So last week, I wrote this great journal entry about how fast I’ve gotten and how much I’ve improved. Yesterday, though, I was slow and hurting. Go figure. So now I get to write a great blog while sitting on an ice pack. Read on and enjoy…

I trained a lot this past week. I rode approximately 30 miles on Monday; 20 on Tuesday; over 60 on Wednesday; and then I decided to help out on our team’s 100 mile make-up test on Saturday. No big deal, right? Wrong.

I spent the week carbo-loading and hydrating in preparation for the century over the weekend. I also bought some insulated water bottles, since the weather forecast was calling for 90 degree temperatures with lots of humidity. I wasn’t nervous, though, because I had done the century before—I knew what to expect this time. And I also thought I was in better shape than last time. So I biked down to campus at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday with the intent of helping out some of the riders who didn’t know what to expect on the ride.

We started out on the route and my legs were definitely tired from all the cycling I had done that week. And while there was some cloud cover, it was really hot! I was sweating everywhere and knew that I wasn’t replenishing the fluids fast enough. We made it to the first rest stop and kept going, knowing that it was only going to get hotter as time passed.

Just outside of Johnson City at the halfway point, we met some hills that I was struggling to climb. They weren’t extraordinarily hard hills, but my body was spent. My legs had little left in them and I sat up tall, pulling from my gluts as much as possible. I started to hurt a little bit on my left back side. Amazingly, the other riders were doing great and I was really happy to have them all there—my initial reason for riding the century again was to help them out, but little did I know that they would have to help me instead.

We got to Johnson City and I sprinted for the sandwiches at the rest stop. In the back of my mind, I knew that if I could make it those last few feet, I would have 1,000 miles logged on my bike and I was relishing the chance to celebrate that moment. But the second I dismounted off my saddle: cramp. Major cramp in my left glut. I ate some food, got some water, and stretched, but nothing worked. I was in pain and that last thing I wanted to do was slow down the riders on our team who had to finish this route in ten hours or less.

So I finally met face to face with my arch nemesis: the sag vehicle. A sag vehicle, for those who are unaware, is a van or car that is filled with food, water, supplies, and space for injured riders. Yesterday, I was one of those injured riders—and I was seriously annoyed about it.

Those who know me well know that I really despise having to give up on something. While I understood that being sagged was the best option for me, I was really upset about it. I felt like I had failed; sure, I had done the century already before and yes, I had finally reached 1,000 miles. Yet I was disappointed in having to stop riding, especially because riding 150 to 200 miles in a week is only half of what we’ll be doing this summer. Sagging really made me question if I was ready for everything.

But after fluids, food, pain reliever, and some time hanging out in the sag vehicle, I slowly came out of my bad mood. Maybe it was my body thanking me for stopping. Or perhaps it was the realization that I wouldn’t have to tackle Barton Creek that day. But what it most likely was, out of everything, was watching the other riders succeed, even if I wasn’t there riding with them. Because despite the ridiculous heat, everyone came in yesterday in under ten hours, and we were one step closer to getting to Alaska as a team.

Then today, as I was reflecting on everything, I got a sweet message in my inbox from Tiffany Chen:

“You seriously were amazing yesterday. Don’t let your buttcheek try to tell you otherwise."

I’m pretty sore today and I definitely need to take it easy this week. But the bottom line is that there are three major requirements for the 2009 Texas 4000 for Cancer team:

Each rider must fundraise at least $4,500.

Each rider must pass a 100 mile test prior to our departure in June.

And each rider must log at least 1,000 miles on his or her bike.

As of yesterday, I’ve completed all three of these tasks and I’m going to Alaska! I have no idea if I’ll have to ride in the sag vehicle again, but it's important to remember that, as Tiffany pointed out, what we're doing as a team to fight cancer is pretty amazing. I certainly can't expect to not have some minor setbacks and even if I do: it's all part of a much larger picture. So I’m doing this ride this summer—and I’m not going to let anything try to tell me otherwise.