In this training process, it’s sometimes easy to slip into just doing the workouts and forgetting the bigger picture. The struggle to swim, bike and run, even many miles, is nothing compared to the struggle to survive a cancer diagnosis. Just last year an estimated 138,530 people were diagnosed iwith leukemia lymphoma or myeloma in the U.S. This year approximately 894,500 people will live with the disease. 

But we have numbers on our side too.

1 Poseidon
4 Blue Whales
4 Great Whites
14 Tunas
49 Marlins
98 Barracudas
59 Minnows 

= 229 fish in the Landshark sea = almost (almost!) $25,000 for cancer research and patient care. Get your t-shirts. Show your pride.

This weekend the Landsharks, sadly minus Alex, completed our first BRick. For those not in the loop, that’s a Bike Run workout. We started with a 10 minute warm-up run, followed by a hour and 15 minute bike, followed by another 30 minutes of running. In between each leg, there was a lot of taking things off and putting things on, and forgetting to take things off and put other things on. I don’t know about my teammates, but I definitely need more transition practice.

As we rolled in after the bike and before the “run” the New York City Tri Team-in-Training crew was just finishing their first Saturday workout. They were laid out on the ground, groaning through core excercises, after a tough 30 minutes of running… and it hit me. We have seriously come a long way from that first workout. And we are going to rock this thing in Cali. As they say, you can’t put a leash on a Landshark.

nems, sans leash

Big thanks to Rory for the inspiration and to all of you who have donated along the way. You deserve miles of credit.

On Saturday, Feb. 21^st, I ran my first race: the Al Gordon Snowflake. It was 5K. It was a beautiful 30° day (that’s a warm day for the Brooklyn Landsharks!).

Our coach, Peter, had us meet at 8:30 (thirty minutes later than normal!) so we could do a 2 mile warm-up. Of course, I did not really understand why we had to run before we had to race. But when Peter says “run”, we say “do we need to do core work after?”

Maybe I should take a moment to say who Al Gordon is and why he has a race named after him. Al Gordon is 105 years old and has been a member and benefactor of the New York Road Runners.

So, the Brooklyn chapter of Team in Training was joined by some of our Manhattan brethren and sistren. And we ran. And ran we did. I kept pace with TNT veteran Kate and her friend Rebecca (another race virgin) that she recruited to TNT. We were doing well and undeterred by the ten year old girl that passed us effortlessly.

Somewhere around the first mile, we were joined by Sasha (it was her first race too), she had just given birth to her second child ten weeks later. Let’s just say I was not going to let Sasha finish before me.

At the halfway point I tried to drink a freezing cold cup of water. It ended up all over my face. A woman shouted “all downhill from here” and Rebecca, unfortunately, believed her.

And a little after mile two we passed that ten year old. Slow poke!

We finished and bagels were handed out like candy on Halloween.

I ran a 10:24 mph pace. Brooklyn Landshark Alex did a 7:30 (but hey, he’s run the Twin Cities marathon before, so let’s get back to me). We talked to Carmello, one of the fastest Brooklyn TNT members, ran the race backwards – I beat him.

I can’t wait to beat my time at the NYRR 8000 in Central Park on March 14^th.