Third Time's A Charm

Missing two races in as many weeks, I am determined to race in Montana this upcoming weekend. Between cancelled flights and cancelled races for weather, Mother Nature has had a good time with my race schedule. But there is still plenty of racing season left and I will make the most of it. I am headed to the land of the "Big Sky" and will race in Missoula, Montana this weekend. Especially exciting is that my friend Ann, who got me into this sport to begin with, is meeting me and spending the weekend with me. We've even carved out some time to do some white water rafting. I am not usually able to take the extra time but since both Ann and I are traveling so far, I decided to go for it. Not to mention the fact that it is Labor Day weekend and I am clamoring for the last little piece of summer. Is it just me? Or did this summer go faster than any other?
I know some of you may be wondering about Irene too. We faired very well and although the waves were literally crashing in our backyard (I live on the south shore of Long Island), the water level never got to our house. Our front yard saw four feet but again, the house stayed safe. We dodged a bullet for sure. I hope everyone who was impacted by Irene is safe and dry and that the damage was minimal.

The End Of The World

With the monsoons of the past weekend, an earthquake on Tuesday and a hurricane planned for this weekend, Mother Nature appears to be having a grand 'ol time of it. Is it the end of the world, global warming or just an unusual weather pattern? Well whatever it is, it is messing with my race schedule.
Word on the street is that this weekend's race on Long Island may be cancelled. It is my club race with Team Total Training and although I don't need to add NY to my race list, I like racing this particular event. Tobay is a fun race and I get to wear my team colors and see friends that I don't see otherwise. I look forward to it every year.
Added to the fun this year, my friend Kari from Texas was coming to race as well. But with unpredictable weather, she has decided to skip the trip. Disappointed is an understatement.
So stay tuned and we'll just have to wait and see if there is an event on Sunday. Only Mother Nature knows at this point.

The Race That Wasn't

These are not the words used to describe my travel experience this weekend. For the first time since the beginning of my campaign, I had to miss a race.
Portland, Oregon was going to represent state #30 today but on Saturday at 2 am, my flight was finally cancelled. It was originally supposed to depart on Friday at 8 pm but with the storms, got pushed. Delta was optimistic it would ultimately leave so although it was getting later and later, I would at least arrive in Oregon by sunrise....in plenty of time for the race. 8 pm turned into 9, then 10, 11, midnight, 1 am... only to be told that although the storms were over and traffic finally cleared, there was no pilot available. Delta was trying to find one. At 2 am, no pilot could be found and the clearance tower couldn't arrange for paperwork (whatever that means) and my flight was finally cancelled. The next flight I could get on was from Newark, through Detroit, through Salt Lake City, arriving in Portland at 8 pm on Saturday night. With a bike and race package to pick up on Saturday, that just wasn't enough time. So the race had to be scrapped.
I guess it's a numbers game. With approximately 60 triathlons under my belt in 29 states, and 4 cancelled flights this summer alone, this is the first race I had to miss due to logistics. I've said it before. The training and the racing isn't the hardest part of my campaign. It's the travel.

Next Stop PDX

This weekend is state #30 and the destination is Oregon for the Portland Triathlon. It feels like I have been counting the states in the 20s for quite some time (well, 10 times actually) so this change to state #30 feels like a big deal. After this weekend I will be 60% complete with my competing goal but only 52% complete with my fundraising goal. If you know me, you know I am a numbers geek. With a degree in math and several number crunching jobs, I eat, sleep and breathe numbers. Truth to tell, my secret shame is doing math problems while racing. That being said, my fundraising is running at an 8% deficit. I am not nervous; just merely pointing out that now is the time to dig deep. If you have already donated $5, consider donating $5 more. If you can't afford to do so, perhaps forward this blog to a friend and ask them to donate $5. For those of you who have contributed several times (and will do so again), thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would not be where I am now without you.
So if you see me out of the course or notice a photo where my brain looks like it hurts, I am probably crunching some numbers or solving some mathematical equation. Crazy, I know but it's my little version of sanity.

NBC in New York Interviews Me

Thanks to my friend Joann and some persistence, I was able to get an on camera, live interview with Today in New York at NBC. The message is getting out there and hopefully today's show saved a life. In the meantime, tell everyone you know what you learned today and oh yeah, $5 donations.... LOTS of them please. Click here or on the NBC logo to view the video.

And the Diagnosis is Swamp Rot

Kinda gross but in lieu of an actual name for my skin condition, my doctor called it swamp rot. It would appear the yellow jacket sting, which has turned necrotic and gross, set me up for a surpresssed immune system. My body was busy fighting the sting and it's poison and couldn't defend against whatever toxins/bacteria were in the Black Bayou. Yesterday I started breaking out in little bumps. By today, they were over both arms, both legs, neck, chest and a few in my head. With five more races to go and no time to waste, I hurried to the doctor. And that's the story.
I was given steroids and a "wash" to use to keep this at bay. Time will heal the little pustules and an anti-histamine has helped the itching. I am contagious! My husband is not happy. The bigger concern is my bike box and all my clothes and gear. Due to arrive on Tuesday via UPS, it is contaminated and should be quarantined. Gloves, perhaps?

And Then The Bees Came

This title will only make sense for the folks that know me well so I will leave it at that. State #29, Louisiana and it's 100 plus temps...completed.

A first for me and my campaign, we participated in the expo and sold raffle tickets. First off, a big shout out to my local bike store, Carl Hart Bicycles, for donating so many great items for the raffle. The set of wheels and aero helmuts were a huge hit. Second round of thank yous belong to Sargent John Lee and Kari Kennedy for their unending support of my campaign and help with the expo. We raised almost $750 and were able to educate women about signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. The energy was palpable; everyone seemed very interested and grateful for the information we were sharing. After today's race we raffled off the goods and one lucky lady won a ton of stuff (read: she bought a ton of tickets).

Five minutes before my wave this morning, I was stung by a yellow jacket on my calf. Can you say "hurt like the devil?" The swim felt great albeit over 90 degrees but I wasn't aware of my leg. During the bike my calf went numb and truth to tell, I still have a weird, nervy sensation. The run was brutal and each step reminded me I had been stung. Overall, given the heat and my bee story, I am thrilled. Rocked the swim, slammed the bike (19.6 mph) and well, just did the run but placed 7th in age in a field over 100. I couldn't be happier with the entire weekend. The 3rd thank you belongs to the folks at Clif Bar. They set me up with a bunch of race food when they learned of my campaign. And the last thank you goes to Matt Brown of Sportspectrum for a solid event and for providing me a platform to spread my message.

Tickets, Get Your Tickets Here

I am so excited about RiverCities in Louisiana this weekend. What makes this race extra special is that I have been given a platform to participate at the race check in with a raffle. Relentlessly accumulating items for the past year, I am happy to report I have secured about $2000 worth of goodies to raffle. For a donation of $1 (all proceeds going to OCRF) you will get a chance to win an item that will be raffled off after the race. More dollars equals more raffle tickets. Shirts, sunglasses, helmuts, a tricked out set of race wheels, fuel belts.... all really good stuff.
The point is to make money for OCRF but I want to actually meet folks and tell them what I know about early detection for ovarian cancer. I've got my shpiel down to about 30 seconds; I don't want to waste folk's time. But this half a minute of information could save someone's life. So if you are any where near Sportspectrum in Shreveport, Louisiana this weekend, stop by, buy a raffle ticket and come learn something that could save a women's life...maybe even your own.