Numbers

In 24 hours and 27 minutes I will begin the 2008 Eagleman IRONMAN 70.3. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to give this a try. My gratitude for the opportunity to train and compete is overwhelming. This point was never so poignant then when I drove to "packet pick-up" in Cambridge yesterday afternoon. Along the way I drove past the helicopter, emergency vehicles, police cruisers, and media that were surrounding the little yellow house outside Trappe where a man, only hours before, had killed his wife and himself. A multitude of questions rang through my head, but mostly, "how could this man become so distressed/angry/desperate as to do such a thing?"

How did we allow this man to slip through the cracks in our community? This horrific event gives so much meaning to what I am about to do tomorrow. I will go forth at 7:24am Sunday as a product (however fast or slow) of everyone in my life: my wife, daughters, parents, sisters, family, friends, and mentors. With your love, support, and encouragement I will tackle the challenges in the race tomorrow, much the same way I have lived my life for the past 43 years. It is with confidence that I will come out of tomorrow, either fallen or victorious, into the arms of my life that is all of you (that includes You, God). Everyone alive should be able to make that last statement. Why did a man in Trappe not feel that way yesterday?

I began titling this post as "Numbers" because of the multitude of them running around my head: my times, splits, schedules, pace, velocity, mileage, etc. I got off on the above tangent, but I'm not sorry. These numbers have been my focus leading up to the race to give me an idea of where I will be tomorrow, and what I can expect. Now, that the time is near (exactly 24 hours from this moment, as I type) my focus is changing to having fun with all this. I will do tomorrow what my body, mind, spirit, and conditions will allow. So, though the numbers will still be there to compute, I am slowly removing them from my focus.

There is one number, however, that is not leaving, and that's my race number of "995". I will sport 995 on my shoulders, legs, helmet, bike, and front. Mike Valliant knows my "thing" about race numbers, and I think he'd agree that I have a good one. Talk to you in a few days. Thank you, all, for making the fabric of my life.