My decision to participate in a triathlon happened almost accidentally, well not completely. It was a series of events that pieced themselves together and made complete sense to me. So when people ask me why a triathlon, the truth is I don’t have a definite answer, its usually a 30 minute story and somehow it ends up sounding fluffed up or cliche even, which is not the case.
I had just returned my car rental and had an hour or more to kill at the Houston International Airport, it was January 4th, I had just spent the last 2 weeks surrounded by my loved ones and for the first time in 2 weeks I was left with my thoughts. Flying back to Boston was bitter sweet I was ready to start 2010 right but truth is I didn’t even know what that meant. It had been a really rough 2009 and at the end of it I felt drained and unaccomplished, all I could say about the year was that I made it through but my spirit was broken. As I sat waiting on my flight I thought back on the year and almost subconsciously my laptop was open and i was typing away at a “2010 goals”. I felt that I needed to have some form of reference to come back to at the end of the year in order for 2010 to work for me. I had the usual, stay healthy, workout, be positive, smile more, save money,and a few other personal goals and as I was finishing my flight got called so I quickly wrote “do something different” shut my computer and boarded my flight.
I was home in Boston, everything became routine and it wasn’t till 3 or 4 days later that i thought about my “list”. I popped open my laptop and reread the items and then I saw my last entry – do something different- my initial reaction was to delete it, I mean how and what could I possibly do different plus I had these other 15 items to get through in 12 months but instead I edited it to read – Do something different/make a difference- I still wasn’t sure how but I put the idea in my back pocket and carried on.
Over the next week or so, Team in Training and Leukemia, 2 things I had never really heard of or been associated with kept popping up in my life. So when a volunteer group I’m a part of had an info session on being a part of Team in Training I decided to check it out. I had no intentions of signing up talk-less of doing a triathlon but after speaking to a few people and listening to peoples experiences with Team in Training, I walked out of there registered for an Olympian Triathlon! I’m not sure how it happened it just did and it felt perfect. A key factor on what race I picked was actually my sisters, sitting there in the session, I looked over the different races and right before picking one I sent a quick text to them and asked ‘half marathon or triathlon?.quick.’ they all responded half marathon. What can i say, I love a challenge.
What touched me the most were the people who had not been directly affected with Leukemia or Lymphoma or any blood cancers at that and they had been participating in Team in Training for a couple years and were completely passionate about it. They inspired me, it was almost like they made it okay and I had absolutely no excuse, its a bigger reward to do something for someone who cannot thank you personally.
The next day, I finally decided to sort through my mail that had been piling up since vacation and sitting in the pile was a pamphlet from the Leukemia & lymphoma society, the exact title read “MAKE A DIFFERENCE” I have no idea how long it had been on our dining table or how they got my address but its almost like the universe had been trying to tell me something and for once I had gotten the message. From the airport, to the list, to the meeting and to picking an event, everything had come full circle and I couldn’t be happier.
So here’s to 107 days of believing in myself, making a difference, doing something different, getting in shape, staying healthy, crossing a few items off my list but most importantly to the cause and people all around the world struggling with blood cancers and crossing that finish line to find a cure!
Peace and love:)
