Trees and flowers and chirping birds...

I'm beginning to think I may have completely lost my mind.  Heading off to Laguna Hills again tomorrow morning.  Early.  The Team is riding 80 miles.  Seriously--80 miles?  What was I thinking?  I'll let you know how it goes...

Thoughts while on a very small seat...

So what have I learned this week during my 75 miles of tootling around the great IE?

1. Redlands was, at one point in history, famous for her oranges.  What can I tell you about the orange groves?  

• The trees smell really, really good while they're in blossom in the spring (not now). 
• The orchard has it's own microclimate which is a lot cooler than the road, and when you ride by, a nice cool breeze might greet you.
• Rotting oranges stink.

2. Worse than rotting oranges is the smell of dead critter wafting out of the orange groves.  Nothing like pedaling flat out, huffing and puffing all the way, and getting a great lung-full of yuck.  At least it was brief, and at least it wasn't a dead skunk.

3.  Those little brown birds (sparrows?--I'm not much of an ornithologist) fly at about 20 miles per hour.  I was last in that pace line.  Actually had three of them flying along beside me for about a quarter of a mile.

4.  The city of Redlands has not yet caught up in the pot-hole rehab department.

5.  Sunday afternoon is when most of Loma Linda does their laundry.

6. Two-tube Tuesdays at Cyclery USA are the best.  Buy two, get the third free.  I'll use 'em sometime, right?

Oh yeah, and that fundraising deadline keeps getting closer...if you would like to help out, please visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/tdps11/kcondonahu .

The Art of Timely Blogging...

Wow...so December came and went and I only posted once.  Blatant blog negligence.  No more excuses--kiddo is better, the rain has stopped, holidays are over, Christmas cards are out (late...and I know I missed a few folks, but that's the best I could do this year), everyone is back at school/work, the dishwasher works again...it's bloggin' time!

I'll start where  left off last time--with eBay.  Just after Thanksgiving, my brother found a Schimano Ultegra compact crankset on Ebay, and after watching the last 10 minutes of the auction with an eagle-eye, I WON! Took my trusty steed to the local bike shop ( http://www.cycleryusa.com/ )  and, voila, a couple of days later my new and improved ride was ready!  Spin, spin, spin...ahhhhh...  Actually, the new crankset has made a HUGE difference my ability to conquer the uphills.  I'm still not fast, but at least I'm moving.

I was able to join the rest of the Team for a ride in Orange County.  The Team in Training Cycling team is based in OC, and ride early on Saturday mornings.  Most weeks I have some sort of family or church duties, or Dave is working, and I haven't been able to join them.  Well, I took a chilly Saturday morning "off" and headed down to Laguna Hills.  We logged 48 miles that morning--from the Laguna Hills Community Center to the beach, and all the way down to San Onofre and back.  The day went from cloudy/foggy to beautiful and the ride along the beach was gorgeous.  It was great to meet more of the Team, Coach Sherry, organizer extraordinare Jennifer, and the other mentors.  The best part was that I actually finished the ride!  Not fast, but not last--my mantra.  I also scored a faint cycle shorts tan.  Nice. : )

Santa was kind--must be a closet cyclist--he totally knew what I needed.  I can now ride warm--knee and leg warmers, arm warmers and full fingered gloves (thanks JB).   I can now also ride in the rain--a trainer to set up inside on those wet, slippery days (thanks DC).  I also officially know how far I've ridden on any given ride--a bike computer--I have been using the handheld GPS up until now, which definitely works, but is a bit cumbersome in the jersey pocket. (thanks VC for the prezzie and JB for installation).  Three weeks out, and I've gratefully used all of my awesome presents. 

That brings me to this week.  More rain, so I spent 90 minutes on the trainer watching "Restrepo"--not exactly light viewing, but it has been on my "to watch" list for some time.  Compelling story of Battle Company and their year in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan.  Then 23 miles yesterday morning in the beautiful 60 degree sunshine.

The next phase must include raising some more funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society--the deadline for fundraising is looming (Jan 26th).  If you would like to help me out (and I would truly appreciate it), drop by my fundraising website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/tdps11/kcondonahu . 

That's all for now...time to finish taking down the Christmas tree...trash day tomorrow!

Sibs on the Road

My brother and his family came down  for Thanksgiving.  He packed up his bike and schlepped it down here from Seattle so we could pound out a few miles between feeding frenzies. Totally cool--I'd never ridden with my bro before. The first ever Kate and Jason road ride.

It was COLD. OK, not cold for most of the country, but cold for So Cal. 40 degrees in the sun--I don't even own a long-sleeved anything. Jay loaned me a pair of leg warmers which made life more bearable, and I borrowed Dave's vest to keep from freezing on top. Guess I know what to ask Santa for this year...

Thanksgiving morning we rolled out of my house for a leisurely 14 mile round trip to Starbucks. Nothing like a little Pumpkin Spice Latte to help with the spirit of thanks. You might be surprised just how busy Starbucks is at 10 o'clock Thanksgiving morning. We were pleased to hear that the coffee kids did get to close early.

Friday morning we headed out from my parents' house, which was great, except...it's uphill to get anywhere from there. Hills are my nemesis. Managed the first short one with a few encouraging words, sailed through a nice downhill, then started up again. Ugh. Had to stop half-way up for a short recovery. Short is relative. While huffing and puffing at the side of the road, we were passed by a perky group of six cyclists. Oh well. A little humiliation never hurt anyone, right?

We headed up through Chapman Heights to Oak Glen Road (more uphill) to 5th, and eventually up to Bryant. The last long, sweet downhill was bliss...Oh, wait...one more hill...this one, with a little help from my sweet brother, who swears he wasn't doing anything, but the burn in the quads was suddenly bearable. You rock, Jay!

After some discussion about my hill aversion, Jay suggested a compact crankset. Truthfully, I am up for anything that will make life even a little easier.  Ebay, here I come.

Why me? Why LLS?

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society raises money for blood cancer research through their Team In Training.  Having worked with LLS before, I can tell you that the folks that working there and those that coach and mentor the teams are truly dedicated to the cause.  Many have had family members pass away from blood cancer.

Why would I sign up to raise money to fight blood cancers?

• An estimated 137,260 people in the US will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2010.
• Leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma will cause the death of an estimated 54,020 people in the US this year.  These blood cancers will account for 9.5% of deaths from cancer in 2010, based on 569,490 total cancer related deaths.
• Every 10 minutes, someone dies of blood cancer.  That represents almost 148 people each day, or more than 6 people every hour.
• Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancers among children and young adults under the age of 20.

With numbers like that, why shouldn't I?

Our team honoree is Mark Huff.  Mark was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Follicular (Stage IV) in 2006.  He was an active husband and father of 2 who had recently finished climbing Mt. Whitney just prior to his diagnosis.  Long story short, Mark underwent three surgeries, traditional chemotherapy and infusions of Rituxan.  He also had highly targeted radiation to successfully eliminate the tumor around his spinal cord.  This year, he was able to climb Mt. Whitney a second time with his son who is about to graduate from college.  His daughter received her teaching credential.  He also completed the Tour de Palm Springs last February as part of the Team in Training cycling team.

Here's my take:  I can do something small to contribute to progressive research on a disease that kills more than 6 people an hour.  It might be difficult, but it's not nearly as difficult as chemo, surgery, infusions, or radiation.  It might be time consuming, but I get some great exercise and meet some amazing people doing it.  I have the choice and I'm going for it.

How can you help?  Well, I need sponsors.   My sweet son, Alex, was my first donor and he gave $5.  Visit my fundraising page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/tdps11/kcondonahu if you would like to help out.

How did this happen?

So how does a boring, stay-at-home mom of two become a blogger?  A hare-brained idea, that's how. 

A couple of years ago, I decided that the year of a certain "big" birthday I should tackle some sort of endurance event.  The first few years of motherhood proved to be crazy, and I have to admit, my own fitness needs fell by the wayside.  Well, now the kids are both in school and I have some time to myself.  Back to that endurance event.  Hmmm...well, originally I had thought "marathon"--that's the cool thing to do at the moment.  Run.  Walk.  Run/walk.  Plenty of clubs, coaches, training groups.  Right.  Then the old bod' threw me a loop.

First a nagging pain in my hip, only now and then--nothing to worry about.  Over the course of a year and a half, that nagging pain turned into osteonecrosis of the femoral head, complete with flattening of the head and the beginnings of collapse.  Ouch.  Some mornings, the pain was so intense I couldn't put on my own shoes.  Exercise was pretty much out of the question as even swimming flared my hip up for several days.

So...the year I turned 40, I received a new hip instead of an endurance event.  Not quite what I had planned.  Well, 10 months have passed since my Birmingham Resurfacing, and I am on the move again.

Enter Team In Training.  I received a flyer in the mail from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Some of you may remember that I completed an Olympic length triathlon a few years ago (quite a few years ago) with the help of the coaches from TNT.  Triathlon is out this time.  Marathon is out as well.  I need that hip to last as long as possible, and repetitive high-impact sport is not going to maximize the life of the hardware.  Looks like it's cycling time.