The Vacation Challenge

I am happy to report that I am going on a short vacation for four days to Maine to chill out in a log cabin at the side of a lake. I will manage to keep my training up with some open water swimming and runs around the area – however I do not want to lose my focus. Fund raising has been going extremely well and I would like to ask for your help while I am away.

From now – until noon Tuesday 8/11, I will match all donations made to my online account up to $300.  I truly believe in this cause and know the value of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s support for those facing a blood cancer.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/nattri09/mingram

Please take a moment out of your day to donate to this very worthy cause and double your impact! I challenge you to donate and help raise $300 while I am away from my computer for the next four days.

Thank you for your help!

Matt

A brick, a flat, a day of conquered challenges

It was a busy weekend!

Saturday’s group brick (bike & run) was near Greenbelt, MD [Our Ride]. My group mentor, Rich, and I convinced ourselves that we would be early. Was that the case? Not so much. More than 15 people were already getting ready in the parking lot when we arrived and it was 7:20 a.m.

The weather was nice – great day for a ride and run

Side note: I’ve found cycling much more enjoyable than I could ever have anticipated. I love the preparation, the gearing up and taking off with another rider, or a whole peloton.

I was in a competitive frame of mind. I have been training a lot and this brick was supposed to show some of that off.

Ready

Slowly everyone begins to huddle in on one section of the parking lot.

Steady

The group grows, 10 to 30 to more than 50 riders amassing together with bikes and eager looks. Announcements made, safety signals reviewed.

Go!

We’re off!

One by one riders hit the road. How do you feel when riding in a group versus by yourself? I’ve found riding on roads to be okay when I’m by myself; however I’ll admit that riding with large groups takes a lot more concentration. There is so much more to look out for and you depend on great communication skills to stay safe.

pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

I am ten people from the front of the group two riders. This is exciting…we’re in the middle of MD on an awesome day.

pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Me: “Hey can you check my back tire. Is it flat?”
Rider behind me: “Oh yeah – your tire looks low!”

My first flat tire, bugger! What a kill joy! I pulled over to the side of the road five minutes into the group ride and ask for help to change my tire. I have not had to change my tire since buying my bike. Ironically, the Team in Training coaches had a planned tire changing clinic for after the group ride! (Mini shout-out to the coaches that stopped to help me out and make sure I was okay.) It turns out more than five people had flat tires along the course on Saturday. That seems like a mighty high number.

Let us give that a second try

Tire mended, I took off to reach the rest of the riders. As soon as I hit the main road there are a few of the faster riders passing by. They just completed seven miles at a great pace. I will confess though, I was baffled – there were only two sections of the bike course where you could keep a fast pace. There were so many potholes that I barely had time to look up and enjoy the fields of hay, the blue sky and the peace around me. One guy said after the race – “I don’t think I’ll be able to have kids after that course.” The road was bumpy. I get the sense that today is not my best day for riding.

I completed one lap of the course and headed back to the park (approximately 13 miles). Quickly throwing off my helmet, cycling shoes and gloves, I donned my running shoes, grab some water and took off for the running course.

Enough said – I ran the course which turns out to be really hard for me. I don’t really know why I had difficulty running. Maybe I didn’t hydrate properly. The loop was about 1.1 or 1.2 miles and I clocked in 12 minute miles…I swear I was running. I ran two laps and called it a day.

Total workout ~15 miles. Not bad before 10 a.m. I’ll boost up the mileage next weekend barring any additional mishaps.

All in all – training was fun and riddled with hiccups this weekend. One of the coaches said at the beginning of training that there are few things you can control in life, but what you can control is your attitude. I’m happy that I stayed positive, took away some new skills and know a few areas to work on. I want to put my new skills to use and practice changing my tires and more running after biking.

I’ll make sure to join the group workout faster, better, stronger next weekend.

—–

I am racing in the Nation’s Triathlon to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people facing Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans currently facing a blood cancer by funding research, treatments and support. Please donate to support this cause. Any amount is greatly

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/nattri09/mingram

Building Tomorrow

Imagine if America had 42 million children wake up with no school to attend. A situation like this would be a travesty.

Sub-Saharan Africa is in need and in fact, 42 million children do not have schools to attend. We are often made aware of hardship faced by our African brothers and sisters through traditional news outlets such as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox and many other news stations. However, they glaze over the issues…or perhaps I glaze over them and don’t offer my full attention. In either case I want to get awareness out there for everyone else to read.

Let me introduce Building Tomorrow

Thankfully there is a charity named Building Tomorrow (BT) that wants to make a difference.

Fight Alzheimer’s: 2008 National Memory Walk

Can you help? I’m participating in the National Alzheimer’s Memory Walk around the National Mall. The walk takes place on October 18, 2008. To date the charity has raised over $100,000. My team within my firm, Booz Allen Hamilton is looking to help raise $10,000.

For the time being I’ve committed to helping our group raise $50 and I’ll match donations up to $50. I’ll raise the outlook if many of you have a generous heart. Do you have $5 you would like to commit to a worthy cause?

Sponsor me for this walk by clicking [here]

Thanks everyone

Matt