Rebirth and Beginnings

Post 33
Weeks of training complete: 22 weeks, 5 days
Time until Ironman: 9 weeks, 2 days

Miles swam: 94.571

Miles biked: 1,545.22

Miles run: 375.39

Goal: $5,000

Total raised: $1,615

All is well here. It's late. I finished another long bike ride today (about 60 miles), followed up by a 4.5 mile run, in which I held a 9:05/mile pace after the long bike ride. It's further evidence of much stronger I'm getting.

And I'm doing all this still with the tail end of a cold. I've been sick on and off this week - couldn't get my swims in.

Tonight Beck and I stayed up and watched Scooby-Doo 2. It was fun. Phelma's hot.

I need to give a big, big shout out to my boy Bang, who stepped up with a big, big donation towards the cause. We're closing in on the $2,000 mark and with the Bocce tournament next weekend, we should surpass that. Bang and I go back many a year here in Tempe and our stories of mayhem throughout the state are legendary - from our admission into Cluck-U; the mighty destruction of Truckasaurus and the many, many beers consumed. And, of course, baseball ...

In other thoughts, the financial world is getting a little scary right now. The economy is clearly a mess and what's even stranger is that the government is openly panicking right now. That's strange to watch. The government is beginning to behave in a bipartisan manner again - it makes you aware of the severity of what's happening.

I'm no economic expert, but I fancy myself as something of a hobby economist. I follow market trends, study commodities and try to understand global currencies - purely becuase I'm interested in the way financial systems work. I don't even do it to profit it off it oddly enough - as often as I correctly predict the movement of markets, I don't have the stomach to bet on them except in very long-term strategies I understand.

That said, I'm nervous about the US dollar. I'm worried about the risk the government has exposed itself, too. And I don't understand enough about the liquidity of the government - how can it spend when it's already running a massive deficit - to fully grasp the impact of these humungous bailouts.

If I'm uncertain about it - it means a lot of other people are, too. Uncertainty is bad for economies.

Just something I've been thinking about ... One thing's for sure, the 2000s have been significantly different than the 1990s.

I need to get to bed. Big run tomorrow ... and football. ASU plays Georgia. Big game. I think, I really think, we can win it.

Go Devils!

- Ed

Going to the Well

Post 32
Weeks of training complete: 22 weeks, 2 days
Time remaining until Ironman: 9 weeks, 5 days

Miles swam: 92.117
Miles biked: 1,464.97
Mikes run: 371.18

Goal: $5,000
Total raised: $1,540

I often wonder: how many times can I go to the well?

How many times can I go to that place and share with all of you my exhaustion before you simply tire of hearing of it? Like the candidate who preaches nothing but gloom and doom, who points out nothing but what has gone wrong; like the news media that warns of $5 gas and impending doom, how many times can I spell it out before you stop listening, before it loses it's impact?

I don't want to keep going to the well so to speak. The well runs dry, and then the whole community suffers. What you need, what we need, is a positive force of change ... And yet, today, after it was all said and done, that feeling of exhaustion, that feeling that I need a vacation settled in, deep and heavy on my soul.

Maybe it's the news of the day, the stresses of work, the reality of being in the middle-to-late stages of a very exhausting journey; the end getting closer, but still, ahead, much, much work to be done.

There is always so much work to be done.

Work with the children, work with the home, work with relationships, work with work. I'm beginning to suspect our 30s and 40s and 50s are a time of incredible perserverance if we are to stay ahead of the game; if we are to keep our heads above water.

These challenges come in the seemingly simplest of tasks: breaking a child of her bottle habit, teaching a young boy the meaning of taking responsibility for our decisions and actions; helping an employee find the right path to success; comforting those in need of comfort and a shoulder; helping those who are deserving of our kindness and time.

And, yes, finding time for yourself for a simple moment of relaxation.

As the calendar ticks towards the end of the year, these issues always seem to compound. The changing of the seasons, and the holidays are always a time of complex emotion and time management issues. These things are approaching again. A 20-hour workout schedule certainly adds to the weight.

Everything is moving so fast - must keep my head above water, must remember to breathe, must remember to keep those arms moving and those legs kicking.

There are many miles left to go.

- Ed

T Minus 10 Weeks and Counting

Post 31

Weeks of training complete: 22 weeks, 1 day

Time remaining until Ironman: 9 weeks, 6 days

Miles swam: 92.117

Miles biked: 1,451.82

Miles run: 368.38

Goal: $5,000

Total raised: $1,540

We're officially under the 10 week mark. Just 9 weeks and 6 days from now, if all goes according to plan, I will be crossing the finish line of the 2008 Ford Arizona Ironman some time around this time.

Here's some fun things to consider. Since the beginning of training:

• I have swam the distance from midtown Manhattan to downtown Philadelphia

• I have biked the distance from Tempe to St. Louis, Missouri

• I have run the distance from Phoenix to Los Angeles

I took Beckett to Gameworks tonight because he was so good at school. So good, in fact, that the teachers commended him for sharing with other students. That's a first ...

We played skeeball and air hockey and a Harley Davidson motorcycle game.

I've been up since 4:30 a.m. I ran a half-marathon before work, coupled with a 20 mile bike ride. I feel like a machine; a machine that just gets up and runs and swims and bikes and eats and eats and eats and eats and eats.

I eat a lot - just like that Michael Phelps thing on the Olympics everyone was talking about.

For example:

I came home from my run this morning and had the following:

3 scrambled eggs

2 oz. fire roasted salsa

2 pieces of toast

1/2 whole avocado

6 oz. smoked salmon

1 whole banana

16 oz. orange juice

16 oz. coffee

12 oz. seltzer water

Before that: 3 packets of Hammer gel (during run)

For lunch, I had the following:

1/2 whole zuchinni, raw

1/2 tomato

4 oz. raw carrots

5 oz. spaghetti

3 oz. homemade soy-based "meat marinara"

1 can Coca-Cola

1 peanut butter and banana cupcake

For second lunch:

1 tortilla

8 oz. chicken and potato homemade Mexican burrito filling

16 oz. water

For dinner:

6 spears asparagus

12 oz. chicken baked in pecan-mustard glaze

1 baked pita

1 Megan & Jeff's India Pale Ale home brew

For snack:

2 12oz. glasses natural sparkling lemonade

1/3 mint chip ice cream sandwich

And probably cookies after I finish this.

I had a pretty nice weekend, actually, too. Went out to dinner for my buddy Eric's birthday on Friday night. Had lots of sushi and some beer. Went to the ASU football game on Saturday.

I know I'm not very insightful tonight, but my eyes are heavy and I need to pack for tomorrow's workout. Tomorrow, I shouldn't be as tired, which means I might be able to think of something more to say.

Seriously, my brain is mushy mush right now. Must be all those video games.

- Ed

Non-stop

Post 30
Weeks of training complete: 21 weeks, 4 days
Time until Ironman: 10 weeks, 3 days

Miles swam: 92.117
Miles biked: 1,385.07
Miles run: 352.85

Goal: $5,000
Total raised: $1,500

Just thought I'd post a little video of the kids today. Things are good. No major complaints or insights to report. Working out a lot. Working a lot. The heat is breaking. I got a chance to play with the kids today after work - outside. It was nice.

I swam 3,500 yards today, non-stop. That's about 2 miles, or about .4 mile short of the full Ironman swim.

We have a busy weekend coming up. Dinner with friends on Friday. Heidi and Beck are going to see Walking with the Dinosaurs on Saturday. Then Heidi and I are hitting football on Saturday night. Then picking up family at the airport on Sunday and driving them out to Heidi's mom's to spend some time with the in laws.

In between that, we'll fit 8 or 9 hours of training.

Getting stronger.

Half Ironman is in two (or three) weeks from tomorrow. I can mentally conceive that distance. I feel ready for it.

I'm going to hang with Heidi now, watch a movie on the couch and eat cookies.

Until next time,
Ed

The Constant Battle

Post: 27
Weeks of training complete: 21 weeks, 2 days
Time remaining until Ironman: 10 weeks, 5 days

Miles swam: 88.121
Miles biked: 1,359.92
Miles run: 345.87

Fundraising goal: $5,000
Total raised: $1,500

My latest ongoing battle is with dehydration. Constant, neverending dehydration. With this humidity falling to normal desert levels, the heat unrelenting and me almost refusing to workout indoors anymore, I am dealing with thirst – constantly. This afternoon, after I finished my workout, I had the following: two 16 oz. glasses of water, two 12 oz. seltzer waters, one 12 oz. Coca-Cola, one 12 oz. Diet Dr. Pepper, 12 oz. of lemonade and then, with dinner, another 16 oz. glass of water. I began drinking all those fluids (that's 108 oz., if you're counting) at about 6 p.m. and finally, finally peed a small amount at 8:15 p.m.

I've decided that at this level of training, it has become necessity to eliminate almost all alcoholic beverages. My body simply cannot recover from their impacts, even the slight dehydrating effects of couple beer. So, I went out and bought a bunch of organic natural sodas - basically, they're carbonated pure fruit juice – for my recreational beverage for the next 11 weeks. With all the work and time and sacrifice I have made for this Ironman, I can't let things like the craving for beer, or a good time, get in the way. Look out Thanksgiving weekend – there's gonna' be someone with a hankerin' to tie one on coming your way, and his name is Ed.

There's so many things that have happened in the past couple weeks. Funny things - I'll share one with you. Last week on Labor Day Monday, the YMCA pool was closed, so I had to go to the city pool to swim my laps. They have one lap lane and at the time I went, that lap lane was occupied by two people trying to hook up or something. I'm still not sure what they were doing.

There was limited time, so I had to use the open pool - so I figured I'd stay closed to the lap lane and swim. No problems at all for about the first 30 days.

Around lap 35, I notice a huge dude in a bright blue one piece (it turned out it was a blue T-shirt) standing directly in the middle of my path. I stopped, stood up and turned and looked at him as if to give him the "WTF" sign. He continued to stare at me; so I swam around him. After a lap or two, he moved.

About six laps later, as I doing my turn, I noticed he had grabbed the lifeguard's megaphone and was screaming to everyone in the facility: "Put down your beers! No beers in the pool!" (This is a city pool, and no alcohol is allowed. No one had any alcohol.)

Then from about laps 41-80, he stood against the edge of the pool and leered at me. Awesome.

At lap 80, the lovers got out of the lap lane. I got in. At lap 85, ol' Blue T-Shirt was back; standing at the edge of the lane and barking at me. Like a dog.

When I got out of the pool at lap 120, he was asleep on the concrete on the edge of the pool.

Fun times. Fun times, indeed.

What else has been going on ... hmmm ... not much more beyond the usual. Busy at work, busy at home. The ASU Sun Devils are 2-0. The Diamondbacks are falling apart.

Brody is beginning to talk ... and sing. She sings Rilo Kiley songs, believe it or not, which is kind of cute to hear.

I've got to head out now and get ready for tomorrow. Ironman is approaching. I'm thinking of beginning a countdown soon of just how many more workouts I have.

My body is beginning to ache, too. Nagging little injuries here and there - a strained shoulder, sore knees ... must be careful.

Until tomorrow,
Ed

The Perfect Allegory

Post: 26

Weeks of training complete: 21 weeks, 1 day

Time remaining until Ironman: 10 weeks, 6 days

Miles swam: 88.121

Miles biked: 1,347.74

Miles run: 342.75

Goal: $5,000

Total raised: $1,500

Tonight, I lived the perfect allegory for what my life has become. I closed the gym. It was mean, alone, in the pool. Me, alone, on the treadmill. As the minute hand creeped towards closing time, I grabbed some paper towels, wiped down the equipment I used and left a silent gym for a silent parking lot on a silent Monday night.

This, is what it's all come down, too, I guess - this quest. A part-time job, it is now. I will train for close to 18 hours this week. My schedule looks like this:

Today: Swim 2.175 miles, Run 6.5 miles (2 hours, 20 minutes)

Tuesday: Bike 15 miles, Run 3.5 miles (1 hour, 15 minutes)

Wednesday: Swim 2.175 miles, Bike 25 miles (2 hours, 50 minutes)

Thursday: Swim 2.175 miles, Run 8 miles (2 hours, 35 minutes)

Friday: Bike 68 miles, Run 5 miles (4 hours, 45 minutes)

Saturday: Bike 25 miles, Run 13 miles (3 hours, 30 minutes)

It's very late and I need to go wind down, but it's been so long since I reported to y'all what's happening, I just had to weight in quickly and say hello.

My grandma stepped up with an absolutely huge contribution, bringing the total raised to $1,500 - we're actually making some nice progress on the goal now. And I cannot thank her enough. Her contribution specifically pushed me out to get my workout done tonight. I thought of her and her willingness to give (and the fact that she's coming to see me race - I'm so excited!) and I knew I had to go out there and put in the hours to make sure I succeed for all those coming out for the big day, which, by the way, is only 10 weeks and 6 days away.

I promise a more in-depth post tomorrow.

Good night,

Ed

Arizona Dreaming

Post: 25
Weeks of training complete: 20 weeks, 3 days
Time remaining until Ironman: 11 weeks, 4 days
Miles swam: 84.062
Miles biked: 1,281.54
Miles run: 322.61

Goal: $5,000
Total raised: $1,000

My mind has drifted a lot these past few weeks. I keep getting tastes of a previous life; one that did not involve the responsibility of work and children.

I remember the strangely sweet smell of Nogales in the late spring sun. It is the smell of commerce and taco stands; urine and exhaust; lime and cerveza. Tequila sunrises in the promenade at noon. Enchilada and blanco tequila for a late lunch. The sounds of bargaining for ceramic goods painted in bright hues - great Christimas gifts for the folks back home - and a sleepy ride home, pressed against the window, as saguaro and prickly pear and shrub studded mountains roll by in the setting sun.

There is the brisk night air of Sedona. Stars as far as I can see; the smell of mesquite burning; marshmallows and sweaters and campfire stained sleeping bags. Red rocks towering in the morning; Oak Creek gurgling beneath my feet. Bacon and eggs and coffee. Hiking and afternoon beer. And then another beer. Somewhere some people are smoking something, people are laughing. The sun is warm; peaceful.

There are hundreds of these old memories in my head - the sign of a good life, a well-traveled life across the desert. I can name off places that most people just see as dots on a map and each of them have a story, a gathering of people associated with them. Spring Valley, Tubac, Bisbee, Show Low, Aravaipa, Hannagan Meadow, the Chiricahuas, the Santa Catalinas, the Sierra Ancha, Flagstaff, Williams, Naco, Lyman Lake, Patagonia, Fools Hollow, Eager, Springerville, Greer, Blue, the Black River. They all involve people, tents, fire, solitude. They all include good memories - dropped all over the state.

I thought this morning, as I rushed in from a 3-1/2 hour Wednesday morning workout session (4:45 am. to 8:15 a.m.), so I could literally eat, shower and run back out the door with the kids, about how easy these trips used to be, how often I took them for granted. How we almost, almost, became bored of camping out there in the middle of nowhere. How we slowly gave all that up, as our careers advanced, for the creature comforts of a middle-income life. No more hot dogs on a stick cooked over a ponderosa fire, no, we yuppie 20somethings settled for import beer and tuna tartare. Funny, I forget most of the restaurants. I remember each one of the camping spots.

I've already decided when the kids are older that part of my fitness program will involve hiking together, fishing together, playing together - exploring the mountains and the deserts and learning to love them the way I love them, learning to feel connected to them the way I did before I became disconnected.

I had an interesting day today. I had to fill in and do an interview for a reporter who had a scheduling conflict today. I interviewed Mr. Cartoon, who is a world-famous tattoo artist. He's tatted a who's who of the entertainment world - Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, the list goes on and on. He's also actively involved in the lowrider culture. Born in the Harbor District of L.A., worked his way up from the streets. He's a very real person - a real mix of diverse personality traits and beliefs. No drugs or drinking, smart business sense, strong identity as an artist, believer in God and envisioning reality, strong supporter of youth and children, proud Latino/Chicano. It forced me to learn about a culture I knew little about. It was nice to step outside my daily routine.

Heidi was sick today, too. So instead of bringing the kids home after school, I took them out to dinner. We went to Red Robin and got chicken fingers and grilled cheese and French fries and chocolate milk and baloons, can't forget the baloons. Then we went and played in all the water fountains at the outdoor Tempe Marketplace. The kids got soaked. I brought them home, put them to bed, got ready for another big workout day and came here, to type.

Finally, but by no means least importantly. I'd like to give a huge thank you to my friend Sean. For those of you who don't know, I've known Sean since I was 3. That's right, 3. Can you believe that? He stepped up in true Coca fashion, rounding out the uneven total with a donation that would bring it to a smooth $1,000. Thanks, man. Hope things are going well with the newborn. Some day in the next few years the family and I are going to make it out that way. God knows we have a lot of people we need to visit in the Carolinas. Until then, bring on another weekend in Vegas. I miss you. The donation means a lot to me. It keeps me going - knowing that you guys are willing to give like that.

Until tomorrow,
Ed