I went to the Team in Training kickoff celebration this morning (Kyle watched the kids, and I have to admit that it felt great getting out of the house for the first time all week). I met some really great people and the honorees blew me away. Many of them (they are all either cancer survivors or currently battling it) are actually participating in one of the events (marathon, triathalon, or century ride), which is remarkable. It certainly provided an additional kick in the pants to get into the groove with training. My knees are feeling a lot better, and I intend to take it slow and easy in order to keep them that way.

A woman at my table lost her mother to leukemia in August and her pain was so raw. I hope that this program can help her to heal. Hearing the stories today, seeing those that cancer affects, being a part of the energy to make a difference, it all touched me in a very profound way. I know how lucky my mother-in-law is to be one of the survivors, how grateful I am that when we went around the table and told who we knew with the illness I was able to say that she is doing well when so many of the others spoke of their grief and loss. It also reaffirmed Cindy’s strength of spirit and courage to go through with a treatment that only 1 in 3 people survive. That treatment, the bone marrow transplant, was her only chance at life, and it worked. The money that Team in Training raises goes toward patient services (such as support groups, programs, financial aid, etc.), but it also goes toward research. It is research that saved Cindy. It is research that has saved countless others, and it is research that will find the cure for this and all forms of cancer that plague so many lives.