On January 25th I went to the TNT Summer Kick Off Party. I got to meet my coach, mentor and teammates. Everyone is so nice and motivating.

Saturday January 28th was the first TNT group ride. It was the first bike ride for me in over a month and it wasn't pretty. One thing I should let eveyone know: a month and a half ago I went on my first road bike ride EVER!!

What a great experience the last couple of weeks have been.

I am the youngest rider on the TNT cycling team and I am easily the least experienced cyclist. As we went for just over 15 miles, I kept thinking, I must be crazy to have signed up for a 100 mile bike ride!

Feeling a little defeated after Saturdays ride, my uncle and some wonderful weather motivated me to get out there and go on a couple rides to prepare me for my next TNT group ride.

Saturday Febuary 4th, second TNT group ride at Vancouver Lake. I've come to realize that one of the hardest parts of training is going to be actually getting out of bed early on Saturday mornings. We went 20 miles and learned the technique of "pacelining".

Just when I thought that I would get to take a day off after my new personal distance record of 20 miles, the next day my uncle, aunt and cousin took me on a 25 mile ride. Pretty sure everytime I go on a ride with my uncle it turns out to be about double the miles I said I wanted to go!

I'm amazed how much stronger I feel in such a short period of time. Looking forward to the next few months getting even stronger.

Cousin Ginni, Aunt Diane and I

After years of failed New Years resolutions to get in shape, I have decided 2012 is going to be my year! For the next 5 months I'll be riding all over Portland increasing my miles each week so that I can ride 100 miles in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride on June 3rd in Lake Tahoe, NV.

My greatest source of inspiration for completing this century is my friend, TJ Reed. TJ was diagnosed with Chronic Myelomonocytic (CMML) in the summer of 2004, which then later progressed into Acute Myelomonocytic Leukemia (AMML). He received a stem cell transplant and fought his way to remission. After that first transplant, he had 6 healthy years. September 1st 2010, ironically the same date he had his first transplant 6 years earlier TJ experienced a recurrence. TJ underwent a second transplant with great results. He was told that he had 0% cancer in his blood and that the transplant was successful. Unfortunately he experienced another relapse. This time more aggressive than ever. He passed away July 6th, 2011. TJ was only 28 years old.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures! No amount is too small and every donation is 100% tax deductible.

Check back after February 1st to hear about my updated progress and first TNT group ride!

Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team.

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I have a mission-to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures.

Check back often to see my progress in my training and fundraising!!