Paying it Forward, to my friend Chris

Saturday 10/16/2010:

Words simply cannot describe what I want to say. Many many many thanks to all of the wonderful participants and donations that made Pay-It-Forward to TEAM CHRIS an incredible moment for Chris and his family today.

Our running team of Jill, Mike, Emma, Tamar and Jane walked 2.5 miles from the Canton waterfront - to the Baltimore 5K start -- and arrived with 2 minutes to spare. There was no time to prep, as the 5K race started promptly at 8:30 am...and within 30 minutes we had all crossed the finish line - together. It was pretty miraculous that we finished together considering the size of the crowds, and the freakin' fast pace set by Tamar and Emma. We ran so fast that I never noticed the first or 2nd mile markers....but I think we were all somewhat inspired to do Chris proud today. We each had an opportunity to carry the Team-Chris banner during the 5K event - and of course proudly posed for this picture op.

By 11AM, Jill, Tamar and I presented Chris and his family with your donations and inspirations - and I have to say, it was a very moving moment. I may not know each and every participant in TEAM CHRIS today, but you need to know that your caring and support shed a beam of light, and hope for Chris. Thank you for making this moment happen. You really made a difference.

Monday October 11, 2010

One of my favorite movies - is Pay it Forward. NO, the movie is not new, but in case you haven't seen it, a young boy (Trevor), is caught up by an intriguing assignment from his social studies teacher. The assignment: think of something to change the world and put it into action. Trevor conjures the notion of paying favors FORWARD, and not BACK. Forward - means to repay good deeds not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people. Trevor succeeds to make good on his idea bring a revolution of GOOD DEEDS cropping up in an ever-widening circle of people completely unknown to him.

This Saturday, October 16, a group of friends have decided to PAY IT FORWARD - to my friend Chris. We've decided, at least in one small way, to shine a bright light in his direction. We believe that the power of kindness can make a difference. Most likely, you don't know Chris. He was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer, his wife is in remission with breast cancer and they have 3 small children. We wanted to take this opportunity to pay forward to Chris - a simple moment of kindness. And just maybe, the collective power of well wishes from our "village" can make a difference to Chris and his family.

My friend Chris, is not aware that he will be the recipient of PAY IT FORWARD. He has no idea what is ahead or how you will have an impact. Try to imagine YOURSELF being the recipient of Random Acts of Kindness from many strangers. The moment is bound to be special and profound.

On Saturday, Oct 16, some of us from TEAM-TRI SISTAHOOD (Jane, Jill, Emma, and Tamar) will be running in the Baltimore Running Festival (5K) - carrying a banner inscribed with your INSPIRATIONS for CHRIS.

Should you choose...here is how you can be a part of PAYING IT FORWARD - to Chris:

DONATION and/or INSPIRATION: whatever you can give. We will collect all donations for Chris (to help defray medical expenses) and present to him in person on Saturday Oct 16. PLUS, please take a moment to Write an INSPIRATION that we will carry during our 5K run...and present to Chris as well. Send your inspirations via email HERE -- or simply write use the COMMENT box at the bottom of this POST. In case our paths don't collide this week, contact me if you prefer to mail a check.

Team TRI-SISTAHOOD will present the donations / inspirations to Chris shortly after the Baltimore 5K run on Saturday Oct 16. Even if you cannot make a donation, please take a moment to WRITE a brief inspiration (yes, you can remain anonymous) by POSTING A COMMENT at the bottom of this blog site. Thanks in advance for all you do!

Thank you for making a difference and for PAYING IT FORWARD - To Chris.
You rock.

Jane Wadsworth
TEAM TRI-SISTAHOOD
301.520.4954

Run for d'Rosies -- is a Tri-Sista tradition

It's becoming a tradition. Each year, Emma runs faster....and the rest of the TRI-sista hood runs slower. But it all works out. Emma kept our Tri-Sistahood team scoring high in the ranks of over 450 finishers (6th place for our team), and Jill and I did our darnest to take in the scenery along the Wheaton Regional race course...a little slower.

The 5K race course is a combination of roads, park pathways and off road terrain. Temperatures were rapidly rising, and the high humidity quickly turned your skin into a sponge. With a LOT of runner congestion along many sections of the winding and sometimes narrow course, Emma managed to zoom around the masses of women...and finish with an impressive 8:46 minute mile.

Jill and I didn't have quite the same luck passing the femme blockades. At least that is the excuse we're using! Were we supposto TRY to pass them?

Emma finished 12th in her age division (young folks) - which is admirable considering there are many many peeps in her division. Jill and I both finished in the top 10 in our age division of ol'Farts. Woo hoo! Ranking high in age division results...is one of the perks to getting old.

Apres Run is filled with treats (this is WHY we exercise!), consisting of breakfast...and bluegrass entertainment at the Farmer's Market -- in downtown Silver Spring.

Brickin' it up...

What better way to spend a Sunday morning... than to BRICK it up on the Columbia Celebration and Iron Girl TRI course?

While wiping pixie dust from our eyes (or was that sweat?)... we managed to train on the bike and/or run course and kept our focus on TREATS that would follow.

Go TRI team!

Iron Girl Sunday 8/23/2009

I departed Cat Maudy at dockside at 4:30AM, still wiping pixie dust from my eyes. After all the media hype, reading up on nutrition, endless days of multi sport training, running 5K races, hours of studying bike technique (yes Lance - it IS about riding an expensive bike)...it all boiled down to getting your girl on for Iron Girl Sunday 8/23/2009.

With Hurricane Bill dumping buckets of suds late Saturday - it was not looking like the weather would be friendly for Sunday. Jill, Holly and I racked our 'spensive (for our budgets) bicycles in the transition area early evening Saturday - during a downpour. Plastic bags covered the handlebars, saddle and chain - and we walked away hoping that our chains wouldn't turn to rust during the next 12 hours.

Using the power of 2400 women encouraging Hurricane Bill to move on -- Iron Girl Sunday proved to be ideal (maybe a bit muggy? but who's complaining!) for a sprint TRI. The rains had stopped, temperatures cooled to the low 70's, and the pavement was beginning to dry on the roads. Traffic was completely jammed by 5:30AM. Jill and Holly were the first to arrive into Centennial Park. Seriously, THE first to arrive. I'm pretty sure they received gold stars in grade school for punctuality. Jane, Emma and cameraman Mike arrived next. After 6 or 7 phone calls to somewhat GPS challenged Divina - we found her wandering aimlessly in circles near the porta-potties. At that point I kept a death-grip on our little mermaid swimmer - to ensure she got to the swim start on time.

Next stop...body marking. Jill and Holly arrived at the body marking stage before the magic markers had been issued to the volunteers. When you participate in the Iron Girl TRI - your calf is marked with your AGE, and your shoulders, wrist and other calf is marked with your bib number. This comes in quite handy in case you get lost, and forget how old you are.

True to form, Jill and Holly locked in an early wave start. Just minutes after the pro wave, J&H were grouped with approximately 400 other femmes - the largest wave in the Iron Girl event. Jill rushed to the front of the swimmer wave - to be the first in the water (no surprise here!) , and avoid the mayhem once all of the swimmers began splashing. In record 24 minute time - Jill popped outta the algae green lake - and ran up the hill to the transition area to her bike. Not far behind was Holly - chewing on lake grasses, and glad to be done with the swim.

Jill managed to bike and run at warp speed. So fast, that her timing chip, worn around her ankle - never registered. It doesn't matter. We know. She completed a personal best of 2 hours and 20 minutes. That's smokin. Holly completed her first triathlon under 3 hours. Sizzle sizzle! What is more amazing, is that these ladies had the energy to party well into the evening - and score style points on the hula hoop rock climb event in Ellicott City.

Emma, Divina and I were grouped with the very LAST wave of athletes. This gave the sun ample time to rise and crank up the heat. It also gives us lots of time to stand around, mimic Terry's stretching program, watch the other athletes...and wonder if it will EVER be our time to participate. Divina, having trained for many months...stepped into the water...and FINALLY the LAST wave of swimmers were off. Emma and I took off for the transition area.

By now, most of the athletes had already been out on the bike course, and others were even finishing the run. As I waited for Divina to finish her swim, I quickly scouted out my bike competition. To my right...was a mountain bike. No competition there. To my left...a Cervelo with race wheels. Easily a $6K bike. hmmm. This might be a challenge - but my Ms. Trek Madone bike was ready. My bro even pumped up the tires. That's a bonus in my world. Here comes Divina. My stopwatch is ready...it's showtime. I ran up the hill with my bike, and crossed over the transition area. It took a bit longer to get clipped in - since my bike shoes were caked in mud. Eventually, I got clipped in...hit my stopwatch...and I'm off.

Focused the first few miles on breathing, heart rate, cadence (RPM) and the little digital readout on my speedometer. This is my personal motivator, and the feedback never ceases. Needed to keep the little numbers high, and my heart rate low. A bit of a challenge on this hilly course - but the first few miles were critical to "not overdoing it". Needed juice in the tank for the 4 climbs, and numerous uphill grinds.

Being the last wave to depart, there were plenty of bikers in front of me. Every biker in front of me...I needed to pass. I don't know why this is. It just IS. I passed approximately 150 bikers in that 17.5 mile route - for an average pace of 18+mph. Stopwatch reads 56 min & 16 seconds. Nearly 2 min better than my prior personal best. Moral of the story - ask big Bro to pump up your bike tires b4 you ride!

As I hopped off of my bike, and ran thru the transition area..I was met by Emma - who was FIRED up for her sprint/run. She had the timing chip off my ankle in record time - and before I could part any inspirational words...she was out of sight! Emma is a marathon runner, and we had talked about her running this 3.4 miles at her personal record pace. I didn't realize she took this conversation seriously!

Emma surprised all of us, including herself - when she raced across the finish line in a blistering 8:51 minute per mile pace. Our IG relay time took 11th place (out of 57 teams). More sizzle sizzle!


The paparazzi and support team of Chuck, Steve, Mike, Paddy, Terry, Danielle, Donna, Trung, Minh, Lamie, Jannett, Tami & Barry (wow!!) had their hands full trying to keep tabs on their IG athletes. With an estimated crowd of 10,000 and the entire Howard County Police force herding spectators and vehicles -- it was difficult to move from one event (swim, bike or run) to the next. Yet somehow, the support team managed to find parking, make us laugh, show up at awfully early hours for this spectacle, cheer us on, snap pictures, and be *just* in the right spot so that we actually heard them cheering for us-when we needed to hear those voices. You guys ROCK!

Looking forward to Tami, Lamie and Minh joining the IG sistahood of Jill, Holly, Divina, Emma & Jane next year. Let the training begin ;-)

ABC Studio wants more Iron Girl blather..

All of this news chatter about my inability to swim last year and somehow completing a TRI...is now getting under my skin. Local media wants to talk about someone who overcomes big odds....but this is just downright embarrassing. As soon as this interview is over, I'm dusting off my "how to swim" videos - and make a note to SELF to move beyond the sidestroke by the end of September. Freestyle would be nice. I CAN do this.

So, I agreed to another Iron Girl promo spot - at the ABC local studio in Baltimore. It was actually kindof cool seeing how the news is put together behind the scenes. I also had the chance to meet Judy Molnar, VP with Iron Girl. Judy completed the IRON MAN triathlon - and is now working behind the scenes with Aflac Iron Girl to get women out and movin' about. She is extremely nice, and is kind enuf to help settle my nerves. There are ALOT of cameras in this studio. And then there is hubby Paddy along with Terry - our friend from NYC. With his mini-videoCAM. Terry is everywhere. Filming my every move.

A segment on penguins at the local zoo is aired moments before the IG segment. The penguin is adorable, and I forget about what I might say on the air. I think only about petting the cute little African penguin.

The floor manager calls up Judy and I - and we move to position behind a podium. Jaime Costello will be doing the interview. My thoughts turn to how soft the penguin was. Ok ok...time to think about Iron Girl stuff. I guess Jaime didn't get the cue card that said I was a participant in the Iron Girl. He asks me how many participants are in the IG event this year. I have no clue, and put out my best deer in headlights impression. Fortunately, Judy hopped on my deer-dummy look and promptly answered the question. After that, Jaime figured it out. I get the "participant" questions...and Judy gets the "administrative" questions.

Here we go, more questions about my swimming. I say nice things about the IG event. It really is a great event. Women of all athletic abilities doing some amazing stuff. But, I'm done with the media hype now. That's it. I'm gonna learn how to swim now. Really. Stay tuned - to THIS channel.

Iron Girl athletes on "practice day"

The Iron Girls made their official debut at the "Dress Rehearsal" event for a workout of swim and run at 6AM in Centennial Park. Over 1000 ladies participating in this year's Columbia Iron Girl event on Aug 23 - were here for the trial event.

Our individual event sista-hood included Jill and Holly, and the relay event sista's Divina (Little Mermaid), Jane on bike, and Emma with wings on her feet were ready for the challenge. For today's event, it would be a test for the swimmers to get the flavor of open water swim, and a quick transition to the run. No biking today (unless you wanted to brave Route 108 in rush hour traffic).

Despite a LOT of women in the water, all swimmers completed the 1250 yard course (150 yards longer than race day). Swimming observations include:
-Jill didn't get her heart rate above 45bpm
-Emma remains the ideal swim buddy, never leaving her partner's side
-Divina wasn't the least bit winded, and is ready to take on the elite swimmers
-Holly wanted to know if she could go back IN the water and swim the 1250 yards AGAIN

Jill and Holly were in the early swim wave, and got their run finished in plenty of time to take a shower and begin the feasting activities EARLY at Eggspection Restaurant. Emma and I got a late start on the run - which meant the humidity was high, and there was excessive sweating along the challenging 3.4 mile course. Thus, whoever sat next to Emma and I at breakfast, got a real treat of bad air!

The rehearsal event was a complete success, and we are all inspired to train harder and smarter (except for Emma who already runs at warp speed) for the next 3 weeks - til event day!

Baltimore Women's Classic 5K

Highlights of the BWC 5K running race:

• Early arrival: Jill style. Arrive at 6:30AM for an 8AM race start. At least I got a parking spot!
• Rockin' support vibe - solo guitar players at every street corner serenading the runners with whatever they felt like playin. Plus this one very cool bicycle dude giving us high-5's!
• Flat double-back course. Great organization. No traffic.
  
• Half sun, half shade - in one direction, you sweat bullets with the sun at your face. On the return trip, sun at your back and shade from the row houses! Love that shade.
• Everyone pouring water on themselves to cool down at the water stations
• Roses at the finish! Hoped to break 29 minutes...close...no cigar. 29:08 Next time!
• Missing? My sistahood? whaddup girlfriends??
  
• Apres run - w/hubby at the coffee shop!

Run for the Roses

Due to popular demand (or maybe just the very cool t-shirt), the Sista-hood decided to make the Run for the Roses an annual event. Unfortunately, Jill did not get the memo for 2009, so Emma and I turned this into a mother-daughta event.

The alarm clock on my new Verizon walkie-talkie phone didn't go off at 5:30AM. Instead, the low battery squawk noises began at 2:30AM. By the time I figured out how to plug in the charging unit without wiping all of the sleep pixie dust from my eyes - I was wide awake. Hours of wide-awake time passed, until 6AM, driving south on I-95 from Baltimore. Now, I just wanted to go back to bed.

Emma's b'friend Mike would be joining us as support crew and paparazzi. Time to shake off the sleepless cobwebs and try to put on a show for the cameras. Emma had this bizarre idea that we should wear running SKIRTS. I don't own a running skirt...but would substitute a tennis skirt so our motha-daughta team could run in matching outfits. Pre-race fashion designs - by Emma.

I warned Emma that I would be slow. I know I mentioned something about my hamstrings not at 100%. I'm pretty sure I repeated myself. I'm guessing Emma is hearing impaired. We started the race in mid-pack. In less than 50 feet, Emma was in full stride passing lots of women. She looked over her shoulder expecting me to be there. OK, just this once, I thought - as I sped up to re-join her.

Emma runs like a dog chasing a tennis ball. Speeding past ladies in front, so that she can get her sights on a new challenge. Oh crap. I'm gonna have to figure out a way to keep up. Emma is chatting the entire time. Talking to volunteers on the course. Supporting fellow runners. Providing me with data from her special runner-doo watch. Giving me course information, pace time and time left. I focused on getting enough oxygen.

As we approached the finish line - Emma wants us to sprint the last 100 yards. Surely this girl has lost her mind. There was no democracy here. Daughter unit was building speed...I had no choice but to follow. We finished in less than 30 minutes - 29min 53 seconds to be exact. Our pace was 9min miles 37 seconds. We took 8th place as the mother daughter team - and top 28% overall. Not bad considering that Emma was dragging an anchor for 3.1 miles!

Off to apres run-fun activities at the coffee shop and farmers market in downtown Silver Spring - with our film and support Paparazzi Mike. Sleep can come later. It's time to celebrate!

Zoom Zoom Zooma!

Two weeks ago Emma and I were feeling mighty mighty after tri-sista Jill's Columbia Triathlon. We needed a sistahood moment, an event, a race, anything will do really. Emma selected Zooma Annapolis - a mere 10K event just 2 weeks away. Plus, all finishers got a SILVER NECKLACE, a box lunch and a cupcake. That's it. All I needed to hear. Training is all about the treats, so this sounded like an EXCELLENT adventcha, with a few minor exceptions. Jill could barely walk with her new IT band trauma, I wasn't running at all due to hamstring problems, and Emma was the only sista hood not complaining about aches and pains. Let's do a 10K run in 2 weeks. Why not!

Every night for 2 weeks, I put myself in painful poses to try to stretch out my hamstrings. By day 3 I was up to 3 miles....and at the end of the first week - Emma and I ran a whopping 5 miles at the Annapolis Naval Academy. Things were looking swell. Except for the fact that my speed was slower than molasses. I could practically walk faster than I ran. Jill struggled with running downhill - where the screams from Mister IT Band could be heard throughout her neighborhood. Emma was simply a running machine.

Game day. Sunday Morning. The day of the sista-hood. But wait - Emma won't be joining us? Her car malfunctioned with the swine flu, and then passed the disease to her b'friend's Mikes car...and suddenly they were out in western Maryland with a bunch of piggly-wigglies and no hot rod Lincolns. This was not a good start. We were counting on Emma to run all out and give the sista hood a great finish time. Now, we would have to try to manage in our AARP crippled state, and get to the finish line all by ourselves. It would not be the same without Emma. We had to make her proud.

We pre-arranged a rendezvous - that involved meeting in a parking lot in Glen Burnie at 5:20am. Guess who insisted that we be the VERY FIRST to arrive at the Naval Academy for the start of the 10K Zooma race? If you guessed Jill, that would be correct. With Jill driving at speeds close to 90mph, we traveled into the future, and arrived in Annapolis in less than 10 minutes. It was hard to get excited about doing this run. We were both injured. No Emma. The temperatures were in the 50's, and it was pouring rain. Cold cold rain. This silver necklace at the finish line better be pretty special!

We waited in long lines at the start -- for a restroom. The lines weren't moving - and we were shivering in the cold temperatures and pouring rains. Someone suggested that we try the Men's bathroom - as there were no lines. We sprinted to the men's bathroom on the Naval Academy. We were finally sheltered from the rain, and there was a short line of ladies waiting for the two stalls to become available. There was also a steady stream of men who were not shy about using the additional urinals in our presence. We waited in line, with our backs to the urinals. Soon this will be over, and we'll have our dang necklace.

By 7AM, the race started. After the first mile, the rains had stopped, and Jill kindly settled into my 'crawling on all fours' pace. It was a rigorous course. Much of it uphill. We ran the entire 10K distance, no hamstring popping, no IT band outta control. We were even passing other runners on occasion. And not just the 90 year olds! Emma would have been proud of us. Rock on sista-hoods!

Tri-Sista Jill is a Columbia Triathlon WINNER!

She is certainly a WINNER in our eyes. Jill tackled a SOLO adventure of a 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike and 6.2 mile run...to conquer the Olympic course Columbia Triathlon in sub-60 degree temperatures mixed with precipitation on Sunday May 17!

Not wanting to miss the START, Jill and support team hubby Chuck arrived at the starting line at 4AM - a good 2 hours before anyone else arrived. As the other half of the "support team", I did my duty and slept in. Overslept actually. Raced off the boat in my jammies...sped past the police barricades at the harbor tunnel, and tried to stay focused on staying between the lanes in I-95, as I wiped sleep pixie dust from my eyes. Barely made it to the swim sendoff....but all was OK, as Jill was calm as a cucumber (or is that green as a cucumber?) - and big bro had done a PRO job in managing his athlete.

This was Tri-Jill's DEBUT in swimming in a wetsuit. With swimming her strong suit...we expected her to cruise thru the swim. Unfortunately, she underestimated the amount of HEAT that her bod would produce flanked inside skin-tight neoprene. Panic set in for the first 10 minutes of the swim, as dolphin girl was trying to decide if she should just rip off the wetsuit and hop a boat ride to shore. The mental training took over. There was no way Tri-Jill was going to let down her KEY supporter (hubs). This was time to MAN-up. And suddenly, Jills rhythm was back. Passing other swimmers...Tri-Jill made quick work of the swim...and soon was jogging up the transition area to hop on the bike.

It was about this time, where the rain-gods let loose. Ugh. One of the first times in my life, I actually preferred to be one of the support crew members. Chuck and I hustled into position to take pictures...then as soon as Jill disappeared from site...we beelined to the car. We had an hour and 30 minutes of downtime, til Jill (aka Lance Armstrong) returned. She did an amazing 15mph in very inclement conditions. As a matter of fact, she did such a good job riding back...that I missed taking her pic on the return to Centennial Park. I'm novice at this support team stuff. Chuck covered what I missed.

As Jill raced out of the bike transition for the final leg...nearly a mile into the RUN - a race official told her she did not have her race bib number affixed. YIKES! This is an official OMG moment. Jill had to run all of the way back to the bike transition area...to find her race number. She ended up doing approximately 8 miles of the required 6.2 -- and still crossed the finish line in RECORD time. VERY impressive...we now have an Olympic triathlete in the family! Rock on SISTAHOOD.

One added note: I have to take a moment to highlight one amazing support team member - my bro Chuck. He stays behind the scenes...allows others to be in their glory...and is just "always" there, taking pictures, rooting on. It takes a very special person to be a support team member of hyper athletic junkies. I know this from personal experience...as my bro was with me on EVERY marathon that I ran...from start to finish. So, not only am I awestruck at the incredible FEAT that Jill has accomplished...I am equally awestruck by the unwavering support of my bro - who rarely takes the lime lite. You rock too bro!