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."

We Have Some VERRRY Interesting Members Of Team Ironmac!

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.