Meet Mallory Underwood, a Colorado resident and native Michigander who I met during my college days at Central Michigan University. I’ve been receiving updates from Mallory during the past six months while she was training for a triathlon and raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), which is where she worked in Indiana prior to moving to Colorado. Her story is inspiring and motivational and deserves to be shared with the world. Continue reading to learn more about Mallory and what pushed her to train for a triathlon.
What and/or who inspired you to sign up for the Elkhart Lake Triathlon?
My older brother, Matt, is an ALL leukemia survivor and in early December 2009, he celebrated being 15 years cancer free! This is the exact month I signed up for this event. But, his journey to that anniversary was long, and, through working for LLS, I understand more and more what our family went through — what Matt went through. From the diagnosis when he was nine years old, to the chemotherapy, the hair loss, his remission, his relapse and then ultimately his bone marrow transplant followed by 11 weeks in the hospital and problem after problem, he has carried on with a smile and a playful personality. I was inspired by his struggle to do this event for him, for the struggles our family went through and for the hope that one day we will find a cure for these diseases!
After signing up, I decided I wanted to also honor two others, six-year-olds Luke and Lauryn, who are also ALL survivors. I’ve gotten to know both of these little kids and their families and feel like they are part of my extended family. Their spirit, laughter and maturity both make me smile and bring tears to my eyes. I wanted to represent them as I trained and participated in this event because in summer 2010, they will both finish their long-term maintenance treatment. I call the three of them my TNT trio, and they are who inspired me to sign up for the event.
Were there times during your six month training when you felt like giving up?
There were times during the training where I would ask myself and my teammates if we were crazy for signing up to do this event. We made a serious time commitment by signing up for this event – we gave up late Friday nights because of early Saturday morning training sessions and numerous hours during the week before or after work just for training. Our first training was in four inches of snow, and for the first several months we were running and biking in the bitter cold. We pushed ourselves through workouts that were long and hard. I also had a decent bike accident during a training ride in April which made me wary on the bike and forced me to take a week off. However, every time I asked myself a question along the lines of, “Why am I doing this?” it would make me think of my trio and I knew why I was doing it. I also knew if they could endure years of treatment, I could endure the rest of my workout. They, along with my more than 40 teammates who were there with me training, were my constant motivators.
What did you do during the training to keep yourself motivated and on pace to compete in the triathlon?
I kept a training journal that helped me stay on track. I could look back and see how much I had already put into this so that I wouldn’t allow myself to offer anything less than my best effort. With that being said though, I listened to my body and took time to rest! You can’t build on your workouts if you don’t allow your body and mind to rest sometimes, too.
I also tried to take advantage of my team. I would plan as many workouts with other people as I could so we could hold each other accountable to get moving and to complete the workout. It is amazing what a connection you can make with someone when you make it through something physically and mentally demanding.
What did you learn from this experience?
I learned so much and will take many memories from this experience, but the one thing that sticks out in my mind is what comes from pushing individual boundaries. When you test your limits you are really expanding them so that as you continue in life, when other issues arise, you know you can handle them because you’ve already been in a hard spot and survived.
Another wonderful thing I saw happen during this experience was the power of a group of dedicated individuals – a team! I had a support group who cheered for me and empowered me. Those I am referring to were obviously the others participating in the event with me, but they were also my personal supporters. They generously gave up time with me, financially supported my fundraising efforts and emotionally helped me through the journey. My supporters were so generous with words of encouragement and funds to collectively give more than $2,800 to LLS’ mission. Because I was passionate about the cause, they became passionate with me. To learn your family and friends will support you in such an experience is a wonderful thing.
What words of wisdom can you share with others from what you learned during your journey?
In life I think the more you put into something the more you benefit from it. You could easily go through the TNT program and do the minimum, but when it came to the event, you wouldn’t feel connected to your team or the mission of LLS and the experience would lack luster in all ways. By putting an immense effort into something, you’ll get immense results.
In that mind set, here is one of my many favorite quotes to leave you with: “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere worthwhile.”