Why do I race?

Why do I get up almost every weekend from the second week of June to the last week of September and push my body to the limit?
Psychosis?
High tolerance for pain?
Adrenaline Rush?
The fact that I eat enough food to feed a third world country and I don't want gastric bypass?
The fact that both my high school track and swim coaches told me I'd never be a champion and this is my way of spitting in their face?
To impress the ladies?
The Beer? ( Shout out to Raf, and the guys at HEAT!)
Full Blown Insanity?
No the answer is much more simple than that. I race because I can. ( see Patriot Half post when I missed spelt "Because" due to pure adrenaline rush and sleep deprivation). I've seen the you tube videos of Team Hoyt, I've watched ,been inspired by, and have quoted Blazeman ( if you believe that you can channel a spirit then I most certainly believe Jon Blais was with me on that run in Freetown.), I've seen 70 year old Nuns gut out an Ironman and finish with a moment to spare. I've seen great feats by people finishing tris with prosthetic legs, paralyzed people getting into racing wheelchairs a wheeling themselves through downtown Nashville for double their planned race. I've seen high school kids taking to the sport as I did when I was a luke warm shit ( I was never a hot shit) swimmer and track runner and gutting it out on mountain bikes or equipment from the 70's and 80's. I've watched up and coming athletes derailed by unplanned injury and illness, and seen the same athletes get back up and spit in the face of those who said they'd never compete again. I've watched a friend and teammate fight for her life and win, and I watched another teammate have her life cruelly end as it just began. I race because I know that today I am still able and tomorrow is an uncertainty. Today I could be fine, Tomorrow I could get hit by a car, I could get shot at the bank, I could get diagnosed with ALS, Leukemia, terminal cancer, erratic heartbeat, or one of a million things that could be fatal, Tomorrow I might not wake up and if I look back on 22 years of existence I want to know I did what I wanted and I want to know I left nothing on the table. I race for those who can no longer compete, I race for Alicia, for Lacey, For Lucille and Helen, For Jerry, For Martha, For Ray and Helene, For Michael, For Paul, For Bob, For Ken, For Blair, For Angry and Claire, For Jon, For Mom, For Pop, For Adam, For Ryan, For Chris, Chris, Ryan, and Will, For my sisters, for my brother, For Tom, For the HEATsters, For those who believed in me when I didn't, For those who pushed me when I felt I could not go on, For those I share the field of battle with, and for those who physically can not race, quite simply put I race because I can.