week 7, playa del rey, 45 miles

Each week before our training, our team gathers around to discuss about fundraising updates and opportunities, we have a mission moment, and clinics. Mission moment is sharing a story about a person who has/had a blood cancer. Allow me to share my brother's story as I did with our group on Saturday.

Paul was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Large B cell Lymphoma at 29years old. He presented with a dry cough for 1 year, weight loss of 10 pounds in one month, and shortness of breath on exertion. He was in the Navy Academy so he thought his symptoms could be related to his intense training. The doctors initially diagnosed him with bronchitis. Finally, one of the docs ordered a chest xray which revealed an 11x9cm mass sitting on his right lung. After a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. He underwent 4 months of chemo then 2 months of radiation. The follow-up chest xray showed a reduction of his mass by 50%. Since the mass was still there, he was referred for a bone marrow transplant, which was an autologous stem cell harvest, followed by a consolidation chemotherapy. Still, the mass was persistent. The specialists recommended to do a cardiothoracic surgery to remove 2 out of the 3 lobes from his right lung. The pathology test showed it was "dead" cancer cells at the time. Paul had been in remission since 2003.

My brother is the most inspirational person in my life. During his journey with lymphoma, he was attending medical school. Through his determination, he was able to graduate with his class. Prior to his diagnosis, Paul asked the Lord, "What kind of doctor should I be? Please give me a sign." The Lord answered his prayer. Paul was just accepted a fellowship in the Hematology/Oncology in Washington D.C. He is currently an internal medicine physician in Florida.

Help me to fight blood cancer.

Sincerely,
Tricia

week 6-Palos Verdes, 42 miles

Description on the pictures: You can see beautiful homes in PV that are mansions. It reminded me of the villa in Farmville =). The hill picture is a climb we did for 2 miles up to Mary Mount College. What comes up must come down. The ride downhill was exhilirating. The bikers picture is my group doing paceline riding. The chapel picture is a famous place newlyweds get married since it's overlooking PV.

This training was the most challenging yet. The climb was grueling. I had to have a mantra in my head "I'm a mountain goat, I can do this!" and I had to think "One pedal at a time." Images popped in my head of my brother during his chemo, radiation, bone marrow transplant, and surgery. I thought of our patients in CHLA. I thought of my aunt who is dying of pancreatic cancer; Anything that will keep me focused. There was a time I wanted to stop pedaling. I thought of my other teammates who had already finished their climb. If they can do it, so can I. Finally, I saw a sign of the college, our final destination to the top of the hill. I was 2nd place out of 5 in our group and two were our assistant coaches. I was very proud of myself. The ride downhill was the funnest.

During our ride, we encountered a dead snake. I shrieked when I saw it since it caught me off guard. We also saw two dead possums that had that rotten corpse smell. It was aweful!

My drive in PV felt like a roller coaster ride; up and down, up and down! I also had that queasy feeling in my stomach going down the road. It's a, "Whee" feeling!

This was the best training!

nutrition

*need to consume ~300 calories per hour (1 bottle of a sports drink and 1 gel)
*carbohydrates is the key to fuel back the muscles or it can cause lactic acid
*have a powdered drink handy to fill in water since the SAG stations at the event only provides water.

changing a tire

1: unlock the tire breaks
2: remove the tire
3: deflate the tire completely
4: use a tire lever to loosen the tire starting opposite of the valve
5: remove the tube inside the tire removing the valve last
6: inflate the new tube slightly by blowing air into the valve using your mouth to make it easier to put inside the tire
7: inspect the tire ie. to check for nails, glass to find the cause of the tire blow out
8: insert tube in tire placing the valve in first
9: use tire lever to put tire in
10: use CO2 (wear gloves since this get really cold) or tire pump to inflate tube
11: return tire in bike
12: lock breaks securely

week 5-Malibu

The perfect was weather this time! As oppose to riding along last week's residential homes, this week we rode along the coast by the beach. This ride was all about nature-smelling the ocean breeze, watching the surfers, seeing the waves break... We also saw a dead cat and a dead rat along the way. There were several "witches" during this training. Witches are uphills which were quite challenging. Thanks to one of our mentors, he showed me tips on shifting into a proper gear to lessen the workload on my legs. What a big difference! The mentor nicknamed me "Mountain Goat." I was the fastest rider to go up the hills in our group. He also nicknamed me "Stunt Woman" because I kept falling off my bike. The first time because I was sandwiched between two cyclists and we made a sudden stop at a stop light. The 2nd time because the person in front of me slowed quickly and I overlapped her tire. I scratched my right knee again but only mildy and the 2nd time I fell gracefully without hurting myself.

I really enjoyed the breathtaking view of Malibu.

week 4-Rose Bowl, Pasadena

Our team met in Rose Bowl Aquatics Center to do 30 miles today, yes, that included riding in the rain from light to heavy rainfall. It that didn't prepare us for the rain, I don't know what will. There's even a slight second that I felt hail and actually tasted it in my mouth. Today's training was the most challenging yet-lots of elevation. My slow pace group split in two towards the end of the ride. I decided to go along with the faster group. I called "gap" so many times and I felt really bad slowing the group down but they were very encouraging. No falls for me this time so I am very pleased. We rode through the affluent neighborhood of Pasadena. The landscaping, architecture, flowers, and designs of the homes were exquisite. It was quite a scenic route. Though there were quite a few elevations today, that also meant a lot of downhills. This was the most fun! Of course, after the team was done with our training, what happened? The rain stopped and the sun appeared =)

On my drive home, I passed by 10 cars off road, 7 due to accidents, and 3 were just parked off the shoulder for whatever reason.

I feel great!