EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA !!!

Very exciting news about NATT. Please read below!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007

CDC AWARDS NATT FUNDING
TO IMPROVE BLOOD CLOT AWARENESS

TARRYTOWN, NY - The National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia (NATT) today announced the award of two major program grants totaling $1.35 million that will serve as building blocks for its efforts to curb the unchecked devastating effects caused each year to nearly one million Americans who develop a blood clot.

NATT will use its two Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants to “launch a national wake-up call to promote public and healthcare professional awareness of this serious medical condition that each year kills nearly 300,000 Americans,” explains NATT President Randy Fenninger.

“We have a national crisis because few people recognize or understand the symptoms and risk factors of this silent killer. And even equally startling, is that not enough of our nation’s healthcare professionals have a full understanding of the symptoms and the methods for treatment of this life-threatening condition,” he said. Complications from clotting, occurring in more than half of those affected individuals, can often have serious consequences – as is evident from an annual mortality rate that is greater than the combined deaths from breast cancer, AIDS, and automobile accidents.

Mr. Fenninger complimented the proactive efforts of the CDC for recognizing the need to fund an all-out public and professional attack against blood clotting disorders. The awards, he notes, “serve to further support our national education and awareness work. This is a superb news for all Americans at risk for blood clots, and a very proud moment for the many volunteers who have worked so hard to move NATT from a board room dream to a now nationally respected community-based advocacy organization that does so much good.”

Aiding the CDC’s proactive funding efforts was a meeting held in May of 2006 by the U.S. Surgeon General who brought together national healthcare and public leaders to discuss the serious problems surrounding blood clots and clotting disorders. The general theme from this meeting is the publication of “Call-to-Action” this fall by the U.S. Surgeon General to improve education and awareness within the healthcare profession, as well as the general public.

These facts, combined with a serious lack of awareness among the public, constitute a significant public health problem that NATT has been battling since its inception in 2003. NATT Executive Director Alan Brownstein explained that a national initiative called “Stop-The-Clot,” will now be launched. The multi-tiered program, one of two receiving funding awards from the CDC, will focus its education and awareness efforts on such objectives as:
- Enhancement of NATT’s successful patient seminars into a nationally Stop-The-Clot Forum series
- Establishment of a comprehensive consumer Clotting Information Resource Center (CIRC; available via web and print mediums)
- Collaboration with the national Hemophilia Treatment Centers, the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Centers, and the Anticoagulation Forum network for distribution of education materials
- And the development of a regional chapter infrastructure.

The CDC also awarded funding for a nurses and non-physician healthcare professionals’ education project that will specifically address the areas of blood clot prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management. NATT’s Medical And Scientific Advisory Board (MASAB) Chairman Dr. Stephan Moll, director of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Thrombophilia Program, expressed his board’s delight regarding the CDC awards. “I commend the CDC on their efforts to respond to this extreme health issue in such a proactive manner through funding these programs instituted by NATT,” he said.

Dr. Moll noted that the healthcare professionals’ education project is deemed an essential element in the fight against blood clots. “Improving the content and delivery of health information/education by nurses and other non-physicians,” he said, “provides an educational and training aspect to a critical part of a patient’s healthcare and wellness.”

The program, Dr. Moll explained, will be delivered nationally through the utilization of evidence-based teaching methods in small group sessions led by trained faculty. The program’s ultimate goal is to prevent secondary conditions in people with clotting disorders by improving their access to knowledgeable healthcare providers.

NATT will collaborate with many organizations in its development of a 12-region training program. Patients will be reached throughout the U.S. network of the 140-federally funded Hemophilia Treatment Centers, the CDC Pilot Thrombophilia Centers and through participants of the Anticoagulation Forum.

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(For More Information regarding the National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia and/or their national programs, please contact Alan Brownstein at (917) 209-2000, apbrownstein@msn.com, or NATT President Randy Fenninger (202) 833-007. or log on to http://www.nattinfo.org/. NATT is a 501c3 national volunteer community-based organization which welcomes support through involvement and/or donations. Further information can also be obtained from NATT’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board chairman Dr. Stephan Moll, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at (919) 966-3311 or smoll@med.unc.edu.)

What Now...?

Well, I am officially done with triathlons for 2007. It is been a GREAT DEAL OF FUN and SO FAR a GREAT SUCCESS in terms of the fundraising. Please pass on the word so that I can make the fundraising collected in 2007 the new benchmark for years to come.

The formula is very simple: Consider donating a Nickel, Dime, or even a Quarter for every mile that I raced this summer... about 300 Miles all together and go on forward and write that total as a donation to The National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia - NATT. If you are interested in donating please drop me a line and I will let you know how.

Well, as of what I have coming up next, I am not really sure. I may do some running races here in there if the legs are holding up well. I know for sure I am doing Cincinnati's Thanksgiving Day Race for my 10th time! Hard to believe that I've done this race that many times but it is true. I am looking forward to putting down a respectable time for the 10K distance. Last year, I went all out and this year I am planning on doing the same so watch out people...!


If you are not aware you should know that the US Women's Soccer national team will be playing tomorrow against Brazil in the semifinals of the Womenes World Cup in China. It should be a great match and of course I hope for the American Ladies to move forward and go all the way to be World Cup Champions once more.


Speaking of soccer I just got home from playing in my men's over 30 league I've been playing for the past few weeks. I always enjoy some good old soccer playing to give me a break from the routine of swimming, biking, running. What other sports do you do in the off season to give you a break?


Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

WHAT IS COOLER THAN BEING COOL…?

ICE COLD!!!

For some strange reason that is the song I had stuck in my head much of the ride at the Portage Lakes Triathlon this past Sunday. Don’t ask me why but I am sure it had something to do with the fact that it was around 47 freaking degrees when we got on our bikes! That my friends was brutal out there. It took the better part of the 25 Miles of the bike to be comfortable. I was riding as hard as I could to keep the engine going and feel some relative warmth. I was in awe of the lady riding in her bathing suit or the dude riding without a top on. Those would be perfectly acceptable any other weekend but this one. If I had a hard time with a top on plus arm warmers and gloves I don’t even want to imagine how it felt for them.
So, the theme for this race was “Let’s freeze the polka-dots off!” I don’t know how I managed to get through the bike portion of the race. I just had to keep the legs moving even if I could not feel my toes towards the end of the ride. The first few steps on the run were rather strange but soon I was able to get my feet to return to a normal state and keep up with the course. And keep up is what I did because this time around for this 10K course I was able to post MY BEST TIME EVER during a triathlon… 43:24, I can’t really believe it!

So, freezing my polka-dots off must have been a good thing as I had a rear end kicking swim of 21:37 good enough for 9th best in the whole race and a total time of 2:19:35 for a NEW PR! So, after all that I was 5th in the 30-34 age group and 37th overall.

I could not done it without the support of Mrs. Clot Buster and of Melissa and Adam. I am very thankful for your support and encouragement. Seeing smiling familiar faces gives me such a boost that I can’t really describe.

So, this is it for triathlons for 2007. The Clot Buster has accomplished his goal of racing well over 300 Miles, now it is time for you to step up and give the Clot Buster the extra hand to continue to raise funds for NATT. Please consider matching a small donation of a nickel, dime, or a quarter for every mile that I raced and donate that total towards NATT. If you are interested in making a donation drop me a line and I can let you know how!

Looking ahead to 2008…

How many miles should I race next summer?

Should I instead concentrate one or two races and have people match donations through those miles raced?

How did you like the auctions and the items up for auction?
Should I continue to do them? What would like to see up for auction more often? I know the Spiuk Kronos Helmet was a hit with people and Thanks to Spiuk-USA’s support I may able to do this again next year.

Do you know of any races that The Clot Buster should do?

Would you be interested in supporting NATT if you can support the Clot Buster movement with a polka-dot technical shirt?

All of these questions and so many possible answers. For now, I need to concentrate in getting as many wristbands out there as possible along with looking for some more donations to round up this year's fundraising. This year is been great so far but we can always do more!

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

Racing… one more time!

Here we are at the end of another week getting ready for my last triathlon this season. I am looking forward to going all out on Sunday and see what time I can come up with at the end. It is been a season of several personal bests so I am hoping to hammer out this race and set a new best time. I don’t know how the weather will influence my performance I just need to prepare for it. So, I need to double and triple check my list of goods so that I don’t forget anything important that could be essential on race day.

I am also looking forward to visit a new city in Akron, OH which is one I hear a lot about but I have not had the chance to visit and explore. Would there be a lot to see? I don’t have a clue and I really don’t care, I just want to see what I see and enjoy the experience. In my opinion it is always as good as you want it to be. So, Akron here I come with Mrs. Clot Buster ready or not. While I am thinking about it, I need to give a HUGE THANK YOU to the Casebere Family for hosting us this weekend. Melissa, Adam THANK YOU!!!

Not likely that I will be checking out the course as I rather not know what is coming up. In this race in particular I have loops on both the bike and the run that should give me the preview I need. I am interested in seeing how my training these last few days will impact my effort. Stay tuned for my report after the race.

Speaking of reporting I wanted to make a point to highlight some more the accomplishments I learn about from people who has clotted and they are back at it doing what they love. In one of my last posts I got the chance to talk to you about Joan Perry, well today I wanted to highlight the performance of another inspiring story in Janine Swiatkowski.

Janine participated in the Disneyland Half Marathon on September 3rd and she was able to get through the 13.1 Miles without any trouble enjoying every step of the way. She says that she was able to finish quicker than she thought she would.

JANINE CONGRATULATONS!!!

I look forward to hear what your next challenge is going to be. Whatever it is I know you will be able to make it through and continue to inspire us all. Please read more about Janine's story through the link above.

Well, sounds like this weekend I will be freezing my polka-dots off big time... I better get prepared.

Oh yes! One more thing. Please consider making a donation to my fundraising effort for this summer. The 300 Miles of racing are all done. Now it is up to you to come forward and help out in the cause of educating and create awareness about blood clots and blood clotting disorders. There is nothing to it just pick a value of a coin and multiply it by the number of miles I raced. Here is the breakdown:

$0.05 per Mile x 300 Miles = $15.00

$0.10 per Mile x 300 Miles = $30.00

$0.25 per Mile x 300 Miles = $75.00

Please contact me if you are interested in making a donation. Please make your check payable to "NATT" and let me know so that I can send you my address!

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

Rainy Sunday

It is been a long time since I looked forward this much to a swim workout. This week, I trashed my legs so I need some time in the pool to give my two pistons some time to rest.So, tomorrow I will be heading to the pool and swim away nice and easy to get my arms back in business after 2 weeks of inactivity. I know that it will be slow, I just hope to get good enough workouts this week so that when the Akron race rolls through next weekend I can at least come out of the water in a respectable time. We will see how things shake out.

You probably remember that a few posts ago I talked about Joan Perry who last year suffered from a serious blood clot, was successfully treated, and last weekend she participated in the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Hamburg, Germany. In her age group Joan finished 20th in a time of 2:43:00 in the Olympic Distance race. I have not had a chance to talk to her about the experience or the results. However, I am nothing short of IMPRESSED and EXCITED for her after what she went through last year. TRULY AN INSPIRATON to anyone who is dealing with a blood clot episode and the treatment that follows the discovery.

JOAN CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I hope to be able to get her story on my blog or on NATT's website very soon, so stay tuned!

Well, looks like I will continue the trashing of my legs this afternoon with a quick lifting session. It seems like the perfect day to go to the gym and do it.

In the mean time I am already pondering my strategy for next season. The Clot Buster will be back in full force trying his best to raise funds for NATT. If you are a reader of this blog and you have any suggestions about any races that I should do or other ideas for fundraising PLEASE, PLEASE let me know.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster

Debating NO MORE!!!

Finally I was able to make up my mind about racing in Akron. I could not resist the calling for one more race this season so I am going for it! Although it is been hard to train and get motivated I am getting around it and I am looking forward to close out my 2007 triathlon racing schedule with a good race.
How was the Labor Day weekend?

I was fortunate enough to do many things. Mrs. Clot Buster and I make sure that we pack long weekends like this one all the way to the top with things to do. We started with the Columbus Greek Festival on Friday. Saturday, we headed to Cincinnati but this time around we did it a little differently. We packed our bikes and drove west from Columbus to the village of Yellow Springs from which we know there is a bike trial that travels all the way down to Cincinnati. Since. Liz likes Yellow Springs a great deal with its unique shops and book stores we decided that she would ride with me for a while and then turn around and I would go on and ride all the way to my mother in law’s house in Cincinnati. It was a perfect day to ride so off we went. I rode 64 Miles and met my wife in Cincinnati about 3 and half hours after we stated riding. It was a great experience just riding away on the trail. Going through town after town. It was a really neat experience for sure. I enjoyed it a great deal. I have to tell you that after the 60 some mile on the saddle I was pretty beat up.

But rest was soon to come as we prepared to go down to the Ohio river and enjoy the Labor Day fireworks special. As always it was a great show. One that I recommend to anyone if you happen to be in town for the weekend. My fater in law Bill was able to take some great pictures that I am sharing with you in this post. Check them out below.

The training otherwise is going well. The pool at out rec-center has been closed for the past 2 weeks and I can't wait to get in the pool and get some swims in. I will never understand why they schedule this maintenance work around the labor day weekend. But it seems to be the case every year so I just have to buy my time and hope that I get enough swims in before my last race coming up on September 16th. In the mean time I will continue to train my bike and run especially the run as I need to get some miles under my belt for good measure.

Thanks for reading,

The Clot Buster