Back in the Saddle Again...

Yes you can take that statement literally. The time has come for me to once again begin training. Finally! Training for what you ask? It's Century time again! A bit of a back story might be helpful here, so be patient.

Exactly one year ago this month I hooked up with an organization called Team In Training (TNT). They are a group of endurance athletes who devote their time and energy to raising funds and awareness for leukemia and other blood diseases. Check out teamintraining.org if you're interested. They train and compete in endurance events such as marathons, triathlons, cross terrain hikes, and century rides (a century is a bike ride that is a minimum of 100 miles-yes at one time). After doing some research and talking to my brother and sister-in-law who rode for TNT a few years ago, I decided that I was up for the challenge. I chose to train for the Century. I had a bike and the desire, but it all turned out to be way more than I expected.

I knew it would be difficult. I mean, I'm a realist. No one can just jump on a bike and ride 100 miles. Oh yeah, did I mention the 100 miles was to be ridden around (and up and down the mountains of) Lake Tahoe? Training started in late February with short 15 milers on cool mornings and graduated to grueling 80 mile days in 90 degree heat. In the course of four months, I went from being tired after 15-20 miles and never wanting to ride again to considering 45 miles as a nice warm-up. Crazy huh? Despite the fact that that I was up as early as 3am on Saturday mornings to make a 530 ride that would last 60, 70+ miles, then drive home practically holding my eyelids open because I was so drained, I look back over the course of training, and then revisit the 100 miler around Tahoe and think: Totally worth every second of pain and fatigue.

So now I'm ready to go again. I've found all the weight I lost during last spring's training season (I think I dropped in the neighborhood of 15-20 pounds). I have a new reason to ride; one of my 6th graders was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is fighting hard everyday to survive. Now I can only hope that things will fall into place again so I can again participate in this absolutely awesome experience.

I want to start a freezing cold June day at 30 degrees, ride the hills and switchbacks Tahoe has to offer, climb Spooner Junction (a 6-mile, 1200 foot climb) and then come back down again at an insane 48 mph. And I want to cross the finish line at the CA/NV border while thousands of people scream and cheer for me. It's like you're a movie star on the red carpet at a movie premier. And most, I want to make a difference so that those who can't ride can at least enjoy life a little bit more.

This amazing group of people dedicated to living life to its fullest made me a believer. I know I made a difference to some family I'll never meet. So once again, I have the bike and the desire. It's time to get back in the saddle again.