Isn't She Pretty

Meet my new shiny TEAL bike. Actually she is my "old" bike but sporting a new look... painted TEAL, the color for ovarian cancer, for this upcoming season and my fundraising campaign. I went out for a 20 mile ride today and it felt great to be back in the saddle. I have been training on my really old bike, which is 8 pounds heavier than this one. What a difference on the hills. A big shout out to Carl Hart Bicycles and Darren for helping to make this happen. He organized the paint job with a company in California and has been my "go to" guy on the project. I couldn't be happier with the results. Did a 40 mile ride yesterday too. My cycling is feeling great but my butt is sore. But that's all part of the training. Less than 2 weeks before the first triathlon. It is an open water swim on the south shore of Long Island in the beginning of June. What was I thinking? Water temps are going to be freezing! Oh well, that's what wetsuits are for.

10 Miler is a Metaphor

.... for life. I ran in a 10 mile race today on Long Beach. Mostly flat, humid temperatures, small crowd and generally known as a "fast race". I really wanted to push myself and see what I could accomplish. There were moments of joyish abandon, being in the zone and feeling great. And then there were moments when my body wanted to revolt and went into a trance like state. It turned out to be brutally hard. I held a way faster than average (for me) pace for the first 6 miles and then I crashed. Not only did my body hate every step but my mind started winning the battle. I considered walking several times. My mind was telling me it was ok to quit. I had to combat the physical fatigue but I really struggled to win the mental battle. Isn't that what's life is like? There are times of joy and times of pain. It's what you do with those times, and the in between times, that matter most. Do I quit, give up the race and walk across the finish line or do I keep putting one foot in front of other and regardless of the pace, finish the race to the best of my ability? I kept saying, "I will just run the next half mile and then I'll quit"... over and over until a bunch of half miles added up to 3 and then 4 miles. Mile numbers 7 and 8 were the toughest but then there were only 2 to go. How could I quit so close to the end? Yet I had to keep fighting my mind. I even thought of quitting less than a half mile from the finish... it was that bad! But the point is, I didn't quit.
As it turns out, my time was really pretty good. My fast pace for the first 6 made up for my slow pace of the last 4. It all evened out in the end. Hmmmm.... another metaphor.
And I thought I was just going out to do a road race today. I didn't realize it was going to be a lesson in psychology.

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

This morning was a planned bike ride with my training team, Team Total Training. As the forecast was rather ominous and I am generally a fair weather cyclist (unless I don't have the luxury of cancelling), I decided to bail and swim instead. I went to my local pool and the senior team was working out. I had seen them before but never had an opportunity to train with them. I asked if I could join their workout and they were very friendly, replying with a resounding "yes". They briefly described the workout and I said I would "fit" in where I could. It's always interesting swimming with new folks. Figuring out where to seed yourself is half the battle but I decided to hang back towards the end of the line and test the waters, so to speak. Suffice it to say, I never moved up from the end of the line. Very humbling indeed.
There were 10 folks there, consisting of 8 men (ages 30 - 60 ish) and 1 other women, age 77. Now I am a pretty good swimmer and am usually in the middle lane with my team but these folks kicked my butt! I had to leave early but they were planning on going another 30 minutes, for a total of 90 minutes and 4000 meters. 60 minutes and 2500 meters would have to suffice for me for today. I was especially in awe of Barbara, the 77 year old. She swims with these guys 6 days a week and is really quite incredible. I can only hope that at that age I am still strong and eager to test my body in that fashion. How incredibly inspiring to be with these folks this morning. I hope to be able to join them again for another workout soon. They said I am always welcome. Golly, I hope I can get a nap in this afternoon. I think I am going to need it.

A Big Shout Out

OCRF has spent countless hours working with companies, in an effort to build relationships that can benefit both parties. One of their strong relationships is with Brooks Brothers. Clothing and cancer research? I was confused about the union too. However, it has been a win win since the inception. Brooks Brothers hosts shopping events in their stores (nationally) where a portion of the day's shopping goes directly to OCRF. Brooks Brothers increases sales because of the event, customers get discounts and OCRF is the beneficiary. What a great idea.
When they heard about my campaign, they wanted to do even more. Brooks Brothers has generously donated clothing to me for my races and interviews. I went in to the store last week for a fitting and received my box of clothes via Fed Ex yesterday. I am pleased to be wearing the clothes with pride and appreciate the support Brooks Brothers has given me and more importantly, OCRF. A big shout out and a big thank you!

Fancy Footwear

The generous folks at Crocs shoes donated a pair of their newest sports line shoe, PrePair, for me to sample. These are my feet. Do you like the polka dot socks? I have several pairs of Crocs already so I was happy to receive another pair, but was skeptical about the difference between their original line and the sports line. Big mistake! The PrePair shoe looks the same, for the most part, but the cushioning and support is completely different. I was out for a run and when I came home, my Crocs had arrived. I put them on immediately and felt a difference in the pressure in my legs and feet. I can really see how they will aid my recovery after a race. They also have more treads on the bottom, which works well is slippery conditions. Race sites tend to be slippery with morning dew so a sure foot is important. I think I am going to be really happy with these new shoes. In fact, I woke up this morning and put them before my feet even hit the floor. Thanks Crocs!

A Little Rain Didn't Stop Me

Great day, great race. A little chilly, a little wet but wings on my feet. Had a very strong outing and felt good afterwards. Special thanks to some of my girlfriends who helped to push/pull me along. Quite possibly my fastest half marathon time yet! That cheeseburger I had for dinner was well (actually medium rare) deserved.

Butterflies

T minus 36 hours and I have to admit, I am nervous about Sunday's race. Weather is supposed to be a little iffy; rainy and cool. But that is probably better than last week's 90+ degree heat. It is always like this before my first event of the season.... butterflies. I did a short run this morning to keep my legs fresh and will just do some stretching tomorrow. Hopefully a good pasta dinner and solid night sleep and I will wake up ready to go on Sunday morning at 5 am. Alright already with the training and preparation... let's just race already!
I will race this weekend for two of my friends that I have met as a result of being an ovarian cancer survivor. Both have gotten some tough news recently. One of the ladies has just started a clinical trial for her next round of treatment and another is on "watch" because her numbers spiked recently. This is why I race; this is why I fund raise. This is why we MUST find a method of early detection. I will carry them with me on Sunday, as well as the women who have lost their battle and those yet to be diagnosed.