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Greetings Everyone!
Keith Kober and I have great news for all of you!
On Sept 13th 2009 at 11:29:15 PM we crossed the finish line together completing our 6th out of 6 Ironmans within 11 months! This was a truly life changing and magical journey for everyone involved in our lives. I know I can only speak for myself but the gifts I have received all along the way are amazing. There is not a price tag I can put on them. I can tell you what it costs to take on such a Journey but it will pale in comparison to the many gifts we have recevied along the way.
My message will be simple and it is that anything that you dream about YOU can do. Anything that you want You can do. Anything that you ask for IS within YOUR reach. Make it happen. Make it work. Do the footwork and enjoy every step of the way. If someone says you can't do something please Don't listen to that message because they have no idea what You are capable of. Try your best to only co-sign positive messages and make them a part of who you are. Life is Nutz.....Be What You Are.......Join our Revolution......Your mind is what moves the engine that is you and it is more powerful than any person, place or thing on this earth.
I used to think that all of the regular folk who didn't have an addictive personailty like me didn't really understand how I viewed life and went through things like I did. I was wrong. I stepped out of my own comfort zone and took off the blinders that my own self centered existence provides and made a decision to open my mind beyond that which I thought or felt. I turned my will and my life over and really allowed others beyond my circle of recovery for the past 24 years in a nameless 12 step program and found out that all folks are much similar than I gave them credit for and they had the same and similar defects of character as I do. They taught me along this journey that I was still walking through life with blinders on and they gave me a very precious gift that they cared about things as much as I do. I believe in the human spirit and I believe in whatever you believe and that you are right no matter how you feel at this moment.
A good friend of mine Dennis my massage therapist http://www.qualitymassage.net/ ( I recommend him highly as he kept me together during this past year!) will now be riding me every week about when the book is coming out. Keith already has mentioned doing a book and yet I ask anyone out there to help us as we have no clue how to go about getting published and will probably need several EDITORS JUST TO CLEAN UP AFTER US.
I will apologize ahead of time for the long read but this will be one of our final entries as we will be traveling to Kona next month to spectate and cheer on my best friend, coach and mentor Joe Turcotte and our great friend and Ironman Brother and PRO Swen Sundberg from Germany at the Ironman World Championships on October 10th 2009!
I want you to know what happened as we crossed the finish line together in the beautiful city of Madison on this night Sept 13th 2009 at 11:29:15 PM. As Keith and I believe the finish line is a great place it is the Journey along the way and day that makes the enitre experience what it is.............MAGICAL............but for me this finish was very special for us as we did something that maybe only a handful of athletes of any sport have done to the same degree within a year and especially at 49 years old. As Keith & I approached the finish chute of the Ironman which is pure madness we both noticed Mike Reilly (The Voice of Ironman) was not in his usual spot up in the tower bringing us home. He was down on the carpet just before the finish line. We couldn't hear what he had said but found out after we crossed the finish line that because of Keith's Jen Brown's note and a letter sent by our friend Joe Turcotte (our Coach) he came down personally to welcome us in and share our entire 6 Ironmnan Journey and the money and awareness we have raised for our 6 charities with the entire crowd at Ironman Madison 2009. With over 2200 athletes he needs to recognize we felt very honored and humbled by this gesture and we thank you Mike and Ironman for that memory! He is a true friend and brother to us for life.
Time to rewind to this special day and the days leading up to it. Jen and I packed up and traveled to Madison on Wednesday before. My poor wife has had the toughest role of all dealing with a crazed Nut for a few years now in preparing and staying focused on this Journey. Most folks will never truly understand the sacrifices you have to make to accomplish this task but it does not always provide fruitful results however there has always been a good lesson along the way. My kids have also had to sacrifice allot as well so I thank them all for their love and support because without it this never would have happened. There will be some special mentions along this blog and future blogs and I know I will forget to mention some and for that I apologize ahead of time.
My sister Elizabeth got us set up at The Hotel Sheraton in a major way and my good friend and fellow marathoner Fred Becker got me out there on the flights (for all Ironmans) and so the final chapter to our 6 Ironman Journey was coming down the stretch. The next day I went down to Registration to check in and get my bike and gear bag. As I stood in line with several hundred of the early check ins we talked about our upcoming day with trepidation and wonder about what the day would bring. Would it be raining and cold like was being forecasted, would our bikes be right, the phantom pains started to settle into our bodies as we thought about what lay in front of us. To mouth the words means little to people who have not experienced an Ironman 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile marathon....I can tell as you read it you have no idea what I am talking about and that's ok keep reading. As I stood with my Ironman warriors awaiting in line it starts to hit you as you are now bonded with many others that truly understand what lays ahead whether or not this is their first time or tenth time. They have done the training and everything that has prepared all 2406 of these athletes is now sinking in to their minds. It is truly an incredible feeling. The brotherhood of knowing also begins as you talk with folks whom you have nothing else in common except Ironman and they seem to absolutely know who you are and connect immediately with a kinship that knows no bounds. You start to talk with someone who does such and such for as living and it doesn't matter because now you know and realize that what you do for a living is not who you are. Those of you who may be wondering what 140.6 miles feels like try it in a car and tell me how tired you are just from sitting for those 2-3 hours it takes you to accomplish that. Now break it down with swimming and riding a bike and running and maybe you can start to grasp what we experienced on one day. Now picture going through that one day 13 days ago in Louisville Kentucky and you are now here to do it again in Madison Wisconsin and your body has not even healed yet. Why did we do it. Because we are NUTZ and because we want to give back a gift that has been freely given to us for me that gift is Life. What I do doesn't matter to me anymore....who I am does....what I do with any time I have is more important than any thing I gain....The fellowship of a 12 step program I understand, the fellowship of an Ironman I understand, the spirit of both of these I can attest to and they are one in the same. The same concepts of Unity, Service and Recovery apply to us all. We have not only been given this gift we are now responsible to share it with others. I hope you can agree with this one idea because if you do then it will define you as a person for the rest of your life no matter what cause, quest, or challenge you choose to make for you.........
To be continued................
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