Team Sandra Shirts

We wore our new shirts for the first time today:

Week 8? --- And Continuing On

Oops, sorry, I have been so out of it that I haven't kept posting about our 8-week training challenge. Week 8 should have started and finished already. The goal for the week was to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

What I've been doing is focusing back again on the goal of Week 2, which is to eat at least 3 servings of veggies and 2 servings of fruit every day; and the goal of Week 7, which is to start each day with some "quiet time" or meditation and scripture reading. 

These two goals are the ones that seem to be hardest for me to keep up with, and the ones that give me the most satisfaction and feeling of taking care of myself and accomplishing something.

So I'm continuing, even though the challenge is "over." Because it ain't over till it's over!

Sandra's Birthday

(This is the same post I just put up on my Aunt Louise blog. After I wrote and posted it, I realized it could go just as well here, since Sandra is the reason we have gotten an even huger crowd than last year together to ride and support the Huntsman 140 on June 21.)

She would have been 67 years old today. We are riding in the Huntsman 140 next month in her memory and honor.

Laura has created a Facebook page for Team Sandra with photos, videos, and links to our Huntsman 140 page. You don't have to be a Facebook member to go to this page and see all that great content.

By the way, we're still accepting donations! Here's our team donation page.

And here's my personal page. Even though we're called Team Sandra and we're riding in her memory and in honor of another family member, Salvador, we're also riding in memory of others in our family who have died of this dreadful disease.

That's why I put that photo of Lerrys on my personal page, because he was/is one of the kindest and sweetest people I've ever known. And he died of a kind of cancer that didn't have to kill him, if the best care had been available to him. That's what we want to see happen: research and treatment and care that will benefit people all over the world.

Jeff with EMTs, and More Notes

Here he is, smiling---and he never stopped smiling through the whole thing---with the EMTs who cleaned up most of the blood from his face and hand:

This reminds me of a few more things I want to write about this year's Reach the Beach:

1. The support for the ride was amazing. These EMTs were at every stop and driving in between to help anyone who needed help. At one point I saw a bunch of riders standing around a friend who was sitting on the ground, resting, while one of them was changing a flat tire, and these guys pulling up just ahead of them to walk back and check that they were all okay.  There were uniformed cops and deputies at every junction where we needed to be directed to turn across traffic and/or traffic had to be routed around us. There were volunteers at every stop handing out snacks and drinks and ringing cow bells. At one rest stop, four teenagers stood just to the right of the road where we rode out, holding out their hands for high fives and yelling, "You can do it! Go, go, go!" And at the railroad tracks where a rider had fallen two years earlier, instead of just telling us to get off and walk our bikes over that slippery metal plate, they were still there telling us to ride slowly and single file, but they had also put some rubber matting over the tracks. In the town where everyone got traffic tickets a couple of years ago, volunteers stood on the corner of the street where the problem had been so they could warn each one of us, "This is not a four-way stop, Cross traffic will not stop for you, You have to come to a full stop before crossing," and so on.

2. The miracle of last year's riding buddy, or as we like to call him, my angel, Rick Geib, really WAS a miracle. All the riders I saw were super nice, but no one was looking for a riding partner. That was okay this year because now I knew what I was doing. But last year, when I needed that help, Rick showed up. (This year he couldn't make it but called Jason about halfway through to tell him he was with us in spirit and he will be riding with us next year.)

3. My real angel and support through this ride and all my training and riding is, of course, Jason. I can't even begin to describe all the things he has done and keeps doing to make these rides possible. I'm sure I'm not even aware of all of it. But, just a few things here: He keeps my bike working for me; sets up the bike rack and puts the bike on and off and again; drives me to wherever, and then between wherever and wherever else, and then back; makes sure I eat something in the morning and gets snacks for me throughout the day; and when we get home he takes everything off and out of the car and brings it in and puts it away and lets me rest.

4. And that's just on big ride days. On other days, he drives with me to the lake and walks down the trail with me till I get to where I'll start running, and then he goes back and waits in the car until I get back; he even drops me off at the gym and does shopping while I get a few minutes in there; he listens to me talk about this and that exercise, class, teacher, trainer, and so on; and he generally keeps me encouraged without pushing.

Reach the Beach

I made it! --- 81 miles from Newberg to Pacific City, Oregon --- and in better time than last year and feeling less exhausted at the end. I still had a hard time lifting my bike up at the beach, though.

Jason took photos of me whenever he could, parking the car in whatever town the next rest stop was and running out to meet me on the road, shouting encouragement and reminding me to smile for the camera.

One thing I don't have a photo of is him with blood streaming down the left side of his face, at the Sheridan rest stop. Strangely enough, I didn't think of taking a photo until at the end, with the EMT's, after they'd fixed him up. He had run out really far to get my photo; so far, in fact, that I turned around to go back and ride alongside him for a ways as he came back into the town. He said, "Go on, I'll meet you there."

So I did, and right after that he took a hard fall. He walked the rest of the way, and when I finally found him, he looked like an extra in a zombie movie.

We found the EMTs and they did a great job of fixing him up. And then he insisted that I get going, and he would catch up with me at the next rest stop. I looked for him all the way there and got worried because I didn't see him. But he had taken the safe way there, not driving past the riders.  It was an incredible relief to see him, safe and sound.

Encouraging Signs

Didn't have time---or a camera with me---to take photos of these signs along the way during the Hippie Chick Half, but I loved these ones:

Running: Better Than Therapy!

and

Run Like You Stole Something!

Progress

I finally got the results back from the half-marathon I ran last Saturday, so I could compare them with the results from the half-marathon I ran a month ago, and I'm somewhat pleased: I "ran" (jogged - walked - stumbled - and - yes - did - a - little - running - too) the second one in about 5-1/2 minutes less time than the first one.

This progress is not huge, not as big as I'd hoped for. But it's something. And even more: My knees didn't start killing me until the 10th mile. Now that's progress!

I'll keep training, of course, and even though these running events have really been training for the cycling events, I'll run my next half-marathon in August, and hope to cut more than another 5 minutes off my time then.

Other Training Blogs

FYI, Laura and Ellen are also writing blogs about how they're training for this year's Huntsman 140, and Neva is keeping us all on track with ideas, training rides, nutrition suggestions, and so on.

Here's Laura's blog: Hung Out To Dry.

And here's Ellen's blog: Fun Journey of Happiness.

Week 7 of Challenge

Sorry for not posting this on Sunday, when this week 7 of our challenge started. And since I didn't post it, I haven't been doing it. But I'm going to do it now. 

Here it is, from the first post about this challenge:

Week 7: Continue Week 6 habits. Add: Start your day with"Quiet Time" every day. This should be at least 30 minutes of meditation, and can include your own scripture study or other medication that you currently do. 

Our final week will begin this coming Sunday, May 18, and it will be to continue with the good habits we've learned and practiced in the previous 7 weeks, plus getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. 

 

Hippie Chick Half: Done

Thanks to my wonderful sisters for your encouraging and helpful comments!

So, I made it through another half marathon, a hard run/walk/jog. And this time my knees didn't start hurting till about the ninth mile, which is a huge improvement.

This time I had a friend with me, Lara, who runs so much faster than me that I told her after about a quarter mile to go ahead, and she did.

I think my time improved, but haven't seen the results yet so I'm not sure. Even if they did improve, it was only by a couple of minutes, but that's okay with me!

There were so many people running!---all women, too! We waited until the crowd thinned out before we started.

We made it! Jeff was waiting for Lara when she got to the finish line, and then me, about 20 minutes later.

Prepping for the Hippie Chick Half

Great name for a day-before-Mother's-Day, all-women, half-marathon, yeah? This will be my second half-marathon. (I was writing "This will be my second half," but it sounds like I'm writing about a very sad basketball game, like the Blazers against the Spurs in their last two games***; or the last half of a very sad and short life. Which I'm not.)

So here's how I've prepared so far:

---This week: my usual 5:30 am spin classes on Monday and Wednesday, and doing some training on my own at the gym on Tuesday and Thursday

---This morning: Eating brownie crumbs I saved in the pan from the brownies I made for and delivered to my visiting teaching sisters yesterday, and then a microwaved chimichanga and half a bottle of Coke Zero, because, of course, I want to be super healthy and strong for tomorrow!

(Don't you love the way Windows tries to help you spell things? And do the Windows people live in a completely un-Mexican-fooded world, or what? Because when I wrote "chimichanga," Windows suggested that what I really wanted to write was "Michiganite.")

---The rest of this day: That chimichanga was so good, maybe I'll have another one for lunch. I'll do some yard work which will count as a light day at the gym (weeding, carrying heavy stuff up the stairs, plugging up mole holes, etc.). I'll go to jujitsu tonight. I don't know what I'll eat for dinner but it will probably be about as healthy as a chimichanga.

---Tomorrow morning: Suggestions for breakfast? I'll have to leave the house around 6:15 to get to the place, and I don't think I'll feel hungry, but I know I should eat. Ideas, anyone? Please?

***Do you think finding a snake in your locker could influence your game? I sure do!  Yeah, sure, it was harmless. But, as the Huffington Post noted, "... if it was meant to unnerve the Blazers, it appears to have worked. Robinson had just two points as Portland lost to the Spurs, 114-97." Welcome to Texas!

What does that have to do with preparing for a half-marathon? Nothing whatsoever.

Week 6 of Challenge

Here's our goal for this week:

Week 6: Continue Week 5 habits. Add: Take supplements each day as recommended by your doctor or other health professional, including dieticians (but not including information from magazine and newspaper articles). 

And I should add here: Continue Weeks 1 through 4 habits, too.

Here's the link to where we started this round of the challenge. I'd sure like to do something different the next time, because so many of these things were obviously designed for college students and/or people who hadn't been exercising and trying to get lean already. 

I need some goals specifically to help push me on to the next phase. If anyone has any suggestions for this, I'd love to hear them.

RACC

Yes, we rode the 34-mile loop in today's Ride Around Clark County with the Vancouver Bicycle Club (the most friendly and relaxed and fun set of people you'll ever meet)!

And then, because I felt like I needed more training --- not because I felt great or anything like that --- I rode from the starting place at the college back to our house. Note: I did NOT ride the bike up the 80-degree path up the hill behind our house. I walked the bike up that hill. Even when the day comes that I can ride the bike up Dahlia, I don't know what could happen to make me able to ride up that back path!

(Photos to follow)

BTW, I just *know* the rest of Team Sandra have been out riding today, too! I'm looking forward to reading about their adventures later.

(Etc.)

I'm going to be participating in the charity bike ride Reach the Beach on Saturday, May 17. I rode in this last year and had a great time, with the nicest guy in the world helping me, inspiring me, and talking to me about becoming vegan:)

I'll do the same 84-mile ride this year, not the full 100-mile ride. My riding companion from that year won't be riding this year, instead spending that day helping his teen-age son who will be in a rowing competition.

More training this month: Ride Around Clark County tomorrow (May 3) with Jason, and my second half-marathon the following Saturday (May 10) with a friend. And more of the same training at the gym, around the lake, and so on. And then ramping up in June! Yay! Am I crazy, or what?