Sandy's Tri-Site

July 12,2009; Livestrong Challenge

2009-07-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

I signed up for the Livestrong ride back in March because of a challenge set forth to me by the fatcyclist Elden Nelson. I've been following his blog at www.fatcyclist.com for 3 years. At first it was just a really fun blog to read about a once fat guy who loves cycling. Then he found out his wife, Susan, had a relapse of breast cancer. Then his blog became inspirational. Little did I know that between March and July I would find out that my good friend Jen would find out she has ovarian cancer and I would be putting my Godfather who was in everything that counts my father in hospice care.

I woke up at 5AM on the day of the ride thinking...I can't believe I'm about to ride 100 miles. I'd rather just stay in this comfy bed. I new that Sue and Jay were about to come pick me up so I dragged out of bed and had my normal pre-race food of a bagel with an egg, cheese, and ham. Way too soon Sue was at the door and we were on our way to San Jose. On the way we heard a loud pop and hiss. We all knew that sound. Who's tire was that? Of course it was mine. We got there about 45 minutes before the start of the ride which was plenty of time to change my flat and get to the start of the ride. This is when I found out that I was able to start in the very front due to the fact that team Fat Cyclist raised more than any other team at Livestrong. I met a bunch of really cool people who were all pulling for Susan and who all were here to cure cancer. After hearing an amazing speech from the X CEO of HP Carly Fiorina who is currently undergoing treatments for breast cancer the air horn blew.

The police were going to lead us at a pace of 20mph for the first 9 miles. I was able to hang with the front for the first couple of miles but then I realized that I would be out there for 100 miles and my heart rate was up way too high and I was working way too hard for this so I dropped back and began to enjoy myself chit chatting with the other Fat Cyclists. The first stop was at mile 11 which was way too soon to be stopping. I new I had told Sue and Jay that I would wait for them but I have ridden with Sue enough to know that there was no way she would stop. At this point I caught up to the team wearing the US Navy kits and jumped on the back of their pace group. I continued with them until we hit our first climb of the day, Shannon rd,which is a 400 ft climb that got steep towards the end. At the top of the climb there was a guy dressed up as a devil. The guy next to me said "I've been trying to stay away from that guy all my life" After passing the devil, I kept going to the second stop.

When I got there I saw a ton of people I knew including Jen Yen, Sean, Berend, Danny, Phil, Bennet, Josie, I know I'm missing a bunch. I called Sue and she said she was a couple minutes back so I chose to wait and visit with my friends. Once Sue and Jay caught up and had a chance to do what they had to do at the stop we took off with Danny, Phil, Bennet, and their friend. We enjoyed riding together for about 15 miles before the 65/100 mile cutoff. They were doing 65 and Sue, Jay and I were doing the 100. We separated for a bit due to the fact that there were a series of hills and the three of us climb at different paces. I started thinking I should stop and wait for Sue and Jay when my chain dropped. I pulled over and fixed it just in time to see them cresting the hill. After a while we got separated again and I caught the tire of some guy in a Liquigas kit. I let him pull for a while and then commented on how pretty the ride was and said that I'd pull since I'd been on his tire for a while. We exchanged pulls until we hit the 3rd stop at Uvas reservoir. As soon as I got there a volunteer with a Fatcyclist T-Shirt took my bike and had someone take my bottles to fill. I ran over to the food tent and grabbed some nutrition. By then Sue and Jay were at the stop.

We then rode through some beautiful wineries. We went through some uphill followed by a nice fast long downhill. I noted that I was going 30MPH then POP! I thought Sue had gotten a flat then I realized it was me. I pulled over and started taking off my tire when SAG came by and offered assistance. I asked if they had a pump and they pulled over and assisted me with the tire change. I got the new tube in and then realized I had a faulty valve so had to take the tire off and start over. Sigh...at least we had a real pump and weren't dealing with CO2 or anything. After the change we continued on our way. We then started down this long straight road with some good headwinds. Jay being the strongest cyclist (by FAR) pulled us for the whole road. I can't thank him enough!

After our next water stop, in which I exchanged hi fives with several other Fatties doing the full century, we were warned that the stop before Metcalf was only 5 miles away. The entire ride I'd been dreading Metcalf road. After crossing 101 there was this climb which I thought was Metcalf. I thought ok...it's hard but I don't see what the big deal is. Then I realized that wasn't Metcalf. I then hit the stop before Metcalf which was at the base. OMG! Metcalf is steep. 1000 ft of climbing in 1.8 miles. I looked up and shuttered in fear. Sue was in the restroom but I told Jay that Sue is a much better climber than me when it comes to really steep stuff so I was going to go ahead. I was tempted to grab one of the SAG wagons who were picking people up (who didn't want to climb Metcalf) at that stop and taking them to the next but I didn't. WAY too quickly I was walking my bike. I looked up and saw about 10 people...8 of whom were also walking. I walked for a while then my calves started cramping, then I tried to get on my bike but fell over. Then I saw a guy cross the street ahead and take a running start. I did the same and quickly ran out of steam. I started walking again and cramping again. At this point a SAG vehicle passed and asked if I was ok. It took my all but I asked her to take me to the top. I felt bad but I wasn't really riding I was walking and I was cramping and starting to get overheated so I let Metcalf beat me. On the way to the next stop I saw Jay waiting for Sue and I at the top. I knew that Sue hadn't passed me so I assumed she would realize I had SAGGED up. Once I got to the top, I was let out in front of my friends Jen Yen and Sandy M. I was embarrassed but they were cool about it. We talked a bit then they took off and I went to the shade to wait for Sue and Jay. Sue soon came by also in the SAG wagon. Apparently, she had thrown up. Fortunately, a motorcyclist went back to tell Jay that we were both up top (did I mention how amazingly supported this ride was).

Once Jay got to us we started on what I thought was going to be a screaming fun downhill. WAY too soon we hit another 400 ft climb. Typically this climb would be tough but not too hard for me but I left everything on Metcalf. I struggled but made it. I noticed I was pretty grumpy so tried to get some nutrition in me to take me to the end. The rest of the ride I was just ready for it to be over. I guess I got a little careless with nutrition and started bonking a bit. Despite the fact that I knew this I just didn't want to eat. Eventually, I succumbed and forced down a Gu. I felt much better and happily rode the last 15 miles. Sooner than I expected we hit the finish line. The people cheering were incredible and the announcer calling my name made me emotional (you would think as many races and rides as I've done I'd stop getting choked up at the end). Sue Jay in line got in line for the food, grabbed our free beers and happily sat eating our food contemplating our next event. This was a great ride and I can't wait to do it again next year!

We had put my Godfather in hospice the previous Monday. It was a tough decision but with cancer in his lungs, kidneys, bones, and brain it was time to just be sure he was comfortable. He's been confused a lot and we haven't been sure that he knows what's going on. After my shower I went to see him. He looked at me and in a moment of clarity he said "Did you win anything?" I thought about that. I did win...just having him present for me at that moment was more than any prize or medal that anyone could have given me.

Win Susan, Win Jen, Win Padrinho!

Sunday; June 7 2009 America's Most Beautiful Century

2009-06-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

This ride certainly earned it's name as Americas Most Beautiful Ride. Sue and I drove up Friday morning in order to get accustomed to the Altitude. It took us 5 hours to get up there because I missed our exit while deep in conversation. The first thing we did was hit the outlets. No tax in Reno! There was a Pearl Izumi store there and they were having a HUGE sale. I bought a Jacket because I thought wearing my rain jacket which didn't breathe would not be good for a 100 mile ride. This Jacket I had seen near home and wanted it but couldn't rationalize buying a $120 Jacket which would never be cold enough to wear on a ride, then I saw it in Austin on sale for $85 but didn't want to spend the money, then I saw it there on sale for $75 dollars and then to find out we got 15% for doing the ride and ANOTHER discount for being in TNT! Yee Haw!

After our shopping win. We drove the long way to Susie's condo in order to see Spooner which is a 9 mile climb which begins at mile 80. I'm glad we did this because we were able to observe the fact that Spooner would go up then flatten out and go up again. There were a couple of steep parts but it seemed that these little flat parts were well placed. We got to the condo to see Mary Anne, Linda, and Susie. We had a glass of wine at cocktail hour then had a DELICIOUS pasta dinner cooked by Susie. MMMM! We went to bed early and had a very good nights sleep. In the morning we had breakfast and headed to packet pickup noting that the weather never hit above 45 and it was noon!

After packet pickup we went for a shakedown ride. My teams ride was canceled due to the heavy rain but I went with another team to make sure my bike was ok and my new Jacket would work for the ride. I got back to my room soaking wet and COLD from the waste down. My Jacket did it's job beautifully. That night we had a great pasta dinner with fantastic speakers and came back to the room at 9. Kristin and I ended up talking until midnight which was particularly bad because we were meeting our teams at 5:45 and 6. Our wake up call came way too soon at 5AM. I ate my peanut butter and banana bagel and went down to meet my team. Walking back I noticed my cleat was loose. Not a good sign having loose cleats before the ride even began...actually both cleats were loose. I tightened them just in time to meet the team for our ride. Our team consisted of Head Coach Tom, Me as ride support and participants Louise, Sarah, Santosh, Tom, and Kathie. We went outside to see a beautiful morning beginning. NO RAIN!

The beginning of the ride was slightly downhill and nice. Around mile 8 the climb up Emerald Bay which was a 3 mile 500 foot climb. I was a little bit nervous with the heights. It was just hard looking at the fast way down. At mile 13 we hit our first rest stop towards the end of the climb. One nice thing about this ride is that they collected your things at the first 3 rest stops to be returned at the end of the ride. I shed my Jacket and chose to stick with just my base layer, Jersey, Arm Warmers and Leg warmers. A decision I would be satisfied with for the remainder of the ride. Before we left the stop we took the opportunity for a photo opp at Inspiration point.

The ride down the other side of Emerald Bay was a super fun downhill. On the way down I felt like Mrs. Popularity. I saw Cheryle, Sean, Sabine, and Mary all people who were not there with the team. The next stop was at mile 26. I felt fantastic and everyone on the team looked great. Tom was having a bit of a challenge keeping up with the team but was certain he was going to finish. I had been riding with him since the beginning and he told me that I could leave him and that his wife Kathie would ride with him. I didn't want to leave him behind.

Then we started on the bike path to Truckee The problem with the bike path is that you pretty much had to go single file because the course came back on the same path. It was really nicely paved but there were poles in the middle of the path which we had to watch. We got through nicely and then got back on the Truckee road. At this point I saw Peter on the side of the road with an ambulance assisting him. I was very worried about him and could see my heart rate jump on my monitor. I was also worried because I knew his fiance Charlotte had not yet passed and wished I could warn her. Turns out he got a good deal of road rash and a broken thumb. Too bad he had to fall but it could have been MUCH worse.

After the 12 mile downhill to Truckee we had the 3rd rest stop at mile 47. Everyone was doing FANTASTICALLY! At this point we made the decision to let Tom and his wife Kathie complete the ride on their own as there was a lot of climbing yet to come and we wanted to pick up the pace. We easily made the climb back out of Truckee to continue around the lake. In fact we were all commenting on the fact that we see the hill there but it just didn't feel like the incline it was.

The best part about a climb is the decent. We hit a great descent at incline village and Sarah was taking them expertly. I stayed on her tail. We got to the top of the next hill only to find that we'd dropped everyone. Shortly after Louise and Santush caught up. But where was coach Tom? While we waited we took photos

We waited for a while so we called him and it turns out he was looking for Sarah who was with me. He told us to go ahead and meet us at the Kings Beach Lunch Stop at mile 71.It was such a nice stop. They had sandwiches, chips, and brownies. A lot of people put there feet in the water. It was tempting but I didn't want to take the chance of having sand on my feet or something. We also added Carl to our group. He was in a faster group but was bonking. He had eaten but was taking a little extra time at this stop. The first thing we encountered after lunch was a climb. Apparently, Carl thought we were too slow for him because he took off after riding with us for about 20 minutes. We did some nice rollers and then hit the dreaded Spooner Hill. An 9 mile 750 foot climb at mile 80. It was hot and the climb was long but we just spun at a consistent pace and we all made it to the Top where there was a rest stop. We ended up spending about 20 minutes at this rest stop due to the long porta john line and a bit of dawdling. Right before we left Carl showed up. Apparently, he had pulled over to take a nap!

The descent down Spooner was AMAZING. 8 miles of down on freshly paved road with considerate riders who stayed to the right while Sarah and I passed on the left at 47 mph. This is a feeling I will never forget. What a rush!

The last 4 miles had some rollers. I was distracted by the fact that there was a temperamental unicyclist amidst. He would start screaming when he would get to the crest of a hill to see the next roller ahead of him. I think he was done. I just wonder how he made it down Spooner on that thing!

Way too soon was the finish line. What a fantastic ride. I was so proud of everyone for bringing their A game and really putting out a strong showing. I am definitely doing this ride again next year!

March 26 - 29 2009; WW Tri-ers Austin Spring Training Weekend

2009-05-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

I had been looking forward to going to Austin for the WW-Triers weekend for a couple of years. We'd talked about it for a while but we did Portland, then Vegas and finally Tink had this fantastic idea of having just a triathlon weekend rather than getting all uptight about doing a triathlon. What better place to have it than Austin Texas? I really can't think of one :-)

So here's the thing...my blog entry has been in edit mode since April 1. I could either
A. Wait until I have time and properly write this post
B. Post my outline and either be done with it or come back later
C. Forget the whole thing

I chose B since this post is begging to be published for the world to see!

WW Tri-ers Spring Training Weekend Agenda
Austin, Texas
3/25/9 – 3/30/9

Friday 3/27/9

- 8:50am: Meet in hotel lobby for ride
It was so GREAT to see everyone. I had been anticipating this for months and there was no disappointing!

- 9:00am wheels down: Central Austin ride from hotel.
OMG! It was beautiful out and I chose to go sleeveless. Then it started thundering, then it started raining, then it started thundering. then the heavens opened up and I was waiting for Noah with his arch. We stopped at Mozarts for coffee and to wait for the weather to pass. In Austin fashion...the rain passed and the clouds left and the rest of the ride was beautiful.

- Post ride: Drop bikes off at Bicycle Sport Shop
The bike shops in Austin are OFF THE HOOK they are like mini communities each with a coffee shop inside. When I grow up I want to live in an Austin bike shop.

- Lunch immediately following ride, approx. 12:00: Shady Grove
The food here was amazing. I was a bit dissapointed because it was a Friday during lent so I couldn't eat anything with meat. Well that dissapointment went out the window when I got my food. I ordered fried catfish and it came with Queso on top. Yummmy!

- Afternoon: Run on Town Lake Trail, Barton Springs and/or free time
I didn't make it to Barton Springs because I was helping Jayne out by taking her to Mellow Jonnies so she could set up her talk the next day. It looks amazing though!

- 7:00 pm: Sunset, drinks & dinner at The Oasis on Lake Travis.
The view of Lake Travis and the amazing homes was really fantastic. Unfortunately, it was kind of cold outside so we brought it in. But not before taking a bunch of pics outside.
Sweet Sweet Jodi made us Recipe books out of recipe's we emailed her before the weekend. The recipes all look so good. Can't wait to try them all!

Tink also made this super cool travel cup (well...she didn't make the cup) She made a great collage (see the top of this post) and put it on a travel mug.

Saturday 3/28/9

- 7:30 a.m. – Depart for Rosedale Ride
We could tell from the get go it was going to be SUPER cold. I took every piece of cycling clothing I owned and shoved it in a bag. Everyone shared what they had because we were going to start in 30 degree weather. I myself wore arm warmers, sports bra (warmest I could find), thermal undershirt, gore wind jacket, another jacket, Bib shorts, leg warmers, running shorts over the bib shorts, wool socks, shoes, warm hat, and helmet.

- 8:30 a.m. – Wheels Down, Rosedale Ride
The weather looks amazing in this picture but I could tell you that it was cold and WINDY. In fact someone said the winds were 30 - 35MPH. I just don't understand how you could have a circular route and consistently be in a headwind or crosswind. You would think it would be at your back for more than 3 measly miles. We were going to do the 60 miler but we were all more than satisfied doing the 40. Only Tink was crazy enough to do the supersized ride.

- Lunch available for purchase after ride
MMMM...Jalepenio stuffed in cheese wrapped in bacon

- Afternoon: ChiRunning Clinic w. CoachT Barton Springs and/or free time
I was toast when it was over so I didn't make it to Coach T's Chi running course. I'm not sure if anyone did. (Little secret...some of us went shopping instead)

- 5:00-6:30 p.m.: Book event with Jayne Williams (Slow Fat Triathlete) at Mellow Johnny’s
I went to church instead of listening to Jayne's talk. I tried to convince myself that I should attend the church of the Slow Fat Triathlete instead but God would have none of that.
- Approx. 7:00pm Dinner and drinks at Tinks house.
Margharitas were flowing and went down well. A little too well for some judging by the carnage left on the 10K course the next day. But boy was Tinks dinner a highlight for the weekend. I especially enjoyed toasting to Karis and then getting out of the hot tub to jump into the cold pool.

Sunday 3/29/9
- 8:45 a.m.: Capitol 10K Run
Great costumes including "Running Nose", Our Very own Sweet Potato Queen (Carole), a bunch of pirates and burly men dressed as Wonder Woman, and much more. I wore my Pajamas and a Tiara. Running with a Tiara is the best ever!

- clean up
A couple of us ended up doing sink showers. We basically went into the hotel bathroom and washed up. Luckily I had my bandana to use as a wash cloth

- 11:30 a.m.: Brunch reservations at Iron Cactus.
It was sad to say goodbye to some people. I had such a fantastic time!

- pm: Dinner, drinks & music
With a few of us left, we still had another night of fun and mischief

- See the Bats come out to play
It really was amazing watching thousands of bats emerging from underneath the bridge. Magical!

Monday 3/30/9
- 7am: Go Home
I'll miss everyone. See you next year!

To see more pics and to hear from others go to:
http://austinspringtraining2009.blogspot.com

November 15 2008; Solvang Century

2008-11-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

I know its been a while since I've posted. I have still been racing/training but have not been great about updating my blog. I decided this morning that I will continue posting my race reports and tough workouts. Now on to the meat and potatoes....

3 months ago, I chose to take the leap from tri team to Cycle team. This decision did not come lightly because I definitely have my allegiance to the tri team but I liked the idea of doing something new and meeting a whole new group of people. Plus the tri team was training for the Triathlon at Treasure Island in San Francisco which is a race that I have never enjoyed. The bike course is 6 loops, each loop with 15 turns. The road is rough with potholes, seams, loose gravel, etc. Not something that excites me at all.

Unlike the triathlon, the cycle team trains in pace line groups. Which basically means we learn how to ride really close to each other and each person takes turns "pulling" the group. What that means is that we ride in the front for a fixed amount of time blocking the wind for the other riders. Wind causes resistance so the person in the front is actually working harder than the people in the back. To be in a pace line group you have to trust that the people in front of you will announce when they are slowing, stopping and if there is any potholes or debris on the ground (since you are literally so close to each other you can't see in front of them). This took me a long while to get accustomed to as in tri team you are not allowed to pace line and risk penalty and/or disqualification if an official catches you. Your pace group becomes like a little family throughout the season because you spend many long hours training together. My group included Coach Phil, Mentor Danny, Web Captain Don, Social Captain Christine, participants Cheryle, myself, and Charlotte. I'm going to spare you the details of the hours and hours of cycle time and days of preparation but lets say it's been painful and fun at the same time.

On Friday I woke up early to bake a cake for my Aunt's birthday and packed. Then I headed out to get my bike rack put on my car. As my car was getting prepared for me I changed my tires out as my old ones had a bunch of holes in them and a few slashes. I'm not sure how I haven't gotten a flat in weeks. They were in pitiful shape. Unfortunately, I had only purchased one tire so I added a trip to the bike shop on my list of things to do. I got to the bike shop and realized that I had forgotten to bring my bento box. I looked for one and couldn't find a bento box anywhere in the store. When I asked the guy at the shop he said..."What's a bento box?" are you kidding me?!?! I grabbed my tires and went off to pick up Eduarda for our 4 hour trip to Solvang.

On the way up we decided to make little placards for the whole team to attach to our bikes with a photo of Teagan Pesta, a little girl who passed away from Leukemia mid way through the season. Both her parents were on the team and Dad used to carry her in the back of his bike in a bicycle trailer. Needless to say her death was a blow to the entire team. After stopping by Starbucks to create the placard and email the artwork to Kinko's we resumed our long drive. When we got to Kinko's they had not yet finished laminating the cards and hadn't even started on poking the holes on top. So we went in search of a store to buy ribbon to tie the placards to our bikes. We ended up finding some yarn and then head out to Kinko's to help them finish the project. This four hour drive was just getting longer and longer.

By the time we got to Solvang we didn't even have time to check in to our hotel. We went straight to packet pickup. I had signed up late so all they handed me was a route sheet. No goodie bag, no t-shirt, not even a number! They told me that I'd get a t-shirt after the ride but they were not sure what size I'd get. I guess that's my penalty for signing up late. I was annoyed because they had no problem taking my $100 for the ride. The least they could have done was give me a goodie bag. I then head straight over to the TNT pasta party.

By the time I got there most of the speeches were done and people were eating desert. No biggie. I grabbed a plate of food and ate dinner while I listened. After dinner I told Danny about my disappointment for not getting anything for the ride and he told me to go back over to packet pickup with him and he'll get me one. When we got there all the TNT people were there and the lines were out the door. I went to the line with the T-Shirts and goodie bags and was able to score a bag...no shirt. Ah well. I was exhausted and all I really wanted was to get to the hotel.

The hotel rooms were...um...rustic. Nice way of saying small and dark. I didn't care. I just wanted to go to bed. But not before changing my tires and packing my stuff up for the ride. I went over to Danny's room for a quick tire changing clinic (I was afraid of changing it myself and getting a pinch flat) He was nice enough to change it for me. By the time I got my stuff packed and set up for the next day I just wanted to sleep. I was exhausted and had a ginormous headache. Not what you want before a big ride. I took some Motrin and we set the alarm for 5AM and went to sleep. It had been a long day.

The next morning I woke up and the headache was still there. I knew that there was a good chance that I had a migraine but chose to ride anyway. When I got to the breakfast station at the hotel, all they had was muffins, danishes, and toast. No oatmeal and no peanut butter. This was not good. No real breakfast AND a headache.

After we ate;Danny, Don, Charlotte, Cheryle and myself took off as a group for the 4 mile trip to the starting line. It was really beautiful seeing the sea of TNT athletes dawning their jerseys. It was cooold outside. My fingers were numb but I knew the day would soon become warm so I convinced myself to enjoy the chill while I could. There was one hill on the way to the start and I just couldn't get my legs to work. I was disappointed to see that my paceline group already had to stop to wait for me. I was worried about my day.

When we got to the starting line, we had some encouraging words from our interim coach Danny and off we went. Suddenly, this guy in an SUV cuts in front of our paceline groups causing us all to have to break hard. I said "What a jerk and what's even worse is that he's a cyclist!" He had his bike in the back of his car and was clearly coming to start the same ride. Most of the people in the group swears quite a bit, with one exception. Suddenly, that exception (Charlotte) dropped an F-Bomb at the guy. It was hilarious!

Not even a quarter of a mile into the ride we had this short steep hill that seemed to go straight up. I sure was glad we had that 4 mile warm up from the hotel because that would have been ugly on fresh legs. I did the hill alright but I was just moving so slow and my head was starting to throb a bit. After catching up to the group (who again had to wait for me) I led the fast downhill. It was quite wonderful!

Our group was moving pretty quickly but I knew everyone was nervous about the 12:30 cut off (we had to be at the second restop by 12:30 or they would send us back through a shorter route). I was just having a bad day and was having trouble keeping up. I tried not to let on that I was struggling but I sure was. After stripping off our morning layer, we took a group pickture. We then hit these little rollers that were kind of fun because you would gain speed going down and let momentum take you up. I liked that.

Then we went onto a little road for a nice downhill when suddenly Danny screamed. That was our turn! Then you could hear bikes crashing and people falling. I was super nervous about my friends but I knew I had to keep pedaling so as not to cause another accident. I then u-turned in the road and saw that it was a couple who was not part of our group that fell. We went over to check them out and the man kept yelling at us that the turn was there and why we didn't turn. He was fuming with us. It's not our faults he was too focused on the arrows on the road to actually watch where he was going. He basically started turning and when he saw us go straight he tapped his break and his wife hit him. He was checking out his bike as his wife was rolling around the floor still clipped in. I couldn't believe the jerk was more worried about his bike than his wife!!! He then picked up his wifes bike and started checking it out as she was still on the floor grabbing her leg.

We took off up a hill while the guy was still yelling at us when we passes Scott's team. They were fixing a flat. After cycling for a little longer my head started throbbing worse, my vision was blurry, and I was getting nauseous. I told Don to go ahead and he said he wouldn't leave me. I told him that I signed up as an individual, I didn't fund raise for this event and I sure as hell didn't want to be the one to cause our team not to make cut off. He still didn't want to leave me. I finally got him to agree when I said that I would hook up with Scott's team.

As I was spinning up another hill I felt someone push me. I was getting pushed up the hill by Scott. What a prince! I told him how I was feeling and he asked me when was the last time I ate. I said that I had 300 calories worth of carbo pro and electrolytes in my water bottle and that I had been good about drinking one per hour. He said when did you last eat any solids. I told him I hadn't. He then gave me a gu and told me to eat at the next stop. I didn't think I would be able to keep it down but the gu actually helped to settle my stomach a bit. After limping into the first stop (mile 30) I replenished my water bottles and ate some peanut butter pretzels. Kate asked me if I wanted to get sagged in but I told her no that I wanted to try to make it. I had eaten a bit and felt better. As Scott's team was getting ready to leave he asked me what I ate. After I told him he said that if I was to ride with his team that I would have to eat a banana and 2 bars within 15 minutes. I went and grabbed the bars/banana and started off with his team. I kept up for a bit then my blurred vision started coming back and my headache was back with a vengeance. I told Scott to go and that I would ride on my own. He hesitantly agreed. After riding alone for a few minutes, my team caught up to me and I was able to keep up with them but my tummy was not happy and my head was on fire. I knew that I could not finish the day. As soon as I made the decision to get picked up at my next opportunity, the route passed our hotel and I told my group I was done and to have a great ride. The funny part was that the team went to make a left by the hotel and that mean man with his poor wife missed the turn. He then made a uturn and asked our group if we'd seen any arrows on the ground. There were none. But seriously dude, don't get so focused on the arrows and everything that happens is not always someone elses fault. Of course I thought this I didn't say anything.

I went into the hotel room just in time to throw up. I then took off my Jersey grabbed some pretzels and collapsed on the bed. After a few minutes I got up, called the team manager to let her know that I had bowed out, and took a bath. As I was laying in the tub with a hot towel on my head the cleaning lady knocked on the bathroom door and said she needed to clean the room. Under normal circumstances I would tell her not to clean the room but I wasn't thinking clearly and told her to come back in 30 minutes. Doh! There goes my nap time. I finished up and went out to find a coffee shop for something I could keep down and coffee. I got to the coffee shop and held my head as I ordered. The waitress must have thought I was hung over. After slowly eating a half sandwich and a couple of cups of coffee. I went to the finish line.

As I was there I talked to the race director (to get my shirt) and told her that I was doing the Tucson century next weekend. She said she did that one once but she didn't like it because there were too many people and the ride support was bad. I found that kind of funny because this ride only had 1 water stop in over 60 miles and the SAG vehicle rarely left the parking lot. Had it not been for TNT there would be no road support out there. I kept my comments to myself though.

A few minutes later we got a call that Danny and Don were not going to be completing the century. They were at mile 60. Daphne (Don's wife) said I'll go pick him up since he's my husband. I said that I would because there my team mates. I guess husband trumps team mate :-) so I stayed back to take photos of the finishers. She walked to the car then came back and asked if I wanted to go for a ride. I thought...then who's going to take photos. She must have seen my confusion because she said "No...we need your car. Everyone but Cheryle wants to be sagged" Off we went to get the team. When we approached them they were in the middle of a 4 1/2 mile steep climb in direct sunlight. They looked miserable. Don told us to pick them up at the top but when we realized how much farther he had to go, we came back down to pick them up. Charlotte was the first to approach us. She just looked misearable. I told her to just go take care of herself and I'd take care of her bike. She just went into the car and sat. Then Danny came up. He just looked miserable. He had been cramping and nauseaus for the past hour. He looked the worse of all three of them and he is the strongest and most seasoned cyclist. Don came after. His wife took care of him. He looked bad too.

I then drove everyone back to the hotel. As I was on my way back to the finish Charlotte called me to find out if she could go to the finish with me. I didn't tell her I was pretty much there I just went to pick her up. That's where this picture came from. I'm in the photo...can you see me?

Yup...I'm in the car behind MaryAnne's team.

After getting Charlotte back to the finish, my head started to throb again. I went to get some finish line food so that I could take some more medicine and get more coffee. The food was actually pretty impressive taco's, tamale's, beans, blue chips, taquitos... I then just sat for a while trying to look like I wasn't miserable. After seeing everyone from the Silicon Valley team in, I went back to the hotel with Peter and Charlotte (but not before stopping by the grocery store to get a case of beer for the team). I got back and called "cold beer" down the hall. It was amazing how many heads poked out the door. I was feeling better and making people happy :-)

That night a bunch of us went to the steak house where sideways was filmed and partook of some really good eats. We then went to the celebration party to exchange stories with the team. When I went to bed I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow. I was looking forward to my drive home and an end to a great weekend!

June 9th, 2007; Kings Trail Triathlon in Maui!!!

2007-06-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

Kings Trail Triathlon was beautiful, challenging, and amazing. I absolutely loved it and have added it to my yearly must do race calendar.

The flight over was 5 hours long, which took a lot out of me. By the time I got off the plane and to the hotel, I was hot and sweaty in my jeans. I just wanted to get into a pair of shorts and take a dip in the ocean. No can do...my room was not yet ready. So I went over to the bike pickup area and started assembling my bike. What an ordeal!! There were 250 other Team In Training athletes and everyones bike was shipped to the same place. I found my bike, took it outside and started pulling everything out of the box. I then put my bike together with no major difficulties. At this point my jeans were sticking to me and I had no desire to take my bike for a spin to make sure everything was working properly. Instead, I dropped my bike off in a safe place and went out for lunch. When I got back I took my bike around the resort and was happy to find that everything was working fine.

The next day we took our bikes on a somewhat hilly 6 mile ride to the resort which was hosting the triathlon. The ride made me nervous because it was harder than I expected and I was drenched in sweat by the time I got to the resort. After we all regrouped, we proceeded to packet pickup. The lines were a bit long but the staff was wonderful and we were all so happy that it was a joy to be there. The T-Shirts were AWESOME. Can we say...Light Blue DriFit with a cool logo on it :-)

After packet pickup, we proceeded to the ocean for a quick swim. The beach was beautiful and the water was the perfect temperature. We were all enjoying ourselves so much that most of us forgot that we were supposed to be swimming. Once Coach Steve was able to get us all out of the water, we went to preview this particularly challenging hill on the bike course. The problem was that we went through this short tunnel which then had a very short but extremely steep uphill. We would have to gear way down for this. Unfortunately, we were not able to ride through because it was part of the resort golf course. At least it was good to know it was there and how to deal with it. We then rode back to our hotel.

The next day we met at 4:45 AM in front of our hotel and all rode to the race. The ride was actually a great warm up even though it was hilly. We set up our transition areas and before we knew it, it was time for the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony was unlike anything that I have ever experienced. A Hawaiian priestess was there to kickoff the triathlon. She started by having us all close our eyes and feel the sand between our toes and the wind blowing. She then had us invision the start of the race and how the water felt as we were swimming strong in mother ocean, she went through each phase of the triathlon and spoke of strength and calmness. The effect of her words was amazing. She then burned some sage and blew her shell.

After that was done, she had us all come in closely and put our arms around each other. We sang the national anthem arm in arm. Most people had tears flowing by the time the ceremony was over.

You could find some footage of the opening ceremony on this web page:
http://www.mauimultisportsclub.org/photos.html

The priestess then started each wave of the race by blowing on her shell. The waves were 3 minutes apart, which made it quite nice. because I did not feel like I was at a great disadvantage leaving in a late wave.

Before I knew it...I was swimming.

I actually had an excellent swim. The water felt great, my stroke felt strong and I was really enjoying myself. As I turned passed the last buoey, I went to take a stroke and actually touched a sea turtle!! He was not very big but it was cool seeing him. Unfortunately, I could not stay and watch him.

I swam towards shore. I sighted and saw that I was really close to the finish of the swim. The next time I sighted, I felt like I was farther away. I was momentarily confused until I realized that the waves were pulling me back and forth. I felt better and swam until my fingers touche the ground. That was my fastest swim ever!!!

I quickly transitioned to the bike. The ride started off on the golf course and went through a steep tunnel. As I looked up the tunnel, I saw a girl struggling to stay on. I tried to pass her on the left and wham!! She fell on me. She layed on me for a bit and a volunteer came to get her off me. Before I had a chance to try to get up myself, a large Samoan man picked me up like I weighed 10 lbs and dropped me on my feet. I jumped on my bike and that same girl hit my back tire before she fell again. Fortunately, I stayed on this time. The rest of the ride was beatiful. The vistas were so amazing that I found myself forgetting that I was racing. There was one hill which we were told was difficult. I was happy to find that it really was not that challenging for me. All that hillwork definately paid off. Before I knew it, I was coming back to the resort for my second loop. This time, the tunnel was clear. I got out of the saddle and powered up the hill.

The second loop seemed easier than the first. Maybe because no one fell on me or maybe because I was warmed up. Either way...my second loop flew by and it was time to transition to the run.

The run was very challenging for me. It was hot, it was hilly, and there were food vendors on the side of the road selling barbecue and shaved ice. It was an out and back through lava fields. They were handing out sponges and ice water to keep us warm. I would take two sponges. One I would squeeze on my head, the second I would throw in my bra. Then I would take two cups of ice water. One I would drink and the second I threw under my hat to let the ice melt on my head. After running down a dirt road for a while, the scenery opened up to a gorgeous beach. It was really tempting to just wade out in the water but I had a triathlon to finish. Once I passed the beach, I hit another water stop and got ready to enter the lava fields. I have a new respect for all the competitors at Ironman Hawaii race. The lava field was hot and there was no shade in sight. The only good news of the lava fields was a slight headwind on the way back. This really help cool thinks off as the temps in the lava fields read 103 degrees. To add to the difficulty, the state park did not allow volunteers to hand out water. By the time most people were coming back, their eyes were bugging out and they looked like they were in trouble. Fortunately, I brought a water belt and avoided the added complication of dehydration.

At the final half mile, I was wishing for the race to be over. It was beautiful and amazing, but I was hot, sweaty and (most of all) hungry. I looked up...and there was the finish!!! You know how they say never look at you're watch at the end of a race. Well...never take a sip of water until you're sure the camera's are off of you.

The post race lunch was hosted by outback steak house!!! We had BBQ steak and chicken with ceasar salad and macaroni salad. Yum!!!

After getting home, we were exhausted.

sandyb94086

Wednesday; May 31st Misty

2007-05-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

I had to put Misty down today. I knew this day would come but I didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. Last week she didn't seem to be eating as much and was hanging out in the patio a lot more than normal. I assumed that she was losing weight because it's summer and she always lost weight during the summer. She would shed her winter coat, lose some winter weight thus changing her look. She loved the sun and I thought that she was just taking advantage of the increase of heat.

On Friday she tried to jump into bed with me and didn't quite make it. She hit her head on the dresser and broke her tooth. I noticed she was hobbling just a bit after that and figured she had hurt her hip when she fell. My mom took her to the vet on Tuesday (Monday was a holiday) the vet said that he suspected her kidneys were failing. That night he called with the blood test results and said that we had 2 choices. Euthanize her or put her through dialysis. If we chose to get her dialysis, I would have to give her IV's 3 days a week for the rest of her life. He said that it may give her 5 months but that she would probably spend a lot of time at the vet and she would basically stop eating and get sicker. I made the decision to put her down because I thought it would be more fair to her. If I knew the IV's had a chance of making her better, I would do it in a second. That was not the case.

Myron wrote a great prayer for her. I love it and want to post it here (I hope he doesn't mind)

A little Prayer

Oh Lord take care of my little cat,

The little creature that sat,

On my bed at night,

On the couch out of site,

On my lap to snuggle gladly,

Upon my shoulder purring loudly,

Oh Lord take care of my little cat,

The one that chewed up my hat,

The one that greeted me when I came home,

The one who thought my lap was her throne,

Little Misty with blue eyes,

Now you play in heaven’s skies,

Oh Lord take care of my little cat,

The one that was sometimes a little brat,

Who showered me with kisses when she was bad,

Who cuddled with me when I was sad,

Who protected me at night,

And when she saw my friends bravely took flight,

Oh Lord take care of my little cat,

The one that sat upon my mat,

Misty with her soft little paws,

With a loving heart that saw no flaw,

Now she is in heaven gate,

For me I know she will wait.

Sunday, May 6, 2007; Wildflower!!

2007-05-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

What an awesome weekend!!!

I started my drive to Lake San Antonio at 9AM on Friday. I opted to go alone because I enjoy the quiet time and wanted to catch up on my books on tape. Wildflower is known as the Woodstock of triathlons and all the major triathletes around the world have raced this venue. The drive down is riddled with car loads of beautiful people with bikes on their racks which are more expensive than my car. By 11 O'clock I was in need of a potty break and wanted to stop by the grocery store to pick up some ice. As I'm walking around Albertsons, my phone rings and it's Sabine saying that she sees my car in the parking lot. She then walks in with Mary, Trista, and Nick. After exchanging hugs, we agree to caravan the rest of the way. At this point Celeste and her friend (can't remember his name) walk in. They do not Caravan with us but seeing them added to the excitement of what was to come. We left Albertsons and continued on to the venue.

When we finally got to the lake, tent city was up in full force. It took forever for me to find a place that was flat enough to set up my tent. I still had to sleep on a slope but being on an air mattress somehow helped the effect of the slope. After setting up we decided to hike down to pick up our race packets.

I had forgotten how awesome the tri festival was. It seemed like every major bike company, performance clothing company, and tri company had a booth. Voler was selling 3 tri tops and/or sports bras for $10!! They had some cute ones too. They were also selling NICE bike jerseys for $20. After taking advantage of the sales and purchasing a Wildflower hat, I picked up my race packet and took the shuttle back to camp.

That night, we had a TNT sponsored dinner. Pasta, Chicken, Salad, and brownies. The food was not bad. There were several speakers including a guy who found out 15 months ago that he had Leukemia. The type of Leukemia he had used to have a 10% survival rate but with this new drug Gleevec it now has a 98% survival rate and all he has to do is take a daily pill. This drug was slated as ineffective but the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society insisted that further testing be done with this drug and funded that testing. Wow!!! The money that I helped raise 2 years ago did that. He finished the Long Course tri on Saturday.

After dinner, we talked and laughed. I then took 2 Tylenol PM, put on my I-Pod and quickly fell asleep. I woke up the next day at 7:30!! I was groggy and barely awake. I typically wake up happy and alert at 5. I think the Tylenol PM worked way too well.

After getting dressed and having some breakfast I hiked down to watch the long course people start their races. I stayed until the last swimmer came in then I did some more shopping and hiked all the way back to camp with Sabine, Susan, Mary, and Tamiko. The hike was steep and long. We really shouldn't have done it but the alternative was to wait until 2:00 for the shuttle service to open again.

I grabbed a snack and more electrolytes and sat in the shade so that I could cheer on the runners as they passed our camp. After a couple of hours of cheering for lots of people I knew and many people I didn't know, I saw Jens passing. Later I saw his wife in some sort of distress. I asked her what was wrong and she said that her 7 year old daughter had decided to run with Jens. There was fear in her eyes so I grabbed my bike and cycled the run course in search of her. I rode through all kinds of terrain looking for her, including going up and down "The Pit" twice and riding through dirt paths. I was worried about this little girl and didn't think that all the hills I was cycling most certainly would affect me the next day. After searching for a little over an hour, I went back to camp only to find the little girl had only run with Jens to the end of the road and gone back to camp. She showed up right after I left.

Many of my friends raced Long Course and all but 2 finished. One of my co-workers ended up having terrible stomach cramps and had to be taken by ambulance. Apparently, the winds were crazy which affected both the swim and the bike. There were whitecaps in the water which made it so people got hit by waves when they were trying to take a breath. Also...the swim back was a bear and a major fight with the currents. The winds on the bike made it so that people with Disk Wheels were cursing the fact that they had them because all they were managing to do was blow their bikes from beneath them. Some of my friends complained that they were having difficulties managing 9MPH on the flats!!!

That night we had our second pasta dinner and this elequent little second grader talked to us about her battle with cancer. If she didn't motivate people on their races...then nothing would!! At the end of the dinner we were treated? with a group of about 50 streakers running through the campgrounds. This is something that happens every year. People get drunk after their races and decided it's a good idea to run around naked....this is the Woodstock of Triathlons after all.

After dinner I went to my tent, looked over my gear one last time and fell asleep to music from my IPOD. The next morning I woke up with sore calves but ready to race!

We went down to the transition area as a group
and started getting our things in order. People laughed at my neat little transition spot. A photographer came by and took at least 4 pictures of it (I'm hoping that it shows up as a marketing photo for next years race!) After we were marked and lathered with Suntan Lotion, we sat in the shade to begin our 2 hour wait for our respective waves to begin. Too fast it was time to put on our wetsuits.

Jen Yen and I started at the front left of the pack. Without much warning, the horn blew and we were off. As soon as I dove in, someone kicked me in the kidneys which made me suck in a mouthful of water. I then tried to find my stroke again and someone grabbed my ankle and pulled me back. This was not the way to start a race!! Finally I was able to separate from the pack after about 5 minutes of struggling. As I find a good pace, the girl next to be decides to switch to breast stroke and kicked me in the gut. Now I was annoyed. I decided to swim further out from the group. I knew this would add some distance but I felt it was better than the alternative of getting beaten up and losing my concentration.

Once I made this decision, I was able to swim fairly well. The only issues I had was with deciding which buoeys to site. The course was L shaped which made it so that the boey's which were set for the people coming in the opposite direction could easily be mistaken for the ones which I should be following. At one point a lifeguard had to correct me, which meant that I was quite a bit off course. Once I hit the turn around, I remembered a piece of advice that my friend gave me before the race. She told me to site this one particular tree rather than following the boey's. Wow!! Did that make my life easier!!

More quickly than I expected, I was out of the water and running to T1. On the way over I was hit with a wave of cheers from teamates and friends. The energy this gave me allowed me to complete a T1 time of 3minutes and 36 seconds!!

According to the site "The bike course is 40K (24.8 miles) long and should be considered relatively difficult. " Relatively difficult is an understatement. The bike course is downright hard.

As soon as I hit the bike mount line, I looked up and there was Lynch hill. 2 miles of a 9% grade. This is a tough climb even with legs which are properly warmed up. To make us do this 25 yards after the mount line is just mean!!

Lynch was harder than usual this time around and I really had to struggle to maintain a pace which would allow me to remain upright on the bike. Seriously...I was going 3MPH. Several times, I heard people falling off their bikes from going too slow and several times I saw people jump off their bikes to walk them. If I weren't so stubborn, I would have done the same.

Before the top of Lynch, I saw Andrea cheering me on. This gave me the energy to push myself over the hill. Then I was awarded with a short period of flat terrain before a good downhill where I hit 32 mph. Of course, what goes down must go up. Way too quickly I was huffing and puffing myself up a new hill. I made it to the top only because of encouragement from teammates. It really did help. It was hot out there!! My head felt like it was going to spontaneously combust with heat. When I got really hot, I poured a little water over my head. I wanted to be careful because I wanted to make sure to keep enough water to properly hydrate myself.

After finally making it to the top, I was able to fly down the other side at 45 MPH. Right when I was at peak speed, I saw a pack of people taking the whole road on my side and another pack taking the road coming the other way. I screamed at the top of my lungs "ON YOU'RE LEFT!!" but they didn't move fast enough so I had to break. After they finally moved, I was able to use that momentum to get me up the next hill. Then I had a fun, fast, downhill to enjoy. 3 miles of it!! I got in my aero bars and enjoyed the ride. When I got near the water stop, I took the rest of my water and poured it liberally over my head. As soon as I was getting ready to throw the bottle, someone screamed "Where out of water!" I hoped they were kidding but they weren't. How could they be out of water? I was nowhere near the end of the pack. In fact, I was already passed a lot of women and catching up with the men. I shook my bottle and felt that I still had very little left and kept going. Fortunately, I still had my electrolytes available.

After the water stop, I turned around and slowly made my way up the 3 miles that I had just flown down. It was tough but I eventually made it up that hill and several subsequent hills. At mile 20 they had another water stop and I was able to throw out my bottle and grab another. Unfortunately, the water bottle that was handed it to me was nearly empty. I think there may have been 4 ounces of water in there.

Fortunately, there was only 1 big hill left so I wasn't too worried. I turned into the park and made it up the last hill before I was able to fly down Lynch. This was a little scary because there were also runners coming down. Most of whom were shoulder to shoulder taking over the whole side of the road. I looked down the other side, saw that they had closed traffic on that side and realized that all the cyclists had already made their way up and decided to fly down on the wrong side of the road. Probably not the smartest idea but logic fails at the end of a greuling ride.

I hit the bottom of Lynch, jumped off my bike and ran to T2. I quickly threw on my shoes and started to run out of transition when I saw Mary in front of me. I called out her name and realized I had no voice. It turns out that I was having asthma issues. I took some albeuterol at transition and wanted to save another puff for when I really needed it. Apparently that happened sooner than I thought. At mile 2 I approached Beach Hill which is a very steep hill which continued for 3 miles. I was having a hard time and had to continue to remind myself that forward progress was important. I so wanted to sit down and rest but I kept chugging along. Then I heard Susan call my name. As soon as she heard me try to talk, she decided she was going to walk with me.
I told her to go ahead and that I'd be ok but she insisted that it was more fun for her to walk with me than get bored running alone. She really is a good person :-)

She kept coaxing me up those hills and every so often she'd grab my hand and pull me along. She then asked if I had my inhaler. I told her that I did but my heart rate was running at 85% and that the albeuterol would further increase my heartrate. That's when I decided to take the inhaler. Almost immediately my voice started to come back. Instead of sounding like a frog, I sounded like I was going through puberty. Towards the top of the hill (right where it got really steep) all the coaches and Jeremiah were there waiting for us. They were taking turns walking/running people up and then going back to grab the next person. This made it so that we didn't even realize we were climbing something extra steep until we got to the top.

After that, we started to run a bit. I was slow but it felt good to use running muscles. None too soon, I saw Berend, Liz, Trista, and Nick standing at the top of the final climb. It was awesome to see them!! They cheered us on and gave us high fives. I really needed them at that point. After seeing them the rest of the race was spent running. We ran straight down Lynch hill laughing and talking. When we approached the finish, I was extatic and exhausted. We took our finish line poses, collected our metals and went straight to the like for an ice bath. Everyone was there cheering each other on. We did it!!!

The rest of the day is kind of a blur. We had burrito's, waited for the shuttle to bring us up Lynch, then Trista and Nick helped me pack up my tent. On the way home I turned the wrong way so I had to turn around. As I was plugging along through the windy hills, my roof rack made a strange sound. I looked out my back window and saw Sabine and my bikes resting on the window. The front bars from the roof rack had slipped to the back bars and the bikes were precariously dangling from the back of my car. It was aweful!! I called all the coaches and was able to get a hold of coach Steve. I was able to (kind of) tell him where I was. I pulled the bikes of the rack and waited for him on the side of the road. A nice German triathlete stopped and helped me situate the rack but we really didn't have any tools. After sliding the rack in place, Steve came and was able to supply us with the tools needed to lock the rack into place. I was then able to continue on my way.

I stopped by In-N-Out just in time to see Mary, Nick, Trista, Sabine, Ivy, and Vivek. We ate and I finished the day without incident.

Overall the weekend was awesome and I can't wait to do it again next year!!!

Saturday, March 31st; Cinderella Classic

2007-04-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

Who knew that a Century ride could be so much fun?!?!?

Cinderella Classic 2007

I woke up at 4:30AM and realized that I had forgotten to print out the directions to the race so I turned on my computer and started getting dressed. For those of you not familiar with Cycling, there is a lot of stuff you have to put on at the beginning of a ride which you will be peeling off (or leaving on). All of which you need to carry throughout the day.

Here is all that I put on:

Cycling Shorts
Sports Bra
Heart Rate Monitor
Watch
Socks
Arm Warmers
Leg Warmers
Cycling Gloves
Cycling Shoes
Shoe Warmers
Bandanna
Helmet (goes on before the ride)
Cycling Jacket
Cycling Glasses

Then there's all the Crap you have to carry:
Gu's (5 packets)
Luna Bars (2)
Pretzels
Electrolyte replacement Packets
Asthma Inhaler
Motrin
Cell Phone
Co2 pump
Co2 Cartridges (3)
Spare tubes (2)
Tire Levers (3)
Universal Tool
Patch Kit
Small First Aid Kit
Wet Naps
Kleenex
Water Bottle (2)
Extra Suntan Lotion

Needless to say, my poor little 16 pound bikes gets loaded down by the time I get everything together and on top of it (including myself). I wonder how that carbon material can be so strong.

I printed out the map, checked, and double checked my gear. I then ate a couple of waffles with almonds and bananas and headed out the door. I threw my floor pump and bike in the car and I drove over to Sabine and Mary's house. First I stopped by Sabines, she was not happy that I had come 10 minutes early. I then called Mary and she also complained about my early arrival. Geez...you would have thought that I was an hour early.

After getting their gear in the car we drove off to the Alameda County Fairgrounds. We got there very quickly and started setting up our bikes. It took a while for us to get lathered up with Sunscreen and prepared for the day but we eventually did and started riding over to Check-In.

Cinderella is an all women's, virtually flat, ride with lots of volunteer support. There were riders of all abilities, many of whom were dressed up in costume. Because a century ride is not a race, things are so much more relaxed than any triathlon or marathon I've ever taken part in. We checked-in with no rush and waited for Jen Yen to come. She arrived after about 10 minutes, took some before pictures, and started riding.

The beginning of the ride had a few minor rollers but the scenery was so beautiful that I wouldn't have noticed the hills if Mary hadn't decided to pass people every time she approached an uphill. She was starting off fast and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my friends. After a few miles, my legs started warming up and I had no problem riding alongside Mary, Sabine, and Jen.

Way too soon (mile 17) we hit our first aid station. There was SO MUCH FOOD. The aid station was a virtual buffet of treats. Oranges, Banana's, Mothers Cookies, Fig Newtons, Peanuts, Pretzels, Fish Crackers, peanut butter, jelly, bread... By the time we left, we all had super full tummies. I had also made the mistake of taking off my arm warmers and the arms off my cycle jacket. It got cold really fast. Fortunately, I have great friends who had no problem waiting for me to put the arms back on my jacket. Ah...that was nice.

As soon as we took off from the aid station, we started cycling through winery country. It was gorgeous. After a few miles I noticed that many ladies were pulled over to the side taking off layers. I thought to myself, these ladies know something that I don't. But I kept going despite my instinct to stop as well.

That's when we hit this long relentless hill. Of course, my friends like to attack hills. I decided that I was just going to get in a nice low gear and catch up with them later. I took my time getting up this hill and quickly saw that my friends were kind enough to stop and wait for me. I stopped to take some layers off and we headed downhill. This is where gravity is in my favor. I blew downhill at 35MPH. It was awesome. After a while of enjoying the downhill, I pulled over to wait for my friends. First Jen came, then Mary, but Sabine was nowhere to be found. Just as we were discussing whether or not we should ride back up the hill to see what happened to her, we saw Giant Sabine with her Giant bike round the corner. Apparently, her chain had fallen and it had taken a while to get it unstuck and back on. We took off and quickly found our lunch stop.

Lunch was huge too. Bagels, Cream Cheese, all kinds of bread, Fresh Ham, Fresh Turkey, all types of cheeses including smoked cheddar, cheddar, provolone, American, Jack... Tomatoes, Kosher Pickles, Lettuce, Mayo, different Mustard's, all the stuff from the previous snack station plus M&M's and cookies. At one point I asked a volunteer where I could refill my water bottle. He actually took my water bottle and walked down the parking lot to refill it for me!!! All I wanted him to do was point me in the right direction.

I'm going to take this moment to highlight how awesome the volunteers were. There must have been 50 Sag's (volunteers driving around the course prepared to help anyone in need) All you had to do is see someone pull over and a Sag was there to see if they could assist. In this entire ride I only saw one woman change her own flat and I saw dozens of flats out there. Most of the Sag's had actual bike mechanics volunteering in case there was something more serious that a flat going on with you're bike. A local bike shop hosted each aid station and was there to assist if there was anything strange happening with you're bike. I have so much respect for the organizers of this race. They really worked hard to put together the best crew of volunteers imaginable.

After a long lunch break, we pressed on. Around mile 30 we started cycling through farm country where we saw lots of cows and sheep (including baby animals). Without even noticing, I had made my way part way up Lemon Drop Hill. The only reason I knew it was lemon drop hill is because someone had posted a little poem about this hill on the way up. This hill was given its name because there is a man who stands at the top handing out lemon drops. As I read the poem, I thought that they must be warning us about this dreaded hill. I only realized that this was not the case as I got my lemon drop. Shortly after lemon drop hill we reached our next aid station. The funny part is that this aid station had a really steep driveway which would prove to be the steepest hill on the entire ride. It was not a big deal to go up the hill but it was quite funny. I really had felt like I just ate so I just refilled my bottles and stretched for a bit while my friends used the facilities.

The last 20 miles were all downhill. My favorite :-)

Before I knew it we were 5 miles from the end of the ride. I was kind of sad. I had so much fun all day that I wasn't ready for it to be over. At the end of the ride we reflected on how much fun the day was and we discussed what costumes we were going to be wearing next year.

Sooner than I was ready, the ride was over. I collected my patch and, of course, grabbed more food. They had the best minestrone soup (with Oyster crackers) ever and the beer was super yummy too.

We walked around the cycling fair and picked up lots of free samples and did some shopping (they had jersey's and shorts for $10). After hanging out a bit we packed up and drove home. All of us fully aware that we are hooked on this race. I can't wait to do it again next year!!!

March 4th 2007; Stanford Treeathlon

2007-03-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

This race is for you Phil. You have inspired me in life and now in death....

I signed up for the Stanford Treeathlon 3 months ago on a whim. My friend signed up and asked if I wanted to join her. In the end 12 of us signed up. It's funny how all these races sound like fun but once race day comes up I get a feeling of dread. I kept telling myself "It's just a sprint distance triathlon" but I still got just as nervous as any other race I've done.

This week was Honoree Week for Team In Training. Since I am Honoree Captain I could not just not show up for practice. Since I was already at practice I couldn't just not participate. So I went ahead and practiced with the team even though I had a race the next day. Of course, we did a time trial in the pool along with a bunch of sprints. The bike ride was a hilly 18 miles. I kept telling myself that the next days race is no big deal and I shouldn't care if I did poorly due to over training the day before. Deep down I was nervous because this race had cutoff times.

After practice we had our Honoree Lunch at Scruffy Murphy's Irish Pub. I ate all the wrong foods and drank 3 beers. Yeah...I was really setting myself up to do poorly.

That night I stopped by REI to use my dividend check on some nutrition items. While shopping I realized I had no idea what to wear for the race. I've done several triathlons before but never one that didn't allow a wetsuit. That is when I broke triathlon Rule #1 (never try anything new on race day) I bought a one piece tri suit to wear the next day.

I went to bed at 9:30 but couldn't sleep so I read until 10:15. After that, I checked my alarm to make sure it was on and went to sleep. At 5:45 I rolled over and realized that I had overslept!! No biggie...my wave was not to go until 8:50. I just wanted to get there early because the racks were first come first serve.

When I got to the race site I realized I was the first one out of my friends to get there. I proceeded to choose a spot for my transition area. While setting up I couldn't help but laugh at myself. I brought 4 water bottles to the race. 2 with electrolytes and 2 with water. I didn't expect the race to last much over 2 hours. I would have to drink the whole time to ingest that much fluid :-)

After getting all my stuff ready I saw Sabine, Mary, and Susan preparing their areas on the other side. They invited me to move over but what would be the point. Later I saw Sanjay, Camilo, Anne, Larry, Jen Yen, Chrissy and a whole bunch of other old and current team mates. At 7:30 they had a meeting explaining the rules and kicked us out of the transition area.

The setup of the swim portion of the race was as follows. Two Olympic Size swimming pools with a buoy at each corner. Men in the closest pool and women in the farthest. We had to swim 4 loops around the buoys in 10 minutes. If we did not make the cutoff we would be asked to get out and incur a 2 minute penalty. 500 yards in 10 minutes is pretty fast. I could do it but I wasn't sure if I could swim that after having swam a time trial the day before. There was no rhyme or reason for the order of the waves. My friend who is 47 went before I did and so did my friend who's 26. I'm 30.

After watching several groups swim I realized that it would be harder than I thought. Each wave had about 40 people and at least 10 were getting cut off. After watching all of my friends go it was my turn.

I started off at the wall thinking I could wait for everyone to go then simply push off the wall once things had cleared. Once the horn blew I did not have the discipline to wait. I just took off and let myself get kicked and punched until I got into position. After about 200 yards I found my spot and fell into a comfortable stroke. Once I completed the first half loop I realized that I could use the lane lines and buckets (which were being used as anchors for the buoys) instead of sighting. That really helped me swim efficiently and straight. Each time I would hit the far corner I would sprint so that I wouldn't run the risk of getting kicked out of the pool at the farthest point from the transition area. After 3 laps I snuck a peak at my watch and realized I was making really good time. I paced myself a little faster on the last lap and just made it to cut-off. In fact...I'm not sure if I made it since the buzzer was going as I hit the latter.

I ran down the pool area, up the steps, and to transition. Before I new it I was mounting my bike. I know the area we raced very well so I didn't really bother to memorize the map. As I was leaving the campus I tried to spin my legs as fast as I could but they were cold. So I slowed my cadence and allowed myself to warm up. I finally warmed up as I hit the first big hill. I worked my way up that hill and thought about getting off my bike when I saw the girl in front of me doing so. I told myself "Wait a minute...I do this route all the time and have never gotten off my bike!!! What am I thinking?!?" I kept pushing. The next hill was a little tougher than the last. I huffed and puffed and wheezed and panted. I was not going to let this hill get the best of me. That's when I thought of one of my friend Phil's poems entitled "To You". In this poem he talked about what it's like to live with Parkinson's. He goes on to say: "...At this point all the folks who love me begin to give me care But the sad eyes and tone of voice say to me beware 'Here, let me do that; you're too tired,' invites me to quit And I'm tempted, sorely tempted, I readily admit..." I was tempted to quit. Not the race but it would be easy to get off my bike and walk up that hill. I didn't though. About that time I looked up and saw a friendly policeman cheering me on and a girl on the side of the road changing a flat. Suddenly my necklace caught on my zipper and "zzzzzzip" The whole zipper dropped to my belly and my ladies popped out of my shirt. The officer was stuck in this frozen stare and the girl who was changing her tire was on the floor laughing. I was in utter shock. My body stayed in auto pilot and I kept on pedalling, even though I was fully exposed, and the cop kept staring with a shocked and bewildered look on his face. In fact, I kept pedalling until I made it to the top of that hill. The cop kept staring and the lady kept laughing after I passed them. I was mortified.

After that episode I wanted to get off that course as quickly as possible. I think I literally sprinted the rest of the race. At one point I spotted this girl and decided I was going to pass her. I geared up but soon realize that I'd have to come up with a different plan to pass her. Then I geared way down and increased my cadence. I passed her fairly easily. Oh...that wouldn't be the end of her. She caught up to me and passed me. She actually chuckled at me as she passed. I did what any self respecting competitor would do...I passed her again and told her to have a great race as I turned on the after burners.

Too soon the cycle portion of the race was over and I was coming into the transition area. When I got to my gear there was someone standing over my transition area chit chatting. I said "excuse me" and the guy looked at me like I was a purple martian. Then someone yelled "get out of her way...she's racing" He went to step out of my way by stepping ON my stuff. I was super annoyed. As I was getting ready to run he stood right over me and watched. I took off without my cap and only picked up my race number because I tripped over it a couple of yards away. Somehow, it had gotten kicked. I am very organized in my transition area and always put my number on my shoes in the back part of my towel. Obviously, it had gotten kicked when this guy was stomping all over my stuff.

The first mile, as usual, was tough. My legs felt like lead. Soon Larry caught up to me and he cheered me on. I then decided I was going to walk. But I thought of Phil's poem again and opted to run the whole time. Just a little later I saw Sanjay cycling in. I told myself "I give him two minutes to catch up to me" as I was thinking this I heard someone scream "Hey Butler!!!" It was Camilo coming in from the bike too. After the first mile something came over me and I started running pretty fast...for me anyway. Soon Sanjay ran passed me. I looked at my watch and noted that 2:35 had passed since I saw him coming in from the bike. Around mile 1.5 Camilo passed me as well. Despite the fact that everyone was passing me on the run, I felt good and kept on running. Sooner than I expected I was running to the finish line. Sabine was there cheering me on and I felt a burst of energy as I sprinted to the finish line. I finished the race in 1:47. They presented me with my Free Chipotle Burrito Bowl coupon and I met up with my friends.

I am so glad I did this race and am convinced that Phil was with me the whole time. Thank you Phil!!! This one was for you.

Here is my revised race schedule for the year:

Stanford Treeathlon - March 4th (done!)

Cinderella Century Ride - March 31st (100 mile bike ride)

Wildflower Triathlon - May 6th (Woodstock of Triathlons)

Kings Trail Triathlon - June 9th (This one is in Hawaii)
Catfish Open Water Swim - July 22nd

Midsummer Triathlon - July 31st (This one is in Oregon)

Big Kahuna Triathlon - September 9th (1/2 Iron - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.2 mile run)

Nike Womens Marathon - October 21st

Week 1: First Week of Spring 2007

2007-02-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been a year since I started with Team In Training. Time sure flies when your having fun and boy have I been having fun.

I remember how scared I was when I started the team one year ago. I thought I was a good swimmer but I really hadn't cycled before and running had always been something I reserved for when I was being chased. After week 1 I realized that I was not as good of a swimmer as I thought I was but I turned out to be a pretty decent cylcist. Running....well....I already knew it would be my weakest before I started. I couldn't even run 2 laps without walking.

I worked my hardest throughout the season and well after. I'm proud to say that since my first practice I have done 5 triathlons (including Wildflower), 2 Relays, and a half Marathon. I have also been a mentor for the team and now I am honoree captain.

I thought about all this as I approached my first week with the Spring 2007 team. I saw me in a few scared faces at kickoff. I could identify with them more than they would ever know. I also saw me at the first track practice. I could see the frustration on some peoples faces when they were having a hard time keeping up with what was supposed to be an easy pace. I still struggle in keeping up with people when we're running together but I now know that I could run 13 miles without stopping so being at the back of the pack doesn't bother me as much anymore. I know that I will never win any races (well...there was the mermaid triathlon) but I don't care. I have the endurance (some call it stubborness) to complete these races and that's what matters to me.

Week 1 was a bit tough for me. One of our honorees, Erika Arredondo passed away the day before our first track practice. Those who only new of her story would say that her death should not have been a shock but they didn't know the fighter she was. This was not the first time she was not supposed to make it home. Somehow she always pulled through though. The last time she pulled through then proceeded to get married, go back to work and buy a home. This time was different...she never made it home.

I was asked to share her story at the first practice of the season. Here is what I said:

February 1 - I'm sad to pass on the news that TNT Honoree Erika Arredondo has passed away. She became an Honoree for the mountain bike team in 2003, and she's been an honoree for many other teams since then (walk, run, Winter Triathlon). You may have met her when she came to volunteer in the LLS office.

She gave it her all in battling her NHL and Hodgkin's disease (yes, both).

Sleeping Beauty
My Gator Pie is now in heaven, safe with her Mom.
I love you with all my heart and I always will.

posted by Chris @ 8:06 PM http://snoopysupdates.blogspot.com/

>>>>>>>

What an amazing person we have lost. May she inspire you to do the unthinkable whether that is run an extra mile or bike up to the top of the hill. Erika was a fighter and always put cancer to the side. I'll always remember how she would go straight to work after receiving chemo at Stanford Hospital and then login in to Yahoo! Messenger and chat with me. Or the time she completed the San Diego Rock-n-Roll marathon a week before she was supposed to receive chemo and her doctors told her not to run. Her determination to have a normal life was amazing! Last year she got married to a wonderful person Chris who has always been by her side thru the treatments and even the marathon. She had so much love for him! It was a way of spreading her amazing story to all in Team in Training as well as giving hope to thousands of others who were suffering from cancer. Let's all pause right now for a moment of silence, step away from the computer, and just reminisce about how honorees like Erika have made you go the extra mile..............................Post a comment on her blog and let Chris and the world know how she touched your life. Next time you are all out of energy during your run, bike, or swim and your body is about to break down, think of Erika and what she has gone thru. We all have the extra bit of strength in us to keep going and I know Erika up above is looking down at us smiling and guiding us every mile.

Thank you and God Bless!!!

Year in perspective

2006-11-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

April 2005 ---------------May 2006

It's nearly Thanksgiving and this year has come to an end. I can't believe how much my life has changed since last Thanksgiving. I have a great group of friends, I'm in good shape, and I'm generally pretty happy. It's amazing what joining a group like Team in Training Will do for your life. Here are some highlights:

Mermaid 10K - (1:34)
Wildflower Oly - (5:00)
UVAS Sprint+ - (2:57)
SJIT Bike - (1:45) - Relay with Tamiko and Mary (Stopped to help Susan Fix a flat)
Catfish OW Swim - (54:52)
SF 1/2 Mary - (3:23)
Pac Grove Oly - (4:06)
Santa Cruz Sentinel bike - (1:30:07) - Company Sponsored Relay

I also did the Prudential Corporate Challenge as well as a couple of other 5K's and 10K's but these are just the highlights. I'm also doing the Run Wild 10K this weekend.

Who would have believed that I would have accomplished all that in a few short months. Life is good :-)

Here is what's on tap for next year:

Solvang Century - March 10
Wildflower - May 6
San Jose International - June 24
Oregon Midsummer Triathlon - July 29
Big Kahuna (My first 1/2 IM) - September 10
San Jose Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon - October 7th

With a lot of perserverance, much good health and a little luck I should have no problem in completing this schedule next year. I'm looking forward to it!!!

Saturday, September 9th; Triathlon at Pacific Grove

2006-09-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend was absolutely amazing!!! I would like to congratulate all of my mentees Aaron Fritz, Anurag Agrawal, Caren Magill, Carla Pantoja, Jens Weitzel, Patricia Bresnan, Reena Philip, and Sheila Brennan for crossing the finish line and becoming Triathletes this weekend. You guys worked hard and I am so proud of your accomplishments. I would also like to congratulate Sabine, Mary, Maida, Nikki and Nami for completing their first long course triathlons. Of course Trista deserves some loving for finishing too.

I took Friday off in order to relax a little before the chaos we like to call event weekend and boy was it eventful. When my mother and I got to the Lovers Point Inn she was amazed at all the chaos that was going on all around. Our hotel was literally a few hundred feet from where the race was going to take place. She'd been to several of my races before but never been to one held by TriCalifornia. She did not expect to see the elaborate set up and tent area that TriCalifornia is known for. As soon as we checked in we walked across the street to pick up my race packet. The line was pretty long so I decided to walk around the booths to see if it would die down. Way too soon my wallet was open and I bought a new soft HR belt from the Polar booth, a race belt, and a cute license plate frame that said Trigirl on it. Fortunately, coach Alfredo caught me before I spent too much more money and asked if I was going to go to the open water swim clinic that he had scheduled at that time. I then went back to the hotel room and grabbed my wetsuit. When I got to the beach there were about 15 team mates there to swim. The swim route was looped which meant that we would swim one loop then get out of the water and run up a sand hill, around a rock and get back into the water. Coach Alfredo told us not to push it but just take one easy loop and run around the rock and swim about a hundred yards just to get used to what it felt like. I'm glad I did that because it really helped me to realize how much easier it is to continue to swim even after I could touch the ground. It was too much of a struggle to try to run through the water. After our swim we all went to the TNT booth to get our race packets. I then went back to the hotel, showered, and got ready for an early dinner.

In order to avoid the crowd from this triathlon and a car show that was going on that weekend we decided to make reservations at the restaurant in front of the hotel. The food was a little rich for pre-race food but I really don't have a sensitive stomach so no biggie. The biggest problem with food like that is that its virtually impossible to eat it without having wine. Two bottles of wine and two hours later my mother and I left the restaurant a little tipsy and a lot full. We then decided to go for a walk. 3 miles later we were back at the hotel where I prepared my gear HAD to try to sleep.

I woke up at 5:30 the next morning to the commotion of early race arrivals outside the hotel. I dragged myself out of bed and headed out the door. I was so excited for my mentees that I barely had enough time to register the fact that I was racing too. I dropped my stuff off and went to check out the transition areas of Anurag, Carla, Reena, and Sheila. I was disappointed that I had not yet seen Carla but I found her transition area and made sure that everything was there before setting up my stuff. I then hugged a couple of the other participants and prepared to go to my room when I saw Reena looking a little nervous. Many people were nervous about having to swim through all the kelp in the water. I can't say that I blame her. I invited her up and we sat and talked until 30 minutes before my wave left (1 hr before hers) We got there just in time to watch the TNT men take off.

At 8:45 I got in the water and began to warm up. I let the cold ocean water into my wetsuit, swam a few strokes, and chit chatted until my wave. The race started before I had a chance to get nervous. I started off way too fast and then convinced myself to slow down and swim MY stroke. For the first time, I quickly found someone my pace and decided to draft off of her. She seemed to have a steady stroke and was swimming in the right direction. We passed the first buoy pretty quickly when we got to the second buoy we began our first turn. When I looked up to site I realized that we were the only two headed in that direction. I pulled on her foot and told her that we were going the wrong way (after all...she was great to draft off of). We quickly adjusted and crawled through the kelp to the next buoy. After that she started to slow and I decided to pass her. After a few more significant patches of kelp I saw that the shore was close. I continued to stroke until my knuckles hit the ground. Then stood up...too soon...dove back in and stood up again. As soon as I got out of the water I saw my mom at the top of the hill and run up grabbed her hand then ran down and back into the water. At that point I was having a really hard time catching my breath. I started counting slowly while trying to control my breathing. It took about a hundred yards before I was successful. The rest of the swim included a lot of kelp but no major direction mistakes. Sooner than I expected I was back on shore and running up this huge hill to the transition area. Overall the swim took 48 minutes. As soon as I got to the top of the hill there were 12 of my friends and team mates cheering me on. I sprinted to my bike and transitioned in 3 1/2 minutes. Pretty fast for me.

The bike went really well. I felt fast and I felt great. The bike was to be 4 loops. I was not looking forward to a race with so many loops but now I see the appeal. Every time I went through a crowd of people I sped up. I loved the ride and went aero for much of it. As I went along I cheered for anyone in purple (even if they were not from TNT) and also cheered for people who looked like they were struggling. I had a blast and had fun cheering as I rode...of course I had a lot of people cheering for me too. Seeing my team mates several times throughout the ride was amazing. I was especially happy when I saw Anurag on his bike. He was concerned about not making the swim cut off but HE MADE IT!!! After seeing him I teared up a little because I was so happy. I then started to get worried that I had not seen Reena. She was also concerned about the cut off. Before I got a chance to see her I finished my fourth loop. I ended up averaging 16mph and finishing the ride in a little over an hour and a half.

My transition time from the bike to the run was a bit slower at 4:55. I think it took me a long time to run from the dismount line to my transition area. It seemed to take forever. I then went off for my run. I started off walking but soon began to run. As soon as I started to hit my stride I realized I had to use the restroom. Fortunately, there were plenty of outhouses. For the first time I used one during a triathlon. I never realized how difficult it is putting wet tri shorts on. It seemed to take forever to get them back on. As soon as I got out I started running again and resumed cheering and getting cheered for. Its an amazing feeling to have friends scattered throughout the course cheering you on. It gives me so much energy.

Sooner than I expected I hit the big hill. When I got to the top I saw a police officer eating French Fries. I made fun of him for eating fries while watching us run. He then ran after me and handed me a fry just as a race official came by. He said...don't worry...I won't tell anyone about the outside assistance. After the downhill was another uphill but the nice thing about this uphill was that a bunch of our coaches were standing there which made me run fast. After the coaches there was a large group of fellow mentors, captains, and several participants. As soon as I passed them I found my mom screaming for me. Lets just say that this mile was the most hilly but easiest part of the course. I felt like a super star with everyone shouting my name. Then came the turn around where I past several more people. After that I had enough energy to carry me through the next loop.

Early in the second loop I found out that Reena had made it out of the swim and was finishing up her bike. I was so happy and choked up again. I soon saw Carla and Sheila on the run. They both looked great and I knew that everyone was going to finish. At the top of the big hill the police officer was finished with his fries and I harassed him for not saving some for me. I went back down that hill and back through the awesome mile with all the support and friends. One more loop and I was done. Loop 3 passed pretty quickly and before I knew it I was running through the finishers shoot and grabbing my medal. I felt amazing!!!

My goal for the race was 4 hours but I finished in 4:06. I definately need to work on my running because it took me 6 minutes longer to do the 6.2 mile run than the 25 mile bike ride. That doesn't seem right. I then waited for each of my mentees to cross the finish and gave them big hugs. I was so proud of every single one of them. They all did it!!!

I then soaked in the ocean for a while to ensure no aches and pains for the next day. By the time I decided to get food there was none left so I went back to my room and had some oatmeal and a bananna. I felt so good after a long bath that I decided to go to church. After church we went to this great Irish Bistro where I had bangers, mash, pees, and beer. When I got back to the room my mom and I played cards and we went to bed. At 4:30 I woke up in time to move my car (they were going to close down the road during the Sprinters race). I was not tired at all and decided to go for a walk. It was safe since the lovely people from TriCalifornia were out in full force setting up for the race. After my walk I went back to the room and waited for the Sprinters to start coming in. Patricia Bresnan was the only sprinter in my mentor group to race on Sunday but I also wanted to see honoree Carol and several other of my friends cross the finish line. The race went great for them and I screamed so much that my throat was raw. As soon as everyone from our TNT chapter crossed the finish line I jammed over to Santa Cruz to watch the long course people finish Big Kahuna. Aaron Fritz,Caren Magill,and Jens Weitzel were my mentees and I wanted to make sure to give them plenty of support. Sabine, Mary, Trista, Maida, Nami, and Nikki were also going to race and I definately wanted to give them plenty of loving too. I decided to drive up and down West Cliff to watch them doing the run portion. Everyone looked amazing. I drove up and down (screaming of course) that 5 mile portion 3 times before settling on a place to stand and cheer. I then screamed for every person who passed by. After seeing all of my mentees pass I went to the finish line to cheer people on. By the time I got there Caren and Aaron were done. The only mentee I got to watch pass was Jens. I was so proud of everyone. After a while Mary, Trista, Maida, Nami, and Nikki all crossed and we all cheered for the fact that EVERY SINGLE participant and mentee made it across the finish line for both races (71 people). That was a huge accomplishment. That night we partied until late and everyone was in great spirits. The next morning I went for a swim and drove home. What an amazing weekend!!!

Sunday, July 30 2006; SF Marathon

2006-08-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Before the race started I was SUPER nervous because I felt completely under prepared and I didn't want to get a DNF. The day before the I was calling everyone I knew to find out if they wanted to take my race number. When I finally found someone I was a little sad. Fortunately she called and changed her mind. Thanks Amber!!!

The morning of the race I thought of telling everyone that I accidentally slept in. I'm not a quitter and I just couldn't do it so I reluctantly went. I was seriously lost at the start of the race. I couldn't figure out the bathroom lines, I didn't know where to go, I was a mess. Fortunately, someone in the crowd spotted me and it turned out to be Lisa from our TNT group. Of course I was too nervous to recognize her but thank goodness she recognized me.

When the race started I expected it to be a slow crawl for a couple of miles but people just started running. After the first mile I realized that I was doing a 13 minute mile pace. I don't run that fast?!?! After mile 2 I was still around 13 minute miles. It really felt good. I kept doing the math over and over again and I always got the same results. I didn't feel like I was pushing it...that was just my pace. But I don't even run that fast on the track?!? Then I realized all the calculations I was doing in my head kept my mind off running. Hmmm...math helps running. Did you ever realize how much math was involved in running?

1. I need to do 16 minute miles to finish before cut-off. I'm on mile 8 so I need to be faster than (16 x 8) / 60 = 2.13
2. I'm on mile 8 and I have been running for 2 hrs 4 min so my pace is (2.04 x 60)/ 8 = 15.3 minute mile
3. I need to take a cliff shot block every 20 minutes and I took my last one at 9:00 = 9:20 (easy but still math)
4. What time will I be finishing if I continue at this pace....so on and so on

I was doing math the whole time. I like math but wow. At one point I was going to ask someone if they had a calculator.

Everything else is pretty much a blur of calculations and zoning until mile 7 when I saw a guy in a roman soldier costume who was doing the full marathon in his medal costume. It was amazing. Full body armor including the big headress and a sword. Didn't he realize that we are in the middle of a heatwave?!?! I was hot in my singlet and tri-shorts.

After mile 10 I started to fade and slowed to a snails pace (maybe because the calculations were getting too complex) Just at the right time someone screamed "Go Team" to me and handed over a packet of Starbursts. I was confused at first then he said "I'm on your team too" as he pointed to his TNT hat. It turns out he was there cheering on the SF run team. Those Starbursts hit the spot and pushed me to the finish line. I must have been bonking. I think he suspected as much. Thank you Mr. TNT angel wherever you are!!!

Shortly after I saw the ballpark and grinned like a fool. I love our ballpark. I looked around and everyone else seemed to grin at that same point. It was priceless. We ran up another of several hills then around the park. It was pretty cool to see baseball players practicing while we were running. Sooner than I expected the finish shoot appeared. I ran through and got a medal and a handshake from a Navy soldier in full uniform. It was a great way to end the race.

I now know that a Long Course tri is within my reach. I won't be doing it this year but by next year I think I'll be ready. Like I told coach Harold...just add swimming and biking to marathoning and the race would be perfect.

Sunday, May 21, 2006; UVAS Triathlon

2006-08-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

I finished the UVAS tri yesterday. I have to admit it was not the same when its not a TNT event. I was almost Jealous of all the Iron Team people who were out there because they were wearing their TNT Jerseys. There was a lot of encouragement from fellow racers and people who I knew along the way but it was nothing like Wildflower.

I tried to convince myself that I was not nervous at all but on Thursday I had a dream that I was speeding down the hill and my front tire came off so I pulled up on the handlebars and rode on one tire. Then my back tire popped off so I grabbed my bike by the handlebars and ran with it between my legs until the handlebars came off then I did what any other self respecting triathlete would do...I threw the frame over my shoulders and ran with it when I got to the finish line my cat was already there with a race number and a gold medal on her chest.

Since I was not doing this race with TNT I decided to bring my mom with me. She was shocked at all the preparation I was doing the day before with my 4 waterbottles and my secret recipe to make Gu taste better (Use 2 Strawberry banana Gu's to 1 feul belt flask and top the rest of the bottle with H20) Then came all the gear. I then took my sleeping pills and was in bed by 8:30.

Sunday morning my alarm went off at 4:30 to the sound of heavy rain. This was not good since I love speeding downhill and now I had to be cautious instead of being able to just Kowabunga down. I made a thermos of hot water and a thermos of coffee for mom, packed that in a bag with some snacks, woke her up and away we went.

When we got there I was shocked to see how small the transition area was. At Wildflower where the transition area was daunting this race was capped at 800. I selected my set up area and meticulously put down my stuff.Susan quickly found me and we talked for a bit. It was great to see her and then to see Frank there too :) Susan suggested that I leave my stuff in my bag so it didn't get wet but I figure that I would be wet anyway so I left it out and laid a second towel on top of everything. Once that was done I ate my oatmeal and banana.

About 1/2 hour before the race was putting my wetsuit on when my friend Jayne came walking over in her stylish SVTC gear. No wetsuit for that chick...wow!!!

Unlike Wildflower, this race had a swimming start which meant that we swam out to a set of buoys and waited for the gun to go off. When it finally did my heart started beating hard but I was able to quickly calm myself down and regain my composure. I passed the first buoy, then the second, the I couldn't find the third but I found one off in the distance so I started swimming towards that. Well...I guess it was the wrong one because someone in the kayak yelled that I was going the wrong way. Ugh!!! She kindly pointed out the correct buoy and I went for it. Then...boom...someone hit me. It was Jayne :-) So we started swimming next to each other when I noticed that she was waving to me at each stroke. Laughing while swimming is not easy but definitely takes your mind off the swim and the fact that I was getting really nauseous from my Amino Vital. Then suddenly I saw the end of the swim. I swam as close to the dock as possible got up and immediately got the dizzies (I was also really nauseous). I shook my head got my wetsuit off and transitioned to the bike. I was still a bit dizzy when I started rolling so I took a cliff shot and immediately started to feel better. I moved fairly quickly on the first part of the bike then at mile 12 the one major hill suddenly hit me. I jumped off my bike and walked it up. I really need to do A LOT of hill work. This is when everyone who I had passed earlier passed me. Once at the top of the hill I got on my bike and was careful as I was speeding down the hills. Then I hit traffic. Ugh...I hate it when they don't close down the streets for us. One car purposely pulled into the bike lane so we wouldn't pass him. Jerk!!! When we got passed the traffic I regained my speed and fairly easily took the final hills before my chain fell off on the last hill (it had fallen off earlier too). I jumped off put it back on and finished the bike where my mom was there waiting. I was so happy to see her that I almost fell off my bike.

The run was a lot of fun. Hearing encouragement from strangers and seeing Shahin, Susan and Frank on their way back from the turn around point. At mile 2 I saw Jayne and tried to chase her down for the rest of the race. I never did catch up to that girl she always seemed to be 100 yards in front of me no matter how hard I tried to close the gap. Way too quickly the race was over and I saw my mom screaming for me at the finish line. Jayne was there too!!!

The race was a lot of fun. Wet…but fun and I finished with the time of 2:57:43.

Week 15: I am a triathlete!!!

2006-05-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

I am officially a triathlete!!! After a 45 minute 1.5 kilometer swim, a 2 hour 17 minute 40 km bike ride and a 1 hour and 54 minute 10K run (walk) I have finished the 2006 Wildflower triathlon in 5 hours flat. A time that won’t win any races but it got me a medal.

This weekend was absolutely amazing and I want to thank each and every one of you for your donations, prayers, kind words, and taking the time to read (skim through) these sometimes lengthy weekly progress reports. Because of your donations the Leukemia and Lymphoma society will have $3060 more towards finding a cure to Leukemia and kids like Ethan will not have to go through the pain that he has experienced. Because of you I have been able to swim, bike, and run (walk) towards a goal that seemed impossible at the beginning of the season. The support that I have had over the past several weeks has been amazing and I cannot thank you enough.

Now for the race report…

When I got to Lake San Antonio on Friday morning I was blown away by all the people. There were tents set up in every nook and cranny of the park and amazingly fit men and women were getting in there final workouts before their race. After finding my fellow TNT Silicon Valley friends I quickly set up my tent and proceeded down to the festival in order to get my race packet. When I received my packet I confirmed that I would be receiving a silver race cap which indicated a 10:10 start (a full 50 minutes before the second TNT wave). I already knew this and had used that timing in order to come up with my pre race plan. After I got back to camp I noticed my cap was purple, the same color as the second TNT wave. I then hiked all the way back down to the event and was told that they had to put some people in the second wave because the first was too full. This put a major kink in my plans. I was pretty upset about this but there was nothing I could do so I tried to get over it. On Saturday I went back down to talk to the registration desk to see if I could get into the first wave and the girl gave me a silver cap. Now life was perfect again ;-)

After watching my long course friends take off on their swims I went back up to camp to rest up because my race was too be on Sunday. I pretty much spent all day sitting on my beach chair cheering on the Long Course people. I had so much fun!!!

On Saturday night we had a pasta dinner (the same thing we had on Friday) and we talked about how successful the 2006 Wildflower TNT team was in raising over 1.5 million dollars for LLS. A Leukemia survivor talked to us about what it’s like to be a survivor and an athlete then we talked about what was too happen the next day. During the meeting about 20 Cal Poly Triathletes came streaking through the area without a stitch of clothing. Wow!!! I was NOT ready for that. After the meeting I confirmed with one of the coaches that I would be fine swimming in the silver wave. I went straight to my tent and started gathering my gear for the next day:

I went to bed early and had a surprisingly restful sleep.

On Sunday I woke up at 5:30AM completely relaxed. I got dressed, checked and rechecked my gear, and started boiling water for myself and the team. After eating my oatmeal and banana we took a group picture and proceeded down to the transition area of the race.

The transition area was HUGE!!!

When I got there I was excited to see that my bike was to be set up directly in front of the Portuguese flag (a great omen since I am a proud Portuguese) and a Minnie Mouse Balloon. Between that and the fact that I had my rack number written all over my body I was confident that I was not going to get lost trying to find my bike. I racked my bike and set up my gear and then went to get my body marked (they put my race number on my legs arms and hands and then wrote my age on the back of my calf). After taking several photo ops and exchanging hugs with my team I put my wetsuit on and proceeded to the water where the race would soon begin. Between waves I went into the water and got used to the cold against my face. Way too quickly it was time to start the race.

I really don’t remember running into the water after the horn blew. The first thing I remember is getting kicked and pushed forward. After the initial shock wore off I tried to find someone to draft off of (a method of swimming closely behind someone who is my pace in order to use their wake to make my swim easier) This attempt was purely in vain because most of the people in my wave was just as inexperienced as myself and could not get more than 5 or 6 strokes without stopping or changing their stroke. So I chose to swim my stroke “long and strong with a breath every 4 strokes” I kept saying to myself. I quickly started passing several people, then several more, then people from the wave before me (indicated by their purple caps) then several people from the wave before that. The slow and steady pace strategy that I had decided on at the open water swim practice the week before was really paying off. Before I knew it I was heading towards the finish. I didn’t even have time to get tired. I jumped up and heard the screams of my team mates who were in the second wave. Hearing my name being screamed out gave me tremendous energy which helped me sprint towards the transition area while pulling off the top part of my wetsuit.

I checked my watch and started transitioning to the bike:

Coach Barney was beside me the whole time in the transition area taking pictures and cheering me on. I felt GREAT!!! It only took me 4 minutes to transition. I ran with my bike out of the shoot and jumped on when the officials gave me the ok. The first obstacle I was to face was Lynch hill. A 1 ½ mile 6% grade straight up. After about a mile I started to lose control from riding too slowly so I jumped off my bike and ran the rest of the way up the hill. Once I got near the top of Lynch I jumped back on my bike and took off just in time to hear the screams of fellow TNT friends who had either raced on Saturday or was there to cheer us on. I then got my first big downhill which I took at 34 mph. My extra weight really helps me gain speed coming down hills. That speed helped me a lot of the way up the next hill before I had to push and pull the rest of my way up. At one point I pulled so hard that my shoe came off and I had to strap it back on. I did the same for the next couple of hills and then came my favorite hill…2 miles of speeding straight downhill. I must have passed 30 people on the way down. At one point a lady from the Golden Gate Tri Club said “boy…your fast”. THAT FELT AWESOME!!!

After hitting the turn around point I proceeded the 2 miles back up that same hill. Fortunately, the hill was not too bad and I spun up the hill at a pretty good pace before it started to get really hard. That’s the point when I looked down and saw that the TNT coaches had chalked our names on the road. My whole focus was to get to the next name…then the next….then the next. Right when the hill got particularly steep the names stopped and so did I. I jumped off my bike and ran the rest of the way up the hill only to enjoy another speedy downhill. The rest of the bike continued much in the same way except I didn’t get off my bike anymore and really pushed up those hills. It got hard but the constant sounds of “Go Team” really helped me power through it. At the end of the last hill I heard the screams of my friends urging me to keep going. This was all I needed for the rest of my ride. I jammed back down Lynch hill as fast as I can and quickly ran with my bike through the transition area to get ready for my run.

Again…Coach Barney was there cheering me on. He told me that I rocked the bike course and I was one of the first TNT girls done (of course I did start in the first wave). I then proceeded to the run which quickly turned to a walk. This was a super hilly and HOT course. I sped walked up to my team mate Tamiko and we walked together for a while then we met up with Tom, another team mate, and walked together. Soon they became to fast for me and I walked on my own. I was never really alone there was always a great person to talk to. At one point I stopped to help a girl whose legs were cramping. After stretching it out she was better and I urged her to take Gatorade and water at the next stop which was a short ways away. We walked there together and I left her there to drink and stretch out. I then power walked all the way up 2 mile hill where I noticed everyone else was walking except for a 70 year old woman who was easily running past everyone. Several comments about her age and fitness were made. I joked that she must be retired and have all the time in the world to train where the rest of us have jobs ;-) This woman was my hero!!! It was so hot that every couple of miles there was someone with a hose to wet us down in order to bring down our body temperatures.

The constant cheers of fellow TNT team mates and supporters really helped me through the rest of the 10K. I was particularly happy to see coaches Steve and Harold towards the top of 2 mile hill and Berend and Nicolas at the bottom of another particularly tough hill.

Then there was the huge group at the top of Lynch screaming that I was almost done. I was able to get large amounts of energy from each and every person cheering me on. Before I knew it I was sprinting through the finish shoot. They handed me my medal and wet towel. It was over…I could at that moment call myself a triathlete.

The rest of the day I was barely functioning. Between elation and the fact that I was so tired and hot I could not even figure out how to pull down my tent and pack my things. Fortunately, Sabine (the Tri-Stud) had the wherewithal to help me. Once we were packed up I hugged and congratulated all my team mates and started the 3 hour drive home (but first to In-And-Out to celebrate with the team).

Overall the weekend was AMAZING and couldn’t have gone better. The website showed that I was disqualified but it had something to do with the swim cap mix up. My mentor, Berend, saw this too and had already contacted the race officials to get me of the DQ list. He was successful and the change was made shortly there after. He is the best Mentor EVER!!! I finished, most of my friends finished, and everyone had a good time. One of my team mates is still in the Hospital after being medi-vacked out and I want to extend well wishes and prayers to her but I hear that she is going to be ok and that’s what matters. That and the fact that the money I raised for LLS will help in saving lives. Thank you all again for your support and love!!!

Sandy

Update on Ethan:

Tuesday May 9, 2006

Hi, Everyone!

Ethan went in for labs yesterday, and his ANC was above 1300, which is great! They went ahead with his scheduled chemo, and he started on his steroids that he'll take for 5 days.

Today he seems a little irritable and tired (he's sleeping in my arms right now), but he did have a lot of chemo yesterday, as he had the injection of Vincristine, his weekly oral Methotrexate, and his daily 6MP, along with starting the dexamethasone (the steroid). We would appreciate prayer that he would tolerate this week of steroids well, and also that he would have minimal side effects from all the chemo he's getting. This is still all a part of maintenance, but one day each month he gets quite a lot at one time.

I started training today at the hospital where I'll be working 2 Saturdays a month in Physical Therapy. For the next three weeks, I'll be going in three weekdays a week (for half days) for training. Today, all the kids were with Auntie Sonia while I was at training, and Ethan did okay, with just a couple 'meltdowns'. Thank goodness Sonia is very creative in distracting him, and also very patient! I'm praying that Ethan is able to handle all the other time I will be gone for training, as well as do okay while I'm working on the Saturdays.

Colin and Erin have been quite the troopers as well, with all the time I've been gone lately (CPR class, employee physical, paperwork, etc.), and have been busy themselves with Little League, along with Greg who is one of their coaches!

Thank you all for checking in on us!

Love and Blessings,
Andrea (for the Marleys)

Week 14: One week to Wildflower!!!

2006-05-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Everyone

This Sunday is the big day and I am experiencing MAJOR pre-game anxiety. I did triathlons in my sleep all night last night. I finally gave up on the sleep thing at 5AM!!! I know that I'll do fine and baring major mechanical or physical catastrophe I'll be finishing this thing and giving you a positive race report next week.

Last week I talked about all of my workouts which I did on Monday through my practice tri on Saturday and the 16 mile bike ride on Sunday. I think I'll do the same this week so that I could re-experience my week again (these newsletters are purely selfish). On Monday I was supposed to do an open water swim over at Redwood Shores in San Mateo (bay water ewwww). The only problem is that the only people who showed up was myself and another girl from the team, Rielena. It was cold, the water was choppy, and this was only going to be Rielena's second open water swim. We discussed our game plan and decided that it would be safer if we swam laps at the gym. When we got there we were very happy to see that Larry, a mentor from the team, was already in the water. Larry is one of the most high spirited, positive guys I have ever met in my life. Seeing him made me really want to work out hard. After chit chatting for a while Stacey, also from the team, stopped by with her son. This was great!!! Team lovin outside the normal venue. After swimming my prescribe 2650 meters I got out of the water feeling good because not only did I see several team mates but the swim was not that bad.

On Tuesday I went to a Jimmy Buffett Concert. Sunday was supposed to have been a day off but I opted to do my Tuesday workout that day instead so that I could do the Parrot Head thing :-)

Wednesday was another open water swim day at Redwood Shores. This time about 15 people showed up. I got their a little early only to notice that their were several people already dawning their wetsuits. I did the Orca dance and got mine on so that I could jump into the frigid bay. Today the water was particularly choppy and the temperature was nice and chilly. One of our younger triathletes decided to start swimming on his own which is a HUGE no no. A training captain was really worried about him so I offered to swim after him. I dove in the water head first and swam as fast as I could and eventually caught up. On the way back I realized that he was not a really strong swimmer and the conditions were really choppy. I was having fun because every time I would hit a wave just right it would launch me into the air and slap me down but I realized he was not having quite as much fun. I ended up swimming 2 strokes and sighting beside me to see if he was ok and then swimming another 2 strokes and sighting in front of me. He ended up stopping several times on the way back but we eventually got back to doc. After getting back, I decided to jump in and do the workout that the rest of the team was doing. I learned a HUGE lesson that day. I really didn't believe that your mind could really control your performance as much as people say. IT DOES!!! In previous swims at Redwood Shores, I remember having a hard time on the way up to the bridge then having to do the backstroke so that I could make it back to the dock. On the way up to the bridge I was so concerned with catching up with my team mate that I NEVER got tired and on the way back the same thing happened. To the bridge and back is a 1 mile swim. I was able to do that plus another 1/4 mile after I got back and this is in choppy conditions. I now know that I will be fine in the swim portion of Wildflower no matter the conditions.

Thursday is track practice day. We ended up having another brick workout which entailed biking for and hour and running a couple of miles. The bike was A TON of fun. We biked from Mountain View High School down Foothill to Page Mill road in Palo Alto. I am pretty fast on flats and downhill's but I was still surprised to find that I was one of the first people back. I was particularly happy to be able to announce that my chain NEVER fell off on this ride. Yaaay!!! I was thinking before the ride that I had no pictures of myself on the bike. Someone must have read my mind because I have several now. Because they are not very flattering I'll spare you all of them but the best one is at the top of this post.

Here is the team on their way up foothill. This is kind of a where's Waldo game. Can you find me?

After our ride we ran for a couple of miles. My knee was kind of bothering me so I didn't push it to hard. Later I discovered that the knee and last weeks back pain was because my seat was set 1 1/2 inches too low. Once the run/walk was over we sat down for a team meeting about race weekend, what to expect, rules and logistics. I could tell tensions were mounting because the team was having difficulties sitting still to listen to the coaches. Here is us in a rare moment of concentration. Where's Sandy? Can you find me?

Friday was a scheduled Day of Rest so I went to a Giants game then to Nicci's fundraiser at a bar in Burlingame. We didn't get home until almost midnight. I know this sounds early for several of you but remember...I'm now a triathlete.

First thing Saturday morning I awoke to HUGE plumbing problems. Nothing like waking up and learning that you have to go down the street just to use the bathroom. Fortunately, I have a very supportive family and my godfather came over to fix the plumbing while I packed up my gear and left for practice. Practice was at Redwood Shores but the problem was we couldn't swim where we normally do because a rowing tournament was going on. Instead we had to go to another part of the bay which was much dirtier and nastier. Once we jumped in we were told to swim out and back just to warm up. I could really tell who had taken advantage of the optional open water swim practices and who hadn't. I'm glad that I did because only 2 weeks before my stroke was terrible and I was swimming a lot slower than I do now because I was not used to the constrictive suit. After a warm up we were told to swim out to the Buoys and back a few times. At first I was a little nervous because it seemed like everyone was swimming ahead of me. I told myself that it didn't matter and this was just practice so I continued with my same stroke. After rounding the first buoy I started passing people, then more people. I continued with my same stroke throughout the entire swim. When I finished my first lap around the buoys I noticed that a lot of people who are faster swimmers than me had to stop to rest but I still had energy to go around again. I did without stopping and passed more people. I was by no means the first one finished with my swim but I can tell you that my strategy for the race will be to swim long and slow strokes and not worry about the people around me.

When we got out of the water I realized how nasty it really was. Everyone looked like they had beards and mustaches. This was all dirt and probably duck shit from the bay. Ugh!!!

After our swim we went for a 2 mile run. I walked most of this because my knees were still hurting. Don't worry...they'll be fine on Sunday. I already feel better ;-) Once everyone got back Kristin announced that she was going to shave her head as a fundraiser and to cough up some money so that we could participate. Talk about a serious desire to raise money for LLS. The most amazing part is that she's already hit her goal!!!

On Sunday my friend Myron and I went back to do the 16 mile UVAS route. Its such a beutiful ride!!! If anyone wants to go for a bike ride in Morgan Hill let me know. I'll do this route any time. Its got hills but not insurmountable ones and is a great ride for someone who has done some hill work and wants a longer ride. There is just one (can I say Mountain) that we have to power up but it is reasonably short and both of us ended up walking up our bikes which only took a couple of minutes. Once to the top of this hill its a 35 mile per hour roller coaster ride back to the final hill before the finish.

Overall it was a great week with as much training as I could get in. Now my task is to rest. I've done all I can and anything else will only hurt me. The next time I post will be my post-race report. Wish me luck everyone!!!

UPDATE ON ETHAN
Wiggly Wiggles
Hi, All!

Well, it happened! Ethan did get to meet the Wiggles on Thursday, and it was fantastic! Both the meeting and the concert!! Ethan was a bit overwhelmed, as three of the Wiggles are even bigger than Daddy!! They were all very sweet, and sensitive to Ethan's being overwhelmed. We got pictures, which we'll try to get downloaded and onto this website soon! (It's been soooo busy around here!)

We were very blessed to get to sit in the third row at the concert, and Ethan clapped, sang, and danced (mostly while sitting or standing on our laps) for the entire hour and a half!!

For those of you who are familiar with the Wiggles, Murray, the guy in red, seemed to make a special connection with Ethan, and he even smiled at him during the concert, and waved to him at the end of the concert! It was so touching! ( He had talked with Greg about Ethan's history, and Greg shared how the Wiggles tapes had really helped Ethan keep moving, especially during his initial time in the hospital. ) It was such a special time, and Greg and I probably enjoyed it as much as Ethan did! It was so great to see him having so much fun!

Ethan was started back on his chemo on Monday, and continues to be doing well. He has had to be away from me a lot over the last few days, and has done very well with that, too! I'm relieved about that, as I'm going to be starting to work a couple Saturdays a month, and it helps to know he should do fine!

Thanks so much for checking in on Ethan! Please continue to pray for his little body to tolerate the chemo well, and for the chemo to be doing it's job!

Love and blessings,
Andrea (for the Marleys)

Week 13: The Pressure Is ON!!!

2006-04-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hi all

Wow...We are almost to the big weekend. One more Newsletter after this then I'll be giving out a post race review. I have enjoyed my time with TNT immensely and am saddened to find that this season is almost over. That's ok...I'm training for the Fall season as well ;-)

I updated my webpage with some new pictures. If you have time stop by my blog: www.sandystrisite.blogspot.com

Typically I only review my Thursday and Saturday workouts in these newsletters but I thought today I would include other training as well so you don't think that I am training hard 2 days a week and slacking off the rest. On Monday a few of us met at Redwood Shores and went for an open water swim in the bay. I felt kind of weird dawning my wetsuit in the middle of a corporate plaza over by the water. I quickly got over it when 5 fellow Orca greeted me dawning their sleek black suits. Before we jumped into the frigid bay we discussed our options. We could either 1. Swim around buoys in circles or 2. Swim out to a distant bridge and back. One of the long coursers, Nicholas, insisted on swimming out past the bridge and back which covered a distance of 1.5 miles (equivalent to the long course swim). Because I did not want him to swim alone and because I was the only other person who was not intimidated by swimming so far out I volunteered to join him. The swim was HARD. I felt so constricted in my wetsuit. I just wanted to rip it off. Of course that was not an option so I calmed myself down and swam out. I thought I would get used to the wetsuit after a while but I maintained my panicked state throughout the swim. I felt like my arms were being held down and someone had tightly tied a rope around my chest. The ironic part is...my wetsuit is too big for me. Despite being uncomfortable; I swam the entire 1.5 miles...some of it while doing the backstroke in order to open up my chest. I was very happy to be back on shore.

On Tuesday I went for a bike ride with my friends Myron and Sabine. We decided to ride from his house in Los Altos Hills all the way down to Foothill College and back up to Taafe. This is a route that I had attempted last week but asthma prevented me from doing it. I decided I needed to slay the beast we called Taafe. On the way up my chain fell twice and I decided to do the easier hill rather than finish Taafe. Sabine wanted to go up and Myron was getting tired because he was using a Mountain bike so the two of us rode together and Sabine went up and around (what a stud!!!). After going back and forth on the easier hill we decided to go up as far as we could on Taafe instead of sitting around to wait for Sabine. Could you believe we made it all the way up?!?! It really was not as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe I am getting in shape :-) The road back to Myron's house was all uphill and very challenging but I had an aha moment going up his hill. I realized that I was not using my hamstrings at all. It was great finding a whole new muscle group as I was getting exhausted trying to power up that steep hill. This was a tough bike ride but a huge win for me since I have been dreading Taafe for months.

Wednesday was another open water swim day. This time I swam out to the bridge and back. Again...it was challenging but I didn't freak out as much as I had the first time. I think it was because 1. I knew I could do it and 2. I had other people swimming next to me the whole time. There was a good 12 of us at this swim and about half chose to swim to the bridge. On the way there I was as relaxed as I could be considering I had the suit on. I really didn't get that tired and never did the backstroke. I was very pleased with how I did. One of the girls on my team, Mary, was intimidated by swimming out to the bridge but really wanted to do it so I told her that I would be with her the whole time. Ha!!! That girl was a stud. She got over her fear early on and finished well before me. I was so proud of her!!!

On Thursday we had what is called a Brick workout. A brick is when we practice 2 events without rest. Our brick entailed biking and running. I felt really strong on the bike until about 2 miles in when I got chain lock. My chain fell off then got stuck in the gears. It took forever to get it out but I did. After riding up another hill the chain fell again. This time I couldn't get it off until one of the Mentors helped me and put the chain back on. After testing it out for a bit the chain fell again. I conceded to my bikes desires and rode it back to the school. Once there I jammed over to the bike shop where they adjusted it and I went back to practice just in time to run a 2 mile time set. Despite the rough beginning of my workout I managed to run my 2 miles in record time!!! I'm so glad I went back. Here is a picture of a few of us during the run:

Friday was a scheduled, and much needed, day of rest so I didn't workout at all.

On Saturday our team was joined by the Santa Cruz and Monterey chapters for a practice triathlon. I was so excited to finally see how these three sports come together. We parked our cars and set up our T2 (bike to run) transition areas and then biked to the lake. On the way over I got chain lock...again. Grrrrr. This time it was so bad that one of the coaches, Frank, had to literally unscrew part of my bike to get the chain out. As soon as I got back on the chain fell off AGAIN. The bike was just not going to work for me this day ;-( Paula drove me to the lake and I did the swim then Barbara drove me to the run transition area and I got ready for the run. Unfortunately, my socks were left in the car with my bike. Rather than not running at all I decided to run without socks. I thought...if I get blisters they'll heal. I wanted to get a workout in damn it!!! Not only did I get in a good workout but instead of doing the 5K we were supposed to do...I did the route twice and did a 10K. Above is a picture of me during the second loop.

At the end of the run I was excited to see that not only had I finished and felt great but I had run a 10.35 minute pace. For you runners out there that seems slow but in the marker set I did last month I ran a 13 minute pace and I ran a 15 minute pace on my first marker set. What a HUGE improvement. I can't believe it ;-)

At the end of the run we had a pot luck so I ate quickly and went to a different bike shop than I had before. The guy took one look at my bike and told me that I needed a new chain. Finally...someone who seemed like they know what they were doing. I explained to him that I had a 16 mile bike ride scheduled for the next day and was hoping the work could be done by then. The guy said that he would do his best and sure enough it was done within the hour.

On Sunday we went to UVAS so that I could review the UVAS triathlon course which I will be doing on May 21st. The course was amazingly beautiful. The only problem was that I could not get onto the big chain ring on my bike. The big chain ring is the hardest one. I like to use it in order to gain copious amounts of speed going downhill so that I have momentum on the ascent. Its probably better that I didn't have it so that I could work harder on the hills. After the ride we opted to skip the planned 5 mile run and eat pancakes instead ;-) I'm glad we did because later that day I realized how sore I really was.

So now my bike is in the shop...AGAIN...and I'm hoping they get it right this time. I told the shop that if it didn't workout I was going to have to return the bike for a new one. I hope it works because the idea of doing a triathlon on a bike that I'm not used to is daunting. I'll keep ya'll posted.

UPDATE ON FUNDRAISING

I hit my goal but you could never raise too much money for this great cause. If you have already donated...I thank you very much. If not...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!

Here is a link to my fundraising site: http://www.active.com/donate/tntsvmb/tntsvmbSButler

Update on Ethan:

Monday April 24, 2006

Weekend Update

Hi, All!

Well no sooner were we home, than we packed up for our weekend in Arnold with the Lazenbys! We left on Thursday evening, had a wonderful, fun day, and then Ethan started to develop a fever on Friday evening. When it hit 101.1, Greg and I decided it was time to head back home, just in case it went any higher. Colin and Erin stayed with the Lazenbys, and we headed for home.

Thankfully, Ethan's temp went down on the way home, and he only had a low grade temp the next day, so we were able to avoid a hospital visit! Greg went back to Arnold Saturday morning, and Ethan enjoyed some one on one attention from Mom for Saturday and Sunday!

We're so thankful for the time we got to spend with our good friends, and for their help and flexibility!!

Ethan had to miss the Wiggles concert last week because he was in the hospital, but we're hoping to be able to go to another concert, possibly this Thursday. Sonia's been in contact with the Wiggles folks, and is seeing if they can arrange for Ethan to still get to meet them! We're hoping so! It's a good thing Ethan doesn't have a very good concept of time!

Today, Ethan will be having lab work done, and if his numbers are good enough, they'll be having him start taking his chemo again. (He's been off it for the last week.) They may be modifying his dose. . . we're not sure.

Thanks so much for checking in on Ethan, and for your continued prayers!

Blessings,
Andrea (for the Marleys) Thursday April 20, 2006

Ethan is Home!

His counts recoved enough for him to be released from the hospital yesterday morning. We got to spend a little time with Grandma before our 5 hour trip home. Ethan is doing pretty well. Enough so, that we are still going on our planned trip to Arnold, Ca. this weekend.

We want to thank all who were praying for Ethan this week. It is quite comforting to know we are cared for so much. Please pray that Ethan's counts continue to climb and for a safe trip this weekend.

Thank you,
Greg (for the Marleys)