As most of you know, we are training for an olympic distant triathlon, and it hasn't been an easy task for any of us, but nothing in comparison to what cancer patients face each day. I am blessed with the opportunity to challenge myself while helping others by being a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma's Team In Training. Though it may sound corny and cliché, my life has truly been enriched by Team In Training. Other than the time I spend with my very supportive family and time working at my business, life has really been about Team In Training and raising funds to fight cancer.

I am so grateful for the generous donations we have received sor far for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

As we focus on these last few weeks of training, I just want to mention how thankful we are to so many friends that have helped us with all our fundraising events, it means a lot.  I also want to thank my teammates (Kay Lynn Dutcher, Marla Vils, Susie Troxler and Dena Wholey) who have encouraged me, as well as the resilient people, like my son Shane, whose struggles and fortitude have inspired me to push on to greater heights.

The work we’ve done together isn’t over; please attend our annual Poker Night fundraiser at Sherwood Country Club Tuesday, March 4th, so we can continue to fund cancer research, clinical trials and patient care. For more details  http://www.gofundme.com/PokerTournament

Together we can beat cancer. So many people around us have had it, are fighting it, and/or have lost someone to it. Though some may have had a different type of cancer, the effective research of blood cancer has really helped enhance the study of finding a cure in other types as well.

Be sure to check this site for pictures of The LavaMan Triathlon as we update from Hawaii on March 30th. GO TEAM!

Again, thank you very much for your support. We really appreciate your generosity.

Andrea, Kay Lynn, Marla, Susie and Dena

Gosh, it is getting close now. Yesterday, Mar. 1st, we did a sprint distance triathlon in the desert as a practice to get ready for LavaMan. We thought we were going to be doing it in the rain and wind, but the weather cooperated and it was a perfect race day.

I have to say, we thought it was going to be easier than it was because the sprint distance is about half the distance of what we will do in Hawaii. We found that the open water swim in Lake Cahuilla was a challenge for all of us. We wore wetsuits to keep warm in the 63 degree water. We are hoping the warm water and not having to wear wetsuit in Hawaii will make for an easier swim. I am so proud of my teammates, we all finished with respectable times and we know we can do it! It was a good reality check; the swim is going to be hard and long, the transition times we need to work on…but, we are training even harder this week and still building to get stronger in these last few weeks.

                Dena, Marla, Kay Lynn, and Andrea (we miss you Susie)

We are grateful for the generous donations we received for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at our Second Annual Boccaccio Happy Hour Event. It was a big success.

We are blessed to have this kind of support from our families, friends and our stellar community of people who have generously supported the cause… Thank you!