I just learned that they ran a news story on Kallie last night! You can view the clip and see how Kallie is progressing by visiting this link: Phoenix brain tumor patient's miracle
Please take a look at the short video clip of Kallie and you will see firsthand how special this little girl is!!!
ps - if you look real closely, you'll also be able to see Alex in the right, front row of Kallie's class pic. :)
Monday, April 25, 2011
T-minus 3 weeks until the SPRINT TRI!!!
So, we have a cause (raise money for 9-yr old Kallie who is fighting cancer) and we have a challenge (complete an Olympic triathlon). The question then becomes how do we get from point A to point B? The answer, my friends, is the right gear, a TON of training, and a fun friend to join you for the ride (no pun intended).
GEAR
There are a few essentials that you need to prepare for your tri training and race:
1. A pool or some body of water - Luckily I have a membership to a gym with a 25m heated pool.
Now this is just the bare minimum. However, I have had to invest in quite a few other "incidentals" along the way including but not limited to a tire pump, tubes, numerous CO2 cartridges, water bottles, padded seat (this one is almost an essential for this flat-butted Asian), fluorescent yellow bike jersey, biking shorts, clip less pedals, cycling shoes & cleats, tire levers, flat repair kit (very important), cycling gloves, swim goggles, a bright fluorescent swim cap so that I can easily be spotted in the event of drowning in an open body of water, swimming suits (plural, because the chlorine wrecks them pretty quickly), and tri racing shorts.
There is one other item that I invested in recently that could very well be my best friend on the tri course: THE WETSUIT. At first I wanted nothing to do with it. I have a hard enough time swimming without being stuffed like a sausage into a tight-fitting, constrictive hunk of rubber. But the more I read and researched, I learned that the "wettie" can actually be your ally in the water. Not only does the smooth surface make you more streamlined in the water (streamlined = faster) and protect you from the colder water temps, but it also makes you more buoyant (buoyancy = floating = not drowning). WINNER!!! I'm all about not drowning, so I took the plunge and invested in a sweet Xterra wetsuit.
TRAINING
Got the gear, so the next thing that I needed was a plan of attack (aka - a training plan). Since I knew that swimming was going to be my biggest challenge, I focused my search on swim-intensive training plans. After some tweaking here and there, this is a peek at the training plan that I finally decided on:
The little snippet above shows the final month of my training for the Sprint which is where I am at today.
NOTE: A word about the pink shaded sections of the training table above. These shaded blocks are called bricks and are generally introduced in the last weeks of training leading up to the race. A brick is simply a combo workout - one activity right after the other. Most often a brick is a bike-run workout that simulates the bike-to-run transition of the race... when your legs feel like bricks for the first part of your run!!! Oh joy, can't wait for my weekly brick workouts. :)
PARTNER IN CRIME
Last but certainly not least, let me introduce you to the crazy little chica that has agreed to join me for this great challenge: CRYSTAL! When I look back at the past few months of training, she is one of the main reasons that I've stayed on track with the training. It really does help to have a training partner who motivates you, keeps you honest and accountable, and just makes the whole journey a little bit more enjoyable. Crystal, I am so thankful that you agreed to take on this challenge with me... we are gonna ROCK!!! Now if only you'll consider doing the full with me in the fall... pretty please?!?!?!!!!!!!
GEAR
There are a few essentials that you need to prepare for your tri training and race:
1. A pool or some body of water - Luckily I have a membership to a gym with a 25m heated pool.
2. A bike & helmet - While I could have easily used my dainty little commuter bike to train and race, I felt that it was necessary to invest in a lighter, faster road bike to do the job. So after weeks of scouring Craigslist for a good cheap bike, I found this little dandy...
 |
| It's old school, but she's fast AND pretty, too (except of course, when she has a flat front tire) |
3. Running shoes - I think this one is self explanatory.
Now this is just the bare minimum. However, I have had to invest in quite a few other "incidentals" along the way including but not limited to a tire pump, tubes, numerous CO2 cartridges, water bottles, padded seat (this one is almost an essential for this flat-butted Asian), fluorescent yellow bike jersey, biking shorts, clip less pedals, cycling shoes & cleats, tire levers, flat repair kit (very important), cycling gloves, swim goggles, a bright fluorescent swim cap so that I can easily be spotted in the event of drowning in an open body of water, swimming suits (plural, because the chlorine wrecks them pretty quickly), and tri racing shorts.
There is one other item that I invested in recently that could very well be my best friend on the tri course: THE WETSUIT. At first I wanted nothing to do with it. I have a hard enough time swimming without being stuffed like a sausage into a tight-fitting, constrictive hunk of rubber. But the more I read and researched, I learned that the "wettie" can actually be your ally in the water. Not only does the smooth surface make you more streamlined in the water (streamlined = faster) and protect you from the colder water temps, but it also makes you more buoyant (buoyancy = floating = not drowning). WINNER!!! I'm all about not drowning, so I took the plunge and invested in a sweet Xterra wetsuit.
TRAINING
Got the gear, so the next thing that I needed was a plan of attack (aka - a training plan). Since I knew that swimming was going to be my biggest challenge, I focused my search on swim-intensive training plans. After some tweaking here and there, this is a peek at the training plan that I finally decided on:
NOTE: A word about the pink shaded sections of the training table above. These shaded blocks are called bricks and are generally introduced in the last weeks of training leading up to the race. A brick is simply a combo workout - one activity right after the other. Most often a brick is a bike-run workout that simulates the bike-to-run transition of the race... when your legs feel like bricks for the first part of your run!!! Oh joy, can't wait for my weekly brick workouts. :)
PARTNER IN CRIME
Last but certainly not least, let me introduce you to the crazy little chica that has agreed to join me for this great challenge: CRYSTAL! When I look back at the past few months of training, she is one of the main reasons that I've stayed on track with the training. It really does help to have a training partner who motivates you, keeps you honest and accountable, and just makes the whole journey a little bit more enjoyable. Crystal, I am so thankful that you agreed to take on this challenge with me... we are gonna ROCK!!! Now if only you'll consider doing the full with me in the fall... pretty please?!?!?!!!!!!!
 |
| Taken shortly after a grueling 4-mile climb up Usery Pass in Mesa |
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Baby steps, NOT drowning, HNPs and (almost) over the hill...
I may be a little bit crazy for attempting to take on this physical challenge, however, I'm certainly not delusion in thinking that I'm going to tackle a full tri right off the bat. So my first goal is to complete a half triathlon (aka - a Sprint tri) before attempting the big guy.
I have my sights set on racing in the upcoming Tempe International Triathlon scheduled for Sunday, May 15 - JUST OVER 5 WEEKS AWAY!!!! {insert small panic attack} The Sprint consists of a 400 meter swim, 12.4 mile ride, and a 3.1 mile run. Sounds do-able, right?!? Continue reading below to see what I'm up against...
As for the full "Oly" tri, I am still trying to decide between one of these three:
Challenge #1 - Learn how to swim
It's not that I can't swim at all... sure, I can wade in the deep end of the pool for a short period of time. I can even manage the breaststroke and the front crawl FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME AND/OR SHORT DISTANCES (ie - a few yards). But honestly, the longest distance I've ever had to swim was back in elementary school when you had to swim 2 laps in front of the lifeguard at the Scott County Park pool in order to swim in the deep end and go off the diving boards... and even back then, that was a stretch! Therefore, my tri training has been and will continue to be swim intensive.
Challenge #2 - HNPs
HN-what??? HNP is a medical acronym for Herniated Nucleus Pulposus. We all have these little gel-filled, shock-absorbing discs between our vertebrae. An HNP occurs when a disc ruptures and the gel innards (nucleus) are squeezed out, kind of like squeezing the filling out of a jelly donut. Looks like this on film:
I have 3 of these little dandies in my lumbar spine (as well as 3 bulging discs in my neck) and have struggled with chronic neck and back pain for years. I'm 37 years old and have the spine of an 80-yr old! I've had countless X-Rays, MRIs, EMGs, ESIs, PTs, and RXs... pretty much everything shy of surgery, which I simply refuse to do.
The good news is I have BIKRAM yoga and Dr. D to fix me when I am broken. :) Bikram yoga has been my source of physical therapy for almost 10 years now. I love it, swear by it and highly recommend it to anyone suffering from neck/back/joint pain.
Dr. D (aka - Dr. Derakhshani of The Healing Joint) is my savior. He's a real healer, that one! When my shoulder is tweaked from too much volleyball, he fixes me. When my knee is all jacked up from some stupid guy tackling me during a flag football game, he fixes me. When I torque my back after unsuccessfully attempting a jump like Shaun White on my snowboard, he fixes me. Needless to say, I will likely be visiting Dr. D on a regular basis as my TRI training gets more intense.
Challenge #3 - Old age
Let's face it... I'm no spring chicken. While my head and heart tell me I'm not getting old, my body begs to differ. I'm not too old to take on a physical challenge like this, am I?? (this is where you enthusiastically nod your head 'no' and tell me it's going to be a piece of cake) I guess I've just noticed that I've suffered more injuries over the past year alone than I have my entire adult life!
But I'm NOT going to give in to these challenges. No sirree! It's all about mind over matter. I know that there are peeps older than me or peeps facing greater challenges than me out there successfully competing in these TRIs, and if they can do it, so can I. Plus, I've got that extra little motivation knowing that I'm doing this for a sweet, little girl in need... someone who's bravely facing much bigger problems than old age or a bad back. Kallie, you're a true inspiration and you remind me to count my blessings every single day. :)
Next up: Gear, training and my partner in crime
I have my sights set on racing in the upcoming Tempe International Triathlon scheduled for Sunday, May 15 - JUST OVER 5 WEEKS AWAY!!!! {insert small panic attack} The Sprint consists of a 400 meter swim, 12.4 mile ride, and a 3.1 mile run. Sounds do-able, right?!? Continue reading below to see what I'm up against...
As for the full "Oly" tri, I am still trying to decide between one of these three:
- Nathan Tempe Tri on 9/25. While I like the idea of it being another local tri where my family and friends can come out to support me and cheer me on (hint, hint to family and friends), I am not too jazzed about swimming in the Tempe Town Lake for a second time.
- Bartlett Lake on 10/2. Not too far outside of Phoenix, and the lake is probably a lot cleaner than Tempe's. However, I have heard that the course is a toughie with lots of hills/climbs. Not sure if I should tackle this one as my first full tri.
- Powell3 Tri on 10/22. Held up in Page, this tri is supposed to be gorgeous with Lake Powell as the backdrop. It has a decent climb, but doesn't sound as intimidating as the Bartlett Lake Tri. Biggest con is that it's quite a ways away. Another con is that it's a very small tri of only 300 registrants which means that I could very well cross the finish line in dead last. Lol.
Challenge #1 - Learn how to swim
It's not that I can't swim at all... sure, I can wade in the deep end of the pool for a short period of time. I can even manage the breaststroke and the front crawl FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME AND/OR SHORT DISTANCES (ie - a few yards). But honestly, the longest distance I've ever had to swim was back in elementary school when you had to swim 2 laps in front of the lifeguard at the Scott County Park pool in order to swim in the deep end and go off the diving boards... and even back then, that was a stretch! Therefore, my tri training has been and will continue to be swim intensive.
This piglet probably has more skills in the pool than I do
HN-what??? HNP is a medical acronym for Herniated Nucleus Pulposus. We all have these little gel-filled, shock-absorbing discs between our vertebrae. An HNP occurs when a disc ruptures and the gel innards (nucleus) are squeezed out, kind of like squeezing the filling out of a jelly donut. Looks like this on film:
The good news is I have BIKRAM yoga and Dr. D to fix me when I am broken. :) Bikram yoga has been my source of physical therapy for almost 10 years now. I love it, swear by it and highly recommend it to anyone suffering from neck/back/joint pain.
Half moon pose in front of the Louvre
Standing tree pose in front of the Eiffel Tower
Dr. D (aka - Dr. Derakhshani of The Healing Joint) is my savior. He's a real healer, that one! When my shoulder is tweaked from too much volleyball, he fixes me. When my knee is all jacked up from some stupid guy tackling me during a flag football game, he fixes me. When I torque my back after unsuccessfully attempting a jump like Shaun White on my snowboard, he fixes me. Needless to say, I will likely be visiting Dr. D on a regular basis as my TRI training gets more intense.
Challenge #3 - Old age
Let's face it... I'm no spring chicken. While my head and heart tell me I'm not getting old, my body begs to differ. I'm not too old to take on a physical challenge like this, am I?? (this is where you enthusiastically nod your head 'no' and tell me it's going to be a piece of cake) I guess I've just noticed that I've suffered more injuries over the past year alone than I have my entire adult life!
But I'm NOT going to give in to these challenges. No sirree! It's all about mind over matter. I know that there are peeps older than me or peeps facing greater challenges than me out there successfully competing in these TRIs, and if they can do it, so can I. Plus, I've got that extra little motivation knowing that I'm doing this for a sweet, little girl in need... someone who's bravely facing much bigger problems than old age or a bad back. Kallie, you're a true inspiration and you remind me to count my blessings every single day. :)
Next up: Gear, training and my partner in crime
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