"When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay" I cant get that Led Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks" out of my head. For those of you who don't keep up on local news in Tempe Arizona, the levee or in this case inflatable dam, burst sending all of the water used for Ironman Arizona down stream. Fortunately no one was hurt but it does put somewhat of a cloud over IMAZ. The City of Tempe hopes to have the dam replaced and the man made lake refilled by November 1st just three weeks before the start of my race. It's completely out of my hands so I will just keep training with the hope that all goes well with the repair. I'm trusting WTC who runs everything Ironman has already come up with an alternate strategy if Tempe Towne Lake is dry and maybe my first Ironman will have an added historical footnote.
I look forward to my Tuesday training because I’m coming off of a rest day and my motivation is high. This Tuesday my schedule called for a brick workout of 25 miles on the bike followed by a 5 mile run. Having a full time job and full time relationships compresses your schedule and every free minute you have is committed to training, eating, and sleeping. The schedule is always tight but doable. I leave work Tuesday a little later than I wanted but that’s OK, these June days are longer. I get home change in to my gear, set up my transition in the garage for my run and I’m off. Halfway in to my ride with my head down in the aero bars I hit a rock that goes thru my sidewall. It’s repairable, I swap tubes get my CO2 out and while filling the tire my CO2 valve fails on me. I have maybe 60PSI in my tire. Determined, I finish my ride (at a much slower speed) get home and change in to my running shoes. I’m now way behind schedule. The smart thing to do is to cut my workout short…but is that the smart thing to do? I’m doing an Ironman! I finish my run get home and by the time I sit down to eat it’s 9 PM. After eating, I shower, log my workouts, ice my achilles, eat again and by the time I’m ready for bed it’s now 11:30PM and I’ve spent no real time with my wife. I’m ready to go to sleep because I get up early on Wednesdays to do my swim workout before work but my wife wants to spend time with me, talking about our days and having some time of intimacy. I put on my best eyes half open attentive face to give my wife the time she desires. While she talks, all I can think about is how staying up late is going to impact my workouts tomorrow (swim/ repeats on the track) and my ability to finish an Ironman. She gets frustrated, I’m frustrated and then it hits me…I’ve already lost perspective.
Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father. 1 John 2:16
If you are attempting your first Ironman or maybe you’ve finished multiple Ironman events. Remember to keep your perspective. Keep your focus on God, your wife, your children. When you’ve left this world the Ironman finishers medal will mean nothing. Keep the focus on things eternal and praise God everyday that he has blessed you with the support and ability to do an Ironman.
Today my training plan called for a 10 mile run followed by a :45 minute bike. This day of training I dedicate to my father William Howard Clarke who I lost on September 4th 1981. I know that I owe so much of my endurance and ability to over come pain to my father. Two stories come to mind about my dad's strength in these areas...countless miles we spent hiking down cliffs to a secluded beach in Mexico to get a prime SCUBA diving spot. My father would carry his equipment and half of mine up and down these rugged paths that were carved in to the cliffs. We would do our dive, relax on the beach together and then we would hike back up the cliff with my dad again carrying most of the gear. The other story is the 4th of July my father had a handful of sparklers ignite in his hand. They literally burned in to his hand as he tried to shake the off. He was so calm about it and at first was not going to see a doctor for his third degree burns. Amazing. I love you dad. Thank you for the many gifts you have given me. Me and dad above in 1961. On the right is dad and I circa 1979. Yes that's my real hair!
Today I turned 50 years old. This day has deep significance to me as I reflect back on my life. I'm not one to want to celebrate my birthday or even tell people it's my birthday but today is different. Today I'm celebrating this day that God has given me because I used to live in fear that I would never see 50 years. It wasn't because I've suffered illness or disease, quite the opposite actually. God has blessed me with a healthy strong body all of my life. This day is special because I made it to a day of longevity that no one else in my immediate family has seen before me. My mother was the first, succumbing to breast cancer at the age of 39. My brother a few years later at the age of 13 in an accident. Then my father in an accident some 16 years later at the age of 49. I was 21 when my father was tragically killed and often haunted by nightmares of being from a cursed family destined to die before my time. Today is so different from the nightmares of my past. Today I have the knowledge of a Holy and Righteous God. I'm not cursed, on the contrary. I look back and see how God has used my life circumstances to draw me nearer to Him, His grace and His promise for me and my life. The same promise he offers to anyone who chooses to seek Him out. I love what Paul says in Romans. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
I rejoice in my sufferings because God has never disappointed me. As I train for Ironman Arizona I know there will be more suffering followed by a sense of joy when I reflect back on the experience and how it's shaped my life.
Its been three weeks since my last post and although I've enjoyed not having to be committed to doing or finishing a workout its time for me to begin my training for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ). What most people don't realize is the time it takes to train for Ironman and the potential for collateral damage to others due to missed commitments or lack of quality time with God, family and friends all for the sake of doing a workout. Instead of eating a family dinner with my wife and daughter they eat while I bike and then run. Sometimes I get back from my ride and as I start my "transition" in the garage, I look and see my wife and daughter sitting at the kitchen table eating and talking...its where I want to be...and I miss them, but then I focus... Ironman is the goal! As I start my run away from the house, the warm kitchen, the love inside, for a very breif moment I wonder...at what cost? My wife wrote me this wonderful letter as I was competing at the Oceanside 70.3. I'm so blessed.
To my awesome husband, 3/27/10 Look at you swimming, biking, and running – who would have ever thought! I am so very proud of you for doing this Ironman event. Never mind that it’s half the distance, you are an Iron Man to me! Having done two of these crazy races, I know what it takes – the long hours of training, the endurance, the motivation (especially trying to convince myself to go for a swim!), the fear of the unknown, but most of all the excitement and anticipation of knowing what a huge accomplishment it will be to cross that finish line. You are such an incredible man and I know you can do anything you set your mind to do. If you want to complete the full Ironman, you can and you will! I will be with you every step of the way, even if it means giving up a workout of my own, cooking dinner every night, going to bed early, riding my bike next to you while you run… or running with you – whatever will help you the most! Just to see you cross that finish line, knowing your heart and how you did it to give glory to God and not yourself, would be worth it all. God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God. - 1 Corinthians 6:20. I know your heart is in the right place, and you show that you live this quote, even just by saying that you want to. I am so proud to be with such an awesome man. Thank you for who you are! Love, Liz
