Thank You!

Thanks to you, we reached our goal and raised $5,565 for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund!

We want to personally thank you for your continued support for this very worthy cause in helping children and families faced with childhood cancer. The funds have been used to help families deal with costs not covered by insurance. This includes costs of medications, providing beds for families sleeping on the floor, helping a single mother get her GED and obtain a better paying job, and many other items as they go through the painful day-to-day costs of childhood cancer. (For more stories about how your donation makes a difference click here!)

Mark Felice was a child who saw the difficulties in patients unable to pay for medications and he wanted to help them as he battled cancer himself. He was a very brave and mature teenager when he died at 17 years of age.

This year, we competed in the Captial of Texas Triathlon to help raise money for this very worthy cause. Thank you for supporting us as I know many of you know the Felice Family and knew Mark personally.

We have had many of you join us, if not to swim, bike and run then to fundraise and help spread the word. We do appreciate all that you do to help!

We look forward to many years to come and growing the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund. Your support will go a long way to helping other children and their families.

Thanks so much,

	The Mark Felice Triathlon Team

Donations Make A Difference!

Every donation, small or big, makes an impact! Below are some examples from St. David's of how the families have been directly impacted by your gifts from The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund.

1.  We had one family of five we discovered was sleeping on the floor.  With the help of a generous community member and the funds from The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund, we were able to purchase beds at cost and get the family off the floor.  The social worker told me that when the patient was in the clinic, she was so excited because she had her own bed!

2.  A single mother with two kids was unable to make ends meet financially.  Because she did not have her high school diploma, she was unable to get a good paying job.  With support from The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund, she was able to get her GED and obtained a better job allowing her to support her family.

3.  We have had several families who were unable to obtain medications due to the cost. Several families were caught between paying a copay for medication and purchasing food.  With the grant we were able to help the family with the copayments for medication and were able to help them purchase food.

4. One family needed a thermometer and a heating pad but did not have money to purchase them.  The grant from The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund allowed the treatment team to purchase the much needed supplies and was able to send them home with the family. 

5. The social worker came to me and told me that one patient was having terrible leg pain.  It was discovered the child was wearing shoes that were too small for him and his mother was unable to purchase new ones.  With the grant, we were able to purchase new shoes for the family. The leg pain is gone and the child is so happy with his new shoes!

Thank you for those that donated and helped us to reach our goal!

$5,000 and Still Going!

Monday was the big race!! I can't believe it has already come and gone in such a quick time, but more importantly I can't believe we raised over $5,000! I am still receiving donations so I will be sure to update y'all on the total amount soon!

Congratulations to everyone who raced and thank you to all of the supporters who came out to cheer us on! The day couldn't have been more amazing! My mom was the first of the group to start and then we quickly followed. The swim and the bike was a bit rough with the wind but we all pushed through. Then came the run which went by pretty fast and wasn't too hot like years past. One of the best things about the race was the supporters. It felt great when you caught a glimpse of the blue TRI-ing For A Cause t-shirts or heard your name being yelled by someone on the side. The Felice family had been out of the country for the past years so getting to see them along the course lifted all of our spirits. The race came to an end as we all one by one crossed the finish line. To read more details about the race you can click here to visit my sisters blog.

After the race we went to the Felice's to celebrate reaching our fundraising goal and the race! It was an amazing day and I can't wait for next year!

TRI-ing For A Cause AFTER PARTY!

Only 1 week until the Cap Tex Triathlon! As of TODAY we have raised $4,200!! With only $800 more to go to reach our goal of $5,000 its amazing to see how far we have come and the fabulous support we have received!

Come Monday, May 30th, we would love all the support we can get if you would like to come out and cheer us on at the race. The race for the Sprint distance will begin around 9am. If you have a TRI-ing For A Cause t-shirt (from any year) please feel free to wear it. Before the race we usually gather by the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue so be on the look out for us!

Triathletes to look for:

Triathlete	Start Time
Lauren Felice	9:06 AM
Ann Francese	9:06 AM
Ann Marie Francese	9:10 AM
Renee Francese	9:10 AM
Christina Thompson	9:14 AM
Tom Francese	9:26 AM
Matt Lockwood Jamie Lim	9:46 AM  9:46 AM
Collin Baker	9:46 AM

AFTER PARTY
After the triathlon we will be celebrating and would like to thank you for all of your support while training and fundraising for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund.

For more details on the after party please click here!

For more details on watching the Cap Tex Tri please click here!

We hope to see you at the race or at the after party! Thank you for all of your support! We couldn't have done this without you!

Skeese Greets Wrap Up

To begin I would like to say as of today we have raised: $3,000!

This past Sunday we competed in the Skeese Greets Triathlon! It was a beautiful day thanks to the cloud coverage and we all had a great race! This race is always a fun one but the anxiety and nerves really get pumping since it's the first race of the season for us. The past 3 years we have had mixed feelings about it (smelly well water, rough terrain, unpredictable heat) but this year was the first year we just took it for what it is...a fun short race to get you excited about the next one! My mom and dad had biked 100 miles the day before in the Ride to Shiner so no need to push it considering it was Mother's Day and my mom's birthday!

The past 4 years my sister and I have been in the same age group for this race so we always get to start together. The first year was a bit emotional as we walked into the water on the verge of a panic attack saying, "This is for Mark," causing us to begin the swim with tears in our eyes looking back at our mom on the shoreline. Every year we start the race acknowledging Mark and the fact that I won't see my sister until the very last mile on the run (because she is a rock star swimmer and cyclist). Each year we have competed together in the Skeese Greets Triathlon we have started and finished together which is an amazing feeling getting to cross the finish line together. This year is the last year we got to do this as she will be moving up to the next age group. Now I mentioned how my mom had biked 100 miles the day before...well even though she was exhausted she was still able to get 3rd place in her age group! She truly is Super Mom!

We all had a great time and can't wait for the Cap Tex Tri on May 30th! We are well on our way to reaching our fundraising goal and appreciate the support and donations along the way!

Splash and Dash

Pure Austin and Jack and Adam's puts on Splash and Dash during the months of April through September. It is like a mini triathlon minus the cycling. You get to experience swimming 750m with a large group of people and then the quick transition to the 3km run.

Dates: May 17th, June 21st, July 16th, and September 20th
Cost: $10 (Pure Austin membership not required)
Registration: Only available online. There is no registration at the race site. This generally sells out. Refunds are not available. Sign up online at www.myraceregistration.com

Top 10 Ways To Get Yourself Ready For A Monday

Top Ten Ways to Get Yourself Ready for a Monday

By Mark Felice

1. Look in the mirror and yell "Someone has a case of the Mondays!"

2. Jump in a bathtub full of ice; cure your hypothermia, then go to school

3. Eat ten bowls of sugar

4. Create a time machine and move backward or forward through time. It's definitely easier than handling another Monday

5. Sleep in until Tuesday

6. Move to Paraguay, they don't have Mondays

7. Catch a Leprechaun; they always know how to handle those Mondays

8. Hey Monday you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind...

9. Make up your own religion where Monday is the Sabbath

10. Create a peition to change the name to "Funday"

Now that you are motivated get training and/or fundraising!

Mini Triathlons

Each year to get ready for the Cap Tex Tri we do a mini triathlon to prepare us. There are several in the Austin area that are great! 

Mini triathlons helps you to calm some nerves, practice swimming with a group of people around you, understand how to transition, and prepares your body for all 3 events put together. You don't have to be fully trained and ready, but it will give you an idea of what you need to focus on in your training.

We do the Skeese Greets Tri at the Texas Ski Ranch in New Braunfels, TX (sorry guys...its ladies only). This year it is on May 8th and consists of a 300 m swim, 11 mile bike, and 2 mile run! Below is a video from the race a few years ago (you might see some ladies you recognize...the blue hat person is me...ha!). 

Other Mini Triathlons:

The Rookie

Skeese Greets Women's Tri

Rockin' R Toobin Tri

Other triathlons after Cap Tex Tri:

Couples Tri

Jack's Generic Tri

Sweet & Twisted Tri

AVIA Austin Tri

Getting Started

If you don't plan on training with a team program (Tough Cookies, Rogue, Team in Training, etc) then here is a little advice on what to do to get started!

Always remember why you are doing this triathlon...whether you're planning to loose some weight, want to support a cause (Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund), or a friend convinced you to do it...always set a goal for yourself. My goal every year is to finish the race with a smile. I know thats super cheesy but seriously...If you aren't having fun while you are doing it then you will most likely be miserable!

There is a time commitment when training but if you put at least 5 hrs aside a week to focus on training you will be fine. It will be hard to fathom fitting swimming, biking, and running into your already busy life but it is doable and so worth it. It won't be easy at first since you will miss some workouts due to prior commitments but no need to worry; no one is perfect and you will still finish the race.

Start by taking it day by day and focus on just getting to the gym if you aren't already. Get in the flow of alternating what you do each day, for example, run for 20 mins on Monday, do a spin class on Tuesday, swim for 10 mins Wednesday, and continue to alternate until Saturday where you will put a harder workout in (do a brick workout: bike and run or swim and bike etc) taking a day off on Sunday.

Take it day by day and start slow as you ramp up the amount of time and effort you will add along the way. I will update the blog with a general workout plan throughout the weeks, but please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

5 'I Can't Do a Triathlon Because...' Myths Busted!

Everyone has their excuse for why they can't do a triathlon so instead of me trying to convince each and everyone of you that you're nuts and have to do it, I found this great article on Active.com! If you would like to read the entire article please click here, but if you just want a summary with some 2 cents keep reading!

Here is the summary:

Excuse #1: I Can't Swim
Everyone can learn how to swim and if you think otherwise I would love to hear it! Everyone isn't a great swimmer but you can get yourself from point A to B whether its to get you from one end of the pool to the other, from a float to the boat to get a beer, or to save someone's life (bit out there but still)!

The point is that you can swim and however you propel yourself through the water works just fine! If you're afraid you might drown (you probably won't)...no worries there are certified lifeguards at every race!

Excuse #2: I Can't Afford A Good Racing Bike
If you are looking to just finish the race then you can use any bike you choose (minus a tandem, unicycle, or a penny-farthing)! Clearly the catch is that some bikes are easier for a race.

The best advice is to go to a bike store to get your bike measurements and then search for one on craigslist etc. Have the seller meet you at a bike store to get the bike shops advice (most likely you'll have to get a tune up anyways). The other alternative is to rent a bike from a bike shop the week of the triathlon. If you know you are going to become obsessed with triathlons then I would recommend buying a road bike from the get go just be ready to spend quite a bit!

Excuse #3: I Don't Have Time To Train
Training can be integrated into your everyday life quite simply. You could bike to work, get friends together for a run or swim, or just adjust your focus of your weekly workouts you already do. Most people can train for a sprint triathlon in about 8-10 weeks with at least 5 hours dedicated to training, which most people already do!

Excuse #4: A Triathlon Is Too Confusing
Three sports, lots of equipment, where to train, how to train, what to bring- oh goodness! No worries its quite simple...the best advice is to join a team or have a group of people you plan to train with. There is a great site within Active.com that is all about helping newbies into the sport so click here for more information!

Excuse #5: I Can't Complete An Entire Triathlon
Many people hear triathlon and think -IRONMAN- but no worries I had no clue there were shorter distances starting out and we aren't that nuts. The sprint is truly my favorite and I don't plan to go far beyond that.

Sprint triathlon: 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run
Olympic triathlon: 1 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 6 mile run
Full Ironman: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

So now that a few of your excuses have been answered make sure and sign up for the triathlon! If you have any other excuses I'd love to hear them!

Triathlon Season 2011 is HERE!

Some may find this blog welcoming as others may be thinking 'is it already that time of the year again'! Well...I am very excited about this years season and what it has in store! If you've read this blog before or just know why we tri then you know we raise money each year for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund! Last year we reached our goal of $5,000 and it was amazing! Thanks to everyone who competed, helped fundraise, or just supported us through the process; we couldn't have done it without you!

This year I'm going to be using the blog to provide more information about donating as well as training techniques to get you ready for the big day! Please share your feedback or if you have any input on great ideas to fundraise!