Racing to Save Lives

Hey everyone! If you have stumbled upon this website then you probably have an idea of what I have gotten myself into these days.

I'm training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. 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 honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

I will be participating in an international triathlon with consists of 1.5K swim (.93mi), 40K (24.8mi)bike and 10K (6.2mi) run, taking place in San Francisco at Treasure Island on November 8.

I will update weekly to keep everyone posted on my training.

Week One: New and Exciting

During this first week, I met my teammates, coaches, mentors and many more. Not only did I have to remember new names and faces, I got back into swimming with a coach since college. It was exciting and challenging. I have also met other TNT people from the previous season; their still training for their upcoming event.

Week Two: First team bike practice

Let me tell you, hand signaling on a road bike is not easy. The moment I signal, my handle bars become unstable. I made it out alive. I however have not purchashed cllip-in shoes yet; that is another obstacle to conquer. This week we came across an event relating to why we are doing what we are doing. A TNT teammate that I have met named Audrey was diagnosed with Leukemia six years ago. Since then she has been in remission once and is currently going through treatments again. Being in TNT, she has overcome the sickness for many years. Participating in almost 20 events and have fundraised who knows how much for this society, she missed practice on Wednesday. Audrey did make it to Saturday's practice so it was really good to see her there. Because of TNT, we all can help people like Audrey to experience life.

Week Three: Playing catch up

This week I had other arrangements that caused me to skip some training days. Trying to play catch up I did two workouts in a day. Even though our coach said to not do two workouts a day, I did it because I want to be ready for the race. Evan, our honored teammate, has his own website, check it out if you're interested, www.evanthewarrior.typepad.com

Week Four: Lack of sleep

This week our coach, Eric, talked about getting enough sleep during training to give our body time to recover after a hard workout. Not getting enough sleep this week, my body is feeling the effects. Currently feeling a little under the weather, I will make sure to get the right amount of sleep to overcome whatever I have caught.

Week Five: Fund Raising

Forget about the swim, bike and run for this triathlon, the hardest part of this whole race is fund raising. With the help of my co-workers at Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co I was successful with my first attempt at fund raising. I raised $150 by selling pizza at lunch and from random generous donations. This week is my last week at Utility and I will miss everyone who has left an imprint in my life.

Week Six: Wildlife

Wildlife, why can't you leave me alone? I went on a bike ride and a yellow jacket decides to fly into the grove of my helmet. Not being able to escape my helmet, the yellow jacket decides to bite my forehead. Screaming and yelling "I got bit!" Brian and Ron had to stop to see what the fuss was about. I was pretty lucky; my forehead didn't swell too much. Ron said that the yellow jacket probably bit me and didn't have a chance to poison me yet. This week is recovery week. YAY for recovery and taking it easy!

Week Seven: Camping

"Randomly" our team meet up at Lake Piru for a camping weekend. It was great fun to hang out, work out, and to get to know each other more. Letting 12ft of water out of Lake Piru, we did a bike and run block on Saturday morning instead of a swim and bike block. Sunday morning we ran. It was a great weekend.

Week Eight: Open Water Swim

This weekend we headed down to Hermosa Beach as a team. For most of us we experienced our first open water swim. It wasn't as hard as I remembered. I have one problem though, I get sea sick. I get sea sick from snorkleing. Just imagine, bobbing there in the water while our coach is trying to talk to us, I was one unhappy swimmer. I returned to shore before my other teammates, I didn't want to risk getting sick while I had to bike and run next.

Week Nine: Mock Tri

On Saturday the westside and eastside TNT teams held a mock triathlon out at Zuma Beach Malibu CA. It was a great experience for what is coming up for my triathlon career. The swim and run was fine but when it came to the biking I got lost twice. I got lost at the turn around then coming back I took my road bike for a ride on the dirt. I have learned that I need to listen carefully to instructions so I don't waste time getting back onto the path.

Thanks for your support!