TRI-ing to Save Lives

Welcome to Miranda Rathbone's Team In Training home page!

I'm training to participate in the Wildflower Triathlon on May 3, 2009 at Lake San Antonio, CA. This is my first ever olympic-distance triathlon, and I'm counting on The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training to help show me how it's done! In exchange, all of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help LLS stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

I am training and competing for CJ, a 14 year-old family friend who was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Additionally, I am doing this 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!

I ask you to please make a 100% tax-deductible donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. Every dollar makes a difference in providing hope and support for cancer patients and survivors everywhere. No amount is too small to show your support and belief in a cure!

Please check back here often to check on my fundraising and training progress. I hope to make my supporters, CJ, and all blood cancer patients and survivors proud. Thank you so much for your support and generosity!!

My Updates:

4/30/09: Headed back out to Lake Mercerd for the first time in a long while for a nice easy 3 laps around. Now Lake San Antonio, here I come!!!

Super THANKS to Jason, Josh, Button, and Tyler for the donations!!

4/29/09: We had a lovely short run (2-3/4 mi) out to Fort Point and back in the chilly wind, but that only made me move faster to stay warm. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO excited for the race this weekend!!

Thanks Etch for the donation!

4/28/09: Well my teammates wussed out because of the wind, so I ended up swimming alone at Aquatic Park, which was a little unnerving, but the water was actually pretty calm and my half mile swim was fine. No more bay water until after the race, yay!

Thanks to the Marks for donating!!

4/26/09: Crissy Field was the venue for our team practice tri, which was sprint distance (0.5 mi swim, 9.5 mi bike, 3.25 mi run) and I finished it in only 1:33:57!! That's a 25:01 improvement over my MTS time!!! Even though it wasn't a real race, it felt amazing, and now I am even more pumped for Wildflower this weekend!

4/25/09: We headed down the peninsula to Canada Road where we had a nice easy 23+ mi bike ride, followed by a nearly 5 mile run. I love tapering workouts!

4/24/09: Another super windy day at AP and couldn't find anybody to swim with me, so unfortunately no more yucky bay water until Sunday. Instead I had a nice run along the waterfront, and then I got to go play indoor soccer!

THANKS to Erikbutt, Susanna and Katie for donating!!

4/23/09: Went for a *little* 3 mile run since I slept in too late to get a bike ride in too, oops.

Many thanks to Chris, Laura, and aunt Rachael for the donations!!

4/22/09: Our follow up 2-mile time trial was put on hold since Kezar was just sprayed with pesticides, so instead we ran 5.25 miles through Golden Gate Park. Doesn't sound like that's really tapering down to me...

Super thanks to Vahe for the donation!!

4/21/09: There must be something in that water...because today I returned to the bay to swim my 3rd mile there in 5 days! That or it's just fun to watch the tourists gawk as you tell them yes, you really are going to swim in that water, and yes, it's really cold.

4/19/09: Although the weather is starting to heat up, the bay maintained a rather frigid 50-degree temperature for our early morning swim at Aquatic Park. I managed to claw my way (literally, couldn't get my fingers to move back together because I was so cold) through to log another mile in the open water.

4/18/09: Saturday morning found me back in the North Bay, for another bike ride climbing up Mt. Tam up past Alpine Dam. I didn't make the first turn on to Pan Toll Rd, so I had a nice detour up to the 2nd peak of the mountain! By the time I made my way back and bombed down the descent on Panoramic Highway and PHC (which was sooooo much fun! Cars need to get out of my way next time!!) I had ridden over 40 miles in my Tour de Marin!

Thanks to JT for the contribution!

4/17/09: In the afternoon I did my 7 mile run from the house out to piers 30/32 and then back. I'd like to attribute the Giants' win to myself since I ran past the park as fans started rolling in ;) Then I headed back out to Aquatic Park with a lovely mile-long swim in the bay with a few teammates.

Thanks to Sara and the Odegaards for the support!!

4/15/09: We did a fun 4-5 mile run through the Presidio on a team scavenger hunt. My running partner and I couldn't find a clue up at the golden gate bridge (turns out there wasn't one there, doh!) but oh well, go team 2!

Lots of love to my mentor Kat for the donation!!

4/13/09: Because yesterday wasn't bad enough, on my rest day I went on a ride with my dad. I called it quits after 22 miles, but I still laugh at the 6% max grade. I just wish I had fresh legs so I could have kicked his butt ;)

4/12/09: Did our "Alpine Ass Kicker" today, and I'd like to think I kicked its ass more than it kicked mine! Had a very hilly climbing ride from Fairfax to the top of Mt. Tam and back to Alpine Dam, where I took a "break" to go run 5 miles, then back onto the bike to ride back into town. 12% grade what?!

4/11/09: I survived yet another swim in the bay! We practiced mass swim starts from the shore, then got in a few good long laps around the buoys. Now if only I could undo the velcro on my wetsuit faster...

Super thanks to Dennis, Kelly and Max for the donations!!

4/9/09: Well surprise surprise I was LATE getting to the pool, so I didn't have time to do the full workout, but I did manage to get in a solid 2000m swim, where I swam my first 1500m in only 37 minutes (a HUGE improvement!!)

Thank you Janell for donating!! Love you cuz!

4/8/09: Returned to Kezar track for a lovely 6 miles of running intervals. Fortunately the rain held off for our workout!

4/7/09: I SWAM 3000 METERS!!!!! That is DOUBLE my race distance! I never imagined I was capable of going that far, the 2700m on Thurs should be a piece of cake now ;)

4/5/09: Because completing a tri the day before wasn't enough, I couldn't miss another day of training with the team. Started in the pool and swam 1400m, and it felt great!! Definitely getting faster, and hopefully more efficient as I continue to improve my stroke. Then it was back on the bike for a 23 mile ride through Marin. It was a nice recovery day of shorter distances for me ;)

Many thanks to Tobe, Nana and Popi for the donations!!

4/4/09: I completed my first ever tri!!! I finished the March Triathlon Series sprint (.5 mi swim, 13 mi bike, 3 mi run) in 1:58:58.5 for 14th in my age group. I dropped my chain climbing up the last hill and fell so that added a few minutes to my time, and I was going at my slower Olympic distance pace, but whatever, for my first race, I'll take it!

THANK YOU to mom and the fam for the support!

4/2/09: Got to SLO in time to bike my friend's 14.5 mi "warm up" ride through the backroads of Edna Valley before his race training. Beautiful afternoon, but killer headwind coming back up 227.

Thanks to my rockstar teammates Laura and Eric for the donations!!

4/1/09: Had a great swim in the pool! I'm finally starting to feel more confident in the water, and managed to swim a mile in 40 minutes!! I just hope this weekend in my practice sprint tri I don't freak out about the lake monsters - just need to get through that half mile before they can eat me ;)

3/31/09: I was so happy to play soccer again last night on my day off from training! Had a nice little run today from the house to AT&T park, glad I cleared out of there before the Bruce Mahoney [high school rivalry] hoopla (but congrats to SH for finally winning it back!! Go Irish!)

3/29/09: I don't know what possessed me, but this morning I went back into the bay for another open water swim at aquatic park. Fortunately it was a beautiful day so it wasn't until the last part of my final lap that I realized I was so cold I couldn't keep my fingers together==didn't make for the best stroke. But nothing ate me!

Super thanks to everyone who came out to my fundraiser!! And to Gaspar for the donation, who was there in spirit :)

3/28/09: This morning found me back up in Nicasio, for a pretty 25 mile ride, followed by a rather warm 4 mile run. Brick workouts are so much fun.....NOT!

THANK YOU to Aunt Tammy and awesome Leia for the donations!! Tonight is my fundraiser at Jack's Club==very excited!

3/26/09: Headed back out to the presidio for a nice bike ride in the beautiful weather, with some hill interval training, and finally, riding on flat land!

Thanks to Dad and Val for donating again, and good luck dad with your century ride :)

3/25/09: Nice little 4 mile run in some killer wind at Chrissy field. I'm so glad I map out my own stuff because the coaches said it was only 3 miles== there's no way 3 miles takes me 37 minutes!

3/24/09: Even though this is an "easier" recovery week, I played soccer on my one day off from training. It was great to play again, but man was I rusty! I don't see how a 2300 meter swim is going easy...the race distance is only 1500!

Many thanks to Mr. Powers for his support!!

3/20-3/22: Training weekend was a blast! Most of the team went down and camped out at the actual Wildflower course. Saturday morning started with a lovely swim in the (62 degree) lake, followed by the 25 mile bike ride. After that horrible ride from San Anselmo to Nicasio, the course felt like cake, even with a mile long climb right at the beginning! Sunday morning we did a modified version of run course since it rained during the night, and I was happy to find out after that the massive hill we ran isn't part of the actual course. I'm looking forward to the actual race even more now, and am happy that there are another 6 weeks of training to keep getting stronger and faster!

Also, huge thanks to Maggie and grandma for being such terrific supporters, they donated twice!! Love you guys!

3/19/09: Spent part of a gorgeous afternoon biking intervals in Golden Gate Park, and even popped out by Baker Beach for a sec. It's days like these when I really love being unemployed!

3/18/09: We had a fun evening running hill repeats in the presidio. Hooray, hills.

3/15/09: Had a lovely 6 mile run in the rain at Rodeo Beach in the north bay, which I finished in only 50 minutes! I'm so excited to go down and do the actual race course this weekend!!

Thanks to Nick for donating!

3/14/09: I SWAM IN THE BAY!! And lived to tell about it! The water was a bit cold and my lips were purple for some time after, but I swam in the bay with who knows what (please don't tell me) out and around the buoy a few times. Let me know how proud you are by donating! ;)

3/12/09: Did a short swim to work more on my form==I need to learn that I'm not actually playing soccer in the water! Then for my "easy" run in the afternoon, I again took to the streets of my neighborhood and attacked those hills! 10% grade, what!?

3/11/09: Had our first brick training, where we repeatedly biked a hilly loop in the Presidio, and then had a quick transition to a nice little 2-3/4 mi run.

3/10/09: Swam 1500m, new distance record for me! We'll just ignore how long it took though...

3/8/09: As difficult as it was to wake up early after daylight savings, I made it back up to Marin where I upped my swimming distance to over 1300 meters, and then proceeded to run 5 miles!

3/7/09: Thanks to Ali's donation, I completed the 30 mile ride from Nicasio to Inverness and back in my super styling onesie! (Or maybe I was just feeling fierce wearing those dinos.)

Also super thanks to Stephen!! I was excited to see another donation when I got home from the ride!

3/3/09: New incentive: donate at least $50 and I will wear my footed dinosaur pajamas in my 30 mile bike ride saturday. Hurry, this chance to embarrass me will expire soon!!

3/1/09: Had my first coached swim workout, where I logged over half a mile in the pool (my most ever swum!) Immediately afterward we had a lovely 22 mile bike ride in the pouring rain through some towns in Marin. Despite a flat after mile 4, I survived the ride with the help of my teammates.

THANKS to the Calhouns and Joe for the generous donations!

2/22/09: Whistler was amazing! I have decided I'm switching back to skiing for good (anyone want to buy my board??) I did still run in Vancouver, but now it's time to get back into the pool and on my bike (I actually missed it!)

THANK YOU Anna and Kim & Paul for the donations!

2/14/09: I spent the weekend in SLO and trained with the marathon team there. They meet at 7:15 AM though...ouch!

Thanks to Dad & Val for donating! I know Val can empathize as she ran a marathon with TNT.

2/8/09: Time to shove my foot in my mouth and say "in your face" to myself...I had my first bike riding fall today. Fortunately it was on an uphill climb so it was a nice, slow, rather graceful fall. More bruised than my leg is my ego, but it's OK, it won't happen again! ;)

Also a big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed so far! Maggie, Jutta, Grandma, Alan== you rule!!

2/6/09: Completed my 3rd bike ride, and I still haven't fallen!! (In your face dad! :-P)

2/4/09: We had our first coached run - interval training at Kezar Stadium. Reminds me of training for high school track...same location and workout, just slightly more difficult 10 years later!

1/18/09: I learned how to ride a road bike - I kept my feet clipped in, used the down tube shifters - and didn't fall once!!