LiveStrong Challenge Day 1: Check-In

We finally arrived to the LiveStrong Expo! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the Potty Queen Latrines were ripe. Success was in the air. The environment was filled with cyclists of all levels which helped ease my nerves and jolt my excitement. Some were cancer survivors, some had some type of cancer, some knew or lost someone to it and others just wanted to kick the awful disease in the balls. Everyone was connected with one common thread: cancer has impacted every life in one way or another.

I got an awesome little goodie bag filled with a bright yellow shirt, water bottle, Lance Armstrong Collector's book, and other fun knick knacks. I'm number 5556; I feel so professional. My inner Lance is starting to roar.

 The expo was also filled with sponsors aka lots and lots of freebies! I'm a sucker for free things. Though I filled my bag to the brim with souvenirs, my favorite part of the expo was the Mission Tent.

In the booth, people were able to honor the names of loved ones who've died from cancer or celebrate those who have survived. My favorite mention was from a cancer survivor, he wrote: cancer may have taken my testicles but it gave me balls. 

Before we left, I had to admire the cars....

Snazzy

And!...I helped save a life. Meet Baby Monty, the not-so-snapping snapping turtle (he's seen better days). We found this little guy trying to make his way across the million degree hot pavement. I acted fast and shoved him in my shoe; I whisked him off to the safety of a shaded creek. Operation Save Monty: accomplished.

Monty!

I have a 5 am wake-up call tomorrow, yikes! All riders need to be at the starting position at 7:15! It's suppose to rain, but I'm currently doing a reverse rain dance and trying not to psyche myself out. Rain could be refreshing. I'm a little nervous because I don't know what to expect during my 45 miles, but if I  (wise words from my wise mother) take my time and just enjoy the ride, then I'll be fine. It should take me about 3 hours to complete. In times like these, I must channel Monty and remember slow and steady wins the race....as long as I don't get fried on the black top.

  

My Adirondack Adventures: Red-Faced at Whiteface

I'm back from the wilderness! It was a whirlwind week, and it's still not over since I travel to the LiveStrong Challenge tomorrow morning. Thank you to everyone who donated and offered their support towards this amazing cause! Words can't express how appreciative I am. xoxo

My vacation was awesome! My family and I traveled to Lake Placid which was beyond gorgeous. We lucked out with weather and thoroughly enjoyed the sites (and food!). We crammed a whole weeks worth of activities into two days. 

Because my 45 mile bike race is on Sunday, I figured I should start building my endurance. My boyfriend and I decided to ride a 40-ish mile loop around Lake Saranac. No one told me the first 7 miles were uphill; and I don't mean happy, little, bunny slopes, no...I'm talking, big, scary, black diamond hills. At one point I thought we took a wrong turn and were climbing Whiteface Mountain. My aunt taught me a trick when peddling up monstrous hills: say Hail Marys until you reach the top. As cliche as it sounds, it worked and distracted me enough to power through each hill. I probably recited a whole rosary by the end of the ride and finished the ride a whole lot holier. For my LiveStrong race, I'm going to dedicate each hill to a different person. This will amp up my motivation and make each hill even more meaningful.

Before the ride, so chic

After the first 10ish miles, the road started flattening out and my tunnel vision finally broadened so I was able to finally take in the beautiful scenery. God bless my boyfriend who endured my colorful language as I trekked up each peak, but he was great and kept me sane (for the most part) through the whole ride.

20 miles in, half way there!

As tough as it was at the time, I finished and I'm happy I stuck through it; I didn't give up or get off my bike (though tempting at times). I'm proud of myself. It was a good experience and definitely prepared me for the LiveStrong Challenge on Sunday. Bring it on.

My bike ride wasn't my only hill-y experience. 30 minutes after we returned to the hotel (still stinky and sore), we left to see Whiteface Mountain (the 5th highest Adirondack peak). Talk about whirlwind! We drove 5 miles uphill to the parking lot where we had 2 options on how to reach the summit: stairs or elevator (!). We were feeling adventurous and climbed the stairs that resembled something more like the Great Wall of China. 

I almost climbed in flip flops before I made the quick decision to put on my hiking boots. Thank God I did because parts of the climb I was contemplating if I should break out my harness and climbing ropes; but I would have climbed that route numerous times to reach the view we were welcomed by. If I had to pair an image with what I thought Heaven looked like, it would be the view from Whiteface's peak. We had a beautiful, clear, 80 mile view from the summit.

The observatory tower which reminded me of something from Harry Potter

My beautiful family, I already nominated this as our Christmas card picture

My boyfriend and I scouring the land

The official peak marker

This just made me laugh

Breath-taking. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Whiteface, do it. I promise you, you won't be dissapointed. The experience is like no other. You feel on top of the world while at the same time feeling so small compared to the grandeur of nature. My boyfriend and I want to climb it sometime (about a 10 hour hike) along with the other 45 peaks. Add it to the bucket list!

It was such an eventful week but I'm happy to be home (at least for the night). Plus, I got a bountiful surprise when I returned:

Tomatoes, anyone?

Off to the race tomorrow! Wish me luck :)

The Post-5K Experience

My parents, as well as the rain, came out to support me. I give the Half-Marathon runners a ton of credit because they all got poured on (my "runner's high" isn't yet immune to such weather conditions). Luckily, the rain tapered off by the time we lined up. I soon realized that all running levels were apparent within the 5K group--this eased my nerves and my "nervous pee" (my urban dictionary definition: the urge to pee, caused from feeling nervous and anxious before an important athletic event). Once the race began, it was energizing to have everyone around you. I went through phases of "I feel great" to "Ow, my aching calves". When I hit the 2 mile marker, it fueled my motivation to keep chuggin' along. I felt like an Iron (wo)Man.

My parents were hooting and hollering near the finish line--this is what they captured during their fury of picture taking. My first thought after seeing this picture: holy brightness, I was easy to spot; and my second thought: everyone was right, my shoes do look funny.

It felt great to hit the finish line. I ran it in 28 minutes! I came in 18th out of 84 in my age group, and 172nd out of 604 overall. Not too shabby for my first race--maybe I'll run the Half Marathon next year (or that just may be my "runner's high" talking).

Every sport I have ever played was team-orientated; every victory or defeat was shared amongst other teammates. I have never participated in a solo athletic event where I can appreciate total personal achievement.  I pushed outside my comfort zone to accomplish a task that would have been too physically and mentally challenging a year ago. I feel fantastic.