Well, I had a long long, busy, yet productive Saturday. I woke up at 7AM and got ready to head out to Fairmount Park to meet my team for the bike ride. We rode down Black Road (which was quite a fun climb on the way back up!) and all along West River Drive for an hour. There was some kind of walk going on for Leukemia, so part of the road was closed off to cyclists, but we still had plenty of miles to ride.
I got in 40 miles on the bike today and on my way home I noticed a 5K going on at Penn Treaty Park just off of Delaware Ave. It was the 1st Annual Fishtown Shad Fest/5K Run.
Since it didn’t start until 1PM, I still had time. Feeling like superwoman, crazy me signed up, but I had to get home to grab my running shoes. When I got home, I showered (because I really needed one after that bike ride!) and headed back to the park. I did okay for the first 2 miles, but I made a smart decision to walk the remaining 1.1 miles – not that I was trying to break any records. My legs didn’t have anymore go left and I didn’t want to push it because it was really warm out and I still had to bike myself home. I think I would have done a lot better at an earlier hour when it’s still cool out. In any case, the race was free, and I got a free tshirt, and a free Walt Wit beer, and free fruit and water. Oh! And a free chilly cheese hot dog. I never had one before, but mmm mmm was that tasty!!
There were a ton of people at the Penn Treaty Park, so I decided to come back later in the day to do some fundraising. My mom went along with me and I raised $165 in about an hour. A lot of people there had been drinking all day and were therefore more generous. One woman that was there ran a marathon with Team In Training 3 years ago and we chatted for about 20 minutes. One man got teary eyed when I told him I was fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He said he was very familiar with the organization because his daughter had leukemia. Fortunately, today she is great, and healthy, and cancer free. He made a $100 donation! Then asked if he could give me a hug and thanked me for doing what I’m doing. It made me feel really good and reminded me of the reason I’m doing what I’m doing. I told him I’d do the triathlon in honor of his daughter, Nora, and wear her name on my jersey on race day. He said he would be there cheering all of the team on.
So not only do I have to focus on my running more (which I already knew), but I have to do it outdoors. Running on the treadmill is so much easier than being out on the asphalt and it’s not going to do me any good on race day if I’m not prepared for that. Obviously, my cycling has been great. Actually, my cycling is 110% better now than compared to this time last year. That weight training made me so much stronger and helped me unbelievably. However, the last two months of my training will be running, running, and more running. Time to buckle down and deal with it!
I ordered a Road ID today. It’s a wristband that is lazer engraved with all of my emergency contact information. It contains my name, address, home phone number, my mom’s cell, my brother’s cell, and at the bottom the quote I chose says “LiveStrong”. I bought the yellow wristband, so it seemed fitting. It’s made of that school bag strap canvas material and has a stainless steel plate. I’ll have it by May 1 and be a little safer out there on the roads. On my bib tag (race number paper) there was coupon for $2 off a Road ID, so I took advantage of it and didn’t want to put it off any longer. Just like wearing a helmet while riding, it’s a necessity. And it’s just a damn smart idea.
It looks like this:
I’m not too fond of the sunburn I got today, but boy do I love the smell in the air of a summer evening.
I had a great Saturday and thankfully I had the whole day off! Time to rest up on Sunday and enjoy the wonderful weather.
