Challenges

When I talk about Team In Training, I always use the word challenge.  You're not just signing up for an event, you're taking on a challenge to complete an endurance event and to help find a cure for cancer.  That word can intimidate some people.  There are people who would rather stay in their routine and go about their daily lives and are perfectly content with that.  And that's perfectly fine.

 I, however, am not one of those people.

I like challenges even when I fall short of them.  Sometimes I take on too many and am overwhelmed.  In the wake of losing my friend Gabby, I was convinced that every goal in my life had to fit into a one year time frame.  There was so much on this earth that she wanted to accomplish and she talked often of reaching her goals even as treatment after treatment failed.  I was inspired but obviously I did not make it to Everest Base Camp or finish my novel within those 12 months of losing her.  From that, I learned to focus and prioritize and I learned to be grateful for every minute that I had in this life to work towards completing my goals. 

So now I'm focused on completing my century ride challenge for Team In Training.  I am inspired by our newest Honored Patient Hero, Danielle Burgess who in 2009 was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia called Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia.  She started treatment the day after she was diagnosed and shed some tears for losing her beautiful, waist-long hair.  Then she decided to take on the challenge of beating this cancer with determination and a positive attitude.  She is responding well to treatment and I can't wait to learn more about this amazing woman. 

For my day to day challenges, right now, it consists of getting a run in this afternoon even though my carbs of choice last night consisted of nachos and Dos Equis (mmmmm).  And having just found out that my friend is not able to loan me a bike as promised, there's the challenge of finding wheels rather quickly.  I'm a little stressed but I know these are small challenges compared to what the 800,000 + blood cancer patients in this country are facing so I'll deal. 

If you're looking for a challenge, there's still time to join the Team- visit http://www.teamintraining.org/ for info!  Or if you'd like to help me complete my goal, visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/ambbr10/ski. 

Thanks for reading!