One month ago I was in Parker, Arizona having dinner with my Team In Training teammates on the eve of the Bluewater Triathlon. It was the first triathlon for many of us in the room and I for one could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I picked at the pasta and salad on the plate in front of me. Up until that point, for me, the triathlon was dedicated to my aunt Leslie Whitfield, who lost a 19-year battle to breast cancer in February of 2011.

But during our aptly named, “Inspiration Dinner,” one of my teammates stood in front of the room and shared her reasons for joining Team In Training: her husband, and father of their young son, tragically died from cancer a couple years ago. And as you would expect, it was devastating, leaving her feeling helpless. She joined Team In Training to fight back and move forward. It was something tangible that she could start, focus on and finish.

Surprisingly, this was the first I’d heard of her amazing story. And it blew me away. I had been swimming, running and biking with this woman three days a week, for four months straight, and had no idea she was dealing with that kind of a loss or had such a moving connection to the cause.

The next day, at the end of the race, her son ran with her down the final stretch. They crossed the finish line together as we all cheered them on.

I was already proud of what I was doing in my aunt Leslie’s name, but this added another level of significance to the funds I’d raised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and all the time and effort I’d spent training for the event.

When we said goodbye after our race, I hugged her and her mother-in-law, who is battling a blood cancer of her own. As I left her mother-in-law told me, “Thank you for helping me.”

I forget what I said exactly in response, but I hope it was something like, “It’s my pleasure and I’m nowhere close to being done.”

On the drive home, I thought about how “Tri for Les” started off as a way for me to celebrate Leslie Whitfield, but in that process I discovered that it was really about so much more. It was about inspiration, about cancer-fighters everywhere, about personal accomplishment and well-being. And in the end, it was about one of my teammates and her touching story of survival, positive energy and fearlessness.

So in the spirit of new challenges and inspiration, keeping Leslie’s fight alive and never letting up, I’ve decided to keep swimming, riding and running toward a cure and have signed up for another Team In Training triathlon: Lavaman, in Hawaii on April 1, 2012.

As exciting and inspirational as this all sounds, I have a very big mountain to climb in order to reach my goal and would appreciate any support you can offer: be it a monetary donation, an encouraging comment, a Like on Facebook or just helping to spread the word.

Thank you in advance for your support and stay tuned for updates as our journey continues.