"I take my exercise at the Ritz"

Say that title in a Thurston Howell voice. Across from my office is the Sports Club/LA in the Ritz Carlton. In need of a pool for my swim training and hearing we get a company discount, I decided to get a trial membership. This 'club' (don't call it a gym!) is crazy. You walk around and you're like "so this is how the other half lives". The club has its own restaurant, its own separate bar, a salon, a spa, two full size basketball courts, a pool, and too many ridiculous amenities to mention. I may actually join, as the rates weren't quite as high as I expected (plus I pay a lot of money right now at WSC and don't get much for it). I feel like punching myself for becoming a member, but look for me unwinding at the bar with my squash partners, lovey (I'll wave to you peasants down on the street from the windows the bar looks out on over M Street).

It's snowed this morning

Well, there were some flurries and crazy wind gusts, so instead of biking and running outdoors in the bitter cold, we opted for a comparable workout in more civilized temperatures (a.k.a. the gym!). Better luck next Saturday for an outdoor workout.

Chris's first 10K

On December 10, 2006, Chris ran his first 10K (and he survived!). The race was the Acumen Solutions Jingle All the Way. We ran the 10K together, and there are even two pictures of us in the Washington Running Report's race day report:


Chris doesn't look too happy (and he still doesn't love, or even like, to run), but he must have felt ok, because he's signed up (and so am I) to run the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler on April 1st.

It's too cold

First outdoor bike training ride of the season is this Saturday (and a run afterwards). The low is supposed to be 22 degrees. Yikes.

St. Anthony's Triathlon 2007

After seeing the full range of what the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society does, and how many people it helps, we both knew we had to do a Team in Training event one more time. This time, we chose to do a triathlon. The training is pretty rough, though. 5:30 AM swim practices every Tuesday, group runs and bikes every Saturday, and your own solo training just about every other day of the week. We have until April 29th.

Thank you coaches, team captains, and people battling blood cancer

Thank you to our Tahoe coaches (Bill, Ed, and Will) and our team captains for your help and guidance during last year's training.

Thank you to all of the blood cancer survivors that we met along the way and to those who are currently battling blood cancer. We are riding (and now add biking and swimming) for you all.

Below is a picture of Chris and his mother, Sandra. She was diagnosed with lymphoma shortly after he was born and lost her battle with the disease in 1986.

This is a picture of our Tahoe teammate, Amy, and her parents. Her dad is battling both leukemia and lymphoma.

Recap: America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, Tahoe, 6/4/06

In February 2006, we started training for a 100-mile ride with Team In Training. The bike was scary (at least to me - I fell 7 times!) and training was tough (there was a lot of yelling on the rides), but it was worth it!

Not only did we raise over $12,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, but we met some great people (including many survivors of blood cancers) along the way.

The century ride in Tahoe was on June 4, 2006. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Sunny, blue skies, and 70-something degrees. Chris wasn't feeling well at the beginning of the ride, but he kept riding. We biked the century together and had a strong finish.

Testing

Testing 1, 2, 3... In the rental car in Tahoe.