Why I Tri

I will never know why I got cancer. I was the first of my friends to receive this awful diagnosis. Sadly, I will not be the last. My fortieth year was going to be my best year ever! I was slowly losing those stubborn last 10 pounds. My husband of 16 years and I celebrated my birthday in style, in the Bahamas. That summer, instead of feeling great I kept feeling tired and lousy. I was diagnosed at the end of August and immediately had surgery and 33 days of radiation. I stayed active throughout that time, doing yoga, acupuncture, walking and even a little swimming to keep myself positive. My purpose every day was to keep my body focused on fighting the cancer.
It took six months for me to relax into my new post-cancer life. Nearly one year later I ran my first mile, very slowly. I am lucky enough to have many strong friends around me and a running partner that continues to run longer and stronger with me each week. We started with walking and then running a single mile and advanced to a 10k and now have a half marathon on our calendars.

I have grown stronger in ways that I never imagined. I have become a woman that can enjoy life and take time to celebrate my family and friends and all my blessings. I have become the mom that brings running shoes in the car every day because I never know when my over scheduled life is going to give me an hour to get outside and stretch and run and breathe.

I have also become a gym rat, with my own locker for my swim suit and flip flops. My first step toward riding a bike began with a spin class in the middle of the NE winter. This year for my birthday I’ll be getting a bike.

My body is strong and muscled and that strength has carried through to happiness in all my parts of my life.
So, why do I tri? Actually, I haven’t tried yet, but I know that I will be there on that day in July. I will be ready to celebrate my life and my strength alongside all the other tri-ers. I know that I will continue to look for more races to run and laps to swim and miles to pedal.