The Art of Quitting

quit¹ [kwit]

1. to stop, cease, or discontinue

2. to depart from; leave (a place or person)

3. to give up or resign; let go; relinquish

As I drove to swim practice this past Wednesday, I thought long and hard about quitting.  After all it had been five weeks of dreading team practice, 5am training swims and depression about this whole process.  I made it to practice despite these feelings and at some point in the pool I thought People can’t quit cancer, so I can’t quit raising money for cancer research.   I began thinking about some of the people I have known who have been affected by cancer:

·         Andy - 10 year old son of longtime Team in Training (TNT) participants who relapsed in February 2014	Ten year old Andy and his mom
·         Coach John - my TNT coach who was diagnosed after several rounds of treatment is in remission
·         And the one that impacted me the most, my grandmother who lost her fight with breast cancer in 2012.

So I can’t quit.  And once again I’m asking for your support. 

On Labor Day I will once again join Team In Training to complete my first triathlon (1500 meter swim, followed by a 25 mile bike ride and a 6.2 mile run) and raise money for blood cancer.  Over the last four years, you have helped me complete two century bike rides (100 miles) and one half-marathon (13.1 miles) to raise $10,705.39 for cancer research. 

Could you make a donation to support research and support services for blood cancer?

Thank you for your consideration.