8/3 The Home Stretch

Wow another month down. This month was full of vacations which made sticking to the training schedule difficult. I am quite comfortable with my physical conditioning at this point and am excited to see how far I have come. Now when the 5:30 am alarm goes off, I groggily get my workout gear on and quickly wake up once I start running or spinning. Swims don't occur until later in the day, but are going really well too!

I know that my $5,000 goal is ambitious. There are less than 6 weeks until the event. I need to raise about $2000 more by August 15. Please consider donating. Your donations go to fund new drugs, like the one Eric just started taking last month. Without that drug, we would be facing the very real possibility of a bone marrow transplant. This procedure requires a significant time away from work. Also 10-15% of patients don't come back out of the hospital after it is over. Likewise, another 10-15% of patients are on permanent disability for the rest of their lives. Those statistics are sobering. Let's continue to support people with blood cancers, their families, the researchers, and work together to find better medicine, more ways to encourage and help, and kick cancer to the curb.

Thanks again for your donations and support. I think of all of you each time I am working out. It is because of y'all I can pound out 9 miles before 8 am and feel great the rest of the day.

Much love,

Katy

P.S. Here's a photo of Eric and I at last year's event.

7/6 Recommitment

Hi all. I just finished the paperwork saying I'm committed to this event. That means we are very close to the halfway point in training--hard to believe it.

The past week I've been resting and rejuvenating--I had a sligth injury. I slid out on a borrowed mountain bike and am still healing from my first case of road rash. Think carpet burn, but on a larger area and made from asphalt and gravel. It isn't fun but I'm just about back to normal.

Eric is on a new chemo drug and so far things are excellent. He hasn't felt so good in years!

6/17 Detours

Eric went to the oncologist on Tuesday. Turns out his medication isn't doing everything we need for it to do. We'll find out for sure in a few weeks when blood tests are returned. Thankfully there are other drug options available. The unknown is awfully scary. We're trying hard not to worry.

Training is going okay. I haven't done any strength training lately and am really missing it. So I'm looking forward to adding that back in next week. I finally sent out my fundraising letters, so I'm hoping to get more donations in soon.

Thanks for your support!

6/9 Why

This week I'm going to introduce you to the Summer Tri Team Honorees. We have 10 official honorees and many more personal honorees on our team. I have the opportunity of being the Honoree Captain this season and work hard to make our honorees feel like a part of the team. Several of them are participating with us at the event. The honorees come to many of our practices and are such a motivation for the team.

6/1 Making Progress

Wow, so I'm terrible at keeping this updated. I will be working hard on that! We kicked off the season with a big celebration on May 22. Since then we've had a track practice, a swim/run clinic, and a bike clinic. Workouts are ramping up and we are going well. Eric got a bit injured at Wildflower, so today was our first bike since then together. We sported Texas jerseys. The back say, "Don't Mess with Texas!" I think these may be one of my favorite workout outfits of the season. :) I'm happy to be in California, but will always have a bit of Texas in me.

-Katy

5/1 Big Day

Today Eric is mid-race in his first half-Ironman. I'm anxiously awaiting his call to say he has finished. Right before he left he told me, "You know what I love best about finishing? It means that I'm still healthy and leukemia hasn't won."

I'm not even sure what to say about that. Wow.

Big Kahuna is going to be a long race--I estimate I'll finish in 7-9 hours. Yes, HOURS. I am so excited to start training this week--seriously--I'm not being sarcastic! I am hoping to focus on holisitc training--so adding yoga/stretching, more healthful eating habits, and weight-lifting to the bike, swim and run workouts I'll need to do to prepare.

Here's a photo of Eric last year at Wildflower--the night before his for his first Olympic triathlon. Won't you consider donating so we can have many more finishes and Eric can continue to show leukemia who is boss?

-Katy

4/18 Racing to Celebrate 5 Years!!

This is my most ambitious race yet--1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Big Kahuna here I come!

In October 2005, Eric was diagnosed with CML. Our lives changed and we have since become dedicated to supporting the organization that provided the funding, to create the drug that saves his life.

• This will be my fifth event with Team in Training.
• October 2010 will mark 5 years since his diagnosis.
• Together we've raised over $15,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I want to celebrate BIG--let's work together to raise over $5,000 for this event!

I'm training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!

Katy (and Eric)