Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page!

I had been kicking the idea around of trying to do a triathlon when I received some information about Team In Training. So I figured I can challenge myself to try something I've never done before while helping a great cause.

I'm training to participate in the Lone Star Half Iron Triathlon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event 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!

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress.

Thanks for your support!

Update: October 3rd==

I wanted to share who our "Honored Hero" is. Andrew is 8 years-old and is in the 3rd grade. He is currently in remission for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). He had two older brothers and likes to play soccer and go bowling.

A special thanks to Cynthia V. She was the first one to donate and she was very generous. Thanks Cynthia!!!

October 9th==I had my first training session last Tueday. It was running...yikes! It wasn't as bad as I thought. It really helps training with other people because it motivates you to keep going. I know a few times I would've walked if I was training by myself. The Team In Training coaches and mentors are fantastic! I'll keep everyone posted.

On that note I posted some pics from the training session on my Facebook:

Chris' Facebook

Check it out. I'll keep updating info on this website and on Facebook. Until next time!

October 13==Got a few more training sessions under my belt. I'm not doing as bad as I thought. We're still in the beginning stages though! In swimming I found out I really don't know how to swim! Not really. The coaches are teaching us the most efficient way to swim. It's been a lot of fun!

October 19==We are now starting to add on to our training. Yesterday (Saturday) I woke up early for a 7:30am run. We ran about 7 miles! I uploaded some more pics on Facebook. Today was an 8am swim practice. Feeling pretty good so far! Thanks to Syl, Carmen, my sis Rhonda, and my bro Randy for their contributions. Be sure to tell your family and friends about my website. Hey...it's a 100% tax deduction!

October 22==I got my bike yesterday! I'm really excited. Soon we are going to start bike training. I woke up early for a 6am (yes, AM!) swim. Mind you this was after run practice last night. It actually felt pretty good to get in the water to get the sore legs moving.

November 1==Sorry it's been so long since I've updated my profile! Today was a great run. We ran at Mission San Jose. It was some great scenery. This was our longest run so far and my body felt it!

November 11==Oh no! I've caught a cold.

November 15==Still sick. We weren't doing a lot anyway because some of the people I train with are running in the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon. I'm going to rest this whole weekend to get rid of this cold.

December 28==Sorry I haven't been updating! Had the Thanksgiving holidays, then Liz was in the hospital for 2 weeks, then Christmas. So I'm getting back to training finally! Took a light run yesterday and a light bike today. I hope to really start hitting it hard since the tri is only 4 months away. Yikes!

January 17==I made a mistake in my last entry thinking the tri was 4 months away...IT'S 3 MONTHS AWAY!!! DOUBLE YIKES!! I recommited to TNT to finish what I started. I'm a little worried I won't make my fundraising goal but I know I'll keep trying. I had been training on my own because I couldn't make the TNT training because of work/family conflicts. I thought I was doing pretty well until I decided to join them on their 50 mile bike ride today. I BARELY made it! I was so spent and almost didn't make it. I was literally the last guy at the finish. But I felt proud of myself and the TNT team was cheering for me at the end! I plan to attend as many practices as I can now!

January 18==I AM SOOO SORE!

February 1==We had another loooong bike ride yesterday. The catch to this one was that there were LOTS of hill. I would call them mountains but what do I know?! I felt better about this bike ride but I still have a long way to go. Just a reminder, forward my website to any of your friends and relatives. I'm still trying to reach my fundraising goal. Any little bit helps!

Feb 8==I had taken a few days off this week because it felt like I was getting sick but I feel great now. Yesterday we had a 25 mile bike ride and then a 10 mile run at the Missions. It's a great place to ride/run.

Feb 17==I didn't get to train with the team this past weekend due to family commitments. (My youngest daughter only turns 5 once!) But I did a little training on my own. I also kicked off my Facebook fundraising campain "$10, 10 people, for 10 days". It's been going great so far. I really appreciate everyone's generosity. I know times are tough but not as tough as the people living with cancer. Thanks to everyone! Next weekend we're supposed to swim in Boerne Lake...BRRR!!! I'll keep you posted.

Feb 21==Heavy sigh! The cold bug hit our house this week. Our oldest was sent home from school because of a temp and then I got it on Thursday. I slept for almost 16 hours from Thursday night till Friday afternoon! This meant I missed our Boerne Lake training today. :( But I rested today and I think I'll be able to get back in the swing of things tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Feb 28th==I finally got to get to train with the team again! We were supposed to bike, run, & swim, but thanks to the mighty winds we're having we scratched the bike. And because the water was so choppy (plus it was freezing) or tri coach, Marion, thankfully scratched the swim too. So we did a long run. 2 1/2 hours of 4:1 intervals. We did about 11 miles! Tomorrow the winds are supposed to die down, so we'll go for a 60 mile bike...if my legs recover!

The $10/10 people/10 day challenge was a success. Although I didn't meet the goal of $1K, I still raised over $800 for cancer research! It's still not too late to donate and don't forget to forward my info to friends & family who may donate as well. Thanks!

Mar 9==We went to Rockport this past weekend for a tri bootcamp. We practiced on open water swimming. I did better than I thought but it was still tough. Our first day we went about 1 & 1/4 mile. Then it was off to the bike. I felt great the first 22 miles! There was some crosswind but nothing too bad. Then...at the half way point...I turned around. The headwind was crazy! It was about 30 miles per hour. I went from going 18-23 miles/hour to 5-7 miles/hour. I ended up having to SAG it in the last 8 miles. My ego wasn't too bruised as other people had to SAG too. The next day we practiced some more swimming and focused on "sighting". Then a quick run after.

The triathlon is only 27 days away!!!

March 21==now it's officially 2 weeks away before the race! I can't believe how the time has flown. I started with this crazy idea back in September and now the race is right around the corner.

We had a TNT garage sale today to try to get some extra fundraising in before account closure. It was pretty fun (and a little crazy)! It doesn't look like I'll make my goal unless there's a flurry of donations that come in the next couple of days. You never know! Thanks to all that have generously donated already. It it greatly apprecicated.

March 28--The triathlon is now a week away! WOW...YIKES!!!

Today was a good practice. We had a practice triathlon to get us prepared for the big event on April 5th. We got race numbers, set up our transition area and everything. Pretty cool.

The morning was pretty cold. The Comal River was warmer than the outside temp! The current in the river was pretty significant. It took 20 mins one way and 10 mins the other. Then we went to our transition area to strip off the wetsuit and hop on the bike. Did I say it was a cool morning? Well, being wet + riding a bike + cold winds = BRRRR! Then back to transition for the run. Overall it a lot of fun. I learned a few things that I'll do different during race day. My mileage was 2 mile swim, 20 mile bike, and 3 mile run. It's not race day milage because we were practicing the event experience.

A few other things to mention: I've decided to drop down to the Olympic distance in the race. My training hasn't been what it should be so I don't feel confident doing the Half. The Olympic is a .6 mile swim, 28 mile bike, and a 6.5 mile run. I think it will still be challenging but doable for my current endurance.

The other thing is that my brother-in-law has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. This has all happend really fast. I just spoke with my sister last night and it is Stage 3. He will start treatment this Wednesday.

This just goes to show that cancer can hit anyone at anytime.