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_Swimming...then biking...then running - oh my!

I am raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by participating in Team in Training. My goal is to raise at least $3,000 this winter while training to complete my first triathlon in St. Pete in April 2010. My personal victory will be completing that open water swim but the true honor comes from being an integral part of the battle against blood-related cancers.

The LLS has a vision that in the year 2015 the great majority of people diagnosed with a blood cancer will be cured or able to manage their illness with good quality of life. It wasn't all that long ago that a diagnosis of leukemia was seen as a death sentence and now we have more and more amazing stories of survivors. It is through people's generosity that this vision will be achieved! Over 75 percent of every dollar raised by the LLS goes directly to advancing its mission of curing leukeima, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma along with improving the quality of life for patients and their families.

Join me in this fight against cancer by taking action yourself. Check out Team in Training programs in your own neighborhood and meet me at the starting line next April! Or if swimming & biking & running is not your thing, please take a moment to make a donation. (FYI: it's 100% tax-deductible!) I know that times are tight right now but truly every dollar counts - ALL donations are appreciated, whatever it is that you are able to give. Or if you cannot make a donation at this time, please help me to spread the word of what I've undertaken and send me support and encouragement during my months of training - I am surely going to need them! I hear Florida mornings can be chilly in the winter and I will need continued support to get my butt out of bed before the sun comes up to submerge myself in the waters of Tampa Bay (there are sharks in there you know!)

I know the challenges that lie ahead for me: I have to learn to swim and remember to eat well and fit in daily training sessions while planning fundraisers, settling into a new home and potentially a new job. As much as I enjoy running, I am extremely nervous about this whole swimming thing. I predict there will be several times when I will question what the heck I was thinking to attempt this?! But I will remind myself of why by thinking of the heroes, the survivors and those who left the world too soon. They don't get to skip a day of being ill because it's too scary or they're just not in the mood. Their strength will get my face in the water. Their stories will keep my legs peddling for miles. Their gratitude will drive my feet to the finish.

I will tri because it's the least that I can do.

Thank you for visiting my web site!
Please visit often to see my fundraising and training progress.