfect: it left just enough time to eat my pre-packed dinner before the group track workout at 7:00. I was very pleased with how everything worked out time-wise.

The track workout…It was at a very convenient location, just a hop, skip, and a jump from the gym I lifted at. It’s actually where we practiced soccer at North Park! So I moseyed on over and dined with nostalgia as I watched a recreational soccer league compete. I was definitely the first person from TNT there, and a coach came soon after (‘herky-jerky-hip’-coach). I asked him what the workout was, and was familiarly disappointed at the lack of distance. We were going to do a ten minute warm up jog, 5x400meters, and a ten minute cool down. 400 meters is one lap. So my thought: ‘five laps around the track is a workout now?’ tainted my attitude for a couple minutes. My Teammates in Training started to come slowly and we eventually got started. I always get so nervous before any workout—especially if there are other people around. Even if I know that I can do the workout, I know that everything will be absolutely fine, I get crazy butterflies! I decided that if it wasn’t going to be an obviously challenging workout, then I would have to get creative to make it challenging. I then remembered that these aren’t meant to be a crazy long distance, but it’s more an exercise of going fast and then recovering, going fast, recovering, over and over. “It’s an exercise to learn how to pace yourself,” as my coach explained when I wrinkled my nose after he told me the workout. And honestly, it was challenging! Speed has NEVER been my forte in anything (I take it back—in like first grade I got to be on the co-ed relay team for the Jaycee Relays… it was a big deal). But something happened in second grade and any ounce of quickness I once had vanished without a trace. Despite trying every plyometric, strengthening exercise, old wives tale, and tricks in every ‘How to Run Fast’ book, I have remained slow. I justify my slowness with the fact that I can be slow for a while—hence my affinity for endurance activities. So we did the ten minute warm-up lap. Thrilling. Then one guy (who I think is a coach for the ‘Steelhead’ Team’… Steelhead is a half-ironman tri, and that group often trains at the same time as the ‘Chicago Team’ making me feel super cool doing our pansy Olympic-distance workouts…) led us in some typical track drills. Track drills looks goofy even if the most seasoned track athlete is doing them. Getting a bunch of clowns together who have not done these drills in a long time (if ever) and throw them on a track and saying ‘go’ makes said drills even more comical and humbling. Grateful that the drills were over, we started the main set. Here’s what really BOGGLES MY MIND to no end—at all these running things, I wind up leading. I have never ever ever been the leading runner… in anything. I worked my way from being dead last (every track meet my sophomore year of HS—last place, thank you very much) in middle school and early high school, to being comfortably average. In most areas of life I despise the ‘river of mediocrity’ and do everything in my power to avoid it. However, coming from the ‘pits of failure,’ the mediocre river was a big accomplishment. Coming to these TNT trainings and leading the runs is just puzzling. I can almost fathom it for the long distance runs, like the 60 minute run at the lake a few weeks ago. But in the speed runs?! Something is very wrong in the universe. That is what I kept thinking during the five laps—‘Something is seriously wrong if I am in the lead.’ It was a harder workout than I anticipated, and am embarrassed at my snobby attitude of ‘Five laps is a workout now?’ We did a fast lap followed by a recovery lap, then waited for everyone to finish before we could start the next lap. I was under the impression that we would just start our next fast lap once we finished our recovery, but I was mistaken. After all, this is Team in Training… so we waited for our teammates. That was honestly a little frustrating, but I have definitely been bringing up the rear before so I didn’t dare put out bad vibes towards the end of the pack. This did allow me plenty of recovery time, though, which consequently allowed me to really push hard and go fast(er) on the fast lap than if I started immediately upon finishing the recovery lap. By lap five, I was definitely feeling it. My quads and hamstrings especially were fatigued! I purposely did not do leg lifting earlier in an attempt to preserve strength… so much for that.

After the last speed lap, the herky-jerky-hip-coach said to me “Kristin, you need to focus on pushing your hips forward. Your top is leaning too far forward and then your arms start to get a little crazy.” What is it with this man and my hips?! I’m half-kidding... I appreciate the feedback, as again, I have never been in an environment that I’ve been coached in running (minus that dreadful year of high school track which there wasn’t coaching at all aside from the psychological relief warranted by my awesome last-place tradition… literally every race, folks). When he told me to figure out my hips I chuckled. I think he was confused—my last reaction to his hip-coaching was a clenched jaw and death stare… this time I just started laughing at him. Oh to be a wishy-washy female. On the cool down jog I tried to get my hips forward but it was not good. I felt like I was leaning backwards while trying to run forwards. I don’t know, I guess it’s good feedback to keep in mind, but for now I won’t be spending hours on end at the track trying to get my hopeless hips in line.

At the end of the day, I felt good about challenging myself and taking what had potential to be a lighter workout and doing what I could to boost its intensity. I guess the same goes with every workout, though. It’s really up to me how hard it will be and if it’s lack-luster, there’s probably something I could have done to prevent that. Afterwards I climbed on the Iron Horse for the final time that day and returned home thirteen hours after leaving it to start packing!! Because that’s right, I’m going home and I could not be more elated. Wait-- yes I could be— donations elate me more than anything at this point! We’ve climbed up to $795! Another former soccer teammate has stepped up! I have been really impressed with my peers. Students, after all, have a fairly legit claim of being absolutely broke therefore unable to donate. But a handful of my college compadres have been more supportive than I ever expected. So, we now have $1,205 left to go before August 4th! Victory is coming, my friends, one donation at a time. If you have not yet had an opportunity, please go to my fundraising site to make your donation today! Your donation is solely for the purpose of fueling the fight LLS is in against blood cancers and their search for a cure. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again—look at their website! It’s fascinating, especially the research sections. Very worth your while.

Who sets off fireworks at 2pm, anyways?

Holy cow, July 8th?! My goodness time is flying.

Training is coming along. There has been a break from group training due to the thunder and lightening at the open water swim and the holiday weekend. I am excited for tomorrow, as it is a track workout instead of swimming. =) I’m not exactly sure of what it will consist of, but I’m sure it will be fun. Who doesn’t like to run?!

On the 4th I ran outside because any gym I could track down was closed due to the holiday. I never did understand that—people need to be fit on holidays, too! Regardless, I guess it was a good push to get me off the treadmill and onto the terrain I will be actually racing on. When considering my route I thought it’d be the perfect day to run on the lake front trail, as everyone would be at their celebratory barbecues leaving the beach front empty and peaceful. Sometimes I’m incredibly embarrassed at my own idiocy. The barbecues are AT the lakefront. It was the farthest thing from empty and peaceful EVER. Despite the 2:00pm hour, fireworks were going off left and right, polluting the air with green smoke the whole time. It was nuts-o! With every step and labored breath I couldn’t help but think ‘this is what you get for being so dense!’ I guess I’ve never been big on the tradition of a 4th of July bbq at the beach… I had NO idea! Despite the unexpected festivities, I got in a semi-decent run and ended up going six and a half miles. Thanks to www.mapmyrun.com I can map out my run and see the exact mileage—what a helpful training tool! (They also have www.mapmyride.com for biking!). Given, my pace was not my treadmill pace, but it was faster than my last outdoor running adventure and longer than my treadmill runs, so I will be content with that.

Fundraising is holding steady at $755. I am hoping that something.. big will happen. My dad is absolutely awesome and is enthusiastically pursuing his company’s matching donation program (or something like it). Even though he is all the way in Oregon, a person from the Oregon/SW chapter of LLS is looking into making a presentation at the company’s annual meeting! I have been so encouraged to see this slowly unfold, and I am crossing my fingers that it all goes well and that in the end LLS will benefit from a donation! My dad deserves even more props because his efforts at spreading the word do not stop with his company! He also is sending out emails telling people about this great opportunity to donate to LLS, referring them to this blog! This is an excellent and FREE way to help support LLS!!! Let us all learn from his example! =)

I’m so grateful for all the donations that have been made already, and for the beyond encouraging emails and messages I have received regarding this endeavor. Support of any kind is invaluable to me and keeps me going when I get discouraged or wonder what the heck I’m trying to pull. While I know I have been focused primarily on financial support of this endeavor, the bottom line is that support is support and I am grateful for all the prayers, good vibes, and well wishes I have received in addition to monetary support. They’re absolutely wonderful!

In other news, I think I get to go home on Thursday! That will be so so so wonderful as I am more homesick than I have ever been (I’m still confused as to why… you would think that after four years of living far away, I’d be over it..) I think that since I don’t really know the next time I will be able to go home after I start working for real as a nurse (July 22nd!!!), I am a little panicked. But thanks to some extreme generosity and buddy passes, I think it’ll workout to head home for a short bit before the 22nd. I am so lucky. I’m excited to train in Oregon! Finally-- long stretches of road without stoplights every twelve feet or crazy people flinging doors open in front of me! Also no humidity!! Woohoo… although that will be an indulgent treat that will probably be harmful in the long run, as during the triathlon (at the end of August) humidity will be at an all time high. Hmm.. well, a risk I am willing to take. So hopefully, next time I write it will be from the west (best) coast. =)

Donate, friends. It’s such a worthy organization.

GOOD THINGS.

This has nothing to do with the triathlon, but I want to SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS:
I passed my boards! What a feat-- I can finally breathe (and pleasure read!) for the first time in four years.

Perhaps in a fit of gleeful insanity, I decided to take care of some of the items on my 'triathlon board.' I ordered triathlon shorts, body glide (anti-chafing stick...painfully necessary), and elastic shoelaces. I'm having some second thoughts about getting the shorts online... but there is no way I would convince myself to go to a store to try them on with a sales person breathing down my neck-- I shudder at the thought.

To top off the exciting news-- I hit 5 miles yesterday! Almost right after I wrote that it was my goal, too! (Maybe Oprah is on to something...) I got a job at my school's gym and am ELATED as it means that I can continue to use the absolutely wonderful facility through the summer. Honestly I am very excited. So yesterday after I lifted in the divine weight room (I also upped my weight on bench press! woohoo!) I hopped on the treadmill and said 'here goes..' My legs felt different than they have in the past weeks. They felt... normal! I don't want to jinx it or anything, but they felt like they did way before getting doored, when I was running much farther distances than I am doing now. That was exciting.

The only thing that could make this day better is receiving some donations! We're sitting strong at $755. That means $1,245 to go before August 4th! I trust that we can do it!!!!

=) It's a good day. Hopefully this feeling will last. Haha-- probably will until those spandex shorts show up. yikes.

An Answer to Prayer? I think so.

I just want to share with you part of an email sent out by Debbie, who is the Campaign Manager for the Chicago Triathlon with Team in Training:

"The top fundraiser for the Team In Training Accenture Chicago Triathlon team (must raise over $10,000) will receive a Schwinn carbon-fiber “Peloton” road bike!!"

!!! You've seen my whining about how much a road bike would change my life! While finding a cure to blood cancers should be the best motivator in the world, it's amazing what a promise of a new bike can do! What do you think, friends? Want to help me be the top fundraiser for TNT for the Chicago Tri??? =)

Death Wish to the Iron Horse? Whoopsie.

Please forgive my absence over the past couple of days. One insanely important exam has been taking over my life.

To catch up on the triathlon front:

*Saturday bike training: a fiasco in getting there due to a punctuality-challenged driver and rickety bike rack, but we got there. Albeit 30 minutes late, but we got there. That's the joy about biking, I suppose... it's an individual sport and doesn't rely on the presence of others. So we got there late, started late, and ended late. We did a 90 minute ride. That was exciting. I can't articulate how much I wish I could get my hands on a road bike! I can keep up with the less experienced road bikers on my mountain bike. It makes me wonder what I could do with a road bike! I am grateful for the Iron Horse, though. She's a faithful machine that's powered through much adversity. Confession: I may have wished death upon IH. On our way to the forest preserve for the training session, my bike was the last on to a bike rack that was meant to hold lightweight road bikes. The Iron Horse is the farthest thing from a lightweight road bike possible. So for the hour drive it took to get there, my eyes were glued to the rear window, watching as the bikes on the rack bounced with every pebble we ran over. When we hit a typical Chicago-pot hole, my heart palpitated. We even went over a railroad at one point. I think I blacked out. I reached my target heart rate before we even arrived to the training site-- it was ridiculous. At one point I thought 'If my bike falls off... maybe I could justify buying a new one...' So for a couple of seconds I hoped it would fall. Then I realized that I can justify buying a new one even if it didn't fall-- I legitimately need a new bike. My issues with not obtaining one are solely due to the fact that they are crazy expensive. So I mentally apologized to the ol' girl and willed her to hang on until we arrived. By the grace of God alone we made it to the forest preserve with all bikes intact. How it happened? Divine intervention. The ride was good and I felt good about it. Afterwards I wanted to see what my legs felt like, so I ran to the end of the parking lot and back (maybe 100 yards??? ish ish ish). HOLY COW. I have heard people talk about how awful my legs will feel when I start running off the bike. I didn't expect them to be SO right! That's going to be interesting. I want to start doing some brick workouts early so I can be completely ready for that aspect. It blew my mind away. It was like my quads and calves were cinder blocks and my knees were (painful) jello trying to connect the two. Out of control! I'm excited for that challenge.
*Today was supposed to be our first open water swim, but it just got cancelled due to severe thunderstorm warnings. Psh. I guess I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I'd be... it's been a long day! I took my boards today and am kinda drained. I don't know that swimming in a large body of water would have been my safest decision... especially if it is thundering/lightening. I was quite content with the advice my mom and grandma gave: "stay close to the attractive male lifeguards and you'll be fine." I like the way they think (for once).
*As far as running goes, I've hit a wall at 4 miles. I want to get back to where I was (alternating 8 miles and 5 miles each day), and I want to get back there NOW! I am so bad at slowly building back up-- mostly due to my attitude. I guess that is one thing I have control over, though, so I should get it together. My goal this week, though, is to break through to five. =) I know I can do five, but I want to do it at a fast pace. I think I can run lolly-gag speed for a while, but at a legit pace I am good for 30 minutes. That's too short. It feels good to work hard, but is frustrating to know that a couple of months ago the workout that just killed me was my workout for an easy day. ...What can ya do-- just gotta work with what you've got.

So that's that. I have decided to make a list of things I NEED for the triathlon. I watched Oprah the other day (I've been studying really hard... promise) and they were talking about 'vision boards' (in a typical oprah fashion). On a vision board you put things which you want to achieve or obtain in your life. Perhaps if I make a 'triathlon board' I will get the stuff I need before race day. Worth a shot! So far my list includes:
*Triathlon Shorts
*Sunglasses
*Water bottle cage
*Pedal clips
*Running shoes (mine have holes... Susie will be upset.)
*A bike (can't hurt!)
*"Slicks"
*Elastic Shoe Laces
*A legal helmet (I think mine being ancient makes it illegal. ...seriously.)
*A small 'case' to put on my bike to hold a spare tube (not that I'll know how to use it if I
need it...), etc.


I'm hoping I don't need anymore than that. I guess there is one thing....

DONATIONS! Woohoo, we've come so far and I'm so honored and grateful for everyone's support. My dad has been inquiring with his company to see if this will qualify for their "Matching Donation" program (which I think it actually doesn't... but what a GREAT thought!). There might be another option though, which would be so exciting! Perhaps you have a similar program or some more great ideas about expanding the donation network. Thanks a million times over to all who have donated-- you're the heroes behind all this and I'm speechless at your generosity!
We've got a little ways more to go before August 4th, so don't stop spreading the word like wildfire. Lets cure blood cancers, my friends! We CAN do it one donation at a time!