This summer is coming up so fast! Yet, not fast enough :). It's almost unreal the journey that is about to take place. But I am so lucky to share this experience with amazing people.Our hard work is definitely showing. We are so close to $100,000, I can taste it. We have all been diligently training, and though I'm not a pro, I can feel my endurance improving. I've probably never worked as hard in life as I have during my involvement with Illini 4000. I.love.I4K.Today myself, Eric, Ron, and Maggie (great company, right?!) took a short 45 mile ride today. Our original intentions were to go for 72, but the weather had a different plan for us. Probably within 15 minutes of our ride, it started to pour. These raindrops hurt and bursted into freezing water when it made contact with our bodies. We faced reality and decided that 72 miles was just not a good idea. BUT! We managed to get 45 miles in looping about the outskirts of campus. Definitely not a wasted day. I probably could have gone longer if my feet were not frozen blocks of ice. We literally stopped at one point, took out shoes off, and wrung the water out of our socks. It was temporary fix, until it started raining again.One of the highlights was stopping at a gas station. The handblower felt so good. I was tempted to somehow stick my feet under it.Though we didn't complete the 72 miles, I'm still proud of us for lasting as long as we did. The company of my team really helped me keep going. Maggie's laugh can warm any soul up, haha. I'm hoping it will not be this cold this summer. I'm always keeping my fingers crossed for good weather.With each meeting, training ride, and I4k event, I get so excited for this upcoming summer. I see the photos of previous rides and think about this summer: my face burns with excitement, my heart beats a little faster, and my stomach jumps. The idea is still wavering in the air...29 more days? Really? For real, real? It's like, why am I sitting down on the computer typing, I should be on my bike right now getting ready.Wow, just, wow.