Camping in the Rain - I did it for Maxwell!

Hey everybody! Just a forewarning, this is going to be a VERY long post, but it's very important to me to get it all out, so I hope you take the time to read it.






I am (somewhat) freshly back from my first camping trip in probably close to ten years! The last time I went camping was with a fraternity in Oregon and I lasted one night out of the two night trip.. Needless to say camping hasn't been, and still really isn't my thing.


I went to Arizona for Spring Training and to visit Jason's family last weekend, and had spent the entire week between the desert and this past weekend complaining about having to camp in the rain, how miserable I was going to be and how much I really didn't want to spend my weekend out in the woods. 


On Friday Morning, I heard the sad news that the son of a friend of mine had been diagnosed with A.L.L., which is a form of leukemia that effects 1 in 29,000 children in the United States. If there is any good news in the world of cancer, A.L.L. has one of the highest survival rates of childhood cancers. Needless to say however, it made me reflect on how I had spent the past week complaining about camping in the rain, while my friend spent the same week in the hospital worried about her son's health. Suddenly, camping in the rain was the least of my concern or worries. 


My team mate Leti picked me up around noon on Friday, and we made the 4 hour journey down to Lake San Antonio, which is about 30 miles outside of King City, California. The purpose of the weekend at the Lake was to give our team a preview of the Avia Wildflower course so we would know what to expect on race day. 


Friday afternoon and evening consisted of setting up camp, having a team meeting and gearing up for all the activities that the weekend had in store. I spent the first night in my tent wearing all of the warm clothing I had packed for myself. I slept in knee-high wool socks, sweats, two base layer shirts (which are not as warm as promised!), my Northface Fleece Jacket and a wool hat. I buried myself as far down into my sleeping bag as I could and hoped to get a good night's sleep, resting up for the next morning's swim and bike ride. However, between being freezing, having the air mattress crinkle all night and my slightly irrational fear of being in the great outdoors and eaten by a wild animal (which at this campground consisted of deer, turkeys, rabbits and wild pigs) I only got about two hours of sleep.


I woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of rain on my tent. We had all been mentally prepared for a rainy swim and bike ride, but I had hoped our prayers to the sun gods would come through and we could avoid the chilly ride. Sadly, this was not the case.


I headed down to the boat ramp, wetsuit in hand, ready to take part in my first open water swim, EVER! I was extremely nervous, with many thoughts running through my mind. The one that kept me going though was about Maxwell and his family. 


Let me take a break from the story about my weekend to explain something:
When I joined Team in Training in Spring 2010 to ride my bike around Lake Tahoe, I did so for selfish reasons. I had friends who were into cycling, and in my desire to be able to cycle with them at some point, I signed up for an event where I could become comfortable riding on the road and getting into shape enough to hang with them. 


During the Tahoe ride, I went through many emotions and thoughts. Endurance events are very, very mentally taxing, and even though you may be in the shape of your life, once your mind tells you you are done, it's very hard to keep going. This was the case for me on the last long climb at Lake Tahoe. At mile 80, you begin an 8 mile long climb up to Spooner Junction. That's right - that says an EIGHT mile climb after riding EIGHTY MILES. Mentally I was done. I had spent the last 8 hours on my bike. I was hot. My legs were tired. But then I saw her. Halfway up the climb. She had on her back a sign letting everyone know that she had finished her final chemo treatment that previous Monday. And then it hit me. She was who I was out here for. I made a difference in HER life and then she made one in mine. After crying and hyperventilating because of her strength, courage and determination to finish the Tahoe ride, I sucked it up and finished the ride with my team. I will never know that woman's name. Even if I were to see her again, I couldn't identify her to you, but I do know that she was the only reason I finished that event. 


When I crossed the finish line that day, my first thought was what was next. I promptly signed up for another season with the Team in Training cycle team and completed a metric century in November 2010 in Solvang, California. 


Then I began looking for the next challenge. I selfishly signed up again for another Team in Training event. This time, I chose a triathlon. I wanted to push myself farther than I had before I wanted to get myself into the best shape I have ever been in. Up until last Friday, although I had raised over $4,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, my experience had always been about me. All of that changed last Friday when I heard about Maxwell. 


What I have been doing for the last year is no longer about me and the shape I can get myself into. Each swim stroke I take in the pool, each pedal stroke I take on my bike, each step I take during my runs is now for helping Maxwell and his family. Team in Training does a tremendous job connecting people who are fundraising to the cause. I have met a number of people whose lives who have changed because of selfish people like me. But now, it's different. Now it is even more important to me that I reach my fundraising goal, and in fact EXCEED the goals I have set for myself both in fundraising and training. 


So when I learned how to put my wetsuit on, and finally jumped in the freezing lake on Saturday morning, I did it for Maxwell! Thinking of how what I was doing was impacting someone else's life, I made it through a 0.93 mile swim in frigid water. I can't say that it was done without profanity, but it was done nonetheless! 


After managing to pull myself out of the water, I made a somewhat speedy transition to bike and took off on a very hilly 40K (which is about 24ish miles for those of you not on the metric system). I am very glad that I got to preview the bike course. I think that we rode the course in the worst weather imaginable - pouring rain and strong headwinds - and therefore, even with wanting to throw in the towel halfway back, I know I can complete the bike ride in May.


After the ride we took a very cold shower (not by choice) and waited for the rain to subside - Which it did! The whole team shared a picnic pasta dinner together and had a dance party in the mud. 

After the rain subsided, it was BEAUTIFUL! 

After another night in freezing camping weather (and less than 3 hours sleep thanks to the wild turkeys of Lake San Antonio) (did I mention my irrational fears of wild animals?) We woke up, headed back down to the lake and took off on our 10K run (again, 6.2mi in non-metric terms). Since I had spent most of Saturday with wet hair, and in the freezing cold, I started to feel under the weather and wanted to turn back after the first mile. I started to think of Maxwell again and I didn't have the heart to turn around and quit, no matter how horrible I was starting to feel. 


After three miles, my body finally started to cooperate, and I was able to finish the rest of the run without a single thought of quitting. 


Once the run was finished, I had to book it out of the campground, because my ride's sister had gone into labor and she wanted to make it back before her niece was born. I think we took our tents down in record time and booked it out of the campground! 


So here I sit, two days later, reflecting on my weekend in the wilderness. I am so excited about the triathlon, and even more excited about sharing the last few weeks of training with you guys. I am going to be taking a lot more pictures of the training and the team, so you can see the heroes that are out there training with me day in and day out, making a difference in the lives of people they will probably never know. 


I wanted to say thank you again to everyone who has made donations or participated in a fundraising event over the past few months. I am just over halfway to my fundraising goal, so I still need your help! 
Please visit my personalized donation website at: Fundraising Website!


If you would prefer to donate by sending a check, directions on how to do that are also on my website.


Again, I apologize for such a long blog entry. With everything that I have done over the weekend, as well as all my thoughts about Maxwell and his family, I just wanted to get everything out.

Holy Moses Where Does the Training Time Go?

I cannot believe that it is already half way through March, and less than 2 months to go before the Wildflower triathlon.

I have made some definite headway in my battle with swimming (as I will share later in this post) as well as added some distance to my runs and some hill climbing on my bike rides!

Since it has been way too long since my last post, instead of boring everyone with the Monday-Sunday details of my weeks, I will share the past few weeks by sport (with pictures!).

The (Dreaded) Swim Practices!

The month of February was not particularly kind to those of us who were out in full force to take on swimming at 8:30 in the morning. Over the course of the coldest two weeks, I believe the average temperature in Mill Valley, California (Marin County) was hovering somewhere around 34 degrees.




This is what the pool looked like on February 13, as we arrived for our swim/bike training!




This is our coach Samir explaining what we will be doing for our swim workouts.

 
However, despite the cold weather and somewhat heated pool, we all jumped in together and practiced swimming drills and started to swim sets, which will help us increase our distances as we move through the training.

I have gone from barely being able to swim 25m (which is one length of the pool, not including coming back) to being able to swim a 500m this Sunday without stopping! I am still in awe of the difference a month has made!

After the cold February came rainy March. I now know what it is like to swim in an outdoor pool during a rainstorm. Let's just say at some point it's a lot more comfortable to stay IN the pool!


Rainy March swim at Ignacio Valley College in Novato - you have to sing I'm a Little Teapot if you forget to sign out of practices!

Since the Wildflower Triathlon in May is in open water (which means a lake instead of a pool) and there are no lanes to regulate WHERE people are swimming, Coach Samir had us do a drill on Sunday morning called "The Gauntlet" and yes, it was daunting as it sounds. Basically, we had the whole team line up in two lines on each side of the lane and splash, pull and harass you as you swim down the lane through the gauntlet. This drill is to simulate what the beginning of a triathlon swim will be like, with everyone running into the water and starting their swims in waves. Let's just say this drill was a big awakening for me, and I am very glad they have started warning us what the beginning of my first triathlon will really be like!

 

 

The Gauntlet!

 

So, to sum up the swimming, it has been fun but very challenging. I still feel like swimming is my weakest leg of the three, but I also have to recognize the improvements I have made since I jumped back into the pool seven weeks ago. We were given our wetsuits on Sunday after the workout, which only means open water practices in the San Francisco Bay are starting up soon!

THE BIKE!

Since I have a Century and a Metric Century, as well as training cycles for both under my belt, the bike leg of the triathlon is the one I am least worried about. Or at least I was, until the ride in the Marin Headlands this weekend!


After two seasons with the Team in Training cycle team, I am confident about where I am with my cycling enough to move from "just wanting to finish the bike portion" to "trying to challenge myself on the bike portion to make up for my suckiness on the swimming leg" mentality.


I have been enjoying the sights and company of my teammates, and loving (almost) every minute of our rides!



Tire Changing Clinic




Before the Marin Headlands Death Descent. Seriously the SCARIEST descent down a hill I have ever done. Notice we are still smiling, as we don't know what is coming!





After riding the Headlands, back at the top ready to head back to Mill Valley! That's me on the very left of the picture. Can you see the Bridge in the background? It was such a beautiful ride!



The Run!

So... it's safe to say that every.single.time I have started a program that involved running I have immediately developed shin splints (which are VERY painful if you've had the luck never to experience them). Call it a miracle, blame it on the old lady running shoes (Brooks!), the cross training with swimming and biking but (KNOCK ON WOOD) I have yet to feel the pinge of the running pain!

So, we have already established that swimming is my weakest leg and the biking is probably my strongest leg (if I were to have a strong sport in a triathlon), so that puts the running somewhere in the middle.

Over the course of the past few weeks, we have gone from running 20 minutes to running 4 miles (sometimes on trails in Marin). I just have to put it out there that this is the first time that I have ran 4 miles, straight - WITHOUT WALKING!!- since probably conditioning soccer practices in high school. Breaking the 3 mile wall was such a great obstacle for me to overcome. The best part? I felt like I could run another 4 miles (which is a good thing since Wildflower has a distance of 6mi).

I cannot take sole credit for this however. It has happened through Wednesday nights at Kezar Stadium running laps around the track doing intervals followed by core workouts that always seem to make my butt muscles sore the next day...

Kezar Core Workouts!

Miraculously, despite all the rainy weather we've had lately, it has not once (knock on wood) rained during one of our Wednesday night workouts!

Weekend runs are more for establishing distances and getting my body ready to run SIX miles after swimming for 1500 meters and biking for 25 miles. So, we set off for distances that are the farthest that I've ever run, every week and enjoy what is around us!

That's me in the black in the white hat! Unfortunately, our luck with the rain does not hold true for weekend runs.

 I have really been enjoying the training that I have been doing over the past few months. I feel great, I have more energy and I am more and more convinced that this is the best thing that I have done for myself lately. I have met great people, I am helping to make a difference in lives of the people I have never met and learning more and more about the challenges that I can overcome if I just put my mind to it.

So today, March 15, 2011 I am asking for your help. I have to raise another $1,400 by April 14 to make my minimum fundraising goal. Please take the time to donate today. You are making a difference in the lives of not only myself, but of people you have never met.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/wildtri11/lmodenakur

Thanks for taking the time to read about my adventures. I will make a more conscious effort to post as often as I can about my journey!



Hanging out until next time!

  To donate now, please visit my website at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/wildtri11/lmodenakur



Training... continued

Wow. I cannot believe it is already almost halfway through February! That leaves only 2.5 months to train!

Week 1 of Training (last week) went by in a blur.

Mondays are rest days, which means I get to sleep in until 6:30, work all day then enjoy my evening at home.

Tuesday was my first day swimming which I blogged about. Last Tuesday I went to Golden Gateway Swim and Tennis Club. Since I belong to the Bay Club, I was able to also join Golden Gateway for a small additional monthly fee. I realized at GG that I was probably the only person there who hadn't swam in oh, 15 years. I was very overwhelmed and intimidated. I definitely felt like I was in this thing over my head and over my athletic ability.

After talking to a couple friends who swim, I decided that I would give swimming another chance that Friday at USF.

Wednesday was our first team run workout. We met at Sports Basement in the Presidio and had a gear clinic explaining all the different things we would need for training in the tri as well as race day needs. We followed up the gear clinic with a short run in the dark. That was an adventure!

First Team Run! Look how excited I was!

I skipped the workout on Thursday, as I wasn't feeling well and didn't want to push it too hard too early. This also gave me time to mentally prepare myself for swimming on Friday, which I have to say WENT AWESOME!

Last Friday's swim went so much better than Tuesdays. I felt much more comfortable at USF and have since decided that I will be doing my swim training there. Especially since I can still shower at home! I didn't make it through the entire set that we were given, but I felt a lot better about my swimming, especially once I figured out that if I just slowed down (like in running) I could swim a lot farther and a lot longer than if I just swam as fast as I could to the other end just to get the distance in.

The first team workout weekend was fun! I am sure this will change as the workouts get longer and the weather isn't 70 degrees in February.

Saturday was our Captain's run. We started across the street from my house (Woo hoo!) and did a quick warm up followed by a twenty minute run. It's OK to laugh. I still laugh at the 20 minute runs. It's silly, but as we do the workouts I realize why it's important to start this slow.

Sunday was a bike clinic followed by a short ride from Chrissy fields to the Legion of Honor. Let's just say that Sunday was my come to Jesus day. I have spent the past few months talking about how biking will be my strong sport out of the three, as I have spent the past year doing various cycling events and rides. But holy moly, Sunday's ride gave me a huge reality check. Climbing to the Legion of Honor by Lands End made me realize how not in bike shape I am anymore. It also had me trying to figure out a flatter route back to Sports Basement doing everything I could to avoid Baker Beach Hill. However, after we determined that the best way back was up Baker Beach Hill, I sucked it up and started the return ride back. And guess what, I made it up the hill without stopping. Just another reminder how events like biking are totally mental and that reminding yourself that you can do it is the best way up that hill.

Monday of course was another off day and I spent it re cooperating from the Superbowl party the day before.

Tuesday I went swimming again. I am getting more and more comfortable in the water, which is translating to feeling better about trying to complete the prescribed sets for the training week. I also feel better about swimming pool etiquette and how to split lanes and circle swim with others.

Last night (Wednesday) was our first track workout at Kezar Stadium. I was extremely freaked out about what it was going to entail. I have horrible memories of conditioning practices for soccer at Kezar and I was hoping to avoid the breakdowns regarding running bleachers and suicide drills. However, it was much more pleasant than that. We did a quick 10 minute warm up, then got underway with the training. The goal was to get in as many laps as you could in 12 minutes (aka the Cooper test we used to run every Monday at soccer practice). For the first time, I got in 4.25 laps, which is just a quarter of the track farther than a mile. I was really happy, since I know that I am about a 12-min mile runner on the treadmill, so I was pleased that I could pace myself to the same speed when running on a track. Without an ipod. Which is going to be my biggest challenge/habit to break. After our 12-min drill was a cool down followed by a core workout. I am seriously going to have a six-pack by May 1. (OK maybe not, but a girl can dream about a six-pack and a 10-min mile.)

This morning I switched up the training days and went swimming again so I could swim with a friend. I am starting to actually enjoy swimming. It is still hard, but I can tell that I am making more and more progress as I spend more time in the water. Which is good, since I am going to have to swim a lot farther than a pool length in 2.5 months.

That's in for now. Just taking everything slow and steady. Have a wonderful day!

Treading Water... or in other words, trying not to drown

This morning, at 6:35 am, I had my first reality check. Outdoors. In a "heated" pool.

I seriously cannot swim. Cannot. Swim. This may be a problem. I grew up in a family that sent me to swimming lessons. I can remember spending Tuesday nights at Oceana Pool in Pacifica waiting for my sister to finish her swim lesson, then mine would start right after.

I loved swimming. I even loved the Junior Lifeguard class where I had to jump in with all my clothes on and learn how to use each piece as a life-saving device. Fancy right?

After finishing swimming lessons, I managed to stay out of the pool until high school, where swimming was a 2 week teaching cycle in every P.E. class that you took. Let's just say high school was officially 10 years ago. Which means, the last time I went swimming, for exercise, was OVER 10 years ago (because we all know if you could, you avoided P.E. classes as an upperclassman...).

So fast forward to January 2011. I decide that I really am going to take this triathlon thing seriously. I get my first swimming workout schedule and it looks something like this:

Warm up: 2 minutes
5 minutes of 25s (one pool length)
5 minutes of 75s (three pool lengths)
5 minutes of 100s (four pool lengths)
Cool Down: 2 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 19 Minutes

No sweat I thought. I've been working out for a while. I can do anything for 20 minutes. WRONG.
I think I made it 15 minutes. And that was without even following what the training was. I did a few laps with a kick board, a few laps of breaststroke and a few laps of "holy crap I am going to drown".

I knew swimming was going to be my weakest sport. I've been cycling for basically the past year now, and if I get really tired, worst case scenario is that I can speed walk the run portion. Swimming however, you can't fake. I guess now I know just where I stand with swimming.

I know that I need to equate my first session (however short) in the pool with the first few bike rides I did a year ago. They were hard. I hadn't used those specific muscles in a long time. It's a learning process, which is also why there are months of training before the event.

Let's just say that I will be spending a lot more extra time in the pool... and enlisting the assistance of some private swim help!

The journey continues... and tomorrow - the first coached run (SCARY!)

And so it begins....

So, after much anticipation, the Team in Training Spring 2011 season is officially kicked off! 


Today I headed over to downtown Oakland with numerous other excited people to hear more about what the next few months are going to be like. Let's just put it this way - with six days a week of training, split between swimming, biking and running, I am going to be a very busy (and hopefully in-shape!) girl by May 1, 2011.


Surprisingly though, I am more apprehensive about the fundraising again than I am about getting in a wetsuit and swimming in the San Francisco Bay. In March. Oi! 


As the season gets underway, I will be posting pictures and sharing stories of my team honorees, so you can understand why I will continue training and raising money for people suffering from blood and bone cancers until they find a cure..


If you would like to help in my journey, please find my donation site here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/wildtri11/lmodenakur


If you are apprehensive about donating online, you can contact me at landonmodena@gmail.com and together we can come up with a solution! 


Thank you again for taking the time to follow my journey! I am really looking forward to the next few months. I hope you guys are too! 

Time for New Adventures

A year ago this month, I put together a list of the 10 things I wanted to accomplish in 2010. The usual suspects were on that list - volunteer once a month, become more financially responsible, travel to a new place, be more organized. There were also some not-so-usual suspects on that list - learn a new language, go vegetarian for 30 days, complete a century bike ride.

I cannot say that I accomplished every single goal I set for myself in 2010 - as evidenced that I still cannot speak or remember any Spanish from my four years in high school. However, I did accomplish not eating bacon for THIRTY WHOLE DAYS! Which, if you understand my love of bacon, you will understand why that was such a huge feat.

A year ago this month, I made the best decision for myself that I have ever made. I signed up with Team in Training to get myself ready to ride my first century ride. Through the months that I spent with Team in Training I gained the endurance needed to ride my event, met some great people who have become close friends and gained confidence and strength I never realized I had.

Through the course of three months I went from not being able to ride 10 miles to completing a 100 mile bike ride, around Lake Tahoe, before the sun went down!

Not only did I complete one century ride in 2010, but I also completed a metric century (68ish miles) as a Team in Training Mentor in Solvang, Californa in November.

Fresh off my accomplishment in Solvang, I made the decision that I wanted to branch out even farther. I wanted to push myself even more out of my comfort zone and try to complete a triathlon in 2011.

A triathlon is going to be a major challenge for me, as I think the last time I got in a pool to swim for exercise or do something other than lounging and drinking a fruity cocktail since P.E. class freshman year of high school... (in other words, it's been a LONG time).

In return for whipping my body into swimming, cycling and running shape, I have committed to raising money and awareness for blood and bone cancers. This blog is to take you along my journey in training - the good, the bad, the open water swims in Aquatic Park (I know, I am most scared about those too). I will be including pictures, war stories and of course the stories of the honorees past and present that I have been fortunate enough to meet.

Thank you so much for being here and reading this. Your support helps so much more than you can even imagine.

If you'd like to help in my adventure, click here!