Mary Eggers

It’s not often that I struggle to find the words to say after an event. Today I am struggling. It was so much more amazing than we could have ever imagined. Sit back, grab a good latte, and thank you for allowing me to share this experience with you.

(thanks for the picture Andy!)

The Race

I don’t have much to say about the details of the race. It’s really well documented as many of you have seen and read. Click here for some of the video coverage and click here for Lisa Barnes’ play by play. She captured every single moment of the actual race. Also try googling “Eggers vs. Armstrong”, we seem to be hitting the CNN airwaves!

Mr. Armstrong and I after I touched him out Photo by Steve Morse

First things first….. we need to be honest…. Mr. Armstrong was gracious in this competition. He had very good reason to come here and kick my ass. I have done a lot of trash talking. Now I won’t say he threw the race.  He might have eased up slightly… but he made me work for that win. With all due respect he’s much more talented than I, he is a swimmer as he’s come back to triathlon, and he could have absolutely destroyed me. I am not even a good kicker.

During the actual race he was talking to me…. saying come on Mary! Come on Mary!!! Had I been able to breathe much less shout something to him it would have been  along the lines of shut the hell up Armstrong. Since I was kicking at about 900 times my lactate threshold however, I couldn’t. Let’s give proper credit here, he knew why he was here and it was much more important than a 50 kick. I knew that whatever game he brought, I had to bring my A game. You don’t dare a 7 time Tour de France winner and bring a B game. (My A game might be his D game, but that’s life).

So a big kudos to Mr. Armstrong for having the graciousness to make it fun, and for making me work for it. Believe me I did.

What was it like to Meet Lance Armstrong?

Believe it or not I wasn’t that nervous. We’ve been in contact over the last 5 weeks and even that morning. The amount of people who were there in the lounge we were waiting in made me nervous. As soon as he walked in, he shook my hand… I think he gave me a hug but my memory is not clear…. and I felt at ease.

I have always been mindful to not be that fan who rushes up to him screaming “Oh my gawd I am your biggest fan..” and rattle off his stats. I am sure he knows his stats and if he doesn’t…. well then there is always Google. I was careful to give him space, because everyone wanted his attention, wanted him to do this and that….. so I backed off as much as possible. I did have the opportunity to talk to him and I kept it about the event and I made sure to let him know we have raised $51,000 as of an hour before the event. He was really happy about. THAT was speaking his language.

I found him to be very kind, gracious and  very interested to meet the teens. He shook all of their hands and took this gorgeous photo with them after the race. They were totally over the moon. They had a poolside spot for the whole thing. One of the girls said to me… I just hugged Lance Amstrong. That’s how it should be.

(Photo by Jeff Tracy)

The Money

Mr. Armstrong talked about the obligation of the cured. He told the story of the doctor who on the day of his discharge told him that there were two exits from the hospital. The private one, where no one knows you were here, no one knows you had cancer, and you quietly go on about your life. The other door is the public door. Where there are people waiting for you and you share your story, listen to others and essentially “pay it forward” when it comes to cancer.

He chose the public door. Thank God. Thank God he did.

We have so much power as a human race, especially today…… to help one another.

We raised $51,000 without the help of any local running store, bike store….. no one. To be fair I am sure everyone comes to stores asking for donations. There are budgets and economies and each does their own thing for charity. So I totally understand. I just want to make this point….. we did it on small donations.

Ever hear the story of the optimist and the pessimist? While the optimist and the pessimist were arguing whether the glass is half full or half empty, the opportunist snuck in and drank the water. While people are out there debating on the value of social media…. we snuck in there and used it to stage one of the greatest fundraising coups ever seen. We had one anonymous donor give us $5,000. Our teammates pooled together their money at Qt2 and donated another 5. The Zimmet group matched total donations for a total I believe that was $2500. (More on some of the things that some of our local companies did this week). One woman donated $10 five times over the past 5 weeks. Most donations were $5-250. This money came from your pockets.

To me that demonstrated again, the power of people. Regular people. You and I kind of people.

While I was at the reception last night a woman grabbed me by the arm. She was elegantly dressed to a T. She wanted to know how I managed to raise that kind of money in 5 weeks, what was my strategic plan?

I looked at her. Here I was standing in a 10-year-old black dress, clip in hair (That’s my pool to party secret… shhhhh) and I was half the woman this lady was. I smiled. “We did it by asking.” And that is the God’s honest truth.

I begged, you shared. Teens Living With Cancer raises $51,000 PLUS.

The speech

During his speech Mr. Armstrong stated that the highlight of his trip was the Duel in the Pool. As I said above it was not because of the race. He explained that his and my paths crossed on Twitter and because of that we not only raised all this money, but we are expanding Teens Living With Cancer to Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, filling a much-needed hole in what I consider to be the forgotten age group of cancer victims (age 13-19). He, like we were… was astounded at the power of social media. How it has shrunk the world and connected us all.

Photo by Jeff Tracy

He gave me one of the highest compliments I have ever been given. His words have had me in tears most of the day. He said that I was authentic and that I was passionate about Teens Living With Cancer. My initial reaction was to disagree, but I understand that there are times when a thank you is appropriate.

I struggle with being called a hero. I struggle with being called an inspiration. When people say something like that I interpret it to mean WE. The Teens. The teens are the heroes and they are the inspiration. I didn’t do anything inspirational or heroic. They did. They stared down the barrel of the gun we call cancer. They fought the fight, they survived.

When I think of authenticity….. I think you are or you are not. It’s not something I aim to be. I am or am not. When this all began my only worry is that Mr. Armstrong would think I was some crazed fan who was out for personal gain. His saying those words allowed me to finally relax about it. I felt like he got it, he got me. Through however he came to that conclusion, I felt very honored to be given that compliment in that setting. Thank you for that Mr. Armstrong. I will always remember that, and I will always hold myself to that standard.

Mr. Armstrong quoted Muhammad Ali  “Service to others is the rent you  pay for your room here on earth”. He talked about how we need to take care of one another, look out for each other. It doesn’t take a lot of money. Sometimes it takes hitting share on Facebook, sitting down on the couch and listening, sometimes just a smile and a hug. That’s how we can take care of one another, that’s how we can make this world a better place.

A young lady asked him what his greatest accomplishments were. He said Father, Cancer crusader  / Livestrong / and cycling. It was important to him to communicate that while he was grateful for what cycling has done for him and given him…… his priorities have shifted his goals have changed.

A young girl the age of 12 asked him what it was like to not be able to have kids and then be able to. I can’t recreate the scenario but it was possibly the most hilarious scene ever as Mr. Armstrong apologized to her for swearing in his book, as she told him she was reading it. He asked if her parents were there as he delicately walked through the experience of being deemed infertile and then fertile again. Best Q & A ever in my opinion.

The Teens

At the end of the speech they rolled the film of the Duel in the Pool, although Mr. Armstrong had already revealed the winner on twitter.

(The teens are the real heroes)

When it came to the part of the video that pictures of Melissa were shown (Lauren and Doug’s daughter, who died at age 19 and inspired Melissa’s Living Legacy) I watched as her father looked down, and her mother put her face in her hands. They were sitting in front of my father and I. In front of 4,500 people her story was told, and how Teens Living With Cancer was born and where it is going was explained.

The teens sitting around us all looked at one another. One turned around and looked at me. This was the defining moment of this journey, at least for me.

We are not a big corporate foundation. Some places have $100K to use to organize a fundraiser. I am a volunteer, this is Lauren and Leah. Melissa’s father and brother made the awards, her brother did all the website design and Duel in the Pool logos. Lauren and Leah worked tirelessly for five weeks for this endeavor. We are grassroots, like real grassroots. This event and Mr. Armstrong helped to shine a spotlight on this foundation and the programs we can offer through Teens Living With Cancer. That was their moment. That was our moment. It was like….. wow…. we have this voice.

Second Place

What’s next

We have no idea. Everything throughout the past 5 weeks has led to this point. We had no idea we would wake up this morning to messages from friends in New Orleans and California and Georgia that we were on CNN, and other news channels. Will it raise more awareness? More money? Will it open doors? We don’t know.

For me….. I will continue my work with these Teens. This is what I am passionate about, this is our crusade and what we have done if nothing else is shown ourselves that anything is possible in this world with a little hard work.

In my dream situation I would love a position where I could continue to develop fitness programs for teens who are post chemotherapy or in treatment. I feel that’s a place I can contribute best. It allows me to combine my experience as a Nurse, Fitness consultant, coach, etc. (I don’t need a 6 figure salary. Just enough to cover my family and a good dental plan mouth reconstruction so stinks).

I will continue of course to do that right here too. But just in case the folks at Livestrong are reading! I have a lot of passion for Teens Living With Cancer, for this age group, and to try to help them through something I know something about.

Thank you

Thank you to so many people for so many things. Thank you to Lauren, Leah, Doug and Matt for all of your hard work. To the families of Teens Living With Cancer for the support. To the University at Buffalo for allowing us to crash the party and helping us make this event a reality, to Roswell Park Cancer institute for expanding TLC.

To our Teens….. for being the true heroes and the true inspiration behind everything. You guys are what this is for, and what you had to go through to be part of this is not fair, not right. Together we fight back and together we raised the middle finger to cancer yesterday.

To my Mom, Dad, Aunt, Husband, Son. For teaching me to dream and keeping my feet on the ground. Curt Eggers…… you said from the beginning that he would say yes, that we would hit 50K and that this would open doors for Teens Living With Cancer. You have that intuition and I thank you for that.

To each and every one of YOU. Who shared, retweeted, donated pennies, helped spread the word.

To Mr. Armstrong…. for answering that tweet. You said in your speech that you were so glad that you did, and trust me so are we.

More thanks are on the way as well as more pictures. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Together we did this. Power of the people.

You can still donate by the way…… www.teenslivingwithcancer.org

Once in a lifetime. Podium with Mr. Armstrong.

Photo by Jeff Tracy

photo by Andy Flemming

photo by andy flemming

Race report tomorrow….. I promise. Google Eggers Vs. Armstrong for some good coverage.

We are at $51,000 and you CAN STILL DONATE! www.teenslivingwithcancer.org

THANK YOU!

Teens Living With Cancer... THE CHAMP!

I got to meet Melissa’s Dad for the first time last night. He reminded me of my father in both stature and demeanor. I can see the hole in his heart that losing his daughter has left. There is a special bond between fathers and daughters, and you could feel theirs, even though she is not here.

Today my father will be on deck with me as my “on deck coach”. He will be one of the very few people allowed to be on the deck in fact. I am pretty lucky that I still have both of my parents and that I live an hour away from them.

My Dad has always said….. with everything that could happen in this world. The fact that my parents and their children have made it this far through our lives without any catastrophe (or the fact that us kids didn’t harm one another!) is a miracle in itself. He’s right. I look at Melissa’s family…. I got to meet her brother too (He’s done all the website stuff and design for our logo and is running his first 1/2 marathon in Rochester on Sunday)….. I am in awe of them. Absolute awe. As I am with so many families.

I met an amazing woman who lost her son to a brain tumor last August. I don’t think he was even 2 yet. I got to see Charlies mom and dad…… he has since died. We looked at the wall at Teens Living With Cancer and Lauren told a journalist “I am not even going to tell you how many of those teens have died.”

In the face of great horror this woman, this family… have inspired us to still stand up and to still have hope. To not only live another day but to do it with faith and love and strength.I wish beyond anything I could fill that hole in their hearts….. I can’t. But what I can do is what we are doing.

We are less than $2,000 away from hitting $50,000. Thank you all for your generosity, support, retweeting, sharing. Together, you and I have used social media to raise some relay big cash. In a time when people are not sure what to make of Facebook and Twitter…… we made something really good come out of it. While you were debating whether it’s good or bad, we snuck in and used it to our advantage.

Because of it we were featured on two more Buffalo news stations and we even made the Wall Street Journal.

The power of the people.

Last night our send off party was wonderful. Thank you for coming. And congrats to all of our winners. One of our TLC Fit Teens, won the Cait Snow helmet!

If that’s not just plain awesome…. I don’t know what is.

I will notify winners who weren’t there and the folks who donated…… Monday or Tuesday. I am slightly booked today.

Because it’s race day.

I awoke from two more nervous tweets from Mr. Armstrong:

Like I said…. I am used to this type of psychological warfare. First it’s Homegirl, then it’s the old  “I am running 15 miles” excuse. I told him I was running 30…. 15 is for cyclists. And don’t worry….. homegirl is one of the oldest tricks in the book. By they way… 1980 called, they want their lingo back.

Last night I was presented with this, Lauren made it (because she had nothing else to do, NOT)

I got to pick out the song Mr. Armstrong will be introduced to. You will have to wait to find out what it is. Leah picked out my song, and won’t tell me.

The University of Buffalo has now opened the event to the media, they were all notified and there will be coverage of some sort. I don’t know what but as soon as I know….. you will know.

Charlie, our PR guy from Qt2 Systems will be here and he will be providing LIVE coverage of the event via Twitter. Follow him at @charlesabrahams and me at @maryeggers and use the hash tag #tlckickoff (I know…. if you read that fast…..) for play by play action beginning at about 1:15 when I pick him up for coffee.

The words THANK YOU, aren’t enough, but I have no other words. Look at what we… you and I …. have been able to do. FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. I have a feeling we are going to go further today.

It’s race day. It’s time for me to take a little rest. I will be teaching at Breathe this morning at 10:30 and I will be bringing my lounge chair (think I am kidding).

After that it’s Buffalo time.

Armstrong can throw whatever tweets he wants to. I am ready for him.

The most important rule in competition is knowing your opponent. I know exactly what you have been up to this week. Thank you Strava. And…..” Juan”.

Riding 112 miles in 95 degree heat. A little ride with Bo Jackson. Then this tweet:

Shouldn’t that be part of the “Sh*t triathletes say video?” Welcome to triathlon Mr. Armstrong.

Five weeks ago I issued you a challenge on Twitter, and much to my surprise……. you accepted.  Since then we have raised over $40,000 dollars for Teens Living With Cancer and Livestrong. A media storm has stirred up all around us and we have been able to shed a big spotlight on this organization and these Teens.

I am incredibly grateful to you Mr. Armstrong. I know your schedule this weekend and that you are doing this is really above and beyond. Thank you so much for accepting the challenge. But I am not going to take it easy on you.

Here are some of the teens who will be there on Saturday.

To say they are excited is an understatement.

I am extremely proud to be able to represent them. I am honored beyond words to be able to lead this charge. To be very honest with you Mr. Armstrong this age group is the forgotten age group. If you take a good hard look at programs that are available for ages 13-19…… they are just not there. Your Livestrong program is awesome, but it begins at age 18.

You know as well as I do that once you have cancer you are at higher risk for developing a secondary cancer. And you know as well as I do that our biggest weapon i fitness and nutrition. We created our TLC Fitness program for that very reason and throughout the entire study we watched them grow in more ways than we could imagine. We were able to give them lifelong tools, real experience and a team atmosphere in which to develop those skills that will carry them forward.

Thanks to you Mr. Armstrong we have been able to raise $40,000 and we may even hit $50 by race time. My original goal was $1,000. We won the minute we exceeded that. Additionally we are bringing a chapter of Teens Living With Cancer to Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. Because of your name and because of Livestrong….. we were able to do that.

Livestrong has been incredible to us. I understand that folks might try to view them as a big bad corporate entity but you have to look at what Livestrong has done and has meant to so many. It’s more than rubber bracelets and T shirts. Livestrong has reached far and wide with programs and grants to not only further cancer research, but works darn hard in all aspects of Cancer.

On behalf of all of your fans I would like to thank you for founding Livestrong. You could have easily taken your winnings to texas and gone on about your life. instead you have done more than any athlete I can think of.

It took staring down the barrel of the cancer gun…… but you are the commander-in-chief. Those of us who live in this world…. we thank you.

Thank you for that, for accepting my challenge and for taking the time to come to Buffalo and share with all of us. You are a busy man and you certainly didn’t need to do it…. so again we thank you.

As far as the race. Your little tweet didn’t stir me. I am not afraid of you and your psychological warfare.

If nothing else, one of us has second place sewn up.

I will see you on deck Mr. Armstrong. Bring your kick, you’ll need it. (and thank you again!)

Your Friend, Mary Eggers

pre race video (thanks Leah!)

I remember the day I met you kiddo. Pittsford Triathlon. Not that long ago. You were this skinny lanky kid with a smile as big as the sun. You told me you had cancer. Liver Cancer. A rare form that was inoperable and left you with a tumor the size of a small football on your liver.

Your hero was Lance Armstrong

Fast forward a few years. You have died. And I am about to race Mr. Armstrong. Right about now I would do just about anything to have it be you and him in the pool. Or at least you on deck.

I can’t tell you how often Leah and I talk about you. In fact you were the one who connected us. You were the one who inspired her and that in turn inspired me. You were the initial ripple and we’ve got a freaking tidal wave about to hit Buffalo NY. The one person who is not here to see it….. is you.

I remember you asking me to get you a voucher for Ironman Lake Placid. In those days you could get one for yourself and for a friend. We camped out the night before …. kind of  a ritual for Lake Placid…. and I got the very last voucher before it was announced that because the race was selling so quickly…… no more vouchers for friends.

The girl who was filling yours out for me just finished the R in your last name. I looked at her…… I knew in my heart that you would not be competing but you wanted the voucher and I promised you I would get it. She must have been able to read my mind because she quickly handed it to me and I got out of there. I don’t know if you ever did sign up, but you had a small part of Ironman.

It wasn’t the distance you wanted per se…. it’s the chance at living that you held onto so tightly. The sicker you became the bigger you dreamt. In fact you created that video…. and you won Mr. Armstrong’s bike. I love this video. I watch it often to remind me. I love how video captures a moment in time.

Your heart. That’s what I think of when I think about you. Your giant heart. Ten sizes too big for your body (not literally….. spiritually).

To say we miss you is the greatest understatement there is. We know how much you would be soaking this up. You died before you had the chance for that phone call with Mr. Armstrong (it was part of winning his bike). I have this feeling though, that you are sitting back and watching it with the biggest smile in the world.

We miss you kiddo, we really miss you. For once in my life I don’t even have the words to write, and the tears dripping on this keyboard don’t do our grief justice. Knowing you though…. you would tell us to stop crying and start getting ready. We dedicated the whole TLC fit program to you. And I thank you my friend. Without you Leah and I would have never met, and what’s about to happen….. may never have.

Thank you Zach. You taught me lessons that I am still absorbing. That’s how you want to live a life. So that the footprint you leave on this earth is remembered and carried forward. Or should I say…. kicked forward.

Before that gun goes off on Saturday….. it’s you I am going to be thinking about. We are here because of you. You inspired more people than you will ever know my friend.

This morning I woke up to a $5,000 (five THOUSAND) donation to our kick off. That’s you buddy, that’s YOU inspiring people. All you. Thank you Zach, thank you for your time here on this earth. Thank you for reaching out to me, and to more people than you will ever realize. Thank you for your faith, compassion and for teaching us all what it’s like to dream.

I picture you doing a cannonball into the water. That’s the splash that started this all.

This kick…. is for you.

Donate please by clicking here www.teenslivingwithcancer.org

Age 14…remember what that was like? You are about to begin high school, the world is at your feet. It’s your oyster, you can accomplish anything. Each day is your canvas, paint away.

That’s how old he was when he walked up to the nurses station, where I was. He was my new admission, coming in to be looked at, tested. His body wasn’t working so well. He had seizure… or did he? Only his Mom witnessed them. He was losing function in his hands, but no doctor had ever seen it. Just his parents. At times he had slurred speech. But typically only in front of his parents. Sometimes I thought that it was believed that they made it up.

I took care of him for over a year and watched a decline that was heart-wrenching. After 6 months they found a brain tumor. The size of an orange.

I distinctly remember looking at the doctor. “The size of an ORANGE?” Here I was IN the medical field and I couldn’t comprehend it. How did THAT get missed. All I could think of was the size of an orange and the size of a brain. How did this get missed? On a scientific level I got it, I understood structures and images and this and that.

I watched that young man die a very slow death. I felt angry. That was about the same time I began to achieve some success in my triathlon career. That season I won every local race I touched it seemed, and while the victories and records piled high there was a sense that what I was doing…. wasn’t important as the fight that was taking place in that hospital.

As athletes … it’s okay to be athletes. It’s okay to win, it’s okay to allow ourselves to be successful. With what I was accomplishing on the field I felt like I needed to somehow use that to fight the fight off the field. I can’t tell you how many races I came down that finish line thinking of him. I felt helpless and accomplished at the same time. What I accomplished however gave me a platform on which I could try to do something positive. I just didn’t know how. Now I do.

It wasn’t fair that his life got cut short. He didn’t even know how to drive yet. Could something have been different if his tumor was diagnosed earlier? I don’t know.

I don’t understand late diagnosis. Medically I do, but practically I don’t.

Leah (you MUST check out her blog) , who works at Teens Living With Cancer, spent her teenage years going from doctor to doctor. Diagnosed with chronic fatigue after feeling terrible beginning at the age of 14. I believe it was 5-6 years later when she was finally diagnosed with thyroid cancer. They believe she’d had it all these years. She crushed thyroid cancer only to develop Hodgkins.

Leah, is my hero.

For real?

For the better part of her life she’s battled cancer. Age 14 through late 20′s. Now she’s a healthy young woman in her 30′s and I watch as she embraces each day with new passion and vigor and she works so tirelessly for Teens Living With Cancer.

This is Leah at 1:49 of this video.

She works at Teens Living With Cancer…. at least until June. It’s just her and Lauren there and Leah…. she’s funded by a grant that will run out. She has no back up plan and if you ask her she says…. it will work out. Because she knows that what she’s doing right here and right now is unbelievably important. She’s making more of a difference than anyone I know in this world.

She connects with our Teens, the ones who walk through the doors of the center and the ones in the hospital. I watch as she so creatively and passionately develops programs for these kids. She’s the real unsung hero in all of this. I wish…. oh god do I wish she had been around when that boy in the hospital was alive. Man he would have been the exact kind of kid TLC could help.

Instead….. he was alone. Very alone. (I don’t count as someone being there for him. I was his nurse). No one should die alone, much less a teenager.

Leah knows that. She knows what it feels to be isolated during one of the most critical times of her life. Her high school friends didn’t know her. She was that girl who always seemed sick. No one knew she had cancer, hell she didn’t even know. She was the girl who was always sick and inevitably the girl who was always alone. She’s gone on to create the life that she’s dreamt of having. She’s an integral part of this whole organization.

People know me from the triathlon community, but Leah’s the one who does the important work.

Let me be blunt: I need to find the funding to help her keep her job. I started off hoping we could raise $1,000. Now we sit just below $30K and will that be enough? I hope so. I don’t know. We won’t stop until we hit $100K. That’s all I know.

A reporter asked me if I was nervous about racing Lance Armstrong. No. I am not. (when you come into this knowing you are the winner…). Mr. Armstrong is a person. He doesn’t make me nervous (excuse my shaking). Our race is two lengths of the pool. What we do with that novelty is the part that’s exciting.

All I have to do is race this man and we ended up with $30K? Give me a cupcake. I can do that!

The same reporter asked me what my greatest athletic accomplishment was. I thought back through the victories, records, qualifications. Truth be told races get won by others, trophies collect dust, and the show goes on. “This is my greatest athletic achievement” I told her. Not because I am racing Mr. Armstrong, but what we have done together is going to reach far and it’s going to continue to reach far.

I thought about how we sat in a circle that last night of our TLC Fit program, and how I looked around at these kids and thought…… what you have all accomplished is bigger than anything I can even imagine. I am so proud of them. For fighting their fight with grace and dignity. For never giving up. For teaching me what it means to never say no.

For allowing me to storm into their lives like a bull in a china shop. Knowing these kids is the greatest honor I have ever known in my life.

So here we go. We are just days away from the big event. We’ve got snow here in Rochester but that doesn’t stop the kick training. This is how tough we are here in Upstate New York….. can we say the same about Mr. Armstong?

For the boy who never got to experience what it was like to go to the prom, and all of the ones you represent. Like Charlie. Who ironically would have been 25 years old on the day we announced this Duel in the Pool. Look at him. He’s beautiful. His father is involved with Teens Living With Cancer, very involved. If you were his father, would you be able to do that? If you were his father….. wouldn’t you beg people to help?

I look at this picture and I get hopeful and angry all at the same time. Why God? WHY? A big part of me really believes that you, Melissa and all of those whom we have lost…… are together and you see this happening, and you are smiling about it.

I am not a hero. I have done nothing but be loud. The Teens are the heroes.

So here we go Teens. You, me and Lance Freaking Armstrong. This has never been done before. He’s never done an Ironman, I have never won the Tour, but we are going to face off …. because just by kicking two lengths of the pool together we raise money. By raising money programs like TLC Fit, the ability for Leah to connect with teens who are in and out of the hospital, and her job…. which is bringing everyone together…… can continue.

I can’t change early detection or lack thereof. But I can make some noise so that at the very least….. you don’t have to go through this alone.

You are all worth fighting for. We got this.

Kick off pre race party:

Friday April 27th 5-7pm

Lovin Cup in Henrietta NY

We will hold the raffle at 6pm ! We provide the snacks, you bring your family!

The event

Remember, the actual kick off is closed to the public.  It will be attended by special invite to the Teens Living With Cancer teens from both Buffalo and Rochester. The University of Buffalo production team is creating a fantastic video of the event which will include behind the scenes footage of everything. At the end of Mr. Armstrong’s speech Saturday night at the University of Buffalo, the video will be shown and the winner revealed!!! To purchase tickets to the speech click here.

You can get in on the action of the kick off….. via Twitter. I will not be tweeting during the event, but Charlie will be. While he will not reveal the winner (ME) he will give you a play by play of the event. It will also be available the following day.

Follow @charlesabrahams and @maryeggers on Twitter to catch the action!!!

We are less than 6 days away from the Kick off! Our T shirts are ready!!!

They are $20 + $5 shipping and handling. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO ORDER

And the prizes….. they keep on coming!

One entry to the sold out Pumpkinman 1/2 Ironman!

I have to give Kat Donatello a GIANT shout out. Not just for this awesome prize but for her support throughout this endeavor. She’s shared, retweeted, donated money, a prize… and so much more. We met a few years ago when I forgot to sign my husband up for her sprint race, and she’s someone I am proud to call a friend. THANK YOU KAT!

Tune Yoga Jumps on Board!

A big thanks to Leslie Schenk Trzcinski of Tune Yoga for her donation of two great prizes!

The Eney Jones Pull buoy!!!! Eney Jones was the first woman out of the water in every Hawaii Ironman she ever competed in (1986-1991) and has many titles underneath her belt! The original queen of open water swimming she is not only donating one of her special pull buoys, but Leslie is donating a spot to Eney’s open water swim clinic this coming June!!!

We are getting close and putting the final touches on everything. Five weeks ago I issued a challenge and then life got very crazy! The best kind of crazy there is! It is VERY important to me to make sure I personally thank each and every one of you who has helped in this effort. I can’t even begin to tell you how much it has meant. I will start with a few each day and next week I will have the full list of donors in front of me and you can expect a personal thank you from me.

Your generosity in terms of donations, sharing, retweeting and messages of support have meant EVERYTHING to me.

QT2 Systems: The FIRST person who reached out to me was my coach / employer / friend Jesse Kropelnicki. And of course the rest of the QT2 coaching team, athletes, everyone. They were quick to ask…. how can we help…. and not only got behind us with a donation, matched donations from all of our athletes. Together QT2 has so far raised the most money at $5,000. THANK YOU TEAM!

Breathe Yoga: I have been teaching at Breathe since 2005, and Cyndi, Abby and Carly are family to me. So are the rest of the crew there. They also wanted to know, how can we help? Not only did they make a generous donation of their own, they have supported me for so long and through so much.

Score-This: As many of you know, Rich Clark is family. He and the rest of the crew have not only donated, but retweeted, shared, asked how they can help….. you name it.

More to come on the thank yous……. and please keep this wave flowing!

The closer we get to this event, the bigger it feels. The bigger it feels, the bigger my heart swells. I have NEVER in my life experienced this level of community. By community I mean more that Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. I mean all of us. From California to New Orleans to Florida to Quebec. And beyond. To me social media has made the world a smaller place and trough it I have been connected to amazing….. amazing people.

With that being said our Ten for Teens raffle is growing by leaps and bound. We have the following items donated to the pot! We have  great things being donated by  unbelievable people. These people have been beyond gracious, beyond selfless, and we are really honored to be associated with them!!!!

Cait Snow’s Rudy project aero helmet, autographed.

QT2Systems Coach and Professional Triathlete Cait Snow has graciously donated this gorgeous hot pink aero helmet from Rudy Project, with her signature on it. Cait was recently featured in the below issue of Lava Magazine, had won Ironman Lake Placid and for the past 2 years she was the top American female in the Hawaii Ironman, securing her spot in the top ten overall with a blistering sub three-hour marathon. One of triathlon’s most sincere and professional professionals, Cait quickly asked what she could do to help our cause. We are so honored to have this donation, which since we announced on facebook has been the item most coveted in our entire raffle. Thank you CAIT!!!!!!

Many have also inquired about her bracelet, I will find out where she got that!

The generosity of Matt Long continues

Matt Long is the NYC firefighter who has run over by a 20 ton bus. He not only survived but has gone on to finish Ironman, begin a foundation called the iWIll foundation and wrote an inspiring book called The Long Run.

Matt is not only sending copies of his book, signed for our raffle, he’s upped the ante. He is sending us two packages for NYC Marathon runners:

Includes Transportation to start of race in Staten Island  from NYC Hotel, your morning  will be taken back to Hotel, Shower/Massage and FDNY after party ( food and Bev at hotel) and AFTER AFTER PARTY !!!!

This made me almost enter that NYC Marathon lotto!!! Am I eligible to win (kidding).

I need to say this about Matt…… this man has his own foundation, the iWill Foundation, and he’s generously and selfishly donated his items to benefit our organization. He’s asked for nothing in return. I have to recognize that because…. there is one thing I have learned about this whole fundraising deal….. and that it can get very political. With Matt….. it’s not. This man is something special. Thank you!

Fuel Belt

From the beginning the folks at Fuel Belt have been on board asking us…. what can we do? How can we help and another one of those….. we need nothing in return group of people. They will be sending us lots of Fuel Belt goodies for our pre race party on Friday!!! THANK YOU FUEL BELT!

Cycledelic

The really awesome folks over at Cycledelic have donated a ten class pass to their awesome indoor cycling studio over in the 12 Corners of Brighton!! Kathy and Matt have been another couple who immediately jumped on board with a “how can we help”…. and embody what this whole event is all about.

ATC Endurance

Our Friends over at ATC Endurance have some great things going on and they want you to be part of the action! They are giving us one free entry to the Cooperstown Triathlon on 5/27, Delta Lake Triathlon on 7/29 and their OLD FORGE Triathlon in August!

Have something you’d like to donate to the mix here? Leave me a comment or connect with me on Facebook or Twitter (@maryeggers). We will take triathlon items, gift baskets, anything for anyone. Again we will make sure the right thing goes to the right person and you do NOT have to be present to win!!!!

Now remember this raffle is taking place on Friday April 27th at Lovin Cup over on the RIT campus. Form 5-7 please stop by, bring your families, have some snacks and buy a drink. We will be accepting donations! Some of our Teens will be there as well.

We have some offers for more great prizes as well which we will detail as the week goes along. We realize there are some prizes that are athlete specific, so we will work on a method to ensure that all of the prizes go to the right people.

TO DONATE CLICK HERE

Again, details on the party:

Friday April 27th

5-7pm

Lovin Cup on the RIT campus

All are welcome. It’s free!

We will draw for prizes and accept donations to Teens Living With Cancer!

Less than one week to go!!!

We had our CSE (committee of special education meeting) yesterday, and it went exactly as everyone promised it would go. Not in our favor. We expected that. We were prepared for that.

What I was promised and even surprised by  was… exactly how they followed the script to a T. From the greeting, to the closing they acted as if on cue.

There will not be much I am going to be able to write right here for a bit regarding this issue, as it has now become a legal case. I can be broad but not specific at least until this is over. When it is, the details are all yours.

What I can say is this. The district made three very critical and distinct errors. If you are someone who sits on a CSE committee here is my advice to you……

1. When you are gathered around the table, those 5 minutes before you bring in the parents, those 5 minutes during which you discuss your goals for this child….. be aware of who is sitting at the table. It’s not so wise of you to not ask the identity of each person at that table. It’s even less wise of you to make the statements that you did. We special education parents….. you know…. the ones whose lives you are trying to dictate….. we call statements like that…. ammo.

2. Don’t make admissions that might be detrimental to your credibility as an education team. And certainly don’t repeat those admissions throughout the meeting. For example…. let’s say….. oh I don’t know…… maybe you agree and admit that you have grossly failed a child. Why? Because fail my son once….. shame on me. Fail my son twice…… you don’t get a second chance. I imagine you have counsel that advises you on what to and what not to admit. Again… us laypeople, the special education parents… you know … the ones whose lives you are trying to dictate….. we call statements like that … ammo.

3. When you tell a parent it is not their “right” to make a “motion” or a statement that determines the course of the meeting, you are not only lying, you are violating their rights. Which…. those people … gosh what are they called…. attorneys? Lawyers? You know us lay people… the special education parents…. the ones whose lives you are trying to dictate…..  we have probably seen Days of Our Lives a few times. I mean, what else do we do all day? I mean we might… I don’t know…. know this book pictured below by heart……. (and please note I highlighted exactly what this is). Those lawyer people have a name for what you did.

Illegal.

When I realize that you have acted in this manner, and I make some notes, sit back and cease talking at all….. it does not mean that you won. I might want you to think that.

It means I am looking at you wondering if you are really this ignorant? No. I believe that you truly believe in what is coming out of your mouth. Because I am staring at you does not mean I want to hear about how long you have been in this field. It does not mean I want to hear how you grew up in this particular district, and then you went to another and wow…. they eventually accepted you. I don’t care about the rivalry between my school district and Fairport. And I don’t care if you have a grandchild.

I want to know why you think you can make a decision regarding our son’s future when you have never even met him. When there is a clear perfect fit as evidenced by … our evidence… and you so obviously and clearly…. and loudly violate my rights. It means that I know you are “dictated by money” and to be honest, I don’t give a damn. I understand the “pressure” you are under to keep kids in district….. but our son ended up in psychiatric emergency three years ago last March because of what your system did to that. We have that proof. Money means jack to me when it comes to the health, welfare and future of this young man.

You must not know who I am. Well, based on your inquiry of the Lance Armstrong event I am guessing you know who I am, but you grossly underestimate me. And you are bat shit crazy.

Let me give you an education. I don’t understand the definition of the word no…. when it is used in such a clearly inappropriate situation. I not only love to be the underdog…. I crave being the underdog. Tell me it’s impossible, put me in a corner, pull the cover over my heads, tie my hands behind my back and shut off the lights…..  when you close the door and turn around I will be standing in front of you.

You know how they say that  the boogeyman checks for Chuck Norris  in his closet at night?

Well Chuck Norris checks for Lance Armstrong under the bed, and then I take the three of them by the ears, tuck them into bed and read them all Mary Poppins.

Please…. please…. underestimate me. I want you to. This is exactly the position I was BORN to be in.

I am a self-described spinning snob. I know that, you know that. We all know that. It’s actually a HUGE character flaw of mine. One that I am working on.

This article describes the ways I believe you can get the most out of your spinning class.

This article talks about how I became such a snob, and talks about why I believe spinning can have a place in multisport training.

When I walk into a spinning class I want a class like I would teach. That’s how much of a snob I am. And since I am not being part of the solution I decided to do some exploring. There is a new indoor cycling studio in town that caught my eye, called Cycledelic. It’s located at 12 Corners in Brighton and in between a Starbucks and Panera Bread. That right there spells invitation.

For the record…. I don’t know the owners. I wanted to go and check out a class and their studio without being on an invite. I pay for my own classes when I do things like this (I insist on that) and I wasn’t asked to review. I like to share the good stuff, if it’s not good I just don’t talk about it. I like to see what’s going on out there.

I am a fan of indoor cycling (also known as spinning) for reasons I listed in the above two links. I tend to train pretty early and I don’t like to head out on by tri or road bike in the dark although I have lots of lights. I am a parent so the option of spending a few hours in the evening on my bike just doesn’t exist. I also have the worry of being hit and not coming home. I would probably not go to a computrainer studio because I have a computrainer, and I don’t feel like lugging my bike around. Plus I am social and I love music. Besides….. I enjoy it. There are things are efforts I can hit on a spinning bike that I can’t hit outside. As I outlined in the above links the positions you can execute on a spin bike lend themselves to overall strength on the road….. when done correctly inside.

In many other parts of the country indoor cycling studios are the rage. Out in California there is YAS… a Yoga and Spinning studio started by former professional triathlete Kim Fowler. Her model has been a huge success. Like yoga studios, these indoor cycling studios offer something a bit different from a big gym indoor cycling program.

We went on Tuesday morning to take Matt’s class. As we walked in I noticed right away the feel was perfect. It was a smooth easy check in. You have the option of purchasing classes online, one at a time, ten at a time. There are two showers a bathroom, and a place to store your gear. Perfect.

The studio itself was really unique. The lighting was nice and dim, for some reason I love that. There was a screen in the front of the room. I was a little bit nervous I will be honest. The last time I took a spinning class with a screen the instructor took us on a ‘simulated ride.” Those…. just don’t work. Let’s see what this is about…. I thought to myself.

But let me start with the bike. I have ridden just about every indoor cycling bike on the face of this earth. Spinners to Le monde’s to…. everything. At my regular gym the bikes measure power but…. they are not accurate. Which is fine if you understand that going into the mix.

At Cycledelic they have FreeMotion Fitness S11.9 indoor cycles with the ability to measure power, heart rate, cadence and speed. They also have the option of using the toe clip or an spd cleat.

Below the power console is pictured. What you don’t see is at the top there is a USB port. you can bring your own flash drive, plug it in and then at home download your workout. I forgot to ask what it downloads to, but next Tuesday I am going to give that a try!

I regularly ride with a QUARQ powermeter, so when I ride with power on an indoor cycling bike I can usually gauge how accurate these types of units are. Two of my friends were with me who also train with power. After about 15 minutes we all looked at each other and said the same thing “I think these things are actually accurate”  . They were! That’s a first for me. Knowing that I now can actually use those numbers! Sweet!

Class began and it was obvious Matt has had a good background in cycling and in teaching. Nothing is worse than the poppy little instructor who bounces all over the bike and spins at an rpm of 120 while “climbing a hill.” Talk about nails on a chalkboard.

The screen lit up and I was pleasantly surprised.  As we rode we watched the Paris-Robaix  race. While I read about it online and catch glimpses of the actual race, I had never actually watched a good hour of footage from it. It’s one of the oldest races in cycling and not only have I never watched it for an hour, never on a bike on a screen like this.

What I liked about Matt’s class format is that he had a structure, a profile if you will but he didn’t try to replicate the race we were watching. “You can’t replicate cobblestones inside” He joked but he had a very good class format and structure that coincided with some of the terrain the cyclists were riding as well.

A look at their studio, I like this studio

I liked it. I really liked it. I liked that it’s a cycling studio. I liked the format of the class. I liked watching the video. I liked the music. I liked the atmosphere. One of the beautiful things about indoor rides like this is that you can be a complete beginner and ride next to a world-class athlete and you can  adjust the class to fit you either way.

The prices of the classes are right on par with what yoga studios in the area offer. $16 a class is right in line with what other places charge and their of course are some really good deals with Groupon and like many, they have class package options.

My impressions: this place is a hidden gem. If you want a quality workout on an indoor bike, this is your place. I like the whole idea behind it. Like I said this is what is happening in California and New York City, if you follow trends in fitness that’s what you watch. Indoor cycling has been around for over 15 years and this is the next level for it. Like yoga studios you will see more specialty studios popping up like this one.

I highly recommend Cycledelic. I plan on hitting Matt’s class on Tuesday again and I would love to see you there. In fact, let’s plan on it. Then we can walk over and grab a coffee on the way home!!!!