Hawaii, Day 1 (Friday March 27, 2009)

Getting out the door was the hardest part. I spent all week going over everything, terrified I would forget something important. Turns out, the only things I forgot to bring, was more party dresses! With all the stress leading up to Friday, I found myself awake and sick at 4 am, most likely from nerves. Luckily after getting past that I was able to get an hour or so more of sleep before leaving to meet up with Matt and Marty to carpool to the airport. Needless to say, I was pretty tired though, so once we boarded I completely passed out for the majority of the plane flight.

When we finally landed in Hawaii I was finally feeling a bit more rested and ready for the weekend. Stepping off the plane into the fresh air was like drinking in a huge gulp of tropical bliss. Here's a fun pic I took of everyone exiting our plane:

After that it was off to baggage claim! Here's me and Matt as we wait for our bags.


Next I checked into my awesome hotel room and took a nap. It was so nice an roomy, with a gorgeous view!




Two years ago, my family and I had vacationed at this same resort. My dad had at that time joked about how the islanders loved him so much they erected a shrine in his honor:

So since March 27th is my Dad's birthday, I felt it was only fitting to pay him a little visit.


After hanging with Dad for a bit, I ate some lunch over by the Dolphin Swim pool! See him swimming just under the water? It was so fun to watch them swim whilst I dined.


Now this next photo is hard to make out because it was so far away, but the tiny black spot in the middle near the horizon, is a whale!

It was so amazing! This family of 3 whales were just jumping out of the water like crazy!!!!

After lunch, the team went down to the lower parking lot where we claimed our bikes and went for a little test ride to see where our transition area was. It was so exciting to finally be here and with all of our gear! I was so happy to see my bike made it safely.

Here's Jason and I chilling before taking off on our ride.


That night, Matt, Marty and I relaxed in the hot tub before having a lovely dinner with Matt's parents. It was so great that they were able to make it out to support Matt during the race. I very much enjoyed dining with them, they're very kind and fun people.

Finally it was off to bed. We had a big morning ahead of us on Saturday. I was very excited to get a full nights sleep on a bed too, Friday just felt almost too long!

Next post: Saturday! Also, if you still wanted to contribute, the last day that donations are being accepted is April 29th. The race itself may be over, but the race to save lives is still going strong! It's not to late to make a difference! Also, thank you every, your support is really what brought be through all of this, I was not alone in any of this, thanks you to all. Have a wonderful day and check back very soon!



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Delayed...

I want to apologize for not getting a post about my trip up sooner. I haven't had much time to catch my breath since getting back. I was home for two days before jumping on a plane to Orlando to be a Guest at a Fantasy Convention, that really just stressed me out more than anything. I came back wishing I had just stayed home, relaxed and gotten my life back in order. I'm also feeling somewhat of a post event depression. The Team in Training/Lavaman experience was just so amazing! I loved every minute, especially the ones that really made me work for it. I got home last Monday and hit the gym again Wednesday to just keep up the momentum. I'm glad to have healthier habits in place, but it's just a little sad that this goal I have been working towards for so long has finally come to an end. I find myself both relieved and bummed all at the same time.

I will definitely be posting pictures as well as a full write up of the event very soon. With how busy and down I've been, I just haven't gotten around to it. There is still some fundraising to be done, and as the last day to donate is the 29th of this month, it's going to be exciting! I am looking forward to the next couple weeks, and the adventures I'll have. Thank you for continuing to follow along with this journey, it's been wonderful to have your company!!!



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Wow!

All I can say is Wow. I just got home from Hawaii. To summarize, it was amazing! Be expecting several posts over the next couple days recapping one of the most incredibly intense weekends of my life. Thank you all for being with me in this, as it was not a feat I could have done alone.

Just for fun, here is a pic of my bike on Race Day, all setup and ready for my transitions in between events.


Alright, time to go apply the special soothing gels to my ridiculous sunburn. Have a good night, and check back soon!!!



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So Close!

This past Saturday was incredibly packed. I had a laundry list of responsibility and had to schedule everything to a T! I went to Team in Training practice in the morning, and jumped in the ocean for yet another cold and murky swim. I think the hardest part anymore about swimming in the ocean is once my hands and feet go numb from the cold. It was a great swim though and I didn't feel like I was the caboose this time. Unfortunately, since practice started later then usual I was only able to do the swim and had to skip out on the run so I could get to work. Yay for overtime! ...Ok, maybe not, but it's part of the job. So I got to work, and did as much as I could, then had to run off to get my taxes done. Thanks to LA traffic, I was 5 minutes late, which apparently didn't matter because my accountant was 30 minutes late. Once taxes were done I headed back to my end of town to pick up a friend and get over to the Pretentious Poker Party Fund Raiser that Joel, Ryan and Marin were kind enough to help me throw. I will do a separate post on the party, as it was incredibly too epic to include in this post and without any pictures. Overall, Saturday was incredibly productive, checking several things off my list. I am in so many ways ready for this weekend, and yet very shocked that I'll be getting on a plane Friday morning to head to the race. I feel prepared and still have no idea what to expect. I love adventure!

I leave you with this awesome and epic photo. Thank you Pai Wei once again for your generous and beautiful photography.

(I think I look silly with my swim cap on. I like my hair!)


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Did I just run the full Triathlon Distance?

I did it! This past Saturday we did a full swim, bike and run! I was certainly anxious heading in to it, and with overtime all week, I was not feeling particularly rested. Friday night I set everything out on my couch, and imagined going through the three parts of the race, and making sure I had everything I needed. I then put my bike on the back of my car, that way I'd be ready to just jump in and go first thing in the morning.

5am: I hit snooze for 5 minutes.

5:05am: I drag myself out of bed and get dressed. Put all my pieces in the car and begin the drive up to Zuma Beach in Malibu. So after driving too far (thank goodness Mommy was on the bluetooth with me and looked up the address) I finally get to the beach and setup my bike and lay out all my bits and pieces for the transitions.
Here's a pic of everyone setting up by the bike racks. (the pink handle bars belong to my bike!)


Once everything was setup, we slipped into our wet suits and zipped up! We ran, well, walked shivering down to the water. It was colder then last time, and the waves a little larger and choppier. I let a little water into my wet suit, and began swimming. A couple of the coaches said I was doing really well, and Pai even mentioned that he could tell I was doing better this time. More then anything I was struggling with the cold, and that won't be an issue in Hawaii. I thought to myself, "if I can handle this, I can handle anything!"
The Pacific Ocean, cold and waiting for us to come in for a swim:


When I finished my swim, I scurried up the beach to the parking lot and dried off. I was so cold I ended up putting on my exercise pants on over my tri shorts, as well as my tank top, long sleeved Yamaha shirt and my Alvin hoodie. One of my teammates was kind enough to loan me her extra pair of riding gloves. I guzzled a bottle of Gatorade, hopped on my bike and took off up the Pacific Coast Highway. It was pretty chilly, but the scenery was gorgeous! I had to snap a few pictures to share, as well as remember.

Here you can see me as I straggle behind, this will be the last time you see other cyclists in the photo, as they all leave me in the dust! (It's ok, I know I need to go at my own pace to keep my asthma under control)


A couple fun scenic shots along the way:


This was taken on my way back, the road winding along the coast is what I had already gone up and come back on.


Once I finished the bike ride I went for my run. I walked more then I plan to in the actual race, but was wanting to take it easy on my knee. Its been acting up a lot, and I really don't want to injure it before the race. On the bright side, the test race was overall a lot less intimidating then I thought it would be. Once I started I got in the zone and just went! I'm so excited now to get to Hawaii and reach that finish line.

This just delighted me to no end! Not only was I biking through Malibu, but here is the gate to Barbie's Mansion!!! I had to snap a picture.




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Yay!

It feels great to be past the half way mark with my fund raising! Just looking at how many people have come together to support this cause is so incredible! This experience, while not always easy, has been such a blessing. Thank you to everyone for being a part of this! There's no way I could do this alone.

Speaking of not being able to do this on my own, Joel, Ryan and Marin have been kinda enough to host and help me throw a Poker Party! It's going to be a blast! So come on out and try your luck!!!



When:
Saturday, March 21, 7:00PM

Where:
12919 Walsh Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066 US

Dress Code: Elegant attire is Highly Encouraged

7:00 PM Doors Open
~ Hors d'oeuvres and Dealer's Choice Poker
~ Suggested donation of $10 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

9:00 PM Texas Hold'em Tournament

~ $30 buy in (covers door charge)
~ RSVP to get on the Tournament list (e-mail hklees@gmail.com)
~ Half the pot goes directly to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
~ Winner takes the other half

RSVP for the Party through Evite!

It should be a lot of fun, so if you're interested let me know, or reply by Evite. We do need to know who wants to be involved in the tournament though, so if you're planning to participate you MUST e-mail me ahead of time to put you on the list.

Tomorrow is going to be quite exciting, we are going to be completing the full distance of our Triathlon at practice. So please keep me in your prayers! Have a wonderful day everyone and thank you again for being a part of this with me.


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Happy Rocks!

Over the Summer, my friend Damian invited me to attend the City of Hope Cancer Survivor's Picnic dressed as Mrs. Incredible. This was then followed by a trip to the hospital to spend time with children still struggling with cancer. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in or out of costume. Seeing the faces of the children light up when they saw me was so beyond anything I can describe. Here I am dressed as a super hero having kids, that are more heroic that I ever have been, running up to me with pure excitement and adoration! The entire experience was beautifully humbling. Here's a picture from the Picnic with one of the most adorable little girls!

It was so cute, she kept finding me throughout the day to show me various crafts and and things she had done.

The whole day I felt like it was the best use I ever got out of a costume. So when Brie, Jeff and I came up with the idea of "Happy Rocks" and how we could combine it with my costuming to make children smile, how could I refuse?

"So what are Happy Rocks" you ask? Well, they are little polished reminders of the things that make us happy, directly from Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth! For every $10 donation a Happy Rock will be given to a child in the Pediatric Wing of the Hospital. Whenever seen or touched it will be a reminder of something one is either happy or grateful for. I will be delivering them dressed as the Giselle, from the Disney Movie "Enchanted", bringing a little Disney Magic to the children's day. While the focus is primarily on the children, if you would like a Happy Rock for yourself, please let me know!




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This past weekend I was able to put my wet suit to work! I woke up at 6 on Saturday to get dressed and on the road up to practice. By 7:30am we were suited up and walking down the beach towards the ocean. Before getting into the water Coach Pete talked about not letting the shock of the cold water speed up our heart rate too much, and to remain calm and just swim. We began walking into the water and it was brutally cold! Sure enough my heart rate went up with every freezing wave that hit me. After wading out far enough the wave were no longer an issue, and it was amazing to see how effortlessly we all just floated in our wet suits. Before I go into the next part of my tale, I would like to preface it with this. I have swam in the ocean before! My family and I have done several snorkeling trips in both the Caribbean and Hawaii, and I've never had a problem. In fact, here's a fun pic of me just snorkeling away in Hawaii (photo courtesy of Daddy) not a worry in the world:

See how beautiful and crystal clear the water is? Not to mention how warm!!! Here's another picture snapped of some fishies in Hawaii!

So imagine my surprise when I put my face in the water and all I could see was this:

That's right, brown, gross, freezing cold water! I suddenly felt incredibly claustrophobic and could not put my face down in the water. I bobbed behind as everyone else swam out to the buoy. Thankfully Paiwei stayed behind and he gently talked me through everything. Showed me I really had nothing to worry about, so I just needed to breathe and take it a stroke at a time. He swam along side me the rest of practice and it was so incredibly comforting. By the second lap around the buoy I was feeling great in the water, just gotta think like I'm a turtle! I really appreciated Pai taking the time to stay back with me, it was so calming and encouraging.

Hey! I Survived! (Photo courtesy of Pai!)


A special thanks to Pai, your help this past Saturday was more then I could have known to ask for.



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Purpose

Everyday I feel I am reminded about my purpose in this triathlon. In recent weeks, days even, I have been confronted with many reasons, or suggestions to quit. The funny thing is around December I was on the fence about continuing, but in January something happened. With some incredible encouragement and prayer from my friends, and some dedicated support from people like Jeff and Brie, I suddenly realized I could do this. Massive brainstorming sessions and actions began. So many pieces started falling into place, and I have confidence that it will all work out. So I don't need to fret. I know God has a plan, and as I continue putting forth the effort, it will be rewarded. The thing is I am not actually doing this for the money. This is so beyond money, or ability. This is about doing whatever I can for this cause. So no matter what, I can not and will not give up. Giving up is not an option. When I think about not finishing the race, well, I just can't picture it. What I can picture is running across that finish line all sweaty a gross with a huge smile on my face and my hands in the air! So watch out Lavaman, here I come!


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Busy Busy Busy

So I'm a bit behind on updates. Work has been so busy, and the rest of the time I'm either training or sleeping. Wednesday morning's training session with Laura was great! I was definitely feeling tired when I got to the gym, but Laura got my energy up and we did some really fun exercises. Starting Monday we will be doing some more yoga and pilates! Laura wanted to make sure I had built up my strength to really endure the various poses. We started doing a few at the end of the day, and it's definitely a lot harder then it looks! I'm really looking forward to it!


Here I was having to prop one leg on the step, while lower and raising myself with the other. The weight made it harder then just lifting myself. 3 sets of those and my legs were burning! It was awesome!!!


Another fun workout with the step. I am so amazed at all the different uses things like the step and yoga ball have! They really make you focus on your core and work your entire body, even if you think you're only focusing on arms.


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Ready for the Ocean!

So Monday was very exciting because my wet suit arrived! Now, I won't need to wear the wet suit in Hawaii since the water is so warm. However, in order to get used to swimming in open waters, we will be practicing in the Pacific Ocean which is very cold, so I need one!!! I of course had to try it on to be sure it fit, which it did! Check it out!


I feel like a super hero!!!

No Capes!


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Renewed and Ready!

This past Sunday morning I went to church as I usually try to do. The service and worship was wonderful and uplifting as always, with an insightful message that left me with a feeling of positive outlook for the week. I had no idea that when I walked through the doors that morning, I would be so incredibly blessed. After the service a woman, Ann, came up to Anysia and I while we were chatting. She spoke a little with Anysia, then turned to me... Ann's husband, Larry, was diagnosed 2 years ago with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). While it's treatable, the medicines have very heavy side effects, such as bone pains and digestive problems. We didn't talk long, but the love and concern she felt for her husband was so incredible, and I could feel it as she held my hands. It's not as though I had forgotten why I began this journey, but all of a sudden its true purpose was brought to a new level. Up until Sunday I had been running in the memory of Tom. I wanted to help families going through the same struggles that Tom's went through. When Ann hugged me, I realized I was running for her and Larry and their family. They are the ones I am doing this for. Suddenly all my stresses and concerns for my own life melted away, and I felt renewed in my goals for this cause. I can not thank their family enough, and I am willing to do whatever I can to help them! We are in this together and I have no intention of giving in, no matter what!

Thank you Ann and Larry for allowing me share this experience with everyone. Please let me know if I can ever do anything for you. My prayers are with you every day. God bless!!!!


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What? I had Plans???

Sometimes, no matter how perfectly planned out you may have things, or how hard you try to make things work when obstacles come up, there is just a point when you need to sit back, laugh and roll with it. Yesterday was swim practice at 7:30. Usually it's not problem getting there because I get off work at 6. Of course, this is the week we go onto Overtime at work, so I try to find out if I can go to practice, then come back and do my 2 extra hours after. At first my lead said no, thinking that my current shot was in a different place then it was. Once he saw what I had, he said it was fine. So I run home to change into my swim stuff and grab my bag. Once I got out into the alley I see a bunch of cop cars to the left of my garage where the alley Ts and you have to go either right or left. I figured someone got robbed or something and that I'd just go the other way to get out. I pull my car out of the garage and suddenly there's a spotlight on my car from the helicopter bellow that starts following me! Thankfully one of my neighbors came over to fill me in. Apparently there was a high speed chase that ended when the man driving the white car drove it straight into the apartment building where the alley Ts. 3 guys then bailed out of the car, leaving one behind who was then arrested. The police then proceeded to barricade the entire neighborhood off and refused to let anyone leave or enter for over an hour, which was after swim practice started. Needless to say, this was pretty funny. Not only could I not make practice, but I was not able to finish up my overtime at work. I decided to just work on getting everything ready for the garage sale on Saturday and laugh at how ridiculous the day was. I thought I had everything worked out, and life just said, "nope, today you're going to be trapped at home for an hour." It was a great chance to just look at the other possibilities around me. I realized how fortunate I am that, even though this was never what I had wanted for the evening, this incident only threw off my night. People who find out that they have a blood disease, well that sorta throws off their whole life, so why should I think I get to complain? Really, I'm just grateful everyday to be healthy and alive. Sure stress comes and goes, but I have so much to live for, and I am happy for the perspective I've gained while preparing for this race.

This weekend is looking to be very eventful. I have high hopes for good weather, successful garage sale and super fun party! For more information on these events, please check out my previous blog post.


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Moving slowly, but still moving forward!

Today I hit the snooze alarm twice, and barely made it to the gym by 6. I have been moving like molasses! After a great workout with Laura I came home and cleaned up and heavily debated going to work or crawling back into bed. I of course chose to be responsible path and made it to work and have been a busy bee all day. I'll be in bed early tonight for sure!

So aside from training, I have also been raising money to help find a cure for Leukemia and Lymphoma. Honestly, I don't know what stresses me out more sometimes, the physical training, or raising money. It's times like this I get to be creative! Out of a lot of support and collaboration with friends, I am excited to announce a couple fun fund raisers I'm involved in!

*First of all, my friend Stephanie and I are holding a Garage Sale Saturday morning in Westchester. Half of what we raise will be going towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the other half will go to the National Coalition for the Homeless. If you're in the area and are interested in stopping by, here's the info!
Garage Sale
Saturday, Feb. 21th, 9am - 3pm
~Fingers crossed for No rain!!!~
7620 Kittyhawk Ave.
Westchester, CA 90045

**Second!! Saturday evening, Matt and I are hosting a Winter Beach Party at Dockeweiler Beach from 6-10pm. There will be all the fixings for hot dogs (veggie option available) and smores, so come on down and have a good time!


***Third!!! After Brie had a very silly adventure visiting Disneyland, an idea was born! For every $10 donated, I will be hand delivering (dressed as Giselle from Enchanted) polished "Happiness and Gratitude" Rocks to the children in the hospital. This is a great opportunity to not only help fight Leukemia and Lymphoma, but also brighten the day of a child. All you need to do is make sure to include "Rocks for Kids" in the comment section of your online donation.

The "Happiness and Gratitude" Rocks!


My Giselle costume that I will be wearing to spend the day with the children!

Have a great day everyone!


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Monday Monday Na na Na nana na!

So today I woke up at 5am so I could get to the gym on time for my personal training session with Laura. I scheduled this last week, not realizing I had off work today, which meant I could have slept in and done a later session. Oh well, it got me out of bed at least! Today we did a lot of lower back and abs, which is always really hard, but I feel GREAT after! I love walking away from a work out really feeling the burn of achievement in my muscles!!!! Looking back I can't imagine being as successful in my training without a personal trainer. Twice a week, Laura helps me hit areas of my body that wouldn't be getting as much attention just running biking and swimming, as well as strengthening the areas I will be using most in the race. What I love about working with Laura is she has my best interests in mind. She is great about showing me how to do things, like using the yoga ball, so that if I were to get one, I could easily do things on my own! Also, throughout the week she e-mails all of her clients with various health tips, nutrition info, recipes and fun facts to help us as we make lifestyle changes. If I ever have any questions, I know I can drop her an e-mail and she'll get back to be asap, which is really a great luxury to have. I feel very blessed to have gotten such a wonderful trainer, I owe a lot of my success over the past couple months to her. Everything from exercise habits to eating right, I have been able to better grasp thanks to her.

Here are two pictures from our session today. I was on this machine that would keep my body straight but on an angle so I could bend at the waist allowing me to really hit my lower back muscles.


First I would start by holding the weight and bending over, not arching my back, but bending at the waist and keeping my back straight.


Then I would lift the weight up over my head really hyper extending. It feels so good, but really starts to burn fast!

I love lower back days.


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Thank you everyone for your prayers and support yesterday. I really needed it. Today I am better rested and feel much more capable again!

Swim practice was good, I did around 25 laps (50yrds each) and barely stopped for more then 30 seconds a couple times. It felt really good, even if people were passing me in the pool. I've just learned to take it at my own pace. Sometimes I like to hum songs from the Little Mermaid to help me relax. It makes the time pass at a more enjoyable pace.

Here is a funny pic from last night:

At first this may look like a silly picture of my assistant coach, Kevin McCabe. Well look a little closer....

....

....still don't see it?

I'll help you out:

That's me freezing in the background! Hahaha At least once I got going I warmed up, but getting in and started is always the hardest part.

So thank you again for your support. I would not be able to make this happen without each of you! Have a lovely day.


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Exhausted...

Today I feel exhausted. So much so that I almost just want to go tuck myself into bed, cry and then sleep until Monday. The stress of this week has hit all aspects of my life; personal, professional, physical, emotional and spiritual. It's not any one thing, just lots of little things. The idea of swimming in 50 degree weather is not helping my motivation, even if the pool is heated. If there were ever a day I could use some extra prayer, today would be it. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me so far. I refuse to quit. This is bigger then me and I will not give in just because of a rough week, but I would be lying if I told tried to tell you things were great today.

I did pick my bike up from Helen's on Saturday though. Look how pretty the pink handle bars are! I will be taking her for a spin this weekend.



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Riding Tips!

I started today off with my personal trainer session at the gym, which was great as always. Laura is such an excellent trainer, she makes working out fun! Nothing like starting of the day feeling like you've already accomplished something.

I just got off the phone with my Uncle Alan who happens to be a very experienced cyclist. He's done all sorts of amazing bike events and really knows his stuff. Now, I know very little about bike, other then that I apparently needed a "road bike" for the race, or I "was going to make it very hard on myself." Thankfully, I have acquired a very nice bike just this weekend, and it's currently getting tuned up over at Helen's Cycles. Yay! So I now turned to my uncle for some advice. Uncle Alan had some wonderful tip and suggestions to share, both on the setup of my bike, as well as ways to ride more efficiently. I wanted to post today about what he said, since it's making me very excited to hop on my new bike tomorrow and start practicing!

1) Positioning myself on the bike. It is very important, since I'll be riding into the wind, to make myself as streamline as possible. Otherwise I am creating unnecessary resistance that will only make riding that much harder.
-Once I get going on the bike, I should lean my body down as much as I can support so that I can lift my head to see and cut through the wind.
-It's likely to be very hard at first, but it will ultimately help me to not waste energy, when I will need it for the run.

2) Practice using all the gears! It is important to practice shifting steadily through the gears when riding to best preserve your momentum as you ride up and down hills.
-It is important, as you approach a hill, to begin shifting into a lighter gear. Then as you ascend the hill, continue shifting one gear lighter at a time. This helps to keep you pedal pacing steady. If you shift from a higher gear to a lower gear very quickly, you'll just end up spinning your pedals really fast and loose a lot of your built up momentum. At that point just wasting your energy.
-As you approach the top of the hill it will be time to begin switching back to higher gears one at a time. As you start the descent down the hill, be aware of how your speed will pick up and shift when appropriately to maintain a strong control over the speed and energy of your pedalling.

3)When on the bike, be sure to keep your knees pointed forward above your feet. That way all the energy in your legs will push straight down into the pedals. If you would to aim your knees out, the angle at which you would push on the pedals would be less effective and ultimately waste a lot of energy.

4) Keep the bike as light as possible. The less weight you have the easier the ride.
-If there are water stations on the path, then only carrying one water bottle would be fine.
-If there are no water stations available, perhaps get a second water cage attached to the bike.

5)HYDRATION IS IMPORTANT!!! Your body will be more efficient in it's use and storage of the water during the race if you do this.
-Begin Hydrating yourself at least 3 days before the race.
-Be sure that you drink at least 8-10 full glasses of water a day.

That is all I have for the moment. Thank you for reading!


Uncle Alan, if I have not correctly expressed your advice please let me know. It is possible that some of the value has been lost in translation. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me tonight, I found it to be quite informative and encouraging!


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Run Run Run

Saturday mornings are our Bike/Run days, and this week was running due to the rain. Now, I am not a morning person, and weekends are great for sleeping in, so I'm always such a grog~pog when I have to get up at 6:30 and drive myself to Santa Monica to run, especially in the cool and rainy morning. I ran up several hills, twisting through beautiful neighborhoods. When I reached the top it felt great! My knee was getting a little sore, but my asthma had not flared up at all! After some stretching and talking with Pete about taking my running time and focusing on my breathing, I took off back down the hill. As I ran back, I slowed my pace, so as to have better control of my breathing as well as run for longer periods of time. During my run, I found myself thinking of how grateful I am. Grateful for all the support I have received from so many friends, the new relationships that have developed in my life and the realization that I can dedicate myself to anything I put my mind to. When I got back to the picnic tables my knee was throbbing, but I had hardly noticed until we stopped. Turns out I ran 6 miles!!! Not only is that the farthest distance I've run to date, but it is the distance I need to run in the triathlon. An accomplishment I was feeling pretty good about.


7am on Saturday, looking out at the rainy Santa Monica Pier


The team hanging out by the picnic tables. They setup a cool little tent to help keep people's stuff dry while we ran.


Chilling with Coach Pete after getting back from our run!


Oh yeah! I'm feeling good!

Now that I'm all dry and warm, it's time to start a new week! Have a great day everyone!

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Just Keep Swimming!!!

Thursday nights are swim practice nights with the Team. Honestly, I was not feeling it yesterday. It was cold and rainy, and the idea of hopping into an outdoor pool was not exactly on the top of my list for enjoyable things to do when it rains. On top of which, I am usually so exhausted after work, that I just want to go home and rest, so energy was at a massive lo. Of course, as nice as it would be to take a night off, I know there are people out there who, as much as they hope and pray, are unable to take even an hour off from their blood cancer...who am I to complain about getting in a pool when it's raining. I mean, I gotta get wet anyway. Matt and I got to practice early, so we did our best to stay warm and dry as long as we could. Once I got in the pool I just started swimming. I ended up swimming around 20 laps (50 yrds per lap) only stopping to rest for 30-60 seconds a couple times. It was by far my best swim practice yet. Funny how you can be so against doing something initially, but when you finally do it, you're surprised by your overall achievement. In the end I'm glad I went to practice. As the triathlon draws closer, I am amazed at how far I've come. I honestly never thought I could do something like this, much less make it as far as I have. Everyday, I am so grateful for this opportunity in so many ways.


Matt hanging out after we got to the pool. The rain let up for a few, but it was still cold!


Everyone swimming who came for the 6:30 practice. My practice was at 7:30.


Me bundled up before the swim and still feeling too cold to get in!

I wasn't able to get any more pictures as it began to rain once it was time to hop in. Maybe I'll have some next time!

My Team in Training Donation Page

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Taking it to the Next Level

I have been training with TNT since November. A little over a month ago I realized I wasn't reaching the physical goals I was setting for myself. I was running, biking and swimming, both with the team and on my own, yet didn't feel like I was building up my strength and endurance as quickly as I was hoping for. Getting in shape for the triathlon is great, but I wanted more! I wanted to make actual life style changes, so that even after the event is over, I can continue to stay active and healthy. So I signed up for a personal trainer at my gym. I've been meeting with her at 6 am, twice a week for over a month now. Yesterday was my first progress check point since signing up. In just a month I've gone from 23% body fat to 14%, lost 3 lbs and an inch here or there. The most exciting part of this for me is just how capable I feel! Like I can take on the world! Triathlon, here I come!

Here are some pics from yesterday's training session that I thought would be fun to share:


We worked the lower body, this was an exercise where I would step onto the box, jump to switch feet and come back down. I had to do this for a minute (which feels a lot longer then it sounds)


This was a really interesting pilates type exercise where I would balance on one foot and my hands, and bring the other leg under my body, knee bent, then extend it out behind me and hold for a moment.


I was feeling so good after my work out, that I wanted to wear something cute to work.

Thanks for checking in! Have a great day!

My Team in Training Donation Page

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Team in Training ~ Racing to Save Lives

Hello Friends!

Back in October I signed up for a triathlon to raise money to fight Leukemia and Lymphoma. In November I started training, learning the proper ways to run, and realizing how incredibly long it's been since I've had to swim laps. Today I'm over half way through my training, the race is coming up at the end of March, and I can not believe how much of a life changing journey it has been so far. So I wanted to start this blog to be able to share some of my experiences as well as document for myself the adventure I have been on. Here's the link to my Team in Training (the organization work with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) site with the story of why I got involved in this.

My Team in Training Site

If you'd like to make a donation you can do so easily through the site. If you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment, or drop me an e-mail hklees@gmail.com


I am planning to post several times a week, so check back often! Have a great day!