Starbucks Christmas Blend

The first FOUR people to donate $25 or more to LLS & Team Searfuolo before Sunday December 5 will receive a free 1/2 pound of Starbuck's Christmas Blend.

It's a win-win. You get to help cure cancer AND you get some awesome coffee to share with your family over the holiday seasons.

All you have to do is go to:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/lavatri11/SearFuolo
Type in your credit or debit card info and choose a donation amount $25 or more.

P.S. If you donate $55 or more, I'll send you a FULL pound!

What I'm Thankful For...

Got back from NY yesterday. Went for a 9 mile bike (still deathly terrified of the bike riding thing...but am hoping my determination will assuage that fear) yesterday and a 2.5 mile run today. Training wise -- I'm feeling good!

I'm so thankful that I am healthy enough to be able to train. To be able to physically sit on a bike to ride it and throw on some running shoes to jog. And for those of you who know me, you know it hasn't always been that easy for me. These past two days I've been dealing with some health issues. My spine and pelvis were misalligned causing me constant back, hip and knee pain. I've sprained my ankles many times. I have major feet problems -- plantar fasciitis (a strain on the connective tissues of my arch). That caused heel spurs (think shooting nerve pain up the heel). This time last year, I couldn't walk more than 100 feet without severe pain in my feet. All these things combined basically kept me in constant pain. Thankfully with help from a chiropractor, podiatrist and physical therapist and lots of time I'm now pain free probably 75% of the time. So, yes, I'm beyond thankful that at this point in my life I'm healthy enough to exercise. To train 6 days a week. To ride a bike. To run miles. To swim laps. Exercise seems so basic and simple and people often criticize those who don't work out, but the truth is sometimes it's impossible to do it because your body won't let you. For me, I was just hoping to make my way around the city on public transit without my feet causing me excruciating pain. Exercising wasn't an option for me. I'm thankful that now it is. I'm thankful for my health.

I'm thankful that my close friends and family are healthy. I'm thankful that Matt & I were able to sit around the Thanksgiving table with our families, and everyone with us was healthy. I'm thankful we were all able to eat, drink and play games. I'm thankful that we were able to have a worry free holiday. I'm thankful I was able to escape the fast pace of life for a few days. I put my phone away, didn't respond to emails, and kept off of Facebook. To me, holidays mean stopping life for a little bit. Ignoring everything around us and putting it aside to deal with later. Holidays are about bonding with family and spending time together, nothing else matters.

It is heart breaking to me that some families don't have to ignore everything. That they don't get a break for the holidays. While I was at my table on Thanksgiving, other families were spending it in hospitals with their loved ones. Others were saying grace and praying that they would find a blood marrow donor for their daughter, aunt, dad or grandma who was running out of time. Others were recovering from giving a kidney to their sibling who needed it to survive. Others were preparing to give bone marrow or blood to a complete stranger. Others were solemnly sitting at their Thanksgiving table with one less than usual wondering why their son, brother, nephew, grandson had to lose his fight. Hoping that someday there will be a cure.

Cancer doesn't go away during the holiday season. People don't stop getting diagnosed. They don't stop dying.

In the time it took for us to prepare, eat and clean up from Thanksgiving dinner (12 hours, 8a - 8p):
- 180 people got diagnosed with a blood cancer
- 72 people died from a blood cancer

So while I know everyone's short on money. I know times are rough and even worse around the holidays, but it's now it's more important than ever to donate to help find a cure. These families and people need our help. So, no, I won't stop asking every person I know for money so that together we can find a cure. Sure, you could spend 20 bucks on a present or coffee or a hat OR you could donate it to LLS and make a difference.

Save someone's life. Someone's son, daughter, mother, father, grandparent.

Every dollar counts. Go Team!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/lavatri11/SearFuolo

As Easy as Riding a Bike...

You've probably heard that phrase a hundred times. I know I have. And maybe you're one of the people who have heard me say over the years that I didn't know how to ride a bike. Maybe you were shocked. Most people were.

Let me clarify something. Yes, at one point I did learn how to ride a bike. And it wasn't just any bike. It was a bike my dad & I painted. Base coat was purple with bright yellow, orange and pink polka dots. I loved it, and I loved riding with the training wheels. I rocked that. Then the training wheels came off. I don't know how long it was before I fell but it couldn't have been more than a few days. Because then I fell and bled and cried. Then I was the kid who never got back on. I bought a razor scooter and some roller blades and I was good and didn't need to ride my bike. Don't know how old I was when I fell probably 7 or 8? But I didn't get back on a bike until I was 20.

So in that time gap between 7 and 19, I was convinced I didn't know how to ride a bike. Yes, subconsciously, I'm sure I knew I could ride a bike if I tried. But I was too scared nor did I have a reason to.

Last April, after Matt's triathlon I decided that I wanted to train for a triathlon as well which would require me to face my fear of the bicycle and get back on the saddle after 10+ years. I spent several weeks bike shopping and testing different bikes. I got a crash course in road bikes. Because these bicycles are nothing like the ones when we are kids. There are shifters, deraillers, chains, brakes, saddles, clipless pedals. Your bike needs to fit you. You can't just pull one off the rack and say "I'll take it." After looking at about every bike in my price range out there, I settled on a Specialized Dolce Elite.

Now, I'm training. Today was my first coached swim followed by a bike skills clinic. Swim was great (and FREEZING). But, I'm talking about the bike.

I'm still basically scared to death of doing just about anything and everything on a bike. Riding with traffic terrifies me. Starting, stopping and shifting intimidates me. Taking one of my hands off the handles to do one of many necessary things to do during riding like drinking from a water bottle and signaling to stop or turn.

The skills clinic helped me today. We focused a lot on my trouble areas (which is about everything). The coaches are great. Coach Joe (they call him Iron Joe) is great. He's realized that I'm so new to the bike and still trying to get comfortable and has been great at coaching me. He was one the water bottle drinking while riding station today. I told him I was so scared. He suggested first just reaching down and touching the bottle. I did that about 8 times then he said to just try to grab it. And I got it. Couldn't put it back in the holder before I had to make the turn so I put it away on the next straight away. I did that successfully a few times until I dropped my bottle proceeding to roll over it. Haha. Joe picked it up and passed it off to me and I successfully grabbed it and put it back away.

By the end of the clinic today, I could take a hand off the bike to signal and to grab a water bottle, things that scared me more than anything this morning. I'm glad I'm getting more comfortable on the bike since eventually I'll have to be riding for 25 miles at one time.

There is one thing that terrifies me more than anything: clipless pedals. Most of you probably don't know what those are...(I didn't either). Well, it basically means that your bike shoes have a cleat that literally clip in and attach to special pedals so that you are attached to your bike. It makes power transfer and basically everything easier.

But I'm terrified. Seriously, people, I'm afraid of just riding the bike. I'm afraid of falling when I start or stop. And everyone wants me to get pedals that attach me to the bike? I think they're crazy even though I know they're right. I hope to get up the courage to switch out the pedals by the end of 2010.

So, yes I'm scared out of my mind to ride my bike which just solidifies that this will NOT be easy for me. Training and racing in this triathlon will be the hardest thing I have ever done which is why I need everyone's help and support.

A team mate talked today about her personal honoree who lost his battle with Leukemia on Tuesday. She reminded us that though there are so many happy stories with happy endings because of the research funded by LLS, there are still victims of this disease. People are still dying. The economic recession hasn't stopped the deaths. Cancer isn't prejudice which is why patients need our help now more than ever. I hope so much that people win their battles and that ultimately with all the money we raise for LLS we can win the war.

I'm sure all those people who hear the doctor's diagnosis for the first time in their doctor's office are more scared than they've ever been in their life. And my my fear of bike riding is nothing in comparison to the fear they have. I'm sure they're afraid of the drugs, the chemotherapy, the hospitals.

So, this Thanksgiving as I'm sitting around the table with my family, I will be so thankful that my biggest fear is riding a bike AND that I am doing something to help qualm the fears of blood cancer patients by raising money for a cure.

What are you thankful for? Join me. Go Team!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/lavatri11/SearFuolo

"Go Team"

Got my first "Go Team" from a random stranger tonight when I stopped at Safeway to pick up a water before my run. It's such an amazing feeling to be a part of a team that is so big, proud and strong.

Well, my legs feel like bricks after a 2+ mile run tonight. Time for the foam roller (if you don't know what it is...it might as well be a torture device....you roll your muscles on it and it hurts more than anything ever).

GO Team!

Only one more lap...

So, I made it through the first week of training. Things haven't been too difficult yet. Some run/walk workouts. A few swims. A couple bike rides. Granted this past week I've probably worked out more than I have total in the past 4 months... I'm definitely using muscles I have either never used or haven't for a very long time.

I'm not lying when I say I've never done anything like this before. I've really never done anything like this before.

Tonight was hard. And cold. It was my first track workout at Kezar stadium with the team. Started with a warmup of a mile then did 1/2 mile of different drills. Then we did a 2 mile marker set which is basically seeing how quickly we can run 2 miles. My time was: 21:28. Not as bad as I would have thought, but not stellar either. But, the run was rough. It was cold and foggy so I lost feeling to my hands early on then there was that warm / cold sensation everywhere. And then my lungs start to burn and my legs start hurting. And it doesn't help that I'm at the back of the pack and getting passed by teammates (who are all so encouraging which is great because if I'm going to get lapped, I'd rather it be by a nice person!). About 3 laps in (.75 miles) I feel like I want to walk at least just for a few seconds to catch my breath but no one else is walking. So I keep going and make it through the first mile in 9:58 without walking. I conquered the second mile with a combo of walking and running and didn't come in last.

You know what keeps me going when I feel like I can't go any further (which I felt tonight)? I keep thinking just 1 more mile, just 1 more lap, just 100 more feet then it will be over. Then I'll get to rest (or course there was no rest after the workout, we had a pretty intense 20 minute core strengthening session....I'll be feeling it tomorrow). I know that I can push through because I know there is an end. No matter how rough the run was, I knew I'd be home and in bed by 11p. I knew that run would be over tonight.

Blood cancer patients can't say that. They can't say only 1 more chemo session, 1 more procedure, 1 more drug to take. They need to push through knowing that they might need to keep pushing, pushing and pushing until they reach an undetermined end that isn't most likely a happy one. They can't say if I make it through tonight, then it's over. Their fight never ends. Even those in remission never know when it may begin again. And they don't have any choice except to push through. They need to fight, suffer and endure to survive. It isn't optional.

This is why I am choosing to fight, suffer and endure for these patients. So that maybe if I push hard enough and endure long enough someday every person diagnosed with cancer will definitively know that there will be a happy ending at the conclusion of their treatment. So that someday there will be a cure for cancer.

Go Team!

Erin

P.S. Definitely investing in some gloves for running. I lost feeling to my hands and only regained feeling a few minutes ago.