Packing up and strange events.

i'm spending the day packing today. working all tomorrow so i have to have it done tonight. i got a call today that really shook me up and here is why. I race because i can. i do it to show myself that i can achieve incredible things and push myself to limits most have never encountered. have you ever been exercising for 12 hours straight? with no real food, no one to talk to, nothing to do but sit and breathe and move, and hear yourself for the entire day? its something else, you should try it. anyway i have the ability to, and why not do it now when life is so short? i had a reinforcement of this fact saturday and again today, back to the phone call in a second. thrusday night my grandfather(the last grandparent) took a nasty fall outside his apartment building. he shattered his eye sockets, and had bleeding into the brain among other things. he spent the night in the icu. saturday he was moved out because he was improving, swelling reducing, gaining awareness, some good brain function. he was awake long enough to pray with my uncle and aunt before he fell back asleep sunday night. yesterday the doctors went to evaluate him in the morning. unresponsive. poor sodium levels which indicate limited brain function. to put it squarely his brain is giving up. the tubes, ivs and assistance were removed yesterday and its a waiting game now.about that phone call... today i got a call from one of my best friends and fellow ironman athletes(who is competing with me sunday) that his grandmother died yesterday. what are the chances? its unreal that we both are hit with this days before such a big race. The week will move forward as planned but it will be bitter sweet. we can only live today and not worry too much about the future, and you can bet we will be racing our asses off, until we have nothing left, and then we'll finish the second half of the race. so to the grandparents, please watch over us and keep us safe. Game time.