6-Year Old Tyler is on the news: A reminder of why I joined the Ironteam

Tyler was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2007 at the age of 4. Tyler's mom Holly just sent me a news article about Tyler. Please take a moment to read it before reading my comments below.

http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/14666/

WOW... so many thoughts are running in my mind right now. I am going to do my best to pick the article apart to tell you what I am thinking.

First of all, Tyler is 6.... Not 5, Not 7... '6'! I always get this confused because I would read an 'outdated' article about Tyler and it will say... Tyler is 4... 5... 25...etc. I am one of those people that keep asking people's kids age (eg. Hey Steph, how old are your kids again?... when I asked her few weeks back). OK... In 2009, Tyler is 6. I better write this down somewhere... got it!

The second thing that's kind of crazy to me is how much I know about Tyler (which I am not really proud of... because in a perfect world where there is no cancer... I wouldn't even know Tyler... I'll be sad not knowing this crazy kid but I rather have it like this... Cordova... huh... you mean Godiva??).

As I was reading this article... 'Upon further examination, it was revealed that Cordova had a large tumor in his chest cavity, which needed immediate treatment...' I was like of course... because according to Dorian, Tyler's aunt, Tyler was in a football game when this happened... he couldn't breath and his face turned blue!!! They rushed him to the hospital where doctors found a tumor in his chest cavity. This version is much more dramatic *_*

Then two paragraphs down... the reporter said 'But in September 2008, Cordova relapsed...' I was like I REMEMBERED THIS!!! In fact it was around 9/11. One day I got an email from Dorian telling me to pray for Tyler... A simple doctor visit (dizzy) turned into a CAT scan. First symptoms of inner ear infection, then possibly brain or spinal cord tumor, then the CAT scan reveal swelling in Tyler's brain... a indicative of viral spinal meningitis or a brain tumor. Next thing I know Tyler may need a bone marrow transplant, then the next day doctors decided that his cancer has relapsed... and this is the SHORT VERSION! I, along with the Cordova family and others that care so much about Tyler were in the roller roaster from Hells during those few weeks. I never felt so useless in my life because there is nothing I can do to help Tyler directly. However it is then that I decided to join the Ironteam. If the Gordova family can go thru all these chemo stuff, I can tri-drowning (as I didn't know how to swim).

There are a few things here and there but I don't want to bored you with detail.

One thing in this article that touches me the most is how Tyler's response to his cancer treatment. "I don't focus on the treatment, I focus on what I like to do and that makes me feel better." Can you believe this come from a 6 years old?

People just like to complain and not focus on finding a solution nowadays... With all these economy/family issues... and of course... my complains about swimming(in case youd on't know, I HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)... I think we all can benefit from Tyler's mindset. For me, I need to not focus on the actual swimming... I just need to picture myself coming out of the 3km swim and eat a hamburger with onions, fries, and a milkshake. "Celebrate What We Accomplished Each Day"... this is what Coach Paul, the Ironteam Coach, told us.

If you like to help finding a cure for cancer, you can make a tax deductible donation to the cause. Every Single Dollars Counts!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineFIrn09/lkwan

Louis

Broken Louis

I had a bad swim today.

I am supposed to swim 3km today. The first 500km was fine. Then a woman came in and started swimming in the next lane. She does't look super fit but she is faster than me with her one arm swim. Whatever, I said to myself. I am a slow swimmer and I admit it. I keep doing my own thing and she got out of the pool a bit later. Then two guys join in and they were super fast... but only for a while. Next thing I know I am close to 2km. Right then I started to feel sick. I took breaks but it didn't get better. For the secondly day in a row, I want to vomit again. Not because I am tired or try too hard... but I just want to vomit. Not wanting to have people watching me vomit in the pool while wearing my Team In Training Swim Cap, I called it a day and got out of the pool.

I definitely feel stupid. I swam 2km already and there is only 1 more to go. Why can I finish =(

I took a shower and prepare to leave. Right then a guy ask me when I did the Wildflower Triathlon (because I was wearing the Wildflower shirt) I chart with that guy for a bit and that lift my spirit.

Never give up, I will keep swiming.

My vomit tastes like energy drink

Since Vineman Ironman is going to be very very hot, the coach decided to start our training at a later time so that we can more heat. However... it was raining... so much for training under the heat. I should of train with a sweater.

Did the 4 hours bike and on to my two hours run. My plan is to do 3-1 intervals. I run 3 minutes, then walk 1 minute. I can go faster but I figure this will be the pace for my ironman's marathon... so I may as well get used to it.

After 20 minutes into the run, I stopped because I wanted to vomit. I took a 8 seconds breather and move on. This is go on several times... and finally... 3 minutes before the 2hr is up, I started to cough... it seems like there is something in my lung... and because I coughed like crazy, I vomited... the stuff that I have been drinking.... no pizza, no hamburger... just some energy drink =P

I thought I was done with Calculus

I love my coaches and teammates, but I always need to complain about swimming.

So, the swim set was kind of crazy for the last two weeks. Not only do I have to swim but I also need to keep track of all these set. I may as well be doing calculus while swimming.

Two weeks ago, I did circuits of 5-100 yd. It goes like this: Hard, Easy, Hard, Hard, Easy... then repeat. That means I have to swim 100 yd hard, rest, then 100 yd easy, rest, then 100 hard, rest, 100 hard, rest, 100 easy, rest... repeat. And remember the pool is only 25 yd long... so for 100 yd, I need to swim 2 laps (4 sides).

You guessed it, I lost track after a while!

Hard, Easy, Hard, Hard, Easy... I may as well press Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A!

Somehow I survived and I thought it was done... then one week after... I did the following.

Set 1
25 yd 5 seconds rest
50 yd 10 seconds rest
75 yd 15 seconds rest
100 yd 20 seconds rest

Set 2
125 yd 5 seconds rest
150 yd 10 seconds rest
175 yd 15 seconds rest
200 yd 20 seconds rest

Set 3
225 yd 5 seconds rest
250 yd 10 seconds rest
275 yd 15 seconds rest
300 yd 20 seconds rest

Set 4
175 yd 5 seconds rest
150 yd 10 seconds rest
125 yd 15 seconds rest
100 yd 20 seconds rest

Set 5...

The coach did tape the set at the end of the lane... the problem is... since I am doing odd numbers on some sets, I ended up resting at the opposite end of the pool not knowing what to do next. I find a solution to read the list before I end up on the other side of the pool.

I was doing good at first, then I screw up and lost track in the middle. The swim was actually ok, but the counting is very very tiring. I am actually looking forward to the 3km swim this sunday... because I only need to count to 66 laps =)

Last few weeks

I am just going to talk about the weekends

5/16 (Sat): 91 mi bike + 15 min run
5/17(Sun): 2:30:00 run

5/23(Sat): 2:00:00 bike + 1:00:00 run
5/24(Sun): 16 mi

5/30(sat): 85 mi bike
5/31(sun): 10 mi run

6/6 (sat): 6 hr bike/run circuit
6/7 (sun): 18 mi

6/13 (sat): ~100 mi bike ride. Bike from Anaheim to Solana Beach (near San Diego)
6/14 (sun): 20 mi run

bike bike bike, run run run... you'll get use to it. The only thing that I still hate is swimming. I always tell myself Cancer Kids have it worst... but still... I hate swimming.

The 6/6 training was interesting. We bike a 13 mi loop, then run for 1.17 mi, then we get back to the bike again. So we bike, run, bike, run, bike, run, bike, run, bike, then run.... We did the course 5 freaking times. And did I tell you you have to do it consistently. The coach actually keep track of our time and tell us to speed up if we are going slower than our fastest lap. It can really break you because you get bored. I stayed focus and I finished strong (and slow of course). Having the mindset of doing a few more definitely help. I am too slow for most teammates and I am a bit faster than others... so I was alone most of the time.

I am looking forward to the San Diego Ride. I am sure I'll have something to say when I come back.

My first tri nightmare

So I was doing this shorter distance tri few weeks before Vineman Full Ironman and most of my teammates were there as well. For some reason I can't carry my bike and my transition bag into the transition area at the same time so I leave my bike with a race volunteer and go find a spot to rack my bike. I walked around for a while and I found this rack with the correct height (all racks have different height... some are too short... some are like 5'10 high). I left my transition bag under the rack and head back to my bike.

As I was walking to my bike a patrol car was running over it. I ran as fast as I can but it was too late. The cop ran over my bike and took off. My first reaction was... nooooooooooooooooooo. Then I was like... great... this is like fighting for a traffic ticket... his words against my words... there is no way I can get $ for my bike.

I looked at my bike and it didn't look good. the front wheel was bend and the tire wasn't really attached to the wheel. There are also some weird stuff coming out from my wheel. As with the bike frame, the connection between the top tube and the head tube were no longer... connected.

Frame Diagram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bicycle_Frame_Diagram-en.svg

I rode the bike for a short distance and I can still ride it, but I definitely need a new wheel because the wheel was hitting the front brake.

I managed to rack my bike. I talked to my teammate carlos and he assure me everything it's going to be cool. I then called Coach Paul and ask him what I should do.Paul told me this is why we are training with the ironteam... we always need to be prepare of what's going to happen. We are all going to experience problems, but how we deal with our problems determine if we can finish the race. I asked him if I should just do the swim and skip the bike/run. Then Paul ask me... what if this happen in Vineman? Are you just going to swim and not bike/run? I was like... no way. He hang up so I can figure out what I should do on my own.

I decided to go for it. I decided to swim, ride my broken bike, then run.

With only minutes to spare before the swim start, I reach over to my transition bag to prepare... only to find out my transition bag and bike DISAPPEARED. GONE... just like that. Why would someone steal a broken bike??? So now I really panic... how am I going to swim + bike + run when I don't have my bike and swim stuff...

Then... thanks god I woke up.