Swim, bike, run for a cure...

Many of you don’t know this yet, but I have officially made the move to Austin, Texas and have been busy settling into the Live Music Capital of the World, a move that’s been lingering in my background plans for years. A “life” update is long overdue, which is coming, but first...a huge part of my life for the past two months has been training for the Capital of Texas Triathlon, taking place here in Austin on May 25th. This Olympic distance triathlon has me training about 5 days a week to prepare for a 1.5k swim (about 1 mile), 40k bike (about 25 miles), and 10k run (about 6 miles). This is the first endeavor of its kind for me...perhaps I should have started with a 5k fun-run, you say? Nah.

I’m training and fundraising through a wonderful program, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training, whose mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma– and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. I have committed to raising 2,600 smackers and need your support in reaching that goal! While a portion of donations goes toward research for new life-saving cancer treatments, what I find even more appealing are programs that help cancer patients with the financial burden of cancer treatments. Chemotherapy is expensive. Traveling to and from treatment centers is costly. Not being able to go to work b/c you or your loved one is battling cancer presents a significant financial strain. Much of the money we raise goes to support programs that help ease these financial burdens for patients and their families.

Almost all of our lives have been touched by someone close to us who has battled this indiscriminate disease. Two close friends of mine from college, Anna and Patrick, survived bouts with cancer in their early 20s. Their stories are inspiring and hope-giving. And I also think about my close friend, Katherine, who lost her wonderful mom Ruth, a mother of four, to this devastating disease four years ago. Cancer does not discern between young or old, male or female, rich or poor, but strikes blindly. Defeating it is a cause that we can all unify behind.

To keep up with my progress and contribute to help keep me motivated as I rise for swim training at the ungodly hour of 6am, cycle those hills, and put more miles on my running shoes, please visit my website at www.active.com/donate/tntctx/susiegaskins. All contributions are tax 100% deductible. Whatever you can give counts!

Stay tuned for sexy photos of Susie in a wetsuit...