Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Race Weekend
It has been three whole weeks since the race and still I am at a loss for words. I honestly didn't expect to have as much fun as I did. It's not even that nothing went wrong or that everything went right, because everything did go right and that made things less stressful. But it's that God definitely went above and beyond for this one!
Friday
I pretty much had not had any rest for about a month before the race. I was always extremely busy and everyday was the same thing- wake up, go, go, go until my head hit the pillow. I had zero time to breathe! So after a very stressful and busy week, heading out to Indio a day early sounded GREAT! We (Mom, Dad, & Grandma) headed out Friday evening and that's when it all started. The drive alone set the mood- dark nights and starry skies, warm wind whipping through the windows, blaring melodies of Bittersweet Symphony, and coasting at a slow 80mph. Once we got to the condo, all I did was lay in bed and make a Race-morning playlist to pump me up, and then I feel asleep. Not so exciting for some, but exactly what this busy body needed.
Saturday
After having to run a few errands, I ate a quick breakfast and headed out to the hotel in La Quinta to meet up with the rest of the team. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I was immediately pumped up. There were few parking spots open and almost every car there had a bike rack- it was triathlon heaven! Waves of people were buzzing around the hotel with all of their gear and I was completely overwhelmed with a sense of 'so, why haven't I done a triathlon yet?'
Our room was awesome and the beds were actually comfortable! As soon as the rest of the team showed up, we gathered downstairs for some lunch and shared our pre-race jitter dreams/nightmares. Some people were dreaming of 20ft waves in the lake, forgetting helmets (which is so against the rules), and getting lost on the bike ride. We all had some good laughs and the coaches assures us newbies that everything would run just fine!
After lunch we headed to pick up our race packets and timing chips. We spent time fastening our race numbers to our bikes and helmets and reviewing rules and regulations, just in case. I must say, we seriously have the best coaches! To ensure we weren't going to freak out, they took us down to the lake so we could get a feel of the place in advance. Now, most people were probably unaware that there was a lake in La Quinta. Yes, even driving right by it, I was unaware it was there. Who hid the lake? After finding the lake, we took a quick dip in the chilly water which definitely helped to clear the nerves for most of us. Besides the mentors and coaches, none of us were too confident about the swim portion. It turned out good though. Nothing to worry about... but drowning I guess.
Mom, Dad, Nicole, Micah, Katelyn, Grandma, and Aunt Kim came out to hang and get a feel for the place as well. We weren't too sure how big the race was going to be, where was the best place to park, or where the race was actually going to start. After figuring out the minor details, we headed back to the hotel for a quick tour and the laying of hands on me and a nice prayer from mom. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't at all nervous. I was way more excited than anything else. There really was nothing to be afraid of!
So Rosie and I were upstairs getting ready and we kept hearing people cheering really loud, which is awkward in a hotel. You would think someone would have come by and shut them up, no? So I peeked out of the door to the lobby below (all rooms overlooked the courtyard in the center... gorgeous). There was a huge soultrain-ish looking line coming out of the banquet room doors. ROSIE THEY'RE CHEERING FOR US!! Like children again, we ran downstairs to have all of the mentors and coaches clap, scream, give high fives, and wave plastic blow up TNT junk at us as we walked through the doors. It was awesome! I felt like I was walking onto the floor of the NBA playoffs as they called my name... minus the lights and music though. But that would have been way cool.
So, you know me and food.- we're tight. I was not afraid to be the first one in line to fill up two plates of food. In my defense one plate was small with only a few cookies. The other one was overflowing but that was the point! I just told everyone that I burn calories really quickly and I needed to make sure I had enough for the race tomorrow... ... =) I don't know if anyone believed me, but it was actually somewhat the truth! During dinner, our team manager had a nice speech and a slideshow for us. All together I believe we had 55 athletes from our team and the Los Angeles team along with all of the mentors and coaches. Triathletes are crazy, most of you probably assumed that already, after all, we swim a good distance, bike and un-Godly amount of miles, and finish it up with a run? Why? Exactly what I was thinking. One of the craziest actually was Audrey Duffy. Audrey was our inspirational speaker for the night and she did exactly that. Just hearing her story brought tears to almost every eye in the room, yes even the boys. She was diagnosed twice with stage 4 Leukemia. I have no idea how anyone would be able to get through the realization that they're about to die... TWICE! And she is alive and well and kickin' and screamin'! She is a firecracker for sure.
After the dinner was a quick awards ceremony in which I got recognition for being the top fundraiser from both teams combined. (I do want to point out that there were 46 of them and 9 of us and we had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place fundraisers. Yes, we rock!) It was awesome not because I won or anything. It was awesome because I was able to hear and see the the reward of helping to keep someone alive, healthy, sane, happy, and pain free! It was really tough and stressful at times trying to think of ways to raise money and wondering why it was so hard for the 200 people I sent letters out to just send back 20 bucks. Don't eat out Friday night. That's it. Once a year, don't eat out. If all 200 people donated their $20, we'd have $4,000 easily. Sigh. But we made it to the goal thanks to all of you who stepped up and allowed God to use you. A special thanks goes out to my top contributors who donated insane amounts of money. I truly hope that you all understand that any amount, big or small, means so much to these victims of blood cancers. They are so sincerely thankful for all of you!
So after the dinner it was time for bed and for once I didn't feel bad for my gluttony and then falling asleep! OH it felt lovely! After packing everything up and laying out our race day gear, Rosie and I headed off to a much anticipated slumber.
Sunday- Race Day
This is where it gets tricky to really express my emotions that morning. My alarm went off and I swear my head bounced off of the pillow and I was immediately awake and dancing around singing Kelly Clarkson's Since You've Been Gone. I actaully do NOT like the song, but for some odd reason I could not get it out of my head. So that was the theme song for the morning. Apparently Mentor Rich loves the song so he enjoyed my uppity entertainment so early in the morning.
Possibly Rosie might have thought I was on drugs. I wouldn't blame her, poor girl. I'm thinking that I was a little too excited. It was 4:45... which again because of the time change that day was really 3:45am. Yes. A little too early to be so awake. Apparently our head coach, Coach Super Sally, was in the room next to us and immediately knew it was me next door. I have the effect on people. What can I say? We turned on some music, danced around the room munching and getting everything together, and headed downstairs to meet up with the team. Nothing exciting to talk about but a TRIATHLON!! So pumped, can't even tell you.
Unfortunately I had been having some foot problems that week. Out of no where on Monday my foot was absolutely killing me. It was painful to even walk so I kept it wrapped and iced all week. Needless to day, I was pretty peeved because that meant I couldn't work out the whole week. Even that morning my foot was killing me. I didn't let it get to me too much though because I already had it made up in my mind that I was going to finish, even if my foot did break off. So I popped a few advil and headed out.
Limping and all, we packed up our cars and headed out. I would say one of the greatest feelings was the drive to the lake- pitch black (my favorite time of day) and music set to max volume cruisin' around knowing that there was nothing in the world that I would have rather been doing. I'm thinking that the only thing that can beat that excitement would be my wedding day. It was amazing.
We pulled up, took a hike to the transition area to set up, and prepared ourselves mentally for the ride of our lives. As we walk into the transition area, there were rows upon rows of racks, which can be pretty tricky when coming into transition. Many people tie a balloon to their spot or chalk the ground at their row so they know where to go. Nope, not me. Why? Because my rack was the very first rack!! I could not have had a better transition area, let me tell ya. I had my iPod all ready with my inspirational/pump me up music but quickly realized that God was on my side! I didn't even need to listen to my mix because the speakers were blaring Coldplay (my favorite) and Bob Marley (another one of my favs). Seriously, things just kept getting better and better.
After setting up, we got inked, which was just our race numbers written on our arms and legs with permanent marker, which rubbed off before the race even started... not so permanent huh? Alonda, Rosie and I figured since we had two hours to kill, we'd stand in the bathroom line. Now it's really important that you "go" before the race, otherwise it can be a little uncomfortable during the race. Luckily I had no problem with that, but air around the line was rather unpleasant and there had to be at least thirty people in front of us and another 15 behind us. So in my attempts to lighten the mood, I began taking pictures with random people and giving them names. Why not right?
Ok so fast forward. We're all ready and in our wetsuits. The first wave has gone and we're lined up to start. The five of us in our particular wave stood die-by-side holding hands as the official counted down.
FIVE!
OMG Ashley what did you get yourself into?
FOUR!
Well, too late, just go for it. Don't forget to breathe.
THREE!
If Audrey, Tony, Rob, Natalie... if they can all make it through chemo and live with the side effects forever, you can make it through a silly triathlon that will be done in three hours!
TWO!
You can do this, Ashley. You can do this. You've been training for five months for this very moment. THIS moment, right now, THIS is it. Make it count!! You didn't almost kill yourself for nothing... so GO!!
BANG!
Ahh I can't see! Stop crying Ashley, you're fogging up your goggles dangit! Be excited but don't be a baby. It's not over yet!
I was an emotional wreck. But I pulled it together and headed out with the masses of purple-capped women into the lake. Of course, we had to swim out to a buoy that headed straight into the sunrise so no one really knew where they were going. Now, it's pretty common for you to get kicked in the face and have women grabbing at your feet. After all, you are swimming with your head down and you can't exactly see where you're going. Fortunately for me, I somehow ended up at the outer edge of the crowd and pretty much swam alone the whole time. My swim time was 25:39, which is way faster than I thought it would be. I was really thinking that I'd be in that water for around 45 minutes. Sweet!! I was in such a daze I was singing songs in my head and just feeling the rhythm, rocking back and forth, being soothed by the steady cadence of my breathing. It was actually pretty darn relaxing considering I was racing! I just kept telling myself that I was half-way finished with the race after the swim. I wasn't at all worried about the bike or the run... just the swim.
I flew out of the water and headed towards transition, peeling off my wetsuit as I ran. I threw on my shoes and helmet and zipped out of the gates. The ride, ah the ride =) It was gorgeous. They looped us twice in a clean flat grid that felt like it was downhill both ways. I was passing a bunch of people until I got into my groove with some legit looking cyclists. It was freaking awesome! I spent the whole time just admiring God's beauty. We rode by an orange grove that smelled like a soap factory. It smelled so good I couldn't help but smile. By the end of the race, my back was aching pretty good (I need to be readjusted to my bike). I was ready to finish this thing! I was ecstatic with a time of 1:07 for the ride.
Unfortunately, as I was coming back into the park, a car wasn't paying attention and started to pull out in front of me. It threw me off and of course, I enter the exit side and everyone is yelling at me that I'm going the wrong way. Luckily a nice TNT fan ran onto the course and lifted the divider for me to ride under. God bless him because I could have been screwed. I made it in and threw on my running shoes and bolted out. The run actually sucked. While I could no longer feel my bum foot because it was still frozen from the swim, I could tell the pain had caused something fishy in my knee. Great. So on top of the run now being partially on sand/dirt, which we really only trained on packed dirt and asphalt, my knee was not agreeing with me. Fortunately for me, I found a nice pace keeping up with some 56 year old man who was actually a pretty cool dude. I kept pace with him the whole was and we chit-chatted to make the time fly by. After my first lap, in attempt to high-five the family from the sidelines, I almost ran through the finishline like an idiot. I got yelled at again by the crowd and it all worked out fine. The last lap was killer! I pushed through it and finished with zero oxygen left in my lungs.
I couldn't breathe partially because I just finished a triathlon but also because I was so emotional. I JUST FINISHED A TRIATHLON!! It was bitterweet for sure. Although I was overwhelmed with all of the hard work, physically and mentally, that I had to endure, I was also overwhelmed by the fact that I have met so many amazing people through it all. I couldn't help but think how boring my Monday nights and Saturday mornings would be without training alongside 25 other people, all together to accomplish the same goal, urging each other on and encouraging each other. Each person was racing for different reasons- some had family members or friends with cancer, some had cancer, some just really needed to overcome weight issues, some just wanted to prove it to themselves that they can conquer anything they put their minds to. And here it comes, my signature phrase, I cried for every person that crossed the finishline. Everyone laughed at me, but I totally did. There's was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, pride, achievement... it's so fulfilling to see everyone triumphant and just stoked to be DONE!
After getting hugs from the fam and taking plenty of pictures, I took a look at the board with all of the times posted and for some reason, I had a 3 next to my name, as in third place. Naawwww. No way. There's no way I could have gotten third place! So we all waited around for a while until they got to announcing my age category at the awards ceremony. Sure enough, "Third place, Ashley Thompson from Fontana, California." Holy Crap!!! I practically ran up there to get my award tile and take my spot on the 3rd place podium. Sally told me I need to make a speech so when it got really quiet and everyone was taking pictures, I took advantage of the moment to publicly thank Team in Training and the wonderful coaches and mentors and managers =) Good times.
We finally packed up our stuff and headed back to the hotel. I made a quick stop at Farmer Boys to hang with the family a little as they ate lunch. I was so happy to have them all there to support me. I snagged Brianna and Taylor and we went back to the hotel to attend our Victory Party... which was barely a party. I was very disappointed in the party aspect, but there was a ton of Mexican food and it was all you can eat. So I ate all that I could possibly eat. After the food, we all hung out at the restaurant in the courtyard because it was free happy hour. Although I only had a few, it was really fun sitting around with the whole team laughing, joking, and getting to know more about them outside of training. It was the perfect and relaxing ending to a very exciting weekend.
I woke up the next morning and drove straight to get an hour and a half massage and well, the rest is history.......
Thanks so much for caring. Thank you for wanting to share in the celebration of a new chapter of my life. I love you all =)
Friday
I pretty much had not had any rest for about a month before the race. I was always extremely busy and everyday was the same thing- wake up, go, go, go until my head hit the pillow. I had zero time to breathe! So after a very stressful and busy week, heading out to Indio a day early sounded GREAT! We (Mom, Dad, & Grandma) headed out Friday evening and that's when it all started. The drive alone set the mood- dark nights and starry skies, warm wind whipping through the windows, blaring melodies of Bittersweet Symphony, and coasting at a slow 80mph. Once we got to the condo, all I did was lay in bed and make a Race-morning playlist to pump me up, and then I feel asleep. Not so exciting for some, but exactly what this busy body needed.
Saturday
After having to run a few errands, I ate a quick breakfast and headed out to the hotel in La Quinta to meet up with the rest of the team. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I was immediately pumped up. There were few parking spots open and almost every car there had a bike rack- it was triathlon heaven! Waves of people were buzzing around the hotel with all of their gear and I was completely overwhelmed with a sense of 'so, why haven't I done a triathlon yet?'
Our room was awesome and the beds were actually comfortable! As soon as the rest of the team showed up, we gathered downstairs for some lunch and shared our pre-race jitter dreams/nightmares. Some people were dreaming of 20ft waves in the lake, forgetting helmets (which is so against the rules), and getting lost on the bike ride. We all had some good laughs and the coaches assures us newbies that everything would run just fine!
After lunch we headed to pick up our race packets and timing chips. We spent time fastening our race numbers to our bikes and helmets and reviewing rules and regulations, just in case. I must say, we seriously have the best coaches! To ensure we weren't going to freak out, they took us down to the lake so we could get a feel of the place in advance. Now, most people were probably unaware that there was a lake in La Quinta. Yes, even driving right by it, I was unaware it was there. Who hid the lake? After finding the lake, we took a quick dip in the chilly water which definitely helped to clear the nerves for most of us. Besides the mentors and coaches, none of us were too confident about the swim portion. It turned out good though. Nothing to worry about... but drowning I guess.
Mom, Dad, Nicole, Micah, Katelyn, Grandma, and Aunt Kim came out to hang and get a feel for the place as well. We weren't too sure how big the race was going to be, where was the best place to park, or where the race was actually going to start. After figuring out the minor details, we headed back to the hotel for a quick tour and the laying of hands on me and a nice prayer from mom. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't at all nervous. I was way more excited than anything else. There really was nothing to be afraid of!
So Rosie and I were upstairs getting ready and we kept hearing people cheering really loud, which is awkward in a hotel. You would think someone would have come by and shut them up, no? So I peeked out of the door to the lobby below (all rooms overlooked the courtyard in the center... gorgeous). There was a huge soultrain-ish looking line coming out of the banquet room doors. ROSIE THEY'RE CHEERING FOR US!! Like children again, we ran downstairs to have all of the mentors and coaches clap, scream, give high fives, and wave plastic blow up TNT junk at us as we walked through the doors. It was awesome! I felt like I was walking onto the floor of the NBA playoffs as they called my name... minus the lights and music though. But that would have been way cool.
So, you know me and food.- we're tight. I was not afraid to be the first one in line to fill up two plates of food. In my defense one plate was small with only a few cookies. The other one was overflowing but that was the point! I just told everyone that I burn calories really quickly and I needed to make sure I had enough for the race tomorrow... ... =) I don't know if anyone believed me, but it was actually somewhat the truth! During dinner, our team manager had a nice speech and a slideshow for us. All together I believe we had 55 athletes from our team and the Los Angeles team along with all of the mentors and coaches. Triathletes are crazy, most of you probably assumed that already, after all, we swim a good distance, bike and un-Godly amount of miles, and finish it up with a run? Why? Exactly what I was thinking. One of the craziest actually was Audrey Duffy. Audrey was our inspirational speaker for the night and she did exactly that. Just hearing her story brought tears to almost every eye in the room, yes even the boys. She was diagnosed twice with stage 4 Leukemia. I have no idea how anyone would be able to get through the realization that they're about to die... TWICE! And she is alive and well and kickin' and screamin'! She is a firecracker for sure.
After the dinner was a quick awards ceremony in which I got recognition for being the top fundraiser from both teams combined. (I do want to point out that there were 46 of them and 9 of us and we had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place fundraisers. Yes, we rock!) It was awesome not because I won or anything. It was awesome because I was able to hear and see the the reward of helping to keep someone alive, healthy, sane, happy, and pain free! It was really tough and stressful at times trying to think of ways to raise money and wondering why it was so hard for the 200 people I sent letters out to just send back 20 bucks. Don't eat out Friday night. That's it. Once a year, don't eat out. If all 200 people donated their $20, we'd have $4,000 easily. Sigh. But we made it to the goal thanks to all of you who stepped up and allowed God to use you. A special thanks goes out to my top contributors who donated insane amounts of money. I truly hope that you all understand that any amount, big or small, means so much to these victims of blood cancers. They are so sincerely thankful for all of you!
So after the dinner it was time for bed and for once I didn't feel bad for my gluttony and then falling asleep! OH it felt lovely! After packing everything up and laying out our race day gear, Rosie and I headed off to a much anticipated slumber.
Sunday- Race Day
This is where it gets tricky to really express my emotions that morning. My alarm went off and I swear my head bounced off of the pillow and I was immediately awake and dancing around singing Kelly Clarkson's Since You've Been Gone. I actaully do NOT like the song, but for some odd reason I could not get it out of my head. So that was the theme song for the morning. Apparently Mentor Rich loves the song so he enjoyed my uppity entertainment so early in the morning.
Possibly Rosie might have thought I was on drugs. I wouldn't blame her, poor girl. I'm thinking that I was a little too excited. It was 4:45... which again because of the time change that day was really 3:45am. Yes. A little too early to be so awake. Apparently our head coach, Coach Super Sally, was in the room next to us and immediately knew it was me next door. I have the effect on people. What can I say? We turned on some music, danced around the room munching and getting everything together, and headed downstairs to meet up with the team. Nothing exciting to talk about but a TRIATHLON!! So pumped, can't even tell you.
Unfortunately I had been having some foot problems that week. Out of no where on Monday my foot was absolutely killing me. It was painful to even walk so I kept it wrapped and iced all week. Needless to day, I was pretty peeved because that meant I couldn't work out the whole week. Even that morning my foot was killing me. I didn't let it get to me too much though because I already had it made up in my mind that I was going to finish, even if my foot did break off. So I popped a few advil and headed out.
Limping and all, we packed up our cars and headed out. I would say one of the greatest feelings was the drive to the lake- pitch black (my favorite time of day) and music set to max volume cruisin' around knowing that there was nothing in the world that I would have rather been doing. I'm thinking that the only thing that can beat that excitement would be my wedding day. It was amazing.
We pulled up, took a hike to the transition area to set up, and prepared ourselves mentally for the ride of our lives. As we walk into the transition area, there were rows upon rows of racks, which can be pretty tricky when coming into transition. Many people tie a balloon to their spot or chalk the ground at their row so they know where to go. Nope, not me. Why? Because my rack was the very first rack!! I could not have had a better transition area, let me tell ya. I had my iPod all ready with my inspirational/pump me up music but quickly realized that God was on my side! I didn't even need to listen to my mix because the speakers were blaring Coldplay (my favorite) and Bob Marley (another one of my favs). Seriously, things just kept getting better and better.
After setting up, we got inked, which was just our race numbers written on our arms and legs with permanent marker, which rubbed off before the race even started... not so permanent huh? Alonda, Rosie and I figured since we had two hours to kill, we'd stand in the bathroom line. Now it's really important that you "go" before the race, otherwise it can be a little uncomfortable during the race. Luckily I had no problem with that, but air around the line was rather unpleasant and there had to be at least thirty people in front of us and another 15 behind us. So in my attempts to lighten the mood, I began taking pictures with random people and giving them names. Why not right?
Ok so fast forward. We're all ready and in our wetsuits. The first wave has gone and we're lined up to start. The five of us in our particular wave stood die-by-side holding hands as the official counted down.
FIVE!
OMG Ashley what did you get yourself into?
FOUR!
Well, too late, just go for it. Don't forget to breathe.
THREE!
If Audrey, Tony, Rob, Natalie... if they can all make it through chemo and live with the side effects forever, you can make it through a silly triathlon that will be done in three hours!
TWO!
You can do this, Ashley. You can do this. You've been training for five months for this very moment. THIS moment, right now, THIS is it. Make it count!! You didn't almost kill yourself for nothing... so GO!!
BANG!
Ahh I can't see! Stop crying Ashley, you're fogging up your goggles dangit! Be excited but don't be a baby. It's not over yet!
I was an emotional wreck. But I pulled it together and headed out with the masses of purple-capped women into the lake. Of course, we had to swim out to a buoy that headed straight into the sunrise so no one really knew where they were going. Now, it's pretty common for you to get kicked in the face and have women grabbing at your feet. After all, you are swimming with your head down and you can't exactly see where you're going. Fortunately for me, I somehow ended up at the outer edge of the crowd and pretty much swam alone the whole time. My swim time was 25:39, which is way faster than I thought it would be. I was really thinking that I'd be in that water for around 45 minutes. Sweet!! I was in such a daze I was singing songs in my head and just feeling the rhythm, rocking back and forth, being soothed by the steady cadence of my breathing. It was actually pretty darn relaxing considering I was racing! I just kept telling myself that I was half-way finished with the race after the swim. I wasn't at all worried about the bike or the run... just the swim.
I flew out of the water and headed towards transition, peeling off my wetsuit as I ran. I threw on my shoes and helmet and zipped out of the gates. The ride, ah the ride =) It was gorgeous. They looped us twice in a clean flat grid that felt like it was downhill both ways. I was passing a bunch of people until I got into my groove with some legit looking cyclists. It was freaking awesome! I spent the whole time just admiring God's beauty. We rode by an orange grove that smelled like a soap factory. It smelled so good I couldn't help but smile. By the end of the race, my back was aching pretty good (I need to be readjusted to my bike). I was ready to finish this thing! I was ecstatic with a time of 1:07 for the ride.
Unfortunately, as I was coming back into the park, a car wasn't paying attention and started to pull out in front of me. It threw me off and of course, I enter the exit side and everyone is yelling at me that I'm going the wrong way. Luckily a nice TNT fan ran onto the course and lifted the divider for me to ride under. God bless him because I could have been screwed. I made it in and threw on my running shoes and bolted out. The run actually sucked. While I could no longer feel my bum foot because it was still frozen from the swim, I could tell the pain had caused something fishy in my knee. Great. So on top of the run now being partially on sand/dirt, which we really only trained on packed dirt and asphalt, my knee was not agreeing with me. Fortunately for me, I found a nice pace keeping up with some 56 year old man who was actually a pretty cool dude. I kept pace with him the whole was and we chit-chatted to make the time fly by. After my first lap, in attempt to high-five the family from the sidelines, I almost ran through the finishline like an idiot. I got yelled at again by the crowd and it all worked out fine. The last lap was killer! I pushed through it and finished with zero oxygen left in my lungs.
I couldn't breathe partially because I just finished a triathlon but also because I was so emotional. I JUST FINISHED A TRIATHLON!! It was bitterweet for sure. Although I was overwhelmed with all of the hard work, physically and mentally, that I had to endure, I was also overwhelmed by the fact that I have met so many amazing people through it all. I couldn't help but think how boring my Monday nights and Saturday mornings would be without training alongside 25 other people, all together to accomplish the same goal, urging each other on and encouraging each other. Each person was racing for different reasons- some had family members or friends with cancer, some had cancer, some just really needed to overcome weight issues, some just wanted to prove it to themselves that they can conquer anything they put their minds to. And here it comes, my signature phrase, I cried for every person that crossed the finishline. Everyone laughed at me, but I totally did. There's was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, pride, achievement... it's so fulfilling to see everyone triumphant and just stoked to be DONE!
After getting hugs from the fam and taking plenty of pictures, I took a look at the board with all of the times posted and for some reason, I had a 3 next to my name, as in third place. Naawwww. No way. There's no way I could have gotten third place! So we all waited around for a while until they got to announcing my age category at the awards ceremony. Sure enough, "Third place, Ashley Thompson from Fontana, California." Holy Crap!!! I practically ran up there to get my award tile and take my spot on the 3rd place podium. Sally told me I need to make a speech so when it got really quiet and everyone was taking pictures, I took advantage of the moment to publicly thank Team in Training and the wonderful coaches and mentors and managers =) Good times.
We finally packed up our stuff and headed back to the hotel. I made a quick stop at Farmer Boys to hang with the family a little as they ate lunch. I was so happy to have them all there to support me. I snagged Brianna and Taylor and we went back to the hotel to attend our Victory Party... which was barely a party. I was very disappointed in the party aspect, but there was a ton of Mexican food and it was all you can eat. So I ate all that I could possibly eat. After the food, we all hung out at the restaurant in the courtyard because it was free happy hour. Although I only had a few, it was really fun sitting around with the whole team laughing, joking, and getting to know more about them outside of training. It was the perfect and relaxing ending to a very exciting weekend.
I woke up the next morning and drove straight to get an hour and a half massage and well, the rest is history.......
Thanks so much for caring. Thank you for wanting to share in the celebration of a new chapter of my life. I love you all =)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Gleevec
What in the world is GLEEVEC you ask? In short, gleevec is what is currently being called the wonder drug because it typically adds 5-10 years to the patient's life. Gleevec is used mainly for CML (chonic myelogenous leukemia) and gastrointenstinal stromal tumors (GIST). Researchers are currently testing the drug on other forms of cancer such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, etc.
OK so what's the big deal? According to Coach Sally, Gleevec was funded by the Orange County/Inland Empire chapter of Team in Training!!! THIS is the research your money is going to. If you have donated, you have surely contributed to another birthday, enother meal, another walk in the park for people with CML and GIST.
So from the bottom of my heart.... thank you!
OK so what's the big deal? According to Coach Sally, Gleevec was funded by the Orange County/Inland Empire chapter of Team in Training!!! THIS is the research your money is going to. If you have donated, you have surely contributed to another birthday, enother meal, another walk in the park for people with CML and GIST.
So from the bottom of my heart.... thank you!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
HIGHLIGHTS
I've been training for 10 weeks now and I'm loving every minute of it! Here are a few memorable moments over the last ten weeks:
11.29.08: NEW BIKE!
My (dad's) mountain bike just wasn't cutting it. I never realized how slow mountain bikes were and how much of a difference the type of bike really makes. When I started, I had a very hard time keeping up on the flat roads. Now that I have my bike (and quite a few miles under my belt) I'm at the front of the pack, even on hills!
My (dad's) mountain bike just wasn't cutting it. I never realized how slow mountain bikes were and how much of a difference the type of bike really makes. When I started, I had a very hard time keeping up on the flat roads. Now that I have my bike (and quite a few miles under my belt) I'm at the front of the pack, even on hills!
here's what I rode before:
here's what I ride now:
BIG difference! I'd say the mountain bike has to weigh somewhere around 40lbs (I could be slightly off, but it's a heavy beast). My bike weighs about 20lbs! That 20lbs makes a HUGE difference. What I like most about my bike (besides the fact that it's mine and it's NOT a mountain bike) is the clip in shoes. It's a completely different ride and somewhat dangerous in fact. I mean, if you fall, you just tip right over because you're feet are stuck! It takes some getting used to, that's for sure. I took a spill my first day out. I did good, riding a whole hour and a half but as I pulled up to the curb at home, there I went! Luckily my bike only suffered a minor scratch to the seat: 
Here's how it works. The pedals look like this:
And the shoes look like this:
And on the bottom of the shoe it clips onto the pedals as shown below...
(Just thought someone, probably my sister, would be curious)12.06.08: All TEAM Winter Blast!
TNT took over Irvine for our Saturday practice. We met up with the cycling team, the marathon team, half marathon team, and the alumni team. All together there had to be around 100 people running and biking around town. We went out for a 20ish mile ride and came back for a 30minute run, all the while wearing my homemade TNT Santa hat. =) This is Mike and Rebecca Emelo (brother and sister, not a couple!). We took three pictures and Mike couldn't get his face to act right. So this is his best shot. He's a cutie in real life, don't let the goofy smirk fool ya.
We were everywhere! Around every corner was another teammate with a cheerful "GO TEAM!" Back at the base (the park where we all met up) was a few tents with different fundraising sales, tons of food, and best of all, 10 massage tables! One of the local schools came out to get their volunteer hours and offered free ten minute massages to anyone and everyone... I had two ;-) We had a guest appearance by our new mascot. The TNT bear? Mentor Joe is typically quiet, introverted, and rather reserved but sometimes... sometimes the guy gets a little crazy and does or says some pretty hilarious things. So here's Joe dressed as our TNT bear with Mentor Rich (and some other pics):
Changing tires makes me crazy!!
And here's a pic of our honorary teammate, Ilana...
TNT took over Irvine for our Saturday practice. We met up with the cycling team, the marathon team, half marathon team, and the alumni team. All together there had to be around 100 people running and biking around town. We went out for a 20ish mile ride and came back for a 30minute run, all the while wearing my homemade TNT Santa hat. =) This is Mike and Rebecca Emelo (brother and sister, not a couple!). We took three pictures and Mike couldn't get his face to act right. So this is his best shot. He's a cutie in real life, don't let the goofy smirk fool ya.
We were everywhere! Around every corner was another teammate with a cheerful "GO TEAM!" Back at the base (the park where we all met up) was a few tents with different fundraising sales, tons of food, and best of all, 10 massage tables! One of the local schools came out to get their volunteer hours and offered free ten minute massages to anyone and everyone... I had two ;-) We had a guest appearance by our new mascot. The TNT bear? Mentor Joe is typically quiet, introverted, and rather reserved but sometimes... sometimes the guy gets a little crazy and does or says some pretty hilarious things. So here's Joe dressed as our TNT bear with Mentor Rich (and some other pics):
Changing tires makes me crazy!!
And here's a pic of our honorary teammate, Ilana...
12.20.08: Christmas BBQ/Practice/Ugly Sweater Contest.
It was a great practice! We met up in Santiago Canyon and went over transitions before we began. Believe it or not, transitions are a BIG deal! It's said to be the 4th sport in a TRIathlon. it makes sense though. A lot of time can be wasted trying to get the wetsuit off, putting on and taking off shoes... it's highly regulated actually! Coach Julia taught us the tricks of the
trade with our wonderful transition clinic. After the clinic, we practiced our transition skills by going out on a short ride, transitioning to our run (about 3 miles) and back to the ride and back to the run. It was an awesome practice where I found I was really able to keep up with some of the fastest girls of the group. The competitiveness is definitely coming out of me!Coach Julia taught us the tricks of the trade with our wonderful transition clinic. After the clinic, we practiced our 
transition skills by going out on a short ride, transitioning to our run (about 3 miles) and back to the ride and back to the run. It was an awesome practice where I found I was really able to keep up with some of the fastest girls of the group. The competitiveness is definitely coming out of me!Below are pictures of the transition rack with all of our bike mess, Coach Collin showin off his amazing Cervelo and Coach Sally making sure we're mounting and dismounting in time, and then Coach Sally mapping out our rides and runs for the day.
After practice we went to a nearby park and had
a nice BBQ with a ton of yummy food. Let me tell ya, food tastes SO MUCH better after a rough 2hr workout. I really enjoyed sitting down with my teammates and really getting to know them. I found out that a few of the girls and I have some REALLY good friends in common and a few other teammates are just as geeky as me!! After the BBQ we got down to business with the judging of the UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS! And I won! =) Thanks Mechelle for the outfit!!
12.29.08: So I bought my bike from Competative Edge in Rancho and they are the coolest bunch of people ever. The owner's daughter, Ashley, invited me to ride with her, her dad Umaro, and their neighbor, Greg, and another employee, kevin. The guys are amazing riders, especially Greg. Greg is a very competative racer. He's finished and WON quite a few 100mile races and recently completed, and won, a 150 miler. Anyway, he stayed with me the whole time, coaching me along the way. He gave me his number (not like that) and said that he'd like to ride with me again. Cool!!!
01.04.09: Hangin with the big boys! I went on another ride with Greg and Umaro and it was fantastic! We climbed Baldy (ok not all the way, but made a loop from Euclid up to Baldo road and down to Padua) and I rocked (according to Greg)! I rocked enough for him to tell me that he really wants to train me because I have a lot of potential. I raced Umaro up a small hill and won, but I think he might have let me win. I wouldn't be surprised. When we got back, Greg showed me how to clean my bike, hooked me up with some gear, and offered to take me out to Bonelli later on this week (Bonelli is very hilly and only the strongest survive... apparently he has some sort of faith in me...). It all just feels surreal because all of my life, I'm been a "jack of trades and master of none" and for once, I feel like I might actually be good at something. I was never athletic in any sense (unless you call dancing when you're 13 'athletic'), so it's interesting to see my growth and fun to actually be good at something. Really, I just have fun doing it. Greg's eagerness and fervor for training together leads me to believe that I'm at least above the average novice! Anyway, I'll let you know how that ride goes...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
So why am I doing this?
I’ve been meaning to post this for quite a while now. Really it was supposed to be my first post anyway but uh.. things happen I guess.
So why am I doing this?
Well, the story actually goes WAY back. I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon. I like trying new things and I enjoy training and I’ve always been amazed at how people can have the endurance to do these races, especially the ironman. But I was completely convinced that there was NO way I’d ever be able to do one. Not because I didn’t think my body would survive because that’s what training is about, but because there are so many rules and techniques and info about equipment that I was completely unaware of. How do you even get started on these things?!?
So when I was introduced to my friend Nate, I was also introduced to the world of triathlons. He spent a lot of time volunteering for Team in Training, the world largest athletic training organization. What TNT does is help people raise money for LLS and in turn they offer top notch training, coaching, and mentoring to participants. That’s when the light bulb turned on. There WAS a possibility!
In spending a little more time with Nate I learned more about LLS and what they offer to cancer patients. His grandmother has Lymphocytic Lymphoma I believe. She was doing great, and then she took a turn for the worse and it looks like today actually it’s gotten REALLY bad. I’ve seen the impact it’s had on Nate and his family and although I don’t know anyone personally who is suffering, I want to be involved in helping anyone and everyone. In a time when a loved one is possibly dying, the time should not be spent worrying about where the money is going to come from! Instead, people should be spending time with their families and friends enjoying life. I have plenty of time and energy (relative to them at least!!!) to raise money on their behalf. There’s only so much their family members can do to raise money, on top of the stress that they already have. I just feel like I have the ability to do it all, so why not?
Lastly, there’s just something about going all out and pushing myself 100%. When I run, bike, swim- when I push my self and discipline myself, I feel like I’m doing it all for God. I feel like I’m being obedient and focused. As backwards as it might sound, I’m happier now being crazy busy than I was in the summer when I had too much time on my hands. I train 6 days a week right now, work full time, go to school part time, and volunteer at the church. I might have a lot to do, but I’m busy doing positive activities and making progress in the meantime. I feel that the training has almost put me on a “schedule” and is keeping the pace. My focus no longer revolves around the next “high” but maintaining the cadence with friends, family, and God.
Although things with Nate have turned out a little different than I anticipated, I am still so thankful that I met him. I think that I looked into things a little deeper than I needed to because God put Nate in my life not to DATE but simply to introduce me to Team in Training and triathlons and hopefully be a good friend of mine. This is definitely not the last tri =) It takes a lot to raise all of the money, but maybe I’ll do it again as a mentor or even as a normal participant. I love it- the people, the practices, the goodies, the parties, the support, encouragement. Now that I have all of the information and training materials that I need, I can always do this all on my own too. Either way, I can’t wait for this thing to hurry up and get here!
So why am I doing this?
Well, the story actually goes WAY back. I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon. I like trying new things and I enjoy training and I’ve always been amazed at how people can have the endurance to do these races, especially the ironman. But I was completely convinced that there was NO way I’d ever be able to do one. Not because I didn’t think my body would survive because that’s what training is about, but because there are so many rules and techniques and info about equipment that I was completely unaware of. How do you even get started on these things?!?
So when I was introduced to my friend Nate, I was also introduced to the world of triathlons. He spent a lot of time volunteering for Team in Training, the world largest athletic training organization. What TNT does is help people raise money for LLS and in turn they offer top notch training, coaching, and mentoring to participants. That’s when the light bulb turned on. There WAS a possibility!
In spending a little more time with Nate I learned more about LLS and what they offer to cancer patients. His grandmother has Lymphocytic Lymphoma I believe. She was doing great, and then she took a turn for the worse and it looks like today actually it’s gotten REALLY bad. I’ve seen the impact it’s had on Nate and his family and although I don’t know anyone personally who is suffering, I want to be involved in helping anyone and everyone. In a time when a loved one is possibly dying, the time should not be spent worrying about where the money is going to come from! Instead, people should be spending time with their families and friends enjoying life. I have plenty of time and energy (relative to them at least!!!) to raise money on their behalf. There’s only so much their family members can do to raise money, on top of the stress that they already have. I just feel like I have the ability to do it all, so why not?
Lastly, there’s just something about going all out and pushing myself 100%. When I run, bike, swim- when I push my self and discipline myself, I feel like I’m doing it all for God. I feel like I’m being obedient and focused. As backwards as it might sound, I’m happier now being crazy busy than I was in the summer when I had too much time on my hands. I train 6 days a week right now, work full time, go to school part time, and volunteer at the church. I might have a lot to do, but I’m busy doing positive activities and making progress in the meantime. I feel that the training has almost put me on a “schedule” and is keeping the pace. My focus no longer revolves around the next “high” but maintaining the cadence with friends, family, and God.
Although things with Nate have turned out a little different than I anticipated, I am still so thankful that I met him. I think that I looked into things a little deeper than I needed to because God put Nate in my life not to DATE but simply to introduce me to Team in Training and triathlons and hopefully be a good friend of mine. This is definitely not the last tri =) It takes a lot to raise all of the money, but maybe I’ll do it again as a mentor or even as a normal participant. I love it- the people, the practices, the goodies, the parties, the support, encouragement. Now that I have all of the information and training materials that I need, I can always do this all on my own too. Either way, I can’t wait for this thing to hurry up and get here!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
I'M ALIVE! I've been trying to post since Saturday but I've been way too busy. This week was pretty tough and I really wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep up, but besides a very achy body, I'm a survivor. This is what the week looked like:
Sunday: 65 minute ride (it was supposed to be 90 minutes.. what? I had to put dinner in the oven!)
Monday: 45 minute swim practice in Irvine
Tuesday: 30 minute bike, 30 minutes run
Wednesday: DAY OFF!!
Thursday: 45 minute swim
Friday: 45 minute run
Saturday: 70 minute bike, 26 minute run
As rough as it is and as much as my body aches, I love every minute of it. I was finally able to meet the rest of the TEAM Saturday at the team practice in Irvine. I love them already! I'm always hesitant to meet new people (although that might be hard to believe sometimes) because there's automatic stereotypes and horrible first impressions and questions like "What do you do?" and "Where do you live?" No one seems to be trying to put you in a box or categorize you. We're all there for different reasons, from different places in SoCal. For some of us it's our very first time, for others it's their fourth or fifth. The one thing we have in common is our goal. Run, bike, swim, raise money. Other than that, it's all smiles, fun, love, and games!
I headed down to practice with my mentor Joe (I love his name. Joe James. He has two first names. That's awesome!) and hung around until practice got started. As soon as everyone showed up, we had a quick little meeting consisting of announcements and prize give-aways (every week Julia, the campaign manager, sends out weekly update emails with trivia questions). We divided into what I call the "A Team" and... us. The A team rocked the bikes and rode really far and well, the rest of us just rode our bikes. After the ride, we ditched the bikes and ran for about 25 minutes. I was introduced to the sensation of gumby legs. Everyone thinks they've felt the jell-o legs but it's nothing compared to riding for 70 minutes and then running. I was UNpleasently surprised when I began to run and I had to concentrate so hard because I felt like I was going to fall over. All I could do was laugh and I'm glad I was running alone at this part because I probably looked a little cooky!
After practice, we headed to Coach Paul and Michelle's house up the street for breakfast. They had prepared a scrumdiddlyumptious meal for us! There was waffles with blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, eggs, hashbrowns, bananas, bagels with cream cheese and a home made cream cheese with smoked salmon (yum), Costco muffins, and mimosas!!! I was in heaven... you know me and food are besties! Here's a few pictures from the breakfast:
This is my mentor, Joe, and Dave. I absolutely LOVE the look on both of their faces. Dave's face says "arg, gimme some food." Joe... he just looks confused, possibly offering food to the camera?
Look at all of those eggs!!
Mentor Laura and I talk about bikes while we indulge in fatty goodness.
In September, there was a kickoff party with ALL of the TEAM in Training members for all races. This is where families and friends got to come and hang and meet the coaches, have dinner, and just mingle. I missed that of course, but the picture below is of our campaign manager with the coaches and mentors (apparently Joe couldn't make it, so the doll on the table represents Joe... lol)
Here's a few pictures of our practices and stuff...
I forgot this guy's name, but he's the top fundraiser right now on our team and he's showing off his new Trek. B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!
Coach Paul shows usthe essentials of changing a flat tire.
Here's a few pictures of our Monday night swimming practice with Coach Sally. She's the head coach and she's awesome! I'm THAT person who asks a million questions because this is all new to me and she's so patient with me. I gues I'm waiting for that to run out... we'll see =)
Mentor Joe worships Michael Phelps.... ok maybe not but who DOESN'T love the Phelp fish?
Sunday: 65 minute ride (it was supposed to be 90 minutes.. what? I had to put dinner in the oven!)
Monday: 45 minute swim practice in Irvine
Tuesday: 30 minute bike, 30 minutes run
Wednesday: DAY OFF!!
Thursday: 45 minute swim
Friday: 45 minute run
Saturday: 70 minute bike, 26 minute run
As rough as it is and as much as my body aches, I love every minute of it. I was finally able to meet the rest of the TEAM Saturday at the team practice in Irvine. I love them already! I'm always hesitant to meet new people (although that might be hard to believe sometimes) because there's automatic stereotypes and horrible first impressions and questions like "What do you do?" and "Where do you live?" No one seems to be trying to put you in a box or categorize you. We're all there for different reasons, from different places in SoCal. For some of us it's our very first time, for others it's their fourth or fifth. The one thing we have in common is our goal. Run, bike, swim, raise money. Other than that, it's all smiles, fun, love, and games!
I headed down to practice with my mentor Joe (I love his name. Joe James. He has two first names. That's awesome!) and hung around until practice got started. As soon as everyone showed up, we had a quick little meeting consisting of announcements and prize give-aways (every week Julia, the campaign manager, sends out weekly update emails with trivia questions). We divided into what I call the "A Team" and... us. The A team rocked the bikes and rode really far and well, the rest of us just rode our bikes. After the ride, we ditched the bikes and ran for about 25 minutes. I was introduced to the sensation of gumby legs. Everyone thinks they've felt the jell-o legs but it's nothing compared to riding for 70 minutes and then running. I was UNpleasently surprised when I began to run and I had to concentrate so hard because I felt like I was going to fall over. All I could do was laugh and I'm glad I was running alone at this part because I probably looked a little cooky!
After practice, we headed to Coach Paul and Michelle's house up the street for breakfast. They had prepared a scrumdiddlyumptious meal for us! There was waffles with blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, eggs, hashbrowns, bananas, bagels with cream cheese and a home made cream cheese with smoked salmon (yum), Costco muffins, and mimosas!!! I was in heaven... you know me and food are besties! Here's a few pictures from the breakfast:
This is my mentor, Joe, and Dave. I absolutely LOVE the look on both of their faces. Dave's face says "arg, gimme some food." Joe... he just looks confused, possibly offering food to the camera?
Look at all of those eggs!!
Mentor Laura and I talk about bikes while we indulge in fatty goodness.In September, there was a kickoff party with ALL of the TEAM in Training members for all races. This is where families and friends got to come and hang and meet the coaches, have dinner, and just mingle. I missed that of course, but the picture below is of our campaign manager with the coaches and mentors (apparently Joe couldn't make it, so the doll on the table represents Joe... lol)
Here's a few pictures of our practices and stuff...
I forgot this guy's name, but he's the top fundraiser right now on our team and he's showing off his new Trek. B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!
Coach Paul shows usthe essentials of changing a flat tire. Here's a few pictures of our Monday night swimming practice with Coach Sally. She's the head coach and she's awesome! I'm THAT person who asks a million questions because this is all new to me and she's so patient with me. I gues I'm waiting for that to run out... we'll see =)
Mentor Joe worships Michael Phelps.... ok maybe not but who DOESN'T love the Phelp fish?
Monday, November 17, 2008
My First Swim
Tonight is my first swim practice with the team. I'm extremely nervous! Not because I'm afraid that I might look like an idiot because that's pretty much a give in. I think it's more because I've never met any of these people before and now I have to just jump right in and I know I'll need plenty of instruction. I'm just afraid I'll be holding everyone else back I guess. Plus, I might just die. No really, I'm afraid I might puke. I swam for about 20 minutes on Saturday night and I seriously almost puked.
*sigh*
Pray that it all goes well. I'm pretty discouraged already because 3/4 mile is a LONG way and well, I might just give up and sink like a rock... or float like a dead fish.
In other news, fundraising is going at a pretty slow pace. I feel bad because this Saturday we have a team breakfast and if everyone has met their $200 mark, we get some kind of mimosa breakfast. Well Ashley over here just joined the team so of course, she has a whopping $0 raised so far. LOL. So it looks like we wont be getting our breakfast thanks to me =) What a great first impression (it'll be my first Saturday practice where I'll meet the rest of the team). Hopefully there's no names mentioned of who the dead weight is that's holding down the rest of the team. In the meantime, I need to get to fundraising!!! I still have plenty of letters and emails to send out and I need to think of some pretty crafty things I can make to sell and raise money for the race. If you have any ideas, feel free to give some input =)
*sigh*
Pray that it all goes well. I'm pretty discouraged already because 3/4 mile is a LONG way and well, I might just give up and sink like a rock... or float like a dead fish.
In other news, fundraising is going at a pretty slow pace. I feel bad because this Saturday we have a team breakfast and if everyone has met their $200 mark, we get some kind of mimosa breakfast. Well Ashley over here just joined the team so of course, she has a whopping $0 raised so far. LOL. So it looks like we wont be getting our breakfast thanks to me =) What a great first impression (it'll be my first Saturday practice where I'll meet the rest of the team). Hopefully there's no names mentioned of who the dead weight is that's holding down the rest of the team. In the meantime, I need to get to fundraising!!! I still have plenty of letters and emails to send out and I need to think of some pretty crafty things I can make to sell and raise money for the race. If you have any ideas, feel free to give some input =)
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