Productive lunch break

Had a productive lunch break today. I was able to (1) mail out some bills and a package at the post office, (2) stop by Bicycles Inc to get new Velox rim tape for my rear wheel, (3) swam 2,000 yards in 43:19.5 at LA Fitness (splits:10:33, 10:53, 10:49, 11:04.5). Not super fast, but a good start on my comeback from traveling/vacation swim training oblivion.

The reason for item (2) was because I actually gotten flat (rear) tires after 3 of my last 4 rides. Luckily, the flats didn't occur during those rides, but instead appeared the next morning. After some careful analysis, I concluded that there wasn't anything wrong with my tire and it seemed unluckily (or very very unlucky) that I would have three bad tubes in a row. A post-mortem of the "holey" tubes showed that all of the punctures occured on the rim side of the tire. Sure enough, the original rim tape inside the tub had failing/failed adhesive and was sliding around in there. Most likely my tubes had rubbed against a rough edge of a spoke point and developed their holes in that manner. Problem (hopefully) solved for $4.50 + tax.

San Diego Workouts

Crazy work commitments, traveling, and a mobile developers conference (Tuesday through Thursday here in San Diego) have kept me off the workout path since last Saturday's Tour de Goatneck ride.

Yesterday, I said "enough is enough" and squeezed in 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer at the hotel gym between the end of the day's conference sessions and heading out to dinner with the team (we went just one block down the Broadway to Ra, a pretty good sushi restaurant). It was short, but pretty intense, so that was good.

Then this morning, before checking out of the hotel and heading out for the last day of the conference, Derek and I went for a run. (He's tapering before doing the San Francisco Marathon this coming Sunday.) We did about 4.8 miles - ran west down Broadway until we hit the waterfront and then followed Harbor Dr north to the airport - then turned around and went back. Did the out-and-back in 46:40 - only a 9:43/mi pace, but any workout is better than no workout.

On another non-workout-related note, the Marriott Courtyard Downtown San Deigo is a pretty interesting hotel. The building used to be a bank and lots of its details remain - the "front desk" has tellers' windows, the entire lobby/restaurant/bar area is what used to be the bank floor, and the basement is labeled the "Safe Deposit" level on the elevator button panel. The gym is located on the Safe Deposit level and the former vault has been turned into a conference - that's one meeting I wouldn't want to be trapped in! :-) Check out the photos if you're interested.

Preparing to Sprint

Getting in my last few workouts before I rest up for Sunday morning's Pioneer Power Sprint tri in at Texas Women's University in Denton.

As promised (to myself) I went to spin class today after two days of slacking off. I was a little late, so I only got in about 35 minutes of cycling, but that's still pretty good. Average heart rate was a solid 156 BPM with a few spikes to the 169 BPM max

We had a new substitute instructor who was very demanding (good) but also insisted on doing very short "jump" intervals (in the saddle for 4 seconds, up out of the saddle for 4 seconds, repeat ad nauseum). DENIED. I really don't know what is the purpose of that move. It just screws up my cadence and hurts my knees. Hillwork is good and flat sprints are good. Not sure why the two need to be mixed with such frequency.

Between spin and the pool, I met another guy at LA Fitness who is also doing the Austin Ironman Longhorn 70.3 in October. Cool. Maybe someone else to join our tri training group.

For the swim, I started with a fast 300 yard swim (about what I'll need to do for Sunday's race) which I completed in 5:15. Not my fastest, but still very good. Afterwards, another 500 yd in 9:18. Again, a solid pace even though it was 20+ seconds off my PR for a set.

Neighborhood Run

Since I had a prior engagement at lunchtime, I couldn't do a long bike ride this morning, so I ran instead. 8.05 miles around my community. The weather was hot (despite starting at 6:45 AM) and my pace was slow. In fact, because of numerous walk-breaks, it took nearly an hour and 21 minutes to finish my run - a 10:01/mile pace. :-P

Hopefully over the next few months I'll be able to get back into running shape ...

This week's workout regimen was unremarkable after Monday's swim:

• Tuesday: 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer
• Wednesday: 45 minutes of an hour-long spin class (yeah, I was late) and then a 1,000 yard swim in 21:39 (splits: 10:52, 10:47)
• Thursday: 33-minutes of a 45-minute spin class (late again) and then another 1,000 yard swim in 21:34 (splits: 10:52, 10:42)

Slow Painful Run

First, the whining: I was tired from getting up early two days in a row, it was windy this morning, my legs are still recovering from yesterday's ride, blah blah blah.

Okay, now that I have that (and my heart rate monitor strap) off my chest, I will return to my normal positive outlook and philosophy - a slow run is still better than no run.

Ran 4.75 miles this morning - just a jog around my neighborhood. Took 44:07 for a 9:17/mi pace. However, I don't think I was really "taking it easy" because my average heart rate was a respectable 158 BPM. So even though my run was pretty slow because of the excuses listed above - and I even had to walk for about 2 minutes after 3 1/2 miles - it still felt good to get in some running.

The training continues.

Better Than Nothing

Workouts in the past few weeks have been sparse due to my vacation, then massive amounts of work at the office (due to both "vacation recovery" and because my boss is leaving the company on Friday!), and (most recently) business travel to our company's headquarters in New Jersey.

So, I'm quite proud of myself that I actually got up early before my flight back to Dallas and hit the Newark Airport Marriott's fitness center. Ran a "5K" on the Life Fitness treadmill - complete with a"virtual nature trail" on the LCD display. Not a very fast run - 26:30 for the 5K- but it'll do as I get back in the groove.

Final TNT Update - Mission Accomplished

I’m so sorry that this update has been late in coming. In between recovering from the race and Galveston trip (a five-hour drive with a one-year-old is not recommended), backlog at work, and finishing my tax return, I’ve finally been able to get a proper THANK YOU message composed.

We did it! On Saturday, March 30, my fellow Teammates and I swam, biked and ran in the Lone Star Triathlon Festival at the Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. While doing so, we also raised over $230,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help find a cure for these devastating diseases.

Personally, I took great satisfaction in being able to complete the 70.3 miles (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run) of the endurance event. My personal goal was to (1) just finish the race and (2) complete it in under 6 hours. Well, I crossed the finish line in 5 hours and 59 minutes (and 1 second) - so mission accomplished.! With your generous donations, I was also able to meet my fundraising goal of $2,600.

A little bit about the trip. My family and I arrived in Galveston on Saturday afternoon after staying in Houston the night before (just trying to break up the trip a little). After picking up my packet and a TNT open-water practice swim in the actual water, we joined TNT that night for a pasta “carbo load” dinner which was capped off with inspiring stories from our TNT staff as well as a great success story from a Hodgkin’s survivor.

Sunday morning, I was up at 4:00 AM and meet the rest of the Team down in the lobby of the Moody Gardens Hotel at 5:00. From there we walked to the race site/transition area about a 1/2 mile away and we each got settled into our respective slots on the racks.

At just after 7:30 (I was in the second swim wave, which left at 7:35), I started the swim. The water wasn’t too rough nor cold, so aside from swallowing a little salt-water (yuck) it went well. I trotted out of the water, got shucked out of my wetsuit and went to the transition area to get ready to ride my bike.

The 56 miles (about 3 hours) of cycling actually went by fairly quickly. With the cold winter weather, I didn’t do much cycling in the off-season so about two-thirds of the way I said to myself, “Wow, this is the furthest I’ve ridden my bike since last fall!” Maybe it was the adrenaline or the moral support as I saw many other TNT members and we shouted words of encouragement to each other, but I felt much better than I thought I would. I also really enjoyed riding on the Galveston Island seawall — seeing and hearing the ocean waves and the seagulls really gave me an inner calm. By the time I returned to the transition area for the final leg of the journey, I couldn’t help but smile at the accomplishments of my team and I, both for this race and our mission.

After re-racking my bike, putting on my running shoes, and hitting the porta-potty (small bladders and 6 hour races don’t mix) I started the half-marathon towards the finish line. Running after nearly four hours of swimming and cycling wasn’t easy, but the spectator-friendly course allowed us to get some cheers and high-fives from our TNT coach and support staff who were just great. Also the running route had multiple U-turns so I got to see Derek, my TNT
mentor, as well as other Teammates up to four times during the run. Both the spectator cheering and our racer-to-racer support really helped keep us going all the way to the finish line.

Thanks again for your interest, words of encouragement and kind donations — it really means a lot to me and a lot to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society staff and beneficiaries.

Best Regards,
-Andy

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Lone Star Triathlon — Team In Training Accomplishments

• TNT had 89 participants (the North Texas chapter had 67 and Gulf Coast chapter had 22) and many family members, support staff and Honored Heroes at the event.

• Together, the North Texas and Gulf Coast chapters raised $231,000 for the cure. (The Dallas
& Fort Worth teams raised $176,800 of this.)

Lone Star Triathlon Festival

Just got back from Galveston late last night. We spent all day Monday visiting the "three pyramids" (Aquarium, Rain Forest, and Discovery Museum) of the Moody Gardens Resort, watching IMAX and "4D" movies, and just walking around the park grounds. Then came back to a mountain of work and emails (after just 1.5 days of vacation!) - grrr. So I am just now getting some time to do my race report.

First of all, the Lone Star Triathlon Festival was a very well run event. Just about everything ran smoothly. The course was very nice and well-supported (well-stocked aid stations). Good post-race refreshments and entertainment. And a very scenic locale in the Moody Gardens.

Sunday morning I got up at 4:00 AM. Felt foolish to be up so early when I could almost see the transition area from my hotel room window. However, since I always need about an hour to wake up/prepare/pack and our TNT team was meeting at 5:30 in the lobby, it was still necessary. I forced myself to eat some energy bars even though I was still quite full from the TNT pasta party (carbo-load!) from the night before.

So right at 5:30, a large group of TNTers (including me and Derek) left the Moody Gardens Hotel and headed over to the transition area, which was only about a quarter mile away. The transition area was very neat and orderly - wide aisles; water station inside the transition area; tons of porta-potties. I've been to races with open racking (first-come, first-served) and races with numbered racks (but still first-come, first-served within those racks). Lone Star took it a bit further: all the slots in each rack were numbered and the numbers were on alternating sides so that people knew which side of the rack to use. Very nice.

At around 6:45 I began the walk to the swim start (about a half mile away). I wanted to get to the dock early to do a warm-up swim in Offatt's Bayou. We had a practice swim on the course on Saturday with TNT and so I knew what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the water seemed even calmer than it was the previous. Probably because it was early morning. I climbed out of the water and was walking back towards the shore, when I ran into Derek, who also wanted to do a warm-up swim. So I decided to jump back into the water for a second time. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that my goggles were still sitting up on my swim cap and they flew off as soon as I hit the water. Oh no! Luckily a fellow racer up on the dock spotted them and directed me to them floating in the water. Disaster averted!

The race/swim started off pretty much on time (my watch said about 7:35 - just a few minutes late from the advertised 7:30 start). Derek's wave (men 30-34 + elites) went first. After seeing him off, I was settling into a pre-race daze when a guy behind me said, "Hey, don't you go to spin class at LA Fitness in Irving?" Too funny. Anyway, Charlie and I had a good conversation both on the dock and while treading water at the swim start buoys before the gun went off for our wave (men 35-39).

My swim went well. The water temperature was perfect - not too cold, but not so warm that the wetsuit would get uncomfortable. The water was fairly calm; having a wave splash water into my mouth during breathing was never an issue. However, there was definitely some current in the water as I did have to course-correct my swimming from time to time. I really need to practice my sighting.

I got a little dizzy (I get motion-sickness fairly easily :-P) during Saturday's practice swim with TNT - partly because of the ever-so-sight waves and partly because I was rotating my head so much to breathe/sight - so I knew to take a Meclizine before getting in the water. And so I felt no dizziness at all after the swim. Yay! I did accidentally take in a big gulp of salt water (yuck!) sometime in the first 10 minutes of the swim. I had visuals of vomiting and/or other stomach ills, but luckily I survived the experience unscathed.

I finished the 1.2 mile swim in about 42 or 43 minutes. After coming up the ramp and out of the water, I jogged up the path, yanking the strap to unzip the back of my wetsuit, and peeling the top part off my chest and shoulders. Near the transition area, there were "wetsuit strippers" at the ready. Lay on your back, feet/legs/butt up in the air and they pull the suit right off you (our TNT coaches had warned us earlier "make sure your tri-shorts are tied tightly or you're going to give every one sometime to talk about ... nudity may only be a 2-minute USAT penalty, but we know in that in life the penalty lasts A LOT longer").

With the 250 yard jog, wetsuit removal, and gargling about 3 cups of water at the swim exit aid station (to get the salt-water taste out of my mouth!) my official swim time was 44:32, which was about what I expected.

The T1 transition was not hurried. I took some time to make sure I didn't miss anything (for example, taking three SaltStick pills) and also to apply a generous amount of BodyGlide on my feet/toes to prevent chaffing on the run (yes, I know that the bike leg is next, but once my socks went on before my bike shoes, I didn't want to have to remove them in T2)

The bike also went well. It was hard to pay a lot of attention to the scenery when I was so focused on keeping a good pace, but I did see a great ocean view with waves and birds while we biked the seawall portion of Route 3005. I kept a 20+ MPH pace for the first loop. I slowed slightly for the second loop probably close to 18 MPH, but I was still able to finish the 56 miles in 2:53:19 (19.4 MPH average). Actually, I might have been even a little faster had I not dropped my water bottle at Mile 15. Not only did I have to stop to retrieve it, I also had to stop at the Mile 24 aid station to get more fluids (my AeroDrink contents were emptied when I laid my bike down to go after the fallen water bottle).

T2 went smoothly and I reracked my bike, switched shoes, eat three more SaltSticks and another AccelGel (I had one in T1 and 4 during the bike) and grabbed my running hat and race belt. (In the possibly TMI department, my T2 time included 30-45 seconds to hit the porta-potty to pee. My time wasn’t going to be fast enough to necessitate “on-bike urination”!)

The run was a great course and VERY well marked-and supported. Definitely a cut above all the local races (Ironhead, Dallas Athletes, PlayTri). I believe there were 6 aid stations (each with water, Gatorade Endurance, Clif Shots, pretzels, defizzed cola, bananas, etc.) and 3 cold-water sponge stations on the course, and you hit each station TWICE (2 loops). The run was about as least painful as 13.1 miles can be at the end of the 70.3!

Notice that I said "least painful" but not painless! It was definitely tough to run a half-marathon after nearly four hours of swimming and cycling. The first half mile was slow as my legs adjusted from the bike to running - I think all that brick work helped. The next mile was a little better and I was even able to settle into a 8:30-9:00/mi pace. However, by the 1,5-mile rest stop, my pace had already started to slow drastically.

I ended up doing run-walk: run between rest stops and walk when I reached the aid stations. Even with the walk breaks, I still averaged a 10:15/mi pace, so I was pleased with that. At each aid station, I would drink a cup of Gatorade Endurance and then some water and dump the rest of the water and/or a fresh cup of water on my head to stay cool. (It was cloudy and overcast for the swim and most of the bike, but during the run the sun came out often and the temperature was rising). Even though I had two AccelGels in my race belt pouch, I never took them - partially because I sort of forgot that I had them, partially because I was just too tired/lazy to reach back and take them out. In hindsight, I wonder if the protein in them would have helped my aching leg muscles and the caffeine might have given me a little more pep in the last half of the run.

Like I said, the run course was essentially 2 out-and-backs for 2 loops, so I actually saw/passed Derek (and our TNT teammate Cy) four times on the course. That was very nice. We exchanged high-fives and words of encouragement with each pass. I also saw a lot of other TNTers - including some during the Olympic/quarter-iron distance. Seeing our teammates and seeing/hearing TNT cheering was definitely inspiring and helped us along on our journey.

As I came back towards the transition area for the final time, I knew the finish line was near and started to pick up my pace (as much as I could - the gas tank was running low). I crosses the gate threshold, smiled for the photographers and received my finisher's medal, water bottle, and cool wet towel for a job well-done.

My final time was 05:59:01 (the photo shows 6:04:01 because my swim wave started 5 minutes after the first gun). My goal was to break 6 hours - so I am very happy about my performance. Other stats: 64th out of 88 finishers in my age group, 219th out of 383 men, and 294th out of 560 overall.

Such a great day and great race. Even the weather cooperated - the forecast was sketchy the week before with possible thunderstorms, but the rain stayed away until about 4:00 PM - an hour or so after everyone had finished the race.

Actually, I slept through the rain. I was SO tired afterwards. After eating some snacks and cheering on other TNT participants, I took a two hour nap and nearly overslept for the TNT “victory party”. Filled up on some fajitas, got my kids ready for bed and then slept again from 9:30-6:30. Felt pretty good the next day – no major pains or anything. A little bit of sunburn on my shoulders, but it’s not too bad – I had put on sunscreen, but I think it may have gotten scraped off when I taking off my wetsuit after the swim.

So, first half-Ironman complete! I'm not sure exactly when I'll do another one, or when I will ever do a full Ironman, but I'm not looking to stop now that I have the first one under my belt.

Full Results: http://www.mychiptime.com/searchevent.php?id=3021

Bike Course Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://pages.andrien.com/LoneStarHalf-IronBike.kml

Run Course Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://pages.andrien.com/LoneStarHalf-IronRun.kml

Partial Ferrous Humanoid

Well, I am now a half-Ironman! My primary goal was (a) to finish, and the secondary goal was to (b) complete it in under 6 hours. I did finish and my time was 5 hours and 59 minutes. So, Mission Accomplished. :-)

I was so tired afterwards. After eating some snacks and cheering on other TNT participants, I took a 2+ hour nap and nearly overslept for the TNT “victory party”. Filled up on some fajitas, got the girls ready for bed and then crashed and slept from 9:30-6:30.

Feel pretty good today – no major pains or anything. A little bit of sunburn on my shoulders, but it’s not too bad – I had put on sunscreen, but I think it may have gotten scraped off when I taking off my wetsuit after the swim (in salt water – bleah). But, overall, all systems go – I’m looking forward to actually enjoying the resort after running around (figuratively and literally) the last few days.

Full race report tomorrow or the day after. I need to pack up and check out of the hotel and then I'm taking my family to the attractions of Moody Gardens today before drving back home tonight.

Training Continues

Friday: 90 minutes on the spin bike at home. Wanted to do 2 hours but didn't have the time nor the motivation. Watched Lost and Leno (yay for TiVo) to keep from being bored out of my mind. :-)

Saturday: Last tough training day. A lot of running.

Almost 10 miles this morning in my neighborhood before taking the kids out for an Easter Egg hunt. Then after a TNT open water swim practice in (chilly - sub-60 degree water) Lake Grapevine (3 short trips: about 1000 yards and 20 minutes total), Derek and I ran 6.5 miles from Oak Grove Park. The second run was tough (and much slower). When we did the second half on the Oak Grove Park trails, we saw some in-line skaters and I was thinking "Hmmm, a pair of Rollerblades would definitely be the easier way to do this."

Morning Run: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5215854 (9.91 miles in 1:25:46 - 8:39/mi pace)

Afternoon Run: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5219352 (6.5 miles in 1:02:11 - 9:33/mi pace)

The TNT open water swim was pretty good but the distance was not as far as I would have liked. If I hadn't had done the third swim with the team captains, it probably would have just been 500 yards of swimming - not enough when I have to go more than 2,000 yards next Sunday. I did get to use my wetsuit, which is great. The new wetsuit definitely is not as tough to get on and off as the previous (too small) one. Spraying some Pam on my legs and shoulders ("Hmmm, do you smell fried chicken?") also helped a lot.

TNT Packet Pickup

No workout today. Went with Derek at lunch time to the Dallas TNT office to do my fundraising account closeout and packet pickup for the upcoming Lone Star Tri. The packet included my tickets to the pasta carbo-load Saturday night before the race and victory party Sunday night after the race, as well as lots of good information (driving directions, weekend schedule, pre-race meeting, etc.)

I also got my running singlet - a very nice Nike DriFit tank (though purple is not really my color) and my new wetsuit (the one I got earlier this month was a little too small and cut into my shoulders - so they ordered me a replacement). And Leah, our TNT tri coordinator, confirmed my reservations at the Moody Gardens resort.

Finally, I ended up raising $2950 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - $350 more than my goal! Thanks everyone for your support of this great cause and organization.

St. Patrick's Day Triathlon

This morning, I completed the Dallas Athletes St. Patrick's Day Sprint Triathlon. The race consisted of a 300 meter pool swim, 12 mile bike, and 5K run on the same course as the Monster Tri back in October.

I finished in 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 59 seconds for 17th out of 52 in the men's 35-39 age group ... and 103rd out of 462 total participants overall. (I think a couple of the times in front of me are flawed, though - two people must have only done one loop of the bike course because they had average speeds of 29.7 and 33.1 MPH)

Here were my times:

• Swim: 5:55 (1:49/100yd pace)
• T1: 1:34
• Bike: 37:41 (19.1 mph average)
• T2: 1:07
• Run: 25:44 (8:18/mi pace)
• TOTAL: 1:11:59

Compared to the Monster Tri (times below), my swim, T1 and bike times were a little faster, T2 was exactly the same, but my run was slower. So, unfortunately, my overall time was 28 seconds slower.

• Swim: 6:02 (1:51/100yd pace)
• T1: 1:39
• Bike: 37:52 (19.0 mph average)
• T2: 1:07
• Run: 24:54 (8:02/mi pace)
• TOTAL: 1:11:31

Full results at http://www.stpatrickstriathlon.com/images/StPattyOverall2008.txt and http://www.stpatrickstriathlon.com/images/StPattyAgeGroup2008.txt.

This was an "official" Team In Training practice tri for all the TNTers heading to the Lavaman (in Hawaii!) and Lonestar tris in the coming weeks. So I saw a lot of fellow teammates before during and after the tri. Also with a lot of my friends doing this event and the out-and-back run course, I was waving and high-fiving people every few minutes on the course - Archie, Don T, and Coach Todd on the way out and Derek and Don on the way back in. (Jarrod and Matt started in a later in the swim so I had already crossed the finish line before they started the run).

After the race, we all met up and had some pancakes, enjoyed the live Irish band, took some photos with our finisher's medals. It was a little chilly in the early morning before the start, but the sun came out and it warmed up nicely.

Although not quite a PR, the St. Patrick's Day Triathlon was still a decent kickoff to "Tri Season 2008". I'm getting psyched for the BIG ONE in only two weeks!

TNT Update - Final Month!

Oh boy, less than one month to go until the big event. The training and fundraising are really picking up steam heading into the final three weeks before the Lone Star Half-Ironman Triathlon (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run). Here’s what’s been going on in the past month.

On February 16, I did the Texas Motor Speedway Duathlon with a few friends from work. It was a “sprint du” consisting of a 2-mile run, 15-mile bike, and another 2-mile run. It was my first multisport race of the new year and quite tough because of very windy conditions around the NASCAR track. My Team in Training mentor, Derek, said that biking in the wind was good practice because the roads around Galveston exhibit similar conditions.

Two Sundays ago, I ran the (Fort Worth) Cowtown Half-Marathon with Derek. We both did really well – in fact, I ran the 13.1 miles in a personal-best 1 hour, 51 minutes. Very happy to cross that finish line. And afterwards we “tagged” cars in various parking garages and lots with LLS flyers – I think we walked/jogged another 3 miles after the race!

This weekend, we’re going to have a TNT practice tri at Joe Pool Lake. It’s going to be a good opportunity for me and the Team to practice our transitions (swim-to-bike, bike-to-run) as we’ll be doing a short race course and repeating it 3+ times. It will also be the first time since last September that I’ve done an open-water swim; I’ll get a chance to try out my new wetsuit (the water temperature in the lake is going to be around 60 degrees – BRRR). And the following Saturday, March 15, we have a sprint triathlon (300 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run) right here in Keller (very convenient :-) It’s an official TNT event, so it’ll be a great opportunity to get the entire Team together for a real race (not just practicing/training).

The middle of March (17th) also marks the Leukemia & Lymphoma fundraising deadline for this event. I’m doing pretty well towards my fundraising goal of $2,600 for the LLS, but am still about $450 short. So if you’d like to donate to this a great cause (see left side-bar) but just never got around to it, it would be great if you could do it soon. If you would like to help, you can contribute to my fundraising account by making a tax-deductible donation via my online account at http://www.active.com/donate/tntntx/Andrien_Wang.

Thanks for your support!

Best Regards,
- Andy

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Facts about Blood Cancers

· Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are cancers that originate in the bone marrow or lymphatic tissue as the result of an acquired genetic injury to the DNA of a single cell, which becomes malignant and multiplies continuously. This abnormal accumulation interferes with the production of healthy blood cells.

· Every five minutes someone new is diagnosed and every 10 minutes someone will lose the fight.

· In the US, blood-related cancers are the leading fatal malignant diseases in young men and women under the age of 35.

· Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age 20.

Progress from Research

· The survival rate for Leukemia has tripled from 14% in 1960 to 46.3% today.

· The five-year survival rate for children with Acute Lymphatic leukemia (ALL) was 4% in 1960 and is 85% today.

· Radiation-induced cures are now possible for patients with early stage Hodgkin’s disease.

· The five-year survival rate for Hodgkin Lymphoma in people under 20 years of age is now 96%.

· The overall five-year survival in patients with Myeloma has shown a modest improvement from 24.5% in 1970 to 32.4% today.

Team In Training Update

(Re)Commitment

Last week was a major milestone as I “recommitted” with my Teammates for the Lonestar Half-Ironman Triathlon (to be held in Galveston, TX on March 30, 2008). In addition to formally meeting the minimum fundraising threshold (thanks for your donations!), this also set into motion the registration for the race, travel arrangements, ordering of wetsuit (the Gulf of Mexico is still cold in March) and other logistics. It’s very exciting, yet a little scary at the same time.

A huge thank you to everyone that has donated — I can’t express how much I appreciate it. With your support, I am already two-thirds of the way to my fundraising goal ($1,700 out of $2,600) for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

If you would like to help, you can contribute to my fundraising account by making a donation via my online account at http://www.active.com/donate/tntntx/Andrien_Wang. Whatever you can contribute matters; however large or small, it all adds up. I greatly appreciate your help and look forward to hearing from you.

By the way, if you know of any friends, relatives or coworkers who would be interested in supporting me and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, feel free to direct them to this post. I welcome support from anyone who’d like help.

Until the next update …

-- Andy

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Quick Facts About Leukemia and Lymphoma

Sixty years ago, there were few effective treatments for children or adults with blood cancer and the survival rate was very low. Today, more than 85 percent of children with acute leukemia and more than 86 percent of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma are cured. Improved therapies have dramatically improved survival rates for most blood cancers, and even patients with diseases resistant to treatment, such as myeloma, are benefiting from new drugs that are increasing the rate and duration of remissions.

Yet more than three quarters of a million people in the United States currently have some form of blood cancer. Every 10 minutes someone dies from a blood cancer; an estimated 52,310 will die from one this year. LLS & TNT are a beacon of help and guidance to those touched by blood cancers.

Lake Benbrook Half-Marathon

I'm very pleased with my performance at the Lake Benbrook Half-Marathon. Unfortunately, I only did about 9.25 miles of the 13.1-mile course, so my official time was "did not finish". So why am I proud of a DNF? Allow me to explain ...

As I slowly heal up from my bout with iliotibial band friction syndrome, the most important thing for me to do (or, rather, not do) is to stop running at the first sign of pain.

Jarrod, Derek and I headed out at a 9:15/mi pace, which was not bad considering the out-and-back course was quite hilly. As we reached the second water stop at the 4.6 mile mark, I noticed that my knee was starting to throb. The pain wasn't too bad, but I had to make a decision. I probably could have continued and made it to the 6.5-mile turnaround point, but instead I turned around and walked back toward the start/finish line.

It was really tough to turn around and see all of the runners still heading out with determination to complete their goal. Saw all of the other runners and a few walkers too heading out to the turnaround. Actually, only a few minutes after I turned around, I got passed by the overall winner (who finished the race in 1:17:38!) After waving to the final walker about 3.5 miles from the start, the walk (over an hour total) got a little lonely. But I resisted the urge to run or even jog - I walked the entire 4.62 miles back to the start. As the lead runners and then the "main competitve pack" (including many Fort Worth Running Club members) passed me, I got to view the race from a different perspective.

In the end, I am really glad I am turned around when I did and that I "stayed the course" by not running on the way back in. Even though I could have jogged to at least the halfway point, if I would have made it that far, my adrenaline/blockheadedness would have kicked in and I would have wanted to run the entire course - knee pain be damned. That could have been disasterous since even walking the entire way back, by about a mile from the end, I could definitely feel my IT band making its presence known.

So I ran almost 5 miles without pain and I avoided further injury. That's about as good a day as I could have. Like I said: pleased ...

Discretion is the better part of valor. Better to "lose this battle" to have a chance to "win the war". Only two months to go until the Galveston Lonestar Half-Ironman tri!

Race results (even though I'm not on them :-P): http://www.clinesrunningcorner.com/benbrookhalfres_08.pdf

Chilly Weekend

Saturday: I think my plan to skip the FWRC run, though disappointing, was the right one. It was very cold and windy today. So instead, I went to LA Fitness and did some running on the treadmill and most (the first 45 minutes) of the 9:15 AM spin class. Over an hour (7 miles and 900 feet of elevation) on threadmill and a solid workout on the bike. Can't complain.

Sunday: Attended the Santa Scurry 5K run in the morning. I couldn't participate in this event because I was watching Kimberly (note to self: buy jogging stroller), but I wanted to meet up with friends from Team-In-Training (my coach, Todd, was "Santa") and the Fort Worth Runners Club and cheer them on. Plus, the venue was only 5 minutes from my house. Derek did well, running a 7:53/mi pace. Cy from TNT was the official winner of the event, finishing in around 21:30 (all the GPS watches said the course was closer to 3.3 miles than 3.1), and Fiona from the FWRC was right behind him for "second place" and the first female. A few other runners (including Fiona) were faster than Cy, but due to missing signage at the turnarounds they ran a lot further than the actual course. This is the first year of the race, I'm sure they'll get the kinks worked out next year.

The weather actually warmed up in the afternoon - probably hit the mid-50s - so I actually rode a bit with my mountain bike around my neighborhood for about an hour with Kimberly in the child carrier in the back. Not a real workout, but it was nice to get moving and enjoy a respite from the cold.

Actually, this week's weather is suppose to be pretty nice with temps in the 60s - maybe even cracking 70 on Wednesday and Friday. I'll have to try to get in some biking or running to take advantage of the warmth. This week's only plan is for some consistent workouts before Christmas vacation.

TNT Transition Clinic

Today was quite busy. After a 10K race in the morning, I only had about an hour to relax at home and then pack up my bike and the rest of my tri/swim gear for a Team In Training clinic on transitions at the Carroll High School Aquatic Center.

They call transitions the "fourth discipline" in triathlons and even though I've done a few tris I know I still have room for improvement in this area. After a "classroom" (if you can call it that since we were in the natatorium lobby) session on how to set up a transition area and other topics, we did some mini (really mini) triathlons with emphasis on the transitions. 200 meter swim in the pool, a 0.5-mile bike around the rear parking lots and a 0.25 mile run in the front parking lot. We did three of these.

The first iteration I got off to a slow start in the pool since I did about 100 meters of (too) fast warm-up before the timed start. Finished the swim in about 3:33 - thought I hit the "LAP" button on my watch but I guess I missed. T1 (swim-to-bike transition) was a little slow, my helmet was turned the wrong direction and the straps weren't laid out. Felt rusty on the bike (it's been 2 weeks since I'd been on it!) and there was a fairly stiff head-wind. Looked down at my bike computer to check my speed - oops, not on yet, need to hit "START". T2 (bike-to-run transition) was better/smoother. A little trouble with the race-belt, but that always happens. About 100 yards into the run: PAIN - major leg cramp in my right calf - OUCH - flashbacks of when it happened in early in the summer during swim-run sessions at North Lake. Stopped to stretch/massage and limped around the parking lot to finish up. Time: 9:55. Coach Todd says "Good Job," but I know better. More stretching and massaging of my calf.

Second iteration: Before jumping back in the pool, I took two SaltStick tablets and gulp some water. No messing around. Coach says we can do a 100 meter swim this time but I still do the full 200 to better compare my times. Finished the swim in 3:23 - faster than the first time but I am the last one out of the pool - everybody else just did 100 meters. T1 was fairly smooth until I got on my bike ... oops, forgot to stick it in low gear. Back into the transition area for a fast T2 and a decent run. I was second to last because of the longer swim, but my time was 9:13. Much better.

Last time: Since I was almost dead last for the second go-round, I didn't have much time to rest before getting back in the water. So the swim was pretty tough but I still finished another 200 meters in 3:28. Everything else went smoothly and with a final sprint for the run, I completed the last nano-tri (too small to be "mini") in 9:14 (just one second slower than the prior one and I actually finished in the middle of the pack).

Things I learned:

1. Practice makes perfect. I need to make a "transition area checklist" to ensure I don't miss anything.

2. It doesn't matter how short/fast the "race" is going to be, I better take some SaltSticks or risk leg cramps. :-(

3. Swim cap and tri-shorts definitely improve my swim times. On Friday, even for my early laps I had trouble going faster than 55 seconds for 50 YARDS. Today, I averaged 52 seconds for 50 METERS. So I'm glad to know that I am definitely handicapping myself during training, which is my plan so that I can have an easier time of it on race day.

4. Regarding nutrition and other things, don't eat/drink/do anything on race day that you haven't tried before. Interesting example: shaving on race day (or the night before) might be a bad idea if the swim is going to be in salt water (like my Galveston Lonestar Tri!)

5. The small amount of time that can be saved by having bike shoes already clipped into the pedals is not worth the danger of getting bare feet/toes injured by bike gear (e.g., near amputation incident in River Cities Tri earlier this summer). Umm, yeah, I will do T1/T2 with bike shoes ON for the foreseeable future.

Mote In Motion

I ran the Fort Worth Runners Club "Mote In Motion" half-marathon today. It was a very nice day and the course was pretty flat - just two places with hills where the Trinity Trail went under (and back up) road crossings. Completed the 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 53 minutes (8:37/mi pace) which is about half a minute faster than the DRC Half. Not too shabby considering that it piggybacked on yesterday's 76.5-mile bike ride. Also encouraging: my average heart rate for today was 166 BPM, compared with 174 BPM for the DRC Half.

Before and after the race, I met the coordinators of the Team In Training Fort Worth Marathon team. They were signing up people for the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and spring events. Something for me to look into next year if I want to do more running. :-)

Plus, the Soy Joy rep was there and giving away boxes of "close to expiration date" bars (she gave me a box of Mango and a box of Raisin Almond).

So I got to run a half-marathon, received a finisher's medal, had some refreshments, and took home 24 Soy Joy bars for an $8 race entry fee (plus $15 FWRC membership fee). Greatness!

MotionBased link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4468441

Denton Turkey Roll

Don and I rode the 71-mile route of the Denton Turkey Roll Bike Rally today. Jarrod was there too but only had time to do the 35-mile route due to family commitments. We arrived at the North Texas Fairgrounds at about 8:00 and picked up our packets and long-sleeved T-shirts. The weather was still a little on the chilly side but was warming up quickly so no armwarmers or overshirts were used even at the beginning of the ride.

There was a pretty good turnout - probably 750-800 riders - due to the nice weather and no other scheduled races with which to compete. Because we were lolly-gagging too much at the car, Don and I got to the starting line a little late and began the ride in the middle-to-back of the pack. We were surrounded by many riders of varying ability so we carefully manuvered towards the front. Along the way, we said hello to some families doing the shorter routes as well as a group of TNT-ers. ("Go Team!", I shouted)

Even with taking it slow in the beginning, Don and I had done 19 miles at the 1:00 hour mark. However, the pace definitely slowed down after that. We hung together until the last rest stop (about 61 miles and 4 1/2 hours into the ride) and Don SAG-ed it back. I ended up doing 76.44 miles (about 7 miles extra - the 71 mile route was probably about 69.5 miles) in almost exactly 5 hours (4 hours and 30 minutes of ride time).

The start of the ride had smooth roads, but FM 455 had a lot of chip-seal. Marion Rd and the route all the way up to Lone Oak Road and Ray Roberts Lake was also fairly smooth. We'll have to see if we can add some of those roads into our "Denton TNT Loop" bike training ride route.

At the 32-mile rest stop in Era (about half-way), we grabbed some barbecue sandwiches before turning south. We didn't realize that as we headed into Bolivar that we had ridden right past Jarrod's house (his mailing address is Sanger so didn't realize that he was so close to the route) - we could have stopped by and said hello. :-)

The entire way from Era to Krum was pretty tough. We had a decent head-wind coming at us from the south and the chip-seal roads were rough. After the last rest stop in Krum, I picked up the pace (didn't want Don to wait too long at the finish) and the road conditions were much improved as I headed back into Denton. Back at the Fairgrounds, we had some delicious hot dogs off the grill and some ice cold water before making the drive back home.

Route map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/kml/episode.kml?episodePkValues=4460522

Additional MotionBased ride info: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4460522

Ride Review:

• Course: 2/5 - mix of good roads and not-so-good ones; Era to Krum was chip-seal and no shoulder; course was well-marked; no traffic control except at the start - riders on their own for the potentially dangerous left turn onto FM 455.


• Rest Stops: 2.5/5 - very limited selection - some bananas and cookies; barbecue sandwhiches at the half-way stop were the lone standout; later stops and the finish line ran out of Gatorade; stops were easy to see from the road


• Logistics: 3/5 - Denton starting line meant that we didn't have to drive too far and 9:00 AM let me sleep in a little more; good web site and follow-up email after registration; no issues with race day packet pick-up - but packet was weak; only $20 for pre-registration; parking at the North Texas Fairgrounds was plentiful and post-race meal of hot dogs


• Overall: 2.5/5 - a pretty bare-bones ride and the route was not the best, but I will probably do it in the future if the weather is nice because it is close and there is an option for a 70+ mile ride at the end of the season

(Half-)Marathon Man

Andy is happy. Very happy.

I ran (and finished) my first half-marathon today - Dallas Running Club's "The Half". The course started at the north end of White Rock Lake and wound through the scenic tree-lined Lakewood neighborhood on the west side of the lake, went over the bridge paralleling Garland Road by the dam, past the Dallas Arboretum and Winfrey Point to finish line at Norbuck Park.

I completed the 13.1 miles in 1:53:21, which is an 8:39/mile pace. I was 603rd out of 2,541 finishers overall and 80th out of 189 in the men's 35-39 age group. It feels good to be in the top 25% for my first half-marathon. Also, my 1:53:21 time was just one minute slower than I ran the 0.7 miles shorter Tour Des Fleurs 20K (12.4 miles in 1:52:19) about 6 weeks ago.

Jarrod and Derek also ran the half-marathon and finished in (sub-)10 min/mi average paces and Don ran the 5K (his first!).

The weather was very nice for running. It was a bit cool in the morning so we all had on long sleeved T-shirts and sweat shirts at the start. However, I warmed up rather quickly and shed my tee before Mile 2. But even by the end of the race it was only in the high 70s which made for almost perfect conditions.

I was actually very hungry before the race. I had eaten a Clif bar on the drive over, but I guess it wasn't enough. Luckily, Leah (our TNT Tri Coordinator) was manning the Team In Training tent at the race and had some bagels and pastries available for a quick noshing. So delicious ...

After a slow start due to a mob of people, I settled into a steady 8:15-8:30 pace. I was surprised and a little worried - my target was 8:45-9:00 - but I felt really good and decide to just go for it. I kept it up pretty well even in the hilly Lakewood neighborhoods, where I was running 7:30-7:45/mi down the hills. It wasn't until I went up the hill near Garland Road at Mile 7.5 when I started to "hit the wall" and my pace slowed appreciably. Luckily, the last five miles of the course just followed along White Rock Lake and was almost completely flat. So even though I was really drained I still kept a 9:15 pace until the finish line.

Here is the elevation chart of the course. You can see where the hills of the Lakewood area started around Mile 3.5 and the steep hill just before Mile 8 and the (relatively flat) remainder of the route on the east side of the lake.

MapMyRace has a good map and elevation chart of the course: http://www.mapmyrace.com/races/DRCHalf2007/

Here were my 5K splits:

• 5K split: 26:28 (8:26/mi pace)
• 10K split: 25:47 (8:15/mi pace)
• 15K split: 26:28 (8:27/mi pace)
• 20K split: 28:52 (9:13/mi pace)
• Finish 0.7 miles: 5:59 (8:38/mi pace)

I was happy that my overall pace was below my target, but I was lucky to have not dropped too much after starting off much too fast.

Here is a chart of my heart rate during the run. It was a pretty steady for the entire run, You can see where I took a longer break at the Mile 8.5 and 11.5 water stops with a push during the last 1.1 miles for a strong finish.

After the race, Derek, Jarrod, Don, and I grabbed burgers and bottled waters (Ozarka was a sponsor of the run) and also picked up some snacks and sodas from the Team In Training booth (being part of the team has its perks :-). We grabbed a picnic table under a shade tree and ate our lunch while reveling in our accomplishment.

Race results -
http://www.runontexas.com/Results/Fall2007/TheHalf2007/TheHalfMenu.htm