Since registering for the Young Survival Coalition’s Tour de Pink East Coast this September, I have raised $1,636 out of my $2,500 goal. In less than a week! I am ecstatic! So many of my friends and family are supporting me in so many different ways, and for that I am truly grateful and feel truly blessed. I know this is quite (an understatement) a challenge I am taking on: riding 200 miles in three days. With about six months to go, I have begun my training process. The YSC releases a training guide, and when the ride gets closer, it will release a route and travel plans so I know what I’m getting into, as far as elevation, miles per day, rest stops, etc. As of now it looks like we’ll be averaging 50-60 miles a day, with 77 the first day. So I’ve looked up some training guides online, for a century (100 miles), double century (200 miles), and multiple-day ride for beginners. I am going to kind of go off bits and pieces of each program, but alter it for myself. So I won’t be following a certain program to a tea; rather just using them as a loose guide. Because I know my body, my workout schedule, etc., and I already regularly do a bunch of things they tell you to do: regular weight training and cardio. So I’ll keep up with running 5-10 miles a week (but actually up it since Sean and I are preparing for our next 5K at the end of March, and I have the Dirty Girl Mud Run in June), and my weight training. But I’ll add in more core training, like the guides said, so strengthen my abs, back, etc.
Anyway, it can seem overwhelming. And I’m not going to lie: I AM overwhelmed. I won’t say VERY overwhelmed, but I will say PRETTY overwhelmed. This will be one of the biggest physical challenges of my life. And I say “one of” because both cancer treatments (Leukemia) and surgeries (breast cancer) were also physically challenging in about 100 million different ways. But this ride is a choice. I am choosing to take on this challenge, for myself, my family and friends, and every single person (especially those under 40) who have been affected by breast cancer. I am healthy and strong today, and I thank G-d for that every minute of my life, so I want to give back to my body. I want to challenge my body. I want to challenge myself. This opportunity arose perfectly, and I knew deep down I had to grab it.
Not that it’s going to be easy. Not that it’s going to be fun the whole time. But it WILL be rewarding, and I WILL be proud of myself. I have chosen to take on this next journey. I have chosen life past the breast cancer. I have chosen work and challenges. I have chosen to actually LIVE what I tell myself: cherish, challenge, love, bask in, appreciate, welcome EACH MOMENT. Take advantage. Be the person I want to be: one that rises at an opportunity. One that rises at a challenge.
And it’s not going to be easy, or even medium. It’s going to be hard. Really, really hard. Yesterday at the gym I biked a total of about 11 miles. Eight at first, then took a break and did three more. I kept thinking: this is really hard. How am I going to do this for 200 miles? How am I going to do this for 77 miles? How am I going to do this for three days straight? How am I going to do this on real roads with real cars with real rain with real dirt with real rocks?
And then I remembered something I tell myself all the time, in the face of many different life challenges: ONE DAY AT A TIME.
During the breast cancer it was one day at a time. I couldn’t imagine EVER being done with my pain and surgeries. But I got there. I got there one day at a time.
With my wedding, I couldn’t imagine the day would ever come. I couldn’t see past the year of planning intertwined with the surgeries and change of plans and surprise surgeries. I couldn’t see the day when I would walk down the aisle. But it came. And I got there one day at a time.
When I joined Weight Watchers in the fall of 2009, I couldn’t see myself losing 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 20 pounds. I thought: this is overwhelming. How can I do this every day? How can I make good food choices every day? How can I record everything I eat, every day? And here I am today, three years later after losing 50 pounds, and I’ve kept it off. All of it. And I still, every single day, write down what I eat. Is it easy? No. Taking care of your body and maintaining a healthy weight is never easy. If it were easy we wouldn’t have to create programs just to do it. No, it’s not easy. But here I am, three years later. And how did I get here? One day at a time.
Instead of thinking about how much weight I had to lose, I told myself: for today I will do my absolute best. For today I will write down everything I eat. And what about tomorrow? I’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
Instead of thinking (which I had to force myself to do A LOT), about all of the wedding planning that had to be done, or all of the pre-wedding parties and events that were spread out over a year, I told myself to look to the next one and only the next one. One plan at a time. One party at a time. And on March 31 I got there. To our wedding day. And guess what? Everything was done.
Sometimes I think back to my Leukemia treatment which consisted of three years of chemotherapy. I ask myself: how the HELL did I do that?! How did I receive toxic drugs in my veins pretty much every day, or every week, for three years? I know at age 12, when I was diagnosed, I was younger and a different person, and didn’t have the same perspective I do now. But I have to believe that instead of looking at the three-year “road map,” as my doctors called it, of every single day, week and month planned out exactly of what drugs I would receive when, I took it one day a time. Sure, it’s easier to do that when you’re 12 and not planning your wedding and not really aware of what your body is going through. But I was also smart when I was 12. And I think deep down I knew it was a long journey but instead of looking at it that way, I think I thought about just that day. And here I am today, a 15-year survivor.
So like those examples in my life (among many others), I have to take this Tour de Pink training one day at a time. Instead of getting overwhelmed at the thought of riding 200 miles in three days, during each training session I must take it one day at a time. Focus on completing THAT ride. 10 miles. 15 miles. Instead of thinking about the 200 miles, I must see myself completing the miles in front of me. And then I’ll do tomorrow’s ride tomorrow. And I know, I KNOW, I will get there. I WILL complete that ride. I will be ready. And it’s because I will take it one day at a time.
More relatable, I must remember how I got into running. When I first started running and doing 5Ks (right around my April 2011 breast cancer diagnosis), I could barely run for 20 minutes without getting winded. While running with Sean (who happily guided the way), I kept thinking of how many more miles I had to go. I was tired. How can I possibly run in a 5K? But I took it one day at a time. Each day I got stronger, better, faster. And now I have run four 5Ks, with another on the way. Is it easy? No. Is it rewarding? Yes. Because instead of picturing myself taking on a marathon, I picture myself finishing that day’s run. And tomorrow’s run I’ll do tomorrow.
I think with Tour de Pink it’s normal to be a little scared and a little overwhelmed. But I have figured out ways to take over other things in life that were scary and overwhelming. So I know I can take this on, too. But I must remember: today I am not training for a 200-mile bike ride. Today I am just riding 10 miles.
No comments:
Post a Comment