oh please just last

yesterday was the official start date of my training for the livestrong challenge. by the end of august i hope to be in shape for a 100-mile ride. it is a milepost along the way for most cyclists, and i decided to make it more difficult by tackling my first century after finding out i had lung cancer... the second time. last year i rode 40 miles and felt pretty good - with little training and just six months after my surgery and four months after my radiation. who knows what this year will bring.


i certainly worry that i won't be able to finish what i started. not because i am afraid i won't be able to stick to the training schedule, but because in the two and a half months between then and now i know a lot can happen. my plan is to listen very carefully to my body, resting when i need to, pushing a little extra hard when i can, and i'll see where i end up. the good news is i can always shorten the ride to 70 or 40 miles. but at the end of the ride last year i got it in my head that i wanted to do 100 this year; i don't want the little bit of cancer i currently have to hold me back. hell, maybe riding my bike will help me kill some extra cancer.


last night i rode for an hour down in newark. i love the stretch along white clay creek. it was around 7:30pm and the evening's quiet had settled in. the only noises were my wheels along the pavement and my occasional coughing as i comfortably rolled along. the honeysuckle is blooming and it filled my nose with sweetness that made me hungry. the endorphins at the end of the ride were prize enough for day one.

today i rode for another hour, up some pretty serious hills, near work. rain and even some thunder had been threatening all morning but since it hadn't arrived by noon i headed out despite some darker clouds on the horizon. without the sun the humidity was bearable and i took it nice and steady on the hills, knowing that every one i climb now will leave me that much more prepared later on. thankfully i'm not preparing for a race - just a ride - but with my body setup the way it is i need every advantage i can give myself.

i made sure to enjoy a few views along the way. the rain held off and the sun even made an appearance as i returned to the office. two days down. i feel pretty good. it is nice to be working toward something other than beating cancer. i just hope my body and the cancer in there get along for long enough to let me get this ride in.