Ironman Anniversary

Today is the running of the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Galveston, TX.  It was 4 years ago that I completed that event.  It was a high water mark in several respects.  The culmination of 5 years of triathlon training.   The longest distance I had ever done- 70.3 miles.  A life goal.  My mother and sister were there to see me complete it.  As well as my good friend Sam and John who also did  the event.

Afterwards Sam and John and I took a picture - I wish I still had it.  I finally teared up at the thought of us celebrating together.  I thought, we will never be at this exact place again like this.  I drank it in.

So after that mountaintop experience, I expected a letdown.  But I didn't expect the letdown to be as big as it was.

That year was the end of my triathlons. I just didn't have the urge to continue at it.  Then the bombs really started falling.

 In October 2014, my good friend Paul Farmer died in an auto pedestrian accident.  Age 49, leaving a wife and daughter behind.

In December 2014, I ran the McAllen Half Marathon.  I saw my friend Scott Crane that morning getting ready for the marathon.  I had trained with him and he was a very experienced runner.  He quit the race at mile 20 complaining of an some ailment.  He died later that day.

To celebrate Paul's life, John, Sam, Paul's brother Kyle, our friend Bob and I went on a ski trip in February 2015.  We had a great time together.  Then Bob Bryan died unexpectedly in March 2015.

John, Sam, Kyle and I continued to get together.  Until Sam Rush died in March 2016, training for an Ironman triathlon.

This exercise which was supposed to keep us healthy was taking all of my friends.  I pulled away from it even more.  I suffered from some depression.  I was drinking alcohol.   Note to my future self - don't add the depressant of alcohol to an existing condition of depression.

Thankfully I've been able to turn this around, with my fair share of help.  Nobody does it alone.  Everything happens for a reason and that will be revealed at the right time.  One thing I have learned - it just can't be a surprise when someone in their 50s dies.  Make the most of today and be grateful for all we have been given.

Today I was reminded of all this.  I've started running some again.  Today was a perfect day for it.  I was open to possibility.  I completed the distance and more.  I saw my friend Steve running today, wearing his Ironman shirt.  He's the one who was the original spark to do an Ironman 70.3.  I thought of Sam today, and Paul and Scott and Bob.  They're still with me and I'm sure they would tell me to Keep Moving Forward.

As Mother Teresa said, when you do something for someone else, Jesus would say, "You did it to me".