April showers bring May flowers

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Hello Friends,

The month of April seemed to have gone by fast.  It may seem like we are in the early stages of our LLS mission. There's still a long way to go and many goals to reach...and it's already May!

I wanted to take a moments to reflect:

The month of April started my triathlon season with completing the Half IRONMAN Galveston on April 8th. This race distance consists of: 1.2mile swim; 56mile bike; 13.1mile run.  All to be completed in 8hrs:30min.


The weather that entire weekend was anything but sunny and nice.  Quite the opposite actually - rainy, windy and cold.  This made for a challenging and long race day; both, mentally and physically.

Morning temps were in the 40's and my feet were so cold and numb waiting for my swim wave to start; it was a relief to finally jump into the water (which was actually warmer).

The bike was challenging because to start, I'm already cold from the swim, but I also decided at the last minute to not wear my jacket because the weather was predicted to get a little warmer mid-day,  so I figured, I would be fine with wearing my arm sleeves.  Aside from the sea wall wind that everyone encounters on this course, the weather got even colder as the morning continued.  It was cloudy, dark and drizzly, and by this time, my hands, fingers and toes were so cold and numb.  The time on the bike felt the longest.

Finally, happy to be off of the bike, I felt the run would go a little smoother - at least, allow my body to warm up.  Thankful that the drizzle had finally stopped, the first few miles on the run course were tough. I still couldn't feel my toes and my left hamstring muscles were cramping up.  Not an ideal way start to a 13.1 mile run, but I had to keep pushing forward...all the way to the finish line.

Every race is different and they each have a story.  For this race, Mother Nature definitely gave us a day that tested our mental strength; an opportunity to overcome adversity, and to have something to tell others about.

I'm happy to share this experience with you, but more importantly, there are blood cancer patients out there who are going through way more adversity and struggle; or, have experienced far more pain than a few cold fingers and toes.

The mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

I want to personally invite you to join me in this mission and be a part of something great.  Please click on the link below to learn more and donate.

Let's be incredible and have something to tell others about! 😊

Team In Training Page


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