Let's Rewind...

Let's rewind back to October 15, 2011, the night, Maggie Weisberg "roped" me into signing up for Nation's Triathlon.  Yes, I say "roped" because that's exactly what it was. Maggie knows that I am competitive (we'll touch on this later), especially with myself.  Mind you, this was at the inspiration dinner before my very FIRST marathon!  How dare she!!!


Me: "I don't know how to swim"
Maggie: "The coaches will teach you."
Me: "I have a fear of swimming in the ocean."
Maggie: "We're swimming in the Potomac. It's not an ocean."
Me: "I don't have a bike."
Maggie: "You can lease one."
Me: "I don't have a wetsuit."
Maggie: "You'll get one with TNT. Anything else?"
Me: "Fine. Ok. I'll do it"
WHAT was I thinking????

I really don't know how to swim.  I have never been the girl to say, "hey, let's go swimming!" I am the one sitting poolside working on my tan or sitting at the edge with my feet in the water or in the shallow end standing and enjoying the cool water.  Now I don't know if watching Jaws as a child scared the sheet out of me but I have not ever gone into waters that I can't see what is below me.  Pun intended; this is going to be a VERY tri'ing experience for me.

A few weeks before Kick-off I was going through a list of what I think I would need for practices.  Like I need more athletic gear! I was on the fence of purchasing a bike.  I really didn't know how I would do and didn't want to spend and obscene amount of money on a bike if wasn't going to use beyond the season. I thought about leasing a bike through West LA Bikes and started comparing prices with used bikes on Craigslist.  I opted for purchasing a used Trek bike for a little less than the amount of the lease price.  So far, I am very happy with my bike and am glad I purchased it.  You see, I really enjoy cycling and already have my eyes set on a Century Bike event with TNT.

Below: Maggie and I at Fall Season Kick-off.

The last time I purchased a swimsuit was in 2003.  I think I spent about $20 at PacSun.  Coach Amanda sends out a status on facebook that swimsuits are on sale at Big 5 but I still paid $$ for a Speedo one piece suit and the TYR suits were just as expensive. $60 on sale? They were normally $75. What the heck, it's just a tiny piece of stretchy material, those prices are ridiculous. I also bought some googles so that I can see where I am going in the water.

First swim practice was on May 23rd. All day my tummy was doing flips as if I was going on a first date. It was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. I got ready at home and put on my swimsuit. I really wasn't ready to go and meet all my coaches and teammates looking like a beached whale.  And did I mention the back fat? What the heck is that and where the F*CK did it come from!?! Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Racer back swim suit is NOT attractive. I relunctantly arrived at Glassell Park pool and was greeted by coaches, mentors and teammates.  I was so happy to meet other "non-swimmers" and immediately felt at ease that I was not the only one.  I survived my first swim practice. Who knew that kicking and breathing at the same time would be difficult? I didn't.  I felt so uncoordinated. I would go a few meters and would have to stop to cough and get out all the water in my nose.  I took in so much chlorine water, my insides were very clean.  Don't ask me how long I was in the pool or how many laps I did, I'm just happy I didn't drown! I may have the shortest triathlon career ever if I freak out during my first open water swim. 

So officially, the insanity has begun. Like I need another athletic event to become obsessed with. Now I can be mediocre at 3 sports; swim, bike, and run.  

First Saturday practice was in Santa Monica. It was a beautiful sunny morning. Looking out at the beach, I thought "I could get used to this." I was looking forward to this practice as it was a short 30 minute run AND it was something I was comfortable doing. Who would have ever thought that I would be so happy to run? Not I!   Our second practice was also a short 40 minute run at Griffith Park with A Runner's Circle conducting a shoe clinic.  Nothing beats a GO TEAM to end an awesome practice!

Our first bike practice was in Playa Del Rey. It was a timed ride. This was the day I figured I would fall in the Avenger's group (with the exception of the swim portion). 10.46 miles in 47 minutes. I loved our second bike practice as it was along the LA river bike path. I got into a nice, easy groove and did 14.36 miles in 58 minutes. Afterwards we had a tire changing clinic.  

All practices after have been either biking only or what the coaches refer to as a BRICK (Bike+Run+icky legs). Us SGV gals returned to home territory at the Rose Bowl with my first BRICK.   I love our mission moments before practice as it reminds me why I continue to do this.  It is very humbling to hear stories from our teammates of pain and suffering, as well as success.  We took off and did a warm-up loop around the Rose Bowl. 3.1 miles to start with an immediate introduction to Linda Vista hill. Half way up the hill, I tried to go to the lowest gear and realized that I WAS in the lowest gear! Why did it feel as if I was in the highest gear? For a quick minute, I thought about getting off my bike and walking up the hill.  Then I remembered Liz's mission moment about 20 minutes earlier and told myself to suck it up.  I made it up the hill, slowly but surely.  After that, the hills didn't seem so bad.  Bring on the hills (I obviously had no clue about the next practice)!!!

Since this was a looong, catch up blog, I will end it here. More to come about my second BRICK in Santa Monica and those dreadful hills!!!

Thank you for all my family and friends that continue to support me in my crazy endeavors to better myself while helping fight cancer, one mile at a time!

~ Me ke aloha ~
Lynn

Bondi Bands

As part of my continued efforts to raise life savings funds for LLS, I will be selling Bondi Bands. There will be TNT Logo bands along with sayings and some fashion colors (photo below)

COST:
Each Bondi Band is just $10, and I'll cover shipping costs if you're not local to me. If you buy them directly through their website, you'll pay $12 or more once shipping and sales tax is included. Plus, buying them through me means all proceeds from these sales will go directly to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!
TO PLACE AN ORDER:If you would like to order a band, please email me at lmcastro626@gmail.com with the band (saying and color choice) you would like to purchase. Once inventory is received (next week), I will post photos.
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
LOCAL/TNT TEAMMATES - If you're local or will be coming out to the TNT Saturday runs with the San Gabriel Valley Team you can pay me in cash or by check.
NOT LOCAL / WILL REQUIRE SHIPPING - If you're not local and your order will require shipping, Paypal would be the preferred method of payment, though I will accept checks as well. If you do not have a Paypal account, you can sign up through https://www.paypal.com/. Paypal is the easiest way to send money online to anyone instantly. It's completely free to set up, completely secure, and you can connect it to any credit card or debit card to send money. This will be your fastest option because as soon as you send payment through Paypal, I'll ship out your Bondi Bands. If you would prefer to pay by check, just let me know when you email your order and we'll coordinate payment that way. Once I receive and cash your check, your Bondi Bands will then be shipped.

INVENTORY:I will post photos once my shipment arrives. I will indicate the quantity of each color/saying/TNT Logo available.

(this is a sample of the band)

New season, new outlook, new friends and new heroes

My apologies for not keeping my blog updated. Been a busy couple of weeks, it seems like I am just going and going like the energizer bunny only my batteries have worn down.  The inevitable happened....I got sick and went down! It has been over a week and I am still battling bronchial asthma. I am down but not out! I will overcome this speed bump and will be back on the trails with more determination.

No practice for me tomorrow as I will be hosting our 2nd Annual company picnic at Tournament Park in Pasadena along with the other committee members. 

See you Tuesday at Equinox for spin class!

GO TEAM!!!!

Pay It Forward!

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end." -Ursula K. LeGuin                                                                           

April 4, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

On February 6, 201, I ran my first ½ Marathon at the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, California.  I first joined Team In Training in October of 2010 with the hopes of raising live saving funds for patients with blood cancers.  With the help of my wonderful family and friends, I reached (and surpassed) my goal of raising $1,800.00.  Joining Team In Training was one of the best decisions I made, the first being that I married my wonderful husband! Knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life made me feel good inside. Each day we are given the opportunity to begin anew.  We do not have to be defined by the past and burdened by the future. It is all in how we choose to look at it. It’s everyone’s individual choice.

I’ve returned to Team In Training for the Fall Season and will be training for the Disneyland ½ Marathon on September 4^th, 2011.  I will be running through the streets of Anaheim, Disneyland and California Adventure.  If cancer patients can go through daily chemotherapy, radiation and pain, running 13.1 miles in their honor is nothing compared to their fight.

There are many people that either have been immediately hit with, or know someone who has had some type of blood cancer.  I want to do my part again by “paying it forward,” and doing what I can do to help these patients live longer lives.  I would like to fee that if I ever was in a position where my life was threatened with a blood disease, there would be people out there who would fight with me and for me.  I have made a commitment to raise at least $1,650 for the society.

As I train, a mile at a time, it is with passionate hope that I can make a difference so other patients and their families will not have to endure such heartache of losing a loved one.  When all is said and done, I will have logged over 200 miles and over 40 hours of running the roads and trails, and will participate in lung busting hill training sessions.  I will probably have to take some ice baths to soothe my aching muscles.

An estimated 137,260 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma this year. Every nine minutes, a child or adult dies from leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma.  On the bright side an estimated 640,000 Americans are presently living with leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Twenty years ago the survival rate of people with blood related cancers was around 20%. Now it has climbed to over 80%. I need help in attempting to make that number higher.

           

Please help me reach and surpass my fundraising goal by making a 100% tax-deductible donation to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Every dollar counts and no amount is too small or too large.  Donations can be made on my web site, http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/disneyh11/lcastroq1u or you can send a check made out to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to my address.  I have started a blog for family and friends to follow me on this journey, www.lynnrunsamarathon.blogspot.com.  I would appreciate your encouragement and need as many people in my corner as possible.

With warmth, love and thanks,

Lynn Castro

I'm Back!!!!

Hi All,

I am officially back with Team In Training's Fall Season which kicks off on Saturday, May 14th! Although I am an alumni, I am back with the team as a member of the support staff.  I will be mentoring new teammates and providing support to them at every step of the way.  I had such a wonderful experience from my mentor, Bertha, that I thought I would pay it forward.  Bertha was a constant motivator, always checking in to see how I was doing, if I needed any help/ideas with fundraising and was just generally enthusiastic, even at 6:30 in the morning!  I hope that I can be as supportive to others as she was to me!  Our coaches were awesome, always providing training tips and encouragement.  They did an awesome job getting us all ready for our races.

With that being said, my fundraising journey will begin again! I hope that all of my donors last season can dig into their pockets again and support a worthwhile cause!  Last season our San Gabriel Valley team raised over $113K.  That money is making a difference in the patient's and their families lives at this very moment.  I will be updating my blog just as soon as I have my fundraising page up.  In the meantime, checks are always welcome! Please make checks payable to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and mail to 4937 Willmonte Ave. Temple City, CA 91780 or call me and I will be happy to pick it up!

Let's give patients like Virginia, Tyler and Katrina, who is scheduled for her bone marrow transplant next month, hope that one day soon, there will be a cure to these deadly cancers.

If you want to join the fight, visit http://www.teamintraining.org/ or call/email me for more information and I will help get you signed up!  It will change your life forever!

With much love!

Lynn

I did it!

Surf City 2011 was to be my very first half marathon so needless to say I was pretty excited for race day. The previous Saturday was supposed to be an easy 6 mile run with the team, but due to stomach issues I called off the run at 1.8 miles.  Let me tell you, it was a looong lonely walk back to the parking lot in front of the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center.  I felt like I had let my running partners, Tony and Claudia down.  I started feeling down and wanted to cry. I kept thinking, if I can't do this 6 miles, would I be ready for Sunday...did I mention it was a long walk back to the car?  I called Tony and told him I was on my way home, he heard it in my voice and tried to make me feel better.  I called coach Kiley and told him I was headed home and not to look for me at the finish line.  I don't know if he heard the disappointment in my voice, and I haven't asked him, but a few hours after the run, he sent out an email giving a little pep talk about injury/illness and how it takes courage to "call of the dogs" and get healthier than it does to gut out a training and risk more injury/setback.  That email made me feel 110% better about my decision.  THANK YOU Kiley! 

I decided that I would rest on Sunday and run on Monday night, if I felt better.  Monday came and I was 100% better, I did a 5 mile run with my dog, Cookie! She was an awesome partner and kept me company.  

Tuesday night was our send off dinner with the team at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Monrovia.  I took Nani with me; she was excited to meet Tyler.  She had a great time watching the slideshow, because she was in it! Nani declared to Coach Pete that she was gonna run just like mommy! Future TNTer! The food was great and the company was even better!  A great time was had by all! We heard some tips and encouraging words from our mentors, coaches, and honored teammates, Virginia and Tyler! 

Wednesday, the team met at Arcadia High School for some speedwork or Yassos.  At first I was confused, but quickly caught up!  My partner for the night was Claudia, she is such a fun running partner.  Always keeps us on our toes and laughing! I rested up on Thursday and got my sleep on Friday since Saturday I would most likely have "the first day of school" jitters.

I headed out to Huntington Beach at about 2...darn google maps was not "pacific" and was more "atlantic" with the directions...instead of staying on the 405S I took the 22E and went allll the way around through Newport Beach...<sigh> 

I checked in at our hotel, The Shorebreak Hotel. It was a very nice hotel with a nice view of the Huntington Beach Pier.  

I walked down to the expo to pick up my packet and took a nice picture of the mile markers.

The Surf City Goodie bag and shirt were really cute. Lots of goodies to be bought at the expo; I didn't walk away empty handed. I finally found an arm band that my EVO fits as well as a 13.1 bumper sticker (I almost put it back not wanting to jinx myself before actually getting out on the course). Tony and I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the Inspiration Dinner and load up on carbs!

Tony, Bertha, Liz and I went a little early to the Hyatt to have a drink before the dinner. We met up with Coach Pete and had a pre-dinner drink. Monica aka Kid Dynamite met us for a drink; it was a nice little hang!  We made our way to the ballroom for the dinner; as we were nearing all I could hear was cowbells, whistles, bells, screaming, clapping! Then it dawned on my why Bertha was wearing a whistle around her neck! TNT mentors and support staff lined the staircase and made us feel like super stars!  I wish I had a picture, but I was too shocked to take out my phone!

The food was awesome...lots o' carbs! We listened to an Honored Teammate, please forgive me as I can't remember his name :(  He is a great storyteller and had us all laughing.  I can now understand when people say that laughter is the best medicine.

Tony, Bertha, Liz and I headed back to the hotel; since there was no dessert, we decided to get some dessert.  Carol and Monica joined us for more carbs! We all decided that a pizookie was in order so we walked to BJ's!  We ordered the party pizookie and ordered peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip and macadamia and white chocolate.  It was very yummy! Team 1 - Pizookie - 0

Before

After

Little side note: Carol had a great run on Sunday and has attributed her PR to the pizookie the night before, so we will be getting pizookies before every race! :)

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for the big day and get some rest.  I finished putting my ribbons on the back of my jersey and laid out all my gear for the next day. 

Woke up 5:45 am to get ready and head down to the lobby and check-in with the team. I was really excited! Race day, what I had been training for since November, was finally here!  Quick photo of the team before heading to the start line. Sorry for no flash!

The weather was perfect, not too cold! I didn't even need a jacket, and for everyone that knows me, that's a big deal!  Monica, Judit, Liz and I couldn't pass up a photo opportunity with the start line behind us.  I didn't realize it at the time, but the very first picture we took together was December 4th before the South Pasadena Tiger Run.  Here we are again before the 1/2 Marathon!  

20,000 runners/walkers for this event! It was a crazy/awesome feeling to see so many people!  We found our corral, which was based on expected finish times. I didn't want to break my rhythm once I started running, so I used this time to stand in the long lines for the restroom.  The gun finally went off and it seemed like forever before we started to move towards the start line.  It was our moment and I will never forget when that horn went off and I took that first step!

Miles 1-3 were great. I loved running down PCH towards the pier. There was a ton of crowd support even at 8:10 in the morning. I saw my hubby and baby girl waiting for me. Since I didn't see them earlier, I stole a quick kiss from both of them and got back to the run.  We made our first turn and saw Coach Kiley to cheer us on! As we made our way up the largest hill of the race my breathing was great.  Tony needed a little bathroom break, thankfully the line wasn't that bad. As we headed back to PCH I saw my little cheering squad, my hubby and two girls with a sign that says "Go Mom, You're DynOmite"

Before I knew it were at mile 6! Tony and I had gotten into our rhythm, we had a good pace going for us and we felt good!

I'm not gonna lie, I hated that back stretch...it seemed forever before we crossed the median to head back.  The signs along the way kept it interesting, along with seeing "Troy Polamolu" a cow wearing a cheese head in honor of the two super bowl teams.

Along came mile 10 and we saw the TNT cheering section of Gail, Rosemarie and Lindsey.  A little further down we saw Manny, Ranee, Coach Ryan and Janna...they ran with us for a bit and gave us more support!  All the love on the course was awesome and gave us energy.  

As the coaches told us, we broke the race into 3 parts; the first 5 miles, get warmed up and enjoy ourselves, the second 5 get into our rhythm and the last 5K, run our race.  We were at a good pace the entire race. We were pretty much consistent in the 13 minute/mile.  Tony started to cramp a bit on the last mile. We walked a little and then jogged a little hoping it would pass. I saw the finish line ahead and then the adrenaline kicked in. The chute or alley was incredible! Everyone was cheering you on. When close enough to see my name, people were shouting it! That's when I kicked it into high gear and sprinted toward the finish line with my hands held high! As I crossed the finish line, I let out a big "yes, I did it!"  The feeling is unbelievable! 

There are few opportunities in life where you get to find out what you are really made of.  This was one of them. Not being a "runner", I did it! It doesn't matter if you are fast or slow, just as long as you go! In my opinion there 3 things TNT runners should do.

1. Leave it all on the pavement 

2. Don’t give up, no matter how much it hurts 

3. Don’t forget that you do this because you love it and it makes a difference in someone's life

Here is my official time:

15738 Lynn Castro F 35-39
Half Marathon Start:   Gun 7:45:11     Chip 8:10:52
Splits:	3 Mi	8.2 Mi	Finish	O'All	Sex	Div
Times:	41:47	1:51:52	2:59:14	11421	6874	1132
Pace:	13:56	13:39	13:41

I can’t wait for my next race. 

Almost there!

Well family and friends, race day is only 4 days away.  I am getting excited and nervous, but I am positive I will cross that finish line with my hands held up high in victory!  With the help of my family, coaches, mentors, support staff and teammates, there is no way I can fail!

I want to thank everyone that has supported me on my journey to the finish line.  Without the love, emotional support, encouragement and monetary donations, this would not be possible. I have met some awesome people during this time and I know that we will be lifelong friends! My running partners, Tony and Claudia, you two are awesome! Thanks for the laughs and encouragement throughout the many miles we have ran together.  Bertha and Manny, thanks for always being there to lend an ear and give encouragement along the way.  Coaches, Kiley, Pete, Juan and Ryan, your words of wisdom, training and training tips have helped me immensely and I will be forever grateful to you all!

Here are just a few photos from my journey...more photos will be posted after the big day!