Epilogue

I am so glad it is over.  Check this one off the bucket list.    The experience with my TNT team-mates was great;  I feel like I've made two new friends.  I met my objectives of stay safe, have fun, and cross the finish line.    What is my take-away, aside from new friends?

I was very disappointed in my swimming in the event.  My swim took five more minutes than my very conservative goal.    The many many hours in the pool did not translate to better performance in open water.   I got off to a bad start in a pack of people who were flailing around, kicking me, stopping and starting.   I do think this is the norm in a start but it really threw me off.    I never got my breathing regularized.   So I did everything I could to continue to make forward progress---freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, side stroke, whatever to keep going.  I swam the course but it wasn't pretty.    If I ever do another triathlon,  I will need to figure this out.  I'd love to do an Olympic Triathlon which is double the length of everything in the Sprint Tri.  Just not sure how to improve in open water.   There is a triathlon group in Savannah, very serious people, who swim in open water once or twice a week just to continually improve this part.   I am too intimidated to work out with those guys at this point.   This needs more thought....   I did workout in the pool last night, my first time in the water since Iron Girl.   I hope to keep up lap swimming.  Luv it.

I told my TNT buddies that I won't be doing any fall events with them.  I took some grief that I am not signing up for the Tugaloo Triathlon but am just not ready for the swim challenge.   So,  I just might sign up for the Savannah Rock-n-Roll Marathon in early November, but just to do the 1/2 Marathon.   All the Rock-n-Roll Marathons are quite the happening so I hear.  SAV had its inaugural event last year and broke records for numbers of people in first year.  

Thank you to everyone who contributed to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through TNT.   You are making a difference in blood cancers and research that is improving cancer treatment for many other cancers too.

Interesting facts:
Blood cancer research is a particularly good research vehicle - of the 39 new cancer drugs approved by the FDA since 2000, 19 were approved as treatments for blood cancer patients. All 19 are being tested for patients with other diseases and five have been approved for patients beyond those for whom they were first developed.
Many of these treatments are considered "orphans" by the pharma companies.  Without private contributions,  a lot of this research would not have happened.   TNT has raised over $1 billion since its inception.   Thank you.   Thank you.

I am never forgetting the Mission Moment!

Tri Minus One: House Arrest, Inspiration Dinner

It was a busy day as predicted.   After registering for the event,  we attended a talk about the course and the USTA rules which govern the event.

Senea, Karin, Milly (blonds have more fun!)

Joe and I went to the transition area to "rack" Reba.  Only participants are allowed in the area but family can stand just outside the fence and give advice :-).   All the TNT bikes are racked together.  I fooled around, deciding which direction to rack.  As we were leaving,  we saw somebody who put a towel under the front tire, presumably to keep the tire from over-heating on the hot asphalt as the day heated up.  So, Joe went to our car and retrieved a towel so I could do the same with my front tire.  Since I have the super-duper thorn resistant tires I didn't let out any air, on the advice of my bike mechanic at Star Bike on Montgomery X.  He aired my tires to 95% of the 120 pounds they can take.   I hope I made the right decision today because it was hot.

Note all the port-a-potties in the background!  We were early so the racks hadn't filled in yet.

I did a practice swim in full outfit with the Atlanta team.  So far so good.  The water temp is mid 70's, brisk getting in but it felt good after a swim. 

At the transition area we picked up the chips we have to wear from start to finish.  We will pass over mats which record our time in the water, out of water starting transition #1, out of transition starting biking, back into transition for #2, out of transition to start the run, and the final recording at the finish line.

The chip goes around the ankle.   Think of house arrest--not that I've ever had it but I read People magazine at the nail salon about Lindsey Lohan.  PS bunion surgery is not on the agenda this year.

The Inspiration Dinner was as expected with lots of hurrahs for the team, the coaches, our family supporters, and volunteers.  Then we got to the part when a survivor talks to us.  "Susan" is part of the Atlanta team.   She was diagnosed in 2003 at age 39 with leukemia.   She talked about how terribly hard her treatments were and how she was so physically debilitated by them but how gradually she re-gained her physical strength and has been living a normal life.   Ironically, she found out that her great-grandmother was also diagnosed with leukemia at age 39 in 1920-something.  Her great grandmother died as there were no treatments then.  Susan was here standing in front of us a survivor.    Then she dropped the bombshell and revealed she is no longer in remission.   She and her oncologist agreed in December that she could delay her treatments so that she could do IronGirl, something that was a bucket list item for her.   My jaw dropped and I hope to be able to talk to her tomorrow to find out more about her treatment plans.

Thanks to YOU guys,  moi, yours truly, received a fund-raising recognition.  Thank you from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!     Our GA group raised $70k.  Since inception TNT has raised $1.2 billion dollars,  billion with a b.   Five Hundred Thousand amateur athletes have been trained and participated in endurance sporting events.

So,  can I sleep tonight?  Not likely.  We have to get up about 4:30am.   Even Joe says he doesn't think he can sleep.   The good news is that the whole thing will be over by 10-ish.  It is like a wedding with months of preparation and anxiety and POW! it will be over in a flash.  I am in Wave #4 with the red swim caps.

Another funny thing happened today.  I was minding my own business at the registration area when a magazine writer approached me.  She told me that they are working on an article with the sponsor Athleta on participants that are "over a certain age" wink wink. Of course one doesn't know whether to be flattered or offended ha ha.    She asked if I would like to be part of it.  I said yes as long as Team in Training gets mentioned.  She took photographs and got my info.   I am curious what will come of that but I hope TNT gets some publicity out of it.

Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow.  Bibb number 144 is my new lucky number.

  

Tri Minus Two: Lanier Islands Resort

We arrived!   Given a choice of taking a lot of backroads or going around Atlanta near rush hour,  we choose the scenic route, passing just west of Athens.   The resort is beautiful and the lake really looks wonderful.  What a setting.   I can't wait to see more tomorrow.

We hung out with an adult beverage in Karin and Senea's room, plotting the century ride we all want to do in 2013.  Karin suggests that Joe be the biking coach and I think that is a splendid idea.  He is well qualified for it.   We want to do the TNT century (100 miles) at Lake Tahoe.  Hint hint Jennie! The event bills itself as "the most scenic" century ride in the USA.  I don't doubt it.  In TNT culture,  one strives for a triple crown.  That is doing one each of a marathon, triathlon, and century ride.    We all are lacking a TNT century to get our triple crown--which is only about bragging right.

Folks in the lobby looked askance at me carrying my bike through the lobby but no way is Reba sleeping out in a cold dark parking lot.   She is now tucked in for the night in our hotel room.  I carried her and didn't want the valet messing with her newly fine-tuned brakes and gears.   The thorn-proof tubes seem to agree with her.

I am not superstitious but I don't tempt fate either.   I've been wearing a special necklace for the last couple of weeks.  The cross belonged to my godmother, Marguerite Martin, when she was a toddler.  If she were alive she'd be 103 or 104 so I reckon the cross is 100 years old.  After 9-11 I wore this cross for about 60 days because I was so shaken by the events.   I am counting on its continuing good luck this weekend.

  Tomorrow will be a very busy day.   We have a meeting to hear details and rules about the course.   I can attend a seminar about changing flat tires (not).   We have the opportunity to swim with all the TNT folks at 3pm to get used to the water course.  I am certainly doing that,  hoping to overcome my jitters.  We are required to check in to get our bib number and we are required to set up our transition area with bike, helmet, and shoes.   Joe and I plan to drive the bike course to see the elevation changes.  Karin and Senea did that this afternoon and give it a thumbs up. And,  we have the Inspiration Dinner with all the TNT people.  Let the crying begin.  I will bawl like a baby from start to end as we hear survivors speak about the impact  of new drugs on their survival.   This dinner is what hooks everyone.  I don't know the stats but I suspect that there is a high percent of "repeat" participants in TNT because we all get hooked on the mission.  After the dinner I have to paint my body, putting my mission message on my arms and legs.  It is something of a TNT tradition to honor survivors and memorialize those who lost the battle.   And,  I have to make my breakfast for game day.  I brought peanut butter, a hard boiled egg, a mini bagel, and  a banana for breakfast at 4:30am Sunday.  I can't risk eating something untested so I packed a cooler with my favorite stuff that I know sits well in my tummy.
I'll have lots of pix tomorrow.

Tri Minus Three: Packing and Pictures

I am just about ready to roll tomorrow.  Reba went in for a tune-up.  She got thorn-resistant tubes in her tires.   There is no guarantee I won't get a flat but these tubes are tough.    I am confused by Iron Girl instructions.  They seem to be conflicting about assistance with flat tires.  The web site states that there will be mechanics on the course who can assist with flat tires.   It is out of my hands at this point.

I have all my stuff packed for my transition area.  I've decided to bring one extra water bottle and use that to wash my feet when I come up from the swim.

I bought a new helmet today 'cause my current one has a date of 2004.   The experts say one should replace helmets every 3 years or so.   I don't want an old helmet to somehow disqualify me, although that seems unlikely that they could inspect hundreds of helmets.   I bought a pink one :-).  Go for the gusto!

In keeping with our Mission Moments,  I've included some pix of my Daddy, Curtis Wallace who died of AML in April 1960 at age of 50.  He left his wife Anne,  Stephen age 13, Jesse age 12 (yes they were Irish twins), John age 10, and Millicent age 6.   At the time of his death there were really no treatments for leukemia and he had a very lethal form of it.  He was diagnosed in the fall of 1959 and only lived for six months.   He got blood transfusions and palliative care but that was all they could do.   His last time at home in Nacogdoches was Christmas of 1959 and he was already pretty sick. Somewhere I have a picture of him sitting at the kitchen table at 2214 North Pecan St in his pajamas and a robe.  He looked awful.  Jesse's birthday is Dec 22nd and there was a birthday cake on the kitchen table.    During that time at home, he started hemorrhaging and had other problems that caused him to be taken by ambulance to Houston and he was never home again.
We've come a long way since 1960.   It is unbelievable to me that leukemia drugs are considered "orphan" by the pharma companies.  The treatments today wouldn't exist without funds raised by organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Those funds directly go to research, some of which has produced new generation drugs that are keeping people alive for many many years, living a normal life.
I've learned other important facts.  Some of the formulations being researched for leukemia are being used to treat other forms of cancer too.    There is a lot more collaboration between different types of cancer research than I imagined.

Dr. Curtis Wallace, USN

Probably 1942 or 1943

Newly commissioned officer

Daddy's wedding picture

Dec, 1945

Married at USN Academy Chapel at Annapolis, MD

Our family in 1957, a couple of years before AML diagnosis.

Tri Minus 4: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

If this doesn't make you laugh and cry simultaneously,  something is wrong with you.

On house-keeping matters,   I obviously can't count because today is Tri Minus 4.  I lost three days somewhere.   Actually I think I started on the wrong number.  Joe says I am too excited to count right.

Now this video is what I call a MISSION MOMENT.  All these kids have leukemia and are in a hemo-oncology unit.
Watch Kelly Clarkson's response to these kids and nurses.  Very sweet!

Tri Minus Seven: Drafting, Blocking and Flats

In our biking segment there are very specific rules that we have to follow or be disqualified.
First NO DRAFTING!    Here is a link that shows the generic rules on the prohibition on drafting.   I wouldn't be comfortable drafting anyway but I need to pay attention that I also don't violate the NO BLOCKING rule too, by accident.
Drafting Rules

The "bummer" rule is that nobody can help me change a flat or that can get me dis-qualified too.   I have to admit that I never learned how to change a flat tire.  It is more complicated than you can image and now I really regret that I never focused on that.   I've always biked with Joe or biked in events where that wasn't the rule.  I found out about this yesterday and am a little dismayed.   So of all the things I have to worry about,  I really need to not have a flat.    I am taking Reba into the bike spa on Thursday for her mani/pedi.  I may ask them to put in new tubes just to be on the safe side in case the tubes are old.  Now that I think about it,  those tubes are old and probably on the verge of dry-rot.

There are other funny rules too.  For example, a spectator, like a hubby, can't hand one a snack on the road.  We have to leave the transition area fully prepared and not rely on any help on the road.   Also, if one leaves the transition area and the helmet strap isn't fastened,  that is disqualifying.  I can appreciate that one for safety.   No iPods are allowed.  I get that one too.   Here is a funny one:  doing the running segment while wearing one's bike helmet is disqualifying.  Shoot me if I forget to take my helmet off---I am really off my rocker if I do that.    Also nudity in the transition area is prohibited.  Thank goodness!

Today's forecast for Sunday at Lake Lanier, GA:
Overnight Low 60 degrees   ( we will gather at 4:45 am to go to the transition area for 7 am start)
High 79 degrees
Mostly sunny.
Winds ENE 6 mph

Current water temps are estimated at 69 degrees ( a little chilly).  I've already beat that wet suit thing to death.

Reba asked me to ask to you pray that her tubes hold out for 19 miles.

Tri Minus Eight: Pulled Pork and Pearls of Wisdom

Sunday I had the tri team over  for a party.  They are a great group and we missed a few of them due to Mother's Day but had a blast.

Karin, Cat, Milly, Jed and Gabi. ( left to right).  Yes, that is coach Gabi, the spin class torturer who is a Savannah firefighter.

Rounding it out was Karin's hubby (Mark, a blood cancer survivor)  and her adorable six year old Bennett,  Cat's hubby Todd the Iron Man and of course Joe.       I made a Boston Butt roast that we pulled for meat for BarBQue sandwiches.
If you've never made pulled pork I have a fool proof way to do it.    Go to Kevin and Amanda's Blog and just follow the directions.    Joe made rockin' Pear Flower drinks.   I had my preferred poison, Guiness Draught in the can with the little propeller inside.  The guests brought wonderful side dishes.   The evening was perfect on the back porch.   Bennett and Todd found 20 lost golf balls in the far rough on the golf course;  you would have thought Bennett found gold.   As dusk fell we saw bats swooping in and out among the trees.   Nobody had a mosquito bite because those bats eat lots of mosquitos and are our friends.

After  eleven hours in the oven and resting for two hours,  I "pulled" the pork.   Perfect and moist!

As the evening went on,  Todd, the IronMan (the real deal), gave me advice on Sunday's event.   At first very practical,  he told me that no matter how many times I get kicked in the water, to keep my breathing effortless and consistent so that panic doesn't set in. " If you can breathe consistently,  you can get through it", he advised.   We talked about an Olympic triathlon also as a possible next goal.   All the distances are basically doubled versus the Sprint.
Then he imparted the real Pearls of Wisdom:   "Don't worry about the event.  It really doesn't matter and isn't relevant.  The whole point is about the training and the process of getting ready, developing a mindset and lifestyle around fitness, and hanging out with like-minded people who value training and fitness."    Those words may seem very simple but they are very impactful.  We all hear the old saying about "it's the journey that matters, not the destination".    I thought about his words all evening and all day today.   After Sunday,  what do I take away from this?.   The very big thing for me is re-discovering swimming after 40 years.  I love exercising in the pool and believe I will continue to swim laps.  I had this all bass ackwards:    I have been too focused on the "event" and not seeing the bigger picture.    Thx, Todd!

We didn't have to call a cab for anybody and nobody had to bunk in a guest room overnight.   Bennett went home with his cache of practice golf balls.  Nobody had a bat stuck in their hair.   Everybody found out that Jed and Gabi are dating (although the Facebook posting of the twosome at a romantic restaurant was a dead give-away).   There were no left-overs of the pulled pork.
The countdown continues.

Reba says Goodnight.