LIVESTRONG in Montreal

I don't even know where to begin. I guess from the beginning, I have gotten more than I could ever ask for from The Lance Armstrong Foundation's LIVESTRONG programs. I have had the pleasure of going through their LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program as well as their Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment program. I decided that because I had gotten so much out of their programs that I needed to let them know just how much they had done for me. My original plan was to email them but for the life of me I couldn't find an email address so I decided what better way then to really get my point across then to write an old fashioned thank you letter I even included a before and after picture of myself as I had lost 75lbs due to their programs.

Once the letter was received I got an email from their Community Program Manager Jordan Parks telling me how excited they were to receive my letter and that although they get feedback from people through surveys they are all anonymous so they never get to talk to them. They even sent me a package full of amazing LIVESTRONG stuff...

A little while later I got another email from Jordan asking me if I would be their guest at an event in Montreal where they would be officially announcing the Cancer Transitions program. They wanted me to speak at the event and share my story with the audience. I was thrilled on so many levels. I had never been to Montreal, I was going to get to share my story and be able to tell everyone about this fantastic program all at the same time. I was a little nervous because I would be going by myself but I knew it would be fine and be worth it.

So on August 28th, 2012 I flew from Boston to Montreal. It really was a few first for me, my first time in Montreal, my first time taking a cab from the airport (I know shocking), my first time some where that English isn't the primary language and my first time speaking in front of that many people. After riding in the cab for what seemed like eternity we arrived in front of a beautiful hotel.

The Hotel Intercontinental was amazing! It even has a little shopping/dining area withing the hotel which I thought was amazing! After checking in I went and wandered around for a little bit and of course got some lunch. The proved to be some what difficult not really being able to read french despite all the years I took it middle school and high school. Around 3pm Jordan and I met to go over what would be happening that night. The funny thing is that while walking to The Westin Hotel where the event would be held we ran into other people from LIVESTRONG and all of them knew me by name, I was very flattered but also surprised.  Once there I got to go see the space and we did a little run down of how things were going to go. That was when I learned that not only was I speaking but it was going to be in front of 300+ people, Doug Ulman the CEO of LIVESTRONG was going to introducing me and Lance Armstrong was going to be there. Let me tell you if I wasn't nervous before I certainly was after that. We worked everything out for the night and decided to meet back at the Westin at 6:30pm.

I went back to my room and vegged out a little before getting ready and heading over there. I also got to meet Ivy who co-wrote the Cancer Transtions program so that was fun too. Once there we got our tickets and got to just mingle around.

I felt a little out of place cause I didn't really know anyone but at least the food was good and everyone that I did meet happened to be really nice! Then I got to go into the "green room" where I met Doug Ulman so we could talk about what he was going to say when he introduced me so he wouldn't give away too much. Then I met some of the panelists that were going to be on stage. Sarah Cook was one of them who was a pediatric cancer survivor but now she is also big advocate for other pediatric cancer patients and survivors. I also met Gwen Andrews Nacos who is the director and founder of Cedars Cansupport. Both of these ladies were amazing and made me feel right at home! I got to have my picture taken too...

L to R: Jordan, Ivy, Sarah and I (photo provided by asbed.com)

It was great to meet so many people affected by cancer and doing such amazing things with it. I of course also got to meet Lance Armstrong which I have to admit I was thrilled about. I think what he has done (with lots of help from LAF and LIVESTRONG supporters) for cancer survivors is absolutely amazing!

(photo provided by asbed.com)

Then came show time. I have to be honest that I hadn't really prepared a speech so to speak I a really had was bullets of things I wanted to talk about. It is is much easier to share your story cause you know it! Had I written a speech I would have been more than happy to include it. If by some chance there ever happens to be video of it that pops up I will be sure to post it. As I sat waiting I listened to everyone speak. Then Doug took the stage

and started to talk about me at which point I am almost certain I must have turned scarlet red. As I got up to go on stage you have to know the only thought going through my head was, 'Don't trip.' Luckily I did not trip. As I took the podium I was all of a sudden really calm and so I began to speak.

(photo provided by asbed.com)

When I finished Doug gave me a hug and I went back to my seat. And no in case you were all wondering I did not trip coming off the stage either. They invited Cary, Sarah, Lance, Princess Dina and Gwen all up to take their seats on the stage.

The great thing about this panel is all the questions came from the audience. It was a fantastic experience!

After it was the complete opposite than what it was earlier in the night. Everyone knew who I was! I was trying to make my way back to the green room because that's where I thought I was supposed to be. But I kept getting stopped by people. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. The people stopping me were telling me their story and sharing how hearing about me had inspired them and how much they were looking forward to Cancer Transitions. I love that I was able to help some many that in itself was so rewarding! I did finally make it back to the green room where I got to meet Sarah's family who were great as well as a number of other people. Jordan did finally find me and asked if I would join all the LIVESTRONG people back at the hotel. I of course said yes.

After changing I headed down to their hospitality room and was greeted warmly by everyone there. It was fantastic to be able to sit with so many people. I got to talk to all the people who worked at LIVESTRONG and  hear more about what they do and things they are working on. One of the girls Rebekkah had just gone back Austin for a day and then she flew to Montreal for the week and was then flying to Peru (I think I might have gotten that wrong) all to help spread LIVESTRONG all over the world.

It's funny because I know for myself when I think about everyone that works for The Lance Armstrong Foundation you hold them in a higher regard almost celebrity status. It was great to be able to spend this more personal time with them including Lance. It makes you remember that they are all just people too. Doug told me a great story about his daughter learning to swim and hearing about others stories was just so much fun. I ended up going to bed around 2:30 am that night and it was well worth it!

The next day I got some time to explore Montreal. I was able to find what I considered to be "Downtown" Montreal which really just meant I found all the shopping,

four story mall with 4 separate equally large wings

A beautiful Cathedral Church

A fantastic stone sculpture in the park.

This trip to Monteal is one that I will not soon forget. I am so happy that I was able to help so many people touched by cancer as well as help support a program that I truely believe should automatically be part of every cancer patients treatment. As soon as you are done you go right into Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment!

I also can't thank everyone enough at The Lance Armstrong Foundation for everything that they do, for having such fantastic programs through LIVESTRONG and of course for not only giving me this opportunity but also making me feel right at home the whole time!

I'm a Triathlete!

If anyone had asked me last year if I would do a triathlon I would have actually I did laugh out loud and say, "No!" However I was very wrong. What can I say my friend Sara can be very convincing! See she did the Title 9 Women's Sprint Triathlon last year and literally the since the day she did she was saying, "You're doing it next year with me." most of the time I would just roll my eyes at her. But after MONTHS of her persistence I finally agreed to do it. At the same time I decided to use this as my challenge for my Team FD fundraiser. I was hoping I would get to my goal before the triathlon. That began the training process!

We trained for months however neither of had actually registered for the race. I think for me it was because as long as I wasn't registered then I didn't have to actually do it. However I started telling everyone that I was doing it so I think either way it was bound to happen it just wasn't as finalized yet. I finally registered on July 14th. Now mind you this is something that registration opens for in January! Sara wasn't having a great day so she opted to not jinx anything would register tomorrow. Well tomorrow turned into a week later at which point she was kindly told the triathlon was sold out and she was put on the wait list. 

OH MY GOD I AM DOING THIS ALL ALONE! was my first thought I started freaking out slightly a lot. On August 6th we found out that she was in fact not excepted and therefore I really was doing it alone. I had come to terms with that and started to really get myself ready!

Now it is race day! September 9th, 2012 Hopkinton, MA.

Logo belongs to Max Performance

I got into the actual park at about 6:30am however by the time we got to park, get the bike off the car and make sure I have all my bags we were just starting to walk over at 6:50am.

This was the first glimpse I had of any part of the tri as we walked across the dam from the parking lot.

I went through the check in at the transition area getting written all over my arms, hands and legs with sharpie! It was mostly my race number except on my calf where they write your age. Then I went to find a spot in my row to setup my transition area. I have to say I felt pretty prepared for this part, I knew right off the bat that I needed an adapter for the bike rack because since Sara wasn't doing it and I don't have a good bike I borrowed not only her bike but also most of the other gear from her. She told me I would need an adapter. As I was walking a volunteer asked if I needed an adapter I of course said yes and she came with me and got me immediately setup so I was good to go! 

A really cool thing this year was they gave you towel in your race packet that was the perfect size to setup the transition area. I was in the mind frame of minimal. When packing the night before I really thought about what I was actually going to use and that is what I brought. After I had everything setup I went over to the "fence" to talk to all my friends and family before I needed to head out.

I was pretty relaxed, everything was going well...to well. When it was time to get ready for the prerace meeting I discovered that my Garmin was not working. I had no idea what was wrong, it was just frozen so I walked over and handed it to my husband. There was no way I had time to deal with that. Guess I would be timing it with my Sportline watch. I got ready and started to walk out of transition. I didn't get far because I then found my friend Elizabeth who I had only just learned a few days before that she was doing the tri. Then of course we felt we needed to rush out cause we took up time chatting.

Tim the race director gave the prerace talk and then we got into our wave groups (by swim cap color) and started the long painful walk to the boat house where we would get into the water for the start. I say painful because the pavement was hard and bumpy and I wasn't wearing shoes. It was not a good idea to have hurting feet before I even started.

I was completely calm at this point because I knew I could do the swim so I was just chatting with my fellow newbies while the waves started and we waited our turn. As we were waiting Sara came running over to give me my Garmin. She and Lewis had been able to fix it. I was so EXCITED! Now I would have hopefully an accurate time and a map!

Then it was time for all us white caps to get into the water! We only had to wait a minute or two and then...

we were off. The swim seemed to take forever. Every time I looked up to make sure I was going the right way it seemed as though I wasn't passing any buoys. But I kept going, it didn't help that the water was murky cause I got hit and kicked a few times but I finally made it to the end and crossed that first finish mat.

Swim 1/4 mile (Garmin says 1/3 mile): 13:34

Then it was on to my first transition!

There is one thing I learned about the transition from the water to bike is that when setting up your area you should untie your sneakers. That is one thing that really slowed me up. I decided to wear my tie died LIVESTRONG shirt because let's face it without their cancer transitions program and LIVESTRONG at the Y program I would have never gotten to where I am today! I had to sport my support!! 

I was pretty well prepared for everything else thanks to Sara's advice and newbie night! I double checked that I had everything and got out to do the bike...which was my biggest fear. I felt more prepared thanks to the AKP foundation but I was still very nervous!

Transition 1: 4:36

I walked my bike out of the transition area to where we needed to mount our bike and then I was off. I will admit the start even though it was on a hill was not as difficult as I had thought. I was hopefully that was the case for the rest of the course as well.

I had the misfortune mistake of not doing the course before this. Although Sara and I did go drive the course so I would know a little and then I looked at it online with the topography chart so I knew the hardest hill was within the first two miles so as long as I could make it past mile 2 I would be ok. I'm not gonna lie I had to stop twice within those two miles but I did not get off my bike! I made it and continued on. I remembered to refuel at mile 5 so that way I wasn't totally exhausted for the run. There were however quite a few more hills after that and in total I ended up stopping 3 more times in the remaining 8 miles. Once we made it back into the park it was all up hill until right before it ended. As we were riding there were people who were running out for the 5k course. After the 6th person or maybe the 20th (who really knows) told me I was almost there and it was the last hill I decided they were all liars! The hills seemed to never end until that final left turn and then it was downhill. I had made it all the way through!!! Halleluiah!! I could not have been happier to see that dismount sign.

Utter relief on my face right there!

Bike 10 miles: 51:34

I knew I was home free at this point. Make no mistake I still had work to do but I only had 3.1 miles between me and that finish line!

Transition two was a lot easier and quicker. Put the bike back, take my helmet and camel pack off, grab my visor and go!

Transition 2: 1:27

I knew I needed some time for my legs to adjust from riding to running so I had already planned to walk the first five minutes. Well the start was also uphill and who wants to run uphill? Certainly not me! However I walked for longer than 5 minutes because my legs were in pain. They felt as though with one false move I would be having one of those monster muscle spasms! I got to about .75 of the first mile and decided to give a running interval a shot. It wasn't so bad. I continued to to run 30 seconds walk 1:30 intervals, unless it was down hill then the run was a little longer. I made sure to drink Gatorade at the first water stop and I also ate a small balance bar right before  the 1.1 mile mark so that I didn't loose any energy. By almost mile 2 I was feeling good again. But come on with only a little over a mile left who wouldn't feel good?. As I started my run back across the dam I knew I was almost there. I could see the beach and then I checked the time, wow I might actually make it before my goal of 2:10:00.

There were many people who were already done and leaving so I had lots of last minute encouragement as they passed. Then I got across the beach and was met by the first wave of my cheering section; my mom and her friend Roni. I ran from that point on until I crossed the finish line where Sara, her mom Janet, Lewis, my friend Meaghan and her husband Chris were all waiting for and cheering me on.

I DID IT, I AM A TRIATHLETE!! 

Run 5k: 45:38

I was so excited to have crossed that finish line and get my medal! I couldn't believe I had done it! I was greeted by everyone with congratulatory hugs and great jobs. I am pretty sure at some point I started crying but there is no evidence of that! 

 You gotta love their signs too! Sara's was three in one mainly reminding me that I wasn't done yet, until I was actually almost done, HA.

Then my friend Elizabeth found me so of course we had to take a picture together as triathletes with our medals.

After all was done I went over to check my official time and rank. 

I had to take a picture of my posted time with my watch because my official time was exactly (down to the second) the same as my Garmin time which had NEVER happened before, it is always off by seconds or minutes.

Final time: 1:56:47

I am so excited that I was able to complete the triathlon 13:13 faster than my goal! 

There are so many people and organizations that I need to thank I am not even sure where to start. I guess first would be Sara for her constant confidence in me and for pushing me to even do this. Then would be my husband for his constant love and supporting all my training and aspirations! My mom of course for her belief in me and her support. And many other family and friends who were always behind me 100%.

I have to send a huge thank you LIVESTRONG! Their program Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment was what started it all. I learned everything I needed to know to start a healthy me and deal with everything that came after having cancer the "new normal". I was then able to continue that with their LIVESTRONG at the Y program! I support LIVESTRONG 100% and would be happy to help any way I can with any cancer survivor find LIVESTRONG programs near them.

In conjunction to LIVESTRONG I want to thank everyone at the Greendale YMCA who ran my LIVESTRONG at the Y program. You are phenomenal and gave / continue to give me great support. Special thanks to Jenn and Walter for everything during the program and beyond. And Walter for taking the time to check over my inept mountain bike and getting me new tires. Even though I ended up not using it in the race it helped me to train, so I truly appreciate it!

I would like to thank First Descents. I only just learned about this amazing organization this summer but the week I spent white water kayaking changed my out look on life. I realized there was so much I thought I couldn't do and it was because I never tried. I wish every young adult cancer survivor could experience this! I would also like to give a quick Thank you to Brad Reiss and his family for being my largest donor for my team FD fundraising. Your support is phenomenal! I would have sported some Team FD gear as well but I don't have any yet. But when I do you better believe I will be showing it off!

I would also like to thank the AKP foundation. I was able to go on a biking retreat with them in mid august and although it was challenging it also showed me that I had made lots of progress in my cycling abilities. It gave me renewed confidence that I would be able to bike the triathlon after having spent that weekend in Vermont! I have also been approved for a grant to help with a new bike. I am so excited and just goes to show that the future will hold even more unexpected. Thank you again for everything!

and of course I need to thank Max performance, the race directors and volunteers were all absolutely amazing! Everyone was overly helpful, everything was organized to the T. All the course were laid out with volunteers at every turn as well as police to help with high traffic areas. I felt safe the whole time and knew that there was relatively no chance I was going to get lost, miss a turn or veer off course at any point it was phenomenal! So a special thanks to all those involved!

Now who wants to do it with me next year? :)

Everyone Tri's, Try it you'll like it! Week 1

So since I am planning on doing a triathlon exactly a month from today when I saw this as I was going to swim I had to sign up for it.

I also talked my friend Sara into doing it with me because we were supposed to be doing the triathlon together too (that's whole other story). So I went and signed both of us up.

Sara was away the first day of class so I originally wasn't going to go, but then I decided that since I was only busy for half the class that I would go for the second half.

I got there just as everyone was getting ready to get in the water. The teacher Jill put me and another guy in the first lane because we were the only two who hadn't taken the class before and she wanted to watch us swim. I was ok with this because I already knew I was going to be the slowest out of everyone there but hey at least I was there and trying to change my life. So we swam, she taught us a couple of new strokes, catch up stroke, glorified doggy paddle (but actually more difficult). She had a few pointers for me but for the most part had more the say to the guy I was sharing with. At the time I thought to myself well I am either completely hopeless so she is not even wasting her time trying to correct me (you can see the kind of mood I was in when I arrived to class) or I wasn't as bad a swimmer as I think I am. At this moment I am going to go with the second thought, I am trying to be more positive. When all was said and done we swam 1500 meters. Now mind you for the triathlon I am doing I only need to swim 450 meters but hey at least I know I can swim more than that.

The end of the class we got out of the water and did stretching. While we were stretching Jill started telling us about what we were going to be doing during the next class. That we were going to work on water transitions REPEATEDLY to wear what we are going to wear for the triathlon as well as sneakers we didn't mind getting wet.

My first thought was, "Oh no what have I gotten myself into?" then I quickly changed my mind frame. First of all I have absolutely no idea what I am wearing for the triathlon. I am hoping that I will be able to raise enough money to get a first descents tri suit for TeamFD but if not I will have to have a plan B. And then I was thinking about the repeated transitions. I am not entirely sure what that is supposed to accomplish. When I do the triathlon once I am out of the water that is it there is in and out but we will see what the next week holds. 

I have to say I left the class feeling very overwhelmed and I hadn't even done the spin part of the class. I am afraid this is going to be a long four weeks. But hopefully I will get  a lot out of it.

Stay tuned for week 2 for another exciting adventure!