Eat, Sleep and Eat

haa, haa....that was the duathlon of the weekend. I better get my butt back in training or I am going to have to close this blog cause I have nothing sports related to talk about :o( boo, hoo. I have not trained in a while, partially because of my horrible allergies and part because I needed a break and have been lazy. This weekend was pretty mellow but was filled with lots and lots of food. Rocky and I drove up ot Tomales Bay on Saturday (by Pt. Reyes) and went to an all you can eat Oyster Fundraiser. We had an insane amount of Oysters, lots of cheese and bread, fish, sausages and wine/champagne. It was all very yummy. On Sunday we took Patch to the park and the beach in Alameda although we didn't do much walking. We had lunch at the dog park and the plopped ourselves on some chairs at the beach and watched the Kite Surfers. Those guys are crazy. Of course we had to have dinner so we went to the Sushi Restuarant and had Teriyaki Beef, sushi and tempura vegtables. Monday we did not leave the house til 3pm. We watched the marathon of the Real Housewives of Orange County...wow how those shows just suck you in. Did some running around (in the car, not my feet) and then ended up at Pyramid for dinner with Rocky's cousin. As you can see eating was the theme of thew weekend. Hopefully this week I will do much better and at least get my butt back on the bike and back in the pool.....stay tuned.

No Swimming

I did not swim last night :o( I didn't even make it out to the pool to support my mentees.....EEEEKKKK. I just didn't feel good, my allergies are still killing me. So I went home and had some pizza and ice cream :o(. So no working out and I ate bad....NOT GOOD. I am hoping that the allergy thing will go away soon.

This is how I feel when I get up in the morning from my benedryl comas :o( boo, hoo

Jake Raborn

There are many kids who's cancer story I follow. Jake Raborn is one of them. He is such a cutie but of course his life has been changed from a normal little boys life to a life of cancer. He is having a really hard time right now but he is fighting for his life and has not given up.

Here is a little info on him from his website which you can view through the link above.

Jake was diagnosed June 1, 2004 with Hepatoblastoma(Liver Cancer) - Stage IV. Jake has received 14 rounds of chemotherapy treatments and survived 3 major surgeries in 35 days. In early September 2005 a tumor was found in Jake's right lung. On September 9th he had his 4th surgery to remove the tumor. In late September another tumor was found in his left lung. The decision was made to start his 15th round of chemo. He is truly a miracle and we thank you for stopping by his page to check on him. Jake just finished round #19 of chemo. His scans show no visible tumors but his tumor marker(AFP) is still elevated. In February 2006, Jake will receive a Bone Marrow Transplant as a form of therapy to fight his disease. Jake will be the 2nd person in the world to receive this type of transplant for his type of disease.

Couch Potatoe

That's pretty much what I've been the last few weeks. My allergies are still killing me so the thought of running or biking and coming back with itchy puffy eyes and sneezing just doesn't sound fun. I have been going home and plopping on my couch. I haven't even walked the doggie in two days because I just don't want to be outside. Tonight is swimming so I may go out and do a few laps. We'll see how I feel later though.

One of my honorees, Deb Costello, is not doing so good so please keep her in your thoughts. Deb's sister has started a new blog to keep us updated on her progress( http://debutauntupdate.blogspot.com/). She hasn't even been able to write so her Sister is going to.

Allergies, Allergies and more Allergies

OMG, I feel horrible. I don't think I have ever had allergies so bad. I think I broke the record last night of how many times someone has sneezed in a row. My eyes were puffy, my nose was itchy and I could barely breath :o( I'm not looking forward to the rain this weekend but at least it'll give me a few days of no benedryl coma's.

I still made it out to the pool and did my workout. There aren't as many people showing up now since the marjority of the team did Wildflower. It's kind of nice though because it's not so crowded and Coach Tim can spend a little more time evaluating you.

Here's what we did:

Warm Up
100 Swim
100 Skating Drill
100 Shark Drill
100 Catch Up Drill
100 Slow Arm Recovery Drill
100 Choice

Main Set

2 x (4 x 50 Fast, 300 @ Race Pace, 100 Build)
200 Kick in between as a Recovery Interval

Cool Down

100 – 200 No Freestyle

Distance = 2,100 to 2,200

Back to the pool

Well I think a week and half of rest and eating like a piggy is enough :o) Tonight I will be joining my team back at the pool for a swim. We are down just about 30 something people now who are still in training for Escape from Alcatraz and the King's Trail Triathlon. It'll be nice to get back in the water ang get a workout in.

Brenda Donato in the News

Honoree and Friend Brenda Donato is on the front page of the Contra Costa Times today :o) check out the article

Woman embraces life with running shoes on
By Ryan Huff
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Just before the horn sounded and sent 2,589 athletes on a chilly, mile-long swim, Brenda Donato couldn't believe she was about to start her first triathlon.

"I'm alive! I'm alive!" she screamed, splashing her teammates as she jumped up and down at Lake San Antonio near Paso Robles.

The Concord woman nearly hyperventilated with excitement, even as 25 miles of biking through rolling hills and a give-it-all-you-have-left, 6-mile run awaited her.

Donato had good reason for this month's impromptu celebration: She's in remission after almost dying last year from acute myeloid leukemia.

The 35-year-old, married mother of two had always been in shape, so she knew something was wrong when a trip up the stairs at home made her breathless. She had bruises all over her body and bleeding gums, which left her with just half of the usual eight pints of blood.

A trip to the emergency room kept her quarantined at Concord's John Muir Medical Center for a month of intense chemotherapy.

Her hair fell out, but her determination grew.

"I definitely had a will to survive for my kids," 9-year-old Trevor and 6-year-old Jarrett, she said. "The doctors have told me I have a 40 to 50 percent chance of a relapse. But that also means there's a 60 percent chance of a cure."

Donato went through two more monthlong rounds of chemotherapy -- each time restricted to one wing at a UC San Francisco hospital. On days she had the energy to get out of bed, she would walk laps around the floor, all while wheeling her pole of intravenous fluids.

From her hospital room window, she watched athletes run around Kezar Stadium.

"I just kept looking down at that track and said, 'I can't wait to be down there again.'"

Even after three months of chemotherapy, Donato had little chance of beating leukemia.

So doctors infused her with her own stem cells to provide a better chance of remission. They removed the cells, froze them and then placed them back into her body.

Those stem cells then produced new, and hopefully healthy, bone marrow.

Donato walked out of that hospital room in July. A month later, she started training for a half-marathon. Then came the marathon and the May 7 Wildflower Triathlon.

"People ask me why I do all these events," she said. "They think I'm crazy. I tell them, 'Because I can.'"

Donato joined Team in Training, a group of athletes who compete in active sports while raising research money for leukemia and other blood cancers.

"She became a real inspiration to us," said team captain Lindsay Gage. "Two months after a bone marrow transplant and chemo, she's out training for a half-marathon? You look at that and say, 'You know, running over that hill isn't so hard anymore.'"

Cancer has given Donato a new outlook on the little minutiae of life.

Maybe that's why -- long after everyone else goes home -- she waits for up to five hours to cheer on her last teammates finishing a 20-mile training run. Or maybe that's why she holds signs at Team in Training competitions that read, "Thank you. I'm alive because of you."

The other day she brought flowers to her sons' crossing guard. "Before I had cancer, I probably wouldn't have done that."

Donato said her boys and husband, Jim, provided key support when she bounced back and forth between being virtually locked up in her home and at hospitals. And Donato's fans recognize the bond she has with her sons.

"Most boys are generally bashful and really don't want to show affection in public," said Donato's coach, Alphonzo Jackson. "It's totally opposite with her boys. They always climb on her like she is their jungle gym."

And when Donato returned home after crossing the finish line of the Wildflower Triathlon in less than four hours, Jim and the boys showered her with congratulations.

Next on Donato's list: finishing a half-marathon next month in Alaska and a 100-mile bike ride. And, most important on the list, kicking her cancer to the rear-view mirror.

"I feel like I've conquered it," she said. "That could be denial. But crossing the finish line of a triathlon is a major accomplishment. If I can do that, I can beat this too."

Ryan Huff covers Concord and Clayton. Reach him at 925-977-8471 or rhuff@cctimes.com.

Hear Brenda Donato talk about her recovery and training at www.contracostatimes.com.

ONLINE BIOGRAPHY
NAME: Brenda Donato
AGE: 35
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, business, St. Mary's College, Moraga
RESIDENCE: Concord
OCCUPATION: Stay-at-home mom, former executive assistant and personal trainer
CLAIM TO FAME: After going through three months of chemotherapy to battle leukemia, Donato has finished a marathon and triathlon. She still has a 40 percent to 50 percent chance of a relapse.

NOTE: For information on Team in Training, which raises money to research cures for leukemia and other blood cancers, log on to http://www.teamintraining.org/ or call 800-482-TEAM.

What's next????

It has been 5 days since Wildflower and of course each day I am online reading other people's stories, looking at race results, pictures and going over my head how race day went. I am still riding high on my huge accomplishment. Towards the end of training I was really doubting that I could do this. I was having a hard time on the bike, mainly with hill climbing which wasn't fun especially because Wildflower was so hilly. My swimming was okay although I hadn't swam the whole distance all at once without stopping. I proved myself wrong and although I had a tough bike and run because of the heat, I had a great race day and I finished. My time was much slower than I had hoped but hopefully the next race will be nice and flat and I can PR. So YES, there will be another race. I am addicted. I am sure you already know that though since I've been on the run team for so long. I started TNT back in the winter of 2002 and ran the Las Vegas Half Marathon. On the way home from Vegas I swore I would never do it again, it's insane and people are crazy for running 13.1 or 26.2 miles. Shortly after the race I got an email about being a mentor for the Spring Season, I signed up. I signed up again and again and again. In that time I have now done 4 marathons, 8 half marathons, 1 sprint tri, 1 olympic tri and several 5 and 10ks. I don't think I'm going anywhere. I love the team and most importantly I love all the people that I have met and that are in my life now. I have an awesome roomy that I met back in the Spring of 2003 and I have an awesome BF that I also met through TNT or "Team in Dating" :o) hee, hee.

I plan on doing at least 2 or 3 more triahlons this year. I haven't decided which ones yet. I need to sit down and look at my schedule as well as Rocky's to see what we want to do. I know Rocky want's to do a couple of sprint distance triathlons and also get back into cycling. I want to be able to support him the way he has supported me all season so we need to coordinate our schedules so we aren't racing on the same day. If it works out I'd like to do the following:

August 27 - LUNA BAR Women's Triathlon, Sacramento, California
Swim ½ mile / Bike 16 miles / Run 3 miles

September 30 - See Jane Tri, Pleasanton, California
Swim 500 yard / Bike 16 miles / Run 3.1 miles

November 4 - Treasure Island Triathlon, Treasure Island
1.5K Swim, 40K Bike, 10K Run

As for running, I have already signed up as Captain for the Fall Run Team :o) I won't actually be training for an event with them but a bunch of us are doing the Disney Half Marathon on September 17th, 2006. I have also entered the lottery for the New York Marathon and will find out in June if I got in or not. If I did then I will roll over my entry and train for it next year. I would also like to join the TNT Century team next year and do my first century bike ride. I will then be a TNT Triple Crown Alumni....means you've been on three different teams with Team in Training. I think I need help...haa, haa.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and for all you mommies out there

Pictures

Our official race pictures are up...woohoo. I am also working on getting a collage of pics from race weekend up here. I will post those soon.

This week I've done NOTHING :o) but relax and eat. I am loving it. It was been a busy 3+ months of training and of course event weekend whiped me out. It's been nice hanging out doing nothing. That won't last for long though :o)

Wildflower - COMPLETE (4:45:53)

Let's recap for a second what the Wildflower website said about the course......OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON - 1.5K Swim, 40K Bike, 10K RunThe Wildflower Olympic Distance Triathlon is an amateur age group and relay team event. This world-class course includes a 1.5K open water swim, a 40K (extremely hilly bike course) and a brutal 10K run course. Remember this for later.

Our Wilflower weekend began on Friday at 5am. We caravaned out with a few of my mentees and arrived around 8:30. It was already a little busy but not too bad. As the day went on it got worse and worse and the whole place had populated. Tents were literally on top of each other because it was so packed. Friday we went down to get registered and walked around the expo and festival. It was a HOT day and this was suppose to be one of the coolest days. Sunday being the worst (my race day). We got a little burnt from being out. We headed back to camp since I was suppose to be relaxing and not walking around in the baking hot sun. We pretty much just sat around and did nothing til dinner. We went to the pasta party which was for all the TNT participants. After dinner I took a shower and headed to bed. I think I was in bed and passed out by 9pm.

Saturday was the Half Ironman Triathlon so we got up super early and headed down to watch everyone start off the swim and then take off on their bikes. It was pretty fun and got me pumped up but I was also pretty nervous thinking that on Sunday that would be me....YIKES!!! After Lael got out of the water and was off on his bike we headed back to the campground. The run part of the race was going to go right through our campground, it would be mile 7 for them. We grabbed our chairs (remember I'm not suppose to be walking around) and plopped ourselves on the course and waited for them to come by. I did get in trouble though when Coach Tim was out on a casual run because I was in the sun :o( so I had to go sit all alone in the shade. Later we found most of our team huddled under some shady tents so we moved over there. It was fun watching all our teammates and friends go by. We even managed to get a smile out of grumpy old Lael when he ran by. There were about 20 of us from our team cheering the half ironman peeps. It was fun. We headed back to camp and we had some time before dinner so I started getting all my race gear ready and got all my numbers put on my bike, helmet and race belt. This brought the anxiety back and the excitement. Then it was off to another pasta party, back to the camp to get ready and to bed for me.

Sunday - RACE DAY
On Friday when I registered I found out that I was in the second TNT wave to go off on Sunday, which meant I wouldn't start racing until 10:55am, way too late. I wasn't worried because of the cutoff times but more because by the time I would be running I knew it would be super hot especially since Sunday was to be the hottest day. I tried to change it since I was suppose to be in the 10:10am wave but they said they had no more room and that's why they pushed some of us into the later wave URRGGGHHHH.

My day started at 6am, I got up, got dressed and ate breakfast. I was so nervous I could barely eat and really thought I was going to throw up. I headed down with Natalie at 7am so that we could get all our stuff set up in the transition area and not worry about it later when it was packed. Being down in the transition area of course made me even more nervous. It was really race day and there was no wimping out and quiting. We got set up and Rocky, Olivia and Karen met us a little later. We found a spot to sit and relax til it was time for us to get ready. We were able to watch most of our team off on their swim. At 10:00am Natalie and I went back down to the transition area to get ready for our race.

The Swim
As we were standing on the ramp and the two waves in front of us were going off on their swim I was getting more and more nervous, I put my hand on my heart and it felt like it was about to come out of my chest. I kept telling myself relax, take it easy and DON'T go out too fast. It was our turn and the horn went off. I did just what I told myself....I relaxed, got into a good rhythm and just kept swimming (Finding Nemo was the source of my mantra). Before I new it I was at the turn around and I was heading back. I felt awesome and finished my swim, .93miles in 39minutes. Out of the water and up the ramp I went into transition for the bike.

Transition 1
The transition I thought was fairly quick but when I looked at my time online it had taken me 4min and 4sec. Oh well, I need to take it easy because I was a little dizzy coming out of the swim. When I got there Coach Joe was there, which I was glad about because he helped me remember a few things....like the sunscreen because it was so hot and as it was I had already gotten a small sunburn on Friday and Saturday.

The Bike
UP, UP and UP Lynch Hill I went. This was only one of the many hills I had to climb although Lynch Hill is the worst of all of them. It is a 1 mile climb to get out of the park. This is how I got to start my ride. I do have to admit that I felt better climbing it on race day than I did on training weekend. I wasn't sure how the rest of the ride would be since training weekend I only did 15 miles because I felt sick. I made it to the turnaround no problem and was till on pace for finishing in the 2 hour goal I had set for myself. The way back was a bit tougher on me and although I did not walk up any hills I did have to stop twice at the top of two of them to catch my breath and drink some gatorade. I moved a lot slower than I had wanted to so I finished my bike ride in 2 hours and 29 min. 29 minutes slower but oh well, I finished that darn BRUTAL bike ride. They weren't kidding about those hills.

Transition 2
Hee, hee, look like transition number 2 was even slower. Not sure why but this time it took me almost 6 minutes to get out of there. By this time it was insanely hot outside. I took a sip of my water to take my gel before heading out and my water and gatorade had gotten really hot from sitting out :o( not good.

The Run
Hilly on a dirt trail and the dark black asphalt, temperature about 90's and no shade. I can usually do a 10K in a little over and hour. Although I knew that it would probably be a bit slow because I just don't do well in the heat. Boy little did I know it would take me almost and hour and a half to finish my run. I left the transition running and only made it a few hundred yards before I had to walk. I just could not run, I was overheated. I tried to drink my water and gatorade but that was hot and didn't help. I new there was a water stop at .8 miles so I would get some cooler water there. They not only had water but a hose to spritz you with and I basically took a bath there, it felt so good. I ran down a few of the downhills but for 4 miles pretty much walked. This was nothing like the marathons I usually do where you have spectators lined up for miles. Here there was no one in sight and it was tough on me. There wasn't going to be anyone meeting me and running me in because it is not allowed. All I had was my spirit hat giving me inspiration (given to me by the East Bay Run Team) , Coach Al and Mama Lisa in my head telling me to do the damn thing, there are no wimps and all the advice they've given me throughout the years, our awesome honorees and knowing that there were people at the finish line waiting for me. Right before I hit the 4 mile marker I saw Coach Tim...phew....I needed that at that point. I was really feeling like I was going to collapse. He said "Hey girl, you are doing it, you did this thing and you are almost done, you are doing awesome, run the rest of this race with your heart because that is what you have a HUGE HEART" aaaaahhhhh talk about making me emotional. I needed to see him and I needed those kind words. I walked for a few seconds more and picked up the pace and next think I knew I was running and heading for that finish line. When I got to the top of the last hill I saw a bunch of people from our team including Lael and Bill (damn them for convincing me to join the tri team) they gave me the extra push I needed and down Lynch Hill I went where I knew that Rocky, Olivia and Karen would be waiting for me. I saw them and the pink sign Olivia had made for me when I came around the corner and of course like the baby I am I started crying and 1 hour and 26 min after I started that horrible run in the 90 degree sun and 4 hours 45minutes after I began my Wilflower Triathlon journey I crossed the finish line.

It was one of the hardest races I've ever had to do but it was also one of the greatest. I finished one of the hardest triathlons in the country and my most special friends and awesome boyfriend who's been so supportive this season were there to see it. THANK YOU Rocky, Olivia, Karen for making the trek down to Lake San Antonio and supporting me and standing for hours in that horrible heat. I know that the rest of the team was also very thankful to see your happy, cheering faces at the finish line especially since a lot of them had no family and friends there, thanks for adopting them. I know that many of our other friends were there in spirit and many of them sent me happy wishes for a great race day....thank you for all of your support throughout the season.

THANK YOU to my team also for being out there for us especially after most of them had done their own much longer race on Saturday. CONGRATULATIONS to everyone.

My mentee, Natalie and I after the race

I will post more pictures as I get them :o)

I DID IT...

I DID IT, I DID IT :O) wooohoooooo......4:45:53

Swim - 0:39:10 (1.5K)
Transistion 1 - 0:04:47
Bike - 2:29:37 (40K)
Transition 2 - 0:05:50
Run - 1:26:29 (10k)

I will post details tomorrow, for now I am going to bed to rest.

Packing

Update 12:54pm
I think I'm gonna meet my 1pm time frame. Clothes is packed, tri bag is packed and camping gear is almost done...woohooo. I will have some lunch and plop on the couch and do nothing til Patch has to be taken to the sitter.

packed gear bag

wetsuit - ready

bike, helmet and pump - ready

doggie - ready :o)

singlet - almost ready (waiting for puffy paint to dry)

I will be running in honor of

Rich Brooks

Cole Regan - http://www2.caringbridge.org/ca/coleregan/

Brenda Donato - http://myspace.com/10230644

Deb-Greer Costello - http://debutaunt.com/

Jacob Duckworth - http://www2.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob/

Jake Owen - http://www2.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen/index.htm

Vannessa Wittmer http://www.caringbridge.org/ca/vanessa.wittmer/

Katia Solomon http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/katia_leukemiapage/

these are just a few of the people who've been affected by some type of cancer. The list goes on and on and on. I will be thinking of all of them when the going gets tough. They indure so much more every single day that they are sick.

8:00am

Packing has begun. I pretty much have all my tri gear ready to go just need to put it into my tri bag. I still need to figure out my other attire for the weekend. It's suppose to be hot but it's still getting pretty chilly at night. The camping gear is pretty square away, thanks to my OCD about being so darn neat. Just need to refill a few bins, yes my camping gear is all neatly stored in plastic bins :o) hee, hee. I need to hit the grocery store for some water, gatorade and breafast stuff. I am hoping to be done with packing no later than 1pm so that I can rest for the rest of the afternoon. I need to drop Patch off (very very sad) at his sitters later in the evening and then back home to be in bed by 9:30 or so. Gotta get up at 4am :o( urrgghh so we can be on the road by 5am.

Last night I did get a swim in at our last coached swim workout. It was a fairly easy workout.

75x8 Kick, Drill, Swim (warmup)
then we did a ladder - 50, 100, 150, 200...200, 150, 100, 50
100 (cool down)
=1700

HAPPY DAY to everyone! I'll try to post some pics later.

Still can't concentrate....

....did not sleep well last night, the anxiety has begun although I am also SUPER EXCITED and can't wait to get the heck out of here and get down to Lake San Antonio. Tonight we have our last swim workout. It'll be nice to see everyone and get pumped up.

In case you are wondering what's in store for me here is some stuff from the Wildflower Website.

OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON - 1.5K Swim, 40K Bike, 10K Run
The Wildflower Olympic Distance Triathlon is an amateur age group and relay team event. This world-class course includes a 1.5K open water swim, a 40K (extremely hilly bike course) and a brutal 10K run course. The race will include the Wildflower collegiate championships. The best college triathletes from around the country will be competing for Wildflower collegiate, individual and school honors. It is a great race for both beginners and accomplished competitors. The Olympic Distance race will also be part of the Triathlon Club Team Competition* event.

LAKE SAN ANTONIO - Lake San Antonio is Monterey County's Premier freshwater recreation area. Located just 20 miles inland from California's beautiful Central Coast, Lake San Antonio offers year-round activities including picnicking, camping, fishing, hiking, swimming, boating, and waterskiing.

overhead view of Lake San Antonio

empty transistion area

not so empty transition area

swim start

the finish chute, which I hope to be going through no later than 4 hours after I start

I can't concentrate

I have 1 more day at work, I am swamped which means I NEED to work so that I can leave and not have to worry BUT all I can think of is my race. We were told at our clinic last Saturday to play a video in our heads of how race day would go. Well I am doing it, over and over and over. I am very excited but I am also freaking myself out. I know I can do this, I know I will finish. I will have my friends there to support me as well as my team but I can't help being a little scared *sigh*