Post #: 13 Weeks of training complete: 15 weeks, 3 days Time until Ironman: 16 weeks, 4 days Miles swam: 55.564 Miles biked: 736.17 Miles run: 213.23
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $670
Today, I was hit with reality – in a good way.
It's easy for people – you, me, newspaper writers, radio talk show hosts, television personalities, your mom, dad, aunt, uncle, friend, customer you serve every day, whomever – to make judgments about those of us who are less fortunate. You know who I'm talking about: the homeless, the drug and alcohol addicted, the less educated, those who hold low-paying jobs, the poorly dressed, whatever. We all make judgments about people every day.
Some of us simply crow about them louder. Some of us simply make harsher judgements.
Today, I needed to go down to the offices of the charity I'm raising money for – Tempe Community Action Agency – to meet up with some of the staffers on a separate project I'm working on (I, along with some other College Times people are helping them develop a marketing plan).
It's necessary for me to go. I think, really, it's necessary for everybody to spend 15 minutes in the lobby of their facility. It puts faces to the scope of the need – elderly, children, families, the seriously injured. A lot of people who naturally oppose social services; who tend to think that the blame falls upon the individual for their plight just need to step into that office and realize the reality of human need in our community is far greater, and more complicated, than something that can broken down into "right or wrong."
People get hurt, they get old, they get sick, they get left behind only to be surrounded by a world of cruelty and people who blame them. And yet often they are not to blame. If you spend a few minutes inside a facility like this, you realize many of the people that walk in do not want to be asking for help. They're too proud. Probably been taught like you and me that you don't ask for help; don't take handouts.
Anyhow, it was a strong reminder as to why I'm doing this. And it just reinvigorated me towards my cause. Made me realize I have picked the right agency, the right people, the right group to ask you to donate to. I watched seniors today get together in the center and play Wii Golf and Bowling together and laugh. I watched children and the elderly be given food. I watched mothers in need get nourishment. I believe more than ever in what I am doing. I am grateful there are organizations like this that care.
We're approaching the middle point of training and I'm refocused. I feel good again. Ready for what lies ahead. I'm committed now to 16 weeks of straight discipline – of a life that involves work, and family, and responsibility and training. It's all clicking somehow. The work that lies ahead is insane. In the next 16 weeks, I will swim another 140 miles, bike more than 2,000 miles and run another 450 miles, all in preparation for the big day. I feel optimistic, oddly enough.
In completely unrelated news, those of you who know me, know that I'm an insane bargain shopper. I just got back from one of my crazy supermarket bargain shopping and had one of my best sessions ever – the PHX-area grocery stores have good deals this week. Safeway is kicking $1.99/lb 93 percent lean ground beef; $1.99/gal milk, 99 cent Pop Tarts 8 pks, a beautiful 2lb pork tenderloin for $3.99; A 2lb bag of jumbo shrimp for $8 and $2.50/loaf Oroweat bread; Albertsons meanwhile is rocking some $1.77/lb fresh boneless, skinless chicken breast; $1.66 kids snacks like big boxes of fruit rolls and fruit bars; $2.50 gallons of fresh OJ and some other really good stuff; Fry's also is kickin' it deal style. They've got $1.50 dry pints of blueberries and this bad ass mix and match promotion where stuff is on sale, but you also get an additional $5 off for every 10 items you buy; so I got $1 12 packs of flavored oatmeal; $1.50 frozen pizzas; $1.50 Ken's salad dressing; $2 Capri Sun 10 packs and some other good stuff. Anyhow I bought over $420 worth of stuff for $250 today. I was excited. And I paid $3.79/gallon for gas - not great, but better than it's been - at the AM/PM on Southern and McClintock.
People – you should really use gasbuddy.com and stop going to the gas stations that rip you off. I'm always amazed at all the jackasses who go to the Chevron on the corner of 48th and Broadway in Phoenix. It's the most expensive place around, and it's always packed.
I've rambled enough tonight. So much to tell; so little time to tell it. I'll try to blog again tomorrow.
Post #: 12 Weeks of training complete: 15 weeks, 2 days Time until Ironman: 16 weeks, 5 days Miles swam: 55.564 Miles biked: 720.02 Miles run: 210.21
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $670
It dawned on me in the last 12 hours that you all – everyone that reads this blog, or thinks about me and/or my family, are really the inspiration for this thing.
For those of you who don't know, I just came back from a very nice four day vacation. I poured back a few cold ones with friends and family at the base of the Sierra Nevadas on Thursday; rafted the Middle Fork of the American River on Friday (check out a video of an awesome rapid called The Chute here), spent Saturday playing paintball on a family friend's private 1,300 acre ranch in northern California (and then BBQing in the afternoon in their 10,000-square foot mountain top home), and Sunday doing a little bit of wine tasting, bocce playing and relaxing at some Russian River Valley vineyards.
It was a nice break from the chaos of the last three or four weeks. When I got back home, it was so wonderful to see my wife and children. The whole time I was in California, I wished they were with me.
I had planned, from the beginning of my training, to take those four days off from working out. But after four days of sleeping in, cocktails and lounging, restarting the workout routine can be incredibly difficult. But a couple of things happened that made me want to work out, badly ... rather they sort of inspired me to.
The first: my mom hinted that my father is considering coming out to see me race. He hasn't confirmed yet, but I guess he's dropping hints (Dad: Mom sold you out). Second: my friend RB made a contribution to the cause today.
I'm constantly amazed that people are willing to spend their hard earned money on my cause, on my race. To me, it's not only like they're making an investment in the community, it's like they're making an investment in me – saying: we believe in you. And when I see that, I can't let them down. It makes me want to succeed more than before.
So to everyone - thank you.
Many of you have asked how things are going lately in our lives. All in all - things are going well. We are very, very blessed to have a home filled with lots of love. Our children are beautiful, warm, caring, compassionate little buggers (even if Beck is prone to tell kids in his nursery school he's going to "shoot them" or "kill them" – true story ... for another day) and Heidi and I, of course, feel as if we share the most blessed marriage in the universe. After spending almost our entire adult life together (since we were 19!), it's difficult to listen to people who say they don't believe in love. Most of our problems lately have been related to things outside of our control; life throwing little obstacles (legal stuff, job stuff, financial stuff) that you've got to work around. Sometimes it's easier than others; sometimes lots of stuff piles on at once.
Heidi and I take a pretty methodical approach to problems. We address them head on, one-by-one, until we work through them, until we feel comfortable where we're at. And that's sort of what we've done. I think we both feel that as long as we have each other, and the kids, and our love, that we'll just sort of work our way through anything.
Just as an aside, that picture above? That's the Greenbelt in Scottsdale – a place where I ride my bike sometimes early in the morning. I love it. It's so peaceful and green, with lots of little ponds and trees. I find peace there.
That's it for today. The blogs should start rolling in again now that I'm settled in at home - gearing up for the fall semester at the paper and the final 15 week stretch of training. There's lots of good things ahead - we've crested the hill, I think ... just gotten by the proverbial Wednesday.
Thanks all for reading and giving and loving. - Ed You can donate to my cause and the people at Tempe Community Action Agencyhere. Please make sure to let my know at ebaker@ecollegetimes.com, so the totals reflect how to close to goal we are.
Post #: 11 Weeks of training complete: 14 weeks, 1 days Time until Ironman: 17 weeks, 6 days Miles swam: 51.836 Miles biked: 707.78 Miles run: 198.5
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $570
The period since Heidi and I returned from our week vacation (i.e. the week of getting stuff done around the house) has been trying. Life throws things out you in phases – and as last week progressed, it got harder as the days passed. Finding time to work out – around increasing scheduling conflicts and unforeseen obstacles was not easy. I swam at 8:45 p.m., ran at lunch time, rode the bike after the kids went to bed.
But Sunday, I simply decided to skip my workout - told myself I'd make it up today, on my typical workout-off day. So I went to the gym at 4:30 p.m., with just enough time to get my run in before I had to pick up the kids from school - and then in the middle of getting dressed I realized I had brought two left shoes with me. I took it as a sign - the world was telling me to take a day off. So I did.
Came home, cracked open a beer, and decided to pen this quick blog before I'm off to run a few chores.
I can't get into much of the stuff that's been thrown our way - this isn't the appropriate venue - but working out and continuing to make the right choices and meeting our responsibilities has made things easier to cope with. You should know that we are fine, and our family is fine - we were just thrown a curve ball we weren't anticipating. In some ways, honestly, I enjoy the challenges of life so much, it's almost kind of exciting - having a new problem to potentially solve.
A friend of Heidi and mine once told me my most endearing or unique quality was that I'm an eternal optimist - always seeing the upside in a sea of down ... Maybe there's some truth to that - on my good days.
Post #: 10 Weeks of training complete: 13 weeks, 2 days Time until Ironman: 18 weeks, 5 days Miles swam: 48.076 Miles biked: 644.28 Miles run: 189.46
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $570
There's something about the middle.
It's not the beginning, not the end. You're neither starting the journey, nor anywhere near it's conclusion.
Here I am stuck in the middle with ... me.
I relayed these comments to Eric, my coworker and Ironman finisher and he told me, as I have mused before on this very blog, that you must stay in the moment, just as you must do in the actual Ironman race itself. You can't focus, he said, on how far you've come or how far you've got to go.
Live in the moment ... it's an idea and theme that keeps coming back.
There's another motto I find myself repeating often: "Keep making the right choices." In a previous life, this was my downfall - when times got tough, I made the wrong choice, the easy choice. Another beer, another cigarette, blowing off a responsibility, giving into my own demons, my own fear, my own rebellion against the things I perceived to hold me down.
I am stronger now - making the right choice is easier, but not always easy.
Getting up for my workout was painful this morning. The workout itself was painful (3,000 meters is a long swim!!!) I'm experiencing burnout on numerous fronts, but I've learned that if I keep making the right decisions - eat healthy, complete my workout, power through the difficult tasks, write my thank you cards, communicate with the world, play with my children, be there for my wife - that I'll come out of it refreshed and reinvigorated and stronger for making the right choice when the wrong one was easy.
I guess that's what they call the experience and the wisdom of aging.
Post #: 9 Weeks of training complete: 13 weeks Time until Ironman: 19 weeks Miles swam: 46.192 Miles biked: 644.28 Miles run: 185
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $570 It has been insanely humid here. I ran in a white shirt this morning and it stuck to my body and became see-through in about 20 minutes. That was rad.
Despite the humidity, it's been nice - in the 80s most of the day - which is about 20 degrees below normal. This afternoon, it was in the 70s. That's almost unheard of in Phoenix in July.
We are, obviously, all giddy with the beauty of the day. That's the way I felt on Saturday, when I went for my long bike ride. I took my bike up to Paradise Valley, which is where a lot of the celebrities and sports stars and really, really wealthy people live. I just like to look at the houses - it's dumbfounding that somebody needs that much house. We're talking 10,000 square foot and more homes - they go on and on and on. So much so that you can't even believe your eyes. The desert is very lush in these neighborhoods. After heavy rains, desert plants give off a lot of odor - but good odors. So these neighborhoods, when it's humid like this, are just perfumed with the thick smell of the desert. It's intoxicating. Combine that with the clouds, and the moist cool breeze and the early morning sun, and it makes for a perfect bike ride.
I really enjoyed myself. It has been a long training week, though, and today, I was tired. But I made it, and tomorrow's a rest day - so that's nice.
This afternoon, we took Beckett to see Wall-E while Brody stayed with her grandma and grandpa. I highly recommend it to anybody who hasn't had the chance to see it.
In other, news another $300 in donations has come in since the last post. I'd like to say thank you to both most old friend and college roommate, Jared, and to grandpa Phil, who both stepped in and gave to the cause. Thank you so much to both of you. That was extremely kind.
For those of you interesting in reading more on the Ironman experience, check out my buddy Eric's blog. He's doing the same Ironman race I am. He's at: amightyadventure.blogspot.com.
You can donate to my cause and the people at Tempe Community Action Agencyhere. Please make sure to let my know at ebaker@ecollegetimes.com, so the totals reflect how to close to goal we are.
Post #: 8 Weeks of training complete: 12 weeks, 3 days Time until Ironman: 19 weeks, 4 days Miles swam: 42.464 Miles biked: 582.18 Miles run: 171.06
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $270
We are, by our very nature, a fairly unstable creature. We are often uneasy, unnerved by either our past, or what lies ahead. We often crave things: whether they be material, or emotional. We want more financial stability, relationship stability or job security, job satisfaction or that really cool Blu-Ray DVD gizmo with the 52x scan 1080p performance. We want more people to think like we do. We want peace. And lower gas prices. And more vacation time. And a little less responsibility. And once, just once, to feel like we were 18 again. Or, if not all of those, we want some of them. Or something else entirely. There are very few of us who are comfortable to just be. To just be satisfied with what we have. To be satisfied with life, and air, and breath, and the moment, and our children, and our friends. Or a really good TV show and a cold beer.
Some days, though, I hit it. I find that place where I am in the moment - where there is uncertainty swirling all around me: friends in chaos, a world in chaos, a life stressed for time and yet still, I find that place. That place where all of that can exist around me but I find that emotional center.
It's very peaceful. I found it today.
Don't know why. I just found it.
It's not like I'm swimming in good news - nothing particularly wonderful happened. There are very real stresses in mine, and my family's life: friends and family problems; worries about the economy; time constraints - all the things many of you are probably dealing with. But suddenly, today, as is wont to happen from time to time: it really all punched me in the gut at once. I feel blessed, happy - my wife and children are beautiful. I feel fantastic health wise. My kid tried really hard to poop in the potty. Life, despite all its stresses, is good.
Six or seven years ago, I could never have hit that place. And I think the slow introduction of regular exercise into my life is what started to change that.
Seven years ago, I was a heavy drinker and a heavy smoker. A pack of cigs a day and six or more drinks was a common theme. I was gaining a lot of weight. My face was puffy and swollen. I covered politics for a daily newspaper. It was eight or nine hours of cynicism on the job washed away with drink and smoke. I knew it wasn't the direction I wanted my life to go - but those habits are hard to change. All of my free time lost in sleep and impairment. In retrospect, it really was that bad.
But at some point, I started running. Sometimes, I'd run once and then not get around to it for a few weeks again. And many times, I'd try to quit smoking. I might only make it a day, or two - and the fear of failing again might make it months before I tried again, but eventually each stint of running lasted a little longer and each attempt at quitting smoking did the same. And when I did fail - or when I did stop running - the lapse between making a new quitting attempt, or exercising again got shorter.
I signed up for a marathon - drinking and smoking the entire time - but I finished the race. And the next time I did it, I smoked and drank just a little less, and so on and so on and so on.
The one thing that never changed is that I always had a goal for myself. I know this sounds so cheesy - but it's true, and I want to be honest. There was this Ivory soap commercial with this fit, healthy looking dad playing with his happy son. I always envisioned myself as that dad - that's who I wanted to be. The healthy, fit dad who set a good example for his children. And I never lost sight of that, and slowly, slowly, slowly that constant vision drove me to where I am today. I still have work to do, but I'm closer to my goal than ever.
Conversely, I have a new goal. I want to be in that place I was in today more frequently. I want to live in the moment. But beyond that, I want to help the people I care about find that place. Help them understand that we can be concerned and work to change the world, but that we don't have to let it jeopardize our own happiness, or that of our families. In fact, I think we can only positively change the world or the people around us when we find a certain peace and confidence in ourselves.
It may sound a little hippie-ish, I know. But we live in a world with a lot of hate, and a lot of conflict - red vs. blue, us vs. them. We live in a world where people have been whipped into a frenzy, fearful and loathing of people they don't even know, don't understand. People who expend so much energy on this fear and hate forget to expend the necessary energy on their friends and family. I know. I put that energy into alcohol and tobacco and an arrogant sense that "I was right. And they were wrong."
There was no pathway to peace or happiness there.
I'm merely thankful I had friends and family and a little bit of coincidence, perhaps, that showed me a different way.
I should add that part of what got me thinking about this was some of the work I do with Tempe Community Action. Working in the non-profit world, I know, takes a certain kind of person; you are exposed daily to people who face many challenges, and yet every day you must approach your work with an optimism. You can't take the reality of what you face home; and yet you must process it properly at work - interacting with the people you help daily in a way that is encouraging and hopeful and proper. It's no easy task.
For those of you who don't know, the work that the people at Tempe Community Action Agency do is nothing short of Herculean. They provide tens of thousands of meals to senior citizens, they help feed those who are hungry, they see to it that children get the health care they need; they help families facing job layoffs keep their electric running; they educate people about being good parents and managing a budget. It is truly incredible.
Please, as you keep reading this blog - think about what you have. Think about what you spend. And ask yourself if you can spare $10, $20 or $50. The folks at TCAA are so good at managing money and brokering deals that they can turn that $20 you might spend on a couple drinks this Friday and turn it into $80 worth of food - enough to feed a family for up to a week. For Arizona residents, the entire donation is eligible to be refunded as a tax credit.
With food and gas costs soaring and more and more people being pushed to the financial brink, there is real need out there. Please think about it.
If you decide to donate, please do so here- and let me know at ebaker@ecollegetimes.com, so we can add it to the total/goal figures.
Post #: 7 Weeks of training complete: 12 weeks, 2 days Time until Ironman: 19 weeks, 5 days Miles swam: 42.464 Miles biked: 572.18 Miles run: 168.06
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $270
Heidi, my wife, began a project a while back to digitally archive all of our son's art projects from school - this picture to the left is actually one of the pictures from that archive. But like so many well-meant tasks we undertake during adulthood, it simply became too much.
Day care makes your children prolific artists. There's felt on construction paper, chalk on construction paper, paint on construction paper, shaving cream on construction paper, garbage from the floor on construction paper, pasta on construction paper and various other (fill in the blank) on construction paper projects that come home each week. And that doesn't even count the numerous multi-colored scribbles on paper you get. If the kids could actually sell their artwork, my wife and I might be able to quit work - even if they could just get $10 a pop, I think we'd be pulling in about $17,000 a week.
But one thing I never thought would become too much during this whole training process has actually become one of the most frustrating parts of my day. I am notoriously unorganized when it comes to material items. My brain - it's pretty organized. Staffers at College Times can ask me the date a cover from the last seven years and chances are I can remember it. I keep my schedule in my head and my to-do-list in my mind. But organize paper work? Keep my office clean? No can do. I'm scattered when it comes to that stuff.
And this is why getting my stuff ready each night for the following morning's workout has become such a chore. I can't remember where I put anything. So each day, I have to remember where i threw my work out clothes, my sneakers, my goggles, my iPod, my earphones, my visor, my sunglasses, my sunscreen, my Gatorade, my water pack, my water bottles, my nutritional supplements. I spend close to an hour every night walking back and forth across the house mumbling under my breath while I look for this stuff. As the workouts push 14 hours weekly, this has become somewhat tedious. So I'm trying to fix it by keeping my things in one place - we'll see how it goes. Usually when I get done in the morning with a workout, I'm so in a rush to get to work, I just throw everything all over the place.
In other news, I had a nice vacation - both at home with Heidi (even though all we did mostly was work) - and in Las Vegas with my friend Rob. I've learned how to do Vegas on the cheap and still have lots of fun, and that's made going kind of enjoyable. Won some money in Texas Hold 'Em, broke even on sports betting, spent what I won at the bachelor party we were there for. All in all - a good time. And I got to do my workout at one of the nicest YMCA facilities I've ever seen. It had a rock gym, massive swimming complex, huge indoor workout facility, four indoor basketball courts - and, of course, each section was sponsored by a casino. Guess it helps to have those casino dollars flowing ...
I feel real good physically. In fact, I feel great - strong and energized and excited about the challenges that lie ahead in the training.
I know that coming up, I also need to work on bumping up the fundraising aspect of the training - it's something I need to start focusing on. I have a long way to go to get to that $5,000 goal.
If you'd like to contribute, you can do so by clickinghere.
Please let me know if you make a donation, so that I can include it in my totals.
Post #: 6 Weeks of training complete: 11 weeks, 3 days Time until Ironman: 20 weeks, 4 days Miles swam: 39.2 Miles biked: 510.7 Miles run: 162.04
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $270
Part of living in Arizona - and doing so happily - is learning to forget. Each year, as September turns to October turns to November, and the 100-degree days bid their annual farewell, you convince yourself: the summer wasn't really that bad. And each year, as March turns to April turns to May, and the triple-digits return, you convince yourself, you like it. The state empties out; you have it all to yourself - only the real Zonies make it through the summer.
But then you live through it: the daily reality of a summer in the desert where there is no 60s, no 70s, no 80s; just 95 degree mornings; 110-degree afternoons and 100 degree nights. As I sit here typing this at 7:42 p.m., it is 109 degrees outside.
I know a lot of people around the country like to brag about how their region of the country has the roughest weather and how this makes them so tough. My dad loves to scoff at the temperature here and tell me how it's 90 in New Jersey and how the humidity is so high it's actually hotter; or how in the winter, it's 35 and it's "haht." But until you've experienced, first hand, the oppresive quality of the desert heat, you don't know what you're talking about. The only thing comparable, I think, is probably places that experience intense, sub-freezing temperatures. For most cold places, you can just throw on more layers. That doesn't apply in the desert - you can't just take more clothes off. If it's not the sun that destroys you – burning your skin until you go into shock, it's the low humidity, which will literally suck you dry until you go into a state of severe dehydration. Your only defense is shade, protective clothing and lots and lots of fluids. More fluids than you think it possible to drink, especially if you're training.
I took this vacation to get a lot of work done around the house. We put a beautiful expansion on our home - about 750 square feet of tiled, covered outdoor living space - but there was some considerable work to be done. With a 3-year-old, and 15-month-old, this is not easily done. Unless you have a few days that you can send them to day care and take off of work. So that's what Heidi and I did.
But after two days of working outside - on top of some big training days - I'm spent. Despite taking it easy today, I can't get properly hydrated. I'm having to force myself to drink water. And those dreams of a beer or two on the patio: forget it ... not when you feel so dried out.
Taking a look at the forecast doesn't offer much hope - it goes like this. Tomorrow: 113; Friday: 110; Saturday: 107; Sunday: 107; Monday: 110; Tuesday: 112. Ugh.
But who am I to complain. I chose this as home did I not? And you know what? We'll truck on through, just like we always do. Waiting for the symbols that the end is almost near: the start of college football, the anticipation of Oktoberfest and before you know it, we'll all be bragging again.
In the time I've been typing, I've been drinking more water. Starting to feel better ...
I have about a 50-60 mile bike ride tomorrow morning. Think I'm doing this one inside, on the trainer. Staying out of that nasty heat for the day.
For those who are interested, you can donate to my cause, by clicking here. Please be sure to send me an e-mail to ed@ecollegetimes.com to let me know the amount, so I can record it in the blog.
Post #: 5 Weeks of training complete: 11 weeks, 2 days Time until Ironman: 20 weeks, 5 days Miles swam: 39.2 Miles biked: 499.85 Miles run: 160.31
Goal: $5,000 Total money raised: $270
I'll bebrief today; just wanted to let everybody know I hadn't forgotten about the blog. I'm on vacation this week and just trying to limit my time connected to the computer.
Some things that have been going on: Went on a weekend trip with my family, our friends Eric and Kelli and their boys and Ryan and Steph to a cabin in Spring Valley. This is a beautiful, incredibly secluded place where the only thing for miles is pretty much you. This is a pic from the trip.
Beckett has been learning to swim and he's getting quite good. He can swim underwater on his own now without assistance from people or floaties. Awesome.
I've been doing a lot of work around the house. For those of you who know how long the patio has taken to complete ... it's almost done. I hung the finished the sanding and painting (with help from Heidi) and hung the fans. In fact, I'm going to enjoy a cocktail out there right now.
To donate to my cause, click here. Please be sure to send me an e-mail to ed@ecollegetimes.com to let me know the amount, so I can record it in the blog. Talk soon, Ed
Ed is a 32-year-old, happily married, father of two, five-time marathoner sponsored by his beer gut and an all around happy go lucky kind of guy, except when he's surly, moody or otherwise pissed off. He's trying to be an Ironman, in the November 2008 Arizona Ford Ironman. He's also trying to raise money for Tempe Community Action Agency, a local nonprofit that aims to help families, children, elderly and the homeless get back on their feet through emergency food, utility and medical programs. You can learn more about TCAA at www.tempeaction.org
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