Today I sit in Singapore for work, not knowing what is going on back home and then I read an email. An email that made me stop and realize how blessed I am to not only be healthy and doing things, but to have others in my life that matter to me. I woke up, I ran on the ‘dreadmill’ for an hour and I ENJOYED it. I enjoyed it because first off my injury is better and I am healthy again & can.. YEAH… Today I had motivation, clarity and inspiration that made me want to run longer and harder.

Most of you that know me, know that I am personally competitive with myself and tend to give myself crazy goals each year. But you also know that for the past 8 years I have been a part of Team in Training (TNT), originally because I joined with friends, but continued for personal reasons very close to my heart. With TNT I have been doing endurance events while fundraising to find a cure for all blood cancers. In the present also using those funds to make a better life for those living with one. Well this season, as you may have read in my last post, I met Doug. Doug is our team hero. Doug joined our team during his remission after being diagnosed about 11 months ago and was getting ready to do his 1st triathlon with us on April 1st. I have been motivated, inspired and blessed by meeting and getting to know & train with Doug over the past 2 months. Watching him do the workouts and build his strength has been amazing. Today I found out he may not be able to join us on race day as his cancer has returned and he has to go back to treatment. It saddened me to be out of town when he told the team as I wanted to give him a hug, but he knows we are all here for him and he is a fighter. I will Run, Bike, Swim and get to the finish line FOR Doug. Our entire team is behind him and we will see him pull through. So this is just a reminder that health, family and friends are a TRUE blessing and we should be thankful everyday for what we have & stop worrying about the little things.

Our first Saturday training as a new team! Although I could only walk with the team due to injury, it was still a great morning. It always amazes me to see so many people give up their Saturdays to train for a triathlon while raising money to help those with blood cancers. This is the beginning of my 7th year training & fundraising with Team in Training and I will never get tired of it. I was also blessed to walk with Doug today, a husband, father and also our honored hero for the season. Doug, who is in remission now, was just diagnosed last year with Leukemia two days before his 52nd birthday. He helped put back into perspective WHY I do this year after year, it is not about training for an event, it is about helping to save lives & I am blessed to be able to do so!!!

Welcome to my Team In Training personal page.

Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team.

Well 2012 is going to a big one!!!! As most of you know, I have been involved with the Team in Training organization to help those with blood cancers since 2004! However, 2012 is going to be the BIGGEST YEAR OF ALL - I am going to test my mental & physical ability while remembering how blessed I am to have my health!! I wanted to share my plan with you & let you know where you can help me out & help me save lives!

I am will be doing my biggest event to date in August of 2012, but before I get there, I need to train train train. One way I have decided to do this, is with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training again. I am raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I will be completing this event in honor of several friends & their family members who are battling blood cancers & in memory of those I have lost. These people are the real heroes on our team, and I really could use your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

So, here is the big year planned, which is still hard to type at this time, HOWEVER, I am determined to see this happen and also on a mission to continue to raise $ to save lives to hopefully see a CURE very soon. As long as I am healthy, I feel I am blessed to do events & raise $ that in turn could save anothers life!!

2012 Races I am striving to accomplish:

April 2012 - Lavaman Triathlon (This will be with my TNT family)

May 2012 - Colorado 1/2 Marathon

June 2012 - Ironman 70.3 Boise

August 2012 - THE BIG DAY - IronMan Canada........yes for those of you that don't know this is crazy for me to even type - thinking I will be doing a race that may take me longer than 2 full nights of sleep!! I would also like to note that there are several TNT alumni's taking on this challenge with me!!! (Ask me about my blog if you want to track this training)

So here is where you come in. I will do all the personal torture on my body, and you can just keep up with my updates and hang out, BUT I would be extremely appreciative if you could help out by making a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. Your donations will help to get me to the start line of Lavaman this year, then I will work hard and make everyone proud by getting to the finish line.

Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!