TONY'S FUNDRAISING RACE: IRONMAN CANADA 2010 (Penticton, British Columbia) Hello Everyone! This will be my second year participating with Team In Training (a.k.a. TNT) and my first with the TNT Ironteam. This August, Donella and I will be doing our first Ironman distance event at Ironman Canada. During this second year I am also fortunate to be one of the training captains for the TNT Lavaman winter season. With last year's Team In Training Lavaman Team, I had blast! I felt that going into this, I wanted to have a purpose of why was I doing this race? Was it to complete a triathlon? Was it to go to Hawaii? Sure, I wanted to do those things. But, most importantly, I was participating in TNT to donate to a cause that I is very dear to me. If you have not heard my story...well, here it goes. In 1997 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through bouts of remission and relapse, and finally in 2004 her battle was done. With this experience in my life, I was able to see my mother, fight, persevere, and eventually was called to join her Heavenly Father. Among many other qualities, my mother's quality of perseverance is what has stuck with me. In a distance event such as a triathlon, it takes not only a great deal of training, but perseverance as well. During my 5 months with Team In Training, I was able to share such fun memories with Donella and with the team. After a hard workout, we would frequently join them with "Hang with the Gang" events, to get to know each other outside of training. We would eventually form a bond and have friendships that I hope will last a lifetime. We also got to hear how many of our other team members were connected to the CAUSE of raising money for Leukemia and Lymphoma research. Some people didn't have a direct cause and just wanted to raise money for cancer research. Some people, joined to get training for a triathlon, or to get in shape. But, there were definitely a lot of people on the team who were directly connected somehow to the CAUSE, whether they themselves had some form of leukemia or lymphoma, or had a love one affected by it. I found it very inspiring to hear their stories, especially our honorees who have battled cancer and were now doing triathlons. Isn't that amazing? I thought it was! I really give them a whole lot of credit and I commend them. This year, as well as last year, I dedicate this race in loving memory of my mother, Teresita Dimaano...the strongest woman that I knew. I really miss her and wish she were there at the finish line to see me cross. But I know that she is there in spirit. I also dedicate this race to all our loved ones who have battled or are currently battling cancer. I pray for you and will be thinking of you as I go through my journey as a participant, a team captain, and a representative of TNT. Please, check out our donation page and follow me on Twitter. I am grateful to share these experiences with you. Tony