Return of the Boomer

Tomorrow at 7:15 AM American Airlines is taking me to St. Croix for the second time in as many years. I will meet my bike in the afternoon, reassemble it, and then swim a few hundred yards in the ocean just steps away from my hotel room.

Preparing my body for the half Ironman triathlon is done. There's no more training I can do to improve. Except for the race itself, the physical battle has already been decided. Either I'm fit enough or I'm not. That much will be proved on Sunday. The real battle has moved to another front and the wider war rages on.

It's time to stare down the island and prepare my head for the race. Like someone once said, "I hope to run out of air before I run out of courage."

The war that rages is the reason why I'm going to St. Croix. As a part Team in Training, benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I will leave my sweat on the course in the fight against blood cancers. Every nine minutes an American is diagnosed with a form of leukemia, myeloma, or lymphoma. The encouraging news is some of them will recover from their illness. Unfortunately, many of them will not. With the help of my sponsors, and the other Team in Training athletes, lives are being saved everyday. Our efforts are hardly done in vain and there's much more work to be done before the ultimate finish line is crossed -- a cure.

I am dedicating the St. Croix 70.3 International Triathlon to my uncle, Bob Brennan, Sr. He is in the fight of his life against leukemia and I want to show him, and those is similar situations, that he is not alone in this struggle.

Proudly, I will wear the names of my gerous sponsors on the back of my race jersey. Also, I will proudly display my uncle's name on the front.

What I ask of you, dear reader, is for your prayers for Bob and for me. If you're so inclined you can also make a donation to my race efforts at www.active.com/donate/tntntx/brianbrode

Stay tuned...