I do this in memory of my husband's cousin, Thirza Juby, who passed away from lymphoma. She was in my thoughts as I nervously signed up for my first triathlon.

Three years ago, I joined Team in Training (TNT) to train for my first marathon. Since then, I have completed a total of 4 full marathons and 5 half marathons. The first was as a TNT participant at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco in October 2010. The second as a mentor for TNT at the Rome Marathon in March 2011. Then the Victoria Marathon in October 2011 and the BMO Vancouver Marathon in May 2012. Last year, I came back to TNT as the Assistant Run Coach for the Vancouver team and helped train runners for the Nike Women's Marathon and Montreal Rock 'n Roll Marathon.

This is my fourth season with Team in Training and I've decided to take on a new challenge: completing the Lavaman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii on March 30, 2014. This something completely new to me. I'm completely comfortable with the run portion, but I've never bike raced nor swum in open water.

However, my fears are nothing compared to what cancer patients go through.

Please consider making a donation to help find a cure for blood cancers so that no other families have to go through what Thirza's family did.

Thanks for your support!