When I started doing triathlons I had two guidelines in mind. The first was to glorify God by showing love for Him and for other people. The second was to push my body to the best of its ability.

But as I started to participate in more races I felt like I was losing my purpose. What good is racing just to get better at racing? I felt like I was just doing it for myself. Supporting and encouraging others who were racing was great, but there had to be something I was missing.

That's when I found out about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training, and now I'm training for my first Ironman distance event as a member of the the Greater Los Angeles Chapter. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am doing this race for them, not me! These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

While I don't have a direct connection to those suffering from blood cancers, cancer is a serious topic that's very prevalent in our society. My uncle died of lung cancer that quickly overtook his brain when I was a teenager. He was a large influence on me and my decision to become a graphic designer. A few of my friends have lost their mothers to breast cancer, or know those who have been fighting it.

UPDATE: Since starting this journey I have found out that many of my friends and family have close relations with those who have or had some form of blood cancer. This has been very inspiring especially on those hard training days where every part of my body hurts.

So how do YOU help in the fight against cancer? By making a donation to support my participation in Team In Training, you help advance LLS's mission to find a cure as well as provide care for patients who are currently battling the disease. And by helping LLS, you are also making medical advances towards fighting other forms of cancer as well. Every cent counts and no donation is too small!

Also spread awareness by linking to this website and reading my blog:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineFIrn11/cmcdougall

http://triathlon.oksoda.com/

I will be updating often with training progess, stories, and new things that I've learned. Thanks for your support and God bless!

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." - 1 John 3:16-18