The 50 Mile Barrier

This past Saturday we broke the 50 mile barrier.  The total length of this ride was 56ish miles.  To accurately depict our morning, I'm going to go back a day or two to set the scene.  The day before the ride, I decided to wash the Equinox since it was coated in pollen from the spring tree blossoms. That morning, like every other, was a mad rush around the house to eat breakfast, grab all of our gear, and run out the door.  Jenelle grabbed a Chobani and mixed in some granola, I have no idea what I ate, probably some leftovers.  We get in the car and head down the road.  All of the sudden I hear something land on the roof, I check the rear view mirror and see what appears to be a pterodactyl sized dump running down the rear window.  Come on!  I just washed the car.  Then Jenelle said, oh crap!  Where is my yogurt?  Yes.  Jenelle's Chobani mixed with granola was now running down the back of our freshly washed car.  Nice.  We had some extra time, since we were running around like crazy in the morning. So I stopped by a gas station and bough a gallon of water and some napkins to rinse off the yogurt. I didn't want to be scraping dried yogurt and granola bits off later.

Believe it or not, that was the only mishap of the day for us!  The day only got better.  We all met at a local elementary school in the Elizabethtown area.  Then we found out that this was a special day, because five cancer survivors came to the team ride to hang out.  They thanked us donating our time and money for an organization that is truly saving lives through cancer research.  Thanks again to all of our generous donors. You can see the impact you are having on these guys lives below!

These are survivors that joined us for our ride.

Once we got on the road it was smooth sailing, for most of us. One of our teammates, Loren, finished the day with one blown tire and three blown tubes. Jenelle, Shelly, Dave, Rich, and I got back to the parking lot first. Somehow Loren managed to finish 10 or 15 minutes behind us, which is no small feat given all of the issues he was having. He's a machine.

Rolling through the Etown countryside.

Also of note, I've built up enough confidence on my bike now, that I feel as though I can operate my cell phone/camera at the same time without crashing. See my handy camera work below. :-) Look for more in the future.

Again, I forgot to turn on my GPS until about 2 miles in... so the starting point is not correct.

Click here to see the ride!

Total distance: 90.03 km (55.9 mi)

Moving time: 3:55:22

Average moving speed: 22.95 km/h (14.3 mi/h)

Max speed: 58.00 km/h (36.0 mi/h)

Elevation gain: 1267 m (4156 ft)

T-Shirt Fundraiser

Sketch

We are SO CLOSE to our fundraising goal (thank you to everyone that has donated!), but we still have a little way to go.  Jer and I started racking our brains to come up with an idea for a fundraiser and we hope you will like our final decision.

Jer and I decided that we are going to sell custom T-shirts... but not just any shirt, one that has meaning for the LLS.  Personally, I think the design is pretty cool though I may be a bit biased considering Jer came up with it.  He designed it after seeing a similar piece of art that created a bike using various words related to bike parts.  In order to translate this idea to our fundraiser we thought it would be powerful to replace the technical terms of the original design (Cassettes, Handle Bar, Derailleur, etc.) with words that were meaningful to the LLS and its mission to support patients and blood cancer research. After thinking it over for a few weeks, he sketched out a design and we are happy to finally announce that we are ready to sell the shirts!

We would like to give a special thank you to our friend Jayme who took Jer's sketch and turned it into a digital copy.  Without her this project wouldn't be a reality.  Thanks Jayme!

We recently received the final design from the silk screener that will be printing the shirts for us... we really like it and hope you will too.  Here is a mock up of our shirt:

The shirts are made of a moisture-wicking microfiber, so they will be great for anyone who leads an active lifestyle. All of the shirts will have the same white print on the front regardless of the shirt color or size.  We have a number of options for you (see below for details on types and colors).  The short sleeve shirts will be $13.00 and the long sleeve shirts will be $15.00.  If you would like to have a closer look at the shirts, you can see them on expertbrand.com (the Men's and Women's Performance Tec Tee's).

Orders will be taken through May 4th, 2012.

Men's Shirts Available:
        Sizes: Small through 2XL
        Short Sleeve: Steel Gray
        Long Sleeve: Steel Gray

Women's Shirts Available:
        Sizes: Small through 2XL
        Short Sleeve: Steel Gray
        Long Sleeve: Purple**
                **Gray wasn't an option so we had to pick another color

We are no longer accepting orders. Hope you got you order in on time!

Letters

One of the roles for each Team In Training member is to be an ambassador for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Part of our duties include raising awareness of their mission to defeat all form of blood cancer, while supporting those who are forced to fight for their lives.

With over $814 million invested, the LLS is one of the largest investors in research aimed at helping all blood cancer patients live better, longer lives. However, they didn't do that alone. They've had community support since 1949, and could only invest in cancer research with donations from people who wanted to help.

In 2011 alone, the LLS invested nearly 80 million dollars in research across the globe. This funding was distributed across all blood cancers, including; Leukemias 33 million, Lymphomas 26 million, Myelomas 9 million, Myelodysplastic syndromes / myeloproliferative neoplasms 11 million.

Over the past 5 years, Jenelle and I have supported the LLS. We strongly believe in the mission and feel as though they truly make a difference in people's lives. Which is why we donate our time and money to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

This week we sent out informational letters to our friends and family. It's our hope that these will introduce you to a great organization, and that you will support them in their cause to defeat all forms of blood cancer.

Donate online today or mail your check made out to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to:

Jeremiah and Jenelle Nace
25 Meadow Dr
Camp Hill, PA 17011

What TNT is All About

Team In Training (TNT) is the world's largest endurance sports training program. The program provides training to run or walk a whole or half marathon or to participate in a triathlon, century (100-mile) bike ride or an all day adventure hike. Participants raise funds for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research and patient services in exchange for training, support, lodging, and airfare to the event of their choice. Since TNT's inception in 1988, 500,000 participants have raised over $1 billion.

TNT Team Spin Class

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society helps fund research to find new treatments and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and provide critical education, services and support to patients and families battling these cancers. Their mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

In exchange for raising funds, participants receive: personalized fitness training by certified coaches for a period of four to five months; training clinics; and a supportive group of teammates. Participants can choose from more than 60 accredited events in the United States and abroad, including: The Nike Women's Marathon: A race to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego, CA; The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon; Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C.; the Honolulu Marathon; St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, FL.; Triathlon at Pacific Grove in Pacific Grove, CA; America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in Lake Tahoe, NV; EI Tour De Tucson; and many others

Kick Off Meeting

We had our Team in Training kick off meeting this week in Harrisburg. During the meeting, we took the opportunity to meet our Capital area mentors (Cary, Chris and Trevor), coaching staff (Tom and Kui), and fellow team members. We also received our fundraising packets and picked out our official purple event jersey. 

My favorite part of the night was finding out who our honored teammates would be during this journey. These local blood cancer patients and survivors, cheer the participants along from training to completion. My teammate is Brian Bucher.

Luckily, Brian was at the kick off meeting and was able to share with us his uplifting and emotional story.  In 2005, he was diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal Large B Cell Non-Hodgin's Lymphoma. When the doctors at Hershey Medical Center discovered the tumor next to his heart, it was the size of a grapefruit. Seven years and countless chemotherapy treatments later, it's roughly the size of a grape. 

Support and research efforts, made possible by the LLS, allowed Brian to share his story. I hope to tell more of his story in a future post (if he'll let me).

Our honored teammates will be our greatest inspiration and motivation. We must always be thinking of their battles on the front-line.