As many of you are well aware, I spent the past four months preparing for the Nation’s Triathlon & raising money to fight blood cancers with Team In Training and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It’s been a week and a half since race day (September 11) and I find myself occasionally wondering “Okay, now what?” For four months I was training six days a week and constantly thinking of creative ways to raise money and the routine became part of my life. Now, race day has come and gone and for those who celebrate Christmas – it’s a bit like the let down many of us feel on December 26.

With that said I’ve had some time to reflect on the past several months & thought I’d share those reflections with you here.

• • • • I have some very generous family & friends

Not only did they help me reach my initial fundraising goal a month before the race, they helped me exceed my new goal over the final month leading up to race day. Not only were family & friends generous with their wallets, they provided tremendous support & encouragement in asking how my training was going, sharing personal stories & spreading the word to their family and friends.

I would also be remiss in not acknowledging my wife Amy & my two girls, Sadie & Sophie, for their patience & support. I couldn’t have done it without them & ironically – they often had to do without me while I was in the pool swimming laps or on the road logging training miles.

• • • • Team In Training is a Fantastic Organization

For years I would receive the postcard in the mail about upcoming Team In Training events & for years, I would say “next year”. This year I finally did it! Clearly the cause is worthy & it provided an outlet to pursue two of my passions – helping others & conquering new challenges. Since 1988 – Team In Training has raised over $1 Billion (with a B!) to fund lifesaving research. They have also trained nearly a half a million runners, cyclists, triathlons, walkers and hikers to achieve a physical milestone many of them thought may not be possible. Quite incredible when you stop and think about it.

Whatever, your perception is of a runner, triathlete or cyclist – forget it! Team In Training will provide YOU with all the tools and training you need to get you from the couch to the finish line in a matter of months & raise money to fight blood cancers. If you have any interest in participating in a future event, I’d love to share more of my story with you – please feel free to reach out and just ask me.

• • • • It’s Not All About Me

I think we’re all vulnerable to these moments in our lives. I constantly find myself reminding my seven & ten year old daughters that it’s not all about them & during race week I got a reminder that “It’s not all about me either.” If you recall we had 6 days of heavy rains the week of the race. That amount of rain can wreak havoc on a river & on Thursday prior to the race officials decided to cancel the swim. Absolutely, the right call for safety reasons. In fact, on Sunday morning the weather was fine, but if you looked at the Potomac you may have thought there was a logging operation upstream & what your eyes couldn’t see, your nose could smell.

While it was the right call, I was incredibly disappointed when I got the “Course Change” e-mail. If there was one discipline I worked really hard at over the past few months – it was the swim. Now I wasn’t going to get to see if I could do a 1500 meter swim in the Potomac & technically it was no longer a triathlon. I had a brief moment where I felt like the past four months were for nothing and I failed. I’ll admit I was a bit angry too – I felt like the opportunity to succeed was just taken away.

Then it hit me – I was being selfish. I should be grateful that I was physically able to participate at all, I should take pride in the funds raised to help fight blood cancers, I should focus on those who supported me all season & I should remember those honored patients battling for their lives. So I won’t get to swim – big deal. Show up, represent Team In Training and do your best – which is what I did.

• • • • Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

If you’re reading this on my Team In Training site this point is self explanatory. If you’re reading this on my Advantage Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation, LLC blog – you’ll have to click here – to visit my Team In Training site. You helped me reach my fundraising goal & I embarrassed the ever living crap out of myself (not to mention ended my political career before it ever started). Perhaps next time as a friend suggested, I could threaten to repeat this feat unless I reach my fundraising goal. Yes - I will reopen those mental scars of having to view such a horrifying image.

• • • • Cancer Still Sucks!

I’m not sure if any of us can honestly say that cancer has not touched us somehow in our lives. While my “season” with Team In Training has come to end – the battle against cancer continues. Thanks to the generous folks like you, much progress has been made but there is still a lot of work to do. For those who still want to contribute, it’s not too late. You can still visit my page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/nattri11/jaramt and make a donation.

In closing, the past several months have been an amazing life changing experience. Not only were we able to help fight blood cancers, I learned a lot about myself and what the human mind and body is able to accomplish. Thanks again for contributing and following along. You can bet that I’ll be hitting you up when I sign up for my next Team In Training event!

Here I am less than 1 week until I jump into the Potomac River & commence the final stage of what has consumed a lot of my time & energy over the past four months. Having been fairly disciplined about sticking to the training schedule provided by the wonderful coaches with Team In Training, I feel ready. Of course there was that recent week while we were on our family cruise where my Tri "sports" consisted of Eat, Tan, Sleep, but we'll chalk that week up to a recovery. I've got my race number (1172 - if you're keeping score at home) & my room booked downtown Saturday night. Now all I have to do is swim, bike & run.

While I feel ready - that does not mean my stomach isn't full of butterflies. Yes, I this isn't something I do everyday & the thought of competing with five to six thousand other athletes this Sunday is a bit daunting. I'm watching the weather & hoping it holds out for Sunday, I have this irrational fear that I'm going to injury myself & not be able to compete or maybe I'll just oversleep & miss my start time. Despite all these concerns, part of me already feels like a winner. I helped raise nearly $3,000 to help fight blood cancers- thanks to my VERY generous family & friends & I stuck to the training program to compete Sunday & feel like I'm in the best shape of my life.

Thanks for all your support over the past several months & if some recovering fat guy like myself can do it - my only question to you is "Who's going to sign up with me next year?"

It’s been a few weeks since my last update & all I can say is that everyone has been wonderful. The outpouring of support & encouragement has kept me going through what seems like an unseasonably HOT Summer. Perhaps it’s just a typical summer in Metro DC – but in years past, I’ve spent most of that in the comfort of A/C whereas this year, I’m spending a lot of time in the heat & humidity.

Last week I had the pleasure of being the guest speaker at the Gainesville-Haymarket Rotary Club. I’m currently serving as Vice President so that had to let me speak right? Anyhow, it was a wonderful opportunity to share my story & the reason I’m participating with Team In Training.

Additionally, you may have noticed I’ve raised my fundraising goal to $3500. When I started on this journey I had no idea what to expect, thanks to my very generous friends & family I’ve exceeded my original goal with over a month to go until the Nations’ Tri. Not one to sit back idly I figured I would “Raise the Bar”. To make it fun, I’ve been asking around about something a bit crazy that I might do if I reach this fundraising goal. Ideas include: Shaving my head & writing a message in it, dying my hair purple (TNT’s Color), wearing my wetsuit around for a day (I’m thinking that may drive folks to ask for their money back) & getting a Mohawk. I’m still accepting ideas…perhaps a combination of several of the above would work.

I’ve also partnered with UNOs Chicago Grill in Gainesville to do a Dough Raiser. If you’re the type that likes to dine out – think of UNOs in Gainesville anytime from August 12 – August 21, print the coupon & bring it with you & UNOs will donate up to 20% of your bill towards Team In Training. If you have trouble printing the coupon - send me an email (jim.aram@APTRonline.com) & I'll send you a printable copy.

Finally, for those who participated in my latest Facebook contest the answer is Millbrook Quarry. Amelia had the right idea & just neglected to include the correct name. Unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades…I kid, I kid. Congrats Amelia – your prize is on the way.

We’re in the middle of quite the heat wave here in Metro DC – the past several days we’ve had actual temperatures in the triple digits with “feels like” temperature approaching 120 degrees. Not good training weather to say the least. But the good folks at the Nation’s Triathlon haven’t postponed the race – so you do your best to work in you runs & bikes before the worst heat of the day.

This morning I got up at 5 am to head out to the WO&D trail (we picked it up in Leesburg) for a 10 mile run. On a normal day, running is fairly simple. You put on your shoes and watch & head out. In this kind of weather, you really have to prepare to ensure your properly hydrated & don’t become a victim of heat exhaustion. I had to pack a lot of fluids, I popped a few Endurolytes pills & packed a cooler full of ice, water and towels to cool down after. I hit the trailhead at 6:40 am & finished around 8:20am. Fortunately, a good portion of the run was in the shade because our LOW temperature last night was 85 degrees. It was so hot, that I saw several squirrels walking across the path as opposed their usual running.

Got it done & then had breakfast and headed to the pool & got in a 2300 yd workout. Now I’m going to shower and pack & drive 5 hrs to Pittsburgh for a Wedding on Sunday. All in a day’s work I guess.

This past Sunday I participated in the Bristow Tri & Swim (BRATS) Summer Sizzling Triathlon at Vint Hill (an old Army Base for those who are not local. It was a Sprint Distance Tri with a 300 meter snake swim in a pool, a 12 mile bike followed by a 5K run. Ken & Kim Barker the founders of BRATS are responsible for getting me off my a$# & actually entering a Tri - that was 3 years ago & I was so impressed with the mission and execution that we've corporately supported them via sponsorships every since.

In addition to the Adult Tri they put on Youth Tri's to expose the younger generation to the sport at an early age. In addition to the Adult Triathlon - 208 Youths (7 - 14 years old) participated this past Sunday. The youth transition area was filled with princess bikes, BMXs, etc & it was quite the sight. I did my first Tri on my 15 year old mountain bike from college - so who am I to judge. The fact is that they were out there giving the sport a try.

I finished the race in 1:20:02 (not that anyone is counting) - but that beat my previous best by 3 minutes. Truth be told the weather was ideal so I'm sure that was a factor in a better time, but hey I like to think that all my training is starting to pay off.