One more THANK YOU!

The Tri for Sight was a huge success again this year. Everyone on the team did an amazing job. Thanks to Jake I even finished 7 minutes faster this year. Thanks to all of you we raised just under $2400 for LLS which brings the 2 year total to $5400!!! Thanks for your support!

This year I was able to have Dad's name printed on our jerseys. We had a team that ran in Chicago this year. I was reminded by a family friend that my Dad ran the Chicago marathon in 1985 & thought it was pretty cool that our team ran in Chicago with his name on the jersey.

Since TFS I have run 2 half marathons and am running a 3rd tomorrow. In September we did a girls weekend to Nashville to run the Women's Half. Steve & I vacationed in Southern Utah where we ran the Other Half and tomorrow is the Midway Iron Horse. We were not planning to run this one but since it is a local race we couldn't resist.

If someone told me 2 years ago that I would be competing in triathlons & running half marathons I would have thought they were nuts. The TNT coaching & support is amazing. Truely anyone can do one of these races....it is not just for the elite athletes.

Our local TNT triathlon coach, Susan Bradley-Cox, was inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame yesterday. This is such a major accomplishment! I feel truely honored to have had the opportunity to learn & train with Susan. She is one AMAZING woman!

Thanks again for your support. It means the world to me!!!

Until next time,

Andrea

October 30th

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WOW! It's Tri for Sight weekend already! Where did this summer go? Finally cooler weather has arrived. The weather is supposed to be perfect this weekend.

The race is this Sunday. I picked up my race packet this evening. I am # 398. I will be honest, I am not nearly as well trained as I was last year but I am hoping Jake will help me PR over last year.

If you are interested in donating to the Leukemia & Lymphomia Society please know that 100% of your donation will go directly to the cause since I am over my minimum.

Thanks to all of you for your support!

Andrea

9/3/2010

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Hey All,

My sincerest thanks goes to Jack Avona, Natalie & Rian Sanders, Wendy Fooks, Roberta Simmons, John Richey, Phyllis & Leonard Avona, Sara Bieda & Nancy Houser. Thanks to all of you for helping me exceed my fundraising goal!!!! 100% of all money donated over my goal will go directly to the LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

If you are wondering about the picture....it was taken at the top of Bukhan Mountain in South Korea. That was about a 3 hour hike up & up & up & up. It was the toughest hike I have ever done & when I got to the top I said a big WOOOHOOOO. That is exactly the way I feel about all of your support! Your generousity never ceases to amaze me! You all are my hero's!!!! WOOOOHOOOO :-)

Andrea

July 17th

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Hi Everyone!

I want to extend a BIG thank you to Kevin Stanbary, Tina LeFebvre, Michelle Stevens & Nancy Houser! Thanks for your support to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Together we can find a cure!!!!

Last weekend, my long time friend Kara Haag & I competed in the Atlanta Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon (1/3 mile open water swim, 18 mile ride, 3 mile run). It was Kara's first triathlon ever & she rocked it! I am so proud of her. It was my first open water triathlon. It was also the first race since getting over mono. I decided I would take it slow & steady. My goal was to finish in the 3 1/2 hours allowed. Considering I had only been in the water 5 or 6 times since February I was thrilled at being able to swim the entire 1/3 mile without needing any breaks. The bike was pretty hilly as was the run. I finished in 2h36m. Should be easy to PR next year :-)

Thanks again for all of you support! I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! Don't forget to take time to thank the ones that fought for our freedom.

Andrea

July 1st

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Happy Father's Day!!!

This weeks big thanks goes to my mom Jeanne Payne, my aunt Maggi Payne, Barb & Dick Johnson, Mark & Tina Hawkins, Kevin & Catrina Fodor & Teresa Harvey. Thank you so much for your continued support! Y'all ROCK!

This is my second summer raising funds for LLS. We have a fabulous team this summer. There are 15 triathlon participants which is the biggest team I have been a member of. Everyone has a different reason for doing this. One teammate is participating in honor of her mother who has been cancer free for several years now, another teammate is doing it in honor of her husband who is currently undergoing treatment and I of course participate in my Dad's memory. I feel very honored to be training with such a great group of people!

I am one week away from my first event of the season. It is the IronGirl Sprint Triathlon in HOTlanta. It is a 1/3 mile open water swim, 18 mile ride & 3.1 mile run. Kara, a very close friend of mine will be doing the event with me. Neither one of us are as prepared as we should be but I know it will be a most excellent experience for both of us!

A quick story....I was out on a ride this morning on the Tri for Sight course. I was heading back on Delong Road when either a suicidal or vengeant squirrel jumped off the brick wall & ran right out in front of me. I rode right straight over him! It happened so fast & of course scared the crap out of me. When I turned around he was gone so I guess we both survived the incident. Watch out for those crazy squirrels!

Thanks for checking in & reading my progress. Have a fabulous Father's Day!

Andrea

June 20th

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Hey Y'all!

Big THANK YOU to Sixia Pulsifer for being my first supporter this year! Yay Sixia!

I am slowly getting back into training. I participated in the Bluegrass Tri Club's first Cycling Time Trial of the summer & the Memorial Day training tri. The TT was 8.25 miles & I came in dead last! But as our run coach loves to say, "To Finish is to Win!" So said the loser :-) On Memorial Day we had a training tri at Tates Creek Pool. It was perfect weather for it. I swam 400m, biked 13 miles & ran 3.1 miles. The swim was only the 2nd time I had been in the pool since February. Needless to say it was slow & I had to take breather breaks every 50m but otherwise I was thrilled to be able to participate.

Here is my race schedule for this year:

June 27th - IronGirl Tri, Atlanta GA

August 7th- Tom Sawyer Tri, Louisville, KY

September 5th - Tri for Sight (TNT race), Lexington, KY

September 25th - Women's Half Marathon, Nashville, TN

October 17th - The Other Half, Moab, UT

Steve & I will be doing the the Moab race & then spending the week exploring beautiful Utah. So looking forward to this trip!

Have a great weekend!

Andrea

June 4th

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Dear Family & Friends,

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy, happy & blessed.

Many of you already know my Dad passed away from multiple myeloma (a form of blood cancer) in March 2006. Last year, in his memory, I trained & competed in my first triathlon while raising $3,100 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I dedicated every training session, every fundraiser and the race to my Dad. By dedicating the entire season to him it brought his memory very much back to life. I thought of him every day & knew how proud he would be in my dedication. This experience gave me the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people in Lexington who have since become great friends. The experience was so rewarding that I have decided to 'tri' it again!

This year I have experienced some health issues of my own although nothing comparable to cancer. I had bronchitis in December, mono in February & am now an official allergy sufferer. I started allergy shots in March. Oh the joys of living in Kentucky. Well now that I am officially on the mend I cannot tell you how excited I am to get back to the swim/bike/run lifestyle.

This year, in memory of my Dad and in honor of all the current LLS patients in treatment, I will again train & fundraise with the TNT Program. On September 5th, I will compete in the Susan Bradley-Cox Tri for Sight in Lexington. It includes a ½ mile swim, 18 mile bike and a 4 mile run.

You can make a difference in the lives of people fighting Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma and other blood-related cancers by placing a donation on my personal webpage. Your donation will receive special recognition in my training updates. Remember that a donation of any amount can help the fight against blood-related cancers. All sponsors will be recognized on the site, or you can remain anonymous, if you prefer.

An estimated 912,938 people in the United States are living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma. Every four minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies. Join me in the fight to make all blood-related cancers a thing of the past and help me exceed my $1200 fundraising goal.

I am extremely fortunate to have people like you in my life. Please check my website to track my training progress. Thank you for your contribution and continued support!

Andrea

5/15/10