Monday, February 12, 2007

The Long Road Ahead

I am proud (and a little bit terrified) to announce that I have made a very big and very important commitment to a cause. As of last Wednesday, February 7th, I am officially a member of the NYC Team in Training Program to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. What does that mean? Over the next 3.5 months I will embark on a vigorous training program in preparation for a 100-mile Century bike ride around Lake Tahoe on June 7th!

Last summer my friend Lauren's father was diagnosed with Leukemia and in an effort to be proactive in her support of him and others like him, she joined the Team in Training program for a Century Ride in Tuscon, Arizona where
collectively all of the Team in Training chapters raised over $2.5 Million for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on that ride alone. This season I have decided to join her in her cause. Lauren and I met each other 10 years ago when we attended The New Jersey Governor's School of the Arts as dancers. Once again we'll slip into some spandex (this time they're padded, although I hope still pink!), and train to cross the finish line in Nevada this coming June.

As a member of TNT I have a personal fund raising goal of $5,000 for Tahoe that I will be asking for your support to meet during my training period. In addition to supporting the cause of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, part of the fund raising for Team in Training goes to support the athletes and help them complete their endurance sporting event of choice. As a part of my cycling team I now have 4 expert coaches with a training plan to whip our team of 60+ into shape for Tahoe. TNT also host clinics throughout the season to familiarize us with the gear, fitness, nutrition, and injury prevention knowledge we'll need to complete the ride, as well as making the necessary arrangements and accommodations needed for us to take part in race day.

Over the next 14 weeks we will train as a team 3 times a week in addition to daily fitness maintenance. I know I'll be grateful to stretch in my yoga classes after 60 mile training rides. This routine involves me participating in a weekly 6am ride in my own Prospect Park (6am! Have you ever seen me in the morning?) as well as group rides throughout the tri-state area as we work our way up in weekly mileage. Half of my team is training for a Century Ride in Montauk, Long Island and the rest of us will continue on to Tahoe. However, the Tahoe contingency will be completing The Montauk Century ride as well. For us this will be just another training ride because it's not only distance but altitude and terrain that we will battle in Nevada this June.

I will be sending more detailed information about how to support me on my ride to all of you friends and family in the near future, but if you're eager to donate, you don't have to wait - you can visit my TNT donation home page now. Wish me luck!

1 comment:

sixstringguitar said...

100 Miles!??!! Holy bejeezus. Way to go, Ill dip in too!