It's A Bird... It's A Plane... It's Lance Armstrong

You will never hear me go on and on about a famous musician or actor. Aside from prize winning authors (Seamus Heaney, Carol Shields, and John Irving to name a few) I have no real burning desire to find a way to get near a famous person. To me people are just people. Some of them got a lucky break and got famous. I am convinced that most famous people are really no different than the rest of us.

EXCEPT for Lance Armstrong.

What other living American athlete comes anywhere close to being as incredible as Lance Armstrong? He was an amazing athlete before he had testicular cancer and went on to become even more amazing by winning the Tour De France SEVEN TIMES after treatment that included radiation and chemo and surgery. The cancer had spread to his lungs and brain. And this superhuman endured and beat it. It's bad ass enough that went on to train for a race that's over 2,200 miles long that spans over weeks in the middle of July. Any person who had to have brain surgery who is willing to hop on his bicycle and pedal for that long just once is heroic in my book. But to WIN??? SEVEN TIMES??? What do you even call that???

No one cares that you only have one testicle when you are that incredible. The meager attempts at jokes about him having an advantage because he is a few ounces lighter are not even audible because Lance Armstrong's triumph and ability and physiological gifts make it impossible for cynics to say anything about him in jest and actually be heard. His VO2 max is off the charts. At his peak, his resting heart rate was 34 bpm and his max heart rate was 201 bpm. I know he can't leap tall buildings in a single bound nor can he shoot spider webs out of his wrist or stop moving trains. But to me, his physical ability makes him the closest thing to superhuman that America has. He should be in a comic book. He defines endurance. Dictionary.com ought to have a photo or video clip of him as synonym for the word.

You would think a seven time champion would kick back and relax and retire. (He did retire from professional cycling.) He's got enough stories to tell his future grandchildren and enough material to brag about at the corner bar. But no. He builds Livestrong and raises insane amounts of money for cancer victims and survivors.

But he's still not done.

His athletic career is revived and he is now competing in triathlons. The superman cyclist is 41 years old. On Feb 12, 2012 he competed in the Panama 70.3 Ironman. And most of us are thinking "Wow! Making a debut in triathlons in your 40's is awesome!"

Lance Armstrong, testicular (and brain and lung) cancer survivor who won the Tour De France seven times who is a father to five children who was accused time and again of doping during the height of his career shows up for Ironman Panama and comes in SECOND.

SECOND place at 41 years old. Swimming 1.2 miles. Cycling 56 miles. Running 13.1 miles. SECOND.

Who does that???

My superhero. That's who. If I ever get near, I am going to touch this man. I will consider it a true brush with greatness. I can't wait to see him win Ironman Kona. He will. That's what superheroes do. Watch.