2007 PMC Elevation Profile

This map should have an elevation cross-section at the bottom - but it doesn't. So Ken was kind enough to plot it for me in excel, so we'll have a cross section profile of the ride.I did have to edit the data a little bit - the data provided by MapMyRide was a little corrupted for the 60-100 mile range, so I had to look up data points on google earth, figure out the elevation for those points, and then amend their data. Take it with a grain of salt.

At least the beginning of the ride came out nicely with the original data - thats the most interesting part, elevation wise. That 800+ ft hill isn't wrong... there are some seriously big hills in the beginning - but at least they are in the beginning, and not at the end of a 100+ mile day.

So it looks like we have a total of 2,133 feet of climbing to do (elevation gain)... as well as 2,700 feet elevation loss - which I am looking forward to... Wheeeeee!

Fundraising Update: 7/30/07

As of this morning, we are up to a total of $3,476 raised to date. We have $3,724 left to raise by October 1, 2007 (whatever we don't raise, we'll have to cover ourselves).

I'm very pleased with our fundraising success thus far, and thanks to those of you have helped us out - we are very grateful. If you haven't yet donated and would like to, here is the link to our PMC egift page. If you can't donate this year, we understand - we know several of our friends have just undergone major life changes, and donating to charity just isn't on the list of things you can handle, and we can understand that. Your moral support is very much appreciated too!

Training update: 7/30/07

Well, we've now officially broken the 1,000 mile mark. Our season training ride total is at 1,014.84 miles. We completed a 49-mile ride yesterday at a record pace for us - we were able to maintain an average speed of 16.1 MPH. In general our 40-50 mile rides are usually ridden at about a 14 MPH pace. So we had quite the ride yesterday, despite the heat & humidity. We were awfully proud of ourselves, and a little surprised as well.

Karen is still having shoulder issues - we had to cut our ride a little short yesterday. Her shoulder was really bothering her toward the end of the ride, and since she notices the strain on that muscle the most during the hills, we cut out the final hill. It will be interesting to see how the shoulder thing holds up during the early part of Saturday. (In case you hadn't been subjected to her whining, Karen managed to tear through some scar tissue in her shoulder while stretching 2 weeks ago. Apparently, this is somewhat of a good thing - she can now re-build the scar tissue in a less obstructive manner, but in the mean time, its sore & painful).

We plan on spending this entire week doing some light cardio (to help flush out the muscles) as well as sleeping A LOT, drinking a ton of water, and eating very well.

Training this year has been going much better, and we think that is in a large part due to our return to omnivore-hood. All of our good rides seem to come right around BBQs or nights out for Sushi. Ken seem to have largely solved his leg cramp issue from last year - and the only difference we can think of is the inclusion of meat in our diet. So we'll be eating lots of meat this week. Sushi, BBQ leftovers & grilled Salmon or tuna. We're also going to be bringing a bag of beef jerky with us on the ride. If you consume protein within 30 minutes of when you stop riding, you can re-load your muscles with protein. If you miss that 30-minute window, it could take weeks to replace that protein store.

What is the PMC?

I should have answered this first...

The PMC, or Pan-Mass Challenge, is a 2-day, 192-mile bicycle fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund which, in turn, is the main fundraiser for cancer treatment & research at The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The PMC generates almost fifty percent of the Jimmy Fund’s total revenue and is the Jimmy Fund’s single largest contributor. In 2006, 4,270 PMC cyclists raised $26 Million – 99% of which went directly to cancer treatment and research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, making the PMC a model of fundraising efficiency. In the 27 years since the PMC first started, over $171 million has been generated for the Jimmy Fund.

This year’s PMC will occur on the weekend of August 4th and 5th. The first day starts in Sturbridge and ends in Bourne (a 111-mile day); the second day continues the ride from Bourne to the tip of the Cape (an 81-mile day).

Why have we decided to participate in the PMC? Here is the short answer: because we did it last year, and because it was fun. But the long answer is much more complicated. We first participated in the PMC as a way to help remember the loved ones we had lost to cancer over the past few years. It was a way to DO something, instead of just feeling sad and overwhelmed. We've put a lot of time, and a lot of effort into funding cancer treatment and research at Dana-Farber with the hope that it will one day benefit those we know and love. Or maybe it will benefit people we don't even know, and that's something to feel good about too. Either way, we're actively doing something that will help benefit us all further down the line. We hope.

Hope. That is the one word that sums up the PMC. We make hope. You hear 'hope' a lot during the ride, and it gets under your skin, and you start to believe in it. Its a wee-bit intoxicating. Hope that one day someone will find a cure. Hope that treatments will become better, faster, and more reliable. Hope that we may learn how to better prevent cancer.

Training

Training has gone fairly well. Although, by this point, we're almost done training... to date, we've ridden approximately 950 miles. After this weekend, we should pass the 1,000 miles mark. And of course, in a week and a half, we'll ride the entire 190 mile route.

We've spent about 65 hours on the bike since May. This does not include the time in the gym cross training, the time spent on bike maintenance or repairs, the time finding new shoes so that we could actually be comfortable for all those miles, or the time in the chiropractor's office. We've had to sleep a lot more than we usually do. We've gotten into the habit of getting up at 5 a.m., working out, going to work and then sometimes working out a second time. We're in bed by about 8:30 p.m. every night. In short, all of this training has been a major lifestyle change, although largely for the better.

We've burned about 30,000 calories while training - which includes only the time on the bike, and not cross training. Our clothes are fitting differently (a good thing).

Its been a lot of work, and last week, I was approaching burn out. The end is in sight, however, and I feel like we are well prepared, so it was worth it.

Waterstops

If you have a desire to watch the ride and actually get a chance to visit with us for a couple minutes, a waterstop is the best way to meet up. Mileages are approximate, and only really matter if you're riding... more for my convenience, to keep them all straight.

The 1st day (8/4/07) waterstops occur along our route in this order:

- at 21 miles: Whitinsville Waterstop: @ Potpouri Designs, 355 Main St, Whitinsville, MA
- at 44 miles: Jefferson School, 628 Washington Street, Franklin, MA
- at 70 miles: Dighton/Rehoboth Regional HS, 2700 Regional Rd, North Dighton, MA
- at 85 miles: Apponequet HS, 100 Howland Rd, Lakeville, MA
- at 101 miles: Wareham Middle School, 2 Viking Drive, Wareham, MA [warning: we hope to skip this waterstop, unless someone tells us in advance they'd like to meet up with us]

The 2nd day (8/5/07) waterstops occur along our route in this order:

- at 23 miles: Barnstable Courthouse, 3195 Main St., Barnstable, MA
- at 40 miles: Nickerson State Park, 3422 Main St , Brewster, MA
- at 57 miles: Wellfleet Elementary School, 100 Lawrence Rd., Wellfleet, MA


The waterstops are included on the PMC route map that I previously posted. Official directions to the Waterstops, as well as all other major sites are posted on the PMC website.

2007 PMC Route

I've taken the time to plot out this year's PMC route on google maps. Please let me know if it doesn't load. The first day is 111-miles, starts in Sturbridge, MA on Saturday 8/4/07 and ends in Bourne, MA sometime that afternoon. The second day is 81-miles, starts in Bourne on 8/5/07 and ends in Provincetown, MA (the very tip of Cape Cod).

This is the official route map, provided by the PMC. I think you can see why I took the time to plot it on an actual map - their cue sheet wasn't so helpful last year. We got lost, and added on an extra ten miles or so...

Fundraising update: 7/25/07

As of this morning, we've raised just over $3,000, which is really amazing and heart warming. We thank all of you who have been able to help support our 2007 PMC Fundraising. We're only about half-way to our goal, but its already a very encouraging amount, and we are very, very thankful for all the support that we have received. If you are interested in donating, but think you've run out of time, please keep in mind that our fundraising isn't due until the end of September - there is still time. However, chances are that if you've received a link to this blog, then you've already donated, and we thank you many times over.

Welcome to our 2007 PMC info center

I've decided to set this blog up in order to provide one-stop shopping for those of you asking for information about our 2007 Pan-Mass Challenge Ride. Here you will find information on waterstops (in case you'd like to catch us "in action") and the PMC route (if you want to cheer us on or simply would like to avoid traffic) as well as more personal information, such as fundraising and training progress. After we complete our 2007 PMC, we'll also post pictures here taken along the ride.

We thank you for stopping by, and if there is some PMC-related information that you don't find here but would like to see, please post a comment or email me & I'll try to get to it quickly.