Are You Starting The Cancer Triathlon? The mental challenge may be the toughest part so draw on your past…

A few years before I was diagnosed with colon cancer, I started doing triathlons. I’d worked my way up to the 70.3 distance and was training for the full Ironman when I found out I’d be sidelined for a year of treatment. It seemed obvious that being in good physical condition as I headed into this would be an advantage but what surprised me was how much the triathlon experience also helped me mentally . My stage-3 diagnosis qualified me for the full cancer experience: Radiation, Surgery, and Chemo. As my treatment progressed, I discovered that the three phases of it were much like the three stages of a triathlon. The triathlon is a swim, a bike ride, and a run. At the Ironman distance, it’s a 2.4 mile swim; a 112 mile bike; and a 26.2 mile marathon. Physically both cancer treatment and a triathlon are challenging, but in very different ways. The stronger similarity is the mental cycle you go through…the little breaks between phases, the ups & down...