Life Time Olympic Triathlon Complete

A journey started five plus months ago is now complete. I finished the challenge. I pursued the third event in my personal triple crown and through hard work and dedication it was a success. The success is not that I finished; it is that I was able to have all of you behind me.

I was able to say I am going to do this in honor of my sister and grandfather and I asked you to come along for the journey. You responded yet again and said we will back you. The funds will go to Leukemia research, but in the fight against cancer, lessons are learned from this research and are then are used to fight other forms of this terrible disease.

The day started at 02:00. Wake up. Force myself to eat. Get ready mentally as I had packed all my gear the night before. Load the truck. Rack the bike on the truck. Find some serenity that the three year long journey was resolving itself today. I had a voice in its outcome, but I needed to accept the outcome either way.

Jenny had volunteered to staff a cheering station on the course. I would see here once on the bike, and twice on the run. To have someone willing to sacrifice their time in your belief is humbling. She has been more than supportive of this endeavor and all the time it has taken. She jumped in the truck with me and we were off at 03:27.

I have been driving to lake Nokomis most of the season, and have been taking 35E to 77 (Ceder Ave) to the parkway. I am directionally challenged, and have no fear in admitting it. Jenny suggested that we take 494 over to 77. This saved about 15 – 20 minutes, and alleviated a lot of the anxiety I was starting to feel on the drive over. I needed to be onsite by 04:30 to get body marked.

Body marking is when they write your race number on your arms and your age on your calf. Then I needed to stage my transition area. Get my running shoes ready. Get my bike ready. Get my helmet et all ready. This extra time gained through her suggestion was a blessing.

After all of the staging was complete, I was able to help some of my TEAMmates stage their areas. I was glad to be able to assist and assuage some of their anxiety as my wife had gifted me with the extra time.

Time for a TEAM photograph to commemorate the experience. Time to center myself and find the courage to actually start the race.

I was to start with the second wave of Clydesdales. A Clydesdale is anyone over 200 pounds that is doing a triathlon. I more than qualify. The second wave was to start at 07:15. I wandered down to the lake for a brief warm up swim. The water is 74.8 degrees Fahrenheit and very pleasant. Swim a few hundred yards and call it good.

07:15 the horn sounds and I am off into the water. The first leg of the swim is into the sun. I am having one hell of a time sighting due to the sun. The buoys are green. The water is green. There are people with green swim caps. It was very difficult to stay on course. I was not able to swim a straight line to save my life. I had no panic moments in the water. The year of preparation paid dividends in that area. I probably swam 1.2 miles over the 0.9-mile course due to corrections in my route. I was able to relax and get through the distance and enjoy the swim. I would have never thought this possible after my first swim July 4, 2008. Reaching the beach and being able to stand was an awesome experience. I should have swum in a little further, but terra firma has never been so beautiful! Roughly 46 minutes for the swim. I was planning on 30 – 45 minutes. Not to bad an estimate.

Transition one running up from the beach through the sand was not as difficult as I was expecting. This was probably due to the after glow of accomplishing something I have been working toward for over a year now. I get to my bike. I put my socks on. Get my bike shoes on. Get my glasses on, (God it is nice to be able to see clearly again). Get my helmet on. Un-rack the bike and jog to the exit of transition.

I am planning on 1.5 to 2 hours on the 24.8 mile course. My plan is not to shoot the moon and hammer this out. I want to have legs left to run the 6.3 miles. On egress from the transition and inside of the first mile, I pass my father, mother, and my two daughters. I tell them I love them and will see them later. The wind was up a bit and it did cause a little duress. Nothing that could not be overcome through extra effort and the course will put it at my back once and a while. Look at my watch to gauge the distance covered and I am already 10 miles into the course. I am feeling very strong, but do not want to unleash the dogs yet. I get through the worst hills and get headed back to lake Harriett, start my trip around Harriett and I only have five miles left. I let the dogs loose and start to pass people instead of being the one passed. I am encouraging others, as I believe that the give and take of positive affirmation when doing an endurance event is an important part of the journey. I am thanking the volunteers that are on the course throughout the ride. Without them, none of this experience is possible. I finish my ride in approximately 1.5 hours with an average pace of 15.8 miles an hour.

Before I know it I am back to transition two and ready to start the run. I need to ditch my tri-suit jersey as it is chaffing my arms terribly. Luckily I had placed my marathon jersey in transition as a precaution. It was partly narcissistic, as the tri-suit jersey likes to climb up and reveal my rotund protuberance of a tummy. In the long run, I am so glad that the marathon jersey was there as it saved me a lot of pain. There would be plenty of that just from the running of 6.3 miles. I am estimating 1.5 to 2 hours of running.

I am able to transition fairly quickly into run shoes and said new shirt. I am out on the course and my kids and parents are there again. I will admit that I ran and walked the course. I have found that I can run a quarter mile and walk the next quarter mile interchangeably more comfortably than running straight through. The time difference over a mile is negligible so why not do this comfortably.

I get to Jenny’s cheer station, and keep moving. I continue to encourage others. My mantra becomes cold beer. I will get one of these when I cross the finish. I have a wristband that will allow me to procure this delightful reward.

I finish the first of two loops around lake Nokomis and start the second loop. My parents and children are gone. Isabelle has a party to go to and they have probably left to take her to that. I did miss them on this second loop. Friendly faces are always welcome. To have them be people you love, which have sacrificed so much for you to chase your dreams, who believe in you when you can’t believe in yourself is indescribable.

This is the second race that I have had loved ones at and it is definitely a morale boost to get to see them. I get back to Jenny’s cheer station, and I stop long enough to give her a kiss and a hug and I am only a mile away from the finish.

I find a fellow TEAMmate with a similar pace and we proceed to jog and chat. This was exactly what I needed when I needed it. I am able to finish my journey on the run. I pick up the pace over the last quarter mile. I am seeing my stronger TEAMmates who have finished before me, after starting behind me and they are all encouraging me to the finish. I cross the magic line that tells me I have completed what I set out to do for today. I have my very own personal moment where I bow my head and shed a few tears. Where the emotion came from I don’t know. I am not ashamed of it. I earned the right to have this emotion, and I am going to embrace it. Approximately 1.5 hours to cover 6.3 miles.

I am sure that it will eventually hit me in full that I have accomplished what few would dare at 300 pounds. I am not remarkable. I just was granted the gift of compassion. To all who have supported me in this journey, I cannot thank you enough. From coaches, TEAMmates, friends, and my family, none of this was possible without you. From your kind words of encouragement to me. To your generous contributions to an amazing cause that LLS is. You are truly the amazing ones, not me. I am merely a conduit for your compassion for others. Thank you for all of it!

Sincerely,


Marc

Century Rider
Marathon Walker
Olympic Distance Tri-athlete

http://www.peaktiming.com/2009LTF/ Bib number 271

Were You Brave Enough To...

I just finished watching Transformers the movie. There is a quote in there: "When you look back at your life 50 years from now, are you going to be able to say you were brave enough to get into the car?" While I don't plan on living another 50 years, I think I will be able to answer that question in the affirmative.

That is not as braggadocios as it sounds. I am a pretty timid person at my core. I don't risk much because of my fears of success and failure. Over the past three years, I have been able to put others needs in front of my own. I have found that by training for someone else is far more meaningful than training only for myself.

I have been able to stand my ground in the face of fear and overcome mere physical pain. My life is not at risk, but it has become more meaningful. Will St. Peter meet me upon my demise and roll out the red carpet? Probably not! I have many areas in my life that I need to correct before I am accorded that kind of treatment.

While this season waxes, I am still learning lessons. I am still finding value in who I am. I am still trying to put myself out there and open up. I am still trying to add value to those around me. I am still trying to show tangible bravery. I see all of these qualities in my TEAMmates and coaches. I still try to emulate these folks, because at the heart of it I know they exemplify these characteristics that I am trying to get to take root in my soul.

I hope that in a mere nine days to be able to add the third crown to my tripple. It will require, bravery, self sacrafice, desire, endurance and belief that I am worthy of completing the task that I accepted and said I would do to earn your sponsorship. I know you were all brave enough. Hopefully, I will be too.