From Ironman to Lymphoman

Over the years, I have done 11 full Ironman triathlons and close to 20 Half Ironman. Being an Ironman triathlete was for many years a big part of my identity. I used to be proud when a friend would introduce me as a multiple Ironman Triathlon World Championship finisher. Progressively though, I started to get tired of it. First, it would invariably trigger the same series of questions -How many hours do you train? What do you eat? What bike do you recommend? etc.- forcing me to recite the same story over and over. I would then have to listen to stories of friends of friends who did a mini-triathlon in relay, or hear the same ‘I’d like to do the same but I have a job and a family’ (just like me but I could not say it without sounding rude). Worse, I was sometimes the source of couple’s fight with variations of ‘see, why are you not like Olivier, you’re getting fat and lazy!’.

More importantly, while I owe long distance triathlon a lot of who I am, I am not just a triathlete. I am also a husband, a father of two, a friend, a coach, a brother, a world traveler, and many, many more things. Recently, I had to add another layer to my persona: I have cancer. With this ‘title’, I won’t go through the same process as with triathlon though: I will not let cancer define who I am, ever, even if it puts an end to my life down the line. I am not denying the impact cancer has on me, which will probably increase as chemotherapy will do its harsh job, reminding me that I have clusters of pathological lymph nodes from my groin to my neck that need treatment.

That being said, the way I see it, cancer will give me the OPPORTUNITY to add some depth to who I am. It will be my teacher of sorts. No doubt that I will learn new things about what I can do and who I am under duress. I hope that I will successfully reach the other side of health discovering that I am stronger than I imagined in the process.

For those asking me why I keep coming back to major sports events like Ironman, ultra trails, mega swims and others, it is precisely for this: to reach my limit, embrace it and come back out of the pain cave as a stronger man, discovering untapped potential that would have been impossible to reveal in normal life. It’s addictive.

From Ironman to Lymphoman… I can see parallels in those two challenges, even if, contrary to competitions, I didn’t choose lymphoma. I do think though that I can draw on my ‘superpowers’ uncovered during my racing years to face Lymphoma.

Not as a Superman, contrary to the picture, but well equipped thanks to the Ironman experience!