Team in Training Kickoff!

So it's official y'all.  Kickoff started Thursday night at VBGB (Nick and I were a little confused by the beer, wings, and talk of training...definitely not the way we expected these people to eat!).  We got to meet both the Marathon Team and the Triathlon Team.  The whole time I kept asking myself why I didn't sign up for the Marathon Team.  Even though a marathon sounds way worse on my knees (I almost died doing a half), now that we are talking about swimming, click in pedals (and that it's inevitable that you will fall once!) I am TERRIFIED of this triathlon.  Granted, that's part of the reason I signed up for this thing, but now I am really nervous.  Meeting the team was fun though!  Our coaches are BALLER!  We have a male and female coach who have done this a bunch, and one of them just finished an Ironman...so....yea, BALLER.  Two of our tri teammates have done TNT before and one of them was a USA swim coach.  Nick and I had nothing to bring to the table haha!  Well, Nick could at least say he has done sports his whole life.  I was like, "uhhh, I am completely new to this."  It was really intimidating.  BUT! everyone was also really supportive.  Everyone assured us that we CAN do this.  I am really looking forward to group training.  It's gonna be great to have such knowledgeable people helping us out. 

We talked a lot about bikes.  Right now, this is our biggest concern.  We have mountain bikes right now.  I went to a bike shop last week just to price things and get an idea of what's out there.  WOW BIKES ARE EXPENSIVE.  The cheap ones I was looking at are around $500-$600.  We have no plans on becoming cyclists, so I definitely don't want to spend much money on them.  That is definitely wayyyyyyy more than I want to spend.  So right now we are thinking about several options: 1) borrow or buy one from a friend; 2) buy one on craigslist; 3) change the tires on our mountain bikes maybe change the pedals and buy click in shoes.  Anyone have a bike???  We are going to a bike shop this weekend to get fitted.  Bike sizes are based on your leg length apparently.  Makes sense.  Hopefully we can find a used bike out there that fits our sizes. 

So after talking to our coaches a lot about biking, we got to socialize with the group and meet our Honoree Mentor, Matt!  For any nurse friends who might read this, he has agreed to make his story known so that people can learn from his experience and want to help support people just like him- so although I'm not used to telling patient stories, I'm not breaking any HIPAA laws here!  Matt was diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia by Dr. Taylor at Oncology Specialists of Charlotte- guess what?!  That's where I am starting my new job!  At the time, the protocol for treating HCL was different, but there was a small clinical trial at NIH in Bethesda that was using Rituxan for these patients.  Matt went back and forth between NIH and OSC getting some of his chemo here and some of his chemo there.  It was definitely tough having to go back and forth, but luckily the two clinics were able to work together to decrease some of Matt's travel time.  It is exhausting getting treatment, but having to travel for treatment makes it even worse.  Luckily, Matt responded to the chemo and is currently cancer free!  Now, lots of other people with HCL are getting Rituxan for their chemo and are also in remission because Matt's trial proved the drug is effective!  The Leukemia Lymphoma Society comes in to help with things like this.  Patients who can't afford their chemo, afford travel and co-pays; patients who are lost and alone; families who are grieving; and LOTS of funding for trials like the one Matt was part of, all come from the LLS. 

It was so inspirational to meet Matt and be part of TNT.  We are SO PUMPED!  To top it all off, we left the meeting and got an email that told us our FIRST DONATION had been made!!!  It was great timing.  We are so grateful to Sarah McCarthy for her support!   This journey is going to be amazing.  It feels great to be part of such an important cause.  GO TEAM!


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Our Fall 2013 Team!

Me, Matt, and Nick