Hot Off The Presses

Lots of good press lately. The radio show two days ago and a phone interview yesterday with a newspaper in NJ. All in an effort to spread the word about ovarian cancer and early detection.

The campaign is taking hold and gaining momentum. It is really exciting. Click on the nj.com link to read the article that is in today's paper.

And if you happen to be free and in the area, stop by Carolina Blue Restaurant in Pitman, NJ tonight. Introduce yourself. I'll be the one in TEAL.

Next Stop... Phile

On Thursday night, I will travel to Philedelphia (well, actually Mullica Hills) to present to the Mullica Hills Women's Tri Club aboout ovarian cancer, my story and my campaign. One of their members learned of my 50x50x100 campaign on Super Saturday when my video with Kelly Ripa was aired. They contacted me and asked me to come and speak. Ovarian Cancer is of particular interest to them, as one of their members lost her mother to the disease. Mullica Hills is more than a tri club and choses one charity every year to raise money for. In 2011, OCRF is the beneficiary. I am excited to travel to Phile on Thursday so that I may share my experience and information about early detection and signs and symptoms with these women. I welcome the opportunity and will challenge each person in the audience to contact five of their women friends/family members the next day. Think of the reaching effects of that. If each attendee contacts five women, think of how many lives can be saved? It's simple math and something I am passionate about. No one needs to die from ovarian cancer. If detected early, it is 94% curable. For now, we don't have a test so we must rely on grass-roots education..... educating one woman at a time. Is it Thursday yet? I can't wait.

6 Is The New 4

Miles, I mean. This year I am "upping" my distance. In the past I have done mostly sprint distance races. It is a shorter distance, designed to be an all out effort of pure speed. But just to keep things interesting and to improve my overall fitness, I am moving up to more Olympic distances. An Olympic distance is twice as long as a sprint and I have done a bunch before. But this summer I will do more than ever. I have 10 Olympic distance triathlons planned. That's a pretty big jump for me and truth to tell, I am a bit nervous. So along with upping the race distance, I am upping the training. Six miles now needs to be my shortest run of the week, whereas before, four was my happy number. It's only 2 miles but at my pace, it is an extra 18 minutes.... 18 precious minutes of sleep since I usually run at 5 am. 18 minutes of staying under warm covers and snuggling with my husband. Luckily it is getting lighter earlier and warmer. Really... how much does 18 minutes matter in the scheme of things? Well, when the clock goes off at 4:30 am instead of 5 am, I will let you know.

Additional Support

I've spent so much time writing about the guys from Highland Park that I have been remiss in thanking some other folks. A big shout out to Clarence and the techs at Mad Duck Cyclery. They put my bike together for me when I shipped it to Texas. Awesome store with lots of group rides; I wish I lived a little closer.

Then there is Kari, better known as KK. She contacted me over a year ago after having "found" my blog somehow. She reached out, offerred her home if I ever came to Texas and was my total support for the entire weekend. She carted me around, fed me, housed me, supported me during the race, cheered me on, photographed the event and even pushed my bike back to the car when it was over.... not to mention the airport runs in both directions. Truth to tell, it turns out I have made a new friend. We laughed, compared stories and acted more like sisters than strangers. Thanks for the hospitality KK.

Traveling can be lonely sometimes but not this trip.

Me And The Boys

How cute are these men?! Today was the kick off race of my 2011 season in Keller, Texas. Representing State #21, the big state of Texas was a great way to start the season.

What made this day so special was Sargeant John Lee and some of his colleagues from Highland Park DPS. If you've been following my blog, you know that John and the guys committed to raise $10,000 towards my campaign and backed up their efforts by making and donning OCRF jerseys. It was so much fun to see the teal logo all over the course. Thanks so much guys! I get to see a bunch of them again in Louisiana, as they are furthering their committment by joining me for the RiverCities Triathlon in August. Did I say this already?.... how cute are these men?