March Madness

As one of my event fundraisers for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society I am doing a bracket pool for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Do you love college basketball? Do you just watch in March? Do you just root for your school? Do you want to help me raise money to help cure cancer? If you answered yes, to any of these questions please join our TNT Madness bracket pool for your chance to win cold, hard cash and help out a great cause.

To join please email either naodonnell@yahoo.com or rjodonnell@gmail.com, let us know which bracket buy in option you would like to join (#1 - $20 or #2 - $10) and we will email you an invitation to join the TNT Madness group #1 or #2 on CBSsports.com

Sign up and sign in, select your teams, make sure to ENTER your bracket by March 16 , then let the games and banter begin!

We have two different options for you to win.

1. $20 buy in ($10 of which is tax deductible!)

2. $10 buy in ($5 is tax deductible!)

You can pay your entry fee via PayPal through the email address tafrazier@hotmail.com. If you would rather send a check please send us an email and we will send you our address.

There will be two prizes, one for the $20 buy in bracket and one for the $10 buy in bracket. Buy in to both brackets if you want a better chance at winning!

Overall success in the bracket, wins 1/2 the cash and bragging rights! Get your friends to sign up! The more people that enter to play the bigger your prize is when your bracket & team wins!

Check out our Facebook page here

Cycling clinc

So this Saturday was our mandatory cycling clinic for our Tahoe team. It was held the tallest building in downtown Milwaukee in a beautiful law firm conference room on the 33rd floor. It had a beautiful view of Lake Michigan that was a bit distracting while trying to learn how to fix a flat tire on a bike by watching some else do it.

It was a nice chance to get to meet the coaches, mentors and other people that I will be spending a lot of time with the coming Saturday mornings, once Spring hits. Everyone was really nice. There are a quite a few people that have never done the Tahoe ride, or that own a bike yet for that matter. It's so good to know that I'm not alone!

I kind of got scared when I heard people talking about injuries. Let's see one of the coaches has a plate with 6 screws in his collarbone and the opposite side is a dislocated shoulder. One guy apparently crashed, hit his head (yes wearing a helmet) and spent 5 days in the hospital. People - I know that some of you have been riding for years and this may be your 5th, 6th or 10th Tahoe century ride - DO NOT SCARE OFF THE NEW PEOPLE! You will send me back to running in a heartbeat with one more "war story." Then they go and show us a picture like this to inspire us... the view from Emerald Bay (notice not shown are the switchbacks and the climb to get to this point...)

I don't know what scares me more, all of the "gear" that I will need to layer on for our first ride in March or trying on "clipless" pedals. Why call them clip"less" when you have to clip them in to the pedal? Guess it doesn't matter I'll try them on a spin bike first anyway. Then maybe we can blow up two air mattresses in the garage and I can try to "clip-in" and fall on something soft instead of my driveway. I hope our neighbors get a few good laughs out of this anyway.

I am excited about this adventure. Even more so when it was reiterated (more than once) that this is NOT A RACE, IT IS A RIDE. I know for some, they will read that and ask, why do it then? Well for those answers you need to look to my fundraising page. I will complete this event (and all of the training!) because I can. I will complete the fundraising and "THE RIDE" for those who cannot.

This will not be the last time, I ask, but I am asking for your help. I am asking that you help me to raise $4,400 for LLS. My first fundraising goal is $1,400 by February 23! If you can spare $5, $10, $25 it will be so very appreciated! 100% of your donation is tax deductible. 75% of every dollar contributed goes directly to patient aid and research. Please remember every little bit helps.

Ah, my Mommy time is over for today. The natives are awake and restless! Have a great day!

Learning to get back on the bike - for a great cause!

In response to my last post, I just wanted to let you know that I am okay. That was written at the height of a very difficult period for me. Thank you for your support and kind words, in email, comments and phone calls. I've come to realize that I am still grieving and dealing with things that happened to my family that I had absolutely no control over. I was very angry and felt lost for awhile. I have my family. We are together and we are all healthy. I shouldn't ask for more.


Recently, I have tried to come up with a plan. A plan to better myself in the ways of the body, mind and soul. I starting working out and running again. I'm working through the Couch to 5 K plan. Starting small and building. I will be participating in the Madison Shamrock Shuffle, a 5K in March. That will be two weeks before my birthday and will be a huge confidence booster for me.

I have also rejoined a group that I believe in so strongly and that has made a big impact on my life in the last few years. I have signed up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training again. This will be my third endurance with TNT. I did the Nike Women's Marathon in 2007 and the Nike Women's Half Marathon in 2008. Those events and the months leading up to them were absolutely amazing. The people that I met were inspiring and motivating. I felt strong, and empowered. And I will again.
I have committed to raising $4400 to help try to find a cure for blood cancers, $1400 of it by the end of February. While doing this I will be training to compete in a century ride. A 100 mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe on June 6, 2010. Good thing it's called America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride because 100 miles, on a bike, well it's 100 miles! (Oh my sore butt!) So with great scenery, good people all working for the same cause, to find a cure, all while overcoming a little fear of getting back on a bike, I know that I can do this.

I know that finances are tight for many families. So even a donation of $10 or $20 can help me reach my fundraising goal. If you can help donate to a wonderful cause please check out my fundraising website. You can make a secure, tax deductible donation online. If you would rather send a check please look to the website for our address. It will be greatly appreciated. If you have someone that you would like me to train and compete in honor of please let me know.

So stay tuned for news of my figuring out how to balance my family, their adventures, my fundraising and training. There is never a dull moment around here!

Team Madison does Team in Training 2008 version

Well it is official, I am doing the Nike Women's Marathon again this year as a mentor with Team in Training! and drumroll.....Ryan is doing the Chicago Marathon with TNT as well! So it is even cuter that the boys run around in front of the house "racing" each other yelling "Team in Training Marathon, Team in Training Marathon!"



We are going to have a couple of busy race weekends in October, not to mention the joint training, preschool, Kindergarten, work calendars that we will coordinate between now and then. The fundraising will obviously be a bit more of a challenge this year with two of us but I know that we can do it. Listening to one of our honored teammates today, just brought tears to my eyes and inspiration to my heart. She is a 10 year old 5th grader that is battling leukemia for the second time in her short life. She is so smart and sweet and so wise and caring beyond her years. She made us bracelets with motivational sayings on them as well as a butterfly. That is the nickname that her Mom has given her, butterfly. Thinking of her and her family going through their struggles will help Ryan and I stay focused in training and fundraising. I want a cure for her and all of the others who are trying to really spread their wings and fly into a bright, happy and healthy future.

So my fundraising webstie is set up. It still needs a few tweaks but you can donate online now! Every dollar helps - donate now, donate often and help so many! (We'll get Ryan's fundraising website up in the next week)

http://pages.teamintraining.org/wi/nikesf08/no'donnell