With summer nearly over my racing season didn't turn out as I had hoped. I have only competed in one Olympic triathlon at the Pacific Crest in Sunriver, OR, and our local 4th of July 10k race. Both races didn't turn out as well as I hope, and my times where well below my times of last year. My doctor said that because of my radiation treatments, and the hormone shots I've been receiving it has added some unwanted extra weight that has been a bear to get rid of, and my times have suffered. But not my enthusiasm for the sport.

I have one more 10k run this weekend, and I'm hoping to do a sprint tri in Lincoln City in about a month. I had done this sprint for the past five years, and last year was the first time I missed it. So I hope to get back there this year. I also have signed up to do the Livestrong ride at the end of September in Portland. I have a web site set up and would invite anyone to please donate money to Livestrong to help their fight for cancer. The web site is here.

Yesterday I did my first 40k time trial, which was a lot of fun. It was really interesting to see all of the expensive bikes that people have. Sometimes I get jealous over what some people have, and I ride a modified Trek 2300 that is set up as a triathlon bike. My road bike is a Trek 1000 which I stripped down and rebuilt with new components. It's really is hard to think about parting with the 1000 because it is my baby. I keep trying to tell myself that it's not all about the equipment but about the person behind it, and how well they train their bodies.

After much consideration I've had to modify my racing schedule for this year. With me in a new job, and my wife finishing her first year of Grad school, and the added wrinkle of crazy gas prices, I think I'll have to take it easy, and keep any racing close to home.

So my new schedule:

May 22 MeBeth Hill TT
May 29 MeBeth Hill TT
June 24 Pacific Crest Olympic Tri
July 4 Butte to Butte 10k
July 22 Tri America (possible race)
July 29 Mid Summer Olympic (possible race)
Aug 18 Mary's Peak TT (possible race)
Sept 30 Livestrong ride

It's been quite a while since I've written on my blog. All of my treatments are completed and now it becomes a waiting game to see how all of this worked. I'll get my first blood test in June, but it won't for two years till I know whether or not I'll be cancer free.

In the mean time I've been training and getting ready for my season. I was planning on doing a sprint this weekend but things didn't work out, so it doesn't look like I'll be doing any triathlons before I do Pacific Crest at the end of June. But on Tuesday the local bike shop puts on a 3 mile time trial hill climb. I've been wanting to do this for a few years and yesterday I decided I would do it. There were about forty people who competed, and I started fifth from the last. I knew from the start that I wasn't going to have a great ride, because I started running out of gas before I even hit the hill. I was passed by four of the riders, and I gasped across the line with a time of 19:24. Most people in my age group where doing the in 13-15 minutes. I have my work cut out for me. But the main thing was it was a lot of fun and a great workout.


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2007 Racing Schedule

Here is my tentative schedule for 07:



Races



April 17 Beaver Freezer Sprint

April 29 Eugene Half-Marathon or Cookie Monster Metric 100

June 19 Lebanon Sprint

June 9 Blue Lake Olympic

June 23-24 Pacific Crest half-Ironman

July 4 Butte to Butte 10K run

July 14 Seattle to Portland bike ride

July 29 Mid-Summer Olympic tri

Sept 14 Lincoln City Sprint

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Before Christmas

With Christmas just over a week away, I have always found myself getting into a strange funk. I know that a lot of people tend to get this way. But today I was thinking why is this.



Today here in Eugene, Oregon the weather was cold, but the skies were blue and the sun had been shining all day. Whenever the weather is like this around here in the winter I always try and take advantage of it and get out and go for a bike ride. And as I made my way out the bike trail out to a large wetland, I saw flock after flock of Canadian Geese cruising down to the green, and marshy fields for a bite to eat. It was quite a sight.



I know that it's clichéd but I started thinking about how many times to we forget to look around us, at the little things. But as I was out on the bike it made be think about how many people may miss these things just because they just don't get outside and enjoy life. Being involved in triathlons has made me get outside and enjoy nature. I don't how many times I've been out riding when I realized that, "Hey, I'm twenty miles from home, and I rode all the way here on my own power, and here I am looking at this wonderful view." That's a great feeling.



I think that all of us the get out and exercise all have experienced this. And isn't it sad that there are probably too many that haven't felt this. Maybe that's the real gift that we have to be thankful for. That as runners, cyclist, and triathlete's, that we can get away from the malls, from the traffic, and go out and really enjoy the little things around us while making our bodies, our minds a bit more stronger, a bit more peaceful.



So really in the end, I have no excuses for getting into a funk, and I have no excuses for venturing out and enjoying the season.



Marry Christmas.

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A bit of a ramble

There comes a point where all of the thinking and research must stop, if you want to retain your sanity. That point came to me a few weeks ago. I have been in this sort of holding pattern as I wait for my radiation treatments to begin. So in the meantime I am determined to keep my training up for this coming summer race season. It has my entire focus. I have this fear, as everyone who does endurance sports, that we are somehow going to lose our fitness. That just missing one day means you're going to wake up in morning, and like some kind of weird Twilight Zone you've gained hundred pounds overnight. So I have this fear that when my treatments begin I will slip further away from my workout regiment, and gain back the weight I worked so hard to lose.



I never want to return to how my lifestyle was seven years ago. I would go out of my way avoiding mirrors, or anything that would reflect my image. But that wouldn't disguise the fact that I was simply fat. So when two friends of mine decided that we would do a triathlon together, little did I know where this was heading. I am so glad that I found this sport. I haven't as yet found anything that is so rewarding as competing in triathlons.



Now, I have become somewhat of a freak when it comes to keeping track of my workouts. Everyday I write down what I did, how long it took, how many calories I lost, and more. I love keeping records. I love printing out a month of workouts and see what I did. I love looking at the amount of calories I lost for a given week, or for the month. I love seeing how many miles I put in for the bike, or the run. I think that having my records give that sense of accomplishment. But sometimes I do finding myself getting into a rut doing the same exercises on the same day every week.



But I have found a program that I would like to share with everyone that I have found to be a great addition to my workout regiment. The DVD set from cyclo-zen.com, is produced by Graeme Street, a cyclist and personal trainer who has put together a great program. What I like about this workout is that it utalizes Yoga along with some simple, but intense weights and conditioning routines. And as an added bonus some wonderful audio CD's which Street interviews a sports medicine doctor, a naturopathic physician, and Fred Matheny from roadbikerider.com. The information is great, and I know that I will listen to these again and again. But too is the workout that Street has on the CD's. They cover everything from core strength, and flexibility, something that I really need to work on, to both aerobic and anaerobic endurence. Now, I don't don't work for Graeme Street, but when I do find something that I think really works then I like to tell others about it. So if you're looking for something to mix up your workouts then I highly recommend that you check out this web site.

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Part Two

Since my last post a lot has happened as far as what I'm going to do with my prostate cancer.  After talking to both my oncologist and radiologist I had two choices.  One is to have surgery and have my prostate removed.  The second involves having 25 sessions of radiation and then have a high dose of a radioactive seed implanted directly into my prostate.  I've chosen the ladder. The biggest reason for this choice is that there is a strong possibility that my cancer has spread beyond my prostate and has entered my lymphoid and my bones.  Now, I had scans for both those areas and they both showed up negative.  But because I have such an aggressive type of cancer the odds that the cancer has broken through is around 30 to 40 percent.  More the reason to have the radiation to aggressively attack the cancer that has spread beyond my prostate.

But I have to say that the one thing that has kept my sanity through this thing is my working out and thinking about skiing this winter and next summer's race season.  I truly believe that exercising has helped tremendously, not only physically, but mentally as well.  It is the best and cheapest form of therapy that I’ve found. I also have found it overwhelming the amount of support I’ve had through family and friends.  Many people have sent me emails, or have called.  And the power it has given me to know that there are others who are supporting me, gives a much needed boost of confidence that I will beat this disease.

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