Will's Training Journal

Help--I am raising money for the NYC Marathon with Team in Training

2008-10-23T04:17:12Z

Hi all,

As I approached my 40th birthday I thought about doing something
different. Something stupid, like on a bucket list, but in a better
movie. I've been involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's
Team in Training (TnT) for five years now and am still having a blast
coaching cycle events. As a coach, I spend a lot of time riding with
our team helping them learn how to finish a century, but after ten or
so centuries (I've lost count), they are not physical challenges
anymore. I do not fundraise as a coach and I decided that I wanted to
do something more for TnT because I've gotten so much out of working
with the Team (a wife, for example). The Society does so many great
things for patients and families and I think about my inspirations,
survivors and not, constantly while I ride: Megan, who introduced me
and Elizabeth as far as I am concerned; Jesse, whose attitude never
changes if he is in treatment or not; Kate, who rocks; Maddy, who I
wish I could tell about this; and Christy, who inspires me every event
I do. I just wanted to help out more but really, how many donations
could I get for my 11th century?

So I was thinking about trying a different event or something, I
didn't know what, when just at the right time I got an email from TnT:
they have 50 precious slots in the New York City Marathon with their
Virtual TnT program!
A marathon—that's stupid.
It's one month after my next cycle event—stupider.
I would have to raise $7500—stupidest.
Virtual TnT means my coach is in Portland, we communicate with emails,
podcasts, and webchats, and I run on my own—I'm out of adjectives.
This fits the bill! So I talked it over with Elizabeth and decided to
go for it and I am all signed up.

Now I haven't really run since high school many, many years ago. Our
last training run was ten miles, and I am thinking that this could get
very ugly, but I am hoping it will be fun and rewarding. I'll let you
know. I am excited but also very scared.

Getting back to the $7500 part, I would really appreciate a donation,
any donation. They go to the Society and are tax-deductible. If you
would like to send a check, my address is 7309 Jackson Ave, Takoma
Park, MD 20912. My donation website is
http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/nyc08/wwheeler and I'll also be
using that site to provide informative updates. Any questions? Please
ask.

Thanks and Go Team!

Will

Hi Calli

2007-11-22T14:50:03Z

PB210349
Originally uploaded by thriller31.

While many may claim to have the Cutest. Dog. Ever., they are wrong. This is Calli, who came home with us Tuesday. She's a beagle (or other hound) mix (maybe with a GSD?) and she's fitting right in.

More pics on flickr.

willwheels @ 2007-04-01T20:30:00

2007-04-02T00:30:35Z

I have sworn an oath to do this. Blame rednekkid.

Comment and I will...

1 - Tell you why I friended you.
2 - Associate you with a song/film/tv show.
3 - Tell a random fact about you.
4 - Tell a first memory about you.
5 - Associate you with a character/pairing.
6 - Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
7 - Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.
8 - In retort, you must spread this disease in your LJ.

This is what happens when you never post.

2007-02-11T03:04:09Z

Create your own visitor map!

So this is why I needed homeowner's insurance

2006-09-03T22:04:36Z

tree in the yard
Originally uploaded by thriller31.

Damn you Ernesto!

Ew....

2006-07-20T19:53:27Z

So, Twizzlers are my favorite candy and one of my favorite foods, if they can be called that. But I just went to the vending machine, minding my own business, and was startled to see Rainbow Twizzlers (http://www.amonline.com/article/article.jsp?id=15934&siteSection=1).

They do not look good. A quick google indicates that reviews are not so good.

Off again

2006-07-13T19:27:30Z

So I leave for an AIDS ride tomorrow and have not yet finished my fundraising. (I am quite a slacker, although I'm doing quite well considering I started this week.) I've emailed a few people individually, but if anyone would care to donate, that would be great. (J Kim, if you're reading this, don't buy a breakfast taco and make a donation instead!)

It should be an interesting and exciting weekend, in that I did a century the first weekend in June and haven't been on the bike so much since then. Whee!

Thanks,

Will
http://www.foodandfriends.org/ride2006/willwheeler

Yeah, so Ian's not the only real estate magnate on this BBS

2006-06-28T20:30:20Z

house ext
Originally uploaded by thriller31.

My girlfriend and I just ~~bought~~ had a contract accepted on a cute house in Takoma Park, MD. It's really great, although not as great as the house with the GOLDFISH POND!!! that we just missed. I'm sure this is more, like, practical or something though. It's quite the upgrade from the one-bedroom cave, uh, basement apartment we've been living in.

Although the DC market is down from its recent peak, people should feel free to give me money.

Edit to alleviate potential jinxing.

Goin' to Tahoe

2006-06-01T21:25:02Z

I've been getting bugged pretty good to actually do something with this so here's a quick update. As many/most of you know I'm kind of into the charity biking thing. After my experience last year helping the team it turns out I love helping train people. So now I'm a coach (stories to amuse Jason to follow). We're off to ride 100 miles Sunday--all the way around Lake Tahoe plus a spur to add miles. The weather should be near perfect.

Try to have fun doing whatever you're doing, cause I'll be having more fun.

More on the event: http://www.bikethewest.com/AMBRR.html

It's March, so it must be time to update this

2006-03-06T18:47:27Z

I really ought to be doing something useful with this, so let me try this. For anyone who believes is the positive value for prayer and/or good thoughts please read the following and pitch in: http://christyweb.amygeorge.net/christyweb/DailyBlog/DailyBlog.html

It's a blog written by the husband (Joe) of a friend of mine (Christy). Christy has been battling breast cancer for five years or so now and things don't look so great. The blog is not always an easy read.

Thanks.

Back from Solvang

2005-03-16T19:03:38Z

Well, I'm back from my trip to California. What an incredible ride. First, the start was in Solvang and the ride was all through the Santa Ynez Valley and surrounding area. The weather was gorgeous and it was freaking beautiful. This is the area where Sideways was filmed, so we saw several locations and even ate at the Hitching Post, which is good but not as good as Miles describes it.

Our team suffered a lot through the training season and I was a little worried. Because of cold, snow, and ice a lot of rides were moved indoors or cut short. The longest anyone managed was 73 miles so it was still a big jump to 100+. The first 60 miles were pretty easy and I thought we had overtrained. But the course starts going up about then (see http://www.bikescor.com/solvang/route.htm) and around mile 70 or so, we had a 15ish mile run of almost constantly up. The grade was only 2 or 3 percent most of the way, but after an hour your legs start burning pretty good and then right at the end, BAM, half a mile of a good, steep climb (they call it Heartbreak Hill). The descent was pretty much worth it. There's a pit stop at a winery (but no wine!) shortly thereafter, at the base of The Wall, a 200 foot switchback climb, which looks at lot worse than it is, and the view at the top is definitely worth it. After that, it was pretty easy getting home.

I was the Training Captain for the team and I can't remember a more rewarding experience. Most of our participants were only casual riders prior to this and didn't know if they could do a Century. But everyone who trained finished (barring a freak accident or two). I don't think I've ever been in a position to be proud of people before, but I goddamn sure am.

And just a second to talk about my favorite rider, Beth. Beth attempted a TnT century in 2000 for her husband, who had chronic lymphocytic leukemia but was doing better after a bone marrow transplant. She rode 75 miles on a hybrid and didn't get back on a bike again until we started training. But her husband relapsed and passed away in early 2004 so she wanted to try again, along with several of her friends. She was pretty out of shape and struggled more than anyone during training. But she worked as hard as anyone and made more progress than anyone. I knew she could finish, but I'm not sure she did. Although the Coach and I talked about helping Beth, what we didn't know was that other people planned on spending some of their day helping her, too, so she had four domestiques with her on the long climb, which of course she beat.

So that's it. I wish I could go open a bottle of wine.

I've been meaning to brag

2005-03-09T19:39:38Z

So when I road for TnT in Tahoe last year we had 40+ people on the ride. This year they have 60 or 70. Of course, that's Lake Tahoe in June. We're going to Solvang, CA in March. First of all, most people haven't heard of Solvang (I hadn't) and you ride in March, thus training in the winter. When we recruiting last fall people would ask about training in the cold and we'd say that we planned on riding if the roads were clear, otherwise we'd be on trainers indoors. So they would typically say they were thinking about Tahoe.

Anyway, we're only about 13 (one coach, four captains, eight particpants). Our final training ride was on the 27th and it was 28 degrees (F) when we started--and we delayed our start until 9:30 to get a few more degrees. Man, have these guys learned to ride. We didn't get the 88 miles in we aimed for because of the late start but most everyone did 73 and they were going at a good clip.

I'm so proud.

Will

Solvang

2005-03-08T15:18:32Z

I leave Thursday morning for my Team in Training ride in Solvang, CA. It's the Danish capital of the U.S. and, if you've seen Sideways, the last town the boys drive through before they get to Buellton.

Also, some other cyclists train there: http://team.discovery.com/slideshows/solvang/solvang.html

Is this thing still on?

2005-02-18T23:20:49Z

While all of my friends are having fun with their LiveJournals, I just let mine sit. Well NO MORE!!

Anyway, the reason I first started this damn thing is to talk about my charity rides. I suppose I'm not doing such a good job of that. (I should probably join in all of the memes my Friends are doing, if I can think of 10 things I've done.) But I suppose I could say why I do this: riding my bike outside in February, get saddle sores, experience the pain. I guess I kind of have to. I started with AIDS rides because I volunteer at a charity (Food and Friends that delivers meals to clients with HIV/AIDS and once I'd seen that, well I wanted to do more. And then my friends started being diagnosed with Leukemia and Lymphoma, and I had to do that, too. I'm not a lot of fun on wekeends, but my girlfriend is pretty supportive of the whole deal and hardly ever minds that I'm tired and sore Saturday night.

So what's up this year? First, a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training ride in March in Solvang, CA. (Solvang makes a brief appearance in Sideways.) I'm a Captain for the Team, which means I work on helping novices along and make sure they have enough to eat and drink. It's pretty cool and my fundraising minimum is low in exchange for the work. I only *have* to raise $500 and I pay my own way, so pretty much all of what I raise gets returned to the Society. That's what we economists call a win-win.

I decided to ride again--so soon after my last Leukemia ride--because my good friend Jesse is currently fighting Hodgkin's disease. He's been in chemo for a while now and they're going to have to try a marrow transplant shortly. I'll be thinking of him in California. Also, two of my friends told me about their friend Emily Quinlan, a young lady battling AML, so I'm riding for her, too. (Vicki or Kim, I'm super behind on email; do you have an update?)

I'm also riding an AIDS ride in June. I'm also a Coach for that, so again with the helping. More later.

Will

Back from Tahoe

2004-06-17T22:25:07Z

I rode in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 's Team in Training a week and a half ago. I have lots to write, but not a lot of time, so I'll start with just a little.

It was 100 miles around the lake. I'm a veteran of DC AIDS Ride 7 and the Tour de Friends but my butt has never been kicked as badly as it was that day. The altitude got to me pretty bad and there were two major climbs, but I was riding for two friends--Kate and Maddy--and I had a name on each sleeve. This sounds trite, but what I had to go through is nothing like what they had to go through and I would look down at their names whenever I was struggling. Which was often, frankly, especially miles 50 to 70 and then 81 to 89 (which were all uphill). I got through it, but not by myself.

bragging

2004-05-21T20:04:07Z

Not only is my Honored Teammate Kate Hansen in remission and back at work, which is cool enough, she's planning on riding in the Seagull Century this fall as part of Team in Training to raise money for leukemia research.

She kicks so much ass it's not even funny.

Weekend ride

2004-05-18T19:57:12Z

I really beat myself up on Saturday--we did more than 80 hilly miles twice around a 42 mile loop. But on the second loop, my rear tire blew twice, so I lost a lot of time changing the tube. And, of course, my body cooled down and I got pretty damn hungry during the delay, and had to stop and eat and stretch. So I was the last person back into the parking lot, but a whole bunch of my teammates waited in the parking lot to cheer me in.

My knees are a bit sore, so I'm trying to rest until our very tough ride on Saturday.

Sunday Ride

2004-05-11T20:58:46Z

I ditched on my TnT mates this weekend[1] and rode on Sunday with my good pals from Team Agrodolce--Michelle, Rachael, Ron, and Akiko. It's always fun to ride with them, we had gorgeous weather, and we did 73 miles starting from Davidsonville, Md. The route has some hills, so it's not like we were slacking, but we headed down the the Bay and ate fries by the shore and then our next stop was a little store with a great bakery (mmmm...pie). That's what riding is all about.

Will

[1] My favorite band in the whole world, the Drive-By Truckers, played in Towson that Friday night. What was I supposed to do? My hands were tied. They completely rocked.

Weekend ride

2004-05-04T14:46:28Z

Saturday's ride was a loop in Maryland around Sugarloaf mountain. There is a map and description here, although we rode longer, and the elevation map does not include the part where we went up the freaking mountain. It wasn't as hard as I expected, but only because I had the fear of God put in me.

Of course, Sugarloaf has nothing on the elevation we're going to do in Tahoe:

I didn't finish that last one

2004-04-29T23:12:02Z

The good news is that Kate is officially in remission and is back in the DC area and will be working soon (if she isn't now). The unfortunate and sad news is that Madeleine passed away in December. So I am riding in honor of Kate and in memory of Madeleine for Team in Training. The Team has a word for them--Personal Honored Teammates. The Team from DC going to Tahoe also has two Honored Teammates as a group. More about them later.

Why I Ride--Part II (Leukemia)

2004-04-29T22:38:02Z

Last Fall I received the news that two that two of my friends had been diagnosed with Leukemia. My buddy Kate I knew because she was an AIDS Rider who was so inspired by her experiences on the ride that she became a paid staff member for the Tour de Friends, which allowed her to boss around all of us volunteers. The less said about Madeleine, the better. (For self-preservation, really.) I frankly wouldn't mess with either of them, as both could kick my ass, so I wasn't too worried about them.

Through the Fall and Winter I got regular updates about their progress, and I was inspired by the amount of strength, bravery, courage, and good humor both Kate and Madeleine displayed (humour in Maddy's case). So I signed up to ride in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, which is 100 miles in and around Lake Tahoe.

For this I have to raise another $4,000. Did I mention how much I need help? There's a link on the left of the blog, or you can go here.

Now I really need to get a quick spin.

Why I Ride--Part I (AIDS)

2004-04-29T21:32:44Z

Four winters ago we had a big snowstorm here in DC. I heard on the radio that Food and Friends (a local charity) needed delivery drivers with four-wheel drive because a lot of roads weren't clear yet. I have a four-wheel drive pickup, the snow was pretty light by my upstate-New York-bred standards, and the government was shut down that day, so I called in and said I would do it.

Shortly thereafter, I received a very nice thank you note from one Jean Badalamenti, a very manipulative woman. Since then, I've been a regular volunteer at Food and Friends, delivering meals and groceries to clients who need help. Virtually all of the clients have AIDS or a family member with AIDS (or a similar lifethreatening disease). The clients that Food and Friends serve are very different from the perception I had of AIDS victims--the clients could be pretty much anyone in any neighborhood of the city (I've been to many neighborhoods I'd never have considered stepping into before). They really depend on the food they receive to keep themselves going and we really make a difference in their lives.

Food and Friends depends on a a variety of sources for their income and as I've continued to be involved I've helped out when I can--donating monthly as part of the Bread and Butter Club, attending the special shopping night at Crate and Barrel, eating out at Dining Out for Life (you can learn more about these activities and others at http://www.foodandfriends.org/help/donate.asp and http://www.foodandfriends.org/happens.asp). And I started riding in their fundraising bike rides: the 2002 Washington DC AIDS Ride (330 miles from Norfolk to Washington) and the 2003 Tour de Friends (340 miles from Raleigh to DC). Due to the generosity of many, I've raised $10,000 in over the last two years.

This year's ride, Team Food and Friends is a little different. Overhead costs have been eating up money and lowering the return, so we're riding as part of Cycle Across Maryland, which means three days instead of four, shorter total mileage, and we'll be based in one place instead of moving every night. But the good news is that the overhead is covered by registration fees, so 100 percent of donations go to Food and Friends. If you'd like to help out, and I hope you will, because I have to raise $1900 for this ride, there's a link to the donation page on the top left of the main blog page, or go here.

weekend rides

2004-04-29T21:13:52Z

Saturday I did a relatively easy ride with TnT--63 miles but not too hilly and we took more stops than we really should have. Still, I felt like crap the next day and only managed about 13 miles--I could have done more but the cars were making me cranky and I was sore so I went home to pout.

This week

2004-04-23T18:09:49Z

Riding after work is always tough, but I got out to Tuesday Hills for two laps and a little bit Wednesday, let's call it 20 miles total. Tonight I'm getting ready for my weekend rides, so I'll stop by quick at a teammate's happy hour fundraiser and then home. One task is to put my cyclecomputer on my new bike so I have some clue about mileage. Our plan is a Metric Century. Wish me luck.

Training

2004-04-21T22:11:40Z

My intention when I started this was to keep donors and, more importantly, potential donors, updated on my training and fund raising for the two rides I am doing this summer. Obviously, I haven't been doing that but there hasn't been a whole lot to tell: because of bad weather, a cold, a hand injury, and a vacation, my training hasn't been where I wanted it to be. But this weekend I rode 100 miles Friday-Sunday, most of that (68 miles) on Saturday with my Team in Training compadres. I tried to hang with young, in-shape people and got my butt kicked, but it will do me good in the long run. There was a mistake on the cue sheet, so we did three "bonus" miles, but I got to 100!

Sunday was a short ride I lead with Julie Martinez for Team Food and Friends--the 17 mile Arlington loop. Very nice day, followed by pizza and sandwiches at the Italian Store.

I took Monday off and then did my first "Tuesday Hills" of the season. We meet near the aforementioned Italian Store, so a very hilly loop as many times as want/can before dark, and go eat. One nice thing about biking is all of the food.

I really need to explain why I'm doing this, so I'll get to that shortly.

Will's Training Journal

Help--I am raising money for the NYC Marathon with Team in Training

Hi Calli

willwheels @ 2007-04-01T20:30:00

This is what happens when you never post.

So *this* is why I needed homeowner's insurance

Ew....

Off again

Yeah, so Ian's not the only real estate magnate on this BBS

Goin' to Tahoe

It's March, so it must be time to update this

Back from Solvang

I've been meaning to brag

Solvang

Is this thing still on?

Back from Tahoe

bragging

Weekend ride

Sunday Ride

Weekend ride

I didn't finish that last one

Why I Ride--Part II (Leukemia)

Why I Ride--Part I (AIDS)

weekend rides

This week

Training

So this is why I needed homeowner's insurance