I know what you’re probably thinking.

With a title like that, you probably think I wake up in the morning ready to down a protein shake and hurry up to the gym for a sick workout.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth. I consider cardio to not only be the purest form of torture I could inflict upon myself but also the cruelest one.

Don’t get me wrong. I do go to the gym. And I always, always, always feel awesome when I leave. And I’ve never regret a work out. Blah, blah, blah. You know, all that inspiring crap you read about on other people’s IG accounts. But I generally always have to bribe myself to get there.

But on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 12, I jumped (okay, rolled – but more quickly than usual) out of bed and was actually excited to go to the gym. This was because I was participating in Cycle for Survival at the Equinox gym in Rockefeller Center.

In case you’re not familiar, Cycle for Survival is an indoor cycling event by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Equinox that raises money for rare cancer research. Rare cancers include ALL PEDIATRIC CANCERS, brain, pancreatic, ovarian, thyroid, and stomach cancers, as well as leukemia and lymphoma, among others. 100% of every single cent donated to this cause is directly allocated to rare cancer research at MSKCC within six months of the events.

Since the first event in 2007, Cycle for Survival has raised over $125 million which has funded The Center for Hematologic Malignancies at MSKCC, Sarcoma research, The David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, The Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Ovarian Cancer Research, and more.

This cause is important to me for several reasons:

1. I’m not only working on becoming a nurse, but hopefully a pediatric oncology and/or critical care nurse (and a kickass one at that).
2. Only 4% of U.S. federal funding goes to childhood cancer research. That is insane. We need to change that.
3. My grandma – who was truly a saint on earth – died from ovarian cancer (considered a rare one) at a super young age, and I can’t help but think that with more treatment options, she could have lived longer.
4. I have yet to meet many people whose lives have not been affected by cancer in some capacity, and I believe, with every fiber of my being, that we will one day reach a point where scientists discover a cure for cancer. But that cure requires research. And research is expensive.

So, with some of the most selfless and amazing girls I have ever met (pictured above), I cycled to propel MSKCC’s journey in finding a cure for cancer. And it was amazing.

The four-hour event consisted of four one-hour rides, as well as speakers who were brave enough to share their cancer journeys with us. The speakers included MSKCC doctors and patients, as well as family of MSKCC patients, both living and deceased. They were some of the most incredible people I’ve ever come into contact with, and I consider myself lucky to have stood in the same room as them.

If you want to get involved in this amazing cause, and I hope you do, you can visit my page: http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/alexabreslin. Donations will be accepted until April.

And let me be clear here: this isn’t me trying to meet my donation goal (although that would be nice) or trying to raise the most funds so I can say I did. I think that we need to advance our knowledge when it comes to cancer, and the way we do that is by funding research through great initiatives like this one.

So, here’s to another year closer to shutting cancer down for good.