Hello Friends,

I am seeking your support in what I feel is a great and worthy endeavor.

Thanks to all of you who have donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on my behalf. I've been training hard these past few months so that I'll be physically fit enough to, at the very least, crawl the King's Trail Olympic distance triathlon in Maui in June.

Our team recently returned from a great three-day weekend of camping and training on Lake San Antonio. There was a lot of hard training, some great inspiring stories from those surviving cancer, and of course, lots of pasta! With the inspiring struggles of our honorees on my mind, as well as music like "Chariots of Fire" blasting from coach Tom's car as we trekked past, I managed to run 10 km in 58 minutes, bike 40 km in 2 hours 2 minutes, and the swim... well, it was cold and unsettling in a wetsuit, and my watch is not waterproof, but I think it took around an hour to swim 1.5 km. Suffice to say I returned home proud and sore!

I've heard honoree Frank Andrews Jr. speak many times, but he said a few things at training weekend that stuck with me. For those that don't know "Team Frankie" here's the short version: When Frank was 24, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. He celebrated his 10th year in remission by completing a triathlon last year. This year, his 61-year-old dad Frank Sr. is training along with the rest of us, while mom Francis is at ever water stop and event! Go Team Frankie!

What Frank said at Lake San Antonio that impacted me is that the tumor that the doctors found when he was 24 was at least three years old. A 21-year-old guy may have lots of things on his mind, but cancer is rarely one them. Frank also reported that one out of four people have cancer, and many don't even realize it. This information struck a chord with me, and I've got Frank's motto, "live like you're dying," stuck in my head as I try not to waste any more time in my own life!

Unfortunately, our team honoree Josh could not join us at Lake San Antonio. After undergoing chemotherapy treatment for the second time in his young life, Josh is now officially in active remission. The good news is that there are no signs of cancer. The not-so-good news is that there's a good chance the cancer may return and force him back to chemotherapy. The bad news is that Josh will likely need a bone marrow transplant, but there are ZERO matches. For more information about painlessly and easily becoming a bone marrow donor, please visit www.marrow.org. For more info about josh, visit his journal here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joshuamaligro

Please visit my active.com site and donate what you can. It's going to a great cause: supporting research of cures for blood cancers, and helping improve the quality of life for those who are currently battling such cancers.

My final fundraising deadline is May 20, so please donate through my fundraising page: http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/mikezawitkowski

Thank you once again for your support, and GO TEAM!!!

Warmest Regards,
Mike Zawitkowski

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/mikezawitkowski