Aeromax Team - Athlete of the month

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

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DARREN WILLIAMS

In a period of training leading into an Ironman it can become very easy to lose sight of what is important and to not become bogged down with inner turmoil and the uncertainties of the final few weeks before race day and life in general. We give you a shot of incredible inspiration and clarity in the form of Darren Williams. Read on.

Y IM – It’s my choice.

(Me six weeks post Transplant)

Grant suggested I pen down what Ironman means to me as I am recovering from a Bone Marrow Transplant due to Leukaemia. I have written this many times in many different ways. It always comes back to the same point, IM is all about choice.

Let me explain, life has many highs and lows that we often have no control over. I certainly didn’t choose to get cancer! But this roller coaster always provides choice i.e. what we do about what life gives us is our own decision.

In 2001 I was told that I had Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia with the potential not to make it to Christmas. This scared the hell out of me and my wife, for us life was just starting. We had both spent most of our twenties travelling overseas and had now settled down in Sydney to raise our 10 month old daughter. I don’t mean horror movie type scared either; there is a different type of scared. I had spent most of my travels in third world countries and had been shoot at, robbed, beaten up and gone through multiple bouts of malaria and other tropical bugs. None of these gave me the deep cold feeling that those three words did – you have cancer.

So what to do, this is a choice. I chose to not let this dominate my life. Sure I had and have days when it over takes me. Over the past 5 years it has overwhelmed me exactly 6 times and tears have been shed and angry words mouthed. This is where family and friends come in. I also take pride that I choose to get past this. Ironman is part of my strength.
While in hospital I decided to exercise as much as possible and would walk the stairs whenever I wasn’t plugged in to drips and things that go beep. I set a goal to get out of hospital before Christmas and run the Sydney Half Marathon to be held 4 months later. A few rejection problems post transplant stopped this. So what to do? I choose to reset my goals and line up for the Marathon that would be run 11 months after my transplant. I made it in a time of 4:27. No records but to me it was fantastic. So what next?

On the home front we had decided to have a second child. This needed the help of some doctors thanks to my radiation treatment but now our family has grown to include our son Reece and Scruffy the dog (brought at the pet shop). As I had only a 30% chance of seeing out the next two years I needed to stay strong as possible. This meant walking a fine line with training and illness. Triathlons’ had always seemed a great sport and I view Ironman as the pinnacle of this. So why not?

My blood counts are yet to fully recover with one side effect being I have a low haemoglobin (red) count so I can’t carry as much oxygen to my muscles as most. I tried at 3 different Half Ironman’s to qualify for IM but fell short of the time needed. Swallowing pride I asked for and was kindly given a lottery spot for Australian IM. In the heat of the last Ironman to be held at Foster I finished with a time of 12:04.

As a patient you take a lot from others, especially those closest to you. My wife, Annie, had given up a lot to look after me and help me train. I would often need to lie down for hours after a training session leaving her to run our home. The kids thought this was great; a Daddy who has afternoon naps with them! Annie wanted to do a Half Ironman. She did this and qualified for Ironman 06, we decided to race this together.

We managed to balance the family, work, training (and my naps) with a carefully balanced training program written by Aeromax and both came home at Port Mac with me 11 minutes in front of Annie. As a competitive family this has given me bragging rights over the past year, and 1st April 07 we will again line up for Australia IM.

I often say I’m “sick of being sick”, I can’t control what may or may not happen with my cancer. I can’t control how many years I have left, but who can? I can choose to lie in bed or get up and hit the training road. As someone who knows what its like to have no control over your body, to not be able to walk without help to the lavatory or pick up your own infant child, to punch out an ocean swim as the sun rises or 180km ride with friends is a joy. Come race day I know that the pain can’t stop me, I have been there. The only thing that can is if I choose to lie down or I break my bike too far out from transition to run it home. Again with the help of family, friends and Aeromax I am looking forward to Ironman, as is my wife who plans to take family bragging rights for 2007.

After this who knows, it’s my choice. I have a son who wants to win ‘Le Tour’ and is prepared to roll out his big tricycle to do it. I dream of reaching Kona. One day I will, it is my choice if I give up or keep going until I make it. What’s yours?

(Finishing Australian Ironman 2005, more to come)