Philly Livestrong Challenge ride report.

I set out on the 100 mile course around 8:30 in the morning and finished a little after 4pm. One of the things that I enjoyed the most, though, was getting to talk to all of the participants and learning their stories. So many of them had bibs on their jerseys that read “In Honor Of,” or “In Memory Of.” I wore 2 bibs on my Jersey, one that said "In Memory of Uncle Don" and the other said "I'm a survivor - 21 years".

Here is the ride report.
The morning of the ride I got up at 5am. The roads leading to the starting area are single lane so the traffic builds really fast. After a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for some wake up juice we were on our way. Poor Lauren was tired but was a good sport about getting up so early. The ride was to start at 8am but was delayed to 8:30 do to the large number of participants. Finally I was off. Because of the late start I decided to skip rest stop #1 to make up a little time. I was feeling really good anyway so waiting for rest stop #2 was no big deal. Rest stop #2 was about 20 miles into the ride. Still feeling fresh I filled my water bottles, grabbed a power bar and was on my way. Next stop was rest stop #3 (32 miles). Knowing there were hard climbs coming after the 3rd stop I decided to take a 10 min break. I pigged out on all sorts of stuff. Nuts, raisins, gummy bears, peanut butter and jelly sandwich and power bar gels. Again filled the water bottles and was on my way. That would be the only stop I actually took a break at, the rest of the stops I grabbed food, filled my bottles and moved on. The climbs were killer and the hills never stopped coming. The first hard climb started at mile 35, it was 5 miles long but not too steep. The second hard climb came around mile 60, it was shorter at 2 miles but had spikes to 24% grade. Man those hills took a lot out of me.

There were several times throughout my ride where I looked to the sky and thought of my Uncle Don. It was in his name that I was dedicating my ride. I think I may have even asked him to put the wind at my back for a little help. I probably should have rested more during my ride but I didn’t want to miss the course cut off of 4pm. My legs started cramping around mile 65 and I had leg cramps up until the finish. Not too bad but still one more obstacle on an already hard day. At mile 73 the skies opened up with a heavy downpour. I didn’t mind the rain as it was a relief from the heat but it really slowed me down while traveling down hill. I didn’t want to crash and not finish so I took my time in the rain. Not long after the sun came out again and the humidity had to be at 100% with a temp in the mid 90’s.

20 miles to go. When I saw the 20 miles to go sign I started to feel good again. My body was drained but I kept thinking I do 20 mile rides all the time, no big deal. Even the smallest hill felt huge but I knew the end was near. I blew past the final rest stop with no water or food but knowing I only had 9 miles left. The last mile I decided to give it what little I had left. I went all out passing many others on their way to finish. During the last mile I again looked to the sky and told Uncle Don I did it for him. I rode across the finish line feeling good and with a big smile on my face. Total time on the bike was 7hrs and 4min, distance 100 miles.

19 days to go

19 days until the LiveStrong Challenge in Philly. I'm feeling pretty good and think that I am ready. Today I will go out for a 20 mile ride and hope to log over a 100 miles this week.

So far I have raised $1015 that will towards the fight against cancer. Thank you all for your continue support.

Training has begun

With the passing of my uncle I’m more motivated than ever. My uncle Don recently lost his battle with cancer after a long hard fight. We need to find a cure for cancer and I will do my very best to help in any way I can. It is in my uncle’s memory that I will ride the liveStrong Challenge this year.

LiveStrong
Jason

2009 Philly LiveStrong Challenge

Today I registered for the 100 mile course in Philly. I came so close to completing it last year that I just had to go back and give it another try.

http://philly09.livestrong.org/jasond

2009 LiveStrong Challenge Dates Announced

The dates and locations for the 2009 LIVESTRONG Challenge series have been announced.

• Seattle, WA: June 20-21, 2009
• San Jose, CA: July 11-12, 2009
• Philadelphia, PA: August 22-23, 2009
• Austin, TX: October 23-25, 2009

Registration will open in December 1st of this year.

http://www.livestrongchallenge.org

LiveStrong Challange Ride Report

First I want to say Thank You to all of you that supported me in this fight against cancer. Together we raised $3251 that will go directly towards helping others win their fight. The team I am part of raised a combined total of $50,517. The LiveStrong Challenge Philadelphia was a huge success. Roughly 5000 participants raised over 3 million dollars.

I kicked off my weekend with a warm-up ride through Valley Forge National Park. Nothing much just about 10 miles with a few friends but it was a great opportunity to see the Valley Forge National Park. Later that night I attended the fundraiser awards dinner. Because I reached the fundraising goal of $3000 I was invited to the fundraising awards dinner hosted by Lance Armstrong. The dinner was very inspirational and motivating especially when you heard all of the stories. Like the group of fundraisers from Calgary Canada that not only raised huge amounts of money for the cause, they also paid for many current cancer patients to be flown to Philly so they could attend the challenge. As if that wasn’t enough they rode their bikes from Calgary to Philadelphia to participate in the challenge. Yes you read that right; they rode their bikes all the way from Canada to Philadelphia. There was also this story about a dedicated doctor in Harlem, Dr. Freeman that has dedicated his life to helping the poor get the proper care and treatment so they too can have a chance to win their fight against cancer. And the list goes on.

Ride day. I had the honor of riding with so many great people. Some cancer survivors, some care givers, some riding for their brother, mother, father, whoever but all were riding for the cause. Many shared their story with me as we rode and some cheered me on when they saw the survivor tag on my back.

By now most of you are probably thinking well did he finish the ride or not? I did NOT complete the 100 miles. I was true to my word though and rode until I could no longer pedal. Here is the short story. At around mile 60 I started to develop pain in my left knee. I continued to push until around mile 75 when the pain on each stroke became unbearable. I finished the last hill with pretty much my right leg only. I was really disappointed because other than my knee hurting I felt pretty good and knew that I could make it all the way if I were not injured. The LiveStrong organizers put all of the riders that didn’t make the course cut off in time or were hurting on a bus and drove us within 2 miles of the finish so we could ride across the finish line and complete the ride. Of course this was optional, you didn’t have to finish if you didn’t want to or were hurt. I chose to ride the last 2 miles and don’t even want to go into how bad it hurt but in the end I did finish my ride. Not the full 100 miles I had planned but I did ride about 80 miles and climbed 6000 feet.

Thank You once again for everything.

LiveStrong,
Jason

Training Update for June

June was a great month for both my training and fundraising efforts. I reached my goal of 300 miles for the month of June. I almost didn’t make it. I was in NY for the weekend and had to take my bike along with me so I could get in one more ride for the month and reach my goal. Luckily the weather cooperated and I took a nice ride to Jones beach. For July I will be shooting for 400 miles and will be trying to average 100 miles a week. With a little less than 2 months left to go it is time to really step up my training.

On the fundraising front. With the help of so many wonderful people my goal of raising $2500 was reached. I have since raised my fundraising goal to $3000. If I reach $3000 I will get to attend the pasta dinner the night before the ride. The dinner is hosted by Lance Armstrong himself and I would be quite honored to attend.

Thank You for your continued support.

Training update for May

Training is going well but the weather seems to get in the way sometimes. I hoped to ride well into the 200 mile range in May but ended the month with only 175 miles. It seemed like evertime I wanted to ride it started to rain. I actually went for two rides in the rain out of frustration. For June I have set a goal of 250-300 miles. On a positive note I did manage to get in 10,000 feet of climbing for the month of May.

The miles are getting easier and I have started to lose some weight. I have lost 7 lbs since I started my training in April. I have 15 lbs to go to reach the goal I set for August.

On Saturday May 10th I organized a ride in honor of LiveStrong Day. LiveStrong Day is the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s one day incentive to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer. With the help of 40 other cyclists I raised $400 that day.

With the help of friends and family I have now raised $1495 towards my goal of $2500 for the LiveStrong Challenge in August. I would like to thank everyone for their continued support. I really means a lot to me and helps to motivate me in my training.

LiveStrong
Jason

April training update

The Philly LiveStrong challenge is just 4 months away and I continue to train for the 100 mile course. Due to a long winter and cold temps in March, April is my first real month of training. I logged over 150 miles on my bike so far this month and should come close to 200 miles in the remaining days. Over the past few weeks I have been averaging 50-55 miles a week. This is done with two weekday rides of about 12-15 miles and a Saturday ride of 25+ miles. The weekday rides are my climbing rides and on average I climb 1000-1500 feet. For those not familiar with the word climbing, it's simple biking uphill. Climbing still remains my weak point but I will continue to work on that. For May I plan to add a 3rd weekday ride and increase my Saturday mileage. My goal is to reach 300 miles in the month of May.

On Saturday May 10 I organized a LiveStrong Day ride. LIVESTRONG Day is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's one-day initiative to raise awareness and funds for the cancer fight. This ride is meant to raise cancer awareness in my own community.

I would like to thank everyone for their continued support as I ride to make a difference.
Live Strong,
Jason

Training Update

The weather has improved over the past 2 weeks. Still not the nicest of weather but plenty good to train. I have been getting out 2 - 3 times a week now and averaging about 10 miles a ride. I've racked up 30 miles so far this week and have plans for another 10 mile ride on Thursday and a 20 mile ride on Saturday weather permitting. Over the coming weeks I will continue to up my daily mileage. Just about 4 1/2 months until the challenge.

LiveSTRONG
Jason

Training for Philly 2008 has begun.

Finally got a few breaks in the weather last week and jumped on the bike for some training rides. It’s been a long winter and it felt great to get outdoors and ride. After my last ride I noticed that my tulips were starting to peek out of the ground. Spring is finally on its way. There are just 5 months until the challenge so I have a lot of work to do if I am going to make my goal of 100 miles. I am confident in meeting that goal.

On a side note, I organized a LiveStrong Day event. With help from Tom of Around Town Bicycles in Wilkes-Barre we put together a 25 mile ride to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation and spread cancer awareness in our community. The ride will take place on 5/10.

Today Registration for the 2008 LIVESTRONG Challenge Opened

With registration opening today I can't help be get excited about taking part in Philly. I registered for the 100 mile ride and have a lot of training to do if I want to show up prepared. Good thing is I have plenty of time to train before this event.

To register visit http://www.livestrongchallenge.org/


Anyone wishing to sponser me on my ride can do so clicking here http://philly08.livestrong.org/jasond

2008 LiveStrong Challenge Dates Announced

Today the Lance Armstrong Foundation announced the locations and dates for the 2008 LIVESTRONG Challenge!

• Portland, OR - June 29
• Bay Area, CA - July 13
• Philadelphia, PA - August 24
• Austin, TX - October 25-26

Let the training begin. :)
I weighed myself this morning and was rather disappointed with the result. 217 lbs. So now I have 2 goals for August. First to complete the 100 mile ride in Philly. Second to show up for the ride weighing 190 or less. Losing 27 lbs isn't going to be easy but if I pull if off it will make the 100 mile ride that much easier. I guess I will start working on number 2 after the holidays. There's no way I would be able to control myself on Christmas.

Tonight I went to Kung Fu class. Well 2 classes. The first is a weapons class. I am currently working on a staff form. The second is Tai Chi. I love Tai Chi and feel so much better after a class. I try to make 3 -5 classes a week but for the past 3 weeks I have not gone. Just been feeling lazy since the cold weather set in. So Monday I said enough being lazy and went to class. Boy do you feel it when you take 3 weeks off, I was out of breath pretty quickly. The price you pay for laziness. I won't be taking any more weeks off for a while.

More to come.....

A little bit more about me...

Testicular Cancer Discovery 1988
I was 16 years old when I realized that one of my testicles had become enlarged. Being sexually active I assumed that maybe it was an STD and kept quiet about it. I let a few weeks go by before I confided in my older brother. Dropping your draws to show your brother your testicles is not something many people do willingly and I was quite embarrassed by it. Little did I know at that time that showing off my "package" would become a daily event. My brother had no idea what he was looking at but he knew having one testicle twice the size of the other could not be good. He said if I didn't tell my grandmother (I was living with my grandmother at this time) he would. So the next day I told my grandmother that I needed to see a doctor because something was wrong "down there". I went to my family doctor who after seeing me referred me to a doctor at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in NY. At this time I began to worry that what I had was something of importance. When I met with the doctors at LIJ they began a number of tests. Blood test and ultrasound were among the tests done that day. I left the hospital with little understanding of what was going on and how severe my situation was. Upon my arrival at home the phone rang and it was a doctor from LIJ. It couldn't have been more then 40 minutes since I had left the hospital. The doctor told me to gather a few things, change of cloths, etc. and return to the hospital I would have surgery early the next morning. To make matters worse they would be removing one of my testicles. Well I'm not sure if I have the words to express the emotions that came over me. I remember being scared to death, not that I was going to die or anything but scared of the uncertainty that lie ahead. I was 16 years old; I had no idea what all of this really meant. The word surgery was scary in itself. I'll never forget hanging up the phone and talking to my grandmother about what the doctor said. My little brother who heard the whole conversation asked me if I was scared. Well that is when I lost it. I was scared and was unable to contain my feelings any longer. I bust into tears and ran to my room where I cried for a short while. I later did as the doctor said and gathered a few things and returned to hospital.

It’s funny how life's events shape a person. Over the course of the next 2 years I had surgery 7 times, chemotherapy, high dose chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and a bunch of other procedures. During this time I learned how to separate my thoughts, how to turn my mind off so I could sleep and to keep my outward appearance as such that the people around me would not know the pain I was feeling. When family would visit I would always reassure them that I was doing great and felt no pain even when I was dying inside. I just couldn't stand to see anyone get upset when they would see me. This reluctance to show emotion is still with me to this day. Only recently have I been able to cry. For at least a period of 15 years I would not shed a tear. This clearly was a result of always feeling that I needed to be strong for the ones around me.

I’m not sure what kept me going through those years. I guess being 16 when I was first diagnosed helped. I thought I was invincible and never once thought that dying was an option. It simply never occurred to me that it was possible to die. As they say ignorance is bless. I remember after I relapsed my doctor came to me to discuss my options. She told me going forward there was a 50/50 chance of me making it. Again I never gave the negative 50% any thought. It wasn’t until a friend of mine died that I realized it was possible. That is a moment I will never forget.

I was 17 when I left the bone morrow transplant room and continued my recovery. 18 years have gone by and I have no regrets or anger, never did. For me many things were lost and many things gained from my experience. I lost any chance of becoming a Marine when I was diagnosed, my childhood dream. On the other hand I would have never met my wife and had our beautiful daughter if I didn’t drop out my senior year and return the following year after my treatments. If all things happen for a reason I would like to think she was the reason. Three years of cancer and treatments for a lifetime of happiness.

A little bit about me

I was diagnosed with stage II testicular cancer in 1988 at the age of 16. After a left orchiectomy and 3 rounds of chemo I relapsed the following year. This time my treatment would be for more aggressive and I had to drop out of high school my senior year. I underwent a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND), 3 rounds of high dose chemo and a bone marrow transplant. After all of the fun was over I returned to high school one year later and graduated.

Fast forward 18 years and here I am. Still going strong. Who says you can't lead a normal life after cancer? I am living proof that you can. For the most part life has been as normal as anyone else's. I'm married to a wonderful woman I met in high school the year I returned after my treatment. We have a beautiful daughter together that we conceived naturally. Life is good.

So now I am at a point in my life where I want to help other cancer patients and survivors. I came across a great site a few months back that really opened my eyes to the difference caring individuals can make. http://www.tc-cancer.com/ This site is filled with tons of important information regarding testicular cancer but more importantly the support found here is simply amazing. Truly one of the best groups of caring people I have come across. This site is where I first learned about the LiveStrong Challenge and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I took part in the Philly Challenge 2007 and was blown away by the number of people affected by cancer. Even more so was I amazed by their willingness to help others and raise cancer awareness. I took part in the 5k walk/run and that is where I decided that not only would I ride in the following years event I would do the 100 mile course. Yes I know in the back of my mind that I may have bitten off more then I can chew but I survived cancer and I'm sure I can survive a 100 miles on a bike. Not long after returning from Philly I went out and purchased a road bike. Nothing special, an entry level bike. But I enjoy riding it. After about 4 weeks of training I completed my first organized ride. A hilly 33 mile ride in PA called the Covered Bridges Ride. Great event by the way and I will be returning to do the 63 mile course next year. For now I will continue to train for the liveStrong challenge and I will be riding for those that can't.

To Be Continued..

First Entry

I decided to create a blog today and hope that it will offer hope and encouragement to other cancer survivors.