Today's weight was about 158.  I'm feeling extremely pleased with how lean I am going into the Ironman.  I've done 5 triathlons in the past, but I've never felt as prepared as I do for this one... and yet this is twice as long as anything I've ever done.  I guess the knowledge of how big this is... has really pushed me to be focused and consistent all the way through... that...and knowing that Jon Blais and his family will be waiting for me at the finish line...with hopes that the War on ALS is going to receive an enormous boost from this event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AVERAGE COUCH POTATO TO ELITE TRIATHLETE.

APPARENTLY MY STORY HAS BEEN TOLD... AND IT'S BEEN TOLD "WELL".

I thought that this was MY story...

"Average to Ironman"... Guy goes from 185 lbs of fatty slug to Ironman in 6 months.

 

Well... apparently Patrick Evoe has had this idea a bit longer than I have... and he's done a bit more with it... let's just say...he's been kind of successfull.

 

Check out Patrick's article "COUCH POTATO TO ELITE TRIATHLETE IN 3 YEARS"

 

Patrick won this past weekend at the Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 triathlon in Belmont Harbor, MI.

 

I saw him coming to the finish line as I was heading out of the transition area to go on my 13.2 mile run!!!

 

Amazing.  This guy was sitting on a couch 3 years ago...and he started running...then biking...then learned to swim...and now he's winning major Ironman qualifying events!

 

You never know what you have inside you, till you try something you've never tried and really give it your all.

What else can be said about this?

I think I need to go into business selling hot dogs on the corner... because I've never imagined that... and who knows... I could be a major success.

 

Since April 17th till now (August 7th) only a few people have known of my intention to run the biggest Ironman race in the world come this October. 

Why?

Because I didn't want anyone to think I was any more crazy than they already would think I was.

Back in April I didn't remotely look like a triathlete... heck... I didn't look like an athlete.

But I've worked hard, followed the training laid out by the book "24 WEEKS TO AN ENDURANCE TRIATHLON" and I've just finished my first 1/2 Ironman...which is something I only dreamed of last year.

 

The people who have known have been a few friends... and Meghan...and that's it.

 

Well... we're 8 weeks away from the Ironman... so it's time to move on this.

 

I brought my 2005 IRONMAN DVD to my parents house and set it up for them to watch.  It skipped in the first DVD player... it skipped in the 2nd DVD player...and finally I just brought out the laptop and played it for them on that. 

They sat there wondering what it was that I was here to tell them.  They couldn't have dreamed.

 

The DVD I had them watch was sent to me by the Blais family and was intended to get their message about the War on ALS out.  Jonathan Blais is dying of ALS Lou Gherigs Disease, and his completion of the 2005 Ford Ironman World Championship last year was unprecedented.

 

After the DVD ended... I attempted to summon the courage to tell them... and It was difficult... I got emotional.  It was hard for a number of reasons... but mainly because I knew that they would probably be worried about me and my health... they would think I was being too much of a dreamer and trying to do something that was out of reach and I was going to hurt myself... and that I wasn't focusing on what is important in life.

All of which... I have to partly agree with them...and I expected before I even went in there.

 

However...when all was said and done... they told me that they believed I could acheive anything.  And that if I was going to be smart about it...and promise to back out if I truly felt I couldn't do it...they would be behind me 100% and would even be there to witness it first hand.

 

It was a nerve racking moment for me.  Which is why I didn't tell anyone for 4-5 months...and trained quietly for it...seeing if I really had the balls to do it.

 

Well... my new Felt S32 Triathlon bike arrived in the mail yesterday... my new clipless pedals will be here on Monday... Sunday I pick up my shoes... I have the gear now to do this thing right.  I always said that I would do the first few on really crappy gear... I would force myself to earn it.  Well... I did 4 triathlons... and one 1/2 Ironman... so after 5 total triathlons... I think I've done what I needed to do in order to justify riding a bike that isn't a piece of crap.

 

8 weeks to go till Kona...and the Ironman.

I can't believe I'm going to do this.... and yet... I believe it with all my heart.  I was meant to do this. I know it.

 

my results can be found at:  WHIRLPOOL STEELHEAD 70.3 TRIATHLON RESULTS

 

 

On August 5th 2006 I completed my first ever 1/2 Ironman at the Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon (70.3 is how many miles the race covers).

 

My total time was 5:49:53

 

Broken down.... the whole race looked like this for me:

 

SWIM - 1.2 miles = 39.28   (2:04/100m)

transition #1       =  6:26   

BIKE -  56  miles = 3:07:54 (17.88 mph)

transition #2       = 1:34

RUN  - 13.2 miles = 1:54:31 (8:44/ mile)

 

Over all I was extremely happy with the results.  My swimming is getting better... I need to move across the course less and work on just moving straight...but I'm comfortable out there.  My biking needs a ton of work... but it's going to take a lot of miles on the road... that's it period.  My running needs a bit of work... but that will be improved by lots of biking because my muscles will be used to getting the crap beat out of them.

 

All in all I'm very happy.  I look forward to doing another 1/2 Ironman soon...and preparing for the big one in October.

On the night of July 29th 2006, after 83 glorious years of one of the most perfect examples of what it means to love and forgive and live life to it's fullest... my Grandmother on my father's side... Mary Anne Breen... went home to God, her husband, and her two sons Timothy and Skip. 

 

I can attempt to explain what she meant to not only my life, but the lives of every one of my relatives, and family friends who knew her... but I could never do it justice.

 

She wasn't a Bible thumper, she wasn't a preacher, she didn't tell you what to do or how and when to do it.  She didn't shove her opinions into people's lives, she didn't judge,...come to think of it she rarely got angry or frowned. 

She just listened to you, she laughed, she found the fun and humor in life...and she did her best to make every day a good one...and in turn she affected people around her without even trying.

 

When she told you, "do you know that you are one of God's special children?"... You didn't question... you absolutely believed what she was telling you...as if God sent her to you to let you know. 

 

When she hugged you, kissed you, or reached up and grabbed your face with your open hands and smiled... you felt the energy and joy of life surround you.

 

She had an incredible relationship with God.  She trusted him 100%.  She believed that what happened in her life was meant to be. 

 

More than anything though... I want to say that it was that smile and that overall attitude of joy that she carried with her everywhere she went...that just radiated out and affected you and your life whether or not you were open to it. 

 

She was the reason that I have had the relationship with God that I've had.  And though it has never been as strong or as consistent as the one she had... I was always confident that it would be there when I needed it...and when I felt weak... I knew I could go to her either on the phone or in a letter...and she would know what to say to me.  She wouldn't tell me to read the Bible or quote scripture... she would tell me to relax...not to stress out about it... that God knew somehow what I was struggling with...and that for some reason it was in his plan for me to be dealing with whatever it was I was dealing with.  She didn't tell you BELIEVE IN GOD... it was instead in the way she explained how relaxed and comfortable and easy the relationship was supposed to be...that made it easy for you (me)...to simply realize that God was there when you needed him...and that before long...you would simply come back to him. 

 

I would have to compare it to a dog owner who chains up and cages in his dogs... and never gives them trust...so that one day when they finally have the chance...they run away at the first opportunity and never come back.  She was more like the dog owner who never wanted her dog to be stressed out or "controlled".  The dog would be given enough leeway so that it could run away if it really wanted to...but because it was such a relaxed and trusted environment...it never felt the need to...and it always knew that it would be taken care of right here at home.

 

At her funeral, the eight oldest boys of her eight kids were the pall bearers.  As we walked next to the hearse from the funeral home to the Church... a Bagpiper played "When Irish Eye's Are Smiling" and "Amazing Grace" as he walked directly in front of the slow moving hearse.

It was really very neat to be a part of.

 

As we were leaving the Church, the last thing they did was play her last Voice Mail message...which was always a very special message to anyone who called...it always brightened your day...and it was always something reasurring about how God loves you.  You didn't even need to talk to the real women in order for her to affect your day in a positive way.

 

 

So here I am... a few weeks after her passing...and I don't think it will really set in until it grows into months and then a year... or maybe the most when Christmas rolls around and she's not around. 

 

Two days ago, on August 5th, I completed my first ever 1/2 Ironman race.  (1.2 mi swim/ 56 mi bike/ 13.2 mi run).  My total time was 5 hours, 49 mins, 53 seconds.

 

4 hours into the race... I was beginning my 13.2 mile run...when an enormous cramp disabled my right leg.  My entire quad was in massive pain and was locking up.  I didn't know what to do, I tried massaging the lactic acid out to no avail. 

Then I began to pray.  I was walking, and I just began to pray to God...and then... I had to be honest with myself because I talk to my relatives in heaven more than I talk to God...so I began to pray to them... through through them...and finally I just began to pray to my Grandma Breen.  I always had to call her on the phone or visit her if I wanted to talk with her before.  But now all I had to do was pray directly to Heaven and I could contact her.  All I did was ask her to run with me, to give me the strength to do this 13 mile run... and to help me with the pain.  I put my hand on my aching quad and prayed harder...I asked her to come into my heart and soul and help me to be strong and to overcome the pain.

To my left was a steep dirt hill, most of the runners were walking it...and as I ended my prayer and took my first step up that hill...miraculously the pain completely vanished... I mean just went away.  I was suddenly charging up that hill on two strong legs...and I charged up and over that hill like it was a gift and didn't look back.

8 Miles later the pain returned... only this time it was in both legs.  Again I prayed to my Grandmother, my relatives, and to God... and the pain didn't go away... but I was able to keep moving through it.  And I wasn't just jogging, I was catching runners and passing them.  I wasn't just finishing this 13.2 mile portion of the race... I was finishing strong...and I felt as though I had the power of God and my Grandmother in me...helping me to believe that I could overcome any pain.  The pain never went away after that 8th mile... it got worse in fact... but in spite of the pain I continued to run faster and faster...as though the pain had no affect on my ability to perform the task.

 

As I came around that last turn and headed into the long narrow chute towards the finish line... I began to get a bit emotional.  The crowd was cheering loudly, I heard my sister scream out for me, I thought of the Blazeman whom has ALS and who needed something to be done for him, I thought of my Grandmother who had come to me in my time of need and gave me the power to overcome a massive amount of pain and push through 13 miles of grueling heat after 4 hours of racing...to get to the all important finish line. 

I approached the finish line...and went down to my hands and knees and rolled across it in the name of the WAR ON ALS and THE BLAZEMAN and his family.

 

I stood up... almost fell back down and was immediately helped back up by someone working the race... a little girl put my medal around my neck...and I walked through the gates and towards the crowd...where I found Meghan and fell into her arms and let the emotions go.

 

My Mother and Sister met me shortly thereafter... and it was an emotional moment...as I told them exactly who had been out there in the heat with me....helping me through the pain.  There was no doubt about it.  My Grandma Breen affected my life even from the far reaches of Heaven. 

 

For those who knew her and were impacted by her... she will be missed.  But she will never be far from our hearts.  And her impact on our lives will live on for the rest of our lives... in our stories...and then again in the lives of those who hear the stories.