One Stroke, One Pedal, One Mile

...

Closer to a Cure

February 5, 2010

January was a TOUGH month for training! The weather certainly did not want to cooperate. We had to cancel a few trainings, some for fear of weather, and some for actual weather...and the times we were able to meet as a group...well, they were rough.

My favorite training in January had to be the Saturday brick (bike followed by a run). It was supposed to be 25/3. As soon as we got on our bikes, it started to rain. Not awful, but just enough. By mile 15, I noticed that with every pedal stroke, my socks were sloshing in my shoes. Too funny. I kept telling myself I was a bad-ass. It seems that positive self-deception goes a long way in getting you through bad training days :)

We all cut the bike short (20 miles instead of 25) and headed out on the run. Wouldn't you know that this happened to be the ONE day where I didn't have a spare pair of socks? No joke. I knew there was no way I'd be able to do a run without getting blisters. As I rode back into the parking lot, I started asking my teammates if they had a spare pair. David did. David who has size gargantuan feet. He warned that they probably wouldn't fit. I didn't care. They were dry.

He graciously gave me his socks. And I folded them so that my little feet would have some semblance of fitting into them. Needless to say, I cut my run short, too (two miles instead of three). And then home to get dry!!!

I did have a GREAT ride last Sunday, though. My friend, Sarah (see below about Sarah's elbows), is training for an Ironman. She goes out on epic three-hour rides every weekend. I asked if I could tag along. I also asked a couple other friends...hoping to find company that would be interested in a less epic ride. I found Kiwi and Susan.

Kiwi and I are training for an Ironman together ... in March of 2011 ... in New Zealand (make the Kiwi connection... :) Kiwi's brother, Kyle, has been my honored hero -- he just successfully came through his second surgery for melanoma. Susan has been my honored hero in the past -- a survivor of neuro-endocrine pancreatic cancer. I met both of these women through Team in Training in 2004. They are bad-asses themselves.

The three of us went out for a (less) epic ride of 35 hilly miles at a place known as Silk Sheets. I have NO idea why they call it that. Silk sheets should be luxurious, relaxing and comfortable. This ride wasn't. But it was still cool. It's the longest (and hilliest) ride I've ever done. Again, positive self-deception got me through.

So, doing well in swimming (which, oddly, is now my favorite sport), making progress in biking. And running? welll....(crickets chirping)...I just haven't really been focused on that too much. I need to kick that into gear, as I have a half marathon coming up in mid-March. Geez.

December 28, 2009

I think I had a break through!

Our team swim was cancelled last night due to the holidays. I didn't want to swim alone, so I called my friend Sarah, who was going to swim practice with her triathlon club. She welcomed me to join her. I will spare you the details of the coolness of the Georgia Tech facilities (like how MUCH nicer the bathrooms are than where I normally swim) and get right to the meat of the story.

I was watching Sarah swim (she's training for an Ironman...which is so incredibly cool and I am so impressed with her dedication and determination), and thought to myself, "Sarah has really pretty elbows."

Elbows are a big deal in swimming. You're supposed to lead your stroke with your elbows. For eleven months, I have NOT done that. But last night, as I watched Sarah's elbows, I had an "A-ha!" moment. Her elbows looked like a complete pedal stroke (and for those of you who don't cycle, your pedal stroke should pull with your hamstring and push with your quad, for a complete circular motion -- balanced and centered, but utilizing both the push and the pull).

I put my face back in the water and tried to imitate Sarah's elbows. I pulled my elbows back before moving them forward to enter the water. And it WORKED! By 'worked,' I mean that I felt more efficient in the water. I still need someone to watch me to see if my form is accurate. Let's face it, I'm nowhere near Dana Torres, but I am getting closer!! (You know, the way that Atlanta is getting closer to Hawaii...) :)

December 27, 2009

Who thought it was a good idea to sign up for an event for which you have to train through the winter? IT'S FREAKIN'COLD!!! In the last three weeks, I have ridden my bike in 27 degree weather (couldn't feel my fingers for most of it), I've run in the freezing rain (couldn't feel my nose) and I've completed pool workouts (after which I simply throw a ski cap over my wet hair in order to run to the car and pray that the heater would start working quickly). What fun! Oh yeah, and the holidays? With all the goodies and parties and fun to be had? It certainly makes being disciplined about training a little more challenging...But it is what it is, I suppose.

I've had a couple of good workouts. My biking is steadily improving. I've been going to my friend, Kiwi's house on Tuesday nights for workouts. We place our bikes on trainers, which allow us to spin without fighting the elements. Kiwi plans the workouts, and as she blasts Pink over her speaker system, she makes me do 1 leg repetitions, 3 minute sprints and 'stomps' (with the highest level of resistance). It's almost fun. Really. I do know that it's making a difference in my cycling, though.

Last weekend, I met up with the team for a group workout. I rode with Mary, who was my coach during the summer season for the Chattanooga triathlon. She and I rode 25 miles together. And I actually enjoyed it. A minor miracle, to be sure. Mary gave me some good pointers on areas where I can improve...and we had some great conversations that made the time and the miles fly by. After our bike mileage, I ran an easy four miles. It felt great.

I supplement group trainings with the occasional spin class at LA Fitness. Last Tuesday, I spent an hour panting and sweating through one such class. It was brutal. My heart rate sky-rocketed in the first fifteen minutes of the class, and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stick it out until the end. The teacher would shout, "Okay, grab some water and recover!" Her definition of recovery and mine are vastly different: she would give us about 10 seconds between intense hill climbs. Ugh. But I survived, and that crazy driven part of me looks forward to going back and getting better and better each time.

Swimming is still my weakness. We had a very small group meet the Monday before Christmas for a team swim. Since there were so few of us, we all received a lot of individual attention from the coaches. This was a blessing and a curse. I am grateful for the multitude of suggestions I received for ways to improve my stroke (I have 'ugly elbows'), and I am glad the coaches want to push me to improve. But man, it was hard. I get very frustrated when I can't get something right...and I have a feeling that swimming will consistently present me with the opportunity to be frustrated. But I can't give up. I need to push to get better. And I will.

If we gave up on everything in life that was hard, how would we ever learn? If we threw our hands up in the air and said, "Oh well, nothing to be done," how would progress be made? How would we take steps toward a cure for cancer? We wouldn't. Which is why we can't give up. Ever.

***

December 2, 2009

We've been training as a team for about three weeks. That's three weeks in the pool and three weeks doing bricks (biking followed by running). It's incredible what your body can remember in three short weeks.

On the first night of swim practice, we got assessed by the coaches. If you'll remember from last season, I started in Lane 1 (I affectionately called it The Suck Lane), and by the end of the season, I had graduated to Lane 2 (with a pretty awesome group of women -- Lane 2 Rocks!!!). This season, I started off assigned to...wait for it... Lane THREE!!! It's a minor miracle, to be sure. I've set my goals high for the season, hoping to be promoted to Lane 4 (one of my Lane mates, Katie, has already been promoted, leaving me as the sole girl in Lane 3. Since I'm not competitive at all, I haven't been trying to be stronger, faster, better than the guys I'm swimming with. Nope. Not one bit.)

Swimming is coming back to me -- well, my style of swimming anyway. We're starting all over with drill work, and it's kind of cool to realize all the things I did wrong last season. I had spent so much energy being anxious that I just barely focused on proper form. Now that I'm less scared of the water, I am able to focus on improving my technique....and there's lots of room for improvement :). I'm having a great time, though. I've even already walked on the bottom of the pool.

Brick workouts are coming back to me, too. The first workout, I rode 15 miles and ran 2. I thought I was going to die on the bike, but by the second mile of the run, I was in my groove. Last weekend, I upped my bike mileage to 20 and felt much stronger. The run was awesome, too. I can't wait for this weekend. I'm glad you'll be along for the ride.

****

2009 marks my fifth year with Team in Training -- and what an incredible five years it has been! From being a couch potato with a pack a day habit to becoming a running coach, my life has undergone some pretty incredible changes. I owe so much to Team in Training, and I'm excited to sign up for another season to raise more money to find a cure for cancer!

I have signed up for my sixth event with TNT, The St. Anthony's Triathlon, which will take place on April 25, 2010. This will be my second triathlon through TNT. Last year, TNT taught me how to swim. This year, there is the added challenge of teaching me how to swim well. I will be faced with my first ocean swim, and I'm looking forward to conquering that beast.

There is a bigger beast to conquer, however. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

I am completing this event in memory of Richard Kannady. Richard was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma in December of 2008. After a hard fight, Richard lost his battle with cancer in September of 2009. It doesn't seem fair. And I'm angry. So I continue to fight.

Please help me find a cure by making a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!