3/31/10

D Day!!! OK it looks like my Shave To Save Lives campaign has been a success! My goal was to raise $1000 during the month of March to go towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and as of right now (and there's still 14 hours left) I've received $2110 in donations ranging from $5 to $150! That just goes to show you that every little bit counts! I am definitely going to be shaving my head for a very worthy cause. I was in the shower this morning and noticed I was running out of shampoo and made a mental note to buy more. Then I realized that after today I won't need any shampoo! LOL

We had a group ride last night that was supposed to be a brick but as usual I was not able to get my run in. We rode 25 miles and it had some nice hills. I really love riding the hills. We were going along and I had no idea where we were going. I heard Jan telling Darryl where we were going and heard him mention something about County Line road. We were climbing a decent hill and I was pretty far ahead of Jan and I saw county line road about a tenth of a mile before the crest of the hill. I didn't know which way to turn on County Line road so I just kept going up the hill with the intention of reaching the crest and heading back down to follow Jan whichever way he turned. It worked out pretty well. I made it to the top and turned around and met Jan at the turn. That ride made me remember how much I like hills. That being said, I still need to get in a lot of hill work before the event. I plan to get at least 3 hill rides in a week before I go. Something that I'll start tonight on my way home. I'll circle around Rockside and up Granger hill which is the steepest hill I can find around here. I figure if I can make it up that hill on a regular basis I should be able to handle the first hill at Wildflower and likely "the Nasty". Now all I have to do is to continue to train like a maniac. I only have one month left!

When we got back to our cars we thought about running but it was already getting a little dark and my feet were frozen (didn't bring the shoe covers again! Perhaps I'll learn one day!). So we decided to nix the run. I realized on my way home that it was Tuesday and I forgot to record my favorite show (Biggest Loser) so when I got home at 9:00 I got changed, got under a blanket and watched the rest of the show. I felt a little funky when I got up (as in not well not as in James Brown) this morning so i didn't run this morning either. That's what's on my plate for this evening. I will get a hill ride in. Then shave my head and I'd like to do about 5 miles tonight. Yes there will be pictures to follow.

3/29/10

I had a pretty good week of training. I haven't been able to get out and run as much as I would've liked so I'm really going to focus on running primarily then swimming then of course riding. I'm going to have to start training on two different disciplines each day to get in as much work as I would like. That's not much of a problem for me considering I ride my bike to work whenever possible. So all I need to do is to run or swim after work and I've got my "brick" in for the day.

I showed up last week at our indoor bike training session and I swear I'm lucky I brought my head with me because I forgot everything else! I'm certain I had my trainer in hand as I was walking out the door. When I got to the LLS office I brought my bike inside and realized I didn't bring any towels. I was grumbling about it and Mike asked me if I had my trainer. I told him yes it was in my truck. I went out to the truck and looked for the trainer and no go. I left it at home. I couldn't believe it. I had it in my hand as I was walking out. I must've set it down when I went to get some socks out of the dryer. That's the only thing I can think of. At least I had my socks. :) I went and got changed into my biking clothes. Tim was gracious enough to let me use his trainer. (Which was a huge sacrifice because he just got his new tri bike and hadn't even had the chance to ride it yet) I got ready to get on my bike and sure enough, I forgot my shoes! UUUGGGHH!!!! I managed to get a decent ride in even without my shoes, towels, and trainer.

I really wanted to run this weekend but there seemed to be all sorts of things that came up that prevented me from going. I ended up practicing my French horn most of the day and also playing guitar. I decided not to run because I was going to do a brick with the team on Sunday afternoon. We had planned to go Sunday because the weather outlook at the beginning of the week was better on Sunday. Well it poured rain and Tim got sick so we decided not to go. I didn't get to do my brick on Sunday. I went to Rick's house and we watched basketball all day. Had some beers and subs. Had a really good time. I planned to run when I got home but realized I had to replace the brake shoes on my bike for my ride today. Of course I had all kinds of issues putting these simple little things on my bike and as usual it involved breaking a small part on my bike that will now have to be replaced causing more damage most likely. LOL So it goes. Well I got the shoes on anyhow and was able to ride to work this morning. Really windy today. Can't wait for the ride home when the wind is at my back. :) I ran on the treadmill for a half hour this morning. I felt really good. I could've run much longer but didn't have enough time. I was a little late to work as it is. Gonna head to the pool tonight and get some swim time in.

3/22/10

My dear friend Deidra received some bad news about her brother. He's been suffering form leukemia since last year and the doctors say that it's extremely aggressive and don't see the need for any more treatment. Prayers to her and her family. This is definitely the reason I've been working so hard with fundraising and training. It just makes me sick to think that anybody has to go through that much pain and suffering. The sooner we can find a cure the sooner great people like Deidra and her family won't have to suffer through these heart wrenching situations.

On Thursday last week we went for our swim session and I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. I was frustrated that I don't seem to be getting better (although i swam pretty much the whole hour and didn't really have any problems doing it.) Tim keeps trying to help me get better but i felt like it's just no use. I hate it when I get that way. I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong and it frustrates me. I felt better once we really got into the session and was fine by the time we finished. We all went out to the Winking Lizard afterward to clarify plans for the Wildflower trip. We will be camping and there are a few of us that are vegetarians and we all wanted to make sure that we have enough food for everyone on the trip.

Went for another training ride with the Tahoe team. It was really fun. Most of the Wildflower team went too so it was a good turnout. My Teammate Jan and I went out ahead and we proceeded in typical Bill fashion in missing turns and taking the wrong turns so we managed to pick up some bonus miles in turning a 34 mile bike ride into a 40 mile bike ride. No worries though. It was windy so every time we headed North we got a nice cool blast of wind off of lake Erie. Thanks goodness I remembered to bring my shoe covers this week! :) Poor Jan, he wore shorts and no shoe covers and just a long sleeve shirt. He was a little chilled when we got back. I actually saw Deidra on her training run. She's a Sea Gull teammate and will be running the Cleveland Marathon in honor of her brother among others. A couple of my teammates from the Sea Gull ride provided SAG for the ride. It was nice to see them again. Melissa brought muffins, pretzels, cookies and bananas all were much appreciated. Andy and Ty were there too and they provided bagels and cream cheese which also hit the spot. I'm very appreciative to all the people that came out and come out to help for our training sessions. It makes all the difference. Thanks Andy, Ty, Deb, Melissa, Charley and anyone else who is supporting this worthy cause!

I managed to run 5 miles on Sunday and did so with no significant problems. I'm very pleased that the stretching seems to be doing its job. I haven't really had problems with the knees since I started stretching. They still get a little sore but no more than I would expect. I can even walk up and down stairs. :) I really want to get going on the running now. I feel like I'm a little behind but I'm glad that I can kick it into gear now. I'm still a little worried about putting the three events together but I still have a month and a half to get myself there.

As a reminder if you were thinking about donating, my fundraising deadline is April 16th. You can donate by clicking on this link:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/noh/wildtri10/whaddix

3/16/10

Went for a training ride with the Tahoe team on Saturday morning. The forecast was for rain and 50s. Well it rained... I was considering what I should wear to prepare for the ride and thought that since the forecast was in the 50s that I'd wear my bike shorts. When I got out of the shower I was a little cold and so I wore my long pants and a long sleeve shirt. I also brought my raincoat. When we got there and got our stuff together I noticed that it was really cold. I only brought my fingerless riding gloves but was lucky enough to find some winter gloves in my truck to wear. I only had a pair of short breathable socks and my bike shoes. Which are both designed to keep your feet cool in hot weather. Not much help on Saturday.

I rode 20 miles. I think a couple people rode farther than that but I had to turn around. I have a very dear friend that was watching my son for me and was pressed for time to get back so she could take her son to a birthday party. When I turned around I noticed the reason that the ride thus far had been free and easy. WIND!!! So it was pouring rain, 17-22 mph wind in my face and the temperature was 41. I should've brought my shoe covers because my feet froze. I managed to make it back just in time. When I got off my bike I could hardly walk because my feet were so cold. I turned the heater on in my truck and had the hot air blowing on my feet. It took an hour before my feet felt normal again. With all that said, I had a blast. I realized how much I missed riding with a group. Indoor training is fun but there nothing like riding outside with the wind at your back (or in your face for that matter!).

I'll get to do plenty of riding in the next couple of weeks. Now I need to find time to get some running and swimming in. I'm going to start to do bricks. Where I ride and run or ride and swim in succession. The weather is finally getting warmer can't wait for summer, I always seem to be re-charged by the sun.

I volunteered to help out at Dino Palmieri on Sunday. They do a fundraiser every year to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It seemed like a huge success to me. All of the hair stylists donated their time and tips to LLS. They had a DJ playing music and they offered a hair cut/ style for $15. Seemed like a pretty good deal to me. If I weren't shaving my head to raise funds I would've had them do my hair. Spending the day talking with people and sharing in their stories was a wonderful experience. I met a man who has been in remission for almost 5 years from lymphoma. He was extremely proud and happy to be alive. He showed me pictures and newspaper articles from when he was undergoing treatment. He said his weight dropped to 145 lbs. I would say that he was about 5'10 and weighed close to 200 lbs. What a wonderful success story. Watching the people getting their hair done was amazing. I never understood why a woman would pay $60+ to get their hair done. Now I understand. These women were transformed. I couldn't believe the difference in their looks as they left. They all looked like a million bucks. What a talented group of stylists. If you need your hair done I would highly recommend Dino Palmieri. They do great work and talk about giving back to your community. Job well done Karen and John!

3/11/10

Good news,
I went to see an orthopedic doctor and she says that the x-rays of my knee look rather normal. I have some slight bone spurs but she says that isn't really a problem. In checking out my legs and knees she complimented Fleet Feet for getting me into the right shoes and orthotics ( a very comforting thought). She said that my knee issues have been caused by the fact that my hamstrings and thigh muscles are extremely tight and I need to get into a good stretching routine. She's recommended me to a physical therapist to show me the right things to do. She said that once I'm able to loosen the muscles in my legs, the knee problems should go away. (Another relief!) It's amazing how something as simple as stretching (or not) can cause so many problems.

I actually had a good run the morning I went to see the doctor. Then I rode my bike to/from work and made amazing time. I was very pleased with myself. The training is coming around. We got together for a buddy ride on Saturday and poor Michael rode for the first time on his high-end bike with very skinny racing tires. Let's say he struggle a little. He only fell 3 times trying to get un-clipped from his pedals. Once he almost took me with him. I made sure to ride right behind him in case he needed help. He did fine once we got going. It's the starting and stopping that's always the issue. :) I got some good riding in this week. Yesterday the wind was blowing in my face and I had an uphill climb to get home and I was happy to be out hammering again. Tonight we have an indoor group training ride then we're supposed to do a group run afterward. Just keep strrrrreeeeetching :)

3/5/10

Had another good swim session last night. I might actually be getting used to this working out thing :) We started with a 200 yd warm up then swam 50, 100, 150, 200, 150, 100, 50 with 15 seconds rest between. The we did 2 drills of 50 yds then we were supposed to do another 2 sets of 50 with pull buoys but we were running out of time so we just swam another 250 yards then went to the hot tub. Overall a good session.

Got to ride my bike to work again today. I love riding to work. I always feel so refreshed. I was a little late heading out to work today so I pushed myself to try to make up that time. Unfortunately it seems like I hit every red light along the way and the was a wind this morning coming out of the Northwest which is precisely the direction I travel to work. no problems, I was a little late but it makes for a much nicer day when I ride. I felt great when I got here. There have been times where I wonder about my ability to run after I ride my bike. Today I not only felt like I could run but I really felt LIKE running after I got to work. (And not necessarily out of the office, down the street and home!). The weather should be nice this weekend, can't wait to get outside.

One small note. I've been sending out a lot of messages to people for fundraisers (like shaving my head) and it's becoming increasingly more apparent to me how many people are affected by leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma. A friend told me she's lost 3 members of the youth group she works with to these dreaded cancers. It must be stopped. Please take some time to look at the people pictured above. You can donate at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/noh/wildtri10/whaddix

3/4/10

I'm really starting to get excited. I rode my bike to work yesterday! I know, not a huge deal but I've been so looking forward to riding my bike outside again. There has just been too much snow on the roads to risk it. The cold doesn't bother me but I won't ride with snow on the roads. I had an extremely pleasant ride to work in the morning. Mostly green lights and I really didn't feel pressed at all. I made it to work in about 35-40 minutes. Not bad considering I had 15-22mph wind in my face. Funny it seems like 30-40 minutes on the bike now is like blinking. I always feel so refreshed when I ride to work in the morning. I had a nice ride home too. There was an incident though. I was riding past a hospital up a small hill toward a school. I was about 30 feet from the school entrance when a pick up truck went around me then turned into the entrance. I stopped barely in time to miss hitting the truck and the driver of the truck slammed on her brakes on proceeded to yell at me for almost hitting her truck. I was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe the nerve. This is the type of person that will kill somebody someday because she has no respect for other people on the road. Well at least it got my blood pumping so the remainder of the ride home went swimmingly.

I ran on the treadmill last night. No real problems (other than being bored out of my mind). I've been following the advice of my coach who says not to try to do too much too soon. I've been concentrating on my running mechanics and it seems to be working. I might actually start to like running if this keeps up :). I ran 2 miles last night then another 2 miles this morning. Then of course I left late for work and ended up running another .5 miles from the parking lot and made it just on time :) Not bad considering I carry a 10-15 lb bag with me. I felt really good when I got to work this morning. We have another group swim tonight really looking forward to it. The Macedonia Rec center is so much nicer than the pool at my gym. Our coach Tim won't be able to make it so we'll really have to put forth our best efforts because we won't have the watchful eye of Big Brother on us :)