OK, this one is a bit overdue, so my apologies for the 3+ week delay. I've been busy.

When I started the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fundraising this time around, I had a goal of $6,198.32, the significance of which you can read about here if you like. Back at the beginning of October, I was worried that I would fall short of my goal again, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly everyone responded. That goal was met in just under 3 months! With some encouragement from the TNT Triathlon Campaign Manager, I upped the fundraising goal to $8,500 and immediately was stressed out about needing to reach that level. But once again, so many friends and family stepped up, and the goal was surpassed in one month! This achievement earned me "Champion" status, which means that $5,000 over the minimum was raised. So, I thought I could finally relax and not worry about the fundraising so much any more. I was wrong. My Teammates wanted to see someone hit $10,000. They had never been on a Team with someone who had been so close before. So, the pressure was on again. I knew if all the company matches came through, I could do it, but it could take until the end of the year for that to happen. Once again, you guys came through, and with 5 days to go, the total amount raised for the LLS crossed $10,000. I actually felt like challenge was really complete then.

Donations continued to trickle in over the next few days (and still continue to), including two company matches totaling $100 the day before our Lavaman inspirational dinner. 444 Team in Training participants all gathered on the lawn of the Waikoloa resort on the big island for a buffet dinner and to listen to several speakers discuss the impact that the LLS has had on the battle against blood cancers. To my surprise, part of the evenings events included announcing the top 10 fundraisers. This is where it gets interesting. I knew that as of the previous evening, I had $10,136 in my fundraising account, but I didn't know when they looked at the numbers to determine the top 10. First, they announced that #10 had raised $10,125, and as that person took the stage, I thought that there was a chance I could be next. The announcer then said that #9 just barely edged out #10 by $11. Before I knew it, I was up out of my seat, hugging my wife and team mates, walking towards the stage. Fortunately, this was not some horrible coincidence where someone else had also raised $10,136 and they took the numbers from several days ago. I was, in fact, #9 of 444 Team in Training fundraisers. I got up on stage, shook hands with Dave Scott, received my top fundraiser hat, and stood there clapping for the other 8 until my hands were raw. If that $100 hadn't come through the day before I may not have been in the top 10 at all! For the record, the top two guys each raised over $45,000!!! Coincidentally, I met the #1 fundraiser the next day and he told me he did it all by nagging people on FaceBook. "People friend me at their own peril" is how he put it.

The whole experience really put me over the top and I felt great the next day at the race. I'll be writing a lot about the actually race itself on my normal blog. I would put it here as well, but I don't know if I'll have time before this one is locked down.

Well, it's all over and wrapped up now. One final "THANK YOU!" to everyone who supported me and the LLS on this journey. I'll be back in a year or so…

Today marks 12 years since my friend Adam D. Milne lost his battle with Leukemia. With help from so many of you out there, over $10,000 has been raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in his memory over the last six months! Tomorrow, I'll race the Lavaman Triathlon to help raise awareness for blood cancers, and I'm going to give it everything I've got.

Adam, I'm doing this for you! I miss you, buddy!

NEW FUNDRAISING UPDATE: Goal of $8,500 met 2/5/13!

$9,000 crossed 2/18/13! Going for $10K, need all the help I can get!!!

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: Goal of $6,198.32 met 1/5/13! New goal is $8,500. See here for more information.

Also: new FAQ!

(scroll down for training and fundraising updates)

This is my friend Adam:

Adam "The Kid" Milne

It’s been almost 12 years since my friend Adam passed away, and in 2010 I attempetd to raise $10,000 for the LLS through their Team In Training (TNT) program to honor his memory. While the donation response was amazing and there was a lot of raising awareness, I fell short of that goal. Therefore, I'm rejoining TNT for the spring 2013 triathlon season to try to raise the rest of the funds, plus an extra $2K for the 2 more years.

In the spring of 2000, Adam was always feeling run down. He went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a cancer that starts inside bone marrow, growing from cells that would normally turn into white blood cells. With treatment, Adam went into remission. He married his fiancée, Jen, on February 17th, 2001. Early in March of 2001, Adam had a relapse. He lost his battle with Leukemia on March 23rd, 2001.

There are currently over 250,000 people in the US living with Leukemia. In the next year, approximately 20,000 of them will die. However, research developments in the treatment of blood cancers have had major contributions to the survival rate. The five-year survival rate is now above 55% - four times higher than it was in 1949 when the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was established. Organizations like LLS contribute donated funds to support research efforts to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma as well as improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! Please make a tax-deductible donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! If you don't want to donate online, you can do so by check. Just email me your mailing address and I'll hapily send you a donation form and stamped return envelope.

Please help spread the word by emailing, Facebooking and/or Tweeting this link to your friends!

COMPANY MATCHING INFO CAN BE FOUND HERE:

http://www.matchinggifts.com/lls/

Please note that matching funds should be submitted to the San Diego Chapter of the LLS, (not the main office in NY):

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

San Diego/Hawaii Chapter

9150 Chesapeake Drive Suite 100

San Diego, CA 92123

Thank you for your support!

-Zach Komon

805-452-8123

zachary.komon@me.com

Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team.

This week was definitely full-on back in hard core training mode. In two swim sessions this week, we went nearly 3 miles. I'm sure coach Tony would say that I could've made it 3 miles if I spent more time in the pool and less time "griping" about how long the workouts are :)

For my Sunday long run, I was able to join the team for a trail run near Lake Hodges, but heading East. This was a nice, new place for me to run, which helps to keep things interesting. Some low back issues were nagging me this week, but fortunately exercising alleviates the issue (while rest oddly aggravates it), so I made sure to get in a leasurely afternoon run on Tuesday. Thursday track session was a nice combination of speed work and hills. After a solid warm-up, we did an 800 at pace, then 10 reps of "hills" (really a very long wheelchair access ramp), and polished off with another 800. Saturday's brick workout consisted of more hills, but this time on the bike. We rode about 8 miles out to Mt. Soledad, then up it. Twice. I found this to be harder than the Scripps-Poway hill, and about as difficult as Torrey Pines but longer. So, I guess more difficult than that too. After a 30 minute brick run, the rest of the team did a short open-water swim (out of order due to it being 37 degrees when we started in the morning), but I had to cut out early to pick up my parents at the airport. That part was not so hard-core.

Weekly training distances: 2.8 miles swimming, 61.7 miles biking, 29.7 miles running

Fundraising status: Closing in on $7,000!

This is a momentous occasion. With the help of many friends, family members and a few strangers, the goal to raise $6,198.32 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of Adam D. Milne has been met.

The donation that put it over the top was recieved at 5:48 AM (PDT) on Januray 5th, 2013. Fittingly, the donation was made by one of Adam's (and my) good friends.

This could not have been done without the help of all those who donated, and those who helped spread the word. I am truly grateful for all of your help!

There is still almost 3 months left in the fundraising window, and I am not stopping until I run out of time, or people to ask.

Once again, I wholeheartedly thank each and every one of you for your help.

THANK YOU!!!!

(I wish there were a way to use a huge font size for that)

-Zach