Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Not denied ! :)

Yay - I went to give blood today & this time my hematocrit was high enough.

And so, I earned my place in this world for at least one more day. :^)

Monday, December 22, 2008

Caught on YouTube!

My friend Daniel (aka Lanceoldstrong) emailed me today with a surprising discovery: a video of me hauling my lardbutt up Sierra Road before Stage 3 of the Tour of California a couple of years ago!

What style, what strength, what panache! uh, right.



I wonder if the caption in Japanese on the YouTube page reads "fat slow American lumbering up hill".
Smiley from millan.net

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Denied! :(

I received an email yesterday from the Blood Centers of the Pacific informing me that 8 weeks passed since my last donation and I was eligible to donate again.

After work I dutifully trooped over to the nearby Redwood City donation center. I had read about their new ALYX system which collects two units of red cells at once from donors, and I was keen to give it a try. Double karma points!

In order to donate a double supply of red cells, a donor has to weigh at least 150 lbs (not a problem for me at the moment!) and have a hematocrit of at least 40. For a standard blood donation, the hematocrit has to be at least 38.

Mine was 36. Crud!!
Smiley from millan.net
So I'll start popping the One-A-Days again, and try again in a couple of weeks.

Or in other words, "Ahhhl be bahhk"

Monday, December 15, 2008

Am I freakin' NUTZ?!? (or, my goal for 2009)

Yes, I suppose I am. :^)

Starting in early February, I'll be training for the Death Ride with Team in Training. Yes, you read it right, The Death Ride. That's what it's called. It's also known as the Tour of the California Alps, but somehow Death Ride seems more apropos. We're talking 15,000 feet of climbing on five passes over 129 miles. At altitude. Booyah.


The structured TnT training program is just what I need. My friend Sarah (aka maillotpois) will be one of the coaches of our group, and I'm really looking forward to working with her. She's wonderfully upbeat and a great motivator.

So, my goal for 2009 is to complete all five freakin' passes of the Death Ride on July 11. Everything else I accomplish, cycling-wise, will be incidental to that.

But of course I'll be sharing all my Adventures in Training here with you, my dear readers!

And just so you know, I'll be hitting up friends, family and other willing parties for donations towards my fundraising goal for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - a very fine organization and an excellent cause. :^)

And what after mid-July?

Crater Lake would be nice ... but, first things first.