I slept in on Saturday to get some extra ZZZZsss, and when I woke up I just felt weird not being out there with the team to at least cheer them on since I couldn’t race.   After forcing down a banana and some water, all part of my “bread” diet as described by my doctor, I grabbed some saltines and a water bottle and walked down the hill to the bike course.   Mr. Fury and I live just two blocks from part of the bike course so I made in time to watch the pros fly by.  I missed the lead men which I was bummed about because I didn’t get to see our local hero Dave Thompson.  I did get to see the lead women and they were FLYING!  It was pretty cool.

I got to see a majority of the TNTers come through on the bike and that was really cool.  I called Mr. Fury to see how the rest of the team was doing at the race site, and all I could hear was cheering and clapping in the background.  It really made me miss racing and I wanted to be there so bad.  Before I hung up with him, I told him I was coming down to the race and he knew he couldn’t stop me so he didn’t even try.  There was no way I was going to drive because most of the roads were closed because of the race and then there would be no where to park.  I hopped on my bike and cruised down to Lake Nokomis.  The ride really wasn’t that bad, except for all the bumps in the road which left my tummy aching a bit.  (Ok, so I hope Mr. Fury doesn’t read this because I have to admit that riding down to the race site probably wasn’t the best idea I had all day.)

It was great to see my teammates running to the finish.  I love being at races, it’s so magical.  There’s something about being at a race that is unlike anything else I have ever experienced in life.  The energy is amazing, it’s so positive and uplifting. 

Later that night we had the victory party with the team, and that, of course, was a blast.  I put down my first full plate of food in 4 days, so that just added to the excitement! HA!  Crash n Numb Toes was our DJ, and he did a fantastic job working the iPod and choosing tunes everyone could dance to.  Ok, so I was feeling a lot better and maybe I went a little crazy with the dancing, but…come on!  You only have one victory party per season…

I’m finally back into my normal workouts this week and it feels good.  I have new focus now that the season is over.  I can just think about and train for Ironman, and I’m getting excited about it again.  I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed trying to juggle my mentoring duties, training with the team and training for IMOO.  I think now that the season is over, I’ll actually have more time to write too.  I’ve regretted not being able to document more of my training experience because I think it’s something that I would like to look back on.

I have never met McKenna or her family, but the TNT and LLS community have followed this family well before McKenna’s passing almost seven months ago. I learned of McKenna when her health began to seriously fail, and her story and web site were shared as a call for prayers. McKenna was 10 years old when she passed away on her mother’s birthday. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 2 ½ years old. The Johnson family continues to have hope for others fighting cancer and their families as they mourn the death and celebrate the life of their wonderful little girl.

I cannot help but be inspired by this family, and I often find myself turning to thoughts of McKenna to give me strength in my training. I was so emotionally and physically drained on Sunday during my long run that as soon as the thought of McKenna entered my mind I began crying. It is really hard to cry and run at the same time, so after a period of walking and trying to compose myself, I continued on. The whole run consisted of me wogging with a lump in my throat trying to stay off crying.

So, this is why I continue, and why there will always be a “next season”. It’s an amazing feeling to know that the money we raise goes to life saving research that helps all cancer patients. I know I say that I hope someday no family will have to go through what the Johnsons have gone through, but I know that someday that will be a reality. Thank you for your support in this crazy journey that is Ironman, and know that all your monetary donations go to such a worthy cause giving hope to all.

Check out McKenna’s CaringBridge site:
www.caringbridge.org/mn/mckenna

Check out my fundraising page:
http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/wi08/rachelholzemer

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/06/2008
• Total Time: 1:15:00.00

I suppose I’ll talk a little about training here too. We had our first outdoor bike ride with the team this weekend. The weather forcasted rain mixed with snow and very windy. The wind held up, but the snow and rain did not thankfully! We all bundled up and headed out on the course. It tunred out pretty well. We didn’t lose anyone, there was only one fall, and only one flat tire. Pretty good for the first ride I would say. It felt great to get out on my bike again. It’s amazing the difference between the trainer and the road. My bike feels so stiff and unforgiving on the trainer. It was nice to ride on the open trail!

T - 125 days to race day!

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/03/2008
• Time: 08:00:00
• Total Time: 2:00:00.00
• Distance: 27 miles
• Average Speed: 13.5 mph
• Max Speed: 23 mph

So, anyway, it’s been especially hard for me to not be outside on my bike because I got the greatest Christmas present of all time this year. I got a new road bike, well used road bike, but still it’s new to me and I want to ride it! It’s a 2007 Trek Madone and it was a fantastic deal because I got it from a friend who works for Trek Travel. They were selling off their fleet to buy new bikes for the 2008 travel season. It’s super sweet and I can’t wait until I can actually ride it outside. I have been wheeling around on it in the house and leaving tire tracks on the kitchen floor. …and I bet you didn’t know that last sentence actually spells c-a-b-i-n f-e-v-e-r. Happy trails!

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 02/28/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00

We ended the class with a really fun activity.  We all got into groups of three and one person acted as the arms and they had to stroke, the second was the body and they had to rotate, and the third person in the chain was the legs and they had to kick.  There is nothing more hilarious than a group of adults trying to swim together as though they were one body.  SO FUN!  We did two laps like this.  Needless to say, my group didn’t win any awards for a clean stroke, but hey, we tried and had fun doing it.  I hope we do more fun activities like that, it’s a really nice way to end the night especially if you didn’t have the greatest swim.  Everyone left with a smile on their face, including myself.  Happy lapping!

Workout:

• Type: Swim
• Date: 02/27/2008
• Time: 18:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00

So, progress for what you may ask. Progress for my “big” race of the year, Ironman Wisconsin 2008. I get freaked out just typing that…EEK! Freaked out in a good way though. I have full confidence that I will finish, and the first time that I thought that was during my “big” race of the year in 2007 - Chisago Lakes 1/2 Iron. I was on the run course thinking, “I can finish an Ironman, I know I can! I can train my body to do most anything I want it to!” So, let’s fast forward to September 10, 2007 4:30am when I was trying to rouse my body to go sit in line in the rain to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin. All I could think was, “HA! What are you doing? This is crazy, this is NUTS! I AM NUTS!” and yes, I am nuts and crazy and I don’t think I would have it any other way.

My training has only just begun, and I do most of my base training with my teammates with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program. I love this program. There’s nothing like getting together with a bunch of like-minded people to try to achieve a common goal, STOP BLOOD CANCER! Yes, I know, that’s a lofty goal, but I think we can do it. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday cancer will be a thing of the past. I can’t wait until that day. So I spend this year raising money and training for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and I have for the past four years. Oh, by the way, you can donate online at: http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/wi08/rachelholzemer
I’ll post again soon with how my training has been going with the new season having started just a few weeks ago. Let me tell you though, motivation was hard to find pre-season. I would go so far as to say that I was beginning to think “motivation” was just a mythical creature.  Ugh, the holidays got the best of me! No worries, I am full speed ahead these days.  Happy Sunday, enjoy the freshness of a new week!

My favorite sports include: running cycling swimming triathlon yoga

My goals are: To train for and compete in my first Ironman on September 7, 2008 at Ironman Wisconsin.

My other favorite activities include: Reading books and recently I have really enjoyed playing Cribbage..

This is my training blog which I am using to keep track of my fitness progress.

Please come by and read my blog. I will help me stay motivated and keep me on track as I achieve my fitness goals!