OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

That subject about sums it up...

I got a flurry of donations in this morning.  I felt so supported, so loved, and so incredibly amazed at the generosity of the people around me.  After I dropped off my bike and did some retail therapy (and pinkberry) to calm me down after how unexpectedly emotional I got over that... I came home to discover I had received even more donations and hit the $5k milestone.

When I signed up for ALC last September, I thought to myself, "Well, I think I can train and be ready to pedal 545 miles... but $3000?  That's a lot of money to raise."  I mean, $3k!  Let alone, achieve any of the higher milestones.  But then an amazing thing happened... people from all walks of my life showed up and supported me!  Donations poured in, from close friends, old class mates, even people I haven't been in close touch with for years.

I was overwhelmed.  And, this afternoon, after posting a humorous comment on a fellow rider's facebook page, I lost it.  I started laughing uncontrollably (now, my comment was humorous... but it wasn't THAT funny)... and the laughing turned into crying turned into laughing turned into ... is it possible to laugh and cry simultaneously?  And I just sat there like that for a good 5 minutes.  Or 50 minutes... who knows.  I didn't have a very good judge of time at that point.

Ready for red dress day!

It's really happening!

In about 4 hours, I will be taking my bike (freshly saran wrapped!) to the Center, where it will be placed on a truck and shipped north.

In about 58 hours, I will board a flight to San Francisco.

In about 92 hours, I will get on my bike and start pedaling.

I am a mix of excited, afraid, overwhelmed, happy, and a whole list of emotions I can't even describe because I'm not sure I've ever experienced them before.  This journey has been simply amazing.  I have met amazing people.  I have been blown away by the generosity of friends, colleagues, family, acquaintances... I knew I was passionate about this.  I had no idea how many others would share in that passion!

I'm so excited... can't wait to board that flight!

Final training ride

A "short easy ride" today, 57 miles:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/182314581

Great day... rained overnight and into the morning, but cleared up just in time to ride.  Cool and moist out, lots of wind, but a crowd of awesome, awesome ALC people who I shall be calling my *Really really close family* for a week!  Torrey Pines is now my plaything, which is a nice feeling.  Even climbing it after 50 miles, I still made it up to the top at a nice easy pace and hit my usual time of ~12 minutes.

So, I'm off my bike for a week.  Time to start packing... and start I have.  This will be a week long process... I'm only freaking out slightly.  (OK, that's a total lie... I'm completely freaking out!  It's a good freaking, but still... wow.)  I still have some shopping left to do, but I think I'm just about there.

I've worked hard today... I'm going to settle down and watch this Mary Tyler Moore Show marathon for a while and then get to bed.

To my followers:  Thanks for your support!  Thanks for reading!  If you haven't donated yet, what's stopping you?  http://www.tofighthiv.org/goto/music2mychakras

My First Century!

That's right... I rode 100+ miles yesterday!  Final long training ride for ALC and I destroyed it.  :-)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/179915931

The first leg (Mission Bay to Encinitas) was a little rough... I hadn't eaten enough breakfast so I was dragging.  Also, for some reason, I decided I didn't need a cup of coffee when I crawled out of bed at 5:30 AM.  What was I thinking?!  Lesson learned.  After a cup of coffee at starbucks, I perked back up noticeably, and by the time we were in Oceanside, I was singing "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Safety Dance" as I pedaled through town -- a sure sign I'm doing well.

After a quick stop at McDonalds, and a few more miles out to Escondido, I inhaled lunch like a piggy.  Hot pastrami sub, bag of chips, frappuccino, and Ellie's left-over salad that she couldn't finish.  All in all, a delightful lunch.  From there, Ellie and I rode together across Del Dios, Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Torrey Pines, and all the way home.  We played the alphabet game, which turned out to be a delightful way to not notice how attrocious the head winds were as we climbed the hills of Del Dios.  Also, J was a difficult one (I think we finally just said "Jordan" so we could move on) but who knew K, U, and Y would be so difficult?!

And of course, I paused at the top of Torrey Pines, forgot to unpause for 2 miles, so I had to ride extra to make sure my GPS showed over 100 miles.  Yeah, I'm an overachiever.

But I felt great at the end of the ride!  Got home, showered, ate food, soaked in epsom salts... and was out cold by 9 PM.  Slept straight to 6:30 AM, and was still exhausted.  I guess I have things to look forward to on the ride!

A good week of training

Monday and Wednesday, couch to 5k training at work.  Going great!  I love running... always feels so great!

Tuesday, I biked to and from work.
http://runkeeper.com/user/music2mychakras/activity/88261772
http://runkeeper.com/user/music2mychakras/activity/88389644

I found a new route that gets me across the 'mesa without going across freeway interchanges.  Slightly longer route and a little more elevation gain, but less traffic and much safer route.  I still have to cross the 52 on Genessee, which is a little scary, but unavoidable.

And today's bike to work day!
http://runkeeper.com/user/music2mychakras/activity/88941343

Feeling good.  Tomorrow: 100 miles.  BRING IT.

Longest ride yet! 73.5 miles

Runkeeper never quite gets distance right when it uploads from my Garmin... the device said 73.55 miles, and it didn't find my position for the first couple of minutes, so it may have been closer to 74.  http://runkeeper.com/user/music2mychakras/activity/87649306?&mobile=false

I had not slept well, and I was NOT in a good mood most of the ride.  Team Hot Wheels flying around me and almost knocking me off my bike a few times didn't help matters.  But -- I made it.  Yes, I skipped the last loop around Fiesta Island which would have pushed it closer to 80 miles, but I was not in the mood to deal with headwinds any more!

This is it... 19 days til I fly up to San Fran, 21 til we ride!!!  I have my ups and downs with riding, and I know I still have some distance to build up, but I am starting to feel ready for this ride.  I know I will have some days where I just want to kill everyone around me, but I also know my fabulous team will be there with support whenever I need it.