Monday, January 31, 2011

29 Gifts Challenge - Restart

So, I did not work the challenge 100%, probably not even 25%, if I'm honest. There have been some days that I remember, others I don't.
I've decided to start again as they say. Beginning tomorrow, I'm going to spend some time each day finding a way to consciously give something away. In an effort to increase my accountability, I'm going to try to post a quick note every day at least saying what the gift was if nothing else.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Train Endure Achieve Matter

Today I attended the Winter Kick-off Party for the Central and North Florida Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training (TNT) program. I had attended an early interest meeting in December where I signed up to ride the Fletcher Flyer Century in Asheville, North Carolina on June 5th. For those who don’t know, a century is 100 miles on a bike. Similar to doing a 26.2 miles on your feet, but in my opinion, much more fun.

I have participated in two TNT events in the past, the Mayor’s Marathon in Alaska (2006) and the Intracoastal Century here in Florida (2008). I originally became involved with TNT on a whim. I wanted to be more active and complete an endurance event. A friend of mine mentioned TNT and convinced me to attend an informational meeting. At the time I was too overwhelmed with the idea of training and fundraising together, so I did not join. The following year, when I received a postcard from TNT, I attended another meeting and decided to sign up.

The TNT campaign’s sole purpose is to raise awareness and accelerate research funding so a cure can be discovered for leukemia and all blood cancers. It is especially important to know that finding a cure for leukemia will also facilitate finding cures for many other types of cancers since leukemia research has proven to be a catalyst in the development of life saving treatments for other malignant diseases. Upon learning that, I became committed to the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My father passed away in 1997 from esophageal cancer. It was heartbreaking to lose a parent at twenty and every time I participate in a TNT event, I hope that the money I raise will help prevent another family from losing a loved one.

This year I ride in honor of an additional person. During my 2008 TNT season, I trained with Doug Oxendine, who was one of the team’s honored heroes. He trained and completed the Intracoastal Century with us despite small setbacks from his CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia). Early in 2010, he came out of remission and eventually underwent a bone marrow transplant. Sadly, he developed severe Graft vs. Host Disease and did not survive the surgery. Doug was truly inspirational! He always had a smile and spread joy everywhere he went.

My personal challenge for this season is to raise at least $4,000 to support the programs and research of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You can donate and follow my fundraising progress on my website http://pages.teamintraining.org/ncfl/fletcher11/jrandolnhb. I will be posted training updates throughout the next four months here on this blog.

If you’re interested in participating in a TNT event, post a comment or send me an e-mail and I’ll point you in the right direction.

Go TEAM!