Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon August 22, 2010

Iron Girl 2010!  The entire Iron Girl weekend was a blast!  Saturday was a fun filled day of racking the bikes and volunteering at the expo.  One of the biggest perks of helping at the expo besides meeting so many fabulous Iron Girls is multiple passes through the expo itself. Lots of great purchases for the Team Inspiration Iron Girls and I have to say we were styling before, during, and after the race!

Although it did end up raining during the race, it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits in the least.  Our team was amped up with the energy of carrying our cancer warriors in our hearts and on our Livestrong bracelets.  Each team member had at least one honored teammate they were racing for and carried that person’s name on their bracelet.  It was a very rewarding but emotional event for each of us.  The day was filled with wonderful smiles and moments of tears, but the tears were mostly an expression of gratitude and love for having this moment to share, and remember or honor our beloved cancer warriors.

I received this lovely email from one of our teammates after the race:
Dear Roseann, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to join team inspiration in the irongirl triathlon. I have participated in all 5 of the Columbia  irongirl events.  This year's was a far different experience and more rewarding than one could imagine.  You certainly run harder and faster when you are running so others can have a chance to one day do the same. I dedicated my race to three special people in my life.  Each of whom had an uphill battle with cancer.  I wore three livestrong bracelets with their names.  One for the swim, the bike, and the run.  When I would get tired or cramp, I would  picture the people on my bands, shed a few tears, and go harder and faster. When I felt exhausted, I would remember the words on the back of our team inspiration shirts, "Cancer Warrior". Again, I would shed a few tears and surge.  Finally, a mile to go and I passed a race participant  that just a few years back won her battlle with breast cancer. (at least for now)  I ran by her yelling, "WOO HOO, We're going to beat this cancer."  Again, an emotional rush that pushed me to the finish.

Team inspiration not only provided me the training support to get me to the start and finish line, but gave me an opportunity to meet so many wonderful caring individuals.  The support for each other from team members was rewarding and inspirational.  I will never just "do" irongirl again.  I plan to join team inspiration every year. It fills my heart and soul with emotion and purpose.

Looking forward to next year,
Sincerely,
Patty Myers

We can’t wait until next year, and hope to have many new teammates join us and our cancer warriors at Iron Girl 2011.

Eagleman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon

2010 Eagleman Ironman 70.3 triathlon was Team Inspiration’s Super Girl race! I love triathlon because it always presents a challenge for body, mind, and spirit, and you must find your Inspiration. I am very fortunate because Inspiration seems to find me! For this race Inspiration came in the form of what I now call Super Girl Spirit!

Our newest member to Team Inspiration is Cathy Tucker. This was her first 70.3 Ironman race and she wanted to do something special in honor of our Cancer Warriors so she decided to wear 13 LiveStrong bracelets on the run with the name of a Cancer Warrior on each one. I did the same and we carried 25 very special Cancer Warriors. The math is very basic, so it would seem that we would have a total of 26.

However, we had 25 because both Cathy and I carried a bracelet with the name of Jessica Hensley who is my newest patient and future triathlete for Iron Girl 2011!

She has resolved to meet her leukemia diagnosis with absolute positive energy and take a warrior stance of courage, strength, faith, and love to overcome this illness and move forward in her life with her beautiful and loving family and friends. She has already been a source of Inspiration to me and many others. Please visit her blog at http://notesfromsupergirl.com/ and you will very quickly see the power of the Super Girl Spirit!

So back to race day! The challenge of Eagleman70.3 is the headwinds on the 56 mile bike and the relentless heat on the run. This year was no exception and while no one likes the heat, I really hate it; my body hates it! The forecast for the day was temps in the low 90’s and I was worried if I would “bonk” on the run from the heat, but at the same time I knew this would be a good training race for Kona! The swim went slower for me and probably just about everyone else since we weren’t allowed to wear wetsuits. Once I got on the bike I felt pretty good, and although I was worried about the run I was thinking I might have a chance at one of the Ironman World Championship 70.3 slots.

Visualization is a big part of my triathlon training and life training. When Cathy and I met the night before the race to get our bracelets ready, she asked about my plans to qualify for the IM 70.3 Championship. This sparked a little flame, and I thought “Anything is Possible” so I’ll go for it!

I also had another source of Inspiration to qualify for the IM 70.3 Championship: My most awesome, super triathlete, super training partner, super friend, super nurse, and super person, Julie Caprio, aka FASTGIRL! Julie had already qualified at a previous race and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to do a World Championship together!

Julie is completely hardcore and when we do training rides together, it’s pretty much all I can do to hang in there. She certainly got me ready for Ironman Arizona last year. I know without our many training rides I would not have been as strong race day, and so she was instrumental in my success at getting a Kona slot along with my many Cancer Warriors!

I believe I was about 45 miles or so into the bike leg of the race when I heard someone from behind shout in utter disgust, “Roseann, what are you doing? You’re not even focused! Pull up on that back pedal stroke!” It was my dear friend Julie, and she was not kidding! So I put it in gear and jumped about 15 beats on my HR monitor for the rest of the ride.

I hit T2 and things were looking pretty good because of Julie’s Inspiration on the bike. So I’m thinking I might have a shot.

I hit the heat of the run and although it was brutal, I knew the most important thing was to stay positive! So while tucking ice under my hat and down my race top at every aid station, I chanted to myself “I feel great, I can do this!”

And so it was with the support of so many (the list of wonderful people in my life who are my Inspiration is just too long for me to put in one race report!) that I’m on my way to the Ironman World Championship 70.3 with FASTGIRL!

The most important part of this journey is the realization that “Anything is Possible” and we are all here to Inspire and support one another through life’s challenges and find JOY along the way!

And never forget you have Super Girl Powers!

Columbia Triathlon Post Race Report

Columbia Triathlon 2010 got off to a very soggy start! I woke up at 4:00 a.m. race morning to the sound of pouring rain. But then I remembered what a wonderful event this is rain or shine! The rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit for the race, especially Natasha!

Most of all I was very excited because our honored teammate from the 2009 Columbia triathlon was now our teammate racing on one of our relay teams! Dan Alderman was a cyclist on one of our relay teams and my son, Ben, was also a cyclist for Team Inspiration. Last year Ben rode in honor of Dan who was one of my patients receiving chemotherapy.

Dan is a lacrosse player at McDaniel’s College and Ben played lacrosse at University of Denver. Although they were in touch throughout this past year via Facebook, it wasn’t until the day before the race at packet pickup that they met. It must be their background as team players that they decided to do the race together as teammates rather than as competitors. It was an excellent racing strategy as they both had an awesome race time averaging 18.2 mph!

I was at work the Friday before the race and one of my patients asked if Team Inspiration was going to wear the Livestrong bracelets again for this race. He also knew that Dan was going to be riding in the race and asked if Dan would carry the bracelet with his name.This was an extremely wonderful request that deeply touched all of us  and we decided that each team member would wear a bracelet with the name of a very special Cancer Warrior.



For all of us racing with Team Inspiration, we recognize that we are very fortunate to have this opportunity to be a part of the triathlon community and we are tremendously grateful to be able to share that experience with our Cancer Warrior friends and teammates.   Thank you!

Aloha!

Aloha! As many of you know, at Ironman Arizona 2009, I qualified for the Ironman World Championship. In Arizona, I carried 140 LIVESTRONG bracelets with me throughout the 140.6 mile race. On each bracelet was the name of one of our cancer patients or someone who has battled cancer. It was their gracious sharing of energy, love, and guidance that inspired my performance and I was able to place second in my age group and qualify for Kona! It was only with the support of so many truly courageous individuals who have battled cancer that I’m on my way to the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii on October 9, 2010. It would not have been possible without their inspiration.

I would like to invite everyone who has battled cancer to come with me in spirit to Kona where the motto of the day is “Anything is Possible”. As an oncology nurse at University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, I have come to understand that we are not meant to face challenges alone, especially one as daunting as cancer. My hope is that as we support one another... caregivers, patients, and families... we will have the strength and resources to believe that "Anything is Possible" and we will one day soon be victorious in our collective battle against cancer.

In the Hawaiian language, ALOHA means much more than hello or goodbye or love. It’s deeper meaning is the "joyful (oha) sharing (alo) of life energy (ha) in the present (aio)". The Hawaiian lei is the symbol of the "Aloha Spirit" as well as the Ironman World Championship. My intention is to put the name of individuals who have faced cancer on the leaf or flower pedal of leis and take them with me to Hawaii where they will be placed on Alii Drive to greet and inspire all of those participating in this challenging event. I am working on a way to do this through our website that will allow individuals to put the name and message of hope or remembrance of the person I will take with me in spirit to Kona and also allow them to print out the leaf or flower pedal to hold on to or give to the individual. Stay tuned here for more details as we finalize the process. Thank you everyone for your love and support! ALOHA!

Gratitude

Today was a beautiful day and I went on a bike ride on the back side of the Columbia Triathlon course.  I was hoping that Dan Alderman could go with me to get ready for the Columbia Tri in May, but he was scheduled to have his mediport removed today.  This is a medical device that is placed under the skin so that IV medications such as chemotherapy can be given more safely.  So while I was riding, a recurrent thought came to me.  People often ask me why I get up even earlier on my days off to go to cycle class, or run, or swim  and my answer is because I can!  In a BIG WAY - BECAUSE I CAN - AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL!  I don't have to worry about a mediport or clinic appointments for blood work or chemo. I don't have to stay in the hospital for days or weeks at a time.  I get to leave the hospital at the end of the day. While I'm grateful for that, sometimes it's difficult...to leave when someone else cannot.  But I shake off the sadness and the worry for myself and my patients because we have things to do, and I'm blessed to be able to replenish myself and bring that good energy back to my patients until they are able to do that more easily for themselves.I think our patients would agree that all of our nurses and caregivers do that in their own way and we are all blessed to be on this journey together.

Facing Challenges: Fighting cancer and training for triathlons!

We are 20 weeks out from the Columbia Triathlon and that means official training has begun. Yeah! Dan Alderman, who is one of our patients at UMMC, will make his triathlon debut at Columbia! This is quite impressive since Dan is still receiving chemotherapy for the lymphoma he was diagnosed with in December, 2008. Last year, my sons, Ben and Ryan raced on our team in honor of Dan since all of them are lacrosse players. This year Ben and Ryan will be on our relay team and Dan will take on all three events of this Olympic distance triathlon! Dan and I cycled together last fall as I was getting ready for Ironman Arizona and I discovered very quickly that he is not going to back down from his goals regardless of the challenges that may arise. You see our training rides were sandwiched between his cycles of very aggressive chemotherapy and he started from ground zero as far as cycling endurance. On our first ride, he chose the route since I was in unfamiliar territory. I told him we should take it easy since one of the side effects of his chemotherapy is a significant loss in oxygen carrying red blood cells. That didn’t stop him from choosing a route with more than one significant climb that left both of sucking for air, but he refused to back down to the challenge of the climb! I know I’m going to be in trouble this spring when his red blood cell counts get back to normal and he resumes his lacrosse training at McDaniel College! We’ll keep you posted!

Anything is Possible: The Road to Kona and Beyond

Is it possible to qualify for Kona by carrying 140 people with you on the swim, bike and run? In preparation for Ironman Arizona on November 22, 2009, I realized that it was going to be a challenging event and I was going to need a lot of support. I’m an oncology nurse at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and my patients are a very big part of my triathlon life. My passion for triathlon and helping those facing cancer has led to the creation of TEAM INSPIRATION. Our mission is to facilitate healing and improve the quality of life for individuals with cancer. I decided to carry my beloved patients and others who have been affected by cancer with me during Ironman Arizona. I wore 140 LIVESTRONG bracelets with the name of our cancer patients written on them, as well as others who have survived or passed because of cancer. I wore 2 bracelets on my wrists for the swim, 112 attached to my bike, and carried 26 in my hands during the run.

I spend a lot of time with my patients discussing what it takes to navigate the difficult challenges when diagnosed with cancer. From them, I’ve learned that we are meant to face these challenges together. As I tell my patients, most of my inspiration for training and racing comes from them. I’m blessed to be able to leave the hospital and replenish my body, mind and spirit with swimming, cycling and running, and I try to bring that joyful energy back to my patients and inspire them with hope!

Race day was an extraordinary experience. I had so many wonderful people with me. Not only those whose names were on the bracelets, but those who cheered me on from wherever they were race day. I needed everyone’s support. The mass start of an Ironman swim was made more challenging by the cold water temperature and tight quarters of the Tempe Town Lake. But I was reminded with each stroke, as I saw the bracelets on my wrists, that I wasn’t alone! During the ride, one fellow triathlete asked the significance of the 112 bracelets. I related to him my story. He told me his mom had just been diagnosed with cancer and he was dedicating his Ironman race to her. I told him his mom was now on board with us, too! With about 10 miles left to go on the bike, I became overwhelmed with gratitude at the honor of having so many wonderful people in my life, and I must admit I cried, as I often do during a triathlon, because it’s such an incredible experience! On to the run and the plan was to wear 26 bracelets on my race belt, but this quickly proved to be awkward so I carried the 26 bracelets in my hands. It was a wonderful experience to "hold" everyone as I ran and they pushed me through the long run!

The blue-sky dream of every triathlete is to compete at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. I know it was only with the energy, hope, love, and support of so many that I achieved this magnificent honor. My second place age group finish qualified me for Kona 2010! As my triathlete friend stated, “Super-congratulations on an accomplishment that people try all their lives for and never reach. Sounds like the people you are carrying around with you pushed you all the way through to a victory.”

This is absolutely true and the ultimate blue-sky dream is a world that is cancer free. The Ironman motto is “Anything is Possible”, so let’s go for the ultimate “victory” together!

So now it’s on to Kona and I would like to invite everyone to be a part of this journey with me. Together we can realize our dreams. Please contact me through our website at www.TeamInspiration.org or on Facebook so that we can continue to achieve our victories together! Thanks and Aloha! Roseann