RECAP

I could barely lift my legs to keep going. Soggy shoes and socks were making my feet blister and rub. On that last third of the run, there was a man who was probably in his mid to late 60's who was cheering from the side of the road in a black wheelchair. He looked frail. He kept rooting and shouting out to us "GO TEAM IN TRAINING!! TWO TIME LEUKEMIA SURVIVOR HERE! I APPRECIATE ALL THE HARD WORK YOU GUYS DO!!" You better believe that I turned up a notch when I witnessed his outburst. That was who we did the fundraising for. That was why I chose to do Team In Training.


And I'm not the only one. Thanks to you and your support and contributions, the Northern Capital Area(NCA) Team In Training(TNT) raise over $242,864.68 just for the St. A's Triathlon. The whole NCA region has raised over $$817,841.75! In addition to that, just at the St. A's Triathlon, Team In Training as a whole(U.S. wide) raised over $1.7 million towards the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

OK- I'm sorry it's been more than three weeks from the triathlon and no report. It's amazing how life fills in the gaps where you previously had things going. Work a big one, but also sleep and other things. So, I told you I was going to participate in the St. Anthony's Triathlon. Well, it ended up being more of a duathlon -just biking and running. The swim was cancelled due to the fact that the tide was making the water was so wavy that the kayaks and buoys couldn't stay in place(kayaks to watch out for troubled swimmers, buoys to outline the swim course). I wish it hadn't so that I could say that I did all three legs, but I was happy because I didn't want to swim in that salty, wavy water and drink(more like gulp) the sea water.

I've made you wait long enough, so here are the results:


Notice that several of the top 25 are from the Washington DC area- we kicked butt!!

Yes, that's right- 19th out of all(73) male Team In Training participants, 1979 out of over 6200 total racers! The bike was great- steady pace, didn't overdo it too much. Almost wiped out on a turn that was pretty sharp! I amazed myself on the run- I had no idea was running a sub-9 min. pace. I figured after all the biking it would be at least a 10 min. pace. I was definitely in pain half way through the run portion though, and by mile 4(2/3 mark) my legs were ready to give. Some of the local residents sprayed us with their hoses while we ran through, which was great, but I ended up getting some nasty blisters after running in soggy socks and shoes that didn't heal for a week! I thought I'd work on my tan while I was on the run, so I took off my tri-top and hung it in the back of my water belt. I lost it on the sprint to the finish line though, but I gave it a real 'all-out' effort, and I wasn't going to stop to go back and pick it up when the finish line was so close(~500 yds).

Here's a link to some pics that the official race photographer took, I don't think you can just download the pics off the 'net without buying them.

So what did I learn through all of this? Doing a triathlon is much like a marathon in the sense that you train for endurance. You don't go all out the whole time-you go at the pace you can maintain, and then there are times when you sprint, or go all-out. I think it's a very similar parallel to life, even more so with the fact that you have to juggle three sports, not just one. It is a turtle vs. hare thing. Eventually you get there, but don't just blindly speed through because you just won't be able to finish otherwise. Enjoy the scenery. I caught up to a fellow teammate on the run and offered her some water from my fuel belt so she could cool off. I had more than enough to stay hydrated and cool(also what added to the blisters!)


Why did I do it all? Why struggle to have breakthroughs in carrying out my schedule? Why struggle with the fear of the unknown, to battle and develop commitment and determination? Why put enormous strain on my body? I did Team In Training for a few reasons:

1. To get in shape (I lost 20lbs).


2. To push myself beyond what I knew (I had no clue how I was going to raise over $4,200- I'm now at $3870).


3. To meet new people (I met some amazing, wonderful, and not to mention beautiful people - many were beautiful women ;-) ).


4. To be part of a greater cause, something bigger than myself (I met teammates who survived non-hodgins lymphoma. A couple people donated in honor of their family members who had leukemia. The son of my mom's friend was just diagnosed with leukemia.)

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the cause to cure Leukemia, Lymphoma, & Myeloma (although to me I just want to cure all cancers) seemed like a good choice partnered up with all those objectives. Do I have a six pack now, no. But I'm already signed up for my next triathlon here in Washington, DC- the Nation's Triathlon on Sept. 13, 2009. I'll be training for another 4 months, with possibly some sprint tris in between. I still am saving for my own bike though, so we'll see what I can manage to scrounge up. Triathlons are expensive!I've already paid the registration, and don't have to fundraise for it(so you can let your breath out- you know who you are).

I also had a huge shift in my health. Some of you may already know, but my father was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a couple weeks after I started training in December. Not only has he had amazing breathroughs in his blood sugar and cholesterol by changing his diet, but I did too and now incorporate much more vegetables, fruits, and plant-based foods in my diet. I considered going vegetarian, even vegan, but I love seafood too much! So it's more of a pescatarian (fish and plant-based foods) thing. We'll see how it goes. Right now I'm enjoying it.

Am I a better person? Marginally. Is the world a better place? Marginally. Am I going to keep fighting for both? You bet. I'll go back to the quote from Lance Armstrong- so overused but so applicable, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

Thank you for your contributions, your support, your following. And if you managed to get all the way down here, consider clicking this link as well.

My Fundraising Webpage

One Week to Liftoff!

A Belated Happy Easter to all, and Happy Belated Passover as well! The past week and a half have been so inspiring! Thank you to everyone who has contributed and supported me and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! So a little recap-
This past Monday, I hosted a wine tasting fundraiser at Best Cellars in Clarendon(Arlington, VA). We tasted 5 different wines and had a great time- the winery donated both their time and wine to the cause, and we raised over $200 in the name of fighting cancer!

Also, thanks to your help, I jumped up from $896 two Fridays ago to $2,459! A $1563 jump! And I know there's more on the way... Thank you. But our job's not done yet. We're only half way to $5000, and I need your help! Talk to your friends, invite them to check out this blog, and send them to my fundraising page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/anttry09/shoar.

I invite you to take a look at your life. Think about the all the times you took on something so large you didn't know if you could make it to the finish line. Think of the times where you didn't. Think of the times you did. Right now, there's a little boy or girl, or even a full grown man or woman, who has a blood cancer and doesn't know if they'll be able to make it. Even when they've decided to go through with chemotherapy and/or radiation, to fight the cancer and the spread of it. Fortunately, with the research and progress that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has made with these cancers, there is, for the most part, still very positive survival rates(from 60-80% depending on the cancer). However, it's not 100%. There are still people who will lose the battle, no matter how hard they fight, no matter how hard they try. It's for them that we fight, we train, we fundraise for.
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This week at our swim practice, we did a full mile swim without stopping(1600 yds). I however arrived a few minutes late, so I'm not sure if I swam the whole 70 laps non-stop without stopping to catch my breath. Today however, I did it! I swam a full 70 laps, 1600 yds, 1 mile, without stopping! I wanted to quit around laps 33-36. I started panicing- not knowing if I was going to make it, but I kept on. And I did it. Now I won't have the walls to push off of every 25yds, or even at all, the day of the triathlon. But, just knowing that I was able to complete it means that I will have a good shot the day of. Plus, I'll also be wearing a wetsuit which will keep me more buoyant, and in salt water which also will make me more buoyant. Of course the 1000 other people I'll be swimming with, on, over, under, and into, will certainly create some resistance, so it's definitely not pie in the sky.

Training for this triathlon has been life transforming. Just a year ago, back in March, I weighed 210 lbs. I had gone to my doctor for a checkup, and she diagnosed me 'obese'. I couldn't believe it. I didn't think I was Obese. I didn't feel Obese. I didn't feel fit either. Throughout the summer and fall I managed to lose about 14-15 lbs. When I began training for the triathlon, I was back up to 196. Last week when I weighed myself, I was down to 176. I feel great. I feel healthy. I had to alter my diet. I had to workout twice a day for weeks on end. and now, in a little more than a week, I will be completing my first triathlon. Yeah. Pretty cool huh?

If you were inspired, moved, or touched at all by anything you saw, read, or felt here, I request that you make a donation to my fundraising page to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You can help save lives too!

Where I'm At

Hello everyone-

I just want to thank those of you who have been following my progress, updates, and those of you who have actively supported me through donations to my website, and through words of encouragement.

As many of you may have noticed on my fundraising page, I haven't been making a whole lot of progress towards my $5000 goal until recently. I'm not going to give you any excuses, but I do want to just say what's been so.

Help me reach my goal of raising $5000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by making a donation to http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/anttry09/shoar .

See, I also have been fighting my own cancer. Cancer of the mind and psyche. At the beginning of this journey, I was inspired but scared. Scared of not meeting my goal. Keeping up with the physical training, although daunting at times, has not been the hard part. No, what has been the hard part is getting past my fear.

It strikes me, however, that cancer victims may face something of the same sort. I have been hiding, denying the fact that I was running out of time to actually do something, anything, about fundraising. I've been resisting what there is to do. And in that resisting I've been suffering. That suffering lead to denial, which led to being irresponsible. Yes, I have been irresponsible about the task that I set out on.

I set out to be a contribution for the Leukemia & Lymphoma community, to further the chances of finding a cure, to saving lives.

I'm finding it difficult to keep going. And that is because I've been harboring this all on my own shoulders. What I haven't been doing is sharing, or giving the opportunity to contribute to you. My friends, colleagues, family members... my support.

Well I'm asking now, that you take a look for a moment at your own life. Take a look and see if there were ever times when you needed support from your friends or family because you were afraid of what was to come ahead- because you didn't know what it was.

Right now, there are thousands of people who have been diagnosed with leukemia, myeloma, non-myeloma, lymphoma, or other blood cancers. Some of them are in the same shoes. Where do they go from here?

I don't want life to be like that. Life should be about spending the time you have on this planet with the ones that you most treasure, or about living your life to the fullest, giving it your best shot. Climbing your own Mt. Everest. I think cancer gets in the way of that.

That's why I chose this mission. To fight for those who couldn't see the goal line. To give them the chance to have a life that was worth living. But I can't do it all on my own. I need your help, your support. They need your support.

Thank you. I will continue my training and my fundraising efforts. For myself, but also for you and for blood cancer.

Maybe not a WHOLE practice TRI...

But it was still a challenge! We started out today in our wetsuits at Riley's Lock in Poolesville MD. Although I was one of the only people who actually thought it would be a cool challenge to swim, the cold water, wind and temperature was something that would not have made it fun. (We're talking in the 40s at 7:30am). What we did instead was practice our transitions. We started out in our wetsuits, then had to jump out of them and run our bikes to the starting line, and bike 10 miles. From the dismount of the bike, we ran two loops from the transition area to the end of Riley's Lock Rd, where it intersects with River Rd. It is supposed that distance is close to or around 3 miles. I will check on that and update after the post.

So that's what was supposed to happen. What actually happened was that I was the last one to start the bike ride. I was quick out of the wetsuit, but as it was cold and windy, I made sure I had enough clothes to keep me warm- running shirt(sleeveless), long-sleeve workout shirt, windbreaker, reflective jersey, tri-shorts, biking pants, socks, road shoes, biking gloves, helmet, and sunglasses. No wonder I was the last one off the line. But health and safety is paramount! Fortunately, down in St. Petersburg it should be quite warmer, so I'll be able to do without all the long sleeves and layers.

We started on a big hill. It wasn't fun, but I'm glad that I went to those two spinning classes. Regardless of the back injury which had me laying on the couch for a week instead of working out, I was better accustomed to the quad-killing strengths it took to keep going.

The wind was strong today too. It blew me off the road once and almost a few other times as well. I was glad I had the windbreaker though.

I regained some ranking on the ride due to those hills, and the fact that going down the hills on the other side proved very easy and would accelerate me to speeds up to 32mph! The downside to that speed was that I almost collided into a big van on the sharp turn back onto Riley's Lock Rd. I was pulling both break pedals and was skidding all over the place! About 5 feet from the van, I was able to gain control again and make the turn. Whew!!! I'm pretty sure I had the team captains at the corner wide-eyed in horror, but all's well that ends well, as they say.

The run wasn't so bad- I did pretty well I'd say. It was a slow go nonetheless, as starting into running after biking my feet were numb, and I felt like I was a a struggling pace the entire time. Nothing quite as fast as I can normally run on the treadmill. But hey, I was going and I wasn't stopping. That's what counts.

Overall, the whole thing took me about two hours or so. Pretty surprising as we didn't swim and definitely didn't do the whole 25 miles or 10K(6.5 miles) of the run. Nonetheless, still a good workout. And after packing up and socializing a little we were out by 11:30am. Not bad.

Well, the deadline for the fundraising is coming up on April 8th. I had thought it was originally April 20th, but apparently they moved it up because of Easter or something. Regardless, if you've checked my page lately, you'll notice that I'm still a long way off. I need your help! If I haven't met the minimum of $4200, they will charge my credit card the balance. The good news is if I can meet that balance within a month after the triathlon, they will credit me back the money from my credit card.

You can donate online at my page up in the right hand corner, or just click this link. Thanks for your support. Your money is going to a good cause- saving the lives of cancer patients.

Total System Recovery!

OK, time for another update. 

Well the first thing I should go over is how cold its been for the past couple months.  True, it is winter, and you expect it to be cold.  Having lived in Northern Virginia / Metro-DC area for the past 15 years, I can't believe how cold this one has been.  Normally, we don't start having cold days until February, but it has definitely been cold since January.  I already mentioned in  a previous post that one of our team training days was in the 11 degree category.  Over all, there's probably only been two or three of these days that I've trained outside. 

However it's still been in the low 30s alot and it was great the one day it went into the low 40s.  The thing is, each time we've had these trainings and I've been riding on a road bike for anywhere from 60 - 90 minutes, and once even 2 hours in this blistering cold.  Each time, I had come back unable to feel my toes.  I thought because of the fact I was in great physical  shape, losing weight, that I was on top of the world and was impervious to getting sick.  Well, turns out I'm not.   Just like the people I now know who've had to deal with cancer.  I was pretty lucky though. I was only sick all of last week.  I was weak, had stuffy and congested sinuses, and didn't make any of my workouts from last Sunday the 22nd of February to Friday February 27th.  Getting back on the bike Saturday, I knew I was going to be sore.

We had a big snow day yesterday, and I used that excuse to forget about my workouts and say that the shovelling I did was at least something.  But the good news is, I made the team swim practice today at 5:30am!  I had to get up at 4:30am to get ready and drive into DC. I swam approx. 1600 yds. which is a mile - but that's having rest inbetween at the walls, and having something to push off of to get a little extra help. Eventually I'll be able to do the whole mile without rest, but I probably won't know how that will go until race day.  That being said, it had been two weeks since I made the morning swim practice, and I'm proud I was able to get myself there in the morning!

This week is a busy one, getting back into the habit.  I look forward to it though.

Also, I'll be joining with my friends Virginie, Angelica, and Erin to host a fundraising Happy Hour at TRYST coffee bar in DC, this Friday March 6th from 6pm-9pm.  $5 at the door will be going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and once inside there are drink specials:

$3 House Red & White Wines
$4 Select Draft Beers
$4 John Dalys--a house favorite--made with vodka, fresh brewed iced tea, and a
touch of peach schnapps
$5 Hot Vanilla Russians--made with Vanilla Kahlua, Vodka, Hot Coffee & Steamed
Milk, topped with whipped cream.

TRYST is located at 2459 18th Street NW, Washington, DC.

There will also be raffles- I know for sure an iPod Shuffle will be up for grabs!

Come on out!

Back in Action and On the Track!

OK guys I know it's been a while since I updated you on my progress.  Sorry about that, life has been pretty busy lately.  Whether it's been working out twice a day; swimming and running, or biking and lifting, or getting to the team brick workouts on Saturdays, or just working the ol' 9-5(definitely more hrs. than 40 though).  I do have good news though- I now weigh just over 178 lbs.! That's 32 lbs. lighter than my heaviest in 2008(210lbs.) and 18 lbs. lighter than when I started training in December.  I don't think I've been this fit since my freshman spring semester at VA Tech! Maybe never even this fit!

I've really been focusing on my diet- some say it's THE most important part of training for an endurance event.  So, for the past few weeks, I've been eating natural and organic produce for my lunches at work, and certainly giving a concerted effort around the house and when eating out. The great part though is that I can have a day or two here where I really just cave in to temptation. :P  My body's metabolism is working in overdrive I think and the fact that I'm actually burning probably close to 1000 or more calories on heavy workout days really helps out.

Because I have so many aerobic training workouts, I make sure that on my non-swim/run days that I get in some time at the gym to build muscle in my upper and lower body. No cannons yet, but I'm workin' on it! 

And one of my bigger accomplishments, I think, just happened this week.  I can now finally breath on my weak side when swimming!  A couple weeks ago when the concept was introduced to me, I definitely was doing it wrong.  The next couple days my neck & back were so sore I had to get an adjustment from the chiropracter.  I bet he loves it when his patients are athletes.  They probably come in a lot more often.

So on top of the weak-side breathing, I was also "graduated" from the slow lane, Lane 1, to Lane 2.  AND out of the 4 other in the lane, I ended up being the 2nd best/fastest swimmer!

We're 10 weeks into training already, but still have another 9 left before the St. A's Triathlon down in St. Petersburg! I am interested to see what other kinds of breakthroughs I will be having!

You can contribute too! Visit my TNT page http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/anttry09/shoar

Keep on truckin'!

This past Saturday we had our first "brick" ride - whatever that is.  Fortunately, this week I had an actual road bike, padded bike shorts, wind prevention bike pants, windbreaker, biking shoes & clips, and water to boot.  It was only 25 degrees out though, so I thought I'd still give the plastic bag thing a shot - this time I put them over my socks inside my bike shoes.  They actually did an alright job, 'til about the 30 minute mark in ( out of 70 minutes).  From there they started tingling, and by the time I finished the ride, I could tell that they were frost nip or something. I think the sweat from my feet got too cool because of the frigid temperature. Fortunately, once off the bike I put my feet back in some old running shoes and then we went into the Vienna Inn for some post-workout munchies. Overall the bike ride was about 25 miles, from Vienna to Reston and back.

I did find myself about to slack off at times, but I had to remember why I was doing this, and importantly, who I was doing this for.  See -  I'm not just doing a triathlon for me, myself, or I.  I'm training and raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the money that I raise gives them a chance at living a better if not bearable life.

Our Team-In-Training Honored Teammate is Cris Otepka. This guy's amazing. Not only did he have a rare nasal non-Hodgkin lymphoma and beat it, but he's taking on training and competing in the same triathlon I am, the St. Anthony's Triathlon , and is totally committed to supporting other people who've have had or currently have, and people who've had to deal with it and so on through helping the LLS, which he so thankfully benefitted from.

Here's his story:

Hello Teammates,

My name is Cris Otepka, and a little over 2 years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare nasal type of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 28 years old. It manifested itself as a small tumor in my left sinus, and symptoms were painless recurring clots and bloody noses. Even more odd are the statistics--this cancer is prevalent in middle-aged men from Southeast Asian countries, with only 20 cases a year in the US. Being a younger Caucasian male, doctors couldn't explain it, yet believe it is linked to the Epstein-Barr Virus.  

 

Everyone around me, including myself, was shocked that I was going through this at such a young age. Although an aggressive disease, in my case it was fortunately caught early, in Stage I. My ENT who first discovered it referred me to a fabulous lymphoma team right here in the area at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since I was an otherwise healthy guy, they put me through an aggressive treatment – 4 cycles of chemotherapy followed by 30 radiation treatments.  Thankfully, I tolerated everything very well. And thanks to the incredible support from my then girlfriend (and world's greatest caretaker), family, friends, and the NIH team -- the 6 months of toxins, hair loss, and weight gain really wasn't too terrible – and the positive prognosis didn't hurt the situation, either! 

 

I'm 31 now, and although I have sinus side effects that will remain with me for most of my life, I'm now cancer-free. I've got my hair back, lost the weight, and married my #1 caretaker. As I approach my 2-year remission mark, I'm ready to tackle my next goal: giving back.  I have had Team in Training in my sights for a while, and now I'm more ready than ever to join you all in this adventure. The experience was life-changing; I will never be the same person I was before the diagnosis. One of the things that really made a lasting impression on me was the dedication and support from everyone involved in the research and treatment process. I had the privilege of being treated at NIH, which enabled me to reap the benefits of countless hours of scientific research. This research saved my life, and I want to make sure it not only continues to save more lives, but hopefully one day find that clue that may wipe out blood cancers forever. 

 

I'm so excited to meet all of you, and I want to thank you for participating in this cause that holds so much meaning in my life. We haven't even met yet, but I'm already inspired by you. Whether you're doing this in honor of a specific loved one, or for all of us affected by this disease, your support is crucial. And I know this is going to take both you and me – so I hope I can reciprocate and be your inspiration as well

His story is impressive, but I'll be posting other people's stories as well, as I can with time. I will say that working out twice a day as well as the regular 50hr job doesn't leave me a whole lot of time, because by the time I get home I'm so tired that writing isn't normally first on my priority list. Anyway- if this post inspired, touched, or moved you in anyway, you can help out by making a donation on my fundraising webpage. Not only will your donation help me get to the starting line in St. Petersburg, but it will also help myself and definitely those who have any form of blood cancer get to the finish line.

It was a cold, cold day...

Today we had another team training, as we do almost every Saturday morning. Originally, we were scheduled to do a 60 minute bike ride. I spent the week looking on Craigslist looking for affordable used bikes that would fit me as well as pedals and biking shoes. I had no idea that biking was such an expensive hobby! I did find a great deal on some clip-less pedals and some used bike shoes, saving me something close to $50 from retail! Thank goodness for Craigslist:)

A generous soul offered me to borrow his Bianchi road bike and we got it all set up for riding-- and then the weather decided to put it's say in the matter. It's been steadily colder each day this week in the Metropolitan DC area- Thursday 25, Friday 19, and today it was 11 degrees out! That's colder than it's been here in a long time! In light of the sub-freezing temperatures, our Team-In-Training coaches decided to change the workout to a run. With the wind, riding bikes would have been unbearable.

We had an injury prevention clinic today before the run though. It was a good idea. Somewhere along the hour long session, I was called up to be the trainer's model. To be brief, let's just say that the few people that were there this morning got to see more of me than they were expecting to, certainly more than I had expected for sure! But everyone got a good laugh from it, and one girl I didn't even know said she felt like she knew me already. HAH! Thank goodness I've been blessed with a sense of humor.

The run went well, but I am really stiff and tight now. Good thing I learned a few new stretches today. I'm gonna need it!

Follow My Journey to the St. Anthony's Triathlon!

OK Folks, I'm going to make another attempt at blogging here. I spend a lot of time looking at blogs- now its time to write my own so that others can see what I'm up to.

So, like the title implies, I'm training for a triathlon. My first triathlon to be exact. I kind of just jumped into it to be honest, but here's a little background story for you...

It was mid- November 2008. Thanksgiving had just past. We had a get-together event with almost all of my mom's side of the family for Thanksgiving. There were about 24 of us in all, staying at my mom's house for the week. Thank goodness it's a huge house- I don't see how we could have managed it in a smaller one. A Thanksgiving tradition that my mom started with us kids about eight years ago was to run the Virginia Run 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. I'm usually able to manage alright- my best years were when I was in college, as I trained vigorously with an ROTC unit. This year, I expected to be in pain- I had not been working out for a few months, and had not been training for a running event. Sure enough, I had to walk for 5 minutes during the race. But I still finished within 34 minutes, which was surprising to me. (Then I looked up my best time and found I was 13 minutes off from it.) It felt good to have been out again, and it felt really good having done the event with people that I knew, loved, and cared about.

I realized I wanted to get back on the training circuit, but when there was no reason or goal to keep me going, I didn't have a whole lot of staying power with the regime. Then I started thinking big. I started thinking, "You know Sean, I don't know how long you're going to have the opportunity in life to do athletic things. Life is shorter than you think." It was time to start knocking things off my life's "To-Do" list.

Then I got a phone call from a friend who was up to something big. She sought my advice on how I had gone about a project and knew that there was fundraising involved, which was part of her goal as well. She then told me the idea and I was immediately enrolled in the possibility of it. She said that she was thinking of putting a team together to compete in the Nation's Triathlon in September 2009, here in our nation's capital, as a venue for her project. I thought, "Wow- I don't know how to do a triathlon, but I'm up to participating for the cause." But seeing as that's a whole 8 months from now, and at the time it was 9 1/2 months away, I wanted to do some training before hand.
She reccomended the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team-In-Training program. She had participated in it before and had a good time. So I went to an interest meeting. At this meeting there were other people like me, who had never participated or trained for marathons and triathlons. There were also some people who had.

As well, there was an Honored Teammate who not only had had lymphoma, gone through chemo and radiation, and survived, but had also participated in a LLS triathlon as well. I was moved, impressed, and inspired. I remember hearing a quote from Lance Armstrong about enduring the pains and trials of training for an endurance event didn't even compare to what it's like to go through chemo and fight cancer. But to me, its a way to fight for all the people who had it "sprung" up on them. I couldn't leave that night without registering. The fundraising goal was daunting, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't give it a fighting chance. I have all the availability in the world to live my life, when others don't. I wanted to give back and give that availability to others by helping the cause.

So, that's my story of how I chose to participate in a triathlon training program. I'll continue with updates during my journey.

Check out my fundraising page for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team-In-Traing Program-- I'll be competing in the St. Anthony's Olympic Triathlon on April 26, 2009 in St. Petersburg, FL!!
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/anttry09/shoar