Last Saturday I did my duty on sag wagon support for the team. Since I can't ride I figure I will support the team by helping out with the sag wagon. Saggy Bill has things so well organized that there wasn't very much for me to do, but I did bring bags of ice which I was offering at the second stop where I figured it would be most needed. I also figured that I am there if anybody needs transport. This week nobody needed a ride unlike the previous week when there were two of us getting a ride for the last few miles.

It was a beautiful day for a ride. They started in Kent and went up through Black Diamond and Enumclaw. I think they did about 70 miles. I found that the sag wagon involved a lot of time sitting in the car and waiting. It was very nice listening to the birds and I had brought some stitching along to keep me busy. The first sag stop was at Black Diamond so I had time to go in and buy some bread from the bakery. Next week I will do this again

I went to the doctor today and it looks as if I will not be doing the STP. He said I should avoid riding until my knee heals which can be 2-6 weeks and then I should just start out with short rides and if it starts hurting I need to stop. He recommended that I don't do the STP and I know that if I miss that much training I won't be able to catch up anyway. I may be able to switch the credit for my fund raising for another event later in the year. At nany rate I know the money that I have raised has gone to a good cause and I now feel comfortable about continuing to ride which was one of my goals.

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a ride, the nicest weather I have had on a ride to date. We started in Monroe and rode north to Granite Falls. There were two options for the ride, a 75 mile ride to Arlington and back or a 50 mile option to Granite Falls and back. The ride took us through the countryside and then through rolling hills around Lake Stevens and Granite Falls. For part of the ride we were on the same course as the Tour de Cure riders. I did fairly well on the first part of the ride and even made it up a few hills. However the hills took a toll on my knee and I started hurting with the result that I grabbed a ride with the sag wagon at about mile 36 (just about the point where we left the hills for the flat). Today I will be spending the day with a bag of ice.

Today I managed to complete my 30 mile ride. We started at Marymoor Park near Redmond and rode down the east side of Lake Samamish through Issaquah and a little past the Hang Glider parking lot and back. I had a new saddle and I am sore now (although it still wasn't as bad as the first time when we only did 13 miles). I also had new foot cages for the pedals. The right one was a real help when starting as I could pull the pedal up into a better position. The left one is being removed before the next ride as I had so much trouble getting it turned in the right position for putting my foot in with the result that it dragged a lot. The last few miles I was getting cramps in my right back and periodically had to stop and stretch and walk it out a little before getting back on the bike. Thank goodness for all the good support we have with Team in Training. The others in my group kept waiting for me even though they could easily have finished way before me. Thanks too for everyone's prayers which helped keep me going.

I am starting this blog as a way to keep my supporters updated on my training schedule for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training (TNT). I first got involved with TNT in 2003 when my daughter talked me into training with them for the San Diego Half Marathon that year. I went from complete couch potato to walking 13.1 miles with the help of the coaches and the support from TNT. My next foray was in 2007 when I did the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco. When I saw that there was going to be a Rock 'n Roll Marathon in Seattle I considered signing up until I saw they had a 4 hour time limit. I am very slow and there is no way that I could complete that in 4 hours. However when I was talking with my daughter I mentioned that the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride looked interesting but I was very unsure about my ability to do it as it had been years since I had been on a bike. So she put me in touch with the coach and he convinced me that maybe I could do it. Therefore I am now committed to training for the Seattle to Portland Bike Ride in July, all 204 miles of it.

Why am I doing such a crazy thing? In addition to being good for my health I like to feel that I am doing good for others by raising money to combat Leukemia and other blood related diseases. My son-in-law is alive today because of the strides we have made in leukemia research and I want those benefits to continue for others.

My first training ride was 2 weeks ago. It was about 13 miles and I barely made it. Yesterday we went on a training ride around Lake Samamish (about 24 miles) and I did much better. I am still the last one in but I did not feel as tired as I did on the first training ride. I am now much more hopeful about surviving this training and accomplishing my goal. For anyone who wants to donate the web site is: http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/stp09/kandersetm . Both my daughter and I are fund raising for the cause. She is running in the Seattle Rock 'n Roll Marathon in June and I will be doing the STP in July.