The Time Is Now...

Well, here we are…6 days out from IRONMAN Florida. This has been an awesome journey. I’ve learned a lot about the sport and about myself over the past year. This year has been KU-RAY-ZEE. Throwing a little munchkin into the mix has definitely made it more exciting. I can’t believe that the day is almost here. The day where I’m gonna push myself harder than I ever have. I’m very anxious right now. It seems like no matter what I do, I can’t stop thinking about being out on that race course. I’m excited and nervous as hell at the same time. Did I train enough…what if I get my goggles kicked off in the swim…what if I wreck on the bike…what if I get on the run and just can’t go? I’ve always been a big self doubter . I’ve gotten better over this past year though. In all my races, I’m good on the swim…pretty good on the bike…and the run is hit or miss. The past couple of races, I have had some good runs which is very reassuring for IMFL.

Mantras…My buddy Jeff and I had a discussion a couple of weeks ago about race “mantras.” Those sayings you repeat to yourself when things start getting rough out there on the course to help push you through to the finish. One fellow triathlete has a couple that he goes through…the first is “Pura Vida” which means “Pure Life”. He picked it up in Costa Rica. They say it as a way of saying, “Hey, I’m just feelin groovy and I hope you are too.” Seems to me it is one of those to try and calm you down. When he starts getting tired, he turns to another…”Form Forward.” Don’t focus on anything but your form. Don’t worry about pace, the guy/girl that just passed you. Focus on your form and you’ll get more comfortable and inevitably, your pace picks up on its own. If these two don’t work, he digresses into despair and starts using his third mantra which like “Form Forward” starts with “F.” :-)

Jeff told me of a couple of other ones…his favorite is Philippians 3:12-14…”Not that I have already obtained this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” If you memorize it, it takes about 40 secs to say to yourself which is a good distraction in bad situations. A shorter one that I have caught myself saying is a take paraphrase of Hebrews 12:1 “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down,…and let us run with endurance that race that God has set before us.” This biggest weight for me when I start saying this is doubt. Another one that I really like now (thanks Jeff) is just the phrase “I Can.” Short, simple, and powerful. It will zap me back into focus when the doubts start creeping in my head. “I Can” can easily be translated into “I will” out on that race course. I will finish this. I will push hard and cross that finish line. I will do this for myself…for my family since they have sacrificed so much time and money for me to make this journey…for all of my friends who have always been there for me and listened to me talk about this for God knows how long…and for my little man, Lucas, so he will learn from his dad that no matter what…You Can.

Tracking me during the race…I’ll have my laptop with me down there, but I doubt that I will be doing much blogging once we get on the coast. For everyone that is coming down…I can’t wait to see you on the course. Having cheerleaders is such motivation when you are out on that run. For those of you not making the trip, there are several ways you can track my progress.
Directly on the website. www.ironman.com There will be a link to an athlete tracker starting that morning around 7central. My bib number is 372. This will update only as I cross timing mats. So you will only be able to see my swim time, transition times, bike times, and run times.
You can follow me on twitter @onealec Heather will be tweeting my progress throughout the day as she sees me. I’ll be sure she includes my name in the tweets so you will be able to see them.
Probably the best way to track me, is thru a website that I will have to post later this week. I’ll be carrying a GPS tracker on me starting at the bike that will allow you to track me in real time on a website either from your computer or handheld. I’ll pretty much show up as a blue dot on google earth. It will list a bunch of info like dist completed and dist to go; average speed; etc. I haven’t ever used this thing before, but I have heard good things. I’ll post the info up here and/or send out an email once I get the info on Thursday.

Well, I guess I’ll stop rambling now. Thanks to everyone for making this possible…All my friends, thanks for listening to me go on an on about triathlons. I would have exploded if I wasn’t able to talk about racing every day.
John (James), You were there when I attempted my first laps in the pool. I could barely make it one length without having to stop. Thanks for helping me with my form and being there all those mornings at Masters.
Sophia & Carrie, thanks for helping me get my knee straightened out. It’s not 100%, but I don’t think it ever will be.
John (Hanna), what can I say man? I would have been lost this past year without you as my coach. I know I wasn’t as consistent with my workout as I needed to be, but you were always there to motivate me and keep me focused.
Jeff, you talked me into doing my first half mary, so you pretty much started me off on my endurance event journey. Work wouldn’t be the same without you. I wish that I could be there to pace you on your Pinhoti 100 run. Stay focused out there. 1 aid station at a time. I know you’ll do great.
Carroll, if you had a buck for every question I asked you about triathlons the past two years, you could probably take a couple months off work. Thanks for always being there with an answer. Lots of emails and lunch conversations were had and they no doubt helped me get to where I am.
Mom, Dad, Mo, Keith, Keyes, and rest of family thanks for being there to cheer me on these past couple of years. Having so many people believe in me has definitely been a motivator when times have gotten bad. Thanks for always being there to help Heather and help with Lucas. Y’alls love and support has been one of the best weapons I’ve had.
MH & Lucas, how do I even begin to say thanks. MH, you rock. You have always been my strength and shoulder to lean on when I got down about my training. You have made it to pretty much all my races and cheered me on thru each one. I love you more than you will ever know. Thank you for being you! Lucas, thanks for making my day with that smile you have. Whether I was picking you up from school or walking in that front door at home, seeing you smile and starting crawling towards me has made everything awesome. As I said earlier, you are one of the big reasons I’m doing this. I want you to always be able to look back and know that “you can!”

Ok, now I’ll stop rambling. Y’all have an awesome week. I’ll try and touch base one last time before Saturday. Everyone stay safe and War Damn Eagle!

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “I Can”