The Beginning of the Beginning

Post 39
Weeks of training complete: 25 weeks, 1 day
Time until Ironman: 6 weeks, 6 days

Miles swam: 105.986
Miles biked: 1,763.96
Miles run: 422.68

Goal: $5,000
Total raised: $2,440

I know that it has been a long time since I've written in any great detail. The scope of events that has taken place in the last couple weeks has almost been too great to digest.

There was, first and foremost, my completion of the half-Ironman as a test run. Final times:

Swim (1.2 miles): 38 min, 10 sec
Bike (56 mile): 3 hours, 19 min, 40 sec
Run (13.1 mile): 2 hours, 27 min, 10 sec
Total time: 6 hours, 24 min

It was, for me, a very succesful test run – far better than I expected it to be. And yet, I can't help but wonder, how, in just under seven weeks, I will pull off a race at double that length. Especially as things pile up in the closing weeks.

It seems almost certain now that Heidi will lose her job. It is simply a matter of when. Buyout rumors are all of the news, and a company that made an offer (with full intent to close all stores) is already commenting publicly, for attribution, to major news media.

The onset of trying to figure out how we will deal with this wrinkle in our lives, especially amid the current economic climate, is trying. Keeping on your game face for your children - making them feel safe and giving them the love and attention they deserve – adds a certain dynamic. It is even more difficult to find time for training when your family needs you so much more than some self-indulgent race.

It has made everything harder - the fund raising, the training, the day-to-day living. Throw on top of that Brody's current illness (a fever that's been bouncing hourly, it seems, between 99.5 and 104.4) and, well, you know, my mind is all over the place.

I missed today's training; but I will get back on track tomorrow and make up the lost workouts by spreading Monday's work across the rest of the week. To make matters more interesting (worse?), I have potential jury duty on Wednesday and a dentist appointment on Friday.

Still, I know we're quite fortunate. My old employer, The Tribune, essentially closed 1/3 of its operations and cut back to publishing four days a week. They're laying off over 140 employees; some of whom I know well. All over the place here in Arizona, it's like a wrecking ball has run rampant over the economy. I went to pick up a sandwich today at this place I've been going to for years in this little strip mall about 2 miles from ASU and half the complex was empty.

This weekend, actually, we sought a respite from it all and went up to the family cabin in Pine. On Saturday, we took Beck and Brody up to a place called Barbershop Trail up on the Mogollon Rim at an elevation of about 7,900 feet. It was gray and cool - probably about 45 degrees. The kids put on heavy jackets and we walked in a beautiful canyon meadow where the maples that grow in those rare, wet Arizona places were turning a vibrant red, the aspens a golden yellow. We collected leaves and climed trees and threw rocks and sticks into a small mountain stream.

Everything slowed down. The kids stopped and picked the last remaining dandelions. Even as the leaves were changing, there were a few wild sunflowers hanging on in the throes of the end of their season. We collected leaves to place in wax paper - Brody was quick to pick up on this sport - we touched lamb's ear (a type of velvety, leafy plant) and looked for bugs.

And then, just as the first sprinkles started to fall, we climbed out of the canyon, children on our back. On the ride back to the cabin, it rained- hard. We stopped at a little diner nestled into a lush green meadow and found every table full with fathers, grandfathers and sons dressed head-to-toe in camo, taking a lunch break and a break from the weather. With no tables left, we drove further down the road and took refuge in a mountain lodge. We ate hamburgers, and french fries. The kids had chicken nuggets and chocolate milk. And then we returned to the cabin - heavy itself in the rain of the afternoon - where we drank Sierra Nevada and forgot about everything else outside.

The next morning, we hiked again, into more canyons at the base of the Mogollon Rim, where scrub oak was turning yellow and the walls were seeped with yesterday's rain. It was all very beautiful and relaxing ... until Brody puked yogurt on the way home, signaling the onset of the first sickness of the fall.

I can't say what tomorrow will bring. We're waiting some big annoucement now. Waiting to see where the chips will fall. Waiting to hear the finality of Heidi's situation.

I can tell you one thing, though. All of this, the Ironman, it's been a positive. It's been the right thing at the right time. A great accomplishment, a great goal to have, in a time where I so easily could have gotten lost in the spiral of discouraging news.

With love,
Ed