Honoree Update

In my CIM report I told you about how great Karianne is doing, so now it's time to report on John and Dottie.

John is doing great. He continues to woop everyone on the golf course and has been known to throw a mean bocci ball as well. We are all very happy that he has recovered so well.

Dottie continues to be the amazing woman I met 4 years ago. She is currently undergoing treatment 4 times per week, juggling motherhood, and planning a vacation to Disneyland with her kids! She is scheduled to be finished with treatments in January and we plan to CELEBRATE!!! And someday she will give me a new picture, even though this one is great.

California International Marathon

Kyle running with me at mile 23.

Skip's Sprint Tri



Today was the team Sprint Tri at Stevens Creek Reservoir and it was a beautiful COLD day.


This is when getting dressed takes a little help from your friends (thanks Pete).


The air temperature was in the 40s with a brisk wind and the water was in the 50s. Now doesn't that sound inviting?

(That is Skip on the left - sitting in the water waiting for his group to go.)

For those of you who have never tried this, it's kind of like getting in an ice bath so you can't feel you feet, hands, and face. You can't talk because your mouth is numb. You force your face in the water and try to make your arms and legs move in a semi-coordinated motion. You only get about 1/4 of your normal lung capacity because your chest is constricted. You get yourself going and when you turn around the first buoy and look up to see the second buoy, all you see is the blinding sun. At this point a common tactic is to follow the feet in front of you assuming that for some reason they are blessed with super sight and are headed in the right direction. If you're not careful you might even crash into a well meaning kayaker trying to help you stay on course by "herding" you along. The good news is that it is a sprint (very short) distance event and the swim only lasts about 5-10 minutes and you get to come out and try to walk or run up to your bike and struggle to get your hands to work so you can change into your bike gear. Very fun. (More fun than chemotherapy however!!!)

The bike is when you hope you put on enough clothing to protect you from the wind chill on those wet tri clothes, but not so much clothing that you will be over heated at the top of the first hill. Again, today's event was short so more was definitely better! That's why although Skip's ensemble was coordinated with his bike, you don't know it because he needed the jacket.

For those observant folks in the group - yes that is a new ride for Skip. He still has his faithful LeMond Buenas Aires, but this is a lighter, faster, cooler toy. It's a TREK Madone 5.5. Merry Christmas!

Now you can see that his outfit was coordinated to match the bike that he is no longer on. This is about the point were his feet thawed out, with 1/2 mile to go to the finish. Although the sun is shining brightly, I am still dressed in bike shorts, sweats, Uggs, long sleeve bike jersey, sweatshirt, a swim parka and gloves..... so no, it's not warm. (Sorry, no pictures of me this time - that's my job.)

He finished in a little over 1 1/2 hours which really doesn't mean anything because we don't really know what the distances were.... it's a training race after all. The bonus of the day was that he probably burned twice the calories as normal because he shivered so much. So now he doesn't have to feel too guilty about the Phili Steak sandwich and fries at the 49ers game - oops, we don't want to discuss the 49ers game....

CIM Race Report

Well, another marathon come and gone (#25 in 6 years). It was a nice clear day in Sacramento with temps in the 40-60 range. I did a full blown training schedule for this one and was shooting for about an 8:30 pace. I did nearly ALL of the training alone which was really tough. I usually have to work the tempo and interval training and love the long runs (and feel great doing them), but this time it was just the opposite, so I was not really sure how the day would go.

It went pretty well, in large part due to my support crew. Skip was at mile 5, 10, 15, 20 and the finish. Skip's brother Mike and girlfriend Terea were at 15, 20, and the finish. My son Kyle was at 15 and then ran me in from mile 22 to the finish. And my honoree Karianne and her friend Kristen were at the finish line. It was a huge mental boost to know that I was going to see them all along the way and they were expecting me to do well. It definitely helped me stay on pace.

Kyle did an awesome job running me in. He has never done this before and really doesn't run very much (although he is in great shape). He runs a couple of miles with us now and then so about 1 month ago I asked him if he would like to run the end of the race with me since he lives nearby (he is a freshman at UC Davis). He said sure and started to run a little more often. We talked about the goal pace and his duties in regards to keeping me going. I told him that really the most important thing was just to be there so that I could mentally steal his energy. He said he could do that and one of our friends said that it explained why Kyle looked tired after the race!

What was the result you say??? I really wanted to be under 3:45 total time and I finished in 3:43.50 with splits of 1:52.34 and 1:51.16, overall an 8:33 pace. I'm happy with that!

This picture is Karianne and me after the finish. Doesn't the medal look good on her?!?!?!? (Sorry for the poor quality - it is taken with Skip's phone because we left the camera at home!)

This is a good point for a little honoree update: Karianne is now 22 years old and happy and healthy. When she was 12 she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and underwent full body radiation, chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant. She is doing GREAT now, living and working in Sacramento and it was WONDERFUL to have her at the finish line!!!

We are still training...

(we are doing run drills in the picture, Skip is in the middle, I am taking the picture)
It has been a really long time since I have written an entry and I apologize! For the first 2 weeks of our training Skip was traveling and we have been faithfully training since his return.

All is going well. I am 2 weeks away from running CIM (California International Marathon) so I have temporarily stopped doing anything other than my run training. I have trained pretty aggressively for this one (just like the old days) and hope for a relatively fast time. Hopefully the weather gods will cooperate and it will be a good day.

Skip has been working hard on getting his running legs back after avoiding that activity for several years. He is working up the mileage gradually with the bulk of his training on the bike right now.

Our team has added spin sessions at the Sports Basement Store in Walnut Creek and these are open to the public so if you have a bike and a trainer and you would like to give it a try - come on down! The sessions are every Tuesday evening at 6:30. If you don't think it is a good workout you will be surprised...notice the towel hanging on the aerobars? It is essential!

Double Duty

The Ironteam X (it's the 10 year anniversary season) will begin with the kickoff party next Saturday! It's pretty exciting to be starting another season and soon we will be busy every weekend with team training so we apologize in advance to our friends and family if you feel a little neglected..... but this is important stuff!

As the title indicates I (that would be Nancy) will be doing double duty this season, well actually triple duty. I will be a team participant, training and fund raising. I will be a mentor, helping participants navigate the Ironteam system with support in all aspects of the training, fundraising, and general pats on the back! And I will be leading the swim training for the team.

As most of you know I have just retired from coaching the Tracy High Varsity Swim Team after 10 years. The Ironteam was missing some leadership in this area and I am very happy to be able to step in and fill the need. I love coaching and was concerned about missing it so this is great! We had a coaches clinic today and I'm very excited about the coaching staff's commitment to providing a quality program. We spent 2 1/2 hours together going over my teaching methods and it was great. We can't wait to get started!

BTW - Skip is still on the mend and did the swim drills/skills today as well. We are on our way!

Update on Skip

He's ok.
I have had many people ask how Skip is doing so I thought I should post an update.
His ribs still hurt but they are getting better (he is no longer afraid to sneeze). His scrapes are looking much better but his hip is still a strange variety of colors. He also has fluid under the skin on his hip which according to Chelsie is a bursa. It's nice to have an athletic trainer in the family who can help out with injury care and prevention!
I know he is feeling better because he wants to try to ride his bike tomorrow (after he gets a new helmet and straightens his handlebars of course.)

Respect those rocks and wear those helmets!!

Skip and I went out for or normal Tuesday morning ride. It is a pretty easy 24 mile course to Livermore and back but Skip managed to make it complicated this week. As we were coming down Concannon, a slight downhill, cruising at about 20 mph, he started to look behind him to see if I was with him and at the same time hit a small rock.

I saw his front wheel turn suddenly to the right causing his upper body to fall to the left. He went down fast, landing on his left hip and side and rolled feet over head into the middle of the car lane. There was an SUV next to us and luckily the woman was paying close attention to us and slammed on her brakes. Skip quickly rolled to the bike lane and scooted over to the curb.

He is pretty beaten up with major bruising to his hip, ribs, and shoulder but he will be ok. The really scary thing is that he was in the bike lane, the car was in the car lane, everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing and that little rock could have caused major injury. If she had been passing him at the time he fell, she would not have been able to avoid hitting him.

Also, his helmet is history but luckily his head is not!!! So the moral of this story is RESPECT THOSE ROCKS AND WEAR THOSE HELMETS !!!

The Journey Begins...

It all began in Penticton BC. We travelled there to support my Ironteammates in their big event. It was a very relaxing vacation because our only duty was to cheer on Sunday and the other 4 days were without a schedule... very unusual for us.

The race was great to watch and my teammates were very inspiring. Team in Training members are all just normal people that have decided to step out of their comfort zone and physically train for an event that will take all day as well as fund raise to support cancer research and patient services. Throughout the year as we support each other physically and emotionally, we become close friends. This team is composed of special people.

I say it began in Penticton when most of you know that I just completed Ironman USA in Lake Placid with Ironteam. But the reason for THIS blog began in Penticton because not only did I sign up for Ironman Canada 2008 but Skip also signed up. We will both be training and fund raising together with the Ironteam. It will be great to be training together and getting to know the new Ironteamers together. The only downfall is that I can't use the training as an excuse for him to pamper me - darn!