TRAINING LOG

Location: Healdsburg, Geyserville

Distance: 55 miles

Song: Life is a Highway (Soundtrack from Cars), by Rascall Flats. Gilly sings this and sounds like a country singer, I love it.

Thoughts: Quaint, charming little town with full of stores and restaurants and art galleries. This is probably my second favorite ride. Lots of rolling hills, and beautiful wine country scenery. After a four-mile climb up Pine Flat Road (which definitely ain't), it overlooks the valley filled with endless rows of vineyards. I didn't realize there were so many varied, independent wineries. Everyone's always wanting to stop to 'sample' the wares.

Hot one today, 95 degrees of dry heat, over 100 on the asphalt, like a giant blowdryer shadowing you all day. A few on the team had symptoms of dehyrdation and heat exhaustion. I drank about 5 water bottles of gatorade over the almost four hours that we were on the road and didn't even need to use the bathroom which means I was sweating it all out.

Even so, the last 10 miles of the ride had less to do with strength, but more about will and heart. Just brutal conditions. When you're hot and fatigued you need to dig down and ask yourself what your 'why' is, why are you training, why are you out there. You then begin to focus on that 'why' while the miles beginning to slowly disappear and you find a reservoir of strength that you didn't know you had.

For many, the face of a loved one comes to mind, or their memory. For others it's the commitment to the Cause, or a new vow to be healthy, or a promise to yourself to finish an unheard of challenge, or even laying on a beach in Hawaii, drinking out of a coconut after the Century Ride.

One of my 'whys' is on my handlebar, a pink Barbie bandaid that my daughter gave me after I crashed on a ride. I look and touch that touchstone many times on many different rides. I guess we all have 'whys' in our lives, someone or something that keeps us going, keeps us living strong, keeps us hopeful and joyful, that make our lives memorable, worth living, worth the struggle. With it, we tap deep emotional reserves that propel us forward.

What's your 'why' in life?

And the reward for me on this particular ride was an ice cold beer, waiting all those hours, hiding in an Igloo cooler, nestled comfortably on a bed of ice. It's the simple things in life, yes?

Godspeed,

-R

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ENJOY LIFE

Today is my 3 Year Remission Anniversary (boisterous spontaneous applause ensues!), the day I found out the doctors couldn't find any traces of cancer (leukemia) in my body.

Celebrate with me: Hug your keikis (children) extra tight. Stop and smell a beautiful flower. Lose yourself in your favorite music. Have a (Mojito, Pellegrino, Corona, Frangelico, insert favorite drink here) with friends. Laugh to the point of tears. Kiss the ones you love. Hike through nature. Feel the sun on your face. Put another shrimp on the barby. Have an extra scoop of ice cream. Wander through a museum. Read from your favorite book. Live from your heart. Breathe the fresh air. Walk along the beach. Ride a rollercoaster. Paint to your heart's content. Watch the sun set.

Do whatever makes your heart jump...

It's one thing to survive. It's another to live.

En-joy,

-R

CONNECTION (Mind/Body)

I felt lousy today, splitting nauseatic (my word) headache. Most of the time, I actually forget that I'm living with cancer and feel great, amazing. But no matter how well I'm feeling, I almost always get sick at some point when I'm expecting my test results back. Happily, my oncologist called and let me now that my results were normal, everything's fine (exhale.) Next round in October.

She also gave me the go ahead to train for multiple races this year, said my lungs are functioning normally and the side-effects of my treatment are neglible, so it shouldn’t affect my stamina and fatigue. "Absolutely go for it, yes train!" she said.

My cycle training is going great, but I had to cut back on my marathon training, my left hip is bothering me (again :). My chiro said my pelvic bone is rubbing up against a nerve cluster in my hip (yikes!) which makes my back and leg uncomfortable (painful) when I run. I’m feeling a lot better after a series of adjustments (my chiro is amazing), we’ll see how my training goes. It doesn’t bother me on the bike, only when I run, because of the compression and impact.

After I got the good test results back, that 'I'm not myself' feeling is gone just as quickly. I'm always monitoring how I'm feeling, my energy level, my emotional level, my stress level. They’re the indicators of my overall health. Of course I know my body quite well, when it’s out of sorts, but I’m still amazed how it knows and responds to what's going on inside. Sometimes it just 'aches.'

FIREWORKS

The burst of colors, fire, heat, sparkle. The luminous colors, loud core-shaking bangs.

Happy 4th!

-R


(pic: view from our hotel, fired from the mountainside shown in previous post.)

TRAINING LOG

Location: Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe

Distance: 38 miles, hard tempo ride

Song: Shalamar, Switch

Thoughts: Beautiful ride along the Truckee River, though it was like Frogger at times with all the people on the bike trail. Nice loop from Tahoe City up to Truckee. It was wide open with other cyclists out for a spin. I went out too fast instead of easing into the ride. Me and another cyclist were stopped at stoplight together, nodded and when the light turned green, we both non-chalantly started racing each other, matching speed. That was fun. But when I caught a stiff headwind coming back at the end of the ride I paid for it, inhaling Cliff Shot Blocks and Gu for some much needed energy, legs and lungs protesting.

I actually started thinking, "I'm on vacation, why am I doing this again?" Because I like it, because I can. A bad ride is just part of the deal, everyone has one of those days. What's the saying, "A bad day riding out in God's country is better than a good day stuck in an office." (Okay, I made that up.) But being out on the road in beautiful country was more than worth the effort (see pics). And the pool and spa was waiting for me after the ride.

-R

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YELLOW

Did you see George Hincapie sprint for those extra time bonuses knowing those extra precious seconds may put him in the yellow jersey, only the fourth American to wear yellow in the history of the Tour. He just missed wearing it a day earlier by just seven-tenths of a second. One cool cat.