First week of training (sort of) is in the books. Bella, my daughter had her third birthday last week, it was my one year anniversary, and Christmas, very busy week to start something such as training for an Ironman. For Bella's birthday, we were going to have a sledding party until we noticed that the high was 24 degrees, we then decided it would be better to just have people at our house. Anyone with kids can tell you what happens when you have a bunch of toddlers in a closed environment in December. I woke up that afternoon from a nap with a sore throat. I decided to ignore it and Monday woke up to training day one.
I was getting very good at waking up at 5 am and biking in the garage. Last time I had ridden my bike trainer in the garage was in the summer and it felt like a sweat lodge. I have to admit that it is kind of nice to ride when it is in the low 20's. In the afternoon, after drinking many cups of coffee, I would do another workout, whether it be swimming or running. Needless to say I had a pretty good routine going. I was beginning to figure out my eating, sleeping and training, getting a good balance. All this time I had that cold lingering. There was one morning when I was running that I actually wondered to myself if this was how people get pneumonia. Friday I had planned to wake up and bike to start the day, but my tonsils hurt so bad I could barely swallow. I was officially sick, too sick to train. I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Even though I was not feeling well, it was still a blessing in disguise to be able to spend the weekend with my family, without any other obligations. In the four days of stubborn training I was able to log a total of 39.9 miles which puts me at a grand total of 198.85 miles. We had our first promotion start in the last couple weeks also. We have been selling Rowdy Bars on the Race for Olivia Website. They are a protein bar company that a friend started. All of the money has been going toward the foundation. There are only six boxes left so order yours today from the website. We had ordered a box and they are already gone. They are not your normal protein bar. They do not have that chalky flavor. They remind me of my favorite candy, Reese's Pieces. With Rowdy Protein Bars on board, we have raised a total of $883.31. We are way ahead of our goal but any amount of money is not enough. Children everywhere need our help so let's keep it going.
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I am currently at 158.95 miles and we are still ahead of our goal with $175. I will probably be over 175 miles within the next two weeks so we need some donations. We have gotten a couple of big commitments for some sponsors, which we are really looking forward to. Janelle is going to be sending out a bunch of the sponsorship packets, so if you are interested let us know and we will send you one.
On October 1st Janelle and I ran the Tahoe Flume Half Marathon. The first four miles were straight uphill, somewhere around 1800 ft of elevation gain. Having been running up Peavine for the past six months, I felt totally prepared. I passed a whole lot of runners on the way up. At the top there was an aid station that had high power water bottles. I squirted a bunch of water straight into the back of my throat and had to wait a minute until the choking stopped. I then had to pass all of the people for a second time. I finished in the top 25 out of 269 people. It was good revenge on the half marathon distance after getting destroyed during the run of the Lake Tahoe Triathlon. Since then, I have really been enjoying the cross training and just running my measly three mile runs every couple days. I am only about six weeks from training all of the time, and the weather should be nice and cold when I start. When I trained for my marathon a couple of years ago, it was during winter. I will remember those days and draw from that experience. Band aids over the nipples, thick underwear, gloves, and hot chocolate are a must. It is probably the best time to get into a solid training plan though because my hours at work are shorter and more conducive for it. Until December 18th, I will be enjoying the warmth of my home and family. Everything is starting to get real. We have booked a cabin in Idaho for our families to stay at the week of the race. I am lucky to have the people in my life that support all of my crazy ideas. It will be fun to spend the week with all of those people and very special to see them along the course. It is not too early for donations. We have $175 which is ahead of our goal now but the miles are going to pick up in six weeks so we would like to have a bigger head start. Go to the Olivia Caldwell Foundation's website and donate to the Race for Olivia to help find a cure for pediatric cancer. It has been one month since the triathlon and I have been enjoying the time I have been able to spend with my family and not having to train as much. I have still been running and logged 15.1 miles in the last week, which put us at a total mileage of 118.98. With the light workload on the training end, Janelle and I have been working on some logistics of getting sponsorships with businesses and are ironing some details out for the fundraising part. We have packets containing all of the sponsorship information, and it can also be obtained through the website. This last week, one of my fellow Marines committed suicide. That night I went on a run and had some good time to think. As I came around the turn at the top of King’s Row overlooking the city, I was reminded of how beautiful life is and how lucky we all are for the amount of time we have on this Earth, even if it is a short time. Brent Bishop was one of the most honorable people, and Marines I had ever met. It is shocking to know that such a strong person and leader was in need of help and didn’t get it. It fires me up when I see people on Facebook doing these challenges to “raise awareness”. Everyone knows that Veterans are struggling with suicide and PTSD. Everyone knows that we need to find a cure for cancer. I believe that these pushup challenges and others like it are lazy attempts to make people feel like they are doing something to help. They didn’t help Staff Sergeant Bishop, they aren’t helping the children that are dying everyday of cancer. Instead of raising awareness, we need to get out in the community and make a difference. Go down to the VA and see what you can do to help, donate money, actually DO something. People need your help in many different ways, and raising awareness simply isn’t enough. That is why I decided to start the Race for Olivia. I looked for my strength’s, I am mentally tough enough to do an Ironman and endure all of the physical pain that will come and this is how I choose to help. I need everyone’s help and support in donating to the Foundation. Please donate now and together we can make a difference in the lives of children everywhere. Donate Now By Clicking Here. After our first week of raising money we are ahead of our dollar per mile goal. We have raised $150 and I have trained a total of 80.78 miles. We hope to keep ahead of the goal, especially since my miles will be fewer in the next couple months until the training plan starts in November. Until then, I will be training for a half marathon in October and doing some cross training to strengthen my body for the beating it is about to endure.
I owe the majority of my mileage so far to the Lake Tahoe Triathlon. I came back to work answering many questions about how the triathlon went and what it felt like. It might be hard for most people to comprehend but I figured I would explain my experience to help people empathize with me over the next year. The 1.2 mile swim started at Sugar Pine Point at 7:00 sharp. This was by far the best part of the whole race. The water was 61 degrees and clear. The buoys were too far away for me to sight so I just followed the other swimmers. After coming out of the water fifth, the real fun started. I was determined to not let Janelle beat me on the 56 mile bike ride (which turned out to be a big mistake). Putting on my bike shoes was a challenge, my feet were so numb from the cold that I couldn’t tell how loose or tight they were. I got geared up and headed out for my ride. I rode from Sugar Pine Point in a mad dash towards Tahoe City. On my way back to Sugar Pine Point I saw Janelle riding through Homewood. It is always a special moment seeing her out on the course during a race. It always reminds me how lucky and proud I am to have her in my life. After passing Sugar Pine Point I knew that it was about to get real, the ride to Camp Richardson and back was nothing but climbing. It was nice that everyone out there was as miserable as I was. Everyone that I passed going up a hill would chat with me for a while. I ended up seeing Janelle for the last time on the bike right after I had made the climb up the dreaded switchbacks by Emerald Bay. After Janelle had passed, my quads couldn’t take it. I had eaten all of my fuel and was short on fluids. They both cramped up at the same time and had me keeled over my handle bars, scooting along with my feet. Somehow I got back in the saddle and gimped to the transition area for the run. Maybe I was low on potassium. My cousin Sara was gracious enough to throw a banana at me while I was putting on my running shoes. I headed out on my 13.1 mile run, eating the banana. Within the first mile of the run my quads cramped and I was kneeling on the ground, punching my thighs and yelling at my legs to work for only two more hours. It seemed to work, I was able to get up and keep running. I got to an aid station where I saw some of Janelle’s friends from work. They gave me some words of encouragement and cheers. I made my way around the first loop on the course and was surprised at all the athletes that were walking. When I made the turn for the second go round of the loop, Janelle’s friends told me she was six minutes in front of me. I tried to catch her, before I fell to my knees again from cramps. I was starting to feel defeated and didn’t think I was going to see Janelle on the run. At a certain point I could see Janelle’s grey jersey through the trees. I told her that I was feeling defeated and was getting desperate to finish. She gave me her usual motivation and I kept going. It was becoming a mental struggle to just keep moving. I was so exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally that one point I would be laughing, the next singing a song to myself, and then crying after that. Was I losing my mind? I finally could hear people cheering and music ahead, I was almost there. I finished strong up the last steep hill to see my family and friends cheering me on. I was so emotional I couldn’t say a word or I would have been bawling. I gathered myself and took Bella down the hill to watch Mommy finish. Seeing her run up the hill was a proud moment in my life. Bella ran to her with excitement. These are the things that my family does for fun. We know that we are fortunate to be able to do these things, especially together and will never take advantage of that. We will carry these emotions during the next year and use them as motivation to help children in need and those who may never get the chance to share these precious moments with their family. Well it is official… I am registered for my first Ironman. I am a little hesitant at the moment not knowing what to expect from the year ahead. A little bit excited, nervous, proud, and unsure. I have never done anything to this extent and will have to really dedicate myself if I am going to see it through.
This week I will start logging my miles even though I am currently tapering for my half ironman distance triathlon that is taking place in Lake Tahoe on Sunday. We are hoping to raise $1 for every mile that I train so keep an eye on the website to track our progress. I am very proud of Janelle for training for the last 6 months and being dedicated with me. After all, it is her fault that I even got started doing these endurance events. When we started dating I would have to run 7 miles just to hang out with her. The website is currently up and we are now open for donations. There are going to be events happening in the community during the next year to help raise money, so be on the lookout. I hope you all join us and follow us on this crazy adventure to help out children who deserve a fighting chance. You can donate any time by clicking here. I am a little less than one month away from signing up for my first and probably only full Ironman Triathlon. I am excited to be raising money for the fight against pediatric cancer. I am not nervous about the race, more of the time commitment and time away from my family. I am currently training for a half ironman distance tri and the training has been a real grind. Spending an hour or two in the garage biking at 10:00 at night is not what I would ideally be doing.
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Eric DyeA blog about my journey as I train for Iron Man to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Archives
September 2017
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