Hello Everyone!

So, some of you have been asking about my belly button... Um, that would be a strange question in the normal course of everyday life. However, it has been some time since I wrote my first belly button update, and it is completely understandable that some of you are curious about my belly button. Why? Not sure, but I appreciate the support.

Here's the deal. The last time I wrote about this, my belly button was deep cave hiding who knows what kind of T-shirt lint and other unknown particles of ick. Over the past few months I have been training like crazy trying to lose as much weight as possible. I have dropped over 50 pounds since the season started in November. Now, you would think that my incredible inny would be an outy by this point. You would think. Problem is my belly button has a mind of it's own. The one thing that has changed is that I have turned the frown that was my closed inny belly button into an open inny belly button. I haven't quite turned the frown upside down, but that would look kind of rediculous. I have never seen someone with a belly button that was shaped like a smile. Quite frankly, I am glad that is it just open. At my thickest point (thick in a bad way, not the good kind of way), I could literally stick my index finger into my belly button almost to my second nuckle! That is some kind of inny! Now, not even to my first nuckle. No, I don't regularly stick my finger in my belly button except to make a lint donation to a local textile factory or to demonstrate in words how deep the cave is.

Alright, here is the deal. I am just under half way to reaching my fundraising goal with very little time left. I need to raise over $2500 in just a few weeks. Here is how you can help. You can visit:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/ironca11/jerkyleg

to make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and help find a cure for blood cancers. Second, you can buy tickets for a bike raffle that Jenny and I are having to win a $2000 Jamis Xenith Road Bike. Tickets are only $10 each, and all profits will be donated to LLS. You can also buy 6 tickets for $50, 14 tickts for $100, and 30 tickets for $200. Third, you can pass this email on to your friends and family so they can help us find a cure for blood cancers.

My grandfather passed away from Hodgkins disease, a form of Lymphoma, when my father was only 13. I only know him through stories and pictures. I can only imagine that he might still be alive today if the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society had existed back then. He might have survived Hodgkins Disease and lived a long life as the love of my grandmother's life. Blood cancer took his life. Help me fight these awful diseases that take so many lives. The good news is that many people are still alive today because of the research that has been funded by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

On August 28 Jenny and I are competing in Ironman Canada in Penticton, BC. We train and race for those who are competing in their own race fighting blood cancers. Please help us find a cure for blood cancers! Again, if you would like to donate, visit the website listed above. If you would like to purchase raffle tickets, please email me at jerkyleg2@gmail.com or call me at 408-466-1495. Thank you all for your support and may God bless you all!

Jeff and Jenny Schmidt

Hello Friends and Family,

Many of you knew me when I was a much thinner man. When I graduated high school I was a lean 175 pounds. Over the years I spend many an hour on the couch eating food that I shouldn't have been eating. Now, I am a not-so-lean 255 pounds. Most of that 80 pound difference isn't muscle! In my thinner days I had a normal inny belly button that was shaped like a near perfect circle. As I got older, the circle began to close until eventually , I am now left with a very-inny belly button that is shaped like a frown (an upside-down half circle).

Now that I am training for my second Ironman Triathlon, I am beginning to turn that frown upside down...or at least open it up a bit! :-) I want to shrink the deep cave that is my belly button!

Therefore, I am devoting my quest to bring back the belly button of old, to this season of Ironteam and the fight against Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Hodgkins Disease! In all seriousness, you can help save a life! Visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/ironca11/jerkyleg to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and support my wife, Jenny, and I in our quest to complete Ironman Canada on August 28 in Penticton, BC. Jenny and I and my much smaller and more circular belly button will compete in our second Ironman. We compete in order to help find a cure to blood cancers. You can help by donating to this cause!

75 cents of every dollar you donate to LLS goes directly to blood cancer research. Thousands of people are alive today because of the research LLS has done! Whether it's $5 or $5000, every little bit counts! You can also help by forwarding this email on to your friends and family. Let's find a cure to blood cancers!

Oh, by the way, I will be sending updates on my belly buttton quest! It's not so much of a frown any more. It's now a slight frown and a slightly less deep cave. Join my belly button quest and be on the lookout for the updates! Again, you can support Jenny and I in our effort to complete Ironman Canada and fight blood cancers by going to http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/ironca11/jerkyleg and clicking on "Donate."

Have a blessed day!

Jeff and Jenny Schmidt

To all of our friends and family,

Well, we are at it again! Last year Jenny and I began our journey with Ironteam, a division of Team in Training (TNT) and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). We competed in the Vineman Full-Iron Distance Triathlon on July 31, 2010. This season we are embarking on our second season with Ironteam. We will be competing in the Ironman Canada Triathlon on August 28, 2011. Jenny is volunteering as a team Mentor and I am volunteering as a Training Captain. The main purpose for our participation with Ironteam is to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Our lives have been touched in different ways by blood cancers. We both have family members who have suffered from Leukemia. It is our desire to see a cure for the horrible blood cancers that have taken so many lives!

On August 28, 2011 we will line up at the edge of a lake in Penticton, British Columbia with over 2000 other competitors awaiting the air horn that will signal the start of the Subaru Ironman Canada 2011. We can’t begin to tell you how just the thought of starting that race causes our skin to tingle! Neither of us expect to be anywhere near the front of the pack during this event. However, we do expect to finish. We will spend the next nine months training to ensure that we are fully prepared to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles…all within the 17 hour time limit! Some might call us crazy. We call ourselves crazy. But, we know there is a bigger purpose to what we are doing!

The challenge before us is great. Today more than 747,000 Americans suffer from leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, Hodgkin’s disease, or related cancers. There are 14,000 people with blood cancers living in Northern California alone. Every 5 minutes, someone is diagnosed and every 10 minutes, someone dies. Despite advancements in treatment, leukemia remains the number one cancer killer of people under the age of 20. However, the statistics are changing! When LLS was first founded, 4% of children diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, the most common form of childhood leukemia, were expected to survive. Today, 85% of children with this disease are expected to live normal, healthy lives!

So, where do you come in? All you have to do is run the Ironman with us! Just kidding… The best way for you to help save the lives of those suffering from blood cancers is to financially support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Last year Jenny and I raised over $10,000 for blood cancer research. Dozens of you gave your hard-earned money to help us achieve this amount. We are so grateful for what you did last season!

This year we are committing to raise $4,740 so that LLS can continue the life saving work that they do. There are two ways that you can contribute to our fundraising efforts.

The easiest way to make a donation is by visiting our Team In Training webpage found at:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/ironca11/jerkyleg

Of course you may also write a check to - Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - and mail it to us at:

Jeff and Jenny Schmidt

1087 Foxchase Drive

San Jose, CA 95123

If you can give $5 or $500, your help will be greatly appreciated. Your donation is 100% tax deductible and over 75 cents of every dollar given to LLS goes directly to patient care and research to find new treatments for blood cancers. Every donation will make a difference.

We would love it if you would join us along the way by visiting our webpage for updates on how the training and fundraising are going!

Thank you so much for your support!

Jeff and Jenny Schmidt