It's been a roller coaster of emotions this week week! We found out last week that the company that puts on the race, Fat Rabbit Racing, has gone out of business and the Fat Rabbit Triathlon is cancelled. Luckily we have several other options, though they aren't as ideal. It was difficult finding a race that offered both Sprint and Olympic distances because not everyone on the team has trained for the same distance. And after investing so much time in training for the Olympic distance, I certainly wasn't going to settle for doing the Sprint distance! We took a vote as a team and we are now doing the Caesar's Creek Triathlon on July 11. It's in Waynesville, Ohio, which is over an hour away so we will most likely have to stay overnight before the race. It's a little disappointing because I'm sure we won't have as many spectators out there but I'm just glad that we were able to find an alternative. For more infomation about the race visit: http://www.hfpracing.com/events/2010/caesar-creek-triathlon-duathlon We now have an extra 2 weeks of training which is not neccessarily a good thing. I'm exhausted from all the training but the extra 2 weeks will hopefully improve my times. My new goal is to just not finish last. :)

I am absolutely overwhelmed right now! Thanks to a post on Facebook yesterday stating that I only had $173 left to reach my fundraising goal, 3 amazing TNT alumni stepped up and pushed me right over my goal! Even though I've been involved with TNT for 6 years now, I continue to be amazed by the amount of support I receive for my personal adventures and for this amazing cause. We are getting so much closer to a cure because of the research made possible by the money raised. We had our Fall season kick-off party last night to welcome the new participants that will be training for the Columbus Marathon, the Nike Women's Marathon (in San Fran.) and the Nation's Triathlon (in DC). One of our honored patients, Leslie Taylor, who is a walk program alumni, spoke about her journey with ALL and her TNT experience. When the training gets tough and I'm exhausted, I have to take a step back and remember the bigger picture. I do this for people like Leslie who is here with us today, living with cancer and she is able to complete marathons. Thank you so much for all of your support. It means the world to me to have so many people in my life that care so much about me to go with me on this crazy journey and support me no matter what. There are less than 6 weeks until race day so be sure to stop back for the training updates and for information about the race!

I've hit a whole new level of exhausted! I think I'm still recovering from my whirlwind week last week and the training just keeps getting more intense. I missed a swim practice so getting back on schedule this week was rough. It's amazing how much you lose when you don't swim more than once a week. It was tough but I got through 1800 yards in just under an hour. Due to my weekend schedule I knew I wasn't going to be able to meet my teammates for the brick workout on Saturday so I did it on my own on Friday. I rode my bike 30 miles (with a strong headwind for a good part of it!), stumbled around for a few minutes and then headed out for 4 miles on foot. This did not go very well. After 30 miles on the bike, my legs were dead. I forced myself to run a mile before taking a walk break. I had very painful shin splints out of nowhere so I had to run and walk to make it home. Saturday wasn't much better but I did hit another milestone! I ran 6 miles without stopping (no walk breaks!). The shins were on fire for the first 3 miles but I stuck with it and it slowly started to feel better. This morning I coached but we just started the fall season (training for the Columbus Marathon and the Nike Women's Marathon) so the miles were really low. It was a great morning for a 2 mile walk. I wish that was all I had to do for the day though! At 3 pm the triathlon team met for a track workout. It's a miracle that I didn't pass out or puke. We had to do sprints which is supposed to help build speed during the longer runs. I don't think it's working and besides, I just want to finish, I'm not worried about how slow I am! Right now my only race day goals (other than finishing) are to not be "that girl" that needs to hang onto a support kayak during the swim and I really want to run the whole 6.2 miles. As I ache all over from the weekend activities, I can't help but doubt myself but I still have 6 weeks to work it out! I'm getting so close to my personal fundraising goal and it means the world to me that I have so many amazing friends and family that support me no matter what I decide to take on!!

All of our TNT participants finished the Cap City 1/2 marathon last weekend! It started to rain about 20 minutes into the race....and then rained until our last walkers were finishing. Luckily it wasn't too cold so 4 hours and 13+ miles in the rain wasn't as bad as it could have been. My training schedule has been a little out of whack because of my work schedule but I'm back on track. I RAN my first 4 mile race on Saturday so that was a huge accomplishment. I've never tried to run a race before so that was exciting. I also did it just a few hours after finishing a huge event at work and about 24 hours after having a table collapse on my legs (long story!). I finished in 45:44. I'm still battling the wind. It seems like the wind picks up every weekend when I'm supposed to do a longer ride! My legs were still tired from work and the race but I was able to finish my brick workout on Sunday. I rode 14 miles (it took an hour because of the dang wind!) and then jumped off the bike, pulled on my running shoes and heading out for a 3 mile run. I got about 15 minutes out and had to take a minute walk break but I was able to run the rest of the way home. Only 7 weeks until the race!!