YES!

I AM IRONMAN!

14 hours, 20 minutes until race time

First off, you can track my progress here tomorrow:

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/arizona?show=tracker&year=2009

Enter my race number: 111 ... and you'll know exactly how I'm doing. The site takes a while to update; like an hour or so after I cross through each scanner. But for those of you not here in Tempe, that's where you can follow along.

For those of you that will be here: Kelli and Heidi will have a tent sent up near the center of Tempe Beach Park; look for the tent with the Team Jelinek/Baker banner and the Team Jelinek/Baker green shirts.

The race starts at 7 a.m. Eric believes he'll begin the bike around 8 a.m. and the run around 2 p.m.; I think I'll begin the bike at about 8:30 a.m. and the run about 3:40 p.m. Eric estimates 6-7 p.m. as his finish time. I estimae 8:30-9:30 as my finish time. It could be as early as 8 p.m. or as late as 10 p.m., though.

The time is almost here. In a few minutes, dinner. Then put the kids to bed. Then off to bed myself. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

Here's my bike and run stuff laid out before being packed up and given to the race crew. You get your bike bag after you finish the swim; and your run bag after you finish the bike. Then you go into a changing tent and change.

Here's me checking in the bike today.

This will be last post. With the next post, I'll have either finished or failed - there will be no in between. And chances are, I won't have the strength to post tomorrow night; so check that web site.

Until we speak again - Ed

57 Hours Until Race Time

It's official. It's all begun. Today was the test swim in Tempe Town Lake. Eric, my buddy who is has already completed an Ironman, and is doing this one, too, went with me for the "test swim" in Tempe Town Lake. Water temperature: 61 degrees. I wore a wet suit. It was still a little cold - my wet suit is sleeveless. But not too bad. I kind of like the cold and, honestly, the water felt good. It's hard not to be all crazy excited and just spaz out. My stomach has been in knots the last couple days. I feel like I'm on an extended caffeine high. That's not necessarily a good feeling. Here's a pic of me in the wet suit, just before jumping in.

Then it was off to fill out some necessary "If you die, neither you nor your family will sue us for your stupidity." You're also required to join USA Tri, which is the official governing body of US triathlons. We forgot to get pictures of that, so we went back and made fake "pipe" poses.

Then it was time for some "future visualization." This is the arrow that marks the final turn, about .5 miles from the completion of the 140.6 mile race. I can only imagine the glory I will feel should I reach this point.

And finally, a mock "you caught me usin' the John" shot. 'Cuz what set of pictures is complete without one of those, eh?

4 days to go

This is what introduced most people in the world Ironman. This crazy-ass broadcast of Julie Moss collapsing in 1982.

I hope this isn't me. :-)

That's all for tonight. Excitement building!

- Ed

Real Inspiration

Post 48

Weeks of training complete: 31 weeks, 2 days
Time remaining until Ironman: 5 days

Miles swam: 129.131
Miles biked: 2,385.87
Miles swam: 584.67

Goal: $5,000
Total raised: $2,500

I'm sure a few of you are familiar with the story above; that of Dick and Rick Hoyt. People ask you all the time, who are your heroes, and for me, I always have trouble with that question. Heroes? They're people like my mom, dad, wife, my coworkers, the people I know. But then I learned about Dick and Rick Hoyt - those mofos are my heros, too. Just watch the video. You'll see what I mean.

If I run into trouble on the course, I'll slow down, regain my composure, and think of them. I know I will not be the first Ironman competitor moved to go above and beyond what we think we are because of their story.

You might have noticed, too, that the donation total went up. Thanks to Liam and Mark for making donations recently to the cause. The charity only notified me today that they had gotten two donations from New Jersey. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. My goal to get to $5,000 will continue if I don't make it by the completion of the Ironman. Amid all the gloom and doom of the economy, I feel it is even more necessary for me to finish not one, but both of my goals. I said I would get to $5,000, and I will.

I could really use your help in that area. If you were planning on donating, but haven't - please consider doing so.

It's finally dawning on me - really dawning on me. This whole thing is real!

Tempe is starting to set up for the race. On Thursday, we'll have our first practice swim in the lake. I'll get my race number. I'll register. On Friday, a breakfast for charity runners like myself and then a dinner and race meeting for athletes. Saturday, bag check, bike check and set up and then, Sunday, the race!!!

Mom, grandma and the kids arrive tomorrow. Dad on Friday!

HOLY CRAP, PEOPLE! HOLY CRAP!

It's happening! Excited? Yup. Scared? Yup. Nervous? Yup.

All this training. All for this one day: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run ... let's just hope I can, as they say, "brag for the rest of my life."

Cheers,
Ed

Race Day Approaches

Post 47

Weeks of training complete: 31 weeks, 1 day
Time remaining until Ironman: 6 days

Mile swam: 129.131
Miles biked: 2,385.67
Miles run: 584.67

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

My buddy Eric put that video on his blog and I thought it was cool, so I put it on my, too. Every time I watch it, I get all juiced up with energy and freaked out and excited. Race day is almost here.

I know that it's been an unacceptable amount of time since I posted last. But with the kids in New Jersey visiting the family, it's been nice to relax, to heal as the workout tapered and just enjoy the reduced level of responsibility.

The end of my journey - this journey anyway - is almost here. Six days from the race, I feel as ready as I'll ever be to finish the Ironman. That is my goal - if it takes me 13 and a half hours (which would be the absolute best I can expect to finish, on an absolute perfect day, given my race abilities), whether it takes me 14 hours and 15 minutes, which is probably a reasonable expectation, or whether it takes me the maximum 16 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds alotted, my goal is simply to cross that finish line alive and to be able to say: I set a goal to complete an Ironman, and I did it.

Sure, I could've done a few things better in my training. I'm human - and as the training wore down the stretch, I broke down. I broke down from lack of human connection. I broke down from the wear and tear on my body. I skipped a few workouts here and there; and some didn't go as well as planned. Sunday may be a rough day for me, and it may not. But I'll finish ... I'm confident I'll finish. But mom, dad, Heidi and friends: don't worry, I'm not going to kill myself trying. I'll be sad if I don't make it, but it won't be the end of the world.

But, honestly, I know I'm going to make it. I can just feel it. And, I'll have a pretty good day doing it. I've visualized it. I know the two big places I can get myself into trouble - pushing it too hard, too early. And not watching my race nutrition. I've got plans, though, and I've thought 'em through. I've coached myself on how to deal with the wind, the heat, the potential problems.

I've lost 32 pounds from my highest weight in 2008 (about 215) to my lowest weight measured this year (182). And my average weight loss is hanging around 29 pounds. Most days, when I get on the scale, I weigh 185. I'm happy with that. That's a big accomplishment, actually.

I think I want to do another Ironman, too. I've ridden a lot of ups and downs; but the hardest part of doing anything the first time is learning the many different phases, the moods, the peaks and valleys, having some sense of what to expect.

I'll try to write daily for the rest of the week - keep you guys up to date on what's going on as we go into the final days of preparation. I've got to go buy a few more things for my bike this evening, so I'm off to the store. I've included a few videos about the race. Hope you enjoy.


Here's a video on course details:



Hope to see you all on Sunday.

Love,
Ed

The Late Night Ramble About Which Mom Will Call Sometime Tomorrow and say, "Geez, Ed, Nice. That Was Depressing. I Don't Want to Read That."

Post: 46

Weeks of training complete: 30 weeks, 3 days

Time remaining until Ironman: 2 weeks, 4 days

Miles swam: 124.451

Miles biked: 2,267.67

Miles run: 543.91

Goal: $5,000

Total raised: $2,440

I've tried, numerous times over the last couple weeks and months, to make sense of the times we live in.

I understand this much: it is impossible to understand the moment you're living in while you're living in it.

There are things we recognize as important: last night's election; those horrible couple weeks on the stock market; or an event like the one coming up in less than 3 weeks for me – events and moments we tell ourselves we must remember, because they are important, because they will define our lives in some very important way.

But just because we know individual moments or days are important, we still don't know what they mean.

The latter half of 2008 has been such a bizarre, chaotic time. The highs are very high; the lows very low. It's like the world is in a very unstable cosmic shift and it's debating which end of the equilibrium to end itself on.

If that sounds too abstract, let me spell it out. My family's life mirrors the stuff you hear on the radio. The job loss; the fear about making the mortgage; the financial stress; the job search; the looming sense of uncertainty; the anger about the financial industry; the bailout; the hope that better days are ahead, but the fear that it will get much, much worse before it gets better.

But there's just no way to know.

Because we have no spending cash, Heidi and I sit at home each night and try to talk our way through this new reality, wondering what it all means for us, our family, our aching desire to stay in this place which feels like home in our the deepest part of our guts.

But there's just no way to know.

I try to think back to the way I felt after the 9/11 attacks. I remember the fear; the uncertainty. And I know we made it through that.

And I know we'll make it through this.

But what's happening now is slow, and painful, and very, very drawn out. There is no line in the sand marked "bottom," there is no clear turn-around point ... just a lot of uncertainty.

Older readers may laugh, but my generation has never really faced as silent of killer as the "deep recession." So naturally, we - and therefore, I - know not what to make of it all.

So forgive me if I seem melodramatic. All I've know are opportunities everywhere. And now the world I know is people with college degrees applying for bus driver jobs.

Talk about a quick shift in the course of 12 months.

- Ed

Change is Coming

Post 45
Weeks of training complete: 30 weeks, 1 day
Time remaining until Ironman: 2 weeks, 6 days

Miles swam: 124.451
Miles biked: 2,267.67
Miles run: 527.29

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

Read nothing into my headline. It's fact. Regardless of who is elected – change, of some sort, is coming. Be it, the first female vice president, or the first Black president, we are on the verge of something truly historic. Lost amid all the bickering of this election, and all the differences, is the fact that in many ways America has moved far, far away from its previous bigotries. It was less than 100 years ago that woman earned the Constitutionally protected right to vote and less than 45 years ago that we passed the Civil Rights Act.

And yet here we are. For the vast majority of Americans, the issue of whom to vote for is not dictated by whether they are voting for or against a Black man, or for or against a woman, but whether or not their beliefs and values align with one candidate or the other. That's a way of thinking in America that many, many powerful interests resisted through this nation's formative years; and a way of thinking many people gave their lives (both physically and through tireless labor) for.

Think about it - when my grandparents were just a little bit younger than me - this country was having real debates about whether or not it was okay to keep minorities out of public schools. And whether women were as intelligent as men ...

So, anyway, regardless of where you stand, change is coming, change has come, we're on the verge of a historic night. And that's pretty cool.

Just a l'il positive spin for y'all.

Well, I'm almost at the end of my journey. Less than three weeks remain.

I'm as ready as I'll be, I guess. And after all that training, all I can say is this: race day may by one of the single hardest days of my life. On Friday, I did an 88 mile ride, followed by a 5 mile run in 94 degree weather. It was grueling. I was exhausted. And all I can think is: "I have to tack a 2.4 mile swim, an additional 25 bike miles and 21 run miles on top that on race day ..."

The one thing to remember is: many, many, many endurance athletes have had been long training days only to come back and race day and knock it out of the park.

On the home front, Heidi's jobs search continues. I am not at liberty to disclose all the dealings. But I can say we are cautiously optimistic.

Mom gets here Friday. Can't wait to see her.

I'm beginning to get daily race jitters from time to time.

Exciting, exciting, exciting!

Good night,
Ed