Thank you so much again for donating to my Team in Training fundraiser benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). The big 103-mile Levi's GranFondo cycling race was on 9/29/12 and I'm very happy to report that after 10.5 hours we successfully crossed that finish line!

This is my 3rd endurance event with Team in Training but my first as a cyclist, so if you're interested, below is a summary of the race and my experience going from newbie to 103 in less than 4 months:

Race Recap

The race weekend started off on Friday night with a tradition for all TNT events: the Inspiration Dinner. We gathered at our hotel in Santa Rosa for a carb-friendly dinner and listened to our teammates passionately tell their stories about blood cancer's affect on their family. Jodee, one of the people I became closest with, is the mother of a cancer survivor and our head coach, Marc, is the father of a cancer survivor. Their stories were so touching and made us remember the real reason why we train and fundraise.

Saturday morning, race day, started bright and early. We met as a team near the starting area to get in one last pep talk and to snap a few photos. We heard from Patrick Dempsey (yes, McDreamy) and Levi Leipheimer (pro cyclist and the 'Levi' in Levi's GranFondo) and then we were off! It was a mass start with 7,500 cyclists which was a bit nerve-wracking at first. I've never seen so many bicycles in my life! But after a few miles the crowd dispersed and we were able to find our little niche.

The first 30 miles were flat and fast, which made us all feel confident and great! Then I saw AJ, Melissa and Charlotte at the rest stop and I was so excited! Little Charlotte had a sign that said "Go Auntie C" which just made my entire day!

After this easy section is where the brutality began. We started climbing King Ridge Road, a notoriously evil and steep climb in the Bay Area. It feels like it lasts for days and there's really no break until you get to the shade-less peak. Then we had a nice descent until we had to climb up another similar hill which was the longest 10 miles I've ever experienced. I felt strong, though, and while many participants were walking their bikes up the hill, my well-trained team and I were powering up them.

After evil hill #2 we had a few rollers until we reached the beautiful Pacific ocean coast. The view was breathtaking and truly worth all of that climbing. At mile 75 we faced are toughest challenge yet - a wickedly steep hill called Coleman Valley Road which looked like a wall. Luckily we had done this hill on a training ride so we were confident we could conquer it. And we did! After this portion we had a smooth sailing ride to the finish line where a medal and cold beer awaited us. Success!!

My ride team consisted of 8 people and we started together, re-grouped together and finished together. It was the best way to do it (as opposed to 'every man for himself'). It took a bit longer this way, but the encouragement from the team was the best. As for stopping, the course was fully supported and every 15 to 20 miles we would stop to refill our water bottles and eat copious amounts of food. We burned about 4,000 calories so needed to make sure to replenish this loss to avoid 'bonking'. The weather was great, too. It started off chilly at 50 degrees, then warmed up to about 95 at the top of the hills, then back to 50 near the ocean, then back to 95 at the start. It was a bit weird but we knew to be prepared with the right clothing. Our coaches taught us well! The other cool part of the course was riding with cattle. Much of the course is on an open cattle ground where nothing separates the road from the cows and sheep. I came as close as 2 feet to a huge black cow. It was pretty cool!

Saturday night we met up for pizza, drinks and post-race story telling. There were no issues or problems on the ride and everyone had a very positive experience. Sunday morning we had our "Victory Brunch", also another TNT tradition. This was more of an open-mic where anyone could say a few words. Most people thanked our fabulous coaches and told their inspirational story about how blood cancer affected their life. There were a lot of hugs but I hope to see my wonderful team again soon!

The Training

Hills. Hills. Hills. And I'm not talking about those short little rollers, I'm talking big, multi-mile mountains. We conquered them every single Saturday and our wonderful coach, Marc Waidelich, made sure we had enough experience climbing steep elevation to get ourselves ready for race day. Each Saturday we would get together at a different point in the Bay Area and ride as a team. The first Saturday we rode 12 miles which was a pretty huge accomplishment for me at the time. We increased our mileage each weekend until we could do 80 miles with over 8,000 ft of climbing. Through Team in Training and my fabulous coaches, I learned everything about riding a road bike appropriately. Even though I had to sacrifice a few Michigan football Saturday's, I looked forward to our rides because I could feel myself getting stronger, faster and better on the bike. Plus, my team is made up of the most friendly and encouraging people on this planet and I could not have done it without their support.

Post-Race

I absolutely loved my experience with Team in Training this season and I definitely found a new hobby. I already have my sights on the next century ride (Foxy's Fall Century on October 20th!) and if I can learn how to swim better, then maybe a triathlon in the near future. We'll see!

Thank you again for your generosity and support everyone!!

At the finish!

At the starting line!

I can't believe race day is in less than two weeks! All of our Saturday long rides are complete so now it's a matter of hydrating and avoiding injuries during Tough Mudder next weekend. I can't believe that I'm about to attempt my first Century ride and 4 months ago I didn't even own a road bike! It's amazing what you can do if you have proper training, experienced coaches and loads of support from friends and family.

Last weekend was our last 'long' ride - 80 miles and 8,000 ft of elevation gain. We basically rode from Pinole to the Oakland hills and back. I remember at one point looking over my right shoulder and seeing all of Oakland, the SF skyline, the Bay Bridge and some ominous-looking clouds. It was one of those 'wow' chill-worthy moments. We had just climbed some serious hills to get to that point but it was absolutely worth the effort. It reminded me of that quote 'if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain'.

We also had our send-off meeting last weekend where we talked about race day, thanked our AMAZING coaches and were presented with individual awards. My nickname/award was "Bat Girl" this season because of our ride in Woodside. Basically, I had my favorite Team in Training black jacket on but I got excessively hot as we were climbing Page Mill Rd - so I took the jacket off, tied it around my neck and let it flutter in the wind like a bat, hence 'Bat Girl'.

My ride group coach, Rachelle, has been incredible this season and I owe a lot of my success this season to her expertise, motivation and 'no BS' attitude.

Final stretch! Here goes nothing!

Our ride group at the top of Mt. Diablo on 9/8/12. I love these people!

Turning a bad week into a terrible week, I found out today that my mom's cousin, Karen, has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer and the most common form of myeloma. Myeloma begins in the bone marrow and affects the plasma cells.

Up until this point, blood cancers have thankfully stayed away from my family. For the past 1.5 years training with TNT and raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I have been training for the honorees on our team and those that I have met along the way. Now, I will be dedicating my final 3 weeks of cycling training and my 103-mile raceday to Karen. She is a wonderful person with a loving family and I hate that blood cancers have gotten in the way of her life.

I'm making a final push for fundraising dollars to help find treatments for blood cancers so that no person and no family has to go through the pain of these vicious diseases.

Training and Hills. Highs and Lows.

Over the past month, I've experienced some serious highs and lows both in my training and in elevation.

The Highs

As for training, I started off knowing nothing, zilch, nada about riding a road bike. Cadence, cogs, pacelining, drops, forks, psi were all foreign words to me and I started to wonder if i needed a cycling dictionary. But the great thing about training with TNT is that I'm surrounded by experts; people with decades of experience and knowledge who are dedicated to teaching us newbies the tricks of the trade. So now, all of those foreign concepts are daily vocab. Same with form, gears, nutrition, ascending and descending. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting most of the basics down pretty well.

One of the best parts about our Saturday group rides is that we explore the Bay Area. I've seen areas that I never would have seen if it weren't for the team. We've been to Pinole, Paradise Loop through Tiburon, Novato, Lake Merced, Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach and over the next 3 months we'll cover even more ground. The Bay Area is remarkably beautiful and I can't wait to see more. But what makes the Bay Area so unique are the hills and mountains. Our race will include a 9,000 ft gain in elevation, so we've been doing a lot of hill training to prepare. Yesterday we climbed Mt. Vision (aka Jurrasic Park), a 4-mile gradual climb of 1,200 ft. I honestly didn't think I'd make it to the top. But I did and it felt great! These are the 'highs' of cycling.

The Lows

So, it can't all be rainbows and butterflies on the bike. First, the great thing about clipping in to the pedals is that you can ride more efficiently. But, if you don't clip out in time, you'll experience what we call a 'clipisode' where you literally fall over while attached to your bike. This happened to me 2 weeks ago at the end of a 30-mile ride. Gravity acted faster than my brain and I fell over and dug my leg into the chain ring (the large ring with the sharp teeth). It hurt really bad but I heard this happens to a lot of cyclists at some point and now I'll have a little scar, or a 'cycling tattoo' as everyone tells me. This was definitely a low point, but I got back up and finished the ride.

Then yesterday on our ride I was experiencing some knee pain after our climb of Mt. Vision - one extreme high to one extreme low. After the fast descent my knee was in terrible pain. I thought it may go away so I kept riding (mistake!). It got worse and worse until I was in tears with pain. Oh then I got stung by a bee while we were pacelining. So I just kept pedaling and let the pain of the bee sting overshadow the pain of my knee. I was a total mess. Not to mention the soreness in my arms and lower neck after 40 miles. I felt completely defeated. It was the first day that I felt like there is no way i can do 103 miles and 9,000 feet of elevation gain. There's just no friggin' way! I'm going to see a physical therapist about that knee and going to get another bike fit. Hopefully that helps and I'll be back to those lovely 'highs' of cycling that I love so much.

Part of my ride team at the top of our 4-mile climb of Mt. Vision in Point Reyes:

Me at the top of "Big Rock Ridge" in Novato:

Hi Friends and Family,

Thank you for visiting my Team in Training home page! I'm thrilled to be participating in my third endurance event with TNT; this time as a cyclist. I traded my running shoes for cycling cleats, my tank tops for jerseys, GU for Clif Bars and my running shorts for padded spandex.

I have committed to train for the 103-mile Levi's GranFondo race on September 29th, 2012, which means I have about 4 months to learn how to ride a road bike and gain the proper endurance to ride for 9+ hours. I literally have zero cycling experience whatsoever so I am grateful for my wonderful coaches and teammates to help motivate and train me!

In addition to training, I have committed to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising at least $2,500 to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. With your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

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

Best,

Carolyn

p.s. please bookmark and visit this page often for an update on my progress!