Half-Million Dollars Raised; Bib Number; Website

Thank You.

Thank You for your generous donations and support over the last 10 months. This has been quite a journey for me and my fellow teammates. IronTeam has raised over half-million dollars!!! This money will be used to fund researchers who will continue their hard working on finding better treatments and someday a cure for cancer.

These final weeks I have been very busy, with my training, work projects, and figuring out I need to bring to the race, and what do I still need to buy (e.g. GU, extra pair of dark swim goggles, sunscreen in the small travel size, reflective tape and even duct tape).Oh I've got to write my race plan! THE RACE is in 9 days!!! I will admit I am nervous!!! Of course it's a different kind of nervousness than a cancer patient feels before their first Chemo treatment or the nervousness that Sonny felt before his Bone Marrow Transplant. I am not doing this to save my life. I'm doing it to save the lives of others. And while I struggle to complete this event before the stroke of midnight, I will remember those who struggle to fight the disease of Cancer.

If you are interested on tracking me during my event on Sunday Aug. 27 click on www.ironmanlive.com click on "Athlete Tracker" and enter in my race bib number of 2448. I so excited I just got my number and I'm thinking it's an AWESOME number! Why you might ask ? Here' my thinking, at 24 I was young and in my prime with my whole life in front of me. Now 24 years later, at the age of 48 I have survived many obstacles including the death of my husband Sonny and I have come out on the other side...healthy and strong and about to embark on the longest endurance event of my life - Ironman. Therefore 2448 is a awesome race number!

If you want to check out the course, including pictures, click on this link. http://www.ironmap.com/
It shows a map of the Ironman course and on the back side is spectator's guide. All can be viewed on-line and with a magnifier. Now you can really see the course I'll be riding and running.

One last thing, if you would please send me a few inspiring words or even something funny to get me through the event. It would be greatly appreciated. My plan is to print out your words of wisdom and inspiration and carry them with me during the event. They will be in my transition bags and special needs bag, so when I'm really tired and feeling like I need a boost, I will read your words and be recharged.

Thank you for your support throughout this journey!

Much Love,
Barbara

Susan Butcher, Champion Iditarod Trail Sled Dog racer dies

Susan Butcher, champion of the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race, died of leukemia (AML) on Saturday, August 5. She was age 51 from complications of a recent bone marrow stem-cell transplant. Susan's multiple wins at the Iditarod helped inspired the phrase "Alaska: Where the Men are Men and the Women Win the Iditarod."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Butcher_Legacy.html

~~~~Note~~~~
No stopping till a cure is found!! Clearly we must keep raising funds.

Going long.
Go Team ~ Barbara

Marin Century -- August 5 –

Finished the Marin Century, which is a 100 mile bike course that starts and ends in San Rafael. Along the course you ride pass Tomales Bay beyond Dillion Beach east to Petaluma before heading back to San Rafael. According to my odometer I really rode 104 miles and climbed over 6,250 feet in a total time of 7 hours and 30 minutes. Yippee!!! While it wasn’t the fastest of times nor speed on the course. I finish it! Again it was a confidence builder, since Ironman’s bike course will have fewer hills, although the course will be longer. In any event, I will be thrilled if I can finish the bike course in 8 hours and 20 minutes on Ironman race day.

Rocker Arthur Lee dies of Leukemia

On Thursday Aug. 3rd, Rocker Arthur Lee died of Leukemia (Acute Myeloid Leukemia), with his wife Diane at his bed side. He was 61 years old.
He was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia earlier this year, went through three rounds of chemotherapy and underwent a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from an umbilical cord; the first ever in Tennessee. To read more click on the CNN link below.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/04/arthurlee.reut/index.html?section=cnn_showbiz&ref=google

While I didn’t know of Arthur Lee nor of his music somehow as I read his obituary I felt a connection to him and his wife. I’m sure it because he had cancer, Sonny had cancer. He died with his wife by his side. Sonny died with his wife, children and sisters by his side. Right now I can feel Diane’s pain at the lost of her husband. While all this sounds morbid, and perhaps it is. It's also the reason I train and fund-raise for the Society.