Thank You For Your Support of My LDSF Fundraiser!

Hi everyone!

Ironman Florida (IMFL) is just two short weeks away! I wanted to update and thank you again for your support and awesome donation to my "Move Your Feet For Loeys-Dietz" fundraiser for the Loeys-Dietz Syndrome Foundation (LDSF).

All of my long, tough training days are over! I still have two weeks of training leading up to the November 1st race. Weekday training has remained the same but the long, tough weekend training days have been getting shorter and shorter over the last couple of weeks! I have pushed myself and trained harder than for any prior race. I was also pushed, challenged, and supported by my family, my friends, my training buddies, my coach, and you! Anne and my boys have had to endure me being gone for so many hours. My longest training week was slightly over 17 hours! With two years of Ironman training, I need a little break from the long weekend training days. In 2015, I will still be training hard but just not for a full ironman. I will be concentrating on getting faster and stronger at the sprint triathlons and half ironman races. In the fall of 2015, I will be concentrating on marathon training as I attempt to achieve a personal goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon!



I'm blessed to be able to do what I do. I'm proud to be dedicating this race to Anne and all of the other LDS fighters. I am looking forward to race day! Back in June, I was actually losing focus. I was getting tired; I was considering NOT doing IMFL. Then, in late June, I attended the LDSF conference in Baltimore. Being there helped me get my drive back and my drive has been strong ever since! I trained hard and stayed focused all these weeks after! I’m excited about the upcoming race and I'm ready to go!

Thanks to you, the fundraiser has gone well! Thank you so much for the donation as it helps LDSF with their mission of encouraging education of related connective tissue disorders to medical professionals, fostering research, and providing a support network for individuals, parents, and families affected by LDS.

We will be having a casual gathering to raffle off the great prizes donated to my fundraiser! The raffle drawing will take place at Lakeview Harbor on Friday, November 7th at 7:00 pm. Lakeview Harbor is located at 911 Harrison Ave, New Orleans, LA. Come join us!! You do NOT have to be present to win!

A raffle ticket will be selected for each of the donated prizes. The biggest prize will be raffled off last! So, the more raffle tickets you have, the better your chance to win more than one prizes! Donate now to get your raffle tickets!

Please send a link to this page to others you feel would donate to my LDSF fundraiser! They can donate online at www.crowdrise.com/IMFL or via check. Please have the check made out to Loeys-Dietz Syndrome Foundation and mail it to me (my address can be found on my online fundraiser page).

By the way, you can track me while I'm racing via Ironman's website http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/athlete-tracker.aspx. Just select Ironman Florida and search using my last name ORIHUELA or my race number 2655.

I sincerely thank you again for your donation and support! Anne and I truly appreciate everything you have done for us!

Respectfully,
Tomas