Brain cancer is trying to kill me, I will be trying to kill it at Ironman Wales this Sunday

[Sorry, this was posted a few days late because the internet was so sketchy in Wales. Also, you may have already read most of it on Facebook]

Recently I've often found myself asking

'what the hell am I doing...'? 

Like verses in a song, the question often ends with a slight situational variation. What the hell am I doing,
... about to hit 8 hours of training today?
... riding past sunset when I started the day before sunrise?

Today's variation: ... up at 4am on the morning of the day BEFORE the race?

If you've spoken to me lately, you'll know I've found all kinds of answers. Like Walter White in Breaking Bad, the short of it is simply: 'I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really... I was alive.'

With my diagnosis in September 2014 another answer emerged: this tumour is trying to kill me. I've been
trying to kill it. How? Partly through training.

I'm incredibly blessed: not just to be 'living with cancer', but to be thriving with it. Almost two years ago I couldn't walk 100 metres unaided. Tomorrow I have a shot at racing 140.6 miles. But I haven't gotten here alone. My family, friends, doctors, and advisors have all been life-changing: without them I wouldn't be alive. It's fitting then, that on Sunday I won't be racing alone either: my brother Juan David will be racing his own 'solo' Ironman at the same time. Because he's working in Croatia he'll be swimming in the Adriatic, riding towards Zadar, and running around Split.
 
Why? Because we want to help other people with cancer the same way countless others--many of them faceless and selfless!--have helped me.

So on Sunday we race for ourselves and for them. We race to raise funds for Macmillan, an organisation that strives to ensure no one faces cancer alone. We invite you to join us along for the journey! If you want to add your contribution to fighting cancer here is the link:
 
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraisi…/divebombingbraincancer

A few days later...

One of the beautiful things about Sunday and about this post is that there was no mention of my tumour. Sure, the beast is still there, but there are no new updates from my last entry (I think my next scan is planned for the end of October), no weird symptoms to write about, just the incredible news that I completed my Ironman in a pretty decent time. You can see my race report at www.swoopanddivebomb.com but suffice it to say the whole Ironteam had a whale (hahah...) of a time.

Juan was not in Wales but that didn't stop him from completing his own crazy solo Ironman. He took on the 3,800 meter swim in a 15 meter pool (how many laps? I'll let you do the maths!), the ride on a rental, and the run with several fly-bys of Split airport.

We're a little tired right now to concoct our next wacky adventure, but I'm already looking forward to it!
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