Done and…Done! After 6 months of training, I completed the Wildflower Long Course Triathlon last weekend. My final time was 6 hours and 10 minutes, which put me in the top half of my age group (72/176). Not to shabby for my first half iron distance race. It was a windy and hot day, which made the course a little more challenging, but my coaches did an amazing job preparing us for the distance so everything went very smoothly. All in all my experience with Team in training has been nothing short of life changing. I met some amazing people and now have a great group of friends/training buddies here in Los Angeles so I’m planning on continuing my training and competing in the adventure that is triathlon. Most important of all, through the amazing support of my friends and family I was able to exceed my fundraising goal and raise $4,235 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society! If you have ever considered training for an endurance event I would highly recommend signing up with Team in Training. First of all, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a tremendous organization that has funded many of the major scientific advancements in the cancer treatment field over the past few decades so needless to say it is a great cause. In return for your fundraising efforts you will get the support of highly experienced coaching staff which makes a huge difference when you are trying something new be it a half marathon, triathlon or one of their other offerings. If you have any questions about Team in Training let me know, I would love to discuss the program with anyone who is interested.

Update 4/25

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Update 4/20/2010

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Update 4/19/2010

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Here is a picture of my team, which is a truly amazing group of people. We have several cancer survivors (who are some of the strongest athletes), first time triathletes (like me) and other very accomplished athletes and coaches who are always happy to share their knowledge. Overall a great group of people I am proud to be a part of.

We've been doing a lot of beach swims lately and I've discovered that I really enjoy open water swimming. In the shot above a few teammates and I (that's me on the right in the green cap") are just getting into the water and you can see there is a school of dolphins off in the distance. The perspective you get from the ocean looking back towards the mainland is refreshing…it's a great way to start the day.

I'm happy to report that I completed my first Triathlon -Desert International Triathlon. Here's a quick shot of me leaving the swim. Although not short by any means, this race was really just about getting comfortable in a race situation as the distance was roughly half of what I will be doing at the 70.3 mile Wildflower Long Course Triathlon in April. Thank you everyone for your support and I will try to update this page more frequently.

This weekend marks my initiation into the sport of triathlon with the Desert International Triathlon. Besides the fact that it is one of the first races of the season out here in Southern California my coaches picked this race for its beginner friendly course, which is mostly flat. Those peaks in the background look pretty menacing so I guess I'll take their word for it.

I just got an email from the race director and he is projecting the water will be ~65 degrees F on Sunday so I will be putting my new wetsuit to good use.

While this course is less than half of the distance for the 70.3 mile Wildflower Triathlon I am training for in April the .75 Mile Swim, 24 Mile Bike and 6 mile run will be a great test of my training so far. I have to say I feel OK about the distance but this will be the first time I'm putting all three disciplines together consecutively so I'm a little apprehensive about the transitions from Swim to Bike and then Bike to Run. I'll let you know how it goes...

Thank you everyone for your extremely generous support, with your support I'm well on my way to my fundraising target.

In case you're wondering where I've been the past 2 months the answer is, in a word...training. Our training volume has increased significantly. Just to give you an idea, last weekend we ran 10 miles on Saturday then Sunday we Biked 70 miles and then Ran 3 miles.

I will try and post updates more frequently. The picure above is from a hill interval workout at the end of Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica.

The shot below is from the start of one of our rides on PCH from Zuma Beach in Malibu. For those of your on the East Coast...yes it is really that sunny here in February.

Practice in the rain last weekend. Jason is timing my stride rate...we shoot for optimal rate of 90 Strides/min...I think I was at 84 when he clocked me that time.

I'm having fun here...I promise.

Brick: A Combined Bike/Run Practice. I'm the one in the hat with the jeans.

During the summer of 2006 Rae and I worked together at Justiceworx, a non-profit which educates high school students about social justice issues. Rae and I were fast friends and hung out on our days off but it wasn’t until almost halfway through the summer that Rae shared the story of her struggle with cancer as an infant. Although Rae was able to fight off cancer, the treatment caused permanent damage to her heart. Internally Rae struggled on a daily basis but you would never know it from her tremendous energy and positive outlook. She was a leader not only to the students, but amongst her peers. Rae’s sense of humor was one of her strongest qualities and helped her get through some of the tough times. About a year after I met Rae her heart issues began to escalate and she finally had to have a defibrillator implanted. A few months after the operation she casually recounted how the defibrillator had gone off the week before and the shock hit her so hard that she collapsed and fell to the ground. As she shrugged and continued the story, the severity of her condition struck me and I remember feeling scared for her but at the same time inspired by her courage to carry on despite the adversity she faced. At the time she was in grad school studying Non-profit management and looking to change the world. The following September Rae suffered acute cardiac failure...after 24 years her heart had been through enough and she passed away on October 28th, 2008. Rae was a cancer survivor but her life was cut short by complications of the very treatment that cured her cancer. Rae’s story motivates me to live life to the fullest which is why I am dedicating my training and fundraising efforts to her memory. To date, members of Team In Training have raised over $1 billion dollars for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in its fight against leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphoma, and myeloma.

Thanks for checking out my page, I'm training to participate in the Avia Wildflower Triathlon on April 30th, 2011 as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training Los Angeles IronTEAM. Together we are raising funds to help stop Leukemia, Lymphoma, and other blood cancers from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor of my late grandmother and several friends who's lives were cut short by cancer. So much progress has been made but there is a long way to go so please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

I will post updates as I advance in my training so make sure to bookmark this page and check back frequently to see my progress. I will also post updates to my personal blog so check that out as well. Thanks for your support!

Chris Simmons

November 2010