Hi all – Below are some of the pictures from the triathlon this morning, I love the photo of my tutu in a sea of bikes. Before anybody says anything, yes, I know my tutu is a greenish yellow. Just chalk it up to false online advertising.

I enjoyed the triathlon, over the last two months I’ve only biked a handful of times and ran once a week, even worse haven’t swam in over a year. This is far from my norm of training 3-6 days a week, so my goal was to just get through the race without stopping, which I did with no problem, although did push through some cramps at the end on the run. The race organizers wouldn’t allow me to swim with the tutu, but did wear it for the bike/run and received tons of cheers from spectators, race staff, and even the NYPD stationed along the route. Coolest thing was getting compliments from racers on the course. My friend Kamen one-upped me big time by not only racing in a yellow tutu, but also shirtless with Sally’s website and name written across his back and chest. To top it off, he finished 9th overall and 3rd in his age group, so accepted an award in front of everybody in full tutu! We had a cheering section of tri friends in tutus and even a yellow wig.  All told we raised over $1,000, way more than I expected, much of that coming from members of my triathlon club. Have always been told what great people triathletes are, today cemented that for me and words can’t express my thanks to the club and triathlon community.

I also ran the race for my friend and coworker Lauren Murphy. She’s a marathoner who I had convinced to race this triathlon as her first, however a few months ago was struck by a car running in LA and has been recovering from severe head trauma since. I wore her bracelet so she could race it with me. Her site is as follows should you wish to learn more: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/laurenmurphy

I came home to the rest of the family in their “Go Daddy Go” shirts (photo above) they had from my marathon earlier this year, including Sally. We enjoyed a day together as a family, starting with a visit from some good friends from DC. We then decided to take a walk down along the water and stop at the playground for awhile. Sally is going to be indoors, likely at least for a week, so wanted to get her some fresh air and sunlight while we could. Our Aunt Grace arrived when we got home with  homemade lasagna, sauce, and meatballs. We enjoyed a meal together at the table with William repeatedly telling us how much he loved us. Feeding Sally, I got my first “Da-Da” from her since before diagnosis, I can’t tell you how much it meant to hear it.

It was a great day. A much needed great day. Tomorrow morning Nicole admits Sally for Cycle 2 of intense chemo, and the grind for all of us begins again, especially for our Sweet Sally Sunshine. We also may get the bone marrow biopsy results to see how the first cycle went, tomorrow is a big day emotionally. Please keep Sally and our family in your thoughts and prayers.