Nicole Poole - Riding 100 Miles to Fight Cancer

Racing to Save Lives

Cancer is an ugly disease...when you find out that a loved one has the terrible illness, it is hard to know what to say, do or even how to act. That is what I am going through currently with my Aunt Patty. I am not sure what to say to show my support...so I am doing it by joining Team In Training!

All of us involved with Team In Training are raising funds to help stop different forms of cancer from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor of Patty and all individuals who are battling cancers - including all in my family who have survived and died from various cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

I did It!

On June 7 I rode 100 miles - well sort of!

FUNDRAISER: Cells For Cells

I am not asking you for cash (though if you want to donate cash you are more than welcome to!), I am asking for your old cell phones! I found a great company that will take used cell phones & batteries & chargers and will recycle them - all while donating to LLS in my name! How cool is that!? So what I need is your old cell phones! You can give them to me in person (or contact me at poole.nicole@gmail.com) and I will mail you a label to send them to me for free). I can receive anywhere from $2 - $15 per phone - SO START SENDING THEM MY WAY!

May 9, 2009

I woke up ready to go. I was excited for todays ride because it would be the longest I have ever rode (about 70 miles) and it was sunny. I have found I really hate riding in the rain (its like camping in the rain...just uncomfortable!). So we were off! We went over one "mountain" that we did in the begining of the training and I think I have been improving because I could actually do it without dying this time! I am still slow (and slower than the rest of the group) going up the hills (which is where I loose them) but I am getting stronger and they are becoming easier to push my way up! The next leg of the ride was a new road from Marcola into Brownsville. About halfway through the "mountain" my leg started hurting...just a dull pain that I figured would work itself out. Well about halfway into the new road and about halfway 3/4 way up a gradual (but long) incline, my leg just wouldn't move anymore. It hurt to the point where I needed to stop. Frusterated, irritated, and dissapointed coach Barry towed me (yes, he towed me with a rope we foudn on the side of the rode) into Brownsville where my husband came and picked me up. All the way home I was dissapointed...that I had let all of you down (and myself).

I went to the doctor on Sunday and he says I aggrevated the tendons behind my knee. Had I have "pushed" through it the tendons probably would have been torn. So its rest for a few days and a lot of ice. On wednesday I am going to try an easy ride and hope that I can do the 80-miler on Saturday! I need the practice...only 2 more rides before we leave!

April 26, 2009 - Monster Cookie

Yesterday was the Monster Cookie ride in Salem! It is a metic century (100km or 62 miles). I have rode the 62 miles before so it wasn't anythin new, however I have never rode with 2000 people before! We all started at different times (basically when we were ready and the rest of our group was there we could leave) so when we left we left with a group of about 30 or so through the streets of downtown Salem. It wasn't has congested as I thought it would be and by the time we left downtown Salem and were out of the city, the fast riders were way ahead of us and the slower ones fell behind a bit. It was fun to see other people's bikes they ride; The "Bike Friday" from another TNT member was neat to see, along with a "centipede" of recumbent bikes and a lot of tandems. There were even a few kids riding along too! Everyone was so nice too! No matter what, there were people there to encourage and help. I think I even went faster than normal for the last half of the ride!

And the best part...The monster cookie at the end!

April 18, 2009

A good 63 miles around eugene today. These rides just keep getting longer and longer...

I feel good through most of the ride, but towards the end I am just plain tired! Coach says I need to eat more, which is a hard concept for me due to the fact that I am still trying to loose the last stubborn 15-20 pounds! But it makes sense. When cycling, I burn anywhere from 250-400 calories an hour (HOLY COW!). So on our long ride days, I am burning about 1800 calories in one day (which is probably more than I eat in a day) - no wonder why I get tired halfway through! I need to eat more to keep me going. Basically, I end up depleting all my "reserves" I have in me halfway through the ride and when those energy reserves are depleted it is much harder to get the energy inside me to keep going. So if thats the case...why can't i loose these last few pounds?!

April 16, 2009

Thank you to Roger (www.radianceinmindphotography.com), Prof. Kiehl (Go Wildcats!), Jim Garaventa (thanks for the support!) and Sarah Stanley (I miss you!) who took me up on my double your donation for tax day offer - an additional $240 was raised in one day!

April 15, 2009 - TAX DAY!

why not get a head start on next year's taxes today - DONATE! All donations are 100% tax deductible. For every donation made today (tax day!) I will match it. So if you donate $100, I will donate another $100 in your name!

Fudraising update: I am halfway there! Thank you to SGT Kristi Bryant and the Oregon Amry National Guard for a sponshorship! There logo's will be on all team jerseys at each event. We will were them proudly!

I am going to have a garage sale in May - If you want to donate items to be sold please let me know!

April 11, 2009

Each week from here until the end I will ride farther than I ever have! Today it was just under 60 miles. If you were to have told me in January that I would be riding 60 miles, I would have said that your crazy. But here I am - surprising myself more and more each time I go out. This week as part of my training I am going to try my spinning class at the gym. My fellow riders and coach say its very different and not great for hill climbing, but it great for cardio and just working the heart - which when I was going up Wolf Creek today, I think my heart needs a little work.

Today I learned that my best friend has a form of cancer that is un-operable. She is 28. This is why I am doing this.

March 28, 2009

Today is the farthest I have ever rode - 55 miles! That is a little over half of my goal -which is great! I am very surprised at myself for pushing through it. It has been at the 3/4 way done mark that I start to tire and think that I can't do it - but each week I do and after I am done so thankful that I pushed on - with the help of my teammates and coach (Berry, your the best!). What also keeps me pushing are knowing why and for whom I am doing this for. When I got home today was a short note from Chris - our honored teammate. He is local (to Eugene) and is cheering us on in both raising the money for cancer research and patient services, but also cheering us on with the training and our personal goals. It makes it easier to know who we are doing this for.

March 21, 2009

Holy cow what have I gotten myself into!? Today we rode 50 miles - half of what I will be riding on June 7. It wouldn't be so bad if it was all flat, but then that wouldn't be as much fun, now would it?! Although it was tough and my legs were burning, how many people can say they have rode 50 miles in one day? I know maybe 2 or 3. And, how many people can say that riding those 50 miles has helped raise about $900 in donations to fight cancer? I know one - me!

March 18, 2009

Recommitment time! My recommitment date is on Friday, March 20. At this point I am aiming to have $900 raised - or about 25% of my goal. I am close - only $300 more to go. If only I can find 300 people to donate $1!

Please join me in the fight against cancer - please pass this website on to all your contacts! Together, we really can make a difference.

March 1, 2009

It has been a month since I started this journey and I am now up to about 40 miles at one time! This seems crazy to me because it is just about half of ride in Lake Tahoe on June 7. Though 40 miles seemed like a lot, I actually felt good during most of it. The most exciting part for me is after each ride realizing what I have done and what I am going to accomplish not just for myself, but for millions others who may not be able to ride.

February 27, 2009

I did my first "fundraiser" at work today! It was very fun letting everybody "in" on what I was doing and why I was doing it. I made lunch for all that were willing to donate to the cause. Thank you everybody for your support...and your stomach's! I hope to do another one towards the end of March and again in April and May (maybe something fun the last day I am at work before the big race too!).

Thank you Palo Alto Software!

February 22, 2009

The team met for our first "long" ride today...

Long is a matter of perception - we went about 30 miles today (the longest I have ever rode), but certaintly not the longest i will ever ride. It was about 1/3 the distance I will be riding in June. To my surprise, I felt really good through all of it. There were a few hills (which seem to be the worst part) but as long as I know the hills will flatten, they are not so bad. As a group, we also stopped for a 10 minutes snack on Power Bars (thanks for the donation Power Bar!) which seemed to really help get through the last half of the ride.

February 17, 2009

The weather is still cold and the daylight time available not quite long enough...so I hit the gym bikes again. Knowing how well I didn't do on the hill during the last bike ride, I decided to do an interval course on the bike: 4 minutes of flat ground, 4 minutes on a hill. It was still hard, but knowing that the break was coming soon made it a little bit easier! I managed to ride 6 miles in about 30 mins - At that pace it will take me about 9 hourse to ride 100 miles!

I think I can do this...and someday there will be a cure for cancer.

February 15, 2009

To burn off all the Valentine's Day chocolate, a teammate and I took a good ride today. This was the first chance I had at really knowing how strong I am. We rode about 10-15 miles - not much when I need to be able to do 100 miles in just a few short months! However, this was also the first chance at a climbing hill. That was hard! With the help of the gears on my bike (and knowing how to use them) I was able to get through it with only stopping 3 times!

The ride down the hill was much easier!

February 4, 2009

As part of the training, the group rides are on saturdays and the rest of the time I am supposed to be working out/training/riding on my own. Knowing that I need to get on the bike more often, I need a plan to workout on my own.

The weather is cold here during the early morning hours and during the evening hours after work; plus its dark. Call me a scardy-cat, but I do not like to be out on a bike (or walking the dog or doing much) by myself during these hours. So I went to the gym and rode the bike!

It feels different not being able to see the outdoors - Eugene/Springfield is beautiful and has wonderful bike paths to follow during the day. Plus, it feels different on a indoor bike. Maybe because I like switching the gears all the time!

Is it spring yet?

February 1, 2009

THE FIRST TEAM TRAINING

Shortly after waking up on saturday morning, not sure what in the world I was getting myself into, I drove to our teams meeting place. There I was to meet my coach for the next 5 months who would help me prepare for one of my biggest achievements - 100 mile bike ride!

It was a very chilly morning in Eugene . Not sure what to wear or how cold I would be when riding, I got everything I thought I would need - even my husbands mechanics gloves (the only other ones I have are the $0.99 ones from target - not quite the right kind). As I am nervously getting my bike out of the car, getting my helmet on and just getting ready to go I start asking questions. Do I have the right kind of bike? What about handlebars? Which types of gloves work best? Barry (the great coach) answered all of my silly questions with so much patience! You see, I have never rode for more than an hour or so around town. I don't know what type of bike, helmet, tires, gears, shoes or anything I need.

As we started to ride, I still kept asking questions. This time about how my bike really works. I found out how to use the gears (those silly finger switches that are on my handlebars) and when to use which ones. We didn't ride far today, and we didn't ride fast, but it was great because I feel so much more comfortable on my bike then before.

Let the training begin!

Perhaps I can do this...and perhaps someday there will be a cure for cancer.