Ole Holiday Market

I volunteer with the Junior League and every year since joining the league, I sign up for the Ole Holiday Market as my placement. More than 200 merchants come set up booths for the week and each day during the week we put on different events/parties! 

The months leading up to the event are spent planning parties, getting merchants, advertising, getting donations, and much much more. This year I was co-chair for all the events: Sneak Peek, Tween Fashion Show, Girl's Night Out, and Pajamas and Pancakes. Hours and hours are spent during the week of Ole setting up, decorating, coordinating, etc and this year was a little more challenging being on my feet all day while being 7 months pregnant. 

Our event is in October, so trying to twist in a little Christmas cheer is always a challenge. So we went with "Christmas Ole!" Bright fiesta colors decorated Christmas trees! 

My favorite event this year was Pajamas and Pancakes! It was our final event (yay for wrapping it up) and I got to spend time with Forrest and Davis (who I had barely seen all week!!). Kids came in their pajamas, did science experiments with the Children's museum, ate pancakes, painted, and sat down for story-time with the author of the cutest book, Good Night San Antonio. 

Painting with a Twist

Story-time with author of Good Night San Antonio

Davis and Jack

TRI-ing for a Cause update

A BIG thank you to everyone for your support of TRI-ing For A Cause! We reached our goal this year of $8,000 for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund! Thank you for your calls, texts, cheering, support, and fundraising! Because of your support over the years we hired a social worker to support children and families affected by cancer and we are one step closer to starting research for childhood cancer!

It was another memorable memorial day weekend at the Cap-Tex-Triathlon in Austin. I didn't compete this year because I didn't think Baby #2 would appreciate a little kick in the stomach during the close encounter swim or a potential bike fall. I did get to run a couple miles with my mom to encourage her during the last leg of her race. We had so much fun cheering on the triathletes and raising money for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund. 

My mom got 2nd place in her age group!!!

Thanks for all your support and keep checking for updates on my sister's blog: TRI-ing for a Cause

2013 Post Triathlon Celebration: May 27th!

We are less than 1 week from race day and couldn't be more excited! As of TODAY we have raised $4,000!

Come cheer on the triathletes on Monday, May 27th at the Cap Tex Triathlon at Auditorium Shores. We would love all the support we can get. If you have a TRI-ing For A Cause t-shirt (from any year) please feel free to wear it so the racers can find you in the crowd. Before the race begins we will gather by the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue so be on the look out for us!

This year, my sister and I won't be racing. But there are many others who are!!!
Triathletes to look for:

Triathlete	Distance	Start Time
Ann Francese	Olympic	8:02
Jeana Lowry	Sprint	9:22
Meghan Brindley	Sprint	9:22
Renee Bain	Sprint	9:22
Chris Lowry	Sprint	9:58
Christopher Cannata	Sprint	9:58
Robert Bain	Sprint	9:58

POST RACE CELEBRATION
After the triathlon we will be celebrating our triathletes victories, another great year of fundraising for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund, and to thank you for all of your support while training and fundraising!

For more details about the after party and to RSVP please click here!

For more details on watching the Cap Tex Tri please click here!
(Includes race times, race day parking, race course, and more!) 

We hope to see you at the race and/or after party! Thank you for all of your support and helping us to reach towards our goal!

Like Flamingos?

It's that wonderful time of year again...time to swim, bike, and run all day long every day for 3 months! Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

More importantly and the reason we find motivation to compete in triathlons is to raise money in honor of Mark Felice. Our goal this year is to raise $8,000!

A new and fun way to raise money and awareness for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund is to elect to have your yard/friend's yard flocked by pink flamingos!!! If you're in Austin, automatically you have to love flamingos, right? So thought I would share my sister's blog and pass on this fun flocking, open for anyone in Austin!

You've Been flocked!

$8,000

Holy cow! We raised $8,000 for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund this year. I want to say the biggest thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whether you wrote a check, wore a t-shirt, cheered us on at the race, called to say "good-luck" or even just took the time to read Mark's story...you helped us and it truly made an impact. And will make an impact to the many many families in need of a little help. 

The Cap Tex Triathlon is always on Memorial Day in Austin. This triathlon honors brave men and women of the armed forces and ensures the significance of Memorial Day. We race to recognize those serving our country.

We woke up before the sun and made it to our transition area in time to see the beautiful sunrise over Lady Bird Lake (I still call it Town Lake). Ann Marie and I wanted to get there early because my mom's race started an entire hour before us. She kicked it up a notch this year and did the Olympic distance (twice the distance of our Sprint). I guess when you are racing longer, they let you start earlier. Nice perk. 

Davis had fun cheering us on this year. My mom gave him a very loud cow bell! 

Race Recap

Swim: I enjoyed the swim this year. I have finally figured out that I simply cannot start my swim with a sprint. In years past I try to get out ahead of the crowd, but sprinting at the beginning of a swim just panics me and leaves me breathless. This usually leads me to doing a little backstroke and sidestroke to help me catch my breath. I'm much faster if I get my swim groove going first, then about halfway through the half mile swim, I pick it up. I finished the swim in 17 minutes. 

Bike: It's difficult to gage my bike time each year because wind really plays a role in how fast I can go. And every year I've done the Cap Tex, I feel like it's always super windy. The bike course is so much fun, weaving our way through downtown. For the Sprint distance, we take 2 laps. For the Olympic, it's 4 laps. Lapping makes it fun because we get to see each other along the course...I saw Renee, my mom, Ann Marie, and Jaki. The 12 mile bike took me 45 minutes. 

Run: This year the run was really tough on me. I was cramping. I think it was because I tried a new GU. I learned my lesson, only use the GUs I've used in practice. My biggest goal for these races is first, to always finish. And second, never walk. Every once in a while I could see Ann Marie just a little bit ahead of me. I really wanted to catch up with her, but I couldn't. Would have been fun to cross the finish line together. The torturous 3 mile run took me 28 minutes. 

Results: I finished 10th out of 41 in my age group. I think I'm liking my age group. I don't have to compete with the super fast Jaki, Renee, and Ann Marie! My mom did awesome for her first Olympic distance. She crossed the finish line after 3 hours and 24 minutes with a smile and said, "well that was fun!" Walk in the park, ha! 

Before Race

Our Fans

My #1 Fan with a Rainbow

Action Shot

Done!

And Done!

What's next? We like to wait out the intense summer heat, so our sights are set on the Kerrville Triathlon in September. We had a blast last year, and are recruiting more people to join this year. We also plan to make a weekend out of it in Kerrville!

Thanks again for helping us raise $8,000! We exceeded our goal of $5,000 and the Felice's are going to match it...do the math people...we are giving $16,000 to the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund. Awesome!

RUN in STYLE

Who doesn't love a new running shirt? And I'm not talking about cotton. This is a REAL RUNNING performance shirt and one that actually helps support a fabulous cause like the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund! Plus, if you are going to come to the Cap-Tex Tri on May 28th to cheer us on, you will want to be dressed to impress! 

Buy A TRI-ing For A Cause T-Shirt:
Purchase a t-shirt to help us raise money for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund. They are a Royal blue Badger B-Dry Performance shirt for $25 each with majority of the profits going to the foundation (shipping not included but if you would like it mailed to you please let me know). T-Shirt Sizes:  Youth (S, M, L) Adult (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL) View sizing line up:http://www.customink.com/items/sizing/160800_lineup/standard.htm Order by Mail: 1. Please email TRIingForACause@gmail.com with your order and size. In the subject line please put "T-shirt Order: YOUR NAME". If you need it shipped to you please add $5 to the order and a preferred shipping address. 2. Make check payable to: Ann Marie Francese 3. Mail check to: Ann Marie Francese, 2408 Enfield Rd #212, Austin, TX 78703 We will be ordering the shirts on May 2nd so please let us know if you would like one by ordering online or emailing TRIingForACause@gmail.com  We will order extras but there are no promises we will have the size you prefer. Front: TRI-ing For A Cause, Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund, 2012 Back: Float the Swim, Walk the Bike, Crawl the Run Note: if you mail a check please make it out to Ann Marie Francese

About Mark Felice

There once was a teenage boy. He did his homework, ate lunch with his friends, took girls to school dances, and went to soccer practice after school. He had loving parents and two sisters, one older, one younger. He spent hot summer days on Lake Austin wake-boarding with his friends.


One day, after a wake-boarding accident he discovered he had Rhabdomyosarcoma, a solid tumor found in the base of his skull. 


Even through radiation, chemotherapy and a relapse, Mark pushed himself so he could be out with his friends and family, wake-boarding and on the soccer field. 


Mark died on October 15, 2003 surrounded by his friends and family that he had touched and shown what life had to offer. 


All that Mark wanted was for no other child to go through the trials of cancer. He wanted every child to be a normal kid with his life in front of him and goals within reach. And this is why we raise money, to honor Mark and his wish. 


Over the years, your generous donations have helped families pay for nausea medication for children receiving chemo, parking for those that can’t afford to park at the hospital to visit their own child, and the means necessary to buy simple every-day items like shoes and beds. They are spending every waking minute with their children and every penny they have to afford treatment. Read more stories here.

TRI-ing For A Cause has been raising money since 2008 for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund. Our goal this year is to raise $5,000! This year the Felice family will be matching every dollar we raise!

TO DONATE

Visit: http://triingforacause.blogspot.com/p/make-donation.html

OR

Make checks payable to: The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund

Mail to:

            TRI-ing For A Cause

            c/o Ann Marie Francese

            2408 Enfield Rd #212

            Austin, Texas 78703

Please visit our blog for more information about the cause, to buy a TRI-ing For A Cause t-shirt, corporate sponsorship or learn more about donating to the cause.

No donation is too small and none are too large. Our goal with the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund is to help fund needed treatments and to help in the research to eradicate childhood cancers. Thank you for supporting us as we make a difference in the fight against childhood cancer!

Thank you for your support!

Time to TRI

Hey Triathlon & Fundraiser Lovers!

It's TRI-ing time of year again.

It sure does sneak up on me each year. I'm already hitting the pool (ok, I've only swam once this year), the bike, and the pavement. Exciting news in the bike department, my mom got a new bike so I'm getting her old road-bike. Love me some hand-me-downs! This means two things, 1) I can't use the excuse "I'm slow bc I don't have a road-bike" anymore and 2) I'm much more likely to get blown over by a tiny gust of wind bc her bike is so light weight!

More important than the working out, is of course our fundraising. I'm so proud of my sister. Each year we've done a triathlon (since 2008) she has raised money in memory of her friend Mark Felice (middle picture in the collage above), who died from cancer at age 17. She's so on top of things, she could run a business! She has a blog with links galore on how to fundraise. She created t-shirts! She has a facebook page! The list goes on and on. If you don't believe me, just go HERE!

Our goal this year is to raise $5,000. What's even more exciting is that Mark's family is going to match that donation dollar for dollar. Do the math people, if we reach our goal, we will be helping families who are suffering from childhood cancer with $10,000!!!!!

No donation is too small!

TO DONATE

Visit: http://triingforacause.blogspot.com/p/make-donation.html

OR

Make checks payable to: The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund

Mail to:

            TRI-ing For A Cause

            c/o Ann Marie Francese

            2408 Enfield Rd #212

            Austin, Texas 78703

Please visit our blog for more information about the cause, to buy a TRI-ing For A Cause t-shirt, corporate sponsorship or learn more about donating to the cause.

The During and After Bits

I grabbed a few pictures from my sister's facebook album to share the during and after bits of the triathlon.

My mom and sister finished the swim at the same time, here they are running to the transition area to get ready for the bike.

Me on the bike! Just finished 12 miles.

All done!

Renee, Uncle Mike, and Robert

Remembering...

There are so many different titles I thought about for this post.

On Monday our family and friends competed in the Capital Texas Triathlon (Title Option #1). For some of us, it was our first time and for others it was not. This particular triathlon is to honor our veterans and soldiers. The first wave is actually a group of (Title Option #2) "wounded warriors." To see them compete in an athletic event is so inspiring. In fact, my entire 3 mile run was behind one of these wounded warriors. He was a 28 year old man with a prosthetic leg. As he ran through the crowds people would cheer loud for him, thank him, and I even saw one women cry proud tears.

For those who haven't done a triathlon, I'll fill you in on a few of the details. The day before the race we head to pick up our numbers, packets, goodies, and rack our bikes. There are booths with tri gear, free cliff bar samples, t-shirt sales, raffles from sponsors, energy drinks, and much more. There's a lot of excitement from the people and of course, I'm scoping out my competition!! When you race in a marathon, there's usually just one number, right? But when you race in a triathlon, with three events, there are a bazillion numbers! We had two numbers for our bike, one for our helmet, one for our running belt, one for our transition bag, one for our tri top, one for our wrist, and two for our bodies. Not to mention the other optional stickers: one for who we are racing to honor (I wrote Mark Felice), another for a prize drawing (not sure what happened to that), and one with an emergency contact number. I appreciate all the identification to make sure someone doesn't steal my gear, but I think half of it is so that we can identify ourselves and order expensive photos.

When I talk about gear, here's a list of just a few of the items you need to do a triathlon:

Goggles, Swim Cap, Bike Shoes, Helmet, Bike, Tri Suit, Running Shoes, Hat, Sunglasses, Water Bottles, CamelBak, Gu, Recovery Drink, Race Belt, Sunscreen, Bike Pump, Socks, and a couple other little things!!!

Here we (dad, sister, me, mom) are at check-in, posing with a REAL triathlete (not sure who he is). We are wearing our "Tri-ing for a Cause" Mark Felice (Title Option #3) shirts. If you haven't been filled in yet, check out my sister's blog. We reached our goal this year of $5,000!!!! I have some really awesome stories to share with you about where this money is going...that will come later.

The night before the race we met up with family at Mandola's for a little carb-loading the Italian way. Delizioso! When we got home from dinner, we spent about an hour reading directions and trying to put our numbers in the proper place. Some were stickers and others were tattoos! We had already dropped off our bikes that day, so we loaded the remaining gear into the car and went to bed.

Here comes title option #4. Insult Tri. I am not 30 yet, but evidently I am in the 30-34 age group because I will be 30 by the end of the year. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind turning 30, but to have it written on the back of my leg was a little bit of a reality check. I wasn't quite prepared for that. I was so sad not to be in the same age group as my sister and cousin this year. They started in a wave 4 minutes before me.

The morning of the race we all got up, got ready, and stuck to our routine. Ann Marie likes a bagel with peanut butter, my parents eat boiled eggs with a banana, and I eat a Luna Bar. My dad has a cup of coffee and my mom drinks tea. I stick strictly to just water.

My mom getting her gear out of the car...

From the transition area, looking towards the Austin skyline...

Before the race, Kelly and Molly ready to cheer us on!

Swimming Town Lake

I'll have to wait to post pictures from during and after the race. Forrest used my sister's camera to capture the moments of pain and joy crossing the finish line. But I will leave you with a couple of cute Davis photos. He was getting ready for a wagon ride!

Option #5 is the title I decided to use, Remembering...because I feel like it portrays my thoughts from Monday. While I swam, biked, and ran, I remembered veterans who served in years past and soldiers fighting today. I also remembered Mark, who we raise money in honor of every year. He lived such a short life before his strong battle with cancer and has left such a huge legacy behind, helping other children deal with the every day struggles of that same battle.

Gearing Up

Here we are, just a couple days away from the Cap-Tex-Triathlon, and I'm WAY behind on my training. I was on track until the week of the Skeese Greets. I'm not exactly sure what happened, it might have been an injury from the actual race or maybe my weight lifting class, but I injured my neck causing two weeks of tension headaches. Scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst possible pain, that is where I was. I woke up with a headache and went to bed with it. Nothing worked and I tried them all from Advil to Excedrin. So for two weeks I was on pain meds, in and out of the doctor's office, and laying on a heating pad. To say I'm way behind in my training is an understatement. Yesterday was my first swim since the Skeese and today I'm headed to spin class for the first time in 3 weeks! As an update to my health, my neck is 90% healed and the headaches have stopped (thank goodness!!!!). I debated doing the race on Memorial Day, but in the end, decided to just go for it, take it easy, and realize this might not be my best race time.

This year, we have a big crew doing the race. Both my parents and my sister will be racing! My cousin, her fiance, and a couple of their friends are doing it too. Kelly (pregnant) will be on the sidelines cheering on her husband and her brother.

If you're interested in coming to the race, the after-party, or want to sign up for your own triathlon, visit my sister's blog. She has all the info on how to train and what you'll need. If I can do it, anyone can!!!

I also wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all our supporters out there and those who have donated to the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund. We are only $800 away from reaching our goal of $5,000!

Dewberries, Moms, and Triathlons

Relaxing Mother's Day? Not so much. But it was my own fault. Remind me again why I do these triathlons?

The weekend started off early Saturday morning with Junior League Leadership training for me. Starbucks helped me get through those three hours. As soon as I got home, it was lunch time for Davis and time to pack up the car to head out to the Thompson's family farm in Seguin for the annual Dewberry Festival. This year we celebrated 34 years! Sadly, without rain, the Dewberries are few and far between. BTW a dewberry is similar to a blackberry. But we still enjoyed seeing family & friends, playing horseshoes, and competing in a scavenger hunt. Davis is in absolute hog heaven out at the farm. What's not to love? There's dirt, rocks, sticks, dogs, fish, and cows. Davis and Forrest spent the night at the farm, but I headed to Austin with my tri-gear and spent the night with my sister.

Sunday morning, Happy Mother's Day, we were up at 5:30am getting ready for our first triathlon of the season, The Skeese Greets. It's a pretty short sprint tri (apparently this year they actually added distance in each leg of the race), but always a great warm up for the season. I think I finished it in an hour and twenty minutes, but my time chip is messed up because while they categorized me in the 29 and under group by giving me a black swim cap, apparently I was supposed to be in the 30 and up group. When getting "marked" (they use a sharpie to write your number on your arms and legs and your age on your calf), I politely asked the man to write 29 on my calf because I can't handle being 30 just yet. He kindly obliged. Looking back, I forgot how crazy my weekend was last year for this race. Davis was sick and I was up most the night. I wonder how I would do if I just rested the days before the race? Nevertheless, we had so much fun! Sharing Mother's Day with all these other amazing moms meant a lot. It also happened to be my mom's birthday! Her best birthday gift? She placed 3rd in her age group! Did I mention she rode 100 miles on her bike the day before for the Shiner Ride?

After the torture, I mean, fun race, we all headed out to eat. I couldn't eat anything, I was falling asleep at the table. So we headed home and Davis treated mommy to a THREE HOUR NAP!!!! We woke up around 5pm, freshened up (I didn't have the energy to shower before my nap, gross, I know), and went to Urban Taco for a beer and some delicious ceviche!

And now...the countdown to the end goal...the Cap Tex Triathlon on Memorial Day!

Renee's fiance, Robert, was there to cheer us on and took these pics with his iphone! Here we are, getting ready to start swimming!

At the finish line!

Goal: $5,000

On May 30, 2011, I will be competing in the Cap Tex Triathlon to raise money for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund.

WHY WE TRI

We are raising money in memory of Mark Felice who died of cancer at the age of 17. He was a close friend to many and truly a friend to anyone he met. The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund was created in his name, by his family, focusing on the needs of children and their families in the research and treatment of childhood cancers.

In the U.S., there are approximately 12,400 children, from birth to 19 years, who are diagnosed with cancer each year. About 1 in 330 children will develop cancer before their 20th birthday. Cancer is the most common cause of death by disease for children and adolescents in America. There is a decline in the childhood cancer mortality rate by 2-3.2% per year. The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund is dedicated to aid in the continuation of this trend downward and aid those fighting childhood cancer.

Like the past years, we will continue our efforts to fundraise for such a wonderful cause. Thank you to all of those who helped us to raise money last year and reach our goal of $5,000. Our goal this year again is to raise $5,000!

Interested in getting involved...here's a couple ways to do just that:

Fundraising:

On my sister's Tri-ing for a Cause blog she has listed ways to get involved (fundraising letters, tshirt forms, etc). You will be able to download the information and customize it with your details. I used to be weary of sending out letters to ask for money until I read this article that said, "Be proud of raising money for a cause. Think that 'I'm proud to raise it' and that 'you'll be proud to donate'." You know its a great cause and everyone would love to donate so loose your inhibition to ask for money!

T-shirts: If you want to buy one please do! On race day all of the spectators who come to cheer us on usually have a shirt and makes it easier to spot them as well as spread the word. Let me know if you have any questions.

Training:
If you want some guidance on training you can visit here. It is a beginners training guide that you can follow and mold to match your lifestyle and level. Down at the bottom are some workouts you can download to listen on your iPod.

We have already raised $300 which is a great start. With your help, soon we will be well on our way to reaching $5,000!!

Thank you!!