A Sample Of Two Days Training

No wah, wah! No brag. Just here's our schedule for the next few days. Those of you who have done an Ironman know this is just what you do. This is for those of you rubber neckers gazing at the Ironwreck training life and asking why in the world?

Thursday morning 6:15 am: 95 mile bike ride followed by 6 mile run.

Thursday afternoon: Work.

Thursday night: 8 mile run.

Friday morning 4:30 am: 16 mile run.

Then spend the rest of Friday watching Lobo's swim meet, working, and then back to the swim meet for finals.  In fact, we will spend the rest of the weekend volunteering at the swim meet and watching Lobo swim.


Being a swim parent and training for an Ironman is a bit cruel because after a long hot run you have to go stand on a hot concrete pool deck and you are not allowed to get in the nice cool blue water. We swim parents have always said they need a parents' lane with rafts and umbrella drinks at swim meets for parents to float in while they wait for their kid's event.

The last time we tried a run at 4:30 am so we could watch Lauren swim was at a Panama City swim meet. We had picked up glow sticks at Target so the people driving from the bars could see us. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling particularly strong that day so I'm sure I looked just like the other people staggering out of the bar as I slogged along with my glow stick a-glowin'.

Would I be doing this kind of insanity right now without Sherrie? Absolutely not.

Eccliastes 4:9-12 talks about two being stronger than one. Verse 10 says, "For if either of them fails, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who fails when there is not another to lift him up."
Verse 12 concludes "...A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

That's how it is we do this, God is the center strand and we wrap ourselves around him. Without God, without Sherrie and trying to do all this I would just be a frayed knot.

As in:

"You gonna get up at 4:00 am to run 16 miles after you rode 95 and ran 14 yesterday?"

" 'Fraid not."

Why We Loves Us Some Lochte!

Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are set for an epic duel in the pool in the Olympic Trials and the Olympics.

Here's why we at Team Ironmac loves us some Ryan Lochte:

A few years ago at a swim meet in Daytona Beach shortly after Mac Crutchfield had died, Maggie Crutchfield (Mac's mom), was at a swim meet to cheer on Mac's former teammates. Ryan Lochte heard about Mac's death at the meet and walked over to her and said, "Whatever I can do for you, you just let me know, I'll be glad to do it."

Well, now we fast forward to look back at what Ryan Lochte has done for the Crutchfields and the Mac Crutchfield Foundation. He has made countless trips to the boonies of South Georgia to just visit with the family or to be the star of a fundraiser. He has agreed to be the spokesperson for the Mac Crutchfield Foundation. But what I saw a couple of weeks ago at a community pool in Gainesville summed it all up for me.

Gold medalist Ryan Lochte revealed his gold heart once again. He has become a surrogate big brother to Savannah Crutchfield, Mac's little sister. I have witnessed him numerous times do big brother things like give her noogies on her head and fake spit loogies in her hair. Things only a big brother could get away with.

Two weeks ago though, I saw it all play out in such incredible simplicity and clarity, it was stunning. Ryan told Savannah he wanted to come watch her swim. Savannah had just returned to competitive swimming a few months earlier. At the pool, Savannah turned to her mother and said, "I don't want him to come see me swim yet, I'm embarrassed."  Savannah's mom told her not to worry. Not two minutes later, Ryan Lochte slipped into the swim meet snuck up behind Savannah and put his hands over her eyes.  She guessed right away who it was.

Ryan Lochte slipped in like a ninja but soon the buzz grew. While Ryan quietly made small talk with the Crutchfield family, a small storm of excited kids waited like they were about to see a Santa Clause with six pack abs and bedroom eyes. When one kid finally got up the nerve to come over and ask for an autograph the line grew exponentially. Ryan was more than friendly and unassuming. He bent down to take pictures with the little ones. He signed everything. Who knows what kind of strong man workout he had just finished. He never complained, always smiled and did whatever the kid asked.

He graciously broke away to yell for Savannah when her event started. This was the only time he got loud. He made sure that everyone knew he was cheering for his newest little sis. Actually I don't think that was his point, he just wanted to be loud enough for Savannah to know that he was there to cheer for his newest little sis.

After she swam, he went quietly and graciously back to signing autographs until there was not a kid in the place with Ryan Lochte's name on something. He and Maggie then quietly made plans for the Crutchfields to come over to his house for dinner. And then he quietly walked off into the sunset like some mythical hero.

And he is, except he's not a myth. He's real. He's genuine. Oh, and Savannah also says he's goofy. Just like any little sis says about their big bro'.

So tonight, or any night over the next couple of months, you see that shark in the water devouring his foes. Remember that is one shark with one very big golden heart.

It's Mac's Birthday! Happy Mac Day!

Today Mac Crutchfield is 16 years old. Nope, not gonna say, "would have been 16 today." Mac still lives on in a bunch of us. Mac's spirit is very much alive.

Mac appears to many people in the form of a rainbow. When Sherrie and the original Ironmac team did Ironman Florida in 2009 as the team "Girls Gone Iron!" It was the sunniest and most cloudless blue sky, yet, just before the race in a small section of the clear sky a small rainbow appeared. Tears and chill bumps broke out. Don't be surprised if you see a rainbow today.

Mac died while playing in a storm and today we are in the midst of a tropical depression. It started really raining about the last couple of miles toward the end of our 15 mile run today. Oddly, I did not want to go inside when I finished. I did not know it was Mac's birthday at the time but I felt the urge to just stay outside in my driveway and hold my arms out and open my mouth and drink the rain in. That is the same way a neighbor last saw Mac. Again, I did not know it was his birthday at the time.  It is just the way he still pulls us in.

I will never pretend to know what it feels like to be Mac's mother, father, or sister. Yet I will also never be afraid to talk about Mac with them because I don't want to bring up sad feelings. I know the Crutchfields want Mac to live as long as they do and he will as long as we are open to him.  So today, play in the rain, sing happy birthday, eat a piece a cake, say something to his family, or do something extraordinarily nice for someone and say "Happy Mac Day!"

If you or someone gets teary eyed about it, don't worry. That's just Mac watering your soul.

Happy Birthday Mackity Mac!

We Believe...

We at Team Ironmac believe:

The journey is more important than the finish line,

The laugh is more important than the  grind,

The grind is more important than the quit,

The accomplishment is more important than the clock,

The relationship is more important than the competition,

The competitor within is more important than the competitor next to us,

The will is more important than the body,

And

Going 140.6 miles under your own power is not as important as,

Going 140.6 miles with commitment, grit, grace, humor, spirituality, and humility,

And helping someone else cross the finish line.



Here is the card Team Ironmac hands out Ironman events we participate in:

We Have Some VERRRY Interesting Members Of Team Ironmac!

IRONDAD

Lessons learned from Ironman that can be applied to something really important (like fatherhood.)

1. Ironman and fatherhood both build and reveal character. No one knows if you live like you say you do like your kids. Your priorities and values may seem like something you write down in a self-help seminar. Your kids see you live out what you actually believe.
2. It may seem like a good release of steam to yell at the course but it will not improve the course at all. (Insert child's name where the phrase "...the course.." is.)
3. Approach an Ironman with a sense of awe, appreciation, and joy and you will get the same back in return. Same with parenting.
4. This is an Ironman not a sprint. Parenting and Ironman take F O R E V E R.
5. Kids' brains are not fully developed don't expect them to be. You are not fully trained for an Ironman halfway through your season, to expect to be fully ready at this time only leads to disappointment. To expect your teen-ager to act like a little adult is only going to frustrate you. 
6. I was not born a genetic "fly guy." I will probably never sniff the podium of an Ironman. To teach your kid to enjoy the best of his or her gifts, bloom where they are planted and enjoy the opportunities they are given may be the most important lesson you can teach them. (Especially if they come from the shallow end of the gene pool like mine.)
7. Changing the tune on your ipod can really change your pace and your mood. No one outside my family until now but there is a song on my ipod with banjo in it. Yep, got all kinds of rap, pop, and rock but when the banjo comes up my pace immediately picks up. If you are tired of banging your head against the wall with your kid try doing something just a little bit differen. You may be shocked at the change.
8. You are modelling for your child what kind of relationships to look for in their own lives. When you are done with your 120 miler, don't collapse on the couch. Offer to take your wife out for a date night or have a family night. That is the only way they are assured Ironman is not more important to you than they are. I want to set the bar incredibly hard for my daughters' boyfriends. They need to treat them as equals, respect them, and laugh and dance and play and squeeze the juice out of life until there is nothing left.
9. It is developmentally appropritate that your adolescent child wants you to be invisible in front of his or her friends. Even if his or her friends say "Wow, you rode your bike 120 miles today!?" The appropriate response is "Yep, rode my bike 120 miles and saw a bear wrestle a panther while we were riding by," and then walk away. Leaves you looking way cooler in your kids and his/her friends eyes. Same thing with adults, they don't want to know your heartrate zones, caloric intake, etc... Here are some signs that you may be talking too much about your racing or training. While talking about said training; people constantly yawn, people look at their watch, or people jump out of your car while it is still moving.
10. My favorite quote from my daughter, Lobo, was a couple of years ago when she tossed me a crumpled shirt and said, "Can you iron this for me please, Mr Ironmaaaaan?" Kids need a REAL DAD first! They only need an Irondad if their shirt is wrinkled.

Beiber Fever, Yes or No?

One reason I love sports is that is a microcosm of life. Same with Ironman you make decisions on choices that either build character and pattern or certainly reveal character and patterns. When training for an Ironman you have to think outside the box, or really pretend there just is not a box there.

For instance two Saturdays ago we had a 70 mile bike ride on the agenda. Our 15 year old daughter, Lauren or as we affectionately call her "Lobo," NEEDED Justin Beiber tickets that went on sale online at 10:00 AM and would surely sell out quickly.

Life is not really that complicated as I tell many clients in my counseling practice. It usually boils down to a few "yes" or "no" questions. It gets complicated when we get stuck like a duck in the muck or become a whineasaurus because we either don't like the question or the answer is indeed hard to accept. But the sooner we accept that we have checked "yes" or "no" the sooner we move in a positive direction.

Let's take what other people would call our little dilemma:

Did we need to ride 70 miles on our bike for our training?   YES

Did Lobo desperately need Justin Beiber tickets like a flower needs rain? YES

Were we willing to carry a laptop in a backpack on our bikes and hope we picked up wi-fi somewhere in the boonies of North Florida or South Georgia? NO!

Were we willing to incorporate coming back to our house as part of our route so we could both get on  a computer and have the best chance of scoring some Beiberliciousness for our daughter? YES

Did we jump off our bikes and start firing up the computer at 9:50 for the 10:00 sale? Yes

Did Ticketmaster tell us we could not get tickets? Yes

Did Ticketmaster tell us we could not get tickets? Yes

REPEAT  THE ABOVE FOR 20 MINUTES

Is there another site that was selling tickets (asked by Sherrie)? Yes

Will Stub Hub gladly take our money and welcome our daughter to Beiberland? YESSSSSSS!!!!!

Did we want to get back on our bikes? Umm...umm...umm...yeah

Did we get back on our bikes and finish our training? YESSSSSSSS!!!!!

Are we a happy family because we were willing to think outside the box and think of the right questions and answer them with the "Yes" that led to the best?  Y E S !!!

Next time you feel like a duck stuck in the muck thing of the yes or no questions you need to deal with and get movin' and groovin'!

Speaking of movin' and groovin' I hope this clip helps: http://www.youtube.com/embed/kffacxfA7G4

Sherrie and I will be doing the Ironman New York City in August followed by Ironman Florida in November. This will be the story of our journey leading up to the two races consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.

We race for Team IronMac in honor of Mac Crutchfield, who tragically died while playing in a downpour near his house. To learn more about Mac go to www.maccrutchfieldswimstrong.memory-of.com.

My connection to Mac is probably that I will always want to think and act with my 12 year-old boy brain.

May I Always Be A 12 Year-Old Boy

I hope that I will always remember what it is to be 12.

I hope that I will always love to play in the rain.

I hope that I will always want to ride a bike downhill as fast as I can.

I hope that I will always forget that if you drink an Icee too fast you get a brain freeze.

I hope I will always want to eat dessert first.

I hope that I will always believe that somehow I will still make it to the Olympics.

I hope that I will always jump off the couch when my team makes a diving catch for a touchdown.

I hope that I will never be afraid to ask the socially unacceptable questions.

I hope that I will always believe right is right but still want to play with you when you make a mistake.

I hope I will always get butterflies in my stomach around pretty girls.

I hope I will always believe that cheering for a friend helps them perform better.

I hope I will always know that my mother will be their to comfort me.

I hope that I wlll always be proud when someone tells me that I am just like my dad.

I hope that I will always want to talk with my sister even when she is getting on my last nerve.

I hope that I will always remember what it is to be 12.