Meet Our Winter Coaches

As hot as it is out there, it's hard to believe it, but we are only weeks away from the start of winter season training. We'll be sending participants to Disney for the marathon, the half marathon, the Goofy Challenge and even the Dopey Challenge. And of course, we'll be filling the streets of Houston with purple as we run the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

All these great events are happening in January and training begins September 6. It's our great privilege to introduce you to our winter season coaching staff, the fabulous men and women who will get you ready for race day...

Memorial Park:
Norma & Luke met through Team In Training seven years ago. See, TNT is a great place to fall in love! This couple got married in May and they are excited to coach runners and walkers training out of Memorial Park.

Norma works in sales & marketing at Reliant Energy. She was born in Houston, but raised in Mexico City (padrisimo!). She loves photography, cats, traveling and Latin dancing!

Luke is Director of Operations & Franchise Development at Russo's Pizzeria. He's from New Mexico, but has lived in many places including New Jersey, California, South Carolina and of course Texas. He is an Ironman who enjoys traveling, watching football and listening to rock music.

These two have been part of our TNT family for seven years and they love meeting new participants.

 

The Woodlands:

Bill has been involved in TNT for a decade. He's been honored teammate, participant and coach for triathlon and marathon. 

Bill works at Talisman Energy in The Woodlands. He was born in North Carolina and has lived in many places, but he was raised mostly in Dallas/Fort Worth. His background in sports is in soccer, swimming and bull riding. Following his treatments for lymphoma, Bill started doing triathlons and marathons and he is also an Ironman.

 

Terry Hershey Park:

Anna has been a part of the TNT family for many years. Her energy and enthusiasm for the mission and for the sport are amazing.

 

Anna is an educator so she's pretty busy during the school year, but she is completely devoted to her TNT participants. She enjoys coaching because "it's humbling to have a part in the participants' transformation into marathoners and have helped them cross that finish line." Anna feels a lot of passion for the TNT cause because her friend's son died of lymphoma.

 

In addtion to these head coaches, we have many great assistant coaches and mentors preparing for a very exciting winter season. You do NOT want to miss out! Join the TEAM today for 50% off registration with the discount code Winter50: JOIN THE TEAM



Mission Moment Monday: Rorie's Journey

Today's Mission Moment is a little different. Our hearts are heavy at our local Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Chapter as one of our adorable honored teammates is in the biggest fight of her life.

Rorie Joslin was diagnosed at the age of 3 with Hypodiploidy ALL, a very rare leukemia. She is now four years old and has endured the harshest of treatments. Today, Rorie's body is slowly shutting down. We would like to ask everyone to keep this beautiful little girl and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Her family is updating on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RorieJoslin

Children should never have to endure cancer. Their mommies and daddies and siblings should never have to endure this awful pain. To all our TNT warriors, please continue to swim, bike and run to end blood cancer.

To Rorie, we love you and will keep fighting for you.

UPDATE: From Rorie's parents on Sunday, August 3, 2014...

"It is with the heaviest heart that we need to inform everyone that our sweet princess Rorie earned her angel wings today, 8-3-14 at 4:40 a.m.

She beat this horrible disease and is in a much better place, no longer in any sort of pain.

Rorie taught both of us so many valuable life lessons and made such a huge impact on so many lives while we were lucky enough to have her for the best 5 years we could have asked for.

We hurt so bad inside but we know soon we will be with you again. Go run free our little butterfly. Not a second will go by that you are not running across our mind constantly.

We are so proud to call her our daughter.

Team Rorie always and forever."

Fundraising Friday: Trivia Contest

Time for another little fundraising contest! Your prize is pictured above. It includes a really cool black TNT duffle bag, a TNT car magnet and an autographed copy of "Our Daddy's Cancer", a children's book written from the perspective of kids enduring their dad's lymphoma.

To win the prize, you must raise at least $250 between now and Sunday night AND you must answer each of the following trivia questions (email your answers to Dana.Crews@lls.org)...

1. What year did TNT begin?
2. Who started TNT?
3. How often is someone diagnosed with a blood cancer in the USA?
4. Who is the campaign director for TNT Texas Gulf Coast?
5. What is the mission of the LLS?

Good luck y'all!


UPDATE: Although no one got 100% of the answers correct on the trivia, we accepted those with the most correct answers and who raised at least $250 over the weekend and had our Patient Service Manager draw the winning name. The winner is AUDRA RUSHING! Congratulations Audra!

Here are the answers to the trivia questions...
1. 1988
2. Bruce Cleland
3. Every 3 minutes (This changed about one month ago. It had been every 4.)
4. Amanda Payne
5. To cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin Disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

TNT Alum Donates Bone Marrow

Andrea Kitchens donating her bone marrow

Andrea Kitchens has been a regular blood donor since she first became eligible, but about five years ago when a friend's mother was diagnosed with luekemia, Andrea joined the National Bone Marrow Registry. Before that, she knew nothing about this registry, but her friend's mom was actively searching for a marrow donor so Andrea decided to join.

"It was easy to join," she said, "they took one extra vile of blood during a regular blood donation."

Five years after joining the registry, Andrea received the news that she was a possible match for someone. She was asked to give another sample so it could be determined how much of a match she was, but she did not hear from the registry again for several months.

Then, just a couple of months ago, she received another phone call and heard that she was most definitely a match for a lady living in Argentina. "I was excited," she said, "I had the opportunity to save a person's life through something I took for granted, my healthy blood."

Equipped with loads of information from the registry and their website, Andrea got busy reading even more about the process. All she was told about the person needing her marrow was that she lived in Argentina and was enduring AML. Things began happening pretty quickly.

"We set up the information session, physical and donation dates over the phone and through emails," she said.

Next, Andrea headed to downtown Houston for an information session and a quick blood draw. That same day, she went to the hospital where she would be donating to meet the doctor and get a few physical assessments done. "The most strenuous part was comprehending how much was going on so quickly," she said.

She was able to see results of each test as they were posted online. These results revealed all the levels of things in her blood. And then, she began injections every day for five days to increase the white blood cell count/stem cells in her blood. "Side effects for me were mild aches, headaches and fatigue," she said, "Tylenol got rid of most of these symptoms."

The marrow registry covered all the related expenses, including the hotel the night before. Andrea and her friend enjoyed a nice breakfast before the donation process began. "I was donating by 9:45 a.m.," she said.

"It was a long process," she said, "and only painful when I was able to move my arm after having it straight for most of the day." The stem cells were flown to Argentina that night where the recipient was waiting.

Sometimes the recipient of stem cells will need more later, so Andrea has been asked not to donate blood for at least one year just in case she needs to donate more stem cells to her recipient. Eventually, she will be allowed to donate blood and even bone marrow to another recipient if she's a match.

After one year, she and the recipient in Argentina will be allowed to contact each other if they both are willing. The registry helps make that happen.

"I would highly recommend everyone get on the donor list," said Andrea, "at least start with this easy step. I will gladly go through this process again if I have the opportunity to. There is a lot of information provided on the website and through asking people that have experienced it. The person with leukemia or lymphoma is suffering an astronomical more amount than anything I went through."

*Andrea participated in Nike San Francisco with TNT in 2010 and she hopes to return for another event soon.Way to go Andrea! You make us proud.

Fundraising Friday: Weekend Challenge

The challenge of training is a one that takes everything you've got. You bike in extreme heat and humidity. You swim long distances in rough waters. You run in the pouring rain and on hills. You push your body to do things you might never have dreamed possible.

And what sets you apart is that you are challenging yourself not only physically, but mentally and emotionally too. Training for endurance events for LLS is building strength and faith and hope for you and for the thousands of men, women and children battling blood cancer.

Tommorrow you'll be at group training early once again. It will be hot. But you WILL do it because you have committed to a cause. So, today, we would like to challenge you to work on that fundraising! As you do each of the following three tasks, remind yourself that you are doing this because every three minutes another person in America is diagnosed with blood cancer.

Here are your challenges:

1. Post of photo of yourself wearing your TNT shirt (on your fundraising page or social media).
2. Send another email to remind everyone what you're doing (and don't forget your fundraising link).
3. Tell 3 people you meet (in the grocery store, mall, running trails, restaurant, post office, etc.) about your effort to end blood cancer.

*Your TNT staff is tracking your progress! The person who raises the most money from now through Sunday night will receive a prize. Whether you are training for a running, triathlon or cycle event in the fall or winter season, make the next three days count! In the next three minutes another person will hear the words "you have blood cancer". This is unacceptable! Ready for your challenge?

GO!!!

Update: The winner for this challenge was MIKE CSIKOS who is fundraising in memory of his son Christopher. You can read his story here. Congratulations Mike!

 

Mission Moment Monday: Meagan's Story

Pregnancy can be quite an exciting time in a young woman's life. There are all kinds of feelings, both physical and emotional, that are different than any other time in life. Of all those feelings, one that no expectant mother wants is the fear that she may not be around to raise her baby.

Meagan Friedman was a 30-year-old mom to be, looking forward to the joy of holding that precious baby for the first time. But her joyful excitement turned into fear in December 2006 when she was 16 weeks pregnant with her very first baby.

"One evening I happened to be feeling my neck and one side felt swollen," Meagan said. At her appointment with her obstetrician the next day, she asked her doctor what she thought. Her OB decided to send her in for an ultrasound which revealed a large mass on her right thyroid. A biopsy of the thyroid revealed lymphoma cells.

"I felt absolutely terrified," Meagan said, "I didn't know what it meant for my future or the future of my unborn baby". Her husband began researching her disease and gathering as much information as he could before they ever set foot in the halls of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Her first appointment was in January 2007 at 19 weeks of pregnancy. Another biopsy as well as other tests were done to determine the type of lymphoma Meagan had and where all it was located. The right side of her thyroid was surgically removed to help diagnose and in late January, around 21 weeks into her pregnancy, she was told she had follicular lymphoma. Follicular lymphoma is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that, although treatable, is completely incurable.

Meagan's doctor told her she would need to undergo chemotherapy to kill her cancer. "I was devastated and very worried about the baby," she said. After consulting with many doctors, both in and out of MD Anderson, the decision was made to wait to begin treatments after the baby was born if she delivered a few weeks early. "I enjoyed the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy and I delivered a beautiful baby boy at 37 weeks."

Three weeks later, Meagan went through all the staging and started chemotherapy in June. She endured six rounds of treatments. When most new moms are exhausted from taking care of their new baby, Meagan was exhausted from poison pumping through her veins. "The worst day was the day my hair started falling out," she said. But she learned to endure the side effects knowing it would eventually come to an end and she would be healthy again. But Meagan was sad that she could not breast feed her baby and experience some of the wonderful things other new mommies get to experience.

Half way through chemo, her scans revealed a mass on one of her kidneys. When treatments were finished, the mass was removed and she discovered she had another cancer, renal cell carcinoma. "The cancers were not related to each other," she said, "I just happened to have both and we would not have found the renal cell if I was never diagnosed with the lymphoma. Some would say I am lucky."

Today, Meagan and her husband are the proud parents of two boys, Brayden who is six and Oliver who is three. They are healthy and strong just like their mom. She continues to go in for annual scans. Follicular lymphoma has no cure, so technically, she can never say she no longer has cancer. Like others with this type of lymphoma, she experiences the anxiety of uncertainty, but she doesn't let it slow her down. Meagan does triathlons with Team In Training and raises funds to end blood cancer. She will continue to fight not only her own cancer, but she will stand up for others who have the difficulty of hearing they have a disease that can be treated, but never cured.

With her wonderful husband and two boys

GO TEAM!!!

15 Reasons To Date a TNTer

1. They are very giving people with big hearts.
2. There is something very sexy about swimming, biking and running to find a cure for cancer.
3. They are always up for an adventure.
4. They come with an amazing support network and a bunch of fun-loving friends.
5. Cheap date. They have to be in bed early on Friday night.
6. They are really nice looking. All the running, cycling and swimming just makes them look good.
7. They're smart. Research shows that exercise helps grow brain cells, makes you a better learner and boosts memory (ladies, that means he won't forget your birthday or anniversary!!!).
8. If you both register for the same event, neither of you has to pay for half a hotel room!
9. If they are a better fundraiser than you, the friends and family team page can allocate their overage to your event!
10. Free honeymoon and vacations if you keep exceeding those minimums and fighting cancer.
11. You will be with someone who not only can live with your endurance sports obsessions, but will indulge in it with you.
12. They know how to go the distance even when the going gets tough.
13. They're happy! Exercise makes people happy and a TNTer exercises all the time.
14. They know how to get back up when they fall down.
15. Everyone looks GREAT in purple.