September 21, 2011
As many of you are well aware, I spent the past four months preparing for the Nation’s Triathlon & raising money to fight blood cancers with Team In Training and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It’s been a week and a half since race day (September 11) and I find myself occasionally wondering “Okay, now what?” For four months I was training six days a week and constantly thinking of creative ways to raise money and the routine became part of my life. Now, race day has come and gone and for those who celebrate Christmas – it’s a bit like the let down many of us feel on December 26.
With that said I’ve had some time to reflect on the past several months & thought I’d share those reflections with you here.
Not only did they help me reach my initial fundraising goal a month before the race, they helped me exceed my new goal over the final month leading up to race day. Not only were family & friends generous with their wallets, they provided tremendous support & encouragement in asking how my training was going, sharing personal stories & spreading the word to their family and friends.
I would also be remiss in not acknowledging my wife Amy & my two girls, Sadie & Sophie, for their patience & support. I couldn’t have done it without them & ironically – they often had to do without me while I was in the pool swimming laps or on the road logging training miles.
For years I would receive the postcard in the mail about upcoming Team In Training events & for years, I would say “next year”. This year I finally did it! Clearly the cause is worthy & it provided an outlet to pursue two of my passions – helping others & conquering new challenges. Since 1988 – Team In Training has raised over $1 Billion (with a B!) to fund lifesaving research. They have also trained nearly a half a million runners, cyclists, triathlons, walkers and hikers to achieve a physical milestone many of them thought may not be possible. Quite incredible when you stop and think about it.
Whatever, your perception is of a runner, triathlete or cyclist – forget it! Team In Training will provide YOU with all the tools and training you need to get you from the couch to the finish line in a matter of months & raise money to fight blood cancers. If you have any interest in participating in a future event, I’d love to share more of my story with you – please feel free to reach out and just ask me.
I think we’re all vulnerable to these moments in our lives. I constantly find myself reminding my seven & ten year old daughters that it’s not all about them & during race week I got a reminder that “It’s not all about me either.” If you recall we had 6 days of heavy rains the week of the race. That amount of rain can wreak havoc on a river & on Thursday prior to the race officials decided to cancel the swim. Absolutely, the right call for safety reasons. In fact, on Sunday morning the weather was fine, but if you looked at thePotomacyou may have thought there was a logging operation upstream & what your eyes couldn’t see, your nose could smell.
While it was the right call, I was incredibly disappointed when I got the “Course Change” e-mail. If there was one discipline I worked really hard at over the past few months – it was the swim. Now I wasn’t going to get to see if I could do a 1500 meter swim in thePotomac& technically it was no longer a triathlon. I had a brief moment where I felt like the past four months were for nothing and I failed. I’ll admit I was a bit angry too – I felt like the opportunity to succeed was just taken away.
Then it hit me – I was being selfish. I should be grateful that I was physically able to participate at all, I should take pride in the funds raised to help fight blood cancers, I should focus on those who supported me all season & I should remember those honored patients battling for their lives. So I won’t get to swim – big deal. Show up, represent Team In Training and do your best – which is what I did.
If you’re reading this on my Team In Training site this point is self explanatory. If you’re reading this on my Advantage Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation, LLC blog – you’ll have to click here – to visit my Team In Training site. You helped me reach my fundraising goal & I embarrassed the ever living crap out of myself (not to mention ended my political career before it ever started). Perhaps next time as a friend suggested, I should threaten to repeat this feat unless I reach my fundraising goal. Yes – I will reopen those mental scars of having to view such a horrifying image.
I’m not sure if any of us can honestly say that cancer has not touched us somehow in our lives. While my “season” with Team In Training has come to end – the battle against cancer continues. Thanks to the generous folks like you, much progress has been made but there is still a lot of work to do. For those who still want to contribute, it’s not too late. You can still visit my page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/nattri11/jaramt and make a donation.
In closing, the past several months have been an amazing life changing experience. Not only were we able to help fight blood cancers, I learned a lot about myself and what the human mind and body is able to accomplish. Thanks again for contributing and following along. You can bet that I’ll be hitting you up when I sign up for my next Team In Training event!
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Gainesville, VA 20155
Phone: (703) 753-1005
Fax: (703) 753-2207
congrats on doing this, training and running!