Pelotonia14

Pelotonia14 has come to a close and I am simply overflowing with emotion and energy from the weekend.  I jumped all in for Pelotonia14, committing to the full 180 mile, 2-day adventure.  Only a little more than 700 of 7262 riders commit to the full 180 mile ride.  I also recently saw a statistic that there are only 344 cancer survivors riding in Pelotonia14 (fact check: Best Bike Blog Ever).  That is less than 5% of the riders that are cancer survivors.  As I entered into the weekend knowing I was one of the 344 survivors and one of the 700 that would complete the full 180 mile ride, I was feeling pumped!

Training started early this year with indoor workouts in the "Pain Cave".  I mentioned this amazing group of women that I trained with for 2013 and they have become an even more amazing part of my life since then.  Julie hosted indoor spinning workouts over the winter on trainers in her basement - these were no joke! 

In addition to physical training, we focused on hydration and nutrition. It became apparent how important preparation was going to be.  I planned my first road trip in April, which I was super excited to get my first overnight trip under my belt before Pelotonia - there is so much to think about and so much more anxiety when you have to pack and think about everything you will need when you are away from home.  This trip would ultimately not happen for me when my mom took a turn for the worse and ultimately lost her battle with breast cancer on April 21, 2014.  I was more motivated than ever now to step up and tell cancer to Suck It!

As spring broke and we could get outside, the rides got easier, the recovery became faster and I started to feel confident I would make it up those hills on August. 

We gathered to check in on Friday at the Opening Ceremony - another inspiring evening by the Pelotonia staff!  They hit a home run!  Here are a few of my 180 mile crew enjoying the night before.

Weeks prior to Pelotonia, Cindy's family rallied behind us as our personal SAG. What a treat this was - they would be strategically placed throughout the route and we could have our own food available, along with cold beverages (and ICE:) and friendly faces to take care of us while we were pedaling our way through both days.  Simply put, they were angels from heaven.  To see this family pull together to support not just their own, but the rest of us riding with their loved ones, it was awe-inspiring. I have had a lot of moments since losing my mom where I felt sorry for myself because I have lost both of my parents in such a short time. I realized again this weekend that family is not just about who you are born into, but the many wonderful souls you surround yourself with. My heart is bursting with love and support from this weekend. 

Saturday Crew

My tributes

This is how Rey is going
to ride Pelotonia15

THE RIDE: We line up with the final touches to our tributes, some with marker written on their bodies, helmets adorned and mine with pictures posted to my back.  We would bust out of the gate in the 2nd wave on Saturday morning, giving us a fast start and a sense of confidence for the day.  Somehow I missed the first SAG stop after getting ahead of the group and after a long wait at the 25 mile rest stop, I would reconnect with 2 of our 6.  Learned my lesson there and planned to stay with the group from now on - I had no interest in riding alone and stand by my mantra that "it's not about how fast you finish, it's about who you finish with".  The first 43 miles would go fast, the lunch stop with our personal SAG was a treat and we would say good-bye to Jenny at the 50 mile split.  Now time to settle in and prepare for the hills.  We would have one more personal sag at the 70 mile mark before they would head out to wait for us at the finish line.  We stopped for a potty break at mile 80 and regroup before the final trek to the finish.  We are a rider short and our rule is 'no rider left behind', so we would wait for them to catch up to us at the rest stop.  When they didn't show, we begged (well, we didn't have to beg that hard, he was pretty wiling) a motorcycle SAG to take Rey back a few miles to check on our lost rider.  No luck, we ultimately make the call to go on, hoping and praying that she missed us at the rest stop and went on thinking we weren't there.  We rolled into the arms of our fellow riders and family members, thankful to find our lost rider who assumed we left her behind...we must have better communication and a plan for Sunday!

We enjoyed some dinner, a much needed shower and retreated to our room for the evening.  We had quite the treat for our accommodations and had the luck of being put up in apartment style housing.  The best part was having a living area that we could all relax in and recount the day.  We would strategize our better plan to stay together on Sunday and laughed until we cried, which was a much needed stress reliever.  

Jen and Jake

I arose at 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, on my own, which for anyone that knows me, knows this is a miracle! We pulled out our special jerseys in honor of Jake for today.  Jake was Jen's sweet dog that we would ride in honor of today.  Jake was diagnosed with cancer and unfortunately lost his battle in January of this year. Jen would pull Jake in a toddler trailer on rides and became our team mascot.  We all loved Jake - he was a very special man and meant the world to Jen.  It was our privilege to honor him (and her) on this day. 

The Fab 5 for 180!

As we lined up in the chute, it became apparent that today would start with a challenge - to leave Kenyon College, you must first ride up a very steep hill. We waited in the chute, with the fog surrounding us, nervous about our ability to climb this steep hill on cold, sore legs - I am happy to report we made it!  I was very nervous about being the rider that took out everyone else before we even got started...whew, crisis avoided!  We knew the first 20 miles would be the challenge - they are full of steep hills, you are tired and not yet warmed up.  I had the privilege of encountering John Looker at about Mile 6.  John is a cancer survivor, currently battling a number of reoccurrences and based on all statistics, should not be here, yet he is and could kick my ass on the road on most given days!  I rode with him and his posse for a bit and continued to leap frog and encounter him most of the day.  We would roll into New Albany in two groups today and it was the most emotionally charged moment I have experienced in a long time.  There were tears and smiles, pain and excitement!  

Matthew and I

My cherished brother was there to see my cross the finish line, which meant the world to me.  While my family was close, my parents never witnessed me complete an endurance run or ride since I started this physical journey 5 years ago.  While I know they were always proud of me, they were not comfortable sharing these experiences with me and I never took the initiative to ask them to be there.  I asked Matthew to be there on Sunday, and he was - funny how that works.  Sometimes people just don't realize how much their physical presence means to you - no matter how small it seems, it can mean the world to someone that you took the time to show up. I wish I would have made the effort to ask my parents to be there, rather than assuming they did not want to be there....now, it's too late.  

I am so grateful for the women that got me to the finish line!  Thank you Cindy, Franny, Rey and Aneca - you ladies rock!  To our entire wackadoodle crew - thank you for pushing me, sometimes literally (Jen and Julie:) up each and every hill.  And thank you for being my extended family of the heart - it means the world to me that you show up for me.

When can I register for Pelotonia15??

I CAN!

I have been told time and time again that getting up a tough hill is far more mental than physical. I have always agreed with this theory, but that doesn't make it any easier to get out of my own head.

I was out for my last training ride before Pelotonia14 and was expecting a fairly easy ride - 35 miles and a route I have done several times before, so no surprises. Just before we hit the halfway point, one of the girls mentions that they plan to take a slightly different route into Granville that includes "Beechwood Hill". I immediately count myself in because I could use some extra hill work before next weekend. 5 of us head one way for the extra hill and as we pull away Rey mentions, "I had never made it up Beechwold until this season".  I immediately think I have made a mistake.  See, the 4 girls that I joined, we fondly refer to as the "Fast Girls".  They are more experienced riders and do centuries as a matter of course on the weekend.

We turn left onto Beechwold and immediately it is steep, I get into my granny gear and I make it up the first section...I start up the second section and keep telling myself, "hills are not about your legs, they are about your heart" (I cannot take credit for these words of wisdom, but I use them to help me conquer the hills). I made it 75% and got off my bike - the fear of my legs not being able to push the pedals gets the best of me. Jen comes running down the hill and demands I get back on the bike, to which I respond, "I CAN'T!"  Jen was not taking "I CAN'T" as an option.  I thought, now what?  Anyone who rides knows the only thing worse than riding up a tough hill is getting back on the bike in the middle of a tough hill and getting started again. Thanks to Jen's belief in me, as well as giving me a push off while Julie insured I did not fall over, I made it up that last part of the hill...think back to learning to ride a bike as a kid with your dad running behind you - that was Jen & Julie for me today;-)  Sometimes it takes someone else believing in you to believe in yourself!  

I catch my breath, look to my left and there is yet one more steep incline.  I was sure I would not make it - I thought I had spent all the energy I had. Rey gives me a pep talk - assuring me that I can do this, to which I continue to say "I don't think I can".  Wouldn't you know, I made it up that last stretch, without falling over or walking it.  Yet again, I am reminded that the anticipation of things is quite often worse than actually going through them and it turns out, I CAN! 

I am ready for 180 miles next weekend and I am so excited to experience it with the most supportive, thoughtful and bad-ass women I know!