Improvised Workout

Julie and I planned to meet the TNT Cycling group at the Veloway tonight, but our car had other plans for us. We have a "fancy car" (Toyota Camry Hybrid) which doesn't have a key. It recognizes you are there by the clicker in your pocket. We found out today what happens when the batteries run out! We loaded the bikes up and the car wouldn't unlock. So, we headed out from our house to the Veloway on the bikes. Its only 5 and a half miles each way. We had a good 15 mile ride (we have a long way til the 100 mark) and luckily we had some winter wear. It was about 50 degrees out which gets a bit chilly when you are riding at 15 miles an hour. All in all we had a good workout and are fueling up for the next.

Where does the money go?

As part of Team in Training, we are raising money to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). You may be wondering, what happens to my donation?

LLS is one of the most efficiently managed non-profits in the country - just over 76 cents of every dollar is spent directly on mission-related activities.

Here are some examples of what a donation can buy:

• $25 - provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options
• $50 - makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members
• $100 - helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures
• $500 - could provide patient aid to a person with a blood cancer for a year
• $1,000 - makes possible one-on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team

Please donate now to support this wonderful organization and help us reach our goal!

Rain or Shine

Today's Saturday group workout was a Mission Workout. We began with all the teams - running, walking, hiking, and cycling - completing a mile in silence. Along the path were signs about why we are doing this - like that leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20. It was a very moving mile.

The only small issue was that it was misting all morning. Which put a damper on the cornering clinic we were supposed to do. We headed to a parking garage where we could get out of the rain to talk about the concepts in cornering. On the way there, we went down a very steep hill. In the rain. Did I mention that I didn't get a chance to take my bike out this week? So this was my first time on the bike in a year and a half - and I was careening down a slick hill with wet brakes. Challenging to say the least.

Then we did a couple hilly loops around the Northwest Hills area. Chris and I both experienced a couple "senior moments" - which lever shifts up vs. down? But we both finished, despite being out of shape. Overall a good first workout for us!

Now the training really starts...

The TNT training season kicked off on January 28th, which is when we signed up to participate. Then I left that weekend on a 17 day international business + a few days of fun trip, promptly missing the first 3 Saturday practices. I had good intentions of hitting the hotel gyms to get in a little bit of training in. However, between trying to rapidly acclimate to new timezones, doing business and fitting in some sightseeing, the gym slipped through the cracks.

So now I'm looking at the impending Saturday morning workout feeling a bit behind as it will be everyone else's fourth group workout. Plus from the email list, it looks like many of them are actually keeping up with the recommended weekly training schedule. I'm hoping all the walking I did while sightseeing may help me a tiny bit. This week's goal is to try to get out on the bike at least once before Saturday. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Joining Team iN Training (TNT)

At the end of January we signed up with Team iN Training (TNT) and committed to raising $8,400 and to complete a 100 mile bike ride, America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, at Lake Tahoe on June 6th. We had a number of reasons for joining:

1. We both want to get into better shape, and this is a program that will push us and keep us accountable
2. The program came VERY highly recommended from a good friend that participated previously and did a marathon in Alaska
3. It supports a great cause - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a nonprofit health organization dedicated to finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma

If you've visited our fundraising page, you know that we are riding in honor of Chris's grandfather, who battled chronic lymphatic leukemia last year and is (thankfully) in remission. So this is personal for us.

Finally, I want to note that we are not expert cyclists. Getting out there for a 20 mile ride is fun, but the thought of riding 100 miles - all at once - is slightly intimidating! Not to mention that the last time we trained for riding in an organized ride was over a year ago. The longest ride we have ridden in was 35 mile in November of 2008. So this will definitely be an adventure.