Racing to Save Lives
Welcome to my Team In Training home page. I have been training for and racing in local triathlons for 5 years, but am excited this year for the opportunity to participate in the Tawas Bay Triathlon Festival Half-Ironman as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. I am excited not only because this will be my first long-course event, but more because this presents an opportunity for me to raise funds to support a cause that is near to my heart - cancer research and the support of cancer patients and their families. Three of my grandparents have had cancer including two that died of it, I am myself a cancer survivor, and I am privileged to have this opportunity to help the LLS in its fight against leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma. Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.
I hope you will visit my home page often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!
9/16/09
The Tawas Bay half-ironman was 4 days ago and I'm feeling great, now. Saturday was another story. I pulled a muscle in my calf early in the bike ride so both it and the run were slower than I had hoped for . I did finish, though, and am excited about that. I also take comfort knowing that despite my slower than hoped for time I have been able to raise more than $3500 for the LLS with your help. Thank you so much.
9/3/09
It's been a busy two months and I've fallen behind in updating this page and sending out thank you notes - sorry. Training has been going well and I'm really looking forward to the swim with a full wetsuit. The biggest excitement has been that I broke both rails of my saddle last weekend while riding in the TNT scavenger hunt. My team won, though, so Bob decided he would get me a new saddle. So far it is even more comfortable than the old one. I'll try to post a picture of the old saddle's broken rails soon.
7/14/09
Thank you everyone who has already donated to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! I am now halfway through the training and halfway to my fundraising goal. Two months and another $3000 to go.
7/5/09
I raced the Caesar's Creek International Distance Triathlon today. It was only 35 minutes from home so Valerie, the kids, and Tom were able to come and watch. It was great having them there. The race itself went okay with another strong run - 48 minutes for the 10K. Racing again showed me the importance of doing more high intensity training in the water and on the bike. Good thing I still have 2 months to get ready for Tawas!
6/24/09
The new picture is of Anna and I heading out for a recovery ride on her new tag-a-long. For those of you who may be worried, yes we have raised her saddle since this picture and will work on the handlebars a little before we go out again. She doesn't care though, she is ecstatic to be riding with me and I'm happy for an excuse to take it easy every once in a while.
6/17/09
I'm starting to feel this training a little. I put in about 130 miles on the bike from Saturday to Monday plus some running and swimming. Other than getting out of bed first thing in the morning I am still feeling pretty good though. I'm looking forward to an easy day tomorrow and a rest day on Friday!
6/9/09
I'm about a month into this now and things are going well. Thank you to everyone who has already shown their support. It takes awhile for me to collect checks, mail them in, and have them show up on this site, but once they do I'll be almost 1/3 of the way to my goal!
5/9/09
The first group workout today was fun. Our team is composed of people of all abilities and levels of preparation. It will be interesting to see how the coaches come up with workouts appropriate for each of us.
5/2/09
I completed the Wittenberg University Triathlon in my fastest time ever today - 1:50:21. It wasn't fast enough for the victory, but I had a great time and it went well. I was particularly happy with the run that I finished at a little over a 7 minute per mile pace. Now I just need to recover in time for our first Team In Training group workout next Saturday!
Justin Houseknecht