I have a confession to make... I have not been riding my bike very much this spring.

What can I say? After some of my past debacles with the weather (I'm sure you all remember the Pouring-Rain-Ambulance incident of Ironman 2009), I have turned into somewhat of a fair-weather rider when it comes to spring biking...

That would be all well and good except that we have NOT had very fair-weather this spring, so therefore I have not actually ridden too much.

Do not panic, gentle donors. I will still complete the ride on June 5th come hell or high water (and with all the snow they have gotten in Tahoe this winter, it may very well be high water ;), but I just might have a tender tushy post-ride :)

This will be my 5th time riding around Lake Tahoe, so I'm seasoned enough to know what I need to do. Plus, the sucky Minnesota weather has allowed me to test a new exercise theory (albeit unintentionally) and so I am going to see how well I fair doing a 100 mile bike ride while training almost exclusively doing only Crossfit (www.crossfitmn.com)

For the record, I have been on my bike a few times. Quite enough to know that I still remember how to pedal, and that my muscles still work, but there will be no 90 mile Afton training ride for me this year. In the world of TNT training that sounds nuts to most people! I did a 50 mile ride one day back in April. I figure if I can make it 50 then I can probably make it 100... I will just need to use lots of Chamois butt'r!

Am I crazy? Stay tuned to find out if I survive the ride on June 5th!!

M

Happy New Year!

I have so much on my mind that I am not sure how to start this blog post. I guess I'll start here: My early-season training is going well so far, and fundraising is going well too! Thank you to everyone who has made their donations early this year. I have already raised over $700!!!

In addition to your encouragement, your support, and generous financial donations, I am now also looking for silent auction items for a bowling fundraiser I will be holding in a couple of months. If you are able to donate any individual auctions items, gift cards,or gift baskets to this event, they would be greatly appreciated!! Spread the word. I would love to have an amazing selection of auction items and I need some help to get er done! ;)

With that request out of the way, I now want to share an email that was sent out by one of our Tahoe 2010 teammates. Stories like this are why I continue to do Team in Training. Please keep John's dad and his family in your thoughts and prayers:

"As many of you know, My Grandpa died of Lymphoma a few months before I was born. (and I'm not telling my age) and a few years ago my Dad and Sues Dad were diagnosed with in a few days of each other. My Dad had Hodgkins and we lost Sues Dad Ron to Non-Hodgkins a few years after that. Well, last Thur my dad collapsed at home, very similar to what happened a few years ago. Well yesterday they confirmed that he was riddled with tumors, and that the Lymphoma was back. He just had his oncology check in Oct, and was given a CLEAR bill of health.

I always knew that these blood cancers were and are a DAMN SNEAKY cancer. My Dad is 84 in Feb. he has smoked since he was 14, fought in WW II, had testicular cancer and beat that after battling it for 5 years, the day he found out he was "cancer free" he had what they call a "widow maker" heart attack , had a quintuple bypass, and beat that. Then he and my mom decide not to evacuate while hurricane wilma whipped through their back yard in Florida, the next day, he collapsed in the street walking the dog, thats when they found that he had lymphoma, while in the hospital he got shingles and mersa staff infection. and he BEAT THAT. THEN he gets fricken skin cancer all over, to the point where he is missing parts of his ear, and they cant give him anymore skin grafts because they used everything they could. BEATS THAT, and then gets this again. when they tell him that he has it, he looks at my mom with a smile and says "well, here we go again, been through it a bunch of times before, when do we start?" I amazed at his sprit, as I am with everyone that I meet, and have met who has a story to share, or has been unfortunately touched by this lousy SNEAKY ass disease. I knew why Sue was so in touch with Team In Training with the passing of her dad, and others as well, but it wasn't until this latest family fun, and looking back to when I went to Tahoe with you fine people that I understand that it is so much more than raising money for the cause, its being surrounded with people that you have a common bond with that understand where it is you are coming from, and what you are, and were going through.

So, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you for being who you are and what you do. Thank you for putting up with me and my antics, attitude, mouth, bad humor , and thank you for being here when we need an ear to listen to us.

Sue and I are still considering returning with the team, for myself, if it wasn't for you fine people, I don't now if I would even consider it. I hope to be back with you soon."

It is December 16th. America's most beautiful bike ride is well over 6 months away, so why, you may ask, did I sign up so early for Team in Training?

I guess the big answer is that I wanted to commit. It is easy to say I am going to do the ride and the fundraising. But from the time I first said that back in November, to the time that the "official" season starts in February there is a big risk that life might just get in the way of that commitment. I might start thinking that I am too busy to take on the challenge this year, or that I have done this ride multiple times so I am going to take a year off... I decided to just bite the bullet and do it.

Thank you so much for continuing to support my efforts and my commitment to this great cause. AMBBR is really so, so beautiful. First and foremost I always want people to come join us and join the team. In lieu of that I will most definitely take your donations though!

Changing gears now (no pun intended!): I joined Crossfit about 3 weeks ago (check out my gym www.crossfitmn.com ). I have "drank the kool-aid", as my friend, James, would say. I am thoroughly enjoying it and even in the short amount of time that I have been committed I am seeing some huge results. I have graduated from "box" pull ups, to band-assisted pull ups, I can do many more "real" push ups, etc etc. The biggest change, though, is that my chronic tendon issue in my heel, the one that basically benched me this summer, has calmed down significantly and is almost non-existent! It's amazing.

as a side note: I am basically sore all of the time right now, which gets a little wearing, but I'm listening to my body and trying to make sure it's a good pain, not a bad one, so I'm letting it be for now. Crossfit states that they specialize in not specializing. I think this will be just the boost that my cycling needs to bring back some of the fun, speed and challenge that I let slip over the last year.

So yes, Crossfit is fast becoming more of a lifestyle than just a fad for me. My next sip of Kool-ade: The Whole 30 Challenge

Check out the website. More to follow.

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to participate in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. AMBBR is a 100 mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe. We do the entire ride all in ONE DAY! This will be my 5th time participating in the ride, and my 9th event overall as a member of Team in Training. Why do I keep coming back and begging you for money? Because we haven't yet found a cure for cancer! Please help support my efforts.

All of us at 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!

Please make 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!