MIKE'S FIRST DAY OF TRAINING- PART 2

After a few miles of riding on a busy street, Mike made a right turn at an intersection, and that's when I noticed an uphill ride of about an 1/8 of a mile. Mike looked comfortable going into it but I noticed that he began struggling after roughly fifty meters. I began catching up to him, and when we were finally riding side by side, I glanced at him and caught a distressed look on his face that was soaking wet with sweat. He mentioned that he felt like stopping but I didn't want him to stop because we were only a few feet away from the peak, so I decided to pass him and take the lead to make sure that he pushes through it. Mike kept on pedaling, and although he was hurting, he continued on. His efforts did pay off because he victoriously made it to the top without stopping.

Luckily for Mike, he would catch a needed break, the next two miles would be easy riding because it's all downhill. I told him to shift up and to continue pedaling as he pleases. I continued to lead downhill but I would look back every minute or so to check if he's ok. Although I pulled on my brakes every now and then to make sure that I didn't get too far ahead of him, the distance between Mike and I would grow from a bike length to eventually around 150 meters as we rode further down the road. The bottom of the hill curves to the right, I followed the curve and stopped at an intersection to wait for Mike.

Mike showed up no longer than a minute. His face continued to be covered with sweat. I remember wondering if his thick, heavy jacket had anything to do with it. He said his chain came off during the latter part of the ride, so I guess I'll need to train him on how to shift gears properly. I told him that we have covered over six miles and that he needs to take the lead so that he could take us back to his house. He nodded and proceeded straight down the road.

We continued riding, making lefts and rights here and there. He then took us through a park that would lead straight to his house. At an intersection, one block away from his house, Mike stopped and told me that he'll need to walk his bike uphill because he's exhausted. He jumped off his bike and proceeded walking his bike uphill. I didn't want to leave him behind so I jumped off my bike and joined him.

When we got to his house, Mike was so tired that he said he felt like throwing up. He walked into his garage, leaned forward on what looked like a sink, and rested there for a while. A few minutes later, when he felt better, he began doing his stretches on the garage floor. He looked like he was happy to have survived the ride.

Mike completed 10 miles on his first day. That's four more miles than what we had planned and I am so proud to see him push through it. While I am truly happy to see him complete this ride, he has much more training to do to be in shape for competition. With only 14 weeks left until the event, Mike will need to stay the course in order to perform his personal best on the day of the triathlon.

Submitted by Joe Corpus

MIKE'S FIRST DAY OF TRAINING - PART 1

Super Bowl Sunday morning- Mike's first day of training

It was around 12:30 pm when I arrived at Mike's house. I came with a pair of running shorts and a sleeveless top. I didn't come dressed in full bicycle wear because Mike texted me a couple of nights before that he didn't have any gear. Anyway, as I was parking my car, Mike struts out of his garage with a pair of bike shorts, a snug fitting, moisture wicking shirt that he got for free from the turkey trot we did on Thanksgiving, and a very serious bicycle jacket on top of it. I was proud that he took his first training session seriously enough to wear the proper clothes for the sport. Yet on the other hand, I wanted to laugh so badly because not only have I never seen him in bike gear before, but also because I wasn't prepared to see him in such tight fitting clothes.

The Ride

We snapped our helmets on and jumped on our bikes. Mike asked if I wanted to put my wallet and my phone in his jacket's pockets before we started riding. I said yes and that's when I noticed the weight of his bicycle jacket. It was thick. It was heavy. It was also a warm 80 degrees outside. I asked him if he was sure that he would want to wear it on this 10 mile ride. He said yes and started pedaling.He was pedaling so fast that I had to remind him that we still need to warm up. I told him to shift down and pedal easy. I have never rode my bike in Milpitas before so Mike lead the way to a bike route that he's familiar with.

Mike looked really good in the beginning. He was riding at a good pace and looked very comfortable in front of me. His thick, heavy jacket didn't seem to bother him. The roads were ideal for anyone's first day; they were smooth and flat. The only thing I questioned about the ride at that point was how crazy busy it was. There were way too many cars on the road. We would eventually get to a road that is less traveled, but to get there Mike would need to pedal about three blocks uphill...

submitted by Joe Corpus

JAN MICHEL PADRINAO WILL BE DOING THE BIKE PART OF THE RELAY!

I have been working as a part-timer at Clarks Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara since April 2009.

I am currently pursuing my degree in International Business Management. When I joined the company, the team at Valley Fair was so proud of their accomplishment of raising the most dollars for Triangle in 2008. Now I am proud to be part of the Clarks team that won both contest categories in 2009 and 2010: total donations and percentage to sales .

One of my new year’s resolutions this year is to start losing weight. It's great that this opportunity came up because now I have an even better reason to work out and start shedding some pounds. I casually ride my bike at “bike parties” almost every month; however, I would like to ride competitively.I’m not in the best shape of my life, so for me to complete a part of a triathlon would be a significant thing.

A family close to me has a son that is autistic, and I have watched him grow up to be in his teenage years. I have seen some of the challenges that they go through and I can see how an organization like Triangle could help make a difference in their life. I'm doing the "Tri 4 Triangle" not only because I want to help out organizations that help people with disabilities but also because I want to start having some meaning in my life. I want to be able to say that I helped people.

Training for the biking part of the triathlon would give me the opportunity to accomplish two goals- lose weight and help raise money for people with disabilities.

Please support our efforts and help people with disabilities. Follow our stories and donate to Triangle Inc.