Only FIVE weeks left! And the final week or so is a taper week (less riding) - so really only four weeks of training. In addition, the Team Will activity level has really picked up in the last few weeks - with a few things I would like to share.
First, "you all" have met my $2500 minimum fund raising requirement! THANK YOU to all of those who have donated - BUT, that is only the MINIMUM requirement... And who wants to be minimum? Please use this as a reminder if you haven't made it to the website yet: http://www.team-will.org/ridersponsor.php
Cards for KIDS!
One of the riders on shift 2 (Team Intel) has devised a REALLY great idea. Actually it came from his children... We are going to be delivering "cards from kids" to the children we meet during our hospital visits. Children here in Sacramento (or other cities if possible) will be making cards for the children we will be visiting. At a high level, we will give a packet of construction paper, pre-printed stickers and instructions to teachers, den leaders, youth group administrators, etc. They will have the children in their organization make cards for the children in the hospitals. The key message is "You are my HERO!". As a reminder, the team will be visiting 18 hospitals as we traverse the USA.
Now - I need a little help. I expect this program will come with a $275 price tag by the time we are done. Our goal is 500-1000 cards. We are looking for someone to sponsor "Cards for Kids"... it is an opportunity to really do something wonderful! If you are interested, please let me know at "m a g r i n d s at gmail.com" (without spaces and replace 'at' with @). It is tax deductible and any excess will go to Team Will.
An Unrelated Note:
For anyone that is close to someone with cancer, particularly kids, we found a REALLY cool product line - called "Cancer Fears Me". A snippet from their website:
Welcome to Cancer Fears Me - a strong, positive mindset for those living with cancer, their support groups and caregivers. We know fear is a dominant emotion when someone is given a diagnosis of cancer. Cancer Fears Me turns that fear around and puts you in control. Cancer Fears Me was born after years of working with families living with cancer and recognizing how much fear this terrible disease causes.
Many kids in the oncology wards are wearing the chemo caps or baseball hats... we are considering getting hats to wear during hospital visits: http://www.cancerfearsme.org/store/hatsChemoCaps.html
The Movie:
Team Will has produced a feature-length documentary: http://www.gothedistancemovie.com/index.html. I have access to a few copies. I confess that I have not seen it yet - but I understand it is fantastic, although quite heart wrenching. Generally, it is screened for a suggested donation of $5 or more. If anyone has an appropriate venue to show the movie, please let me know and we can make it happen. I have all the necessary equipment. Lets get out and show this movie - and raise a little more money! The trailer for the movie is on the website as well.
Hospital Training:
The team spent some time at Sutter Hospital in Sacramento today with Amy, a Children's Life Specialist. Children's wards have these specialists to to help children and their families navigate the emotionally and physically demanding process of coping with hospitalization. They will be our "guides" as we visit the children's hospitals along our route. They will give us direction on the best ways to interact with the children, who to visit, how long to stay, etc.
Amy's most important input was not to treat the children like "children with cancer"... but rather to treat them like children. This is their time to be children. They will see five guys coming thru in cycling outfits as "celebrities" and will just want to play with us - like any other children.
This type of training is really helpful as I am expecting the hospital visits to be the most difficult part. The Children's Life Specialist suggested that we should expect to have times where we may need to stop visiting children for a short time - as it is very emotionally draining. This will be new for most of us in shift two (Team Intel).
Training the Legs:
Training is going well --- but frankly getting a little old. Lets get going ALREADY! I have done 6 centuries already this year - including one double century, with one more lined up for this weekend. Here are my stats since Feb 1 (not including the double century where my Garmin was toast):
Shortly, we should have the 2010 Go The Distance website up and running. That is the site that will allow for live tracking, show daily videos, etc. I will post an update when it is available.
Well - onward toward departure!
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