Texas Motor Speedway Duathlon - In the Books!

It was a great day to be up early at the Texas Motor Speedway. Mike Kerber came over at 5:45 (AM!), we loaded up the bikes and drove to the just north of Fort Worth. The temperature was 62 degrees but it was a little windy - which factored big time into how the race played out.

Race Report:

The first run leg was 2 times around a 1 mile loop inside the TMS. It's a big place - and with a 15-25 mile an hour wind at our backs on the backstretch, the middle half of each loop was FAST. I was running at a 7:30 minute/mile pace (at times I have a tough time doing that on the bike). On the front leg, however, it was different story - more like a 9:30 pace. So on the first run, I averaged 8:15 and was feeling good into transition and getting on the bike.

The bike was supposed to be 15 miles and ended up being 16 miles - 3 loops around the outside of the complex. And it seemed like we were with the wind only about 1/3 of the time - how does THAT happen? I got up to 29.5 mph with the wind at my back, averaging about 14 mph into the wind, for an average of 18.5 mph for the bike.

But I guess I must have pushed a little too hard on the bike 'cause the second run leg of two 1 mile loops was significantly slower - I averaged 9:21, over a minute slower than the first run leg. My coach had targeted me at 8:30 the first run leg and 8:15 the second, so I ended up a little over 2 minutes slower than anticipated - 1:30 for the whole race, including transitions. A good start to the first multisport event of the year.

I had a good time, Mike did great and now we'll look forward to the next event - the Dallas Rock N Roll Half Marathon on March 27.

By then my sister Julie will be through with her chemo and hopefully will be able to come cheer us on at the finish line.

We've done great so far with our fundraising - over $5800 so far with no publicity beyond Facebook and  a few emails to friends and family. The NOCC is planning to help spread the word through their chapters nationwide and we will are now working on getting corporate sponsorships - with any luck, my racing singlets and triathlon suits will make me look like a NASCAR driver.

You can donate to the NOCC HERE

You can find out about Ovarian Cancer Signs & Symptoms HERE

Thanks for your support - The positive responses and encouragement keep my legs moving on those tough stretches in a race and keep Julie going through those tough patches during her fight with cancer.

Here's a picture of me and Mike Kerber at the end of the TMS Duathlon:

Texas Motor Speedway Duathlon This Sunday

Coming this week is the first Multisport event of the year, the TMS Duathlon. We'll run 2 miles in around the racetrack, transition to our bikes, ride 15 miles in the surrounding area, then transition back to the run for 2 more miles. It;s a pretty cool venue. The race is put on by Ironhead Race productions (http://www.ironheadrp.com/), and they always put on a good event.

We're well on our way, closing in on 10% of my goal of $50,000 raised for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (www.ovarian.org), So if you know of anyone who'd like to join me in the races, support at the finish line or in a donation, the more the merrier, as we promote the cause - early detection and eradication of Ovarian Cancer.

Because of the race, the training this week isn't too tough, which is good. After the last 2 weeks, I've been fairly sore, as my workouts have upped the intensity level a bit. Good thing for Dr Ron Tribendis, outstanding triathlete and better chiropractor, who gave me a pre-race tune up today.

The more people that I reach out to about my sister's cancer and my fundraising, the more I find out how many lives cancer affects daily. In the last 2 weeks, 2 friends of mine have succumbed after long fights, and another was diagnosed for the second time last week. Not a day goes by that a friend, colleague, or acquaintance  doesn't tell me of a friend or loved one who's had cancer.

But on the good side all the time doctors and researchers are beginning new trials and finding more successful treatments, and people are surviving longer, stronger and healthier. There's more hope for more patients with more kinds of cancer for healthy survivorship than ever before.

I'll be back after the race and now a pause for the cause - Donate to the NOCC  in Julie's honor
HERE and click on the General Donation Button above the picture of the speedy triathlete in the yellow hat!

Over $3000 donated

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to the cause so far!

We're now a little over $3000 and we really haven't gone "viral" yet.

The NOCC is planning on doing some PR to publicize the endeavor, and I'm planning a few things myself, so I feel like we are off to a great start.

In the meantime, I've been working real hard with the folks at the NOCC to create an easy way to log and record the donations from all the generous people who have given to this fine organization in support of Julie's fight against ovarian cancer, and my efforts to raise funds to help their mission.

We now have a dedicated page that tracks and lists the total amount given to the cause and also has a separate scrolling list to acknowledge the donors. We're working on jazzing it  up a little, but the key thing is that every donation made through his page is linked to Julie's fight and my fundraising.

You can access the site to donate HERE.

The next race is the Sunday, February 20th, at the Texas Motor Speedway Duathlon, where we will run 2 miles, bike 15 and run 2 more. It's all done in and around the track at the TMS - so it's a pretty cool venue and should be a pretty fast track.

Hope to see you there!

Today Is World Cancer Day

Today Is World Cancer Day - and we have a crucial opportunity to shine a spotlight on the global impact of cancer and share our support with the 28 million cancer survivors worldwide.
Through the few short weeks I've been trying to get the word out about my efforts on my sister, Julie's, behalf, I've come to find out just how many friends, loved ones, acquaintances and colleagues have had their lives impacted by cancer in it's so many different forms.
As I've mentioned before in my blog here, early detection and early treatment are crucial to long-term survivorship.
But as important are the efforts by the foundations, research facilities, physicians, scientists and therapists of all kinds who are making surviving and long-term survivorship possible and healthy. And always searching for new ways to eradicate cancer or find ways to improve the lot of those who are surviving.
So help celebrate World Cancer Day by celebrating the success we are having, but knowing how much further we have to go. Educate yourselves and your loved ones about the things we can do to live a healthy lifestyle that will help stave off cancer's ravages. 
And find ways to help those who are on the front lines. Put some money toward the battles at the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC - the one I'm supporting for those with Ovarian Cancer), Livestrong or the charity of your choice - every bit helps enormously.
NOCC
Livestrong