Timberman Triathlon 2006- Here I Come!
Here is the shirt I raced in with all of the ribbons in memory and celebration of people that have battled leukemia, lymphoma or other cancers. It was inspirational to run in their honor.
**** POST RACE UPDATE**** I finished and it was an absolutely awesome experience. I haven't updated my fundraising totals but at this point I've also exceeded the $2900 required amount and I'm at $3350+ for my fundraising. Check out my diary entry for a complete race report. Thanks again to everyone for the financial and moral support, I couldn't have done it without you!
You may know that I completed the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, in June of 2002. Ever since that life-changing event I’ve been looking forward to completing another event as a member of Team In Training. I’ve decided that this is the right time, so I’m training for the Timberman sprint distance triathlon August 19, 2006 (http://www.timbermantri.com/timberman.html). It may not seem to anyone else that this would be a good time to take on training because my life might look pretty busy. I work full time as a research associate at Pfizer, while Paul is home taking care of the boys full time. Matthew turned 3 in April and Christopher was 1 in January. We’ve also got our 2 dogs, 3 cats and tank of fish, so I guess it may not appear that I’ve got a lot of extra time for something like training. But this is important.
So, why AM I doing this? Most of my reasons are pretty self-centered. I’ve realized, especially recently, how blessed I am to have what I have in my life. I’m lucky to have two happy, healthy sons that make my life more wonderful every day. I can only imagine that if we were ever faced with something as devastating as a diagnosis of leukemia in our boys I would want everyone to do all that they could to work towards a cure. Since there are so many families in that situation right now, I want to do my part to help them. Paul and I learned last year that he had developed diabetes. Part of the reason he developed diabetes was that our lifestyle had changed over the years and we were eating a lot more processed foods and moving a lot less. We’ve made some changes to improve our health and fitness and I want to be a good role model for my boys as they grow up. Completing a triathlon is something that I hope will show them that fitness and activity are an important part of our lives. To that end, I am looking forward to having the resources of the coaches at Team In Training to help me through the training program for this event.
Where does Team in Training fit in? Here are the compelling statistics: Every five minutes, someone in the United States learns that he or she has leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease or myeloma. Leukemia is the number one disease killer of children in America. But with the benefits of research and medical advances, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which had a survival rate of only about 4% in 1960 now has an almost 80% survival rate. So many families are affected by leukemia or lymphoma I just felt like it was my responsibility as a healthy person to do what I can to help these people. In the process I got to meet Clayton, the honored hero for my marathon team. Here he was battling a life-threatening illness with all the courage and strength of a prize-fighter, inside a small child's body. He's an inspirational little guy.
If you'd like more information about the program, send me an e-mail. Together we can help change the world!
If you'd like to make a credit card donation directly to the Leukemia Society for my fundraising, here's the link to the page: www.active.com/donate/tntct/JMunzner
If you know anyone who has battled with leukemia, lymphoma or any other cancers I would be honored to compete for them as a patient hero, or a memorial hero. Send me their information and if you have a picture of them, I will post it on my website. When I run the marathon, I will wear an honorary bracelet with the person's name on it. My personal memorial heroes are:
** Cathy Trepod- a close friend who lost her battle with breast cancer in February, 2006. She was only 45 years old, she faced with her disease with courage and dignity. Check out my diary The Other Half of My Motivation for 6/13/06 for more about Cathy.
**John Zientek - my grandfather, prostate cancer, June 1996.
**Yvette Beaulieu- my grandmother, intestinal cancer, February 2000.
**Richard Beaulieu- my grandfather, brain cancer, June 1995.
**George Munzner, Sr.- my father-in-law, pancreatic cancer, June 2001.
**Michael Rand- a high school friend who passed away in September 2001 from kidney cancer at only 27 years old. (see diary entry 1/28/2002 for more about Michael)
I am also running in honor of my own patient heroes:
** Lorraine: Family friend, surviving lung cancer since Sept. 2004.
P.S. I love to read my guestbook if you have a moment to leave a message. A little extra motivation for those days when running doesn't sound like much fun. :-)
**** POST RACE UPDATE**** I finished and it was an absolutely awesome experience. I haven't updated my fundraising totals but at this point I've also exceeded the $2900 required amount and I'm at $3350+ for my fundraising. Check out my diary entry for a complete race report. Thanks again to everyone for the financial and moral support, I couldn't have done it without you!
You may know that I completed the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, in June of 2002. Ever since that life-changing event I’ve been looking forward to completing another event as a member of Team In Training. I’ve decided that this is the right time, so I’m training for the Timberman sprint distance triathlon August 19, 2006 (http://www.timbermantri.com/timberman.html). It may not seem to anyone else that this would be a good time to take on training because my life might look pretty busy. I work full time as a research associate at Pfizer, while Paul is home taking care of the boys full time. Matthew turned 3 in April and Christopher was 1 in January. We’ve also got our 2 dogs, 3 cats and tank of fish, so I guess it may not appear that I’ve got a lot of extra time for something like training. But this is important.
So, why AM I doing this? Most of my reasons are pretty self-centered. I’ve realized, especially recently, how blessed I am to have what I have in my life. I’m lucky to have two happy, healthy sons that make my life more wonderful every day. I can only imagine that if we were ever faced with something as devastating as a diagnosis of leukemia in our boys I would want everyone to do all that they could to work towards a cure. Since there are so many families in that situation right now, I want to do my part to help them. Paul and I learned last year that he had developed diabetes. Part of the reason he developed diabetes was that our lifestyle had changed over the years and we were eating a lot more processed foods and moving a lot less. We’ve made some changes to improve our health and fitness and I want to be a good role model for my boys as they grow up. Completing a triathlon is something that I hope will show them that fitness and activity are an important part of our lives. To that end, I am looking forward to having the resources of the coaches at Team In Training to help me through the training program for this event.
Where does Team in Training fit in? Here are the compelling statistics: Every five minutes, someone in the United States learns that he or she has leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease or myeloma. Leukemia is the number one disease killer of children in America. But with the benefits of research and medical advances, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which had a survival rate of only about 4% in 1960 now has an almost 80% survival rate. So many families are affected by leukemia or lymphoma I just felt like it was my responsibility as a healthy person to do what I can to help these people. In the process I got to meet Clayton, the honored hero for my marathon team. Here he was battling a life-threatening illness with all the courage and strength of a prize-fighter, inside a small child's body. He's an inspirational little guy.
If you'd like more information about the program, send me an e-mail. Together we can help change the world!
If you'd like to make a credit card donation directly to the Leukemia Society for my fundraising, here's the link to the page: www.active.com/donate/tntct/JMunzner
If you know anyone who has battled with leukemia, lymphoma or any other cancers I would be honored to compete for them as a patient hero, or a memorial hero. Send me their information and if you have a picture of them, I will post it on my website. When I run the marathon, I will wear an honorary bracelet with the person's name on it. My personal memorial heroes are:
** Cathy Trepod- a close friend who lost her battle with breast cancer in February, 2006. She was only 45 years old, she faced with her disease with courage and dignity. Check out my diary The Other Half of My Motivation for 6/13/06 for more about Cathy.
**John Zientek - my grandfather, prostate cancer, June 1996.
**Yvette Beaulieu- my grandmother, intestinal cancer, February 2000.
**Richard Beaulieu- my grandfather, brain cancer, June 1995.
**George Munzner, Sr.- my father-in-law, pancreatic cancer, June 2001.
**Michael Rand- a high school friend who passed away in September 2001 from kidney cancer at only 27 years old. (see diary entry 1/28/2002 for more about Michael)
I am also running in honor of my own patient heroes:
** Lorraine: Family friend, surviving lung cancer since Sept. 2004.
P.S. I love to read my guestbook if you have a moment to leave a message. A little extra motivation for those days when running doesn't sound like much fun. :-)