It feels strange to start another athletic journey when I’m nursing a mild injury (strained soleus, nothing serious) but sometimes that is the deal we’re cut, and you just have to do the best you can, given the circumstances. I’ve learned there’s really nothing to do about it but to slog forward.

For those who follow my blog, you know that 2019 was a year of transformation and change. Coming out the other end of it (and at the end of another decade) I am grateful for this time I gave myself to pause and reflect on not only where I’ve been, but where I’m headed. Frankly, it got pretty rough for a while; I was racing but it didn’t make me happy. In fact, there were so many days I was downright miserable on the bike (and not just because of physical discomfort), and when I realized that I was using training as an excuse to skip out on other aspects of my life, I knew something had to change.

In 2020, I’m starting a different kind of athletic journey. Instead of pursuing podium finishes or race medals, I’ve decided to enter an event that not only requires me to complete a rigorous physical training regimen, but that will also challenge me in a new way: to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation, a charity for which I feel compelled to support not only because of their mission but also because of my experience riding with them two years ago (more about that in the next section.) This, for me, is a huge challenge. Although I’m a professional writer, I still get nervous when putting myself out in the world in different and new ways. And, I’ve never raised funds for anything before. But, as they say, there’s no time like the present to make positive changes: it’s time to step up to the plate and do something in the world that matters.

The California Coast Classic

I’m training for the Calfornia Coast Classic, (CCC) a 525-mile cycling event that starts in San Francisco and ends in Los Angeles on Oct. 3-10, 2020. I’ll cover these miles by bike, stopping at prescribed campgrounds along the route where I’ll set up a tent for the night before departing for the next day’s journey.

[FYI: if you don’t know me, this is not my “scene.” At this particular moment in time, I don’t even own a tent and the last time I went truly camping, I wasn’t old enough to drive.]

I’ll share these miles with others who do this event— some people, like me, who raise funds for research into treatments (and possible cures) for arthritis. Others who complete the ride will do so despite having arthritis themselves.

In 2018, I completed two days of the 8-day journey as a freelance journalist for the online magazine Stereo Embers Magazine. (Read my preview article or my recap.) The experience of it— riding by the Pacific Ocean, meeting others who are, in one way or another, touched by arthritis, and being welcomed into this welcoming community changed my life. In my year of reflection, I’ve decided to dedicate myself to raising as much money as I can for this cause in lieu of searching for another race win.

Writing the Journey

Here’s some ancient history you need to know: back in 2010, I started my first blog (The Miles and Pages Project) documenting my training and attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the marathon. I was inspired by the movie Julie & Juila in which a writer/blogger cooks her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art French Cooking and discovers her voice and purpose along the way. My life was oddly parallel to the movie (although I was running, not cooking.) The blog surprised me: I had a fair number of readers and, at a certain point, I won a (small) award for it that first year— which was certainly a win given that I didn’t make it to the trials (I missed the qualifying standard by a minute.) The experience of documenting the journey, however, far surpassed any actual race win.

I haven’t undertaken a blogging project of that scope since. But, minutes after I registered for the California Coast Classic, the act of writing an athletic journey as I train for it came back to me.

So, here’s the deal: I’m going to document my journey to the start line of the CCC here. While I can’t tell you what I’ll encounter as I embark on a more focused training regimen, I can say there will be a fair amount of drama (even as I struggle not to approach this event like would have in the past..which is to say with reckless abandon.)

My goal is to train for this ride while maintaining a holistic approach to my health, a reasonable work-life-training balance, a proper diet to support the training, a strict sleep/wake schedule and somehow maintain my sanity even though I know, at times, I won’t.

My plan is to post at least weekly (look for updates on Friday or Saturday), but probably more often than that (because who doesn’t want to read about my struggle with the athletic sock gnomes that must live in my dryer?) Trust me: working toward something big is fun— you often surprise yourself by your own ability to learn and adapt to challenges as they present themselves.

In addition to building my endurance on the bike, I’m sure I’m going to have several ah-ha moments, like when I take the tent I’m going to purchase to the backyard to see if I can put it together properly because… I really haven’t done that since the CCC in 2018. Or, when I learn how to be my own bike mechanic (thanks to my bike sponsor, Great Basin Bicycles) because you never want to rely on the SAG wagon to get you to where you’re going.

I’ll also share more about the team I joined, Team Carter, their incredible riders and the reason why we’re training, riding and (in my case) writing: for a nine-year-old boy named Carter who was diagnosed with Juvenile Ankylosing Spondylitis when he was three. As an athlete, I have had moments when my body refused to do what I wanted it to do (present calf strain included), but I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to live with a condition for which there is no cure.

I invite you to follow my progress here. If ever you feel so inclined, check out my fundraising page where you can learn more about the Arthritis Foundation.