Seven months ago, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. As it is with everyone, I was stunned to hear the news. My grandfather passed away from the disease 10 years ago, and to find out that my dad was diagnosed was tough to comprehend. In the months since, he underwent surgery and has been on his path to recovery. Aside from the periodic visits to his specialist, he is back to normal as far as I'm concerened.

I'm racing in honor of my father. He showed a lot of resolve, toughness, and courage throughout this process. I hope I can show at least an ounce of that come race day.

Thanks for everyone's support!

(Man, my dad used to rock the sickest mustache back in the day...my bowl cut was pretty hot too, I must say)

You see that guy in the picture by himself about to *jump* in while everyone else dove right in? That's going to be me. Just kidding! (not really).

This year's New York City Triathlon has been changed into a Time Trial Swim Start. What does that mean? That means athletes will enter the water 20 athletes every 10 seconds. I no longer have to wait 25 million years for my age group to go (tho I'm still in one of the last groups to jump in). This also means there's no diving - jump starts only.

Have you donated yet? It's super easy and it's going to a wonderful cause.

Look for me and my fellow TNT athletes wearing our purple come August 7th.

See you in the Hudson!

-D

I had the pleasure of meeting Laurel Wassner last year at the Westchester Triathlon - where she won the women's field with a time of 2:06:24. Laurel was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the age of 23. She endured six rounds of chemotherapy, but successfully battled the disease. With the help of her twin sister Rebeccah (who is also a professional triathlete), who motivated and helped her bounce back, she was able to have a successfull amateur career and made her professional debut in 2008. Laurel Wassner is the first cancer survivor to compete prefessionally as a triathlete. She was named 2008 Rookie of the Year by USA Triathlon.

Reading and watching her story really brings home the point that cancer is a fight that can't be won alone. There's a TEAM around you that pushes you through. Laurel had her sister, my dad has our entire family, and all other cancer patients out there have people like us (you and me) who raise money to help with the research and patient services. Her story also proves that this is a fight that can be won.

Rebeccah Wassner won last year's New York City Triathlon. Guess who came in second - Laurel.

More about Laurel:

http://www.oprah.com/style/Os-Women-on-the-Rise_1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJvwBtSMqSY&feature=player_embedded

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/The_fighter_Laurel_Wassner_1307.html

11 weeks down, 11 more to go 'till NYC triathlon. I must say, compared to last year when I trained for the race on my own, I am definitely in a much better shape. My running pace is faster (don't worry, it's not blazing fast), I've definitely had more sadle time and long rides this year so far, and swimming (which is my weakest event) has been going great. Minus the back injury I sustained playing football a few weeks ago, I feel great! I unfortunately had to defer Rev3 Quassy Triathlon to next year since I'm nursing this injury, but everything else is super!

You know what else is super? The team featured on Good Day New York on Fox5 yesterday morning. Check them out.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/good_day_ny/triathlon-training-20110602

P.S. That's my boy Danny Viera making Fox5.

Once again, I want to give thanks to all of you who have donated. With your help, I've raised over $2,000 so far. I'm certainly not stopping there, and neither should you.

Here is where your money is going

• $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.
• $50 registers one person to be a bone marrow donor
• $75 provides HLA (bone marrow) typing for a family member of a patient with leukemia.
• $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.
• $150 provides 10 patients access to a web-conference to learn about their specific blood cancer.
• $300 will train 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed patients.
• $500 could provide patient aid to a person with Leukemia or a related cancer for an ENTIRE YEAR.
• $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

As you can see, each donation you give goes a long way in helping patients battle the disease. There's no reason why they have to fight alone.

Once again, thank you!

Heading back to the Bronx this weekend for the 27th annual Bronx Biathlon race held by New York Triathlon. There are great races offered in various locations around New York City and New York State. I'm using these early season races as training blocks to help me prepare for my the triathlons I have scheduled later on. Having lived and gone to school in the Bronx, it's nice to go back and race there.

UPDATE: I was 12 minutes faster than last year. Finished in 1:58:28.

Training for the event has officially started. It's certainly nice to be training outside with a good group of people. Hopefully, the weather will gradually get warmer within the next few weeks so that we can start shedding the spandex and start putting on the shorts.

Although I am training with TNT for the New York City triathlon, I also have a few events in my 2011 calendar. The first of which is a half marathon in Queens on April 2nd.

It's going to be my first event in this distance, so it should be fun seeing where my fitness level is. Of course, I've been running in preparation to this event, so I guess I'm *somewhat* prepared for this. We shall see...

'Till the next update...

Oh yeah, don't forget to donate!!

-D

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today, March 3rd is my dad's 68th birthday. He's doing very well now that it has been a month since the surgery. Catheter and staples have been removed, so he's good as new - minus a prostate. Again, I can't say thank you enough to all of you for keeping him and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Training with the team officially starts in 2 weeks, so I'll be posting more about my training soon.

So, this week's episode of Jake and Amir is actually based on an all e-mail I sent to the company a few weeks ago. Check it out:

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1946822

I sent out an all email to the company asking for support on my fundraising. Jake and Amir had this idea for an episode where Amir would be doing a triathlon for charity but the email he sends out is clearly a scam. Amir approached me with the idea and asked if it would be cool with me - of course I was totally cool with it. He also offered to tweet my actual donation page to his followers in order to help me raise more funds.

Special thanks to Jake and Amir for doing this!!

Dad was discharged yesterday and is back at home recuperating. He still has some lingering pains from the surgery, but overall, he's doing well. I was able to chat with him on the phone last night and he sounds good and optimistic about recovery. According to my sister, his operation has had an interesting side effect - an increased frequency of hiccups. He was complaining about it after dinner haha.

On a training note, I'm slowly but surely getting into the swing of things. I've been taking speed workouts at the Chelsea Piers Sportscenter these last few weeks. I can do long run on my own - just put on my headphone and listen to my favorite Katy Perry songs and off I go. I usually never do speed workouts, so this class is definitely helping (for the longest time, I thought I was a fast dude...untill I took this class.)

Thanks for stopping by!

A shot from the recovery room...free wifi def helped.

A ghost town at 6AM this morning...

My dad, mother, and I arrived at the hospital this morning at around 6AM. He was checked in and prepped by 7:15. Because only one family member was allowed to go with him to the operating room, I stayed in the waiting room while my mom accompanied him to the OR. Shortly thereafter, she joined me in the waiting room and waited.

At around 12 noon, my dad's Urologist, Doctor Simon, came into the waiting room and informed us that the surgery went well. He's very optimistic about the result and the subsequent recovery. Because my dad opted for the robotic surgery, there was almost no blood loss and recovery time is short...two good signs for a 67 year old body.

Waiting for almost five hours was definitely filled with anxiety and uneasiness. I read magazines (mostly People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and other gossip mags...do you believe Halle Berry is going through another divorce??!!). I even tried to do a bit of work to keep my mind busy. Thankfully, everything went well.

Again, thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. My family and I greatly appreciated it.

My dad is going through a series of check-ups and procedures leading up to his surgery on Monday, February 7th. Accompanied by my mom, he went for a Cystoscopy - a test that allows the doctor to look at the inside of the bladder and the urethra using a thin, lighted instrument called a cystoscope (definitely does not sound pleasant). Today, I drove him to see his doctor so that he can get medical clearance for his surgery. After waiting for an hour or so, he met with his doctor and was given the clearance he needed. Tomorrow is blood drawing in New Jersey, and rest on Sunday. I'll be watching the big football game with him. Even though he's not much of a football fan, it'll be nice to just sit down with him and the fam and relax.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

My dad has decided on Robotic prostatectomy to treat his cancer. It is a way to perform minimally invasive prostate cancer surgery. This method profoundly reduces blood loss, pain, recovery time and the familiar unwanted side effects of other treatments.

He is going in for surgery on Monday, February 7th in Englewood New Jersey. We're all in high spirits and hoping for the best. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers.

Two years ago, I participated in my first triathlon and first race with Team in Training. Not knowing how to swim when I first signed up, my main concern was drowning part - the cycling and running parts were no problem. Like many who have tried the sport, I got hooked...It's amazing to see how far I've come along. I'm back as a mentor for the Nautica New York City Triathlon, where I hope to pass along the lessons I've learned as a beginner a few years ago and now as a 'triathlete' (albeit a slow one).

This year, raising awareness and money for Cancer is especially important to me because my father was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer just before Christmas. Receiving such news puts everything in perspective, and makes you realize what is important in life. It is certainly tough to know that someone you know, love, and look up to is battling the disease, but I know this is something my dad can overcome. I am doing this race in his honor.

As my father now prepares for the treament and recovery phases, I kindly ask for your support in helping me raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. With your help, we can reach the ultimate goal - finding a cure for ALL cancer.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thank you very much for your support!