It is sure to say that most people would not take half an Ironman less than three months after completing the chemo and radiation for cancer of phase 4.
Then most people are not Keith Giffney.
Giffney, 56, first noticed something that was rubbed against his language in November 2023.
Although he was not painful, he thought he should do it, and in January 2024 the results of the tests revealed that he had cancer that had spread to the nodes on his neck and the upper chest, classifying it as stage 4.
It is a diagnosis that would make us feel anxious, distressed or desperate, but not Giffney.
“I had that peace of mind for me,” he told The Post.
“When I was diagnosed, I just seemed to me, you know what, I have it, God I have. I will fight against it.”
Giffney supported his family, faith and confidence in the northern doctors -west of medicine, whom he described as a “different level” of care.
And, before, making Half Ironman, a triathlon consisting of a 1.2 mile bathroom, a 56 -mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile race, I would not let something like cancer angry.
His first step was to stop chewing tobacco, while doctors told him that his cancer was related to the HPV virus, not tobacco, he could not help.
“The curious was – January 2023 – My New Year’s resolution was to quit,” he said. “Well, I think I waited 360 days in that year to leave me.,
Four sober years, Giffney is not outside the vices disorder, admitting that alcohol stressed its relationship with its son.
“I did more than 131 kilometers of swimming. I bike more than 700 miles and I traveled over 55 years.”
Keith Giffney
While halfway up, his 22 -year -old son completed the complete Ironman, consisting of a 2.4 mile bath, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile race.
“He was part of us doing things and returning and building this confidence with him and working with him, training with him,” he said.
“We have a great friendship and a great relationship. And it has been wonderful.”
The marathon training all last summer was, less, intense.
“I did more than 131 kilometers of swimming,” he said. “I went cycling more than 700 kilometers and traveled over 55 years. “”
I would train five or six days a week, despite passing 12 rounds of chemotherapy and 35 rounds of radiation at the same time.
“I would try to replicate a mini triathlon,” Giffney explained.
This meant swimming a couple of miles a day on Lake Geneva, Illinois, where he lives, as well as a lot of bike and running.
Luckily, chemo did not hit him too much.
)I could only say that he was initially struggling after chemo to maintain a certain level of speed: he was losing part of the force in his legs, “he said.” But I won it when I ended with Quimio. “”
Radiation, on the other hand, was a different story.
)I lost all the taste papillae, I couldn’t swallow, “he said.
As he did not produce so much saliva, as long as he tried to swallow as he was running, he would end up drowning.
“I couldn’t eat anything in recent weeks of radiation, that was the worst,” he said.
Even then, he managed to take a positive turn in things.
)I needed to lose a few kilos when I was there to be lighter, right?, he said.
Weeks before the great race, Giffney received good news: the doctors told him that his cancer had disappeared and removed his port of Quimio.
Soon, on September 7, 2024, he shot around Ironman’s half day in Madison, Wisconsin. Despite describing as a “quite anxious person sometimes”, mainly because of his desire to succeed, Keith said he felt a lot of “peace” that day.
)I was like, I don’t seek to beat anyone not me, “he said.
This does not mean that it was a fluid navigation, however.
When Keith left the water after the marathon swimming part, he felt disoriented.
And once he got on his bicycle, his leg was bad.
“They were not just the legs. I couldn’t even breathe,” he said. “And suddenly, he only left.,
Crossing the finish line with his friends and family, especially his children, was a great feeling.
“All my goal was to show them how to manage adversity,” he said. )I wanted to be a good model for them. “
These days, Keith does very well, and doctors are optimistic that their cancer will be remission.
This summer it is trained for two more events: the Door County triathlon in July 2025 and the Chicago triathlon in August 2025, all with its optimistic approach.
“For me, it has always been a positive mental attitude,” he said. “Go -with a perspective that will be great.”
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Image Source : nypost.com