Back In The Saddle

After being in Las Vegas for a week at a trade show, I finally got back in the saddle this past weekend. It was an important two days as it was my first back-to-back long days. Saturday I rode 70 miles through Jefferson, Van Buren and Washington counties. The last 20 miles were very warm. I was really tired by the end of the ride and was pretty worn out the rest of the day. I was really worried about my 50 mile ride the next morning. Riding in the same heat Sunday, I felt great for 50 miles and I think I solved the mystery of saddle soreness as I had a virtually pain free ride. My legs and lungs felt real strong and I am really encouraged about my fitness and my ability to survive 7 long days in the saddle. I am up to 670 miles of training and have now increased my training goal to an even 1,000 miles.

On the fundraising front, things are going well. Me and my 100 other LIVESTRONG teammates have raised about $150,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation with over a month to go. Personally, my fundraising campaign is off to a strong start. For those of you who have contributed, thank you so much. For those of you still planning on contributing, you still have time. See my "Welcome" post below for details on making your contribution. And by the way, Dexter has the early lead on Apache in the DAHI contribution challenge.

This week's picture is of the back of my LIVESTRONG team jersey. It's what I hope Lance will see most of RAGBRAI week!!! Stay tuned for next week as I have a surprise for my next post.

Finally, I would love to hear from you. At the end of this and each post you will see the word "comments". Click on this and you can send me a comment, question or just some simple words of encouragement.

Thanks again for your amazing support.

See you down the road.

Pat