There are moments in life that stick with you… most are happy moments while others are not. I remember the word cancer from the conversation with my dermatologist. A moment that sticks. I also remember the day my wife asked me to marry her (yes you read that right). That was a moment that sticks. I remember the birth of my daughters and cutting both of their umbilical cords. Moments that stick. I remember talking to my father on the phone the night he passed. A moment that sticks.
Not every moment that sticks has to be life changing. I remember sitting at Pigeon Lake as a teen and trying to smoke ears of corn with my great friend Jim Webb. I remember front porch pizza in Marblehead with my dear friend Alex Leikikh. I remember doing nothing together with Kevin Murtagh when there was nothing to do. All moments that stick. I like to think my memories of skin cancer, surgeries and chemotherapy will fade while these other memories stick. I hope so.
It is my dear friend Alex Leikikh who is responsible for so many memories these past few “cancer free” years. At some point after chemo he suggested a triathlon and at some point I said okay. Silly, silly me. That was 7 triathlons ago: 2 sprint distance, 3 Olympic distance, 2 half-Ironman distance. Now what? Climb a mountain? The honey-do list? Nope, another silly decision. This weekend I race in the Ironman Lake Placid with Alex Leikikh. 140.6 miles. I have trained for 10 months and somewhere in my head I feel like I am ready. In other parts of my head I am anxious and scared. In my heart I am in awe of my family. They have been the greatest support through cancer, triathlons, training and bad Dad jokes. My wife Christy is the best part of me. She is my everything. My daughters Jordan and Kaiti are my constant reminders of what unconditional love means and all that is great in this world. They will finally get a cancer free/triathlon free Dad back next week.
This training, this hard work, this commitment for Ironman Lake Placid has been hard, very hard. But it has taught me to celebrate the journey. Celebrate your journey in every way so that you arrive at the destination with a smile! I hope to cross the finish line with a big smile.
Thanks for stopping by,
-Ian