140.6 for Ray

So tonight marks my last hard workout before leaving for Ironman Madison on Friday.  While making my way into the water tonight, just as the sun was setting, it was a great time of reflection for me.  My summer has been filled with so much in 2013, some good, and some not so good...  But it is my life.

At the start of the Ironman last year, I had a very close friend who was dying of Multiple Myeloma.  He has since then went on to be with his savior.  I sure do miss that guy.  Watching him fight that evil disease helped me more than he would have ever known.  It helped me to put my struggles into perspective.  Gerry, you may be gone, but you will forever be in my heart, and I have adopted your life's motto as my own... "It's not about the destination...  It's all about the journey."

It is hard to explain to others, especially other triathletes, but when I slide into the water for a swim just as the sun is setting, the water is flat, the wind is calm... it's almost like the water washes away all my cares of the day.  It is exercise, for sure, but it is more like therapy for me.  Some people need a massage to relax...  I just need a sunset swim.

So as I stood at the water's edge tonight, squeezing into my wetsuit, and spitting in my goggles, I found myself reflecting back once again on the road that has brought me to this point...  Because its not about the destination, it's all about the journey...

Over the past year, my life has been filled with lots of ups and lots of downs, just like everyone else I know, but one particular low is like a knot in my stomach.

I have this friend who I met few years ago.  We were introduced though a mutual friend to start with as a way for both of us to make a little cash.  It did not take too long for our business relationship to turn into a friendship, one that has included his entire family at this point.  My business partner and I think the world of this man and his entire family.  We have the utmost respect for him, and we are proud to call him our friend.

Just this past winter, he was diagnosed with sarcoma.  Yet another of my friends delt a hand without many options.  This is where my respect began to grow beyond what words could describe.  This man has has the best attitude I have ever seen from a cancer patient.  He refuses to give up, and his faith in God has only grown stronger as the summer has passed along and the number on his days has only seemed to grow smaller.

All the things that I worry about seem so small when stacked against his struggles, I feel embarrassed to think that I have things in my life that I even complain about, knowing what he is going through.  I bet he secretly wishes that his worries were as insignificant as mine.  I feel ashamed when I actually think it through.  Why can't I just be as happy to be alive as he is?

Perspective and balance...  The never ending struggle of my life.

These are the things that often fill my thoughts as the rat race of my days wind down to the waters edge and I am all alone...  ready to train for Ironman.

I wonder if my friend wishes that he was well enough to do complete an Ironman? Well, He will be on my mind all day this coming Sunday, and just because I can cover the 140.6 mile distance this time, and he cannot, I hope he knows that I find what I do to be easy compared to what he does. Ray Urban, you are an Ironman in my eyes, and this one is for you, my friend.